CHAPTER TWO
THE WINTER SOLDIER

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Waiting for Natasha to see what Rosa had told her made each minute feel like an hour. She couldn't rush Natasha into believing what she was told, it wasn't in their nature. If Natasha was going to believe that she couldn't trust the organization she had been working for longer than Rosa knew, longer than the Avengers had been known to the public, she had to see it for herself. If this was who she had turned to when she left the Red Room, even Rosa's word wouldn't be enough to make her believe they were rotten at their core.

To pass the time, Rosa took to exploring Washington. It had been a long time since she was in the US, and even then, the nation's capital was not a place she'd frequented. She was careful, of course, concealing her identity as much as was possible by tucking her hair up into a baseball cap as best she could and wearing sunglasses.

She sampled overpriced coffee and pastries, walked past clothing stores with mannequins in the window wearing scraps of fabric and more screens in windows than she could count. Nearly two decades was a long time for things to change in a city as large as this one. The changes might have been less noticeable to her if she hadn't spent the time she'd been on the run living in small towns far from large city centers.

As she wandered the streets of Washington, Rosa came to appreciate the wonder of modern technology. After getting as settled as she could, she'd gotten herself a new cellphone and set up alerts for strange things going on in the city. She wanted to know of anything suspicious that might be happening. It was those whispers of Hydra movements which had made her get here as fast as she could, after all. Something was going on here, she just didn't know what yet.

The alert which came through showed shaky phone camera footage of a black SUV being shot up by a bunch of cops. Though a little suspicious, Rosa dismissed it. It was a bit much of a reaction and the SUV was holding up better than she would have expected, but there wasn't anything there which was overtly alarming. Nothing there told her it wasn't just another police chase. She'd have to do research to see if it wasn't and, with nothing immediately alarming to her, she wasn't going to take the time. If it turned out to be nothing, she didn't want to waste valuable time.

Almost immediately after Rosa dismissed the alert and footage, another one popped up on her phone. This one showed what was, given the extensive damage, probably the same black SUV, being shot at again, but this time with something which made the car flip trunk over hood. While seeing a second piece of footage of this vehicle did make the suspicious nature of them both increase, that wasn't the part which caused Rosa's heart to stop in her chest.

As the car flipped, the camera panned to the person who had shot the explosive which caused the car to flip. There, standing with the gun in his hand, a mask and goggles to cover his face and standard tac gear, was a man with a metal arm.

Her partner.

The Winter Soldier.

She hadn't seen him since before she'd been sent on that mission to Ohio, the one which had gone so wrong. To see him now, here where she was, still being forced to carry out their orders, felt like someone stabbing her in the heart. She couldn't help but stare at the footage of him, wishing they didn't insist on covering his face, if only so she could see it once again. There had been a time where she would have been there alongside him, when they'd used her as just yet another means of controlling him. He would follow her back after a mission was completed without her even having to say anything and she knew why, just as she knew that he didn't even remember why.

Rosa shook herself out of her thoughts, checking the date and time on the footage. Minutes ago. As fast as the thought popped into her head of how he was still here, still around, still nearby, she dismissed it. Even if it was true, she had no idea how far away this was happening from her and she wasn't familiar enough with Washington to recognize any landmarks in the footage and then to be able to find her way to them. And then that was even assuming something could be done from there. She didn't know if he'd still follow her, if she could use that ring which still hung in a chain around her neck to spark some flash of recognition in his eyes.

No, she told herself, what was important now was figuring out why he was in Washington, not reminiscing.

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It was dark by the time Rosa made it back to Natasha's apartment. This time, she didn't go for the window, knowing she would be expecting it. Instead, this time, she forewent the added security of not risking being seen by her neighbours and went right to her door, knocking and simply waiting for her to answer.

After listening to her approach slowly, feet barely making a sound against her wooden floors and leaning up to look through the peephole, Rosa turned her eyes directly to it and smiled. "Told you I wasn't letting you get away from me again, niñita. But we need to talk."

There was a sigh on the other side of the door and then the locks clicked open and then the door. Once again, the sight of Natasha made Rosa's heart clench, but she pushed it aside just as she pushed her way into the apartment. She didn't have time to waste.

"Your work for S.H.I.E.L.D., it was mainly in espionage, correct?" she asked, turning back to look at Natasha once she was standing in the living room.

"Hello to you, too," Natasha said, closing her door before she turned towards Rosa again. "Of course it was. I got the same training you did."

Rosa almost laughed at the assumption. "Have you ever come across the name The Winter Soldier?" she asked instead.

"Yes," Natasha said, her expression almost imperceptibly paling at the mention of the name. "Why?"

"He's here."

"You've seen him?"

"Yes."

There was a beat of silence. Rosa was grateful that Natasha was simply taking her at her word now and not questioning her. It was likely because of the mention of the Winter Soldier, but Rosa didn't care. She needed to take this seriously and the speed with which she did so told Rosa that she understood what him being here meant. She didn't have to trust Rosa yet, as much as that hurt, as long as she was taking the threat seriously.

"Why?" Natasha finally asked.

