What Happened In Budapest *unedited*

Chapter 7: Midnight At The Pool

The changing rooms echoed my every footfall, and with every step I took, it only added to the chorus of my previous moves. I didn't believe in ghosts, but I sure knew what they would sound like.

They'd sound like the brisk walking of an agent on her mission.

Boom, boom, boom.

The room was a giant beating heart.

I shivered and finished winding my way through the empty showers and locker stalls.

"Natasha?" I heard. "Natasha?"

"What?" I hissed. "Don't say my name too loudly!"

"Sorry," Barton said, right behind me. Not knowing he was hard on my heels, I turned around to reply and only managed to bang my forehead against his.

"Ow," He said. "That hurt."

He was clutching his head, as if I had smashed his brain with a sledgehammer, which I hadn't.

"Well, then don't just appear out of nowhere."

"Why not?"

A clatter.

"Because. Now shut up."

We crept towards the noise. The source was a man, maybe fifty years old, and wide.

"Maldita," He said, bending over to pick up the gun that had fallen from his arm.

"What type is that?" Barton hissed at me, trying to keep his voice down.

The man finished picking up his gun.

"M16," I replied, as the old man vanished into the shadows. "I think. It's shaped the right way, but I'm not sure if that's what they call it here."

"He's hiding, clutching an M16?" Barton sounded confused.

"The crane did say to bring a gun."

"How do we know he's not going to kill us with it?"

"Because he can't."

"How do you know, Natasha?"

"We're too-"

My reply was cut short by another voice.

"Ricardo, no seas asi," Silence, then a footfalls. "No hay nececidad de traer..." Silence, as if they where searching for the right word. "Una pistola. Son nuestros amigos."

I almost scoffed at that.

"Isobel," Barton said. "Is hiring Spaniards for henchmen?"

"Huh?"

"That's Isobel."

"So?" I asked. "And how did you know she's hiring Spaniards?"

"Elementary, my dear. She spoke to him in Spanish."

"So?" I asked again. "Spain isn't the only Spanish speaking country. There's-" I closed my eyes, recalling what I had learned on my missions. "Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Cuba, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico... and there's more."

"I don't doubt it," He said. "But you should shut up because someone's coming our way."

"Senorita Isobela? Encontre a unos chicos."

"They found some kids." Barton whispered to me.

"They found us, idiot." I hissed back at him.

"What- oh. Us."