A bucket of ice water was dumped over her in a rush. Natsha was frozen to the bone, forced awake from her unwilling stupor.

"Hoooh!" She cried out, her whole body jerking.

The image of hopping around on one foot like a reflex flashed through her mind. Except now, she was tightly bound to a wooden chair.

So this was what interrogation scenes in action movies looked like? She didn't think she had any interest in experiencing one herself.

"Where's the goods?" A man's low voice rang out, cutting through the line of men dressed in black.

A long scar slashed across his left eye. His suit looked tailored down to the very last millimeter. Perfect without a single inch of excess fabric.

"What goods?" She shot back bluntly. What the hell is this now? The feeling of betrayal was still carved deep into her heart, you know!

"Watch your mouth." One of the men in black raised his fist threateningly and aimed a punch at her ribs.

Natsha reacted on instinct, jerking her upper body to the side.

"What goods, sir?" She clicked her tongue subtly and corrected her wording.

"Weapons." The man replied.

"Aren't they in the shipping container?" Natsha frowned. What now?

"What are you frowning at?" One of the men in black pulled out a stun baton. "What kind of attitude is that?"

Natsha relaxed her facial muscles. Why so aggressive?

The doors of the container truck were pulled open. The man in black dragged a wooden crate out from inside. He let it drop straight to the ground. Under the force of the impact, the crowbar bent upward. The lid of the crate sprang open.

He picked up a grenade and handed it to the man.

Natsha stared at the group in front of her, suspicion rising in her chest. Wasn't that thing in his hand a weapon? Why was he even asking her like that?

The man calmly pulled the safety pin.

Natsha's eyes widened at him.

"YOU LUNATIC!" She roared. If they were all about to descend into hell, then all beings would be equal.

He stuffed it into her clothes. Natsha had never thought her life would end this early. Damn it! She hadn't even gotten the chance to beat up the one who drove the container truck yet... No! It should be the woman who orchestrated everything behind the scenes!!!

"BOOM!"

Natsha fell hard onto the ground, her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. After a brief moment of regaining her senses, she looked down at her chest. Scattered across her soaked clothes was nothing but red confetti.

She stared at the pile of paper scraps, frozen. What the hell is this?

Natsha was yanked back to her feet but there was no way these guys were kind enough to help her up properly. The man in black was gripping her by the collar as he hauled her upright.

"The goods..." A choice was presented. "...or pick one of the two."

Two men in black stood close beside him. One raised a stun baton in his hand The other lifted a revolver.

So reputable, huh? Even in this line of work there's variety. Not only that, you even get to choose freely. The level of democracy here is practically off the charts.

She really wanted to cry.

"Can I choose neither?" The corner of her lips twitched into a forced smile worse than crying.

The very next second, Natsha took a stun baton straight to her side. Her body convulsed for a brief moment.

That damned organization! She hadn't even gotten to mention that she'd had to risk her life just to protect this pile of "toys"!

The current finally left her body. It took Natsha a short while to process what had just happened. Had she really just been electrocuted?

She looked listless, like someone legally declared mentally incapacitated.

The man picked up the revolver, pushing the cylinder out. One bullet slid out of the chamber under the tilt of his hand and dropped free. He picked up a single round and inserted it back into the cylinder.

The cylinder spun, then was flicked back into place.

Natsha swallowed. She had no desire to play Russian roulette, okay?

Was democracy really just one flick of a gun away from turning into tyranny?

"I thought it was a pick one. Why are we playing both right now?" Natsha cried inwardly.

The cold barrel pressed straight against her temple. Every emotion she had was written all over her face. It didn't help her in the slightest. If anything, it only made him more interested.

"Click".

Natsha let out a dry breath. Her heartbeat was nearly bursting through her chest. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to diagnose her with high blood pressure right now.

He studied her expression and, rare for him, curled his lips into a smirk. He cocked the hammer, aimed the gun at his own temple, and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Natsha stared at the man in front of her, her eyes twitching. When she said he had a screw loose, she hadn't thought it would be literal. Did he drag her here just to play Russian roulette with her, not to interrogate her?

Still no bullet. Three safe rounds left. He was way too enthusiastic about this one-life game. But she had absolutely no interest in participating!

The barrel pointed at her again. Natsha shut her eyes, lips pressed tight.

"Click". Safe.

His turn. "Click!". Also safe.

Natsha felt like she had just burned through every ounce of luck she'd accumulated over the years.

He aimed at her again and pulled the trigger. Luck was still standing on Natsha's side.

For the final round, he didn't turn the gun toward himself. He kept it aimed straight at her head.

Natsha rolled her eyes. She had almost hoped he'd play fair.

"BANG!"

A deafening explosion rang out, making her eardrums throb. The massive warehouse doors were rammed open.

"Boss! The warehouse is under attack!" one of the men in black reported frantically.

The gun aimed at her was finally lowered.

Natsha let her head fall back, going limp. Oh God! She loved whoever had thought to attack their warehouse at this exact moment.