BW:F Chapter 6

“They left in a hurry,” Nat reports as she enters the house. She can smell coffee, and something else. The home is relatively tidy with plenty of naturalistic touches like burnished pagan suns hanging on the walls, throw pillows with hippie vibes, and most blatantly, an elaborate hookah setup on the living room coffee table.

Given that Blonsky apparently has seven partners, the large dining room makes sense. The problem is that the food is all still out: eight plates of eggs and bacon.

“Kid? You’re close to a security camera. I want you to go check it out, see if anything’s wrong with it,” Happy tells Spider-Man.

“Sure thing, Happy.”

Nat wrinkles her nose. Some smells are unmistakable for her, like gunpowder. She leans slightly, considering a little white dust on the dining room table. Cocaine isn’t out of the question, although Nat doubts that Blonsky would be doing it at the breakfast table. On the other hand, she doesn’t know him well. There’s no French toast; only a basket of biscuits. This isn’t powdered sugar.

“Um, Happy? These cameras are busted. I think somebody might’ve shot it,” Spider-Man says.

Slowly, Nat looks up at the ceiling, finding a single bullet hole. That dust is plaster.

She reaches for her ear.

“Happy?”

“Yeah, Natasha?”

“Blonsky didn’t leave here by choice. No **** entry. No sign of a struggle.” Nat looks up at a slight creak from the ceiling.

“Somebody kidnapped him? That’s what happened last time too,” Jen says, sounding relieved. “But if they kidnapped the soul mates, that’s pretty bad. You can’t really hurt Blonsky. But the soul mates are just regular women. Well, maybe not the most normal. We gotta find them, guys.”

“Let me get this straight. Someone took out the cameras,” Happy says.

Nat goes into the front hall and places her hand on the banister, looking up the stairs. She starts to climb. On her left are several tasteful nudes of women with uncontrolled pubic hair. It’s not exactly erotic, but it is distracting.

“…disabled Blonsky’s tracker and his inhibitor, and he didn’t turn into Abomination because the house is still standing,” Happy goes on.

Nat reaches the landing.

“Doesn’t sound like he was taken against his will to me,” Spider-Man says.

“Whoever took them fired a warning shot at the breakfast table,” Nat tells them, looking down the hallway. A tray and some papers sit on a sideboard that contains an array of pretty crystals.

“These would have to be real pros. Very clean,” Happy says worriedly. “I can see why people would want him. He’s a hulk. But who can do an op like this in upstate New York without leaving a trace? And why didn’t Blonsky fight back?”

“They left a trace,” Nat says, turning around to face the ninja at the other end of the hallway. She wears a black bodysuit covered in tactical gear, including a face mask and goggles set. In her hand is a short, curved sword. Nat almost didn’t hear her coming.

“Who, though?” Happy scratching his head is audible over the radio.

“How about Hydra?” Nat asks.