A Different Call

What's the Protocol for this?

Natasha's P.O.V.

I finished the yearlong torture that was  SHIELD training and after being assigned some supervised missions with Barton became a level four agent. They still didn't trust me here and it was rather apparent with the type of missions that they gave me, mainly in and out assignments with very little significance. The only good thing about finishing training was that I was given my own private room, which was where I was currently resting when someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" I asked, hoping it wasn't Barton trying to make me socialize with the other agents. Why couldn't he understand that none of them trusted me, although I couldn't blame them, I don't trust myself half the time. The brainwashing that the Red Room had put me through was finally wearing off, but it was slow progress.

"Agent Hill," I heard a feminine voice respond.

"Come in." I actually admired the woman, she was one of the few competent agents here that I could actually see myself getting along with.

Agent Hill walked in, "What do you need?" I asked getting straight to the point. It might have sounded impersonal, but I knew that she preferred getting things done quickly so that she could move on to the next task on her list.

" Fury wants you in his office, he has a mission for you."

"Ok, I'll be there in five minutes." She left and after tiding my room I did too.

When I got to Fury's office, I saw Barton already there, which wasn't surprising he had been accompanying me on all my missions, most likely to make sure I didn't do something SHIELD wouldn't approve of. What did surprise me though was that there was another agent there, he was a couple years older than Barton and me, although from I could read at the moment, he was one of the few agents that weren't friends with Clint.

"What is this about Fury?" Barton asked, shooting glares at the other agent

"You, agent Romanoff, and agent Johnson are going to be going on a mission together. We have evidence that a member of the French parliament is plotting a coupe that would result in the overthrowing of much of the European Union." Well, that sounds interesting. "I need you three to attend a gala that he is supposed to be attending and take him out. Each of you will be given a poison that the science division has concocted, which should be untraceable. Your goal is to put it in the parliament members drink."

"So what, Natasha is supposed to seduce the guy while Jake and I run surveillance?"

"Not exactly agent Barton, your target has unique tastes, tastes that someone like yourself appeals to." I tried to hold back my laugh, I was more than ready to see Barton play the role of honeypot. "Romanoff and Johnson will be running surveillance and acting as your security in case the anything goes south, however, if either of you two has the ability to put the poison in the target's drink I encourage you to do so. Understood?"

We all nod, "Yes sir."

"Good, there are files in each of your quarters and you will be leaving in an hour, so get packing."

We all went to leave, but Fury stopped me, "Agent Romanoff would you stay a moment so that I could speak with you I private."

"Yes, sir."

Fury waited for the other two to leave before he began to speak, "I want you to know that if you do anything that threatens agent Barton or agent Johnson's lives, you will be arrested and I'll be your personal executioner. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," I answered.

"Then you are dismissed." I got up and left the room, ready to get this whole mission over with.

When I got to my room though I was greeted with a unique sight, Phil Coulson sitting on my bed.

"You know the whole it's rude to enter someone's quarters when they're not present?" I asked, grabbing my SHIELD issued duffle bag from the closet.

"I knew, but I Hill told me what your mission was, so I brought some outfits that I thought would be helpful, none of the clothing you had currently seemed to be appropriate," Coulson said, gesturing to a dress bag that was on the bed next to him.

"Thanks, but I don't think delivering a dress really constitutes the need for you to stay here after it was delivered. So, what's this really about."

"I heard that agent Johnson was going on this mission with you. He and Barton were in the same cadet class as each other and didn't really get along."

"Yeah I could tell just by being in the same room with them, but I still don't really see how explains why you're in my room." I went into the ensuite bathroom to gather the makeup that I would need.

"Yeah well," Coulson followed me, "this wasn't just a 'you can't sit with us situation' it was a little more intense than that."

"Johnson got violent?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"I think so, but Clint would never say anything to me about it. But I was wondering-"

"If I could keep an eye on Johnson, make sure he doesn't do anything to Barton."

"Please." Coulson even flashed puppy dog eyes at me.

"Sure, I'm not necessarily a huge fan of Barton, but I wouldn't take satisfaction from seeing him get hurt for no reason."

"Thank you so much."

"It's no problem, now can you please leave. I still have a bag to pack and file to read."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So what do you think of Barton?" Johnson asked me. We were at the gala, leaning against the bar, keeping an eye on Barton who was at one of the tables that lined the walls of the ballroom, currently schmoozing our target. I am not usually a huge fan of having to work as a honeypot, but I would rather be doing that than having to spend another minute with Johnson. And I thought Hodge was bad, he's the picture of humbleness compared to this guy.

"He's okay, a bit cocky, a bit stupid, but other than that-"

"I know right he's always strutting about acting like he's God's gift to mankind," I wouldn't go that far, "He's been that way since he came here, always acting like everything is a joke, and never taking anything seriously. I mean he's not even fit to be an agent; not like we are."

"Whatever you say, let's just get our minds back to the mission at hand."

"Oh yeah of course."

As I took a sip of the champagne, I had been nursing all night, I saw Johnson order another drink, "Don't you think you're good on drinks, I mean you're still working on the last glass you had ordered?"

"I know this isn't for me, I'm ordering it for Barton. Figure it might help him with Debois, I mean nothing makes a man bring someone closer than the feeling that someone else is poaching your date."

"Ok, just make sure that you don't ruin what Barton's done already."

"Trust, I know what I'm doing."

I continued to pretend to drink from my glass, making sure that nothing suspicious was going on and that no one was on to our plans. On one of the sweeps, I noticed Johnson but something into Barton's drink before giving it to him, something that looked suspiciously like the poison we had been given.

Before I realized what I was doing, I had grabbed the tiny revolver that I had managed to sneak in and shot Johnson, right at Debois's table and right in front of Barton. Not surprisingly everyone turned their attention to me. I quickly made my way out of the ballroom and made my way towards that car that was awaiting our extraction a few blocks away. I didn't look behind me but knew that Barton was trailing me, not close enough for anyone to assume that we were together, but close enough that he wouldn't lose sight of me.

I know that I wasn't paying one hundred attention to Coulson's lecture, but I am pretty sure that he didn't cover what you were supposed to do when you see one agent try to murder another. And I am almost completely sure that he didn't cover what you were supposed to do when you killed another agent while on a mission.