Ethan Voss sat casually at the dining table, leaning back in his chair with one leg crossed over the other as if he owned the place. His relaxed posture contrasted sharply with the tension hanging in the room.
"Natalie," he said calmly, glancing toward Natasha, "you know how strong I am."
"The only reason Dreykov dared to avoid paying the money he owes me is because I couldn't find him. If I could just see his face, I promise I'd beat the living hell out of him."
He waved his hand dismissively as if the matter were trivial.
"I don't care how many soldiers he commands."
Melina had never encountered someone so arrogantly confident before. She stared at Natasha with an expression that clearly asked where this idiot had come from.
Instead of sharing her disbelief, Natasha met Ethan's gaze with a serious expression.
"The Justice League," she said quietly. "How many people did you bring?"
"Enough to wipe out two Avengers teams," Ethan replied with a faint scoff.
Natasha narrowed her eyes slightly as she studied him.
"You knew my identity all along, didn't you?"
Ethan rubbed his chin thoughtfully before answering.
"More interesting than that," he said with a smile, "is when you realized that I already knew who you were."
"I started suspecting it a long time ago," Natasha replied.
She leaned back slightly, crossing her arms as she spoke.
"My boss always had strange reactions around me. It was like he wanted to push me into a corner and interrogate me, but at the same time he kept holding himself back."
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
"Your acting skills really aren't very good, Mr. Voss. We spend a lot of time together, and I happen to be a very observant female agent."
"Suspicion comes naturally in my line of work," she continued. "Especially when you accidentally called me Natasha several times. It almost felt like you were deliberately hinting at it."
"Did I?" Ethan said with exaggerated surprise.
He genuinely couldn't remember doing that, but Natasha spoke with such confidence that he almost believed her. For a moment he stared at her thoughtfully, wondering if this woman somehow carried the same plot armor as the protagonists in stories.
Then he tilted his head slightly.
"If you already knew I knew your identity," he asked curiously, "why were you surprised when I showed up just now?"
Natasha's expression remained calm.
"I thought you only knew my name or perhaps suspected someone had sent me," she replied. "I didn't realize you knew so much about my past."
Ethan laughed softly.
"I'm a very mysterious man," he said lightly. "You'll have to spend more time getting to know me."
Natasha was about to respond when her expression suddenly sharpened.
"Wait," she whispered. "Do you hear that?"
Both of them paused.
"That sounds like an aircraft."
Ethan turned toward Melina, who was still standing near the doorway in stunned silence. He casually brushed his fingers across the ruby ring on his hand.
"It seems Ms. Melina may have informed the Red Room," he said lightly.
Then he smiled faintly.
"But I believe she'll still help us in the end. Right?"
Melina blinked in surprise before quickly nodding.
"Of course," she said hurriedly. "I know what to do."
Not long afterward, Ethan and Natasha were tightly bound and thrown into the corner of a transport aircraft.
Natasha leaned closer and whispered quietly.
"Your men had better arrive soon."
Ethan glanced at her and chuckled.
"Relax," he replied calmly. "If they don't make it in time, then at least the two of us can be buried together."
Natasha rolled her eyes in irritation.
After a long flight, their destination finally appeared.
The legendary Red Room.
It was nothing like Natasha had described before.
Hidden among the clouds floated an enormous airborne fortress, a massive structure suspended high above the earth like some mechanical city.
Ethan stared at it with genuine amazement.
"You people at the Red Room and S.H.I.E.L.D. really are full of talented engineers," he said with a sigh.
He shook his head thoughtfully.
"But building such a huge flying base without even installing an energy shield is honestly ridiculous."
"One missile could send this entire thing crashing down."
"They've seriously taken the wrong direction in technological development."
Soon the aircraft landed.
Ethan and Natasha were escorted through the facility and brought directly before Dreykov.
To Dreykov, Natasha was clearly the main attraction. Ethan was nothing more than an afterthought.
Inside a lavishly decorated office, Dreykov sat behind a large desk. His head was nearly bald, with only slicked-back strands of hair remaining on the sides.
The moment he saw Natasha, a wide smile spread across his face.
"Natasha, my child," he said warmly. "One of my greatest creations."
"I've missed you."
Natasha's eyes burned with hatred.
"I've missed you too," she replied coldly. "I've wanted to see you dead."
Dreykov chuckled softly and leaned back in his chair.
"You're different now," he said calmly.
"You've become a traitor."
"You betrayed your people, your bloodline… and me."
His smile deepened.
"And look at you now. What have you gained?"
"Nothing."
