Capítulo 28: Melina Vostokoff - The Real Black Widow
-----Phil POV------
The knight team finally arrived at the base with the Red Guardian's family. A woman and two girls. The girls are quite young barely 12-13 years old and the woman is barely 23-24 years old or at least they look like such.
I called everyone in the operations room. Hope tried to take the kids away but one of the girls had picked up a fruit knife from somewhere and threatened to stab her if Hope tried to touch her.
"Calm down little ones. You are in our base and this big sister got her father injured from your father. So she is quite angry. Let's not make her more. Okay?" I had to calm her down and threaten her a little.
"Calm down Natasha, let me talk to them. Nothing will happen girls. Stay Strong okay." The woman spoke and it lit up my brain like Christmas night.
"Natasha, Natasha Romanoff?" I asked the girl and she nodded.
I tried very hard not to laugh. This is the future sexy and deadly Black Widow. But look at her. Barely 13. Still picking up a fruit knife to threaten us. I somehow in this whole scary situation found the kid Natasha.
"Sorry, I read found this name in some report I read somewhere. Please introduce yourselves." I asked the woman while Martha is already running her facial scan through multiple soviet databases. I trust her not to lie but she will speak full truth, I doubt it.
"My name is Melina Vostokoff," the woman said "and I am Yelena Belova" the youngest girl jumped up. Even she is showing her angry little fists. Melina looked at her, sighed and continued.
"You must have already captured Alexi by now. So, you must know I am part of the team that was sent here to steal information from the SHIELD research centre. Our head, General Dreykov sent us to infiltrate, steal and return without making a noise. I am a trained spy but the girls are just orphans general arranged so we will look like a proper family."
"Yes, you do like a proper family and considering you did not abandon these girls and how they are trying to protect you and each other, it seems this fake family has become quite real. Also, no. We did not capture Alexi Shostakov. During a battle with our teams, he was sent to meet the god he believed in." I dropped the bomb on them noticing their facial movements.
While the youngest girl, Yelena seemed happy and smiled, Melina and Natasha were expressionless. Either they both can hide their emotions or this Alexi was not the part of the family they have become.
"You are just a trained spy? Where did they train you anyway??" I asked her.
Right behind her on the screen, all her information was listed out by Martha silently. She and the girls were facing their back to it but we all could see it clearly. Fury had already gotten up from his seat reading all her info and moved near the exit door. Basically covering her escape route.
Bucky walked close to me and sat down on a chair. Only Steve, this guy with a big heart, moved closer to kids to protect them from their adopted mother. This woman, Melina, is not just a trained spy.
She is a killer with too many kills under her belt. The list of the successful missions starts when she is barely 14 years old and that list is too long even when scrolled down. She is also a Master Scientist and top-level engineer having multiple PHDs in chemistry, engineering and biology fields.
"I was trained at a specific facility called Red Room four times. I am the best they have in firearms and hand to hand combat. I am a good sniper and know my way around some machines." She finally revealed some things about her but like I said, not the whole truth. I think I heard Fury chuckling in the back.
I pointed my finger at the back indicating her to turn and see the screen. She saw all her information that was supposed to be secret or hidden somewhere displayed on full screens. She could barely hold her expressions now. Her eyes widened and I think I saw her jaw falling on the floor.
"I think that is other things that you missed to tell us. Anyway, this is Nick Fury." I pointed toward Nick and he waved to her. "Nick here is a top agent in SHIELD and is quite passionate about Soviet spies. He did a few missions there himself. Now, Nick has a great record in getting information and while I do not want to harm you. Please don't make me send you with Nick to SHIELD." Nick grinned listening to this proposal.
If there is one thing that agents hate, it is the agents from other countries on their land. Yes, they feel proud of doing the same thing but if they caught an enemy spy, well all hell breaks loose and all the rules and regulations are only for books.
"Don't. Please. I don't want to go to SHIELD or Russia. They will not leave us alive. Alexi was their hero. If they find he is dead and I am sent there, they will never let me go. I will be hunted down and the girls will be sent to Red Room. Please. They are innocent and don't deserve this." She begged tearfully which suddenly made me the bad guy. Is she really crying or acting?
I know what she is saying is true. Natasha Romanoff will train in Red room and become a future Black widow and part of avengers but now, she is just barely a teenager. I can't send her back knowing and live with it. Besides, the other girl may die or become another black widow.
"Very well. Then tell me what is not mentioned in the files. Why were you chosen for this mission? Clearly, there must be other candidates but they chose you. Why?"
"I did some small research on neurotransmission model using certain chemicals and bio-genes. General Dreykov was impressed by my work and sent me here so I can help check the authenticity of any information we were able to gather. I am supposed to take all information later and create a mechanism to help control the human brain perfectly.
