Natasha and Clint were sitting on a rooftop. It was nearly midnight, but neither of them could sleep. The agent was twisting an arrow between his fingers, looking towards the shiny Buda Castle with its crowded streets, elegant restaurants and noisy bars. For a strange moment, he felt the urge to stand up, scream, then jump down on the road, hoping that he might land on a double-decker bus which goes to the Castle. It looked so nice, so odd among the other buildings, like a glorious star fallen between the humanity’s claws.
Finally, Natasha broke the silence.
“You mentioned before that you have an inner man at S.H.I.E.L.D. Who is he?”
Clint scratched his neck before replying slowly, thinking before each word.
“His name is Nick Fury. Once I met him face to face, but he’s the kind of person whose secrets have secrets. He has a black patch over his left eye. He doesn’t really trust people.”
“I am sure he has a good reason to do so.”
“Yeah, probably. But maybe he has some serious reasons to have trusting issues, unlike you, who thinks that the Earth revolves around her.”
They sat there for another couple of minutes, watching a group of tourists, who didn’t seem to listen to the guide. Instead, they were laughing loud. When Natasha saw them, so happy, a small tear appeared in the corner of her eye. She quickly wiped it away.
“Can I ask you something?”
“You have already asked it.”
“Don’t make me slap you.”
“Fine, go ahead. I’m listening.”
“Why did you start working for S.H.I.E.L.D?”
“Ehm, that’s just a hot potato, but I guess you won’t stop asking until you get the answer, as you are annoying like a fly. When I was 15 years old, still in school, I found a letter full of anagrams. During the classes, I decoded the letter, and – don’t interrupt me or else I’ll stop – I also paid attention to whatever the teacher said. The next day, while I was on my way to school, a man in a penguin suit appeared. Okay, maybe not a penguin suit, just a fancy tuxedo. He told me they had seen how I decoded the letter, which, by the way, should’ve been impossible, they just wanted to check my logic. He also told me that if I wanted, I could join a pretty cool special corp. Of course, I said yes. They took me to some sort of a training camp where I learnt how to spy, how to fight and how to hide. Basic agent things.”
“That sounds like a fairy-tale. Finding a mysterious envelope, being lucky at reading nonsenses and entering the world’s best secret agency.”
“Believe it or not, that’s a part of my story. But please, impress me with yours.”
“There’s not too much to know about me. My ancestors were very rich, but they simply disappeared like they never existed. The family who raised me and my sister simply sent us to Russia. There were all sorts of tests, like from what distance you could shoot your target, how fast you could get out of a burning building, and of course, how strong you were. The ones who didn’t reach the minimum of 80% were taken to the laboratory where they experimented on them as if they were some sort of lab rats. I scored 100%, my sister got 90%. Because of this, we were separated. I was also trained. But I don’t want to talk about it.”
“It’s okay, I understand. Anyways, I…”
Clint was interrupted by the unmistakable sound of a S.H.I.E.L.D. gun…
Balázs-Blénessi-Pataki Kincső VIII.C
Very nice!