"I gave you a home," he continued slowly. "I gave you affection."
"And how did you repay me?"
"You sent a bomb."
Natasha scoffed loudly.
"I didn't betray you," she said firmly. "I simply chose justice."
"My only regret is that the bomb didn't finish the job."
Dreykov smiled smugly.
"And what can you do now?"
"You ran away from home once before," he said calmly. "But now that you've come back, I won't let you escape again."
Natasha snorted in disdain.
"You?" she said coldly. "What can you possibly do?"
"You're nothing but a rat hiding in the shadows."
"One day someone will sweep you away like rotten garbage."
"You've never been worthy of the spotlight. You're just a parasite crawling through the darkness."
Dreykov's expression twisted with fury.
"You have no idea who I am!"
The normally composed man suddenly slammed open the drawer behind his desk, preparing to reveal something.
"Wait!"
Ethan abruptly interrupted him.
This idiot was ruining the performance he had carefully orchestrated with Natasha.
"Who are you?" Dreykov asked, finally turning his attention toward him.
Ethan flashed a wide smile.
"You might not know me," he said casually, "but I'm actually your pharmaceutical supplier."
"You've been late on several payments recently, so I came here to collect the debt."
Dreykov froze.
Debt?
His mind raced as he tried to recall whether any subordinate had arranged such a deal.
That would be an enormous embarrassment for the Red Room.
When had his organization started doing such disgraceful things?
Then another thought suddenly struck him.
Wait.
All of the Red Room's drugs were produced internally.
His eyes snapped toward Ethan with sharp suspicion.
Ethan continued pretending to be confused.
"Huh?" he said innocently. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
"Aren't you Dreykov?"
"Aren't you Dreykov from 250 Fifth Avenue, 13th Street, floor 250, room 250?"
Seeing that the man remained silent, Ethan shrugged casually while subtly touching the ruby ring on his finger.
"Oh," he said lightly. "It seems I came to the wrong place."
"My apologies."
Dreykov's anger was reaching its limit.
Just as he was about to explode, his tablet suddenly chimed with an incoming message.
Melina.
The message indicated she was acting suspiciously.
Dreykov instantly realized he had been betrayed once again.
He waved toward Taskmaster and the other operatives standing nearby.
"Go to the lower level and bring Melina back here," he ordered coldly.
Ethan winked at Natasha.
"The Justice League is about to launch their attack," he said quietly. "So tell me, are you going to save your sister, or stay here and watch me execute him?"
Natasha hesitated.
Ethan chuckled.
"Yelena and the other widows are still under his control," he said calmly. "If they fight back blindly, many of them could die."
"Of course," he added with a shrug, "if that doesn't bother you, then feel free to stay."
Natasha studied him carefully.
"I know what you're thinking," she said. "He has many secrets you want."
Ethan smiled.
"I've put in a lot of work," he said casually. "It's only fair that I collect some rewards."
"Save them or kill him. Choose."
Natasha had no choice.
Ignoring Dreykov's furious shouting behind her, she turned and rushed out of the room.
Once she was gone, Ethan calmly walked around the desk and sat down in Dreykov's chair.
Dreykov himself stood stiffly before him, his hands clasped obediently as if under some invisible command.
Ethan smiled faintly.
"Let's see how the show unfolds."
Dreykov immediately activated the internal surveillance system and pulled up the security feeds.
On the screens, Natasha was already fighting her way through waves of guards.
The soldiers surged toward her like an endless tide, almost overwhelming her.
Ethan shook his head slightly before raising his hand.
A circular portal opened in the air.
From it stepped Colossus, Wolverine, Pyro, Emil Blonsky, and several others.
Ethan pointed casually at the surveillance screens.
"Go help her."
The exact details of the battle didn't matter.
What mattered was the final result.
Eventually Natasha escaped aboard an aircraft with Yelena, Melina, and the other widows.
From the clouds behind them, the Red Room erupted in violent explosions, massive flames tearing through the floating fortress.
"You guys should be able to handle the rest," Ethan said calmly.
That was precisely why he had called Pyro.
Tonight's fireworks display needed a proper pyrotechnician.
As for creating explosions, that was the simplest task imaginable.
Following Ethan's earlier orders, the Red Room had already begun quietly drifting toward the nearest stretch of open ocean.
Fortunately the facility wasn't far from the coastline.
Before the final explosion destroyed it, the fortress would already be positioned above the sea.
Natasha would see the flames.
She would hear the explosions.
But she would never see the wreckage.
Just like what happened in Budapest all those years ago.
.....
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