"You know what? You two should talk about this," Natasha said, pushing herself to stand up. She gestured to the others. "Aly, Niko' Let's go and pretend to be interested in the view from the cockpit for a second. And shut the door behind us."

"I am not interested in the ..." Nik started, trailing off when he realized what Nat was up to. "Oh, I see," he murmured with a heavy long-suffering sigh. "Very well."

Giggling, Alyona rose to her feet, her hand gently curled into Nikolai's as she followed Nat out of sight and into the cockpit, which was swiftly shut up behind them.

Aleksandra rolled her eyes at the lack of subtlety, twisting in her seat to look at Maxim. "I am not sure I understand quite what is going on here."

Maxim waited, remaining silent until they were alone, trusting Nat not to eavesdrop on them. He turned to Aleksandra then, just barely stopping himself for reaching for her hand. "I know. I'm sorry for all this. It is because of me, Aleks. I am going to defect, and Russian Intelligence will not look kindly on that." It wasn't entirely about or because of him, but it had become obvious at least to at least one person on board the quinjet that he was doing it because of Aleksandra.

"But I have defect - wait, you defected?" She frowned, confusion overwhelming a mind that had been awake and busy for more than twenty-four hours now. "I thought you were A.E.G.I.S."

"Me?" he said in obvious surprise. Had she really thought he belonged to A.E.G.I.S." "No, I am ....was Russian Intelligence. Russia does not like Hydra setting up shop inside her borders. My mission was to infiltrate the facility and inform them of Hydra's purpose there." She had never been part of his mission, not until she had contacted A.E.G.I.S., and he'd been ordered to help extricate her. "Are you disappointed?" he asked, the hint of a smile on his face.

She blinked, fighting a yawn even as a slow smile touched her weary face. "I ....no, I-I am not disappointed," she promised him quietly. "But you are defecting now. Did something happen to make you decide this?"

He noted her yawn with a smile. Perhaps this was not the time for this conversation, after all. "Perhaps you should sleep and we can speak on this later," he told her, unsure if she'd even remember this conversation later, as weary as she was now.

"In a little while," she said, shaking her head. "Agent Romanoff said we should ....that we should talk about this ....identity integration. Perhaps it would make things easier for the people in America to have things ready if they know in advance what we would prefer?"

"Perhaps," he said, though he didn't think there was any rush. After all, Natasha had said it would be a week or so before they were expected to show up for work. They'd have to sort out their new living arrangements long before that, though. "Aleks," he started, unsure just how to explain all this to her. "Russian Intelligence wants me to infiltrate A.E.G.I.S. ....to spy for them, to become a double agent. I love my country, but that is something I cannot do."

She frowned uncertainly. "You think they will come after you?" she asked, still biting down on the urge to yawn again. "They will come after me, too. At least you can defend yourself."

"That is not what concerns me," he told her, though it did, but that was not why he was telling her this - not entirely, anyway. She was making this very hard for him, and he wondered if he should just come right out and say it. "I promised to protect you, and I intend to keep that promise," he told her. "But if you do not wish me to, I understand."

It was a little too late for him to turn back now, though Mother Russia would probably take him back in an instant and then pick his brain for everything he knew about A.E.G.I.S.

Aleksandra watched him struggle for a moment, a slow look of comprehension touching her own expression, touched with the barest suggestion of wonder. She raised her hand, gently touching his lips with her fingertips. "Yes," she said simply. "Yes, I will be your pretend wife. I like you, Maxim. I trust you. And as selfish as it seems, I would very much like to stay with you. Perhaps, after a while, it won't be pretending anymore."

He wouldn't have asked her to pretend to be his wife, but here she was proposing it. Natasha had said they could not pretend to be siblings, and maybe she was right. He didn't want to be Aleksandra's brother any more than it seemed she wanted to be his sister. "Is that what you want, Aleksandra?" he asked, taking her hand in his and looking expectantly to her for an answer.

If he'd asked her that when she wasn't operating on no sleep, he would not have had a satisfactory answer. As it was, she couldn't muster even a lie to protect herself from being humiliated. "I would like the whole thing not to have been pretend," she admitted with a resigned laugh. "I like you, I wasn't lying about that. I ....I've had a schoolgirl's crush on you for months, and then you asked me out. But it was on orders, and for a mission, and I played along because it was nice to pretend for a little while, and because I knew that was what you needed me to do so I could get out. I enjoyed our strange little date. I wish it had been real."

"It was real enough, da?" he asked, slipping back into his native Russian. It hardly seemed appropriate to tell her what he was about to tell her in English. He had only been speaking it for the sake of the others, and they were no longer listening - or so he hoped. "It had been a long time since I have cared for anyone, Aleksandra," he told her, his voice quiet, his expression serious. Why her, he didn't know, but there was something about her that had made him care. Her vulnerability, perhaps, or perhaps, something more. Whatever it was, it seemed she had gotten under his skin. Did he really have to say it"

"It was real for me," she confessed softly, smiling as though she was expecting him to reject her, however gently. His words surprised her, but in the best way, raising a sweeter smile to her face. "Maybe not your wife, then," she suggested. "Your girlfriend?"

