Rules of Engagement [locked to Han Solo]

[red_room]

It's just getting on to dark in the Nexus when a familiar whine cuts through the muggy evening air. The noise from the open ramp of the Millenium Falcon grows until the underlying rumble of a motorcycle engine cuts through the thick air as Natasha pulls up just outside the ship.

Nat hops off the bike quickly, but takes her time removing all the gear she'd worn. The suit hadn't been cheap to get and getting it dirty before the onset was unheard of. She carefully removes the helmet, the track suit she'd worn over the nice clothes, and pulls the dress shoes she'd bought out of the bag of gear she'd carried along and carefully slips them on before making her way up the ramp and onto the ship.

Everything about the outfit Nat selected had been carefully considered all the way down to the cuff links. Granted, this getup is designed to impress her target and not so much a space pilot like Han is, but he should still be able to help judge the way she carries herself. Walks. Talks. She'd even taken a leaf out of the good captain's book when it came to styling her hair. Giving it a bit of the windswept wave instead of slicking it back or the like.

"Knock, knock."

It's still so weird hearing a mans voice when she talks. Wrong. But if this stays for a day or so, she'll be one more thread complete on her web.

Comments

[red_room]

The temperature in the cockpit must have plummeted by some twenty degrees with the chill of the dark expression crossing Natasha's features. Han can feel the ominous pressure from her fury radiating out.

"Please wai--"

The spy has brushed over Han again, furiously tapping a pretty repetitive series of buttons on the console before slamming her palm onto the input button and glaring hard down at the controls.

"Full Manual confirmed. Goodbye."

"Lets get out of here." Midnight on Hoth would be warmer than her voice right now.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Han sees the hard set in 'tasha's shoulders and the way she pounds the override code into the touch panel beneath her hands. A nerve clearly was touched by the ships ability to detect the Black Widows usual shape and determine that she didn't fit the expectations.

The whole awkward situation has Captain Solo suddenly feeling a lot less social and a lot more interested in getting them in the air.

He clears his throat and lets his hands dance over the control panel. Between Solo's very gifted intuition and the ships user-friendly operating system, the powering up takes only two minutes or so. He can feel the power humming through the ship even sitting in an enclosure meant to dampen sound and impact from the passengers

Typical of the way Han flys the Falcon, he uses the underside thrusters of the ship to give them enough altitude and then, he releases the steering yoke controls to give himself a more tactile experience of what it's like to fly this thing ...

"Got coordinates for me?"

[red_room]

"41.0082 degrees North, 28.9784 degrees East. Istanbul, Turkey. We have some stealth capability on this thing but we'll still have to land outside the city and catch a ride in. My safe house is right on the water so you'll have a nice view at least while we're there."

Natasha is carefully removing the suit she'd been wearing up until this point so she can change into the same kind of casual wear Han is in. At least until they get to the safe house. Attracting attention only when she wants to is part of the job.

She's not quite done being pissed off about the whole height weight bullshit the AI was talking about, but it calms her nerves to see lean muscle when she strips down. She's taller and more bulky than she had been before, even as a lithe man. There's no getting around it.

"Though you're probably not going to understand a word once we get there. My Istanbul Turkish is decent--I'll do my best to translate for you."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

It takes Han a couple of moments of studying the navigation system and easing the steering yoke around before he has them heading in the right direction. Earth's system of latitude and longitude are ultimately a lot simpler to figure out than the ones that map out his entire galaxy ... and there's a state of the art computer giving him real time data.

And best of all, nobody is trying to shoot them out of the sky ... this is practically a piece of cake.

In fact, he's feeling so confident right now that he decides that he can lay on the throttle and turn around to see where Natasha has disappeared to. It turns out, not far. It also turns out that she's getting dressed. Han's eyes hold on the new lines of muscle and the way she studies herself - as if trying to evaluate something.

Solo waves a dismissive hand at her comments about Turkish. For one, he doesn't really need to know every little thing that's being said and for another, he's confident that he'll be able to infer enough of what's going on with body language and tone.

"Try not to think about height/weight imbalances." He says in that conversational murmur of his. "You're in the kind of shape the average guy would love to be in."

