2006. Location unknown.
In a small room with only a bathroom besides a bed, a chair, and a table, a solitary camera in the corner watched its sole occupant. A teenager of about seventeen, thin, wearing a simple T-shirt and pants that served more to cover his nakedness than to emphasize his individuality. Numerous injection marks were visible on his exposed arms. Several trays of food stood nearby, untouched.
The iron door, which hadn't been opened for several days (the last time it had been opened only to pass food), swung open with a loud creak. A man in military uniform stood on the threshold.
— Ledov. Run to the exit, they're waiting for you.
As he emerged from his abode of the past few years, the teenager noticed several nervous people ready to use tasers if he made any sudden movements.
He was quickly led through the corridors—which was surprising and not particularly typical of such jailers. They practically kicked him toward the medical wing. When he arrived, everything became clear.
A little girl of about eight lay on the operating table, hooked up to numerous machines. Her entire body was one massive burn, as if she'd been pulled out of a fire, and her arm, all the way up to the elbow, was noticeably missing. Looking at this, Alexander couldn't understand how she was even alive. One thing was clear: if she were disconnected from life support now, she would die within minutes.
"There you are," the jailer himself caught his attention from the side, standing in the shadows so that his face was hidden. But after all these years, he recognized Dreykov's voice without a problem. "Help her quickly."
The two people who were there reloaded their machine guns, clearly hinting that the work needed to be done faster.
Ledov approached the girl and began examining her. A lot of work lay ahead just to keep her alive, and restoring her to her original state would be even more difficult.
Only one thought haunted him: "Who are you that even Dreykov himself is so worried about you?"
After palpating the patient, he extended his arms and began to concentrate. The water, which had been lying in a basin nearby, began to rise as a mass and move toward the teenager.
Just as he was about to begin work, the general's test subject stopped.
"What are you waiting for?" Dreykov began to say angrily, closely watching the teenager's every move. "Get started, faster."
The boy's face was practically devoid of emotion. With a heavy sigh, he uttered one word:
- No.
— What do you mean "no"?
To make sure the question got through to the right person, one of the soldiers walked up and hit him from behind with the butt of his rifle, causing all the flying water to scatter and become a regular puddle on the floor.
Ledov, curled up, lay on the floor and said with pain in his voice:
- I won't do that.
The Red Room's leader lost control and emerged from the shadows. He grabbed the teenager by the shirt and lifted him up. The boy's systematic malnutrition and lack of exercise allowed him to do this.
"You seem to have forgotten who's boss here, you little brat," the general's face was covered in bandages, revealing that he, too, had recently suffered a facial burn. "You're only alive thanks to my kindness. If it weren't for me, a worthless piece of work like you would have been dead long ago."
He threw the guy to the floor with force and even kicked him.
"Quickly do what keeps you alive. If you're of no use to me, I see no point in keeping you here."
The soldier who had struck him with the butt of his rifle aimed his rifle at the young man. Seeing this, a smile appeared on Dreykov's face , but it disappeared within a few seconds.
- Ha-ha-ha-ha...
The laughter was quiet at first, but gradually grew louder, until it became almost maniacal. As soon as Ledov finished laughing, his crazed gaze turned to the jailers.
"Should I be grateful to you?" This caused another wave of laughter. "For what? Because I've been practically sitting in a cage for years now? Because you've been experimenting on me? Or because you're using me to get rid of your competitors?"
Alexander's gaze suddenly became hard, causing the water in the area to begin to move again.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A small burst fired at the ceiling cooled the young mutant's anger and forced him to look at the barrel, from which a light smoke was coming.
"If you don't do what I tell you, you'll get a bullet in the head. This is your last warning."
Dreykov, knowing how the threat of death affects people, was a little surprised when the teenager, after a little thought, slowly leaned his head against the barrel of the machine gun.
"Go ahead," the prisoner said with a newfound determination. "Shoot. I have nothing to lose anyway."
The soldier looked at his superior, trying to figure out what to do.