The hint of an amused smile tugged at his mouth. "You are too much a woman to be called girlfriend," he replied, lifting her hand again to his lips so that he could touch a kiss against her fingers. They weren't children indulging a crush, after all, but full-grown adults just starting to realize that they had feelings for each other.

Perhaps, if she had been less tired, she might have followed that gesture of affection with something more, but finally the yawn she had been fighting broke free, making her jaw click with its intensity. She laughed through it, her eyes full of apology for her lack of romance. "I am so sorry."

He only smiled, not blaming her for being tired. "It will be a few hours before we reach New York. You should get some rest," he told her, not offended at all that she was falling asleep on him. There would be time to talk when they got to New York - or so he hoped.

"So should you," she pointed out, but it didn't prevent her from resting her head on his shoulder as she relaxed against the startingly comfortable seat she was buckled into.

"Da, I suppose I should," he replied, making no promises, as he glanced down at the pretty face that was resting on his shoulder. "Słodkie sny," he whispered in her own native Polish, touching a kiss to the top of her head. Sweet dreams. So, it seemed he was fluent in more than just Russian and English.

She smiled at the words that were so familiar, yet so rarely heard, nestling a little more comfortably against him. Despite the tension and terror of the last twenty hours or so, she felt safe, protected. She knew Maxim would look after her in the new life they were winging their way toward.

He hoped he could do just that. It was why he was here, after all - in good part, why he had agreed to leave the familiarity of his homeland for the streets of New York, a place he'd never been. But it wasn't just about Aleksandra. Like some of the others he was joining, he had a deep abiding hatred for Hydra, and joining A.E.G.I.S. seemed the most promising way of destroying them.

If everything Nat had told him was true, A.E.G.I.S. was the only agency in direct opposition to Hydra, and what reason did she have to lie to him about that' She'd worked for too many agencies gone bad to be drawn in again. But any questions could wait for a few hours, at least until they'd landed on American soil. Their companions on the quinjet didn't disturb them as they slept away the remaining hours of the journey, not until the jet began its descent on the cusp of dawn, down onto an airfield in upstate New York.

"Maxim Ivanovich, Aleksandra Biala, meet Captain Steve Rogers and Tony Stark," Natasha introduced them. "Founders of A.E.G.I.S. but not in charge of it."

"What, not even teensy orders?" Stark objected. "Not even to get coffee?"

Nikolai muttered something in Russian under his breath. Maxim only caught part of it. Although, he didn't say a word, a brief smirk flickered across Steve's face, betraying not only his understanding of the language, but his heightened sense of hearing.

"Pleased to meet you both," Steve said instead, stepping forward to offer them each a hand in greeting. "First things first. You must be tired and hungry. Tony, think you can rustle up some grub?"

"Hold on, why am I on kitchen duty?" Tony protested, fully aware that the ones who knew him were smirking at this.

Aleksandra shook Steve's hand, still a little uncertain, and yelped as Alyona quite suddenly came running out of the quinjet to throw her arms around Steve's neck and kiss his cheek. Then she leaped down and did the same to Stark, who grimaced, but didn't actually stop her.

"C'mon, Tinkerbell, you're killing my image here."

Tony had mentioned something about coffee, after all, but it was Alyona's greeting that made Steve laugh. "Which image is that?" he asked. "The genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist?" he quoted with an easy-going grin, seemingly far more at ease with Stark these days than he had been in the past.

"You forgot extremely intimidating," Tony reminded him, although this was ever so slightly undermined by the fact that he had Alyona still hanging off him and grinning. He even cracked a smile as she smacked a kiss to his cheek.

Aleksandra laughed very quietly. "These are the famous, terrifying Avengers?"

"He was not this friendly a few months ago," Nikolai remarked, unsure how he felt about his girl hanging off Stark like a piece of jewelry. "He had to learn how to play nice with others."

Steve chuckled at Aleksandra's comment. "Only if you're Hydra," he said. "Come on, let's get you inside and get something in your stomachs. You must be starving."

"Oh, look at that, Cap's giving orders," Tony declared, handing Alyona off his side and onto Nikolai's arm. "Love you, Tinkerbell, but you're gonna get me shot one of these days. JARVIS, you awake?"

A electronic voice answered from an unknown source. "I am not programmed to sleep, sir."

"Great," Stark responded. "Some sort of breakfast for the newbies, think you can handle that?"

"Yes, sir."

"Newbies?" Maxim echoed. He got the gist of the word, though he wasn't too familiar with it. He arched a curious brow at the disembodied male voice, assuming it was a computer program of some kind from the context of its speech. "A robot?" he guessed.

