For the most part, the dead stay dead. But what about the dead
secrets in your past? Aleski thought that once the Red Room was
truly defeated, she would be able to live a new, normal life. But
she was wrong once, and she was about to be wrong again. Years
after Natasha had destroyed the Red Room, Aleski was an adult. She
had a normal job as a bounty hunter for the police. This job took
her near a certain company, that, unbeknownst to her, held someone
who would know exactly who she was.
Aleski's motorcycle pulled up in front of the building. Her
brunette ponytail swung from side to side as she hopped off and
began walking towards the huge building in front of her, sunglasses
hiding her eyes. Behind the lenses, she narrowed her eyes. "Should
be somewhere around here, at least that's what the tip said," she
muttered, slowing down.
Olivia was walking down the halls of the building, her heels
clicking on the tiled floor. She was holding a clipboard, as she
always did to jot down information. After Natasha had defeated the
Red Room, she had moved to the states with her father in his
company. She did keep in touch with the other widows, always wanted
to make sure they were adjusting well to the regular community.
Everything had been normal and calm, until she got paid
an..unexpected visit.
Aleski reached the front doors of the building, her fingers curling
into a fist as she rapped her knuckles against the door, leaning
slightly on one foot, hand not knocking on the door resting on her
hip, fingers wrapped around the gun in the holster at her side.
Inside, she prayed she'd get an answer soon. This was a minor
perpetrator, so while the payoff wasn't huge, she was hoping to
move onto bigger jobs.
Olivia wasn't too far from the door, so she heard the knock fairly
quickly. Hesitantly, she made her way to the door, her hand
gripping a pistol in her back pocket. She reached for the door,
opening it just enough to get a look at the person. "Did Mr.Oran
send you?" She asked calmly.
"Unfourtanetly, no." Aleski's free hand went to her pocket, and she
flipped open her badge. "I'm with Dasker's Bail Bonds Service, and
I'm hunting a missing person right about now. Nothing too serious,
just a petty theft who got too big for his britches and decided to
run off. It's the protocol to let those in the area know,
especially with a thief and big companies like this one." She
paused and took off her sunglasses. "Do I know you?"
She opened the door a bit further, looking Aleski up and down.
"I...could say the same about you" She said, a bit suspiciously.
"What's your name, if you don't my asking" She said, moving her
hand away from the gun. She assumed this... visitor was safe
enough.
"Aleski Ivanov, Bounty Hunter," she said slowly. Her hand remained
on her gun, this time not casually but reaching into the holster.
The other hand put away her badge but hung at her side. She
couldn't shake this strange, nagging feeling she had about the
woman who was speaking.
"Olivia Oran. Did you want to come in, check the area for any sign
of this..bounty of yours?" She asked calmly, though she wasn't sure
if she just wanted to let a stranger waltz around the building.
Her hand relaxed, and she crossed her arms. "No ma'am, just letting
you know in case he gets dangerous and attempts to pull a gun on
me. I've only been a bounty hunter for a few years, but I've seen
cases where the panicked vigilante's aim will worsen and will end
up going through buildings. The tip I got told me he plans to meet
up with a buddy of his to get on the road to skipping town about a
block from here."
She nodded slowly. "I...see. Well, I can accompany you if needed,
I'm never really busy here, and can use a gun" She said
nonchalantly, opening the door a little further.
"Yeah, well, I've had time to figure things out," she said
carefully. Someone else not from around here? That could mean
anything, but with this nagging feeling Aleski had..."Well," she
said, "I don't have a lot of time, but, where exactly are you
from?"
She hesitated. "I..don't tell that to just anyone" She said,
rubbing her arm. "I can tell you're on a strict time limit, so I'll
let you be on your way"
Olivia shut the door, still unable to shake the feeling of
familiarity, and Aleski not being from around the area doesn't help
the feeling. She'd have to search around later, and hope her
assumptions were wrong.
That night, Aleski collasped onto the ratty couch in her apartment.
She was exhausted, even with her abilities from...that time, she
still had trouble with this one. Even though he had minor charges,
it had turned out that he was hiding a lot more than she thought
with his buddy. She had spent all day tracking down members of the
group he was in, and was now ready to sleep. If she could. That's
when her phone rang, on the seat next to her.