2343/The Fate of Oleg Magnusson!

The Fate of Oleg Magnusson!
Date of Scene:	05 September 2017
Location:	Office of Nelson and Murdock, New York City
Synopsis:	Natasha returns to let Matt know what happened to his former client, Oleg Magnusson
Cast of Characters:	Black Widow (Romanoff), Daredevil

---

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    It's late afternoon when Natasha works her way up the stairs to a familiar hallway that leads to an office marked Nelson & Murdock. She's visited it in the past a few times. The last visit, they had consulted with one Matt Murdock in regards to a person-of-interest he had once defended. Today, she has opted to come alone to follow-up on that previous visit. It will allow for a bit more freedom of conversation instead of the formality and secrecy that had been necessary when Steve accompanied her.
    It's after business hours but if she knows Matt, she knows he will still be there working on something. She should've called first. In truth, she could have just told him the information on the telephone entirely. Instead, she stops before the door then knocks before letting herself into the receptionist area instead of waiting for someone to open it. The receptionist is gone for the day. As expected. She moves toward the door for Matt, raising a hand to knock on it.

Daredevil has posed:
    To most other people, Matt Murdock would put on the show of playing at the blind man, letting them take their time and make their announcement of their arrival in some manner or another. But as the Black Widow climbed up the steps to his office, and even before she had stepped into that reception area, he had known it was her coming to pay her call upon him. So when she reaches his office he'll lift his voice and offer her the freedom to enter as he says, "Come in."
    It wasn't a shout, just calm and conversational. So when she enters she might be surprised to see Matt Murdock... not exactly 'seated' on the top of his desk, instead he's holding himself aloft from the desk with the index and middle fingers of his hands supporting his weight, his legs drawn up into a yogic posture with them crossed underneath him. There's no hint of perspiration to him, no hint of him being exhausted by the exertion. More... zen.
    "Natasha," He says, those crimson-lensed glasses hiding his eyes as he smiles to her, "Was trying something Danny suggested, to help order one's thoughts."
    There's a pause, "Doesn't seem to be working." He settles down on the desk and tilts his head to the side, "What can I do for you?"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    A smirk is on her lips as Natasha hears him call out before she even manages to touch the office door. She drops her hand to the knob and slips inside only to pause just past the threshold. The door shuts behind her as she watches the position, the strength required to maintain that posture. Those that don't know his secrets would find it amazing. Even knowing them, she's impressed. It is something she's sure she couldn't do.
    "The only thing it would make me think about is 'ow' so maybe that's how it is supposed to work? Instead of clearing thoughts, put your mind on something else entirely," she says with a brief amused smile as she moves to the chairs in front of the desk. She settles down comfortably in one of them, eyeing his position sitting on the desk.
    "I wanted to talk to you about Oleg Magnusson. Let you know that you were right."

Daredevil has posed:
    The man's jacket is hanging off the back of his chair and he's sitting up there in his business suit though without his shoes to be fair, still it's a bit strange seeing him sitting on the desk like that. "Well, I knew I was right." I told you so. "But I'm curious to hear how you found out that I was." That ever unique Murdock charm, such as it is, is only shown amongst friends and he counts her one of them as he says.
    He lifts his chin a little, turning his head slightly as he asks, "First though, can I get you something to drink? We have juice... some old rancid coffee... and I think some milk that's not quite turned yet. I know, Mad Men we are not."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    "Such a temptation but I think I'll pass on the almost sour milk and the rancid coffee. Which leaves juice, please," Natasha says with a soft chuckle as she shakes her head. She does rise to her feet, knowing the way to the kitchen area which is around the corner from her current location. She walks that way while talking.
    "I was thinking about how it was too convenient everything pointed to him so quickly. So I volunteered to go overseas and speak to the witnesses and informers myself." Her smile is a bit distant, eyes cooler than normal. Thankfully, those nuances he can't pick up on even with his extreme abilities. He might pick up a slight shift in her heartrate but it's gone as quickly as it appeared. "They information was unreliable and some bank accounts had been padded. In the end, he was cleared of wrong-doing and the ones responsible were dealt with." That shift in her heartbeat again, a little acceleration. Then back to normal. He'll know that the culprits could not be brought to justice. They were taken care of in some other way. It isn't a pretty side to SHIELD but it is part of their jobs from time-to-time.