"I don't know," Rosa admitted. "I knew there was something coming, something going on, that's why I came to warn you about S.H.I.E.L.D., but I didn't know he would be here. Who do you know that would warrant sending The Winter Soldier after?"

Natasha shook her head, clearly trying to think. "I don't know. Any number of people are important enough. Easy enough to get to."

"No, they don't have to be easy to get to," Rosa said. "It happened on the street, an hour ago. For everyone to see."

"A blatant public execution?" Natasha questioned. Rosa nodded. "They didn't try to hide it at all?"

"He was standing in the middle of the street," Rosa explained, recalling the footage she'd seen and trying to put aside the way her heart clenched all over again at the memory.

Natasha's brow furrowed. "You're sure he killed someone?"

"I did not see if he succeeded," Rosa admitted.

"So the target could have escaped?"

"As much as anyone can escape from The Winter Soldier."

Natasha nodded, her brow still furrowed as she thought through everything Rosa had told her. She had to be able to put the pieces together. She'd always had such a bright mind.

A ringing sounded from Natasha's pocket and she pulled out her phone, immediately answering it. Being used to tuning out phone calls of those around her, it took barely any effort for her to do this here. She simply watched Natasha's face as she listened to what the person who had called her said. Shock and then panic quickly dominated her expression, prompting her to hang up without even responding.

"What happened?" Rosa asked.

"You didn't hear?" Natasha asked, almost accusingly as she hurried over to where her keys were.

"I try not to listen in on people's conversations," Rosa told her, tracking her movements around the apartment. "It's not polite to eavesdrop, niñita."

Natasha gave her a disbelieving look, pausing at the door. "We were trained as spies, eavesdropping is a part of the job."

"And I am not a spy any longer." When Natasha didn't say anything, Rosa repeated her question. "What happened?"

"Fury's been shot and he's in surgery now. I have to go," Natasha said. She hesitated, one hand on the door handle. "Are you coming, or what?"

"Do you want me to?" Rosa asked.

"What I want is for you to not disappear before I get my answers," Natasha said.

"Then lead the way."

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Natasha drove too fast as they made their way to the hospital, but Rosa doubted anyone would try and pull them over or that two trained Black Widows wouldn't be able to get out of it. As they navigated traffic on their way to whatever hospital Natasha had been told Fury was at, the knowledge that the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. was the one who had been attacked was the final piece Rosa needed for the puzzle to finally become clear.

"He did this," she finally said. "It was The Winter Soldier who shot Fury. He's an important enough target to risk sending him after him so blatantly."

Keeping her eyes on the road, Natasha said, "How do you know who Fury is?"

"It may have taken me a long time to get to you safely, but I did my research in that time," Rosa explained, wincing as Natasha took a corner too fast. "I still have contacts even if I'm no longer in the Red Room."

There was a beat of silence while Natasha weaved in and out of traffic and Rosa silently winced and clutched the door as they both thought everything over. It was a risk for her to just be out in public like this but at this point, Rosa didn't care. She was reunited with Natasha after twenty years and the Winter Soldier was out, up, and about. It was a risk she was willing to take right now. If they went after Fury, Rosa couldn't discount the idea of them going after Natasha and she wasn't going to let that happen.

"Why would they send the Winter Soldier after Fury?" Natasha finally asked.

"Why wouldn't they?" Rosa countered. "He's the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., if they could take him out, they would try and who better to send than their most deadly and effective assassin?"

"But the Winter Soldier has been around for years, why go after Fury now?"

Rosa considered this. "Something had to have changed. Maybe he saw something or found something or said something. Made the wrong person nervous."

"Why would someone at S.H.I.E.L.D. call a hit out on their own director?" Natasha asked.

Before she could remind her about just what had brought Rosa back to Natasha, what she'd tried to warn her about, they arrived at the hospital. Natasha wasted no time, barely stopping long enough to take the keys out of the ignition before she was running towards the doors of the hospital with Rosa hot on her heels.

Natasha seemed to know where she was going so Rosa simply followed after her as she navigated her way through the hallways of the hospital the same way she had driven her car through traffic to get them there. In no time at all, they were pushing their way through a door into an observation room. Through the glass you could see doctors operating on a dark-skinned man who Rosa only vaguely recognized but could assume was Fury.

What was a shock was one of the other people in the room. He barely spared a glance at Natasha, let alone the person who entered with her, as he kept his eyes forward on the doctors through the window.

She should have known Steve Rogers would be here. Where else would he be? She'd seen the footage of the Battle of New York, seen the figure of Captain America there and heard the whispers afterwards of it really being him, but somehow she hadn't expected to see him here. Hadn't expected to see him at all. Going unnoticed was part of her training and not for the first time, she was glad for it. She wasn't prepared for the questions which would result from both him and Natasha.

"Is he gonna make it?" Natasha asked, standing close to the glass next to Steve.

"I don't know," Steve admitted.

"Tell me about the shooter," Natasha requested.

"He's fast. Strong," Steve said, looking down for a moment before fixing his gaze back on Fury. "Had a metal arm."

