…

----------------------------------------

Operation

----------------------------------------

…

Shortly after changing into his work suit, the pair left the hotel and drove to the target’s location via car.

After parking the car safely and away from prying eyes, Hadrian quietly led Natasha to a place where she could quickly reach the target's office in the building.

With the equipment lent to her, Natasha will have no difficulty navigating the building.

The pair silently vaulted over the high wall that surrounded the entire property.

However, Hadrian had to assist Natasha by jumping on top of the wall first before pulling her up and over to the side. The wall was too high for her to climb on her own, much to her frustration.

The two sneaked their way to one of the viable entry points, only stopping once they arrived.

After a moment of using his senses to check for anyone nearby, Hadrian nodded to himself and turned around to face Natasha, who had occupied herself looking around with a calm and calculating look at her surroundings.

When she noticed his attention upon her, Natasha met his gaze with a curious one of her own.

Currently, she is mostly dressed in the same attire as before.

But there were new additions worn on her person.

Over her shoulder was a black satchel to store the safe once she retrieved it.

Both of her hands were covered by a pair of black gloves, which would prevent her fingerprints from being discovered in case the authorities issued an investigation of the area.

With her wearing gloves, Natasha would be able to handle her weapons better than without, which was the only thing that convinced her to wear them in the first place.

As his advice, she was now wearing a black hoodie that she had left unzipped halfway.

But…

Hadrian had to refrain himself from commenting when he quickly realized that the hoodie she was currently wearing…

Sensing his dubious stare, Natasha quirked an eyebrow.

“… what?” The girl asked, confused.

Shaking his head slightly, Hadrian smiled.

“Nothing…” he said with a disarming smile.

“Head in the game, Rey.” The girl reminded.

Hadrian chuckled, feeling somewhat amused.

… it was the same hoodie he had lent to her the other day.

Setting that aside, at least the article was doing its purpose by hiding most of her profile.

With the hood up and her slim frame, the cloth was loose around her upper body, which helped in covering her face and true gender in the low chance that she would be seen.

Hadrian had to lend her one of the extra masks he had in reserve.

It was jet-black in color, and only covered the lower part of her face.

Of course, the mask was no ordinary equipment, but the girl did not need to know that.

What he did inform her about the mask was its unique capability to provide her with instant communication with his own.

Just by lightly pressing on the side of the mask, the small area close to either of her ears, the mask that Natasha wore will instantly ‘connect’ the audio call to him, no matter the distance.

In a way, it was similar to the modern earpieces that covert operatives would use in his reality.

The difference was that his mask already had the same built-in feature, except it was more… durable and capable in a lot of ways.

The last were special soles that were attached to the bottom of her boots.

Hadrian did not elaborate on how they were made, but he did tell her the purpose of the soles, which was to silence the noise her feet would make.

With it, sneaking around in the building would be easier for her.

He had to emphasize that the soles would only work on silencing the movement of her feet, not with other parts of her body.

Still, it was amusing seeing the girl’s reaction when he had explained the functions of the ‘highly advanced accessories’ to her.

Her face had been emotionless the whole duration, impressively so, but the awe and excitement in her emerald eyes reminded him of a child receiving new toys or sweet treats.

Smothering the chuckle that threatened to leave his lips, Hadrian hid his amusement behind a huff and distracted himself by fastening the front button of his blazer.

“Now, little spider, you good to go?” Hadrian asked after he was done.

His mask was on the side of his head, allowing Natasha to see his face in perfect clarity.

The redhead nodded.

“Yeah. Let’s get started.”

Some locks of her red curly hair almost peeking out of the hood as she did so.

Taking a moment to observe her, Hadrian couldn’t help but take note of her posture.

As always, she wore an impassive expression.

He could see it, despite the mask that covered the lower half of her face.

But her body language was a different matter.

She was similar to a coiled spring, alert and ready for any sign of trouble.

He also noticed her taking furtive glances earlier when they had sneaked past the few guards working on night duty.

