[He stared at her, disliking the questions that were being asked of him immensely and thus willing to rush his way into an answer. When the last orders were the only aspect of a life that he had lead for who knew how long, they were precious to cling to as the only source of stability. They allowed him to focus on something other than the confusion of his predicament, over the lack of familiarity, the ease of routine that was deeply instinctual by now.
He was less than twenty-four hours post-wiping, his nerves still raw and numbed at the same time. He wasn't as impressionable to anyone but a set of particular people who were deeply ingrained in his psyche as absolutes. She wasn't one of those people, though she spoke with even measured tones, a reasonable disposition like someone who was an absolute. The red of her hair was much more intense than his too, but she wasn't him.
So did the orders matter. Yes. They were all he had left, the last bits and pieces of clarity in an otherwise confusing and harrowing change of pace.
However, he already have the impression that his answer would only preclude more questions, testing his loyalty and his willingness to cling to the last order in words only. After all, on the other side, he had been about to walk away from it all. He had already decided to stand aside from the order, but this situation... it was turning everything on its head too much, too fast and without his feeling any sense of control. That made him dangerous, and he knew it. He knew more that her pushing questions at him was going to put him in a corner he was going to fight his way out of.
So the second statement was one he focused on because it was so odd. His eyebrows knit together as he considered it, thinking back on if he had seen a file with her name on it, a report at all. There had been little to know communication between himself and the STRIKE teams on the move. There had been a brief static debrief of information on the quinjet radio, something he paid little attention to in the brief flight.]
You're... [He sounded very much like he was searching for the words, guessing even.] Black Widow? [Then the title clicked. Hard. His words came in a grunting growling rush.] Soviet KGB agent turned rogue and leaking Soviet secrets to SHIELD, which you have now also double-crossed.
no subject
He was less than twenty-four hours post-wiping, his nerves still raw and numbed at the same time. He wasn't as impressionable to anyone but a set of particular people who were deeply ingrained in his psyche as absolutes. She wasn't one of those people, though she spoke with even measured tones, a reasonable disposition like someone who was an absolute. The red of her hair was much more intense than his too, but she wasn't him.
So did the orders matter. Yes. They were all he had left, the last bits and pieces of clarity in an otherwise confusing and harrowing change of pace.
However, he already have the impression that his answer would only preclude more questions, testing his loyalty and his willingness to cling to the last order in words only. After all, on the other side, he had been about to walk away from it all. He had already decided to stand aside from the order, but this situation... it was turning everything on its head too much, too fast and without his feeling any sense of control. That made him dangerous, and he knew it. He knew more that her pushing questions at him was going to put him in a corner he was going to fight his way out of.
So the second statement was one he focused on because it was so odd. His eyebrows knit together as he considered it, thinking back on if he had seen a file with her name on it, a report at all. There had been little to know communication between himself and the STRIKE teams on the move. There had been a brief static debrief of information on the quinjet radio, something he paid little attention to in the brief flight.]
You're... [He sounded very much like he was searching for the words, guessing even.] Black Widow? [Then the title clicked. Hard. His words came in a grunting growling rush.] Soviet KGB agent turned rogue and leaking Soviet secrets to SHIELD, which you have now also double-crossed.