Daredevil has posed:
    In the other room she can't see the momentary sour turn to his features that he knows to hide when she's around. He never did approve of certain things of her past, her time with SHIELD. And now he hates being reminded of them, even though it's not his place to take exception. But his friends would say that that doesn't always stop him from saying something.
    Rolling to his feet smoothly, there is none of the hesitance in movement that he affects for when he's out and about in public, none of the carefully cultivated illusion that's offered to the world. He strides through the door and right out to her as she acquires that juice, and he holds out a hand for her to toss him one should she so wish. "That makes sense, when I had spoken to him I got a good read and his conversion had seemed sincere, to himself in particular. So when you came to me with that..."
    Shaking his head, the situation with Oleg seems to pass from the fore for the moment. Instead he says, "Natasha," He bites his lower lip, turning his head slightly to the side. Most people don't know what he's doing when he does that, but she knows that is how he /looks/ closer at people, how he takes their measure or subtly imparts... seriousness to his body language.
    "You know what I liked the most about the past we shared?" He smiles faintly, "You didn't seem to carry this weight on your shoulders."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    He will be able to sense it. For a single instant, the heat flares around her as she knows he read something. She just dosn't know what he picked up or when. She is generally very in control of her body and emotions, to the point she can fool people and machines with equal efficiency.
    Matt Murdock is the exception to those rules.
    Just as quickly as that flare happened, he will hear her heartbeat slow. Her breathing changes. Her body goes calm in an instant as she taps into decades of training to control her body to the ultimate degree. She hides. From him. Despite their past, she draws herself into that controlled cocoon.
    She tosses a juice to him as she counters with humor. "It's better on my shoulders than my hips. Wouldn't look as good in the uniform." Then her tone sobers but she still is in control, guarded. "I always had the weight I was carrying. Just sometimes, with you, it allowed me to forget it for a little while." She shrugs.

Daredevil has posed:
    She can see him take in a deep breath, she's seen it before, the prelude to a 'Talking To' that she's likely been on the receiving end before. But perhaps in some ways... he's learned something over the last year and some... and it might surprise her. Instead of going on a lecture he catches himself, gives her a nod, and then says. "Alright," He lets it pass. For now at least.
    But all the signs are that he /wants/ to give her that talking to, and in some ways that might be worse than the actual act. That almost paternal disappointment, condemning from the ivory tower. But not this time.
    "Thanks for coming and telling me, though. I had contacted some of his people here, they didn't have much insight on what had passed. But..." He lifts a hand to the back of his neck, "There's word in the community that people with sordid pasts are getting leaned on and being brought back to the old country for things like that..."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    "Oh?"
    Such a simple word. Or a sound really, as opposed to a true word. Yet it conveys so much with that curious tone, that slight edge to her voice that shows she is interested. The moment where he has drawn her into something she finds worth in following up on.
    The weight of his need to talk, to express his displeasure with things, it is palpable. It bothers her in some ways but she doesn't give in to it. If he knew the truth, he would do more than speak. He might be provoked to yelling. Or, the worst possibility of them all, he might try to act. To draw her back from that edge she is getting close to. Not physically. He wouldn't try to do that because she isn't a threat to him. However, he would probably be willing to talk to her superiors for her own sake. Something she doesn't need.
    She can handle it. She's handled worse in her life.
    "If you have intel you can share, I can look into it." Something makes her add, "Or to have someone else in SHIELD do so."

Daredevil has posed:
    For some reason that puzzles him on some level, and she can read it in the micro gesture of the flesh just beneath his brows slightly coming together, a single crinkle marking that surprise? Concern? He can tell something is off but for now it's enough that he isn't sure if he's as clear on reading her as he once may have been.
    For now he steps away from it, and her as he takes his juice and walks with her back into the main room. He does extend a hand to the surface of the receptionist's desk, brushing sensitive fingertips over the piles of papers and folders that have been strewn about. He frowns as he seeks a particular one, his touch discerning the subtle grooves of pressure from the pen and ink and type.
    Eventually he finds one and he holds it up, presenting it towards her, "Here are some of the statements that I took, transcribed. Should help and give a few leads. I was there under the pretense of checking up on Oleg, but people spoke to me about a lot of things."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    Taking the paper, Natasha glances down at it briefly but doesn't take the time to read it all. That will be done later with a computer connection into the SHIELD databases to start following up on each one. "Thank you. I'll see what I can find out about who is behind it," she says as she folds the paper in half then tucks it into the inside pocket of her jacket. She shakes her orange juice then opens to top of the bottle, allowing herself a sip before she speaks again.
    "Oleg was moved to protective custody with his family. I didn't trust that we found all of them behnid this. If you need to reach him now, I can get you a contact number and his new identity." Anyone else would be out of luck but she knows the information will never be shared by Matt under any circumstance. Even the ones people like her can create.

