74 Ch74. An offer that can't be refused

"Could you explain why is the biggest Russian boogeyman paying me a visit and most importantly, why is the bitch sitting in my chair?" Balalaika asked lowering the cigar in her mouth, and gave Natasha an unimpressed look as her eyes noticed the documents in front of Natasha.

Documents she didn't remember having on the table when she left her office. The very same documents that should have been in her safe.

Natasha noticed where Balalaika's eyes briefly wandered and knowingly smiled. She was impressed the woman was not cowed at all. And here Natasha put so much effort into making the scene as intimidating and daring as possible. Yet...

"I gotta admit, what I heard about you is mostly true." Natasha spoke before falling silent, letting Balalaika pick up the conversation.

Balalaika's eye twitched in irritation. This power move was so obvious... "Haa~," She sighed, letting out smoke from her mouth before she asked in a fed-up tone, "And what did you hear about me?"

"That you are a cold-hearted bitch." Natasha shrugged, inwardly laughing at how Balalaika visibly tried to resist an eye roll.

"That you care about your men. Maybe even too much to be good for you." Natasha's serene smile slightly widened as she tapped on the documents in front of her and Balalaika's lips pursed and her eyes narrowed at the threat. But she stayed silent, despite how tense the atmosphere in the room became.

"And lastly, that you wouldn't mind selling even your own body for the well-fare of your subordinates. Right, Sofiya?" Natasha's smile was now a full-blown Cheshire one. Especially with how Balalaika's eyes briefly widened before her expression grew cold.

It was hilarious for Natasha... how the blonde woman was clearly bothered by the stare of her two guards but was trying her best to ignore it.

"Where did you hear that?" Balalaika growled and Natasha snorted.

"You would be surprised what you could discover in the files of the Russian Mafia."

"Kovalinskij." Balalaika clicked her tongue as she realized her co-operators inside the mafia probably had more blackmail on her than she realized.

"Kovalinskij." Natasha nodded in satisfaction. "He sang like a canary. About your brief passionate night with general-"

"Fine. You can cut to the chase. What do you want?" Balalaika interrupted her. Her conscience was non-existent at this point and there was no feeling of shame inside of her but some things should stay secret. She didn't need her men thinking they were responsible for some tragic thing in her past. She did what she did because it was her duty as their leader. That was all there was to it.

"How rude." Natasha mock frowned, "And here I was worried about you. I wonder how many new scars does your body hold as a reminder, hmm? I heard B-" She saw Balalaika's look and decided that pushing boundaries too much was unwise if she really wanted to make a deal with the woman in the end. So, she changed her statement mid-speech, "-... that general is a particularly sadistic man with the lambs that gets into his bed."

Natasha clearly saw Balalaika's look growing stormier the more she talked. With an inward sigh, she decided she had enough fun for now. "Then again, that's a part of the reason why I chose you."

Now that stopped Balalaika short just in time before she snapped.

"We are not that different, you know?" Natasha hummed, sweeping her eyes to the side and for the first time breaking eye contact with Balalaika, opting to look around the office as she spoke, "Both screwed over by our nation and its leaders..."

Natasha momentarily trailed off, her eyes seemingly stopping on a special and very valuable vase, admiring it... but in truth, she didn't care for it and was just giving Balalaika time to catch up with what was said and form her own thoughts.

That last statement did pique Balalaika's interest a bit and calmed her temper down completely. Her guards actually couldn't believe their boss managed to calm down. They worked for her a lot and knew that she was level-headed in the most difficult situations but if something managed to get her temper high, there was nothing short of a massacre that could calm it down.

The redhead has just gained newfound respect from them. Even if it was all just subconscious. After all, the woman was their enemy right now.

After a few seconds, Natasha's eyes moved away from the vase and her mouth moved again too, "Both cold-hearted with only a specific thing we care about and would do anything to keep it safe..." She looked back at Balalaika, smiling when she saw she had the woman's interest.

"Both willing to do whatever dangerous, humiliating, or vile thing to do just that..." Natasha slowly finished, looking straight into Balalaika's eyes. "Oh, and I guess tragic past and being used by others can also be counted." She shrugged and Balaliaka's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

Natasha took that as a win. To be honest, she couldn't help it. Tony was really a bad influence.

"And that's why I came to give you an offer." Natasha ended her speech in a grandiose manner.

Surprisingly, the bad came with good and in some ways, Tony was actually a very good influence. The man could be the epitome of petulant childishness, devious pettiness, and insufferable arrogance, but he knew how to give speeches and persuade people. When he could be bothered to try.

Balalaika gave Natasha a deadpan look and snorted, "One that can't be refused, I am sure." She said in a voice full of sarcasm.

"Oh, nothing of the sort." Natasha shook her head as if she found Balalaika's words funny, "You can freely refuse and keep yourself and your men in this... hovel of a town, shedding the blood of your cherished subordinates for every small piece of useless territory in this town that does not matter and never will matter."

"Well, I can at least hear you out." Balalaika grumbled, taking the half-finished cigar out of her mouth and putting it into the ashtray. Not even her favorite cigars tasted good to her in the presence of the red-haired cheeky bitch.

Natasha smiled and stood up, pushing an envelope on the side of the table towards Balalaika.

"The details are in there." She said and walked around the table, towards the door.

Balalaika looked in front of her at her empty chair in bewilderment, blinking in incomprehension. It took her a few seconds to recollect herself, seconds in which Natasha reached the door. Balalaika's guards did not try to stop her but they did look expectantly at Balalaika, waiting for orders.

"Wait!" Balalaika called out, recollecting her wits just as Natasha put her hand on the handle.

"Yes?" Natasha half-turned around, looked at Balalaika, and raised her eyebrow.

Balalaika took the envelope and waved it around a bit, "That's it? This is why you made all that dramatic bullshit?" She asked, her voice totally flabbergasted. "No threats? No persuasion? No negotiation? Are you for real?"

Natasha just casually shrugged. "Once you read what's in there, you will either contact us or not. But just in between me, you, and your two unimportant guards, I already know what your answer will be. After all, you always do what is best for your subordinates."

Throwing one last mysterious smile at the befuddled Balalaika who was more used to the underworld type of 'making deals', Natasha opened the door and walked out without a care in the world.

Balalaika just sat in her seat for a second, before her eyes grew wide and she abruptly stood up.

"Igor, Martin! Quickly! Follow her!" Balalaika totally forgot that the woman actually infiltrated her office and shuffled through all her secret documents! In here the woman was most vulnerable. Letting her leave like this would be a fatal mistake.

'Damn! She is incredible at misdirecting the attention.' Balalaika thought as she threw the door open and looked out... only for her jaw to slightly drop when she didn't find anybody there.

It lasted barely three seconds since Natasha left the room and Balalaika actually got to the door and opened them. Even if Natasha sprinted, Balalaika should have seen her back for a bit since it was a straight hallway that led towards her office.

But... the redhead was nowhere to be found.