"COME ON!" Alexander shouted, the emotions that had been pent up for years finally finding their outlet. "SHOOT, YOU FUCKING MAN!"
Seeing this, the soldier decided to help the guy with his request and was about to shoot, but he himself received a blow from the enraged Dreykov .
"Are you an idiot? Think about what you're doing!" The leader of the Red Room was furious with his subordinate, but right now he was more concerned with another question directed at the boy. "What do you want?"
Realizing that Ledov could not be intimidated by threats now, he changed tactics.
"Freedom," one word, and so much hope was invested in it.
"Do you want freedom?" The general grabbed the boy by his dirty, unwashed hair and looked him straight in the eyes. "Cure her and you'll be free."
Removing his hand, he wiped it with a napkin from his pocket.
- No.
— What do you mean "no"?
- No matter what I do, you still won't be happy.
Their eyes met, and the leader of the secret spy organization even smirked slightly.
- Hm. You did learn something after all.
— Yes. So the conditions are: I'll do everything I can, and in exchange you'll let me go.
Under other circumstances, Dreykov would have already sent this guy off for another torture session, but looking at his daughter lying on the table and realizing that the teenager in front of him was perhaps the only chance to save her, he had no choice.
— I give you my word: as soon as you do the maximum, I will let you go... and I will not pursue you.
He added the last thing, seeing that this question would follow, and did not waste time.
"Well, now we'll find out what your word is worth," said Ledov, already standing up and starting to get to work.
And he tried his best to help this poor thing. Long hours of work and she could be disconnected from the equipment. Alex was able to repair her body, but he didn't know what would happen to her mind.
Only when he was finishing the operation did he learn that he had saved the daughter of the man he hated with a passion.
*****
The quiet hum of the Quinjet was the only sound as the three Avengers flew through Russian airspace.
Alex was pulled out of his painful memories by Clint's question:
- Maybe you could tell me where we're flying to?
The archer's question was reasonable, and it was necessary to bring him up to speed.
After checking the autopilot, Alex turned around and looked at the pair of dangerous killers.
— Before the final stage of Project Insight, the Hydra cell in Russia received orders to disrupt the Russian government—to prevent it from suddenly destroying the helicarriers with nuclear weapons.
The two spies' eyes widened in realization: while Hydra was dealing with its opponents in America, other global players could take advantage of this to increase their influence and get rid of the dangerous competitor in the United States.
"At that very moment, Anna was in the city with her guards, signing some documents," Natasha merely said , "Later," to Clint's questioning look about who it was. "She was attacked by General Dreykov's detachment . A certain notable person was involved."
Alex pulled out his phone and handed it to the couple. It contained a video of Natasha's sister fighting in the city, close combat with someone in a suit unknown to the killers. Seeing this, Natasha's hands trembled slightly.
"In short, everything started spinning. Drake and a Hydra squad, who arrived later, attempted to eliminate Anna. I don't know if it was planned or not, but Hydra and Drake made their moves simultaneously. Hydra attacked the government, while Drake launched several attacks on my buildings and complexes," Alex spread his arms in satisfaction. "But I wasn't idle either. The current top brass survived thanks to my serums and the rapid response team, which was in the right place at the right time. My people followed protocol and prevented a series of explosions, capturing several saboteurs."
Natasha listened to Alex, but she already knew much of this because they had already discussed it. This whole story was more for Clint's benefit.
"Is everything the same with her?" Natasha's question was about Elena.
"Yes. She's still in the coma we put her in," Natasha didn't like the wording, but knowing it wasn't done without reason, she wasn't upset. "She was shot several times, but my people got her to the facility, and she's not in any danger right now. She's in a condition where she poses no threat."
Clint listened attentively and glanced at his battle comrade, trying to understand her reactions, and was surprised by her calmness.
— And so, while unrest is happening all over the world, we can finish the issue with one general who is constantly getting in the way.
- Do you want to kill Dreykov ?
