I'm Falling, Bro

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(minor hawkeye ep 1-3 spoilers below!)

Ana tugged at the high neckline of her black dress, feeling warm all of a sudden. She wanted to blame it on the overly crowded area. There were people dressed in black in front and behind her. The glass windows were shut with the curtains drawn back, allowing the blazing sun to cook everyone inside the funeral home. Ana's senses weren't kind to her. The casket in the centre of the room was open, and the scent that came off of the corpse made her eyes water and nose sting. She played the part of a griever, and dabbed at her eyes with a folded tissue. The guards standing by every exit let their gaze wander across the people huddled in a line that led to the casket. Ana didn't stand out. She looked the same as everyone else. Hair was pulled back into a neat bun and her conservative long sleeved dress reached below her knees. Unfortunately, Natasha strongly suggested for her to wear a pair of sunglasses indoors. They acted as eyes and ears for the Widow who was live streaming everything on the monitors back at Avengers Compound.

Natasha chewed on something crunchy, making Ana's eye twitch at the sound. "Hey, wipe the camera in the centre of the frame. It's blurry and I can't see." Ana discreetly used her tissue to clean the camera and waited for Natasha's response. "That's great. Now, break into tears. It's your turn to say goodbye."

Ana struggled to hold in a chuckle and covered the sound with a cough when she stepped up to the casket. The smell got worse. Ana wanted so badly to block her nose. The mortician's job at embalming the dead woman had melted away with the heat, giving way to the gaping hole in the centre of her head and the underlying scent of garbage water in her pores. Eadie Moore had been found dumped in a sewer. Normally, mystery murder cases such as these wouldn't jump on their radar. But seeing as the hole in Eadie's head had been made with a specific trick arrow, Natasha had flagged the case and assigned an antsy Ana onto it. There had been rumours floating around that a man in a hood had been targeting a group of port owners along the coast. So far, the local authorities believed it was just a wrong place, wrong time kind of situation. Natasha and Ana thought otherwise.

Ana leaned over to get Natasha a better look at the corpse. "Damn, she looks messed up." Ana muttered. There was bruising along her cheekbones, enough to make her skin look almost grey. Because of what Ana already knew about the person Eadie was, she narrowed her eyes and added, "Or maybe she always looked like that."

One of the funeral home guests had overheard Ana's words, and joined her at the casket where she was still inches away from Eadie's face, giving Natasha the chance to complete her scans. "I'm sorry, who are you?" He asked, holding a bottle of confiscated wine in his hands close to his black and white suit. Apparently Eadie's relatives had strongly advised guests from bringing anything alcoholic to the funeral home.

Ana didn't part from the dead woman and dipped her sunglasses at him. "Kat. And you are?"

He didn't give his name and instead asked, "How did you know Eadie?"

Ana straightened up and faced him. "We owned a yacht together. Went yachting. That sort of thing." The Wine Guy wasn't buying it. His brown eyes squinted at her as she stepped away from the casket and to the side to speak with him. "And how did you know Eadie?"

Wine Guy made contact with a few of the guards at the front. He was meant to be subtle about it but everything about him wasn't very subtle. Ana did a quick analysis. His jacket was unbuttoned. He had an earpiece. He was just another one of the guards posed as a guest. Ana supposed it was to get closer to the other attendants and ask the required questions. Wine Guy didn't really have a decipherable expression on his face. "We worked together." He answered vaguely.

Ana straightened the glasses on her face. "Hey, do you know what happened to her? I've heard—"

Wine Guy broke away from Ana in an instant. "If you'll excuse me, I have to find somewhere to put this."

Ana extended her open hand. "Here. I'll take it if you want."

Wine Guy scoffed. "Oh, please. I can tell you aren't one to appreciate a good chardonnay." He said before leaving.

Ana snickered. "Who brings a chardonnay to a funeral?"

"Someone who wants to celebrate." Natasha pointed out. "Go mingle. I'll be back in a minute."