Young, yet she was already experienced in the art of espionage.

Hadrian pondered what kind of future was in store for Natasha.

He supposed it was unavoidable for him to be curious since they would be parting ways after the operation was done.

‘Ah, no…’

Hadrian shook his head mentally.

Dismissing the thoughts before it could get any weirder, Hadrian took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose, one of his subtle methods to regain composure and focus on his task.

Hearing the calm beating of his heart, he nodded in satisfaction and looked at Natasha.

“Then, come closer, little spider. I’ll give you a boost up.” Hadrian urged with a calm smile, gesturing to the covered ventilation above their heads with his thumb.

Nodding silently, Natasha slowly stepped closer as the young man bent slightly to his waist to allow her to grab onto his broad shoulders.

Due to their proximity, Natasha had to blink a few times to keep herself calm and focused on the operation… instead of the pleasantly addicting scent that she had accidentally breathed in.

‘… sweet…’

Her mind drifted to the thoughts of rich velvet chocolate, the high-quality kind, and the cool and refreshing scent of menthol.

The combination was strange, but it worked for him.

Natasha wondered if he had eaten a sweet treat before they left the hotel.

The experience of sniffing the guy she was leaning on had left her with confusing feelings that almost broke her composure.

From that point on, her mind would attribute highly expensive chocolates to Rey whenever she sees one.

It was a ridiculous thought to entertain, especially given the current situation, but her mind can be quite persistent regarding things she was interested in pondering.

Still…

Natasha did her best to hold it all in, pointedly ignoring (with maximum effort) the pleasurable torture she was thrust into.

While Natasha was having an inner war, Hadrian was busy adjusting his hold on her left foot, considering he had a weapon in his left hand.

Since he was giving her a boost to the vent entrance, Natasha would have to lean on him for support, leaving him to carry most of her weight.

Fortunately, his body was strong (even without the help of his magical energy and enhancement spells) and Natasha was quite light for him to carry.

Thus, it was an easy task for him.

The only thing left for him to do was to push her up, so that she could reach the vent entrance.

He was being careful not to stress her ankle though, considering Natasha had recently healed from a sprain not too long ago.

Natasha snapped out of her distracting thoughts as she noticed him turn his head to her, looking at her sideways.

“Ready?” Hadrian asked in a whisper.

“Uh, yeah. Ready.” Natasha answered softly, diverting her gaze to the side to center herself.

The vibrant cyan eyes were too much for her heart to take.

The small smile he gave her threatened to distract Natasha once again, but she pulled through better than last time.

“Good luck, little spider. Catch you later.”

Not expecting her to reply, Hadrian pushed her up by her foot, slowly standing upright to lift her higher, and Natasha entered the ventilation system.

The reincarnated magician watched her crawl through the small space successfully, only turning away once she was out of sight and placing his mask on properly.

Slowly, Hadrian turned to the right, facing the wall of the warehouse building.

The wall in question was at least three stories high, certainly difficult for anyone to climb over, even with proper equipment.

But… that was only for mundanes.

Hadrian was certainly not a normal human.

TING

One line of magic circuit was activated.

With Lapis and Tempest in his left hand, he bent his knees slightly, just by an inch, and jumped.

FWOOSH

The sudden acceleration caused his hair and clothes to ruffle lightly against the wind force as he was in the air.

He used a bit of his magical energy to silence and manipulate the direction of his descent, landing on the edge of the rooftop.

THUMP

His feet landed on the concrete, and Hadrian searched for any sign of guards on the roof.

Then, he cast a wordless spell that would short-circuit any small, compact gadgets in the area.

[… No devices, or sentient lifeforms, detected …]

– was the system notice from the mask.

“Huh…” Hadrian mumbled, scratching the side of his head with the rear handle of Lapis.

Contrary to what he assumed, there was no one on the floor he was on.

There were no surveillance cameras and alarms either, apart from the bulb lights or fuse boxes that were fried after his spell had short-circuited them.