[red_room]

Her fingers brush against the scar on her side. A stark reminder that this is her body no matter how different it may be right now. It makes this all the more wrong. Knowing that it's not someone else's body. That something has been done to drastically alter hers.

Green eyes focus on Han. Helping her out, coming with, and how soft his expression is right now. Even though she's doing something he doesn't like and is entirely Wrong physically. She zips up the black jeans she'd pulled on and wanders over behind Han's seat and lightly drags her fingers up his cheek.

Actions speaking for her on just how much Natasha appreciates Han and what he's doing for her. He's not the only one forced to evaluate some emotional baggage because of all of this.

With Han focused on the flying Natasha can finish getting dressed and begin sifting through the up to date intel Isaiah had given her. Pulling up maps and looking over news articles. When Han looks back again Natasha is dozing in her seat, little rotating three dimensional map of Istanbul still on her screen casting a faint blue glow. It's likely to be the only sleep she gets until this is done and over with.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Han closes his eyes for a moment while the fingers trail over his cheek. Why? He doesn't know.
They feel nothing like the fingers of the Natasha he knows, but he doesn't withdraw from the contact all the same. He spends a few heartbeats in a feeling that's confusing, but not unwanted.

Anyway, being focused on the flying is something that he's doing, despite the temporary eye closing. The fact that he's getting to flex his piloting muscle ... doesn't make him more at ease with the mission, but it's a lot more comforting than worrying in the back of a car. At least something about this bizarre experience feels kind of normal to him.

She doesn't need to be awake for this. Likely the whole experience has taken more out of her than she lets on and by his calculations, they're more than two hours out from their destination. She ought to sleep some when she can.

[red_room]

Something Han has picked up on with his time spent with the spy is that she's very rarely caught resting. It's a rare occasion indeed when he wakes up and she is still asleep even when they're spending the night together. Yet when the coordinates ping that Han is where they need to be, and the ship's onscreen navigation informs him of their destination and descent, Natasha doesn't wake up to help him.

And if he ended up getting the ship's computer to tell him where the landing gear was, well. No one has to know but he and the ship. The skies are clear on this Turkish night, and an accented voice calling in but using perfect English tells Han they have clearance to be here.

Seems his luck has held out and he didn't need Nat's help in getting them here safely after all.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Han calls upon luck to get him through a lot of situations. All things considered ... it works out far more often than is statistically probable. In this case, things were just as likely to go well as they were to go wrong - maybe more so with Natasha doing the planning.

The only thing challenging at all about that landing is the fact that Captain Solo had never helmed the craft before. The weather was clear. The landing was on super smooth pavement. The craft was designed so well the damn thing might be able to fly itself. You didn't need someone as skilled as Han at the controls to get them on the ground easy.

It's hard for Han to figure out how to cycle the power down than it was to land.

When everything has settled, he stands and stretches for a moment, pleased with himself for a job well done. Then he heads over to Nat's still sleeping form and he tries to bring her to a state of awake by gently dragging his fingertips over her arm.

[red_room]

Natasha's eyes open well before she moves from where eh's been slumped over sleeping. They're grounded? It's quiet. Though her gaze snaps up and takes in Han's figure standing over her and she lets out her breath.

"Not too boring, I hope." He can hear the slightest roughness to her voice from sleep though it's already fading as she pulls herself gracefully out of her seat and up so she's standing in front of Han.

"...Thanks." For letting her catch up on some sleep. For coming with. "Ready to go?" It's a short cab ride through the heart of central Istanbul to the waterside neighborhood Natasha is leading them to and the picturesque building she will lead the pilot into. Like her safehouse that leads to the Nexus, this one is only supposed to look ordinary.

She's adjusted her posture as they've walked in, switching 'on' to her persona with no real pause in transition. Natasha should have a few hours to prepare. It's still before sunup here and she won't be meeting with her mark until breakfast.

"We'll take a stroll past the hotel I'll be in. Give you a good idea of the neighborhood, what to expect. You don't have to change clothes, but I'll be doing my best to be invisible. I don't want her or her goons to catch me casing the joint before I'm supposed to be meeting my 'supplier'."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

It's funny what doesn't change about Nat even as she's dealing with this curse. The way that she can rise from resting out of the chair with liquid grace is familiar as ever. She has a way about making Han feel clumsy when he watches The Black Widow move.