Ana turned around to face the middle of the room when she found a trio of men standing right behind her. Two big guards on either side of a smaller man. He was just short of Ana's height, with a nasty scar extending from his left ear to his collar bone. Ana took a moment to realise how fresh the scar was. Days old. He had the same skin tone of late Eadie as well as matching hair colour. And when he smiled, Ana gripped her tissue tighter. Mostly to prevent an aggressive impulse. "Hello," He greeted, the silver tooth on his top row of teeth gleaming. "Who are you?"

Ana smoothed her skirt down. "My name's Kat."

"Kat what?" He pressed.

Ana tried not to focus on his eyes. She said the first thing that came to mind. "Kit."

"I'm Ethan Moore. I was Eadie's twin brother."

Ana nodded and shook the hand he held out for her to take. "My condolences. Lotta security you got here, Ethan." She pointed out.

"Some of my colleagues have met with unfortunate ends recently, as you can see. And one can never be too safe in my line of work." Ethan explained, adjusting the cufflinks at his wrist.

Ana tilted her head. "And what is it you do, Ethan?"

"I'm the owner of one of the largest ports on the coast."

"What's the name of your port?"

Instead of answering her question, Ethan checked his watch. Ana thought she saw one of the guards by the front reach inside his jacket pocket. "Kat, this is a private service. I have a flight to catch within the hour and I was hoping to spend this time with my dear family and friends." He drawled, clearly agitated that he had wasted time talking to Ana.

His guards moved towards Ana and she held up her hands. "Easy, fellas. It's cool. I'll be on my way."

Before she could leave, Ana called a hunch and stepped forward, whispering into Ethan's ear the words, "Hail Hydra."

Ana pulled away, studied the look in Ethan's eyes, and smirked to herself. She left it at that, hoping it would make him a little paranoid and lead her to more clues. But, just before she could take another step, she felt an iron grip on her wrist and looked back at Ethan. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about... Ana Michaels."

Despite feeling her muscles tense at the reality of her hunches being right, Ana plastered an easy going smile on her face. "And here I thought you didn't recognise your older sister, sweet shchenok." She hummed. The guards didn't even have time to blink. Ana grabbed Ethan's arm, lugged him closer, and elbowed his mechanical head clean off his shoulders. The hollow metal hit a guard square in the nose, breaking it, and clattered to the floor. Ana rose a brow as his body followed. "Are LMDs that easy to poke at?"

"Mr Moore!" Wine Guy screeched, rushing to the body of his dead boss. "What have you done?"

Most of the guests and guards were still with shock at what just happened, giving Ana the time to push the sleeves of her dress up to her elbows. There was no love lost. Ana hadn't felt that emotional attachment to her siblings ever since she found out they were Life Model Decoys made by Hydra to help sell the image of the foster family she grew up with. It made her sick to her stomach though. The idea of them being upgraded every year to keep up with how old they were turning only angered her more. Ana thought they died years ago. It was certainly a surprise when she learned they were both alive, or some version of them, and were still serving Hydra by smuggling weapons into the country to arm various gangs operating in the States.

Wine Guy lunged for Ana. She stepped an inch to the left and caught his elbow, twisting it behind his back and forcing him to his knees in front of her. She faced the guards who had now circled around her, blocking her from trying to reach an exit. "Look, doesn't have to be a big thing. A lot of you Hydra guys are turning up dead since half the world went away. I'm not losing sleep over it, but I was hoping to find out who's killing you. So... can we talk this out?"

Guns were drawn and aimed at her face. Ana pursed her lips into a straight line. "I'm gonna take that as a maybe."

Ana pushed Wine Guy into the nearest guard, throwing him off balance just as he fired the first shot. Ana heard the bullet whiz past her head and her eyes widened. Okay, maybe she was playing around a little too much. Couldn't exactly blame her. She hadn't been in the field in years. Ana was used to shooting first and leaving others to ask the questions later. She was out of practise. A little on edge. She had mentioned not losing sleep over ex-Hydra agents being targeted. That was a big fat lie. When Natasha had made a possible connection between the dead bodies, Ana realised what they had in common — her. Clint was going after people from her past. Ana needed to know why. Roundhousing with Hydra wasn't going to get her any hotter on his trail.