Natasha's look was on the verge of madness, but she hid it well.
"Now is the best time to deal with him, and if anything happens, we can blame everything he did on Hydra or someone else without fear of consequences."
— And for this, you and Stark took time to prepare?
" Pfft , of course not," Alex answered Clint's question, checking his phone. "If all goes well, the Red Room issue will be closed by evening, and we won't fire a single shot."
The two former S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives looked at Alex's smug face with bewilderment as he didn't elaborate on the plan.
- Maybe you could clarify what we should expect?
- No. Your natural reactions will speak much more eloquently than simple confidence.
S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives exchanged glances. While Clint was simply wary of all this, Natasha was experiencing a mixture of emotions: on the one hand, she simply wanted to trust Alex, on the other, she wanted to take the gun and extract his plans from him.
The rest of the journey passed in silence, and after only half an hour of flight, the quinjet began to slow. An aerial complex, hidden among the clouds, came into view. A large station, supported by a thruster beneath, could accommodate many people and had several missile launchers pointed in their direction. If you didn't know what to look for, it was easy to miss.
Alex, sitting in the pilot's seat, organized a communication session.
Dreykov himself appeared on the other side. His face showed he was tired and had likely been without sleep for a couple of days.
— Good afternoon, General. How are you?
Clint's hand was squeezed tightly by his partner as Natasha saw the face of the man she hated.
"Oh, it's you. You've come to visit, and aren't you afraid my missiles will shoot you down?"
Compared to previous calls, the situation was different, and the Russian hero could allow himself to smile brazenly.
"Since I came here, you must understand that I've known for a long time where you've been hiding. If I had my way, I could have sent a decent salvo of surface-to-air missiles at your souls, destroying your base. But I didn't. I hope you can appreciate this gesture."
There was no sign of gratitude in Dreykov's words .
- What do you want?
Clint saw how the general's face immediately became serious after the words about missiles, compared to Alex's satisfied face.
- Your complete surrender.
For a couple of seconds everyone was silent, not believing what was said.
"Capitulation?" Dreykov sneered. "I'd rather die than surrender to the likes of you."
- You don't seem to understand that we have already won.
Everyone looked at Ledov with a little bewilderment.
"Your friends are being arrested right now. Your money and that of your friends are being frozen in official records or simply disappearing from secret accounts."
Natasha grinned, clearly understanding where exactly the money was disappearing to and what Alex was getting at.
"Even if you take a risk now and manage to somehow kill us," Alex's entire facial expression said he wouldn't succeed, "in just a couple of hours, an army of iron armor will come for your soul, along with a squad of gods from Asgard , from whom you won't be able to hide."
Dreykov was no idiot and understood that Ledov's words were true, and he didn't particularly like this scenario.
"You've probably forgotten, but I command numerous Widows all over the world who could carry out numerous terrorist attacks and create enormous chaos. Are you really prepared for thousands of deaths?"
Alex, in response to this argument, folded his hands together, as if in supplication.
- I hope you do it!
"WHAT?!" was the question that all the witnesses to the conversation involuntarily uttered.
"I'm asking you," Alex shook his hands violently in front of the camera, "I beg you. Free the Widows, create this chaos that will allow me to do whatever I want."
Dreykov's face disappeared. The other Avengers looked at Alex with disbelief.
- You don't seem to quite understand...
" Oh , General, I understand. You'll create a ton of problems for the world, which the Avengers will solve over the next few years, earning even more reputation and influence in the world."
The general began to frown, imagining the picture Alex was painting for him.
- Then I'll kill them all with one click of a button.
Natasha's eyes widened in shock at Dreykov's words .
"That's also a good option. Even better," Alex countered. "It'll be easier for me to push my ideas when I have such a shining example of a terrible shadow ruler like you."
The Avengers saw the general's hand move as if it had come off some panel.
"You can do everything you said. Create chaos and kill a bunch of people. I'll use this to advance my own goals, and I'll promote people who are convenient for me. My influence in the world will be far greater than you can imagine."
