Chapter 95 – Self-Deception?

Alexei spoke up:"Little Natasha… already fed on Western ideas."

Natasha replied:"I didn't choose the West for its ideology."

Alexei raised an eyebrow:"Really? Then was it for some mission?"

Natasha ignored his mockery and asked:"Tell me where the Red Room is."

Alexei glanced at her, then at John Wick and Smith Doyle in the helicopter, and said:"I don't know."

Natasha narrowed her eyes and said coldly:"You know I'm not above a little interrogation…"

Alexei quickly waved his hands."I really don't know."

Natasha sat directly in front of him."Come on. You and Dreykov—"

Alexei cut her off."Dreykov? General Dreykov? My friend? My glory…""The Soviet Union's first and only super soldier.""I could've been more famous than Captain America. But instead, he buried me in Ohio for that stupid mission.""Three years!""So dull. It drove me mad."

Meeting her gaze, Alexei added:"No offense."

He meant the three years he'd posed as Natasha and Yelena's father.

"And then he threw me in prison for the rest of my life. Why? Why did he lock me away?""You know why?""Maybe because I spoke about this country's decline, maybe because I mocked his hair, who knows…""I just wanted the Party to feel like a real Party again, not a hollow shell.""But instead? No.""He locked me up and ran.""And I'm not even the one who killed his daughter."

Natasha's eyes widened. Could Alexei have ended up in prison because of her?Then she asked sharply:"You mean Dreykov threw you in prison after his daughter died?"

Alexei nodded."That's right. Somebody bombed his office. His daughter died in the blast. In his rage, he threw me here and ran off himself."

Natasha's heart sank. That meant Dreykov hadn't died, and the Red Room hadn't been destroyed — it had all been a lie. Still, she turned to Smith for confirmation.

Smith said calmly:"Dreykov's daughter isn't dead."

Alexei was shocked."She survived?"

He then looked at Natasha."You're trying to find the Red Room?"

Natasha nodded firmly.

Alexei sighed."They locked me up. You really think I'd know where he hid his base?"

Smith interjected:"Since you understand Dreykov lives, our next step is to see Melina."

Alexei blinked."Melina?""…Yes, we should see her. If you want Dreykov, you can't avoid her.""She's been working for him much longer than I ever did.""I think she lives on a farm outside Saint Petersburg."

Natasha's voice cracked."She… she's still working for Dreykov?"

At that moment, she realized everything she'd believed in S.H.I.E.L.D. was a lie. She'd thought the Red Room was gone, Dreykov dead, Melina dead, even his daughter dead — and blamed herself for all of it.

But now she saw it was all false. Her fake father was thrown in prison, her sister was still controlled, her real mother killed by Dreykov, her fake mother still working for him.

Was her supposed redemption through S.H.I.E.L.D. just… self-deception?

Still flying the chopper, John Wick glanced at the fuel gauge and said:"Fuel's enough to reach Saint Petersburg."

Alexei asked, curious:"Natasha, why are you looking for Dreykov?"

Natasha glanced at him and said coldly:"Yelena is still under his control. I need to rescue my sister, kill Dreykov, and destroy the Red Room."

Alexei almost scoffed at her naivety — then he looked at Smith Doyle."…With him here, I suppose you really do have the guts to destroy the Red Room.""Yelena… she later became the world's most efficient child assassin. Her ruthlessness and skill are unmatched. But what do you mean, controlled?"

Natasha explained:"A neurological virus that suppresses her will."

Alexei muttered:"Disgusting tactics. Fine, I'll help you however I can."

At her skeptical look, Alexei straightened and said firmly:"Don't doubt the resolve of the Red Guardian."

Elsewhere.

At Melina's home, a simple maze stood in the yard, with pigs running through it.

Holding a tablet, Melina issued commands."Straight ahead. Slight right."

As each pig emerged from the maze, she handed out snacks."Good job, my darlings."

Then the roar of a helicopter caught her attention. Looking up, she spotted a camouflaged armed chopper descending toward her property.

She frowned, opened the gate, and called to the pigs:"Get to safety. Quickly now."

The pigs obediently scurried into a nearby shelter.

Melina then went to her weapons room and began arming herself. Whoever was coming, it sure wasn't Dreykov.

Through her scope, she saw Alexei, Natasha, and two unfamiliar men exit the chopper.

Recognizing two familiar faces, she set her scope down.

The four approached her house. Standing behind the fence, Alexei called out:"Darling, we're home!"

Melina emerged, then turned back toward the house."Come with me."

She opened the door, letting them in."Welcome to my humble home. Don't be shy."

Then, glancing at Smith and John, she asked:"…And these two handsome gentlemen are?"

(End of Chapter)

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