Two of the guards barrelled into her, knocking her into Eadie's casket. The candles that were set up around the casket had toppled over and rolled towards the curtains. Ana grunted when one of the guards managed to punch her jaw. She grabbed him by his tie and used her legs to throw him over her head. She heard his body thump against the casket and she quickly scrambled to her feet, only to duck and cover her head with her arms when more shots rang out. Ana was instructed by Natasha not to use any of her abilities. Said she relied on them too much in situations like these. That they were her Achilles heel. Ana didn't think that made sense. Her powers made her stronger. Not weaker.

The guests had fled, and on their way out, they had frantically knocked things over. Like the metal framework that was holding up a portrait of Eadie. Ana grabbed the metre long metal post and used it to smack away another gun that was about to fire in her direction. The guard cried out and covered their aching wrist with their other hand. Ana struck the guard in the stomach with the blunt end of the post and when he hunched over in pain, Ana finally saw the curtains that were covered in flames behind him. The fire was scaling the ceiling, spreading quickly along the chandeliers. She winced. "Oops."

"Ana, local authorities are twenty seconds away." Natasha informed her.

"Got it." Ana responded, and turned. She stopped in her tracks when the last guard stood across her, pistol up high. This one looked different than the rest. For starters, instead of wearing a black and white suit, he sported a deep red tracksuit. The fire that was crawling all around her seemed to make him nervous. He fidgeted on the spot, gripping the handle of his firearm tighter. Sweat dripped down his pale forehead. His green eyes flickered between her face and the ceiling. The sirens grew louder. The authorities were around the block. After a few seconds of just standing there, he huffed and lowered his gun.

"Yeah, not worth it." He spat out in a Russian accent then bolted out the side exit.

Ana had to laugh. "I can't remember the last time that's happened to me."

"Officers breaching in ten, nine..."

"I'm gonna go after the Russian. Don't have time to wait around and answer questions." Ana said, untying her hair and letting it fall down her back. She opened her palms and runes appeared. With a wave of her hand, her attire changed into something more appropriate for running. She would've put the fire out, but that would leave the LMDs exposed to the police who didn't have the time nor resources to deal with that sort of thing. Better to let them burn to ash.

"Ana, our reputation isn't what it used to be. If someone saw you leave the scene, it'll just make things more complicated." Natahsa explained.

Ana listened to the footsteps closing in, raising the hood of her jacket over her head. She had one foot on a window sill and prepared to jump out. "Then I'll learn to disappear. If Clint can do it, so can I."

"Ana..." Natahsa sighed out, but didn't say anything else.

Ana paused at the sounds of groans. The guards she knocked out were coming to. She measured the distance between their groggy bodies and the hungry fire. A brief moment of hesitation. She still saw them as Hydra. The world would be a little more decent if she turned her head and ran. But that would mean she wasn't any better than Ronin, who so ruthlessly tore through the criminal underworld and left nothing behind. Not even a single breath. A voice in her head reminded her that they needed to be met with justice. Ana thumped her head against the wall. Shit. With a clenched jaw, she spelled a mystic shield to block the flames from licking at their limbs. As soon as the police and firemen crashed through the doors, she removed the shield and jumped.

It was getting dark when Ana tracked the Russian into an apartment complex up on 48th and 11th Avenue. She could hear the sound of his gold chains clinking together as he scurried up the fire escape as if a rabid dog was hot on his heels. She sat on the edge of the roof opposite the building, arms crossed over her chest and feet dangling off the side while she waited for him to settle down. She was eager to question him, mostly so she could get her answers and leave the borough. Some would say she was avoiding a particular individual who lived in the area, and Nat was right.

"You two still haven't made up?"

Ana huffed out a breath, pushing the shades further up the bridge of her nose. "I don't want to talk about it right now, Nat."

"Because he might eavesdrop?"

"Because I'm trying to focus on the dude running around in velvet sweatpants in front of me." Ana rolled her eyes, then in a smaller voice added, "And also because he is probably out there eavesdropping... He always seems to hear what you have to say, but doesn't have the decency to actually listen. Or trust."