Clint, listening to this, looked with distrust at the man whom everyone considered a hero.
"Thanks to you, I will hammer the final nail into the Soviet Union's return, and you, General, will become the man for whom this country will be hated for generations to come. Any revanchist sentiment will be suppressed by your name alone."
Alex smiled at the angry reaction as he hit Dreykov's sore spot .
— Many years from now, when all these events become history, in all textbooks General Dreykov will be on the same list as the most terrible people in the world, including those from Hydra.
- NO! You won't do this!
"You won't be able to kill us, you won't be able to defeat us," Alex looked intently into the general's eyes, continuing his tirade. "The question remains of the price of your defeat and how you will be remembered after your death."
The general's breathing became heavy. He removed his glasses to wipe the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead. But then Alex decided to finish him off.
"Think about your daughter. What will it be like for her to live knowing that her daddy was one of the most terrible people in the world?"
"Don't touch HER!" The former Soviet general's eyes would have killed Alex if they could.
"I'm not going to. I'm not the kind of person who tortures children to achieve their own ends," Alex said, whoever he was talking about needlessly explaining to everyone present. "She'll find out everything herself from the news, and then from history books, which will vividly describe all your actions."
The general's eyes simply blazed with rage, but with each minute of his reflection, his already aging body began to calm down, and he tried to regain control.
"Besides, I've learned a lot since our last face-to-face meeting. Who knows how your daughter will react when, over time, her intellect matches her physical body."
The last comment completely broke the general's will, and he covered his face with his hand and began to think.
After a few minutes of tense silence, he finally spoke.
- What do you want?
"As I said—your capitulation. The Cold War between our countries is over, General. Now we face another war."
Dreykov's face .
— Provide my people with full access to the database. They'll be with you in a couple of minutes.
Alex turned off the connection and leaned back tiredly in his chair, starting to rub his temples from the headache that had begun from such tension.
Clint was surprised when Natasha stood up, walked over to the would-be diplomat, gently placed her hands on his shoulders, and began whispering something in his ear. Clint couldn't hear what she said, but he assumed it was something reassuring.
— I would be grateful if you could explain to me what is going on here.
Natasha decided to answer her friend, still holding her hands reassuringly on Ledov's shoulders.
"Like Alex said, you and I will complete the mission that started my work at S.H.I.E.L.D. And if all goes well, we can finish it all without firing a single shot."
Their conversation was interrupted by the appearance of five Quinjets , which emerged from their cloaking, began landing on the platform, and unloading soldiers. They began to enter the airbase in formation.
"Dreykov was definitely preparing for our arrival," Alex tenderly kissed Natasha's fingers, thanking her for her support, and directed the ship to the pad. "So let the guys check the area, and then we'll talk to him calmly."
— I thought we were here to kill him.
Having landed the quinjet on the pad, Alex stood up and headed towards the exit.
Dreykov's life hasn't been raised yet."
*****
The current main base of the Red Room was a jumble of corridors and rooms designed for the operatives and scientists stationed at the facility. Plain iron walls with cells throughout gave the impression of a prison rather than a clandestine operations center.
Now, walking through the corridors, Alex walked with a confident gait, followed by the former S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives , who kept a close eye on their surroundings. The absence of gunfire anywhere confirmed that Dreykov had taken his surrender seriously. But that didn't stop Alexander from keeping a few water balloons hovering above him, while the others stood ready to fight at any moment.
The small army Alex brought calmly took over the complex without any serious resistance. The guards surrendered, and there were no female units in sight.
- So, everything you told Dreykov was a lie?
Clint followed Alex, but kept glancing at his friend, who felt uneasy here, even though she was in this place for the first time.
"No. Everything I said was true. It's just that if we tried to storm this complex, he would definitely carry out one of his threats—just to stop us."
As much as Barton hated to admit it, Ledov was right. Dreykov would have wanted to go out gracefully if he were facing simple death.