"Ready as I'm gonna be." He says, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He still doesn't love the idea of her taking on such a delicate operation right now, but ... he knows he wasn't going to be able to talk her out of it. Her letting him go along was the next best thing.

He spends much of the cab ride trying to take everything in. Something about Istanbul reminds him of Jedha city as they roll through the area.

"I can do the scouting if you want to lay low." Han offers, though he has to figure it will be delined. This can't get messed up, so she probably has to see a lot of this for herself.

[red_room]

"Oh, you're going to be doing the scouting too."

Nat hands Han one of the earpieces she'd pulled out of her duffel bag after making sure they were in working order. They've got to be careful not to operate on any of the usual frequencies. The last thing Natasha wants is Tony Stark dropping in unannounced and it's still a very real possibility. One of the older ones she and Barton used to use should be fine.

If he's scanning for her, he'll at least know better than to interrupt.

"You know how to work one of these?" It's quick work explaining and helping Han put it in if he's not. "We're going to practice. I'm going to stay twenty paces ahead. I'll give you directions on where I'm going as I go so you know how to follow. You just need to focus on getting to know the area. If you see anything suspicious do not stare just keep walking and tell me."

"Ready?"

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Han spends a moment examining the piece of tech she hands him. It's not entirely unfamiliar to him in that he's seen them before, but he's never actually put one on. It's easy enough to tell how they're supposed to fit on the ear, but he takes his time to put it on anyway.

"I've got the idea."

There were similar devices like this were he came from and he had gotten himself out of a number of jams or passed along important bits of information with a concealed com-link before. It was the same idea. Only the stakes were far higher now, not because he cared all that much about the mission (he was too far removed from earth and it's problems to feel genuinely invested in them), but because he cared about Nat.

With that, Han takes a moment to ease himself into the crowd. His usual careless amble substituted for a much more purposeful walk, although his eyes still held that look of casual disinterest in everything around him. It so happens that he's very good at sneaking around and looking at things without paying too much attention ... he'd had years of practice doing as much before he'd picked up any piloting skills.

"Pickpocket on the southern corner." Han murmurs. "Probably too small time to be affiliated with your marks."

[red_room]

If Natasha wasn't walking ahead of him she'd be proudly smirking at how easily Han takes to this work. Bringing him along was looking more and more like a decent idea and for that she's grateful. Not that she needs backup even in a weird body, but insurance never hurts.

Especially when it wants to be here being useful.

"Definitely too small time. The hotel's coming up on your left. Ignoring all top level windows, I'm calling three potential rooftop sniper positions. What's lobby level look like?"

[twelve_not_fourteen]

These powers of observation were honed during his years as a small-time thief, because the better you were at gathering info and planning your actions ... the more likely you were going to be successful at nabbing whatever you were trying to nab. He'd never tried to use these skills to help anyone but himself with them before.

It never dawned on him that they could be helpful in the first place.

"One guy near the door that's almost sure to be hired muscle. He's about as wide as you and me put together." No one else jumps out at Han, except ... "I think they might have hotel security on the payroll. Or they want them to rush in first, maybe."

[red_room]

"Good. When I go back in it'll be at the lobby's restaurant so you can be sure there's going to be muscle there then if there's not now. Might be good to remember their faces if you can so you'll know who doesn't fit in."

Not that she expects Han Solo to have to intervene, but it's a good practice and if she does end up needing backup then all of this will be smart preparation for the task ahead.

"Anything else? We should head back to the safehouse so I can change and hide my weapons."

[twelve_not_fourteen]

“Nothing else.”

Earth was a very different world than any of the ones he was more familiar with. On some level that makes it a little bit harder to sort things out in the crowded hotel lobby - especially without looking, but if there was one thing he felt like he knew ... it was when he was looking at another criminal.

Han makes sure to affix a bored look onto his face when he walks out of the swanky surroundings. Opulence was the kind of thing that transcended specific figures and knowledge. The value of gold and marble might be a mystery to Captain Solo, but he knew that he was looking at what passed for luxury around here.

[red_room]

The moment Han walks back into the safe house he's being pulled rather intensely into a tight hug from Natasha. The spy grinning at him with fierce pride and affection even though she knows not to get too close in this body.