He thought that Keres Komorov would at least place a guard or two, along with some security equipment on the roof, but he supposed he underestimated the man’s carelessness.

‘Hired men with weapons are just the half-measure of security, after all…’ Hadrian thought dryly, recalling the number of armed men guarding the property during the day compared to night.

Vibrant cyan eyes roved from one spot to another, surveying the entire property with a calm and calculating demeanor.

Satisfied with his search, he then cast two spells in quick succession –

Snap

Fwosh

Fwosh

– with a single snap of his fingers.

The first was to detect the number of people within the perimeter, and the second was to tag certain spots of the entire property with a special rune in hidden areas.

[… 64 (human) lifeforms detected below …]

[… Bounded Field successfully deployed …]

The result of the scan just came in.

They were currently within the property, most of which were congregating inside a large room doing what foolish men were prone to do.

"..."

Hadrian's lips thinned as he glanced at his feet.

It was just to his bad fucking luck that Keres Komorov had decided to throw a small celebration tonight, bringing in a hoard of working women and plenty of food and liquor to satisfy his men’s degenerate needs.

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Hadrian scoffed, shaking his head in disgust.

He pulled out the small case that kept his wireless earbuds charged.

‘Well, at least it’s going to be their last bloody feast…’ Hadrian mused as he placed the earbuds in both of his ears.

Then, he pulled out the holo-phone (which was inside one of his breast pockets) and turned on the music player.

“~ ♫♪♪ ~”

The wonderful beat of some of his favorite music made Hadrian close his eyes.

For a few moments, he felt relaxed.

The large pot of negative emotions he kept sensing was blocked out from his heart and mind.

They were still there, but at least they were muted in the background as the earbuds in his ears and the sound of one of his favorite music distracted him from feeling the effects of the negative emotions.

Hadrian slowly opened his eyes.

Another thing he was grateful for was that Natasha was far away from where the wild fornicating and feasting were happening.

Despite her maturity and demeanor, the girl was still young.

Hadrian would rather not see her take a strange interest in such scenes too soon.

Breathing through his nose, Hadrian opened his eyes and turned on his heel.

At a leisured pace, the reincarnated magician walked and –

Snap

– clicked his fingers again.

FOOOOM

Thin lines of magical energy appeared from four cardinal directions of the property, crawling up at a rapid pace and spreading out, stopping only once it reached the top.

The thin lines of mysterious energy formed into a large dome that covered the entire location, starting from the gates over to the warehouse and other buildings near it. (1)

Hadrian hummed, examining the barrier.

With the bounded field in place, Luka and his team would not need to be worried about civilian casualties, and Hadrian would not need to concern himself with his target (or any of his men, for that matter) leaving the room they were currently occupying.

A small smile formed on his lips.

Little did his target know, he would be as helpless as a trapped mouse inside a near-impervious crate, and Hadrian would soon enjoy seeing the imbecile’s reaction to this fact.

Just as he promised Natasha, he also cast a few runes that would draw the people around the property to where Keres was located, using the barrier as a basis to spread the runes’ effects.

A sort of hypnosis would affect their thoughts, causing them to think that they need to go to where the target was located despite having no actual reason to, along with a special ward that will let them enter the room but unable to leave once they step foot inside.

That way, there would be a low chance of Komorov’s men encountering Natasha on her way out of the building with the safe in her possession.

He stopped walking once he was standing on top of a glass panel, through which he could see where most of the people were gathered.

And just as he expected, they were celebrating –

“Ahahaha!”

“This is fucking great!”

“Food! Money, weapons, and bitches!”

“Keres throws great parties, man!”

– by feasting and fucking the women like there was no tomorrow.

Most were truly enjoying themselves, but –

“Hey! Come and sit next to me, bitch!”

“Here, take this with me. We’ll fuck after, alright?”

“The fuck you whining for, bitch? You’re being paid to do this, you know?”

– there were some women with weary and fearful expressions.

It seemed that a number of them were not there voluntarily.

