▌𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 ━︎━︎ 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 ▌

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐁𝐁𝐄𝐃 𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐎 Natasha, throwing the both of them to the floor, rolling around for the moment as they both tried to get the upper hand. Liliya was quick to punch Natasha the face, allowing her enough time to maneuver herself so that she had her arm tightly wrapped around Natasha's throat, her body locking Natasha's in place so that she had no way to escape. For once in her life, Natasha was struggling to escape. The spider had been captured by her own prey, something unheard of.

Liliya looked down at Natasha's struggling person, meeting the woman's eyes for a moment and suddenly she felt something inside of her shift. The memory of that little redhead that she talked to flashed before Liliya's eyes. She had never been one to enjoy killing, but she did what she had to do to survive. The question here was: did she have to kill Natasha in order to live? If she kept Natasha alive. . . could Liliya finally have the chance to escape? The blonde struggled with her thoughts for a moment before releasing only so slightly, allowing Natasha to breathe again.

     "Don't move." Liliya warned. "You want me to become good, Natasha? You'll have to do something for me first."

By the time that Steve had managed to break into the room, Natasha was just waking up from where Liliya had knocked her unconscious. The blonde in question was no where to be found. Steve glanced towards the direction of the door, almost expecting Liliya to be standing there but was disappointed when she wasn't. Turning his attention back towards Natasha, he was quick to kneel down beside of her, placing a hand out for her to grab onto as he pulled her up from the ground.

     "Natasha, what the hell happened?" Steve was quick to ask. He had looked down for one second. Just a second. And when he looked up again Natasha was on the ground and Liliya was gone. He wanted to know what happened. What Natasha had said to make Liliya act out so violently in the way that she had. But then he had to remind himself that Liliya was an assassin. And maybe Natasha was right. Maybe this time she was one of the ones that couldn't be saved.

     "You tell me." Natasha muttered, rolling her neck to relieve it of the pain that was throbbing around it from where Liliya had held her arms so tightly around it. "You were the one that was supposed to be watching and spectating." Steve was quick to give her an apologetic look but Natasha just waved it off. "It's fine. I might have set her off. But now we have something. I think you might be right, Steve. I think that there is some hesitancy in every move that Liliya makes, which makes her vulnerable, meaning we have more chance of switching her over to our side before things get too out of hand."

     "Well, that's good, right?" Steve asked, placing his hands on his hips as Natasha nodded her head. That's when he paused, his eyes narrowing slightly when he spotted the tiniest of cut that was placed on Natasha's collarbone. Steve nodded towards it when blood started to poke out from the cut. "You've got a little. . ." He pointed towards the cut and Natasha hummed before wiping the blood away. He then noticed her hair. It wasn't often when Steve noticed these things, but something was off.

     "She must've cut me during the fight. Didn't notice." Natasha shrugged her shoulders, brushing it off and looking back at Steve who had his eyes narrowed on her still. Natasha searched his face, raising an eyebrow at him. "Steve? Are you okay? You're doing that accidental focus thing again." Steve pulled his eyes away from her and just shrugged it off.

     "Sorry." He apologized. He then turned his attention towards the men that were patiently waiting on orders on what to do. "I want a search of every floor. Check security. We need to try and get Liliya back before she manages to escape back where she came from." The men nodded and left. He turned his head back towards Natasha, walking over to the door and shutting it. "Now, is there something you need to tell me that no one else is allowed to know?"

     "I can't."

     "You can't, or you won't?"

     "Both." Natasha crossed her arms over her chest. "If you want to try and figure it out, I won't stop you. But that interview has already been erased from the files I can guarantee. Any evidence of Liliya ever being here is going to be gone within the next thirty seconds. I can't tell you anything just yet, Steve. But when I'm sure that it's all in the clear, you'll be the first person that I tell."

Steve watched the redhead for a moment. This was Natasha. If something was exchanged between her and Liliya and he wasn't allowed to know what it was, it must be a big enough thing that Natasha is keeping her promise, even if it was a promise that she made with the enemy. Finally, he nodded his head in understanding. He had to trust Natasha. And so, he would.

     "Fine." Steve nodded his head. "But if I figure it out, will you at least tell me whether or not I'm on the right track?"

     "I will. Only if you agree to do something."

     "Okay."

     Natasha looked at Steve, straightening her shoulders as she looked him dead in the eyes, her face completely serious. "Call the men off. No one else goes searching for Liliya."

     "You know I can't do that."

     "You have to. Or I'll get someone that will."

     The duo stood there for a few moments and Steve shook his head. This was insane. His thoughts went back to trust. Natasha was his friend. She didn't do anything without a reason. Finally, the blonde sighed and nodded his head. "Fine. I'll call them off for now."

     "Seventy-two hours, that's all I'm asking."

     "Seventy-two hours." Steve agreed before pulling open the door and walking out leaving Natasha to stand there by herself.