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]

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."