— What if your plan hadn't worked?
"The complex would have been captured. Many people would have suffered. Dreykov would have been dead. He would have done something nasty as a last resort. He knew it himself. Luckily for us, he now had a worse alternative."
Natasha just grinned.
"Become the kind of person you scare little children with when they don't want to go to bed." Natasha smiled slyly as she described Dreykov . "You're a monster."
Ledov stopped abruptly and began to stare hard and intently into Romanov's face . Coming very close to her, he played on her emotions a little and smiled contentedly.
- What terrible words the beauty says to me.
Natasha's momentary hesitation—and then understanding dawned in her eyes, bringing a satisfied smile to both their faces. Suddenly, their faces began to move closer.
"Hey, you fairy tale characters!" Clint was confused. "Have you forgotten where we are?"
Alex just chuckled contentedly and turned his head back to Natasha, who had regained control.
"Isn't it better to explore the complex this way? Slowly, calmly, knowing your enemy is already just sitting there waiting for you to arrive."
After his words, Alex froze for a few seconds, then took out the microphone.
— The plan is changing. Bring Dreykov to me.
Having given their approximate coordinates, the group continued exploring the complex until they spotted a squad of Dreykov's mercenaries lying bound in front of the door; standing next to them were several of Ledov's men, whose sole purpose was to kill the enemy if they moved.
After checking on the situation, Alex learned that several units refused to surrender and had begun barricading themselves to hold the line and avoid capture. Telling his men not to get into trouble, he moved on, entrusting the matter entirely to his subordinates.
After walking a little further, the group of Avengers entered the hall and were stunned.
Several dozen young girls, dressed in clothes that showed that they were Widows, stood and stared at one point, completely motionless.
Seeing this, Natasha rushed to one of them and tried to help, but she couldn't do anything. They simply didn't respond. A single tear appeared on the cheek of one of the Widows before Natasha, evoking a tremendous anger in her that Alex and even the stunned Clint had never seen before.
- I'll kill him.
And she quickly headed off in an unknown direction. She didn't respond to requests to stop, so Alex grabbed her arm, almost getting punched in the face for it, but at the last moment Natasha managed to stop herself.
"I understand you're in pain," he pulled Natasha close and began gently stroking her back. "But it won't help you now. You'll only make things worse. What if he's the only one who knows how to help them?"
This argument brought her back to her senses a little. While the couple was recovering, Clint watched it all with mute shock and disbelief: his battle-hardened friend, whom he'd known for years, had allowed another man to embrace her like that and show such tenderness.
When the emotional rush was over, they continued their exploration of the complex.
*****
Having found a beautiful room with expensive furniture and several bookcases, which was clearly intended for quiet negotiations, Alex decided to meet Dreykov here.
— How did you even find this base in the clouds?
Clint, even though he was sitting in one of the chairs, kept an eye on all possible attack sites.
— Well ... I have a friend who's a psychic in Asgard . He can find practically anyone from a photograph.
The two spies looked questioningly at the Water Lord.
- Okay, okay, this is Heimdall .
Clint and Natasha looked at each other, checking to see if they were hearing the same thing.
— So you're calling the powerful ally Thor spoke of simply a "psychic"?
The spy's gaze clearly showed her distrust of his words.
"I did it out of love. I showed him the photo, and he found it for me. That's all. And then I just started tracking the location of that base."
Natasha and Clint even briefly covered their faces with their hands from the madness of what they heard.
Before they could discuss the matter, guests arrived. Four soldiers were escorting a single man, no longer resembling the stern and dangerous general. It looked as if his clothes had been removed and quickly re-dressed, simply to cover him up. His shirt was buttoned a couple of buttons, his pants were sagging, and his shoes were unlaced, and Dreykov didn't even have socks on. There was no sign of any elaborate accessories. The soldiers clearly knew what they were doing and checked him thoroughly.
"I'm so glad you joined us, General," Alex said happily. "How are you?"