Ch72. Last target

Months passed since Natasha's first 'crusade' and since then, she was on multiple others, neither lasting as long as her first.

Her first outing served her well in order to realize she did not wish to separate from Tony for more than... well, she would like to tell herself her limit was a week but even now, she missed him only after a day passed since she left home.

Natasha was currently in Roanapur, a crime city in Thailand. The city where all sorts of social rejects and criminals found their refuge, outside of the reach of the law.

A cozy place... at least for someone like her.

She really had no idea why she never visited after she ran away from the Red Room. If she did, she would probably never have been conscripted by SHIELD and her life would be one petty theft or assassination of one meaningless crime boss after another.

It made her inwardly wryly smile at how different her life could have been.

Natasha was currently walking through the hall of the best hotel in the city, wearing a cheap revealing red dress... unlike on her previous missions for SHIELD when she had to get into a role of a prostitute in order to get to her target through the security, she picked somewhat at least half-decent.

Even if her face was obstructed by an illusion... since everybody knew how Natalie Rushman looked, courtesy of the media... getting into a full slutty get-up made her feel a bit guilty so she opted to tone it down despite her instincts telling her not to.

Thankfully, she had finished her intermediate illusionary sorcery training a month ago and could help herself with more advanced versions of these kinds of spells now.

It didn't take her long to reach the reason for her outfit.

Two big and burly men of Russian origin stood in front of a door to a room, diligently guarding it despite annoyance written on their faces.

Natasha did not want to stir a lot of trouble. Not when it meant Tony having to clean up after her. In her last few months, she exercised a bit more discrete approach...

Well, except that time when she bombed...

Ugh. And maybe also except that time when she entered a bar full of people and started a shoot-out...

Er... And there just might have been a time when she was kinda forced to infiltrate Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom and it ended in a chase throughout London...

Okay. She might not have been the perfect picture of subtlety but she was always efficient!

Anyway, this time would be different. She wholeheartedly believed so.

The man behind those doors was the last piece of shit she had to deal with. After him... freedom from the past and lots of Tony time. She couldn't wait.

Natasha reached the room with her target and as expected, the two burly Russians promptly ordered her to stop.

"This room is off-limits." One of them said in a no-nonsense tone while the other gave her once over and silently swore in Russian.

Natasha almost pitied the two guys. Guarding somebody with a predisposition to constantly call for random whores was a thankless job. The guy who stopped her was most likely new and the one who swore already knew how this will end.

Natasha put her best helpless expression on her face, "B-But... I am sure that Mr," She looked at a small paper in her hand, "Kovalinskij, ordered and already paid for our services." She said timidly, avoiding eye contact and having her eyes directed submissively downward.

The two men blankly stared at her for a moment, trying to comprehend what kind of bullshit they had just heard... only for the more experienced guy to swear once again, this time more vehemently.

Natasha would not do a rookie mistake. She made sure to 'borrow' the identity of the woman Kovalinskij requested and also made sure he paid beforehand. If he didn't the guards would still be able to turn her around. After all, their boss would not be losing any money. But since she was already paid for...

"Just... go and ask that asshole what's going on." The more experienced guard unamusedly said and the less experienced one straightened his back.

"Yes, sir!" He briefly saluted before opening the door and marching inside.

It was... interesting spectacle. Natasha gave the remaining guard a subtle once over, masking her actions by nervously looking around, and realized these two men were definitely trained in the army.

'Heh, so these are not Kovalinskij's men.' Natasha inwardly wryly smirked. 'I guess there will be a commotion happening afterward no matter what I do, eh? Just my luck.'

It didn't take long for the less experienced guard to come out, sporting a frown... and Natasha was allowed inside.

'Oldest trick in the books and yet it still works against every gangster wannabe.' She hummed in amusement, giving the room a seemingly curious once over. In reality, she was mapping the escape routes and possible spots where she could take cover if a shootout happened. It was frankly instinct by now.

To be honest, there were numerous ways to get inside without the guards even seeing her now that she had magic. Well, for portal creation she would have to know the coordinates of the room first but that could be acquired through numerous ways even though she was not as advanced as the Ancient One who could simply use her hocus-pocus to get even the coordinates of different dimensions from the safety of her living room.

But since Natasha was not some extraordinary prodigy like Tony, she had to do it the old fashion spy way. She preferred this kind of infiltration over some magic flex anyway. It felt more natural for her.

The feeling of smugness at just waltzing in through the main door might or might not have been a reason of its own...

Natasha passed through the hall and entered the bedroom where her 'client' was already waiting in the bed. Upon seeing her... or rather, upon seeing the face of the woman he requested... he gave Natasha a coquettish smile.

"Finally! I already thought you would not come." Kovalinskij spoke in a heavy Russian accent but the undertone of excitement was plain to hear in it.

Natasha gave him a playful smile at that, "Oh, I wouldn't miss this for anything."

Kovalinskij grinned, utterly unaware of the horrible fate that awaited him.

---

Author Note:

Yeaaah, the Black Widow movie is kinda not a thing in this fanfic. Sorry, guys.