The mage in disguise shook his head.

Unfortunate as their situation was, Hadrian’s priority was not their well-being.

The completion of his assignment comes first.

Although, he would lend them some assistance once the operation was over.

Perhaps Luka could assist him with that later.

His attention, however, was no longer on the exasperating scene below him.

But on the target.

In the center of the room, Keres Komorov was sitting on a couch with two women beside him.

One was snogging with him, and the other –

Hadrian sniffed in distaste.

The other was pleasuring him below the waist, much to his great disgust and annoyance.

The small table in front of him was cluttered with a few notable drugs. Burnt and bent cigarettes scattered across the table’s surface due to the ashtrays being already filled to the brim, and a lot of bottled alcohol, most opened and some unopened.

Truly, the building looked more and more like a den of drug addicts/brothel than your average warehouse.

Depravity at its finest.

Scoffing and diverting his gaze from the unsightly view, Hadrian lifted his left arm and checked the time on his watch, noting that a few minutes had already passed.

“Hmm… Natasha must have reached the office and begun her search by now. Time to do my part then.” Hadrian murmured, sighing at the end.

He glanced back at the target, who remained blissfully unaware of the impending danger.

And that worked fine with Hadrian.

He preferred to surprise his targets anyway.

As for his entrance…

Hadrian looked below and smiled.

An idea just came to mind.

FWOOSH

Acquiescing to his intent, both Lapis and Tempest glowed brightly in his left hand for a moment, ready to fulfill his command.

He then climbed up and walked on top of the glass panels, stopping once his feet were (literally) aligned on a table.

Slowly, the magician moved his left hand and pointed the rear end of the form-shifting scabbard at the glass, directly below the table that was in front of Keres Komorov.

His finger was hooked around the trigger.

Behind the mask, Hadrian smiled.

He applied pressure around the trigger and pulled.

BANG

CRASH

“AAAHH!”

“SHIT?!”

“What the fu–“

Screams and shouts of profanities spread across the room.

The room soon turned into chaos as uneven shards of sharp broken glass fell upon them.

But to Hadrian –

That was the signal of his hunt starting.

…

----------------------------------------

…

“Hmm…”

Natasha’s brows furrowed as she continued to search around the office.

True to Rey’s expectation, she was able to successfully sneak inside Keres Komorov’s office.

Natasha had to give Rey credit for his diligence and cunning when it came to his plan for the operation, seeing as it was the correct choice to use the vents to reach the target’s office.

She simply crawled quietly in the vents, dropped down and made her way to the office on foot, dodging a few guards on the way.

Thanks to the equipment lent to her, Natasha never had an easier time sneaking around in a job.

Regarding stealth, the redhead had been viewed as the best, especially considering her young age. She had already perfected the art before she escaped the hellish place that methodically and ruthlessly reformed her into who she was now in the present.

Much as she loathed the people who trained her in the ways of being an assassin, Natasha took comfort in the fact that she was now benefiting from their harsh lessons at the very least.

The blood, tears, and sweat she shed during training were at least helping her now.

Still, with the proper equipment in her hands, sneaking around the den of a two-faced criminal had never been so much fun and simple.

On her way to the office, Natasha contemplated taking down a few guards who were on routine patrol in some sections of the building she sneaked past.

They were all armed and armored, but she was not worried as not only was she trained heavily in facing them, but she was also armed and prepared for such scenarios.

The unbelievably lightweight slim armor vest under the black hoodie and her long-sleeve t-shirt would protect her, while the Classic and her knives would greatly assist her in the scuffle.

But, as Natasha deliberated on it, she eventually dismissed the idea as she recalled the briefing hours earlier.

Confronting a few guards just to entertain herself might interfere with Rey’s plan for the operation.

While she may give the impression of being nonchalant and uncaring for most things, Natasha wanted to be considerate of the latter’s efforts in the assignment.

Knocking out a few guards might affect the chances of the operation becoming successful.

Or worse, end up in failure due to her rash actions.