Natasha caught Rosa's eye through their reflections as another woman with brown hair stepped up next to Natasha.

"Ballistics?" Natasha asked.

"Three slugs, no rifling," the unknown brunette said. "Completely untraceable."

"Soviet-made," Natasha guessed.

"Yeah," the brunette said, seemingly surprised by her accurate guess.

Before anyone could say anything else, their attention was drawn back towards the nurses and doctors working on Fury as a male nurse announced he was going into v-tach. They watched a crash cart be wheeled over and charged.

"Don't do this to me, Nick..." Natasha muttered.

As the doctor called for everyone to stand back, he placed the paddles of the defibrillator on Fury's chest and counted down. Fury's body jolted from the defibrillator, but he still didn't have a pulse when they removed the paddles. The doctor ordered the defibrillator to be set to a higher charge, counted down once again, but still nothing happened.

"Don't do this to me, Nick. Don't do this to me," Natasha repeated, quieter this time.

The doctors and nurses continued working, but even after calling for epinephrine, nothing they were doing was working. Rosa stepped up next to Natasha as Steve turned away from the glass, placing a hand on her arm as the doctors called out the time of death. As the brunette who Rosa didn't know also turned away, Natasha remained standing there, staring at the body through the glass.

Rosa stepped up to the side of Natasha, turning so she could look at her face and seeing the worried look on her face hadn't changed. After a moment, Natasha finally tore her eyes away from what was happening in the operating room to look at her. She was trying to be brave, trying to be strong, just as they'd been taught, but Rosa could see the scared little girl in her eyes, the same one she'd seen twenty years ago when Alexei had returned home that last night and told them they had to go, now, and didn't even give them time to even think. The same one who he'd forced into the pilot's seat of that plane while they were being shot at.

"Come on, niñita," Rosa encouraged softly. "They'll clean him up and then let you see him."

Natasha simply nodded and allowed Rosa to lead her away from the window and towards the hallway. The lights were brighter here and it wasn't as quiet as the observation room had been, but it was a welcome change. There were people who were unmistakably S.H.I.E.L.D. agents scattered all around the hall and that didn't reassure Rosa, but she needed to be there for Natasha so she simply hoped that none of them knew who she was.

A moment after they'd stepped out, Steve followed, standing on the other side of the hall from them. When she met his questioning gaze, she nodded, hoping he understood she was answering his question. It seemed he did as his expression shifted, his head tilting to the other side. This time, she shook her head, looking back at Natasha, whose gaze was focused on the floor.

They waited in silence for a few more minutes before the brunette returned and told them which room they'd put the body in. Natasha was first to enter the room, stepping right up to the gurney the body was laid out on, staring intently. Rosa waited back against the wall, keeping her own gaze on Natasha. After a moment of seeing the body himself, Steve stepped back next to her against the wall as well, waiting for Natasha with his eyes trained on the floor.

How long Natasha intended to stare at the body for, Rosa didn't know, because after allowing them some time, the brunette returned.

"I need to take him," she said, her voice unsteady.

Steve looked over at her at the sound of her voice before looking back at Natasha, who hadn't moved. He spared Rosa half a glance before he stepped away from the wall, walking up behind Natasha.

"Natasha," he said softly.

She did say anything and, for a moment, Rosa thought she intended to ignore Steve. Then she reached out and tenderly placed her hand on the top of Fury's head, lingering there for only a few seconds before she turned abruptly and walked out, still without saying a word. Rosa was quick to follow after her, catching up to her in the hallway.

"Natasha!" Steve's voice called.

At the sound of her friend's voice, Natasha stopped and turned back towards him.

"Why was Fury in your apartment?" Natasha asked him.

Steve first averted his gaze as he gave a half-hearted shrug before looking back at Natasha. "I don't know."

It was a terrible lie and Rosa was almost surprised by how bad it was. Steve clearly knew something and didn't want to say it, but what she didn't understand was why. It was two years ago that the Avengers formed and Steve and Natasha had been working together for S.H.I.E.L.D. ever since. Why wouldn't he want to tell Natasha something he knew about the death of someone she clearly cared deeply about?

As Steve's gaze darted from Natasha to Rosa and back again, she realized it was very possible it wasn't about Natasha at all but her. Given the circumstances, she couldn't blame Steve for not trusting her. After all, she hadn't even attempted to answer any of the myriad of questions he surely had for her. She hadn't even answered most of Natasha's questions either.

Before they could continue their conversation, a man in tactical gear stepped up behind Steve.

"Cap, they want you back at S.H.I.E.L.D.," he said.

"Yeah," Steve said, glancing back at him briefly. "Give me a second."

"They want you now," he insisted.

"Okay," he said, turning back towards Natasha and Rosa.

"You're a terrible liar," Natasha told him, then simply turned and walked away.

Rosa lingered for only a moment. "Goodbye, Steven," she said, then followed after Natasha.

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an. oh man this took so much longer than I wanted it too, but the beginning just would not shape up the way I wanted it to. hopefully the next chapter doesn't give me near as much trouble! hope you enjoyed!