"That's a lot to unpack."

"You have no idea."

"Alright, fine. I've got to handle this thing with Rhodes. You'll be good on your own?"

"Eh, should be."

"I want those glasses back in one piece."

"Yeah, I'm not gonna promise that." Ana replied before standing up and brushing her pants off. She pocketed the sunglasses, eyes on the tenth floor window across from her. She could make out the Russian's silhouette as he paced back and forth, punching a number into a flip phone frantically. She heard him swearing when he dialled the wrong number, then eventually, he threw the phone at a wall in frustration, and let out an exasperated cry once he realised he lost his mode of communication. The Russian covered his eyes with his hands and hunched over, unaware of the momentary glow of orange that filled the room.

"Here, you can borrow mine."

"Ah!" The Tracksuit Mafia thug shouted in surprise when Ana blinked into existence behind him. He spun on the spot and faced her, eyes wide and arms out at his sides as if she was about to pounce on him any second. She stood casually with one hand in her jacket pocket and the other extended to him with her phone in her palm. She smiled and nudged the phone closer, taking in his shocked expression with an amused chuckle. "It's cool. Phone your friends. I've got all night."

"Y-you are big time Avenger." He pointed an accusing finger at her and she rose a brow. "You should not chase men like me in streets, bro." He said in broken English.

Ana dropped her hand and placed her phone back in her pocket. "Oh, yeah? What's your name, bro?"

"Anatoli." He said confidently, before his eyes bugged out and he grabbed his head. "Nyet!"

Ana circled him. "So, Anatoli, who's your employer? Is it Hydra? I think it's Hydra, otherwise why else would you attend a funeral for one of their high ranking officers?"

"Hired muscle." He gestured to himself. "That is it. Extra money on side. I want no trouble, please. I will be in trouble... big, big trouble if my boss find out."

"What they don't know won't hurt them." Ana said. She noticed he wasn't as antsy as he was a few minutes ago. Anatoli was probably glad he didn't have to fight for his life. "Talk to me, bro."

"Okay, it goes like this." Anatoli breathed in deeply and patted his chest, "My boss's father was killed in own garage by new vigilante with sword. Everybody in streets call him Ronin. We know Ronin kill Eadie Moore and my boss had idea that the brother was next. You can't get rid of one twin and let the other live, it will come back to bite you in ass one day in future. Trust me, bro." He snorted out a chuckle, waving a hand in the air. "It happen to me once."

Ana tilted her head slightly. She tried to focus on his heartbeat, see if he was telling the truth. It was a new habit she picked up from Matt. "But Ronin wasn't at the funeral. He didn't kill the brother..." She swallowed thickly, a tingle running up her spine. "I did." She looked out the window when she thought she heard something. A scuff of a shoe. Knuckles cracking. Was Ronin still out there? Was he close by? Did I foil the plans he had with Ethan? Then came the sound of patrons nearby. Citizens milling about in their own homes in the area. Her nerves settled.

Anatoli then squinted at her in genuine curiosity. "Why his head pop off like that, bro? Usually is more blood."

"He was a robot." Ana said bluntly, turning back to him. "Not a real huma—"

"Robot? Like android?!" Anatoli screeched out, voice bouncing off the walls of the empty level. He grabbed his thumping chest, pure panic in his eyes. "Oh, bro, not again!"

Ana put her hands out, approaching him to try and calm him down. She needed him clear minded. She still had questions. "Relax, Anatoli. That doesn't mean there's a full on invasion of them. It was just him and his sister. And now they're both dead. You have nothing to worry about."

"Ronin was supposed to be at funeral." He stated. "My job to see him and call in the bros. I need to see boss. Explain what happen. She will understand." He stumbled over his own two feet, scurrying for the open window on the other side of the room where he came in from the fire escape. Ana had spooked him. It snapped him back to the possibility of threats closing in. Threats like Ronin. "Please, don't chase me. I would like to keep life little longer."