Thus, Natasha threw the idea out of her mind and focused on following through her part in Rey’s meticulous plan.

And now, here she was, currently occupied in rummaging through drawers, boxes, and possible areas of where the safe was being kept.

…

…

…

Two minutes had passed…

Natasha had yet to discover any leads.

She found a pistol (a silver AMT Hardballer .45 ACP) hidden under the desk.

But that was not what she was looking for.

She did take that with her though, seeing as the one she has now was borrowed and expected to be returned to its actual owner (Rey).

It was a nice custom gun too.

She also took the stacks of cash she found in the drawers by coincidence.

It was not as if the idiot target would need the money any time soon.

Or probably ever again, if the grim smile on Rey’s face earlier was any indication.

‘Never hurts to have more funds…’ Natasha smirked, imagining the target’s reaction to his missing money.

That is, if he survived to see another day after tonight.

Back to her own task though…

Natasha sighed, scratching the side of her head.

She turned her gaze left and right, deciding where she should search next.

The desk had already been searched thoroughly.

The same with the wooden drawers situated on the left side of the room.

She had checked the cabinets, but she merely skimmed through them after she realized that the folders only contained random files, contracts, and documents related to business deals (legal or illegal) he had through trades were stored there.

She would have to look through them for a ledger or dossier later.

For a typical two-faced scum, Keres Komorov was surprisingly organized with his office and business documents.

It was a good thing she had all the time she needed to investigate the office.

The dates on the folders also helped her immensely in scouring through the papers.

Natasha exhaled, shaking her head in slight disbelief.

Rey had not been kidding when he said to her that he would be luring the people in the warehouse away and to where he was.

Natasha had no idea how or what he did to make it happen, but she heard the sounds of hurried footsteps rushing past outside of the office.

It was also a good coincidence that the target was outside, which meant that she could lock the door and not worry about any guards entering.

But of course, she was not careless in searching for too long.

Despite his confidence and her faith in his capabilities, Natasha has no idea how long he could prevent the target and his men from escaping whatever trap he set up.

Therefore, she does not want to take too long to search for the safe, considering Rey might be having a difficult time in keeping Keres and his minions busy.

Finding the safe (or a clue to its whereabouts) in a limited time frame was her current priority.

“Which leaves…” Natasha muttered.

Slowly, she turned her gaze to the bookshelf and the paintings on the walls.

Striding towards the paintings first, the young assassin began examining each by lifting one off the wall slightly to check behind it.

It was a quick search, but she found nothing but the concrete wall behind all of them, which caused her to move onto the bookshelf.

The girl quickly started her investigation, starting from the bottom section first before making her way up.

Natasha wrinkled her nose slightly as she found one whole section dedicated to storing different monthly editions of porn magazines.

The redhead supposed that she should have suspected that the scum would have such a thing in his office.

What was both interesting and mildly amusing was that the target had the presence of mind to hide the magazines behind book covers.

The covers were black with actual details and made from true refined leather.

If she had not checked, she would have assumed that they were real books.

Not this.

Natasha was not happy, but she had to check if there was any ledger or dossier hidden in one of the book covers.

“At least Rey’s library had actual books and not these fake crap…” Natasha commented under her breath as she continued her progress.

Contrary to her words, the young redhead calmly took a few magazines that caught her interest, particularly the ones that would provide her with better insight into seduction and trending sets of lingerie.

Most of the magazines were just outright trash.

But the ones she took were at least in great condition, still new, and not yet dirtied by the target’s hands given by the plastic wraps it was covered in.

Natasha was well aware that she was still young to read such materials, let alone consider wearing lingerie.

But as a trained ex-Black Widow, nothing was forbidden.

It would also be a good experience for her to learn such things as early as possible.

At least…

That was what Natasha kept telling herself as she slipped the selected magazines on the side of the satchel with the most stoic expression she could muster in that awkward situation.

It was relieving that she could keep the bag after the operation.