"You're good, cowboy." It's a quiet murmur and a promise for later. It will have to do for now as she's stripping off her shirt, unbuckling her belt and disappearing into a side room to put back on her full suit and accessories. Fixing her hair just so. Hiding away a few knives knowing full and well the gun she carries on her is going to be found and confiscated.

As a criminal she frankly ought to be expected to be carrying a piece and will dutifully bring something that she won't miss if she has to leave it in a hasty escape. Besides. Han's going to get her actual guns. He may prefer his blaster but if he has to come in after her no matter how unlikely that is, she'd prefer he have her things on him.

Han will have to occupy himself for a while but when Natasha comes back out into the central room of the safehouse it's dressed to the nines and looking even sharper than she had aboard his ship all those hours ago. A predator waiting to strike. It only takes a moment to make sure their equipment is operational before Natasha calls herself a cab and leaves the safehouse alone. He can hear everything at least but he'll have to get moving if he wants to see her.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

He should have been surprised how easy it was to fall into a hug with the masculinized Natasha.
Perhaps he would notice later, but it seems perfectly natural for him to be doing so. So natural that the moment literally passes without a second thought from him.

"Yeah. I know." He says with a very self-satisfied smile. "I coulda toldja that ages ago."

It isn't until he catches himself looking at her (or is it his?) butt as she's walking away that he catches on to how confusing this is getting. He shakes his head and pinches the bridge of his nose while Nat begins to change clothes and decides to take a walk to the window so he can think about something else for a while.

"Good luck. Not that you'll need it." His last words to her before she heads out and then, he's left to wait.

To wait and try not to think about the woman that he thinks of as kind of a girlfriend running into trouble without him. That was hard enough on it's own, even knowing she was more than capable of taking care of herself. You added the fact that she was going undercover in a body that she wasn't used to, though, and it was making him anxious.

He manages to stay at the safehouse for maybe half an hour before he starts looking for a way to conceal his blaster and follow her ...

[red_room]

While Han decks himself back out in his borrowed Hawkeye coat and gear (which is a very good idea if there's a possibility of being shot since it's reinforced) Natasha is strolling back into the hotel lobby like she owns the joint. Adopted a fine Italian accent that is as sharp as her suit while she moves over toward her mark.

A gentleman that looks more wall than man stops her and grunts 'standard procedure' to which she rolls her eyes and adjusts her suit jacket as though she's bored by the idea of being patted down. Even more impatient when the man tenses when he finds her gun.

"Take it, already." It was meant to be found. Meant to be lost. Give them a sense of security that she's who and what she's said to be. They won't find her knives. Not a one of them. Natasha waits until the Madam waves off her guard and gestures for her to take a seat across from her. She's so close. The spy's pulse thunders in her ears. Get the information and get out. Get the information kill her do it she deserves it take the shot take her out and get out. Take down the operation.

Her stomach twists painfully. Nerves. Unimportant. Focus on the job, Natasha. This is what you were made for.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

It is a good idea. It seems almost inevitable that when there are weapons around, at least one of them will always end up pointed at him. That's ... a very dependable precedent that his life had set for him at a fairly young age.

Han doesn't bother with any of the weaponry that surrounds him. It's unfamiliar and he'll end up wasting precious seconds trying to learn how to disengage any safety features and determine what the various ranges are. If the DL-44 and his abilities to improvise can't get them out of trouble, he doubts that any earth weapon would make a big difference anyway.

He moves as quietly as he can to her position; blaster set to stun and knocking out anybody that he has to. Solo is damn well sure that a trail of unconscious guards is probably going to cause trouble when they're trying to leave, but that's a later on problem.

There's a little bit of calm that comes over him when he can see Natasha again with his own eyes. The reassurance that she's still okay (at the moment) does wonders for settling his nerves. Still, he remains a good 40 yards back with his blaster trained the table. He switches the weapon back to lethal shots.

[red_room]

Natasha feels sick. Nauseated in a way that has nothing to do with nerves or fear. It's not the food nor the drinks, because she's been very careful not to touch anything. It's taking all her willpower to keep her voice steady while she talks.