General Dreykov is aware of the SHIELD brainwashing research being done here in Ohio. Looking at the project, he got the idea of creating his own team of perfect and loyal soldiers."
Melina finally told us the whole story. We finally felt the gravity of the situation. Imagine if Howard and Hank never met this Alexi and he successfully completes his mission, this General Dreykov would have an army of puppet black widows.
"Natasha and Yelena, you can go with uncle Steve. He is the famous captain America and will never harm any kids. I need to talk to your mum here and I promise not to harm her or send her back." I talked to the girls and steve somehow smiled and took them away from the room. Hope also followed leaving Bucky and Fury and Me alone with her.
"Martha, bring up the scan of Howard's brain please," I ordered Martha after some thinking. Before we can find some neuro expert from any top hospital, I could take her opinion.
"See, this is our friend Howard's stark brain scan. He was injured by your Alexi and Howard is the founder of SHIELD. if anything happens to him, SHIELD will launch a full-on war on your Red Room. Even I cannot protect you from spending the rest of your life in prison, here in the US and the girls will simply be deported back. So, look at this and tell us what can we do to fix him." I showed her the scans.
Using the kids as a threat just after the promise I made was below the belt but this is the adult world. Promises are good as long as they serve the purpose. Knowing Steve won't be happy with the approach, I had to send him away.
Melina didn't say anything to us but focused on the scans. She knew the truth. This is just the game between the adults. She is an enemy, captured and if she has no value, why should we keep her alive?
15 minutes later after our patience was wearing thin, she finally spoke.
"I am sorry but his frontal lobe is damaged and other areas look fine. It is impossible for his brain to do any analytics or calculations and any long term planning is out of the question. He will walk and talk but not properly.
There is no cure for this as any surgery or medicine will affect the brain other areas too which might make his situation worse. As of now, the brain can still heal itself in 20-30 years but if we do anything, it might compromise his immune system."
"So, we can do nothing but let him live like a retard and in 20-30 years hopefully when he is too old to care, he will become normal?" I asked angrily.
Imagine a scientist whose whole career and life have been focused on the research part is suddenly turned from a genius to a school student. Learning how to walk and talk, might end up killing him. Fuck!
'Wait! What if a super serum is injected into him? You have to know, these serums apart from giving the superhuman physique, boost our immunity system and prevent the DNA decay rate.' I was thinking this when Martha informed me in my key piece that Howard has woken up.
"Miss Melina your fake husband has turned a SHIELD founder into a cripple and even you know there is no cure for this. I am sorry but for now, you give me nothing to work with." I was really getting into the bad guy role now. I am going to squeeze every piece of info or benefit from this woman before I let myself feel any pity for her.
"I am sorry but all my research and things are in these Red Room files. I have nothing else to offer. I know I am not getting out of this alive but just promise me that you won't harm the kids. The girls deserve a normal childhood."
'Wait, this is not how it is supposed to work. She is supposed to offer to work for me and give me some super-secret information that can help me destroy the Red Room. Why are you not following the script?' I am screaming inside my head.
"Don't you any information about your base or weapons? There must be something of value that you can think of. Anyway, we don't have a holding cell here and the best thing I can do is to put you and girls together alone in a medic room. Why don't we use this time to freshen up your memory?" I said and send her to a medic room with Bucky. Fury left the exit open now and came towards me.
"You know, she can tell she is going to be put down and yet you send her to her fake daughters? You, Ryan Phillip are one scary mother****. I heard all the details about Hydra in the last hour and the list you have, if true, can eliminate more than 40% of all SHILED agents and other personnel. What are we going to do about them?" Fury asked.
"We!"
"Of course. You don't think I am going back to the snake pit are you. You asked me to come here and looking at the girl acting as operations head, I know why. You have 3 super soldiers, 2 human birds, Hank Pym and yourself in enginnering and Martha here can hack any online platform in the planet. You have a small but very deadly operations team with no one to supervise or control. You are basically the most powerful group of people, free from all politics and I think this is where I want to be."
"Oh! It's great to hear that Fury. But I am also going to add myself in the future super soldier team. I recently found myself holding something called a Obelisk that transformed me like this. So, I am not going to keep myself behind the desk. And for you to take over the operation head position, you must talk to Hank's daughter, Hope. Good luck!"
'Well, Howard is not in the right mind to tell anyone about missing super serum vials now. And the obelisk can work on some inhumans. I think I should look for them. They are closest to mutants in this world and every team need some real super heroes.' I thought to myself and walked towards Medic room.
The future is changing and for better or worse, I should prepare in advance.
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