Otherwise, it would be difficult and very awkward to explain to Rey why she has a pistol, stacks of cash, and questionable literature stashed inside.

Not wanting to get too distracted, Natasha dismissed the thought and returned her focus to searching for the safe.

There were five sections in total, taking her more than a few minutes to complete her inspection.

It was on the fourth section that made her efforts well worth it.

In the far corner to the left, Natasha found a blank book cover.

There were no details on it, but it caught her attention enough to grab it and pull it out of the shelf.

“Hm?”

Turning it in her hands, Natasha was greeted by the sight of the spine of a familiar book.

Her brows furrowed in confusion, trying to recall where she had seen it before.

…

‘This is… a book? Your client wants you to retrieve a book?’

‘It’s not a book. It merely appears similar to one –’

…

“Ah…?”

Her face blanked as it clicked in her mind.

Her suspicion solidified as she pulled the book out of the cover.

Natasha’s brows lifted in surprise as she realized that she was holding the safe she had been looking for.

Its appearance was the same as when Rey had shown her its image during the briefing, so there was no doubt in her mind of its authenticity.

“Haah…”

Breathing out a relieved sigh, Natasha carefully deposited the faux book safe into the satchel, doubly making sure that it was secured in its place.

Wasting no time, Natasha walked towards the door of the office.

But she has to contact Rey first to inform him of her success.

She also needed to confirm whether she should proceed in searching for the target’s ledger in the office before leaving or not.

Natasha was skeptical when she was informed of the mask’s wireless telephonic function, but Rey had never given her a reason to doubt him ever since they met.

It was one of the things she had learned to appreciate and came to like about him, to be honest. It was refreshing for her to meet someone of his unique character.

Tapping the left side of her mask close to the ear (albeit hesitantly), Natasha almost jumped in surprise when she heard a soft ringing noise close to her ears.

DURURU

DURURU

Thankfully, the sound was not loud or weak.

It was balanced, and the volume level did not hurt her hearing in the least.

Natasha’s quiet admiration for advanced technology was interrupted as she heard a familiar voice speak on the other end of the line.

“Yes, Widow?” Rey asked, mindful to use her alias.

The calm and polite tone of his deep, alluring voice made her heart skip a few beats.

“I got it. I have the safe.” Natasha announced after a moment of regaining her composure.

“Oh, that’s (THWACK) good. Now… make your way to the meeting point I told you about. You can take it easy from there.” Rey said pleasantly, continuing as if he had never been interrupted.

“…”

Stopping in front of the door, Natasha’s brows furrowed slightly.

It was somewhat muffled by his voice, alluring as it was, but she had definitely heard the unmistakable impact of a metallic object hitting against flesh.

The aforementioned noise was immediately followed by a loud pained grunt in the background.

BANG BANG BANG

“– shoot! Fucking shoo–“

THUD

PANG

“– GUAH!”

After he finished speaking, there were swishing noises, a few gunshots, some screams, and then several more of an object hitting a body in successful intervals.

In a span of seconds, Natasha heard them all respectively and in perfect clarity.

Whatever was happening on the other side, it was clear to her that Rey was quite busy, despite his casual tone when he spoke to her earlier.

“You… you sound busy.” Natasha cannot help but comment.

“AAAGGGH–“

She halted at the startling sound of a man howling in pain in the background for three seconds.

“Hehe~”

Terrifying to his victims but pleasant to her ears, the deep velvet chuckle that Rey made caused one heart flutter, and many to still in fear.

“Hn, a little.” Rey admitted in mild amusement.

For a few seconds, he paused.

Then she heard a soft grunt, followed by a curious scuffing noise of a metal object being hit.

“– sto–“

“– aaaaAAACK!”

BOOM

“– ehe –“

There were panicked shouts and curses in the background.

Muffled somewhat by Rey’s soft chuckles, the thunderous sound of an explosion detonating was unmistakable, overwhelming every other noise in the background.

Morbidly curious as to what the hell was happening to his end, Natasha almost forgot the purpose of her calling him.