Something's not right. Natasha feels her vision starting to swim, feels her ears burning and chilled at the same time as her body starts to flush as it tries to cope with what's happening. Her voice cracks and now her mark is staring at her as though she's a leper. Pulling back with revulsion on her face for something Natasha can't see.

Because a human body wasn't made to shift and change like it is. Even as accustomed to pain as she is, Natasha loses consciousness briefly as the world rights itself. She's in her own body again, in a suit too big for her, and with one of the most dangerous criminals in the world levelling a gun at her head.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Damn it.

It was the kind of rotten luck that he expected during one of his scams, but for some reason, he's surprised that things are going sideways on Natasha. She was so much more meticulous when it came to organizing and planning this stuff out - yet they never even discussed this possibility.

The Nexus magic was wearing off in the middle of her op. Like all of the rest of them, it caught Han by surprise too, but it wore off a hell of a lot more quickly. The first man he sees that levels a weapon at Black Widow is taken out out swiftly. Two otherworldly scarlet bolts of laser fire sizzle through the air and hit him square in the face.

There was a coldness in Han's gut that he is both thankful for and unnerved by. He didn't use lethal force lightly, but getting killed on an alien world was not how he was going to go out.

The presence of another unseen enemy makes the group recoil and think twice about going right for the spy. Since Han wants to continue to enjoy the advantage of them not knowing exactly where he is, he starts moving for different cover, shooting out lights on the way.

[red_room]

Nat's stomach rolls when she comes back to herself. It's only been a couple of seconds but the lobby is in chaos and the smell of burning flesh is already permeating the air. She drops from her seat and under the table right before a gunshot rings out.

Fuck. Fuck everything.

Her hands are fishing for her knives and it's such a sharp relief that they fit in her hands the way they always have. Natasha tips the table over, using it as a shield before surging upwards with both blades and burying them in her mark's throat with extreme prejudice, ripping them out on each side and showering the two of them in red.

A shot hums past but it's not coming from an ordinary firearm. Nor does it have the same smell of ozone that the Chi'Tauri weapons tended to carry. Han's here providing cover fire.

Another man is on top of her and Natasha's moving, slipping out of her suit jacket and looping it around his throat as she dodges behind him and out of his reach. Uses the momentum and the makeshift noose to throw him across the lobby floor when she lands on her feet on the other side of him.

The mark is dead and her hired muscle is torn between the spy and her own backup. It's time for them to make their escape.

[twelve_not_fourteen]

Was she hurt?

She looked hurt for a moment, but not so hurt that she couldn’t break a man’s neck with her suit jacket. He took that to mean she was probably fine. Yet, of all the people he knew ... she’d be the one who might have terrible injuries and still find a way to finish what she started. They had to get out of here.

He would have killed for a speeder right now. Or hell, even one of Natasha’s earth motorcycles. Anything that would get them out of this place in a hurry ...

They might not have planned for this, but they had planned for a quick escape. They’d found an emergency exit that would lead them out into a (hopefully deserted) alleyway on the schematics of the place. If Natasha could still run, walk or limp - it was the direction she would be heading. So, the best thing that he could do for her is to watch her back while she booked it for the door.

Han had to trust that she could handle anyone trying to get between her and the exit, which, was admittedly hard for him. His heart wanted to be a hero and swoop in right to her side, but ... let’s face it. That would probably get them both killed. Han, remains in place for the moment, raining cover fire on those who would try to shoot Black Widow into the back.

[red_room]

She's going to hear about this later. Natasha knows this. Tony's going to find her and rip into her. Clint's going to ask her if she needs a place to lay low. And Han...

"Get down here. Exit's clear for the moment." Nat steps over the body of the man she'd knocked out with a sway of her hips. Everything he has to say Natasha's determined to hear out because his life was also put at risk because of this. Even if she doesn't want to hear it, and she doesn't, he's risking his life for her right now.

Saved her life not minutes ago.

Natasha isn't leaving without him, even if she could. Her stomach still protests the sudden changes and coping with the suddenly different information her brain's giving her again. Even if it's all right and this is her body it's still an unpleasant and sudden change back to normal. She's tucking her too-large shirt into her pants, tightening the belt she was wearing. Never once stopped looking back in until Han finally makes his way out.

"Look sharp and put the blaster away. We've got to get out of here and blend in. Now."