2

21 YEARS LATER

Natasha threw water on her face. She looked at her reflection in the public bathroom mirror before reaching down to pick up her smartphone. On the screen, she saw them—men in black, carrying weapons, approaching a building.

“We’ve got all exits covered,”a man wearing a bulletproof vest said, as he approached Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross.

“All right,”the secretary said.“Stay alert. I’m sending in Alpha Squad.”

On his mark, the elite team entered the bus station in the broad light of day. They flowed through the door wearing tactical gear, weapons raised, and prepared for anything.

“Natasha Romanoff is in violation of the Sokovia Accords,”Ross announced to the rest of his crew.

The Sokovia Accords had been put in place following a series of events involving the Avengers, a team of heroes that had been assembled at the urging of Nick Fury, former director of the now-defunct global security organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. The Accords had been signed by most of the Avengers and would govern their activities in hopes that calamities—like the accidental explosion in Lagos that cost the lives of Wakandan humanitarian workers or the Ultron Affair in Sokovia that resulted in the devastation of an entire city—wouldn’t happen again.

But some Avengers hadn’t signed, notably Steve Rogers, aka Captain America. He believed the Accords would compromise the Avengers’ ability to respond to threats when needed. And even though Natasha had signed the Accords, she shared Steve’s concern.

So when Ross ordered the Avengers, specifically Tony Stark, to bring in the rogue Steve Rogers, Natasha went along to bring him in. And even though she fought against Steve and his allies, Natasha ultimately allowed Captain America to escape.

As a result, she was now a fugitive.

“She assaulted the King of Wakanda,”Ross continued, referring to T’Challa, whose father, T’Chaka, had been killed at a ceremony to honor the signing of the Sokovia Accords.“Make an example out of her.”

Ross entered the bus station along with several members of Alpha Squad. A moment later, his smartphone rang.

“Don’t do this,”Natasha said on the other end of the call.

“Do what?”Ross asked innocently.

“Come after me,”Natasha replied.“I mean, you’re embarrassing yourself. It looks desperate.”

“I thought maybe you’d be calling me to cut a deal,”Ross said, ignoring her as he proceeded into the station.“’Cause from my vantage point, it’s the federal fugitive who’s desperate.”

Natasha had already set her smartphone down on the dingy sink and picked up a black hoodie.

“From my vantage point, you look like you could use some bed rest,”Natasha shot back.“What is this, your second triple bypass?”

“I wouldn’t worry about me,”Ross said, growing annoyed.“We got Barton, we got Wilson, and that other guy, the Incredible Shrinking Convict. Rogers is on the run. You got no friends.”

Ross was referring to Clint Barton, Sam Wilson, and Scott Lang—aka Hawkeye, Falcon, and Ant-Man. They had allied themselves with Steve and given their own freedom to help Captain America come to the aid of the Winter Soldier to stop a terrorist named Helmut Zemo from unleashing chaos on the world.

“Where are you gonna go?”Ross taunted.

Natasha was quiet, but only for a brief moment.“I lived a lot of lives before I met you, Ross,”she said, watching her smartphone screen as Alpha Squad advanced through the bus station.“You shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble. I’m done.”

There was something about the way Natasha said“I’m done”that set Ross even more on edge than he already was. She hung up.

“Romanoff !”he barked into the phone, as Alpha Squad approached a bathroom door.

Suddenly, the bathroom door opened, and Natasha walked out.

Only there was no one there.

Because she wasn’t at the bus station.

But Secretary of State Ross and Alpha Squad were.

When Alpha Squad searched the bathroom at the bus station, all they found was Natasha Romanoff ’s Black Widow suit.

And Natasha? She walked outside and onto the deck of a ferry in Norway.

“Got an empty nest, Secretary Ross,”said the man in the bulletproof vest as he approached.“Her tracker, sir.”

Ross looked down at the man’s hands, and saw a red light. It was the tracking device that had allowed Ross and his team to locate Natasha. But all it had done was lead them to an empty uniform.

While Ross pondered Natasha’s true whereabouts, Natasha walked to the side of the ferry and looked out into the early evening. Casually, she set her smartphone down on the railing and then swiped it into the water below.