Fortunately, her mind quickly caught up to her.

She managed to regain her composure, setting her curiosity aside for now.

“Ah, that’s right. I have the safe, but do I still need to look for a dossier or ledger here?” Natasha asked, green eyes glancing at the filing cabinet on the other side of the room.

BANG

BANG

The noise of two rifle shots fired in quick succession was heard on the other line before Rey responded.

“Hn, no. There’s no need. The team will handle that later.” Rey grunted, sounding as if he was on the move. “Just deliver the package to Luka and wait for me there. I promise this won’t take long.”

“Alright…” Natasha said in reply, feeling somewhat hesitant.

“Stay vigilant, little spider. Take care on your way out.” Rey reminded gently.

The call ended there.

Natasha was tempted to respond in kind, but dismissed the thought as the line disconnected.

Her other self, the Black Widow, berated herself for even entertaining such thoughts.

In this life she chose to tread, forming attachments with other people was forbidden.

It was a weakness that her future enemies would not hesitate to abuse and dangle in front of her as leverage.

Natasha knew this, and had even experienced it for herself many times in the past.

She thought that once had been enough, but to think that she would be facing a similar scenario again in the present was quite ironic.

The redhead supposed it was only natural as it was unavoidable.

In the end, despite the countless times of her former mentors’ (tormentors) efforts in beating the emotions out of her, Natasha was still a human.

That being said, Natasha wondered what kind of future lay ahead in her path after the operation was over.

Even though she was the one who owed him a favor, Natasha felt that she had benefited more in the deal than Rey had with her.

Before, she had no funds (almost) to support herself, let alone to buy a weapon and some equipment for her jobs.

She was even forced to endure the leers and antics of moronic amateurs just to get a job.

Now, she had a lot of money than she had made from her jobs, one of which was leftovers that Rey had given her a few days ago and the other was the stacks of cash she ‘confiscated’ in the idiot target’s drawers.

She had eaten delicious food in the short course of several days.

She learned a new martial art, and got herself a new pistol.

Not the Classic, as it belongs to Rey, but the one she sto– ‘found’ under the target’s desk.

Life had been unexpectedly pleasant for Natasha.

And it was thanks to her meeting a somewhat annoying guy who kept rousing her interest the more time she spent around him, if she was honest with herself.

It was a bit saddening that the contract would end after the operation.

There was nothing Natasha would miss in her old past…

But… the moments she shared with Rey were precious and certainly the ones that she would admit to herself in treasuring.

After this event, life for Natasha was going to be a stale and irritating experience again.

She would have to go and search for jobs, ones that would pay her well.

One thing is for sure, she certainly does not want to return and work with the imbeciles loitering in the marketplace again.

The redhead smiled, shaking her head.

“Huh…”

Huffing in amusement, Natasha carefully exited the office, mindful of locking the door behind her before making her way out to the designated point.

…

…

…

“Hmm, weird…” Natasha muttered under her breath.

On her way out, the young assassin wondered at the lack of guards.

Natasha was well aware that Rey had a plan to lure all of the people into the building and trap them in one room.

But she was not sure how he would accomplish it, considering that he never elaborated on what he would do to achieve what he claimed.

“…”

What was even more strange was the lack of noise.

Wherever Rey was located, Natasha should be hearing the sounds of conflict by now.

Oddly enough, apart from the soft humming of the AC’s and other machinery currently active, there was none.

It was so quiet that Natasha could hear the sound of her own breathing as she broke into a light jog, dashing through the empty corridors.

The whole property seemed to be devoid of people. (2)

As if it was separated from the rest of the world, which was funny to think about in her head as she had seen a few guards patrolling the halls not too long ago.

“…?”

There was also something strange in the air, not just the lack of noise and people.

Her instinct, honed through rigorous harsh training and near-death experiences, was telling her that something was amiss.

It felt as if it was within her grasp.

Close yet far away from being realized.

Natasha can’t help but find that eerie as it was fascinating.