Daredevil has posed:
    A shake of his head is given as he twists the cap off of the juice and smiles at her, standing there as if not a day has passed since they had last been in each other's presence. "No, best not to play up the connection, or take the risk rather. I trust you, Natasha." He says then takes a few swallows of juice, lowering the bottle to hold it in both hands as he nods. "But you could have told me this with a phone call..."
    A few steps carry him around the desk so he can sit down on the edge of it, facing her though the way his head is turned it seems like he's looking past her right shoulder, as if seeing something far off. "Or at least hinted at it with me using cleverly word word substitution, the likes of which are only taught in the highest of the academies for diplomatic efforts."
    His lip twitches slightly, then his brow knits, "What's been going on?" He asks her, seemingly innocuous... but telling.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    His explanation of how it could have been handled earns a soft laugh but that is gone an instant later when he asks the important question. She knows this is the follow up to the earlier avoided talk. He can't help but want the answers, though he is being very subtle about it. She can understand and admire that tenacity.
    For a moment, Natasha considers blowing it off. There is no reason to tell him the details, to get into it. She just had wanted to see a friend that she'd lost touch with for a time. Perhaps to remind herself of those moments when she was able to forget her history. Looking away from him a moment, she weighs the options.
    Her heartbeat shifts, her breathing is no longer controlled. She lets herself just exist, exposing herself in a way he will understand. "In the last few months, I've been dealing with a lot of demons. From my time in the Red Room. Then I find out those demons were as manipulated as I was. It's brought back a lot of things." She stares at those red lenses that hide his eyes. "What I was. What I did. What I still do. I find myself...sinking." She shrugs and looks out the window to the twilight world outside. "So I force myself to get out of the hole. Only, it keeps getting bigger, growing inside me and I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep getting back."

Daredevil has posed:
    "Natasha," His answer to her is but her name, at least at first. He frowns as he slides off the edge of that desk to stand over her, a hand extending to rest lightly upon her shoulder and give a small squeeze as if trying to draw her attention to him fully. Those crimson lenses reflect her image back to her, an image of a grim woman awash in blood even as she looks up trying to make eye contact with a man who will never be able to.
    "Your specific situation may be unique, the details of what you're dealing with..." He draws his lower lip in between his teeth, worrying it for a moment before murmuring, "Are unlike what anyone else has had to deal with. But the sentiment is the same I see... in so many places in my life, both on the street... and above it."
    He takes a breath and says, "I'll tell you what I tell them. Get out of it. Get away from that life. Leave it behind you. None of it is worth the cost to..." He perhaps had been about to say 'soul' but he checks it even as his lips had started to form it, instead he murmurs, "To you."

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    That earns a sad smile from Natasha. "And do what? Retire? I'm not up to sitting around knitting on a porch. Or go get a job like a normal person? Not sure that I would be able to stand that for more than five minutes."
    She takes a step forward. She slides her arms around his torso for a brief hug, resting her head against his shoulder. A moment. In instant of that vulnerability that she doesn't let many ever see. Then she is stepping back, forcing her shoulders back and her chin up. "I am what I am, Matt. What I was created to be. I managed to get away from those who used me and I am trying to put the skills to use for good. I don't think I could walk away completely." That sadness is back in her green eyes. "You believe in doing penance. It's something I believe in as well, though for different reasons. Maybe someday, if I do enough, it will balance out for me."
    She takes a step backwards from him, distancing herself physically and emotionally in the same movement. "I should go."

Daredevil has posed:
    He encircles his arms around her and holds her there for the moment, his frown still there. His brow is still furrowed and those dark lenses continue to cast her own reflection back to her, yet she can almost feel the unhappiness at her words even as he steps back from her.
    A moment passes, then he says quietly. "Natasha." He holds the words as he holds her attention, perhaps not wishing to offer these final words to her that could well serve to end what good will she might still have for him. But in the end if he didn't say them he would feel as if he didn't do all he could for her, "You could do good for people that need you, instead of evil for people that don't."
    And they hang there, those words offered. Judgmental, severe... but sometimes that's what people need. It's a small chance she might heed them. Doubtful even. But it's a chance he takes.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
    Natasha laughs softly. It's not a happy sound, more irony given voice. "Sometimes, those lines aren't all that clear." She doesn't elaborate. She doesn't need to. He knows it although for him things are simply right and wrong. The levels in between get a little more difficult to be understood for someone with his moral compass. She recognized that long ago.
    She tilts her head a little as she considers. "With the Avengers, I know I'm doing good. SHIELD..." The words fail her. They both know the truth there. "Is it evil if it is done for the right reason? Was it wrong to protect Oleg and his family and eliminate those who put them in that predicament to have to give up their lives completely, give up everything they ever knew. Knowing that if those behind it were taken to trial, they would be out in a day because of their connections and money? Don't answer that." She already knows how he would feel. It was more rhetorical for her.
    She turns suddenly and heads toward the door. "Don't be a stranger." She pauses with her hand on the door knob, glancing over her shoulder at him. "If I...decide to try stepping away, maybe I'll see you on a rooftop sometime."