"Virtual Intelligence," Natasha told him. "JARVIS pretty much runs this place, and a couple of others."

"Come inside, I can smell bread baking," Alyona enthused, pulling Nikolai by the hand as she gestured for Maxim and Aleksandra to follow them.

"Nat, a word?" Steve said, gesturing for Nat to stay behind a moment or two. They had spoken while the quinjet had been in flight, but he had waited for her to arrive to be filled in completely.

Trained or not, Maxim couldn't hide the rumbling sound coming from his stomach. He was feeling a little more at ease now that they were there. Despite their disagreements, he got the feeling these people were good friends.

Natasha nodded to him, stepping aside as Alyona and Nikolai escorted their newest recruits into the facility with Tony complaining all the way. As soon as they were out of sight, she finally let her shoulders relax, yawning as she stretched. "Long night, old man."

"At least you didn't have to listen to Tony complaining all night about how bored he was and how he wished he'd gone along," Steve said. "He's worried we're letting the Russians take over A.E.G.I.S.," Steve said with a smirk, seeing how Nat was one of those Russians.

She snorted with laughter. "Does he have any idea how many people work for A.E.G.I.S.?" she asked in amusement. "Seriously, without getting these guys to join up, our Russian representation was starting to look a little thin. Did the tech plane get in okay?"

"Yeah, but it's gonna take some time to go through it all," Steve confirmed, frowning a moment as he debated whether or not to confess something he'd been recently thinking.

"Well, that's something Aleksandra can help with, at least," Nat commented. She paused, stretching out her back again as she looked up at a familiar frown. "Spit it out, Rogers."

"It's nothing," Steve shrugged, though nothing that put a frown on his face was ever really nothing. "Just realizing that we're never really gonna get rid of Hydra. They're like a disease without a cure. We can try and keep it under control, but we can never iradicate it entirely. All we can do is hope to stay one step ahead of them."

"Well, that's what I've been telling you," she pointed out with a shrug. "That's why you took a step back. It'll never truly be gone - we're just setting up the infrastructure to make it impossible for them to get to any position of power in the future."

"You don't think we're fighting a losing battle?" he asked, uncertainly. It was hard to remember sometimes that Steve wasn't really the old man of the bunch, unless you measured age by years. He'd spent seventy of those years in suspended animation at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean.

Nat met his gaze. "Someone very wise said once that so long as there's one person still fighting, the war isn't lost," she reminded him. That someone had been him, and she'd needed to hear it at the time. "He was right. I've been on the wrong side too many times, Steve. I'm on the right side for once. Hydra can't win so long as our people are still fighting them, and we will fight them. It just won't be us doing the fighting in a few years' time. It'll be them."

This, she said with a nod toward the training facility, where several new enhanced individuals would be starting their new education in the not so distant future.

Steve followed her gaze, knowing what she meant and then some. Though he wasn't getting any younger, he wasn't showing any signs of aging either, but none of them would live forever. "We need to start recruiting and training the next generation," he said, only saying what it was she had been hinting at.

"And we will," she assured him. "Croft's got the dossiers, intel is working on sourcing identities. Anyone who passes the psych eval gets an offer. We've got this, Steve. Now why don't you tell me why you decided to greet our defectors personally?"

"You think it's because I don't trust Tony to do it right?" he asked, hoping she didn't think that. As irritating as Tony could be, he understood the importance of what they were trying to do here. Steve sighed. "I don't know. I want to keep my family safe, but ....I swore I would never give up fighting Hydra, and it's hard to do from Rhy'Din. Besides, I think they need to see me, meet me, know I'm part of this. It's not about being Captain America anymore, Nat. The world has gotten too small for that. We're recruiting people from all over the world who hate Hydra as much as we do. Who want to make a difference. It's about being a leader, about having someone to follow, to look up to. God, that sounds lame and egotistical, doesn't it?"

By that time, Maxim was pacing the floor, obviously restless and wondering why they'd been left alone for so long. He had showered, dressed, and eaten, leaving him a few hours to kill during which there was nothing to do but flip through channels on the TV set.

Aleksandra had slept longer than Maxim, a civilian to her toes with less awareness of dawn and day. The opening of the curtains to let light spill over her was what woke her to the embarrassing realisation that she'd probably been snoring while Max was awake, swift to disappear into the bathroom with her own provided change of clothes and make use of the facilities.

Maxim answered the knock at the door, already cranky from having been kept waiting for so long. As exhausted as he'd been, he'd been too anxious to sleep very long, until he knew better what was expected of them.

A familiar face was waiting behind the door - Natasha, proof that A.E.G.I.S. wasn't just going to cast aside what little familiarity they had already established. "Sleep well, big guy?"

"Not really," Max replied. He had slept, yes, but his sleep had been broken and restless. He moved back from the door so that she could step inside. "Aleks is the bathroom," he explained, regarding the engineer's disappearance.

"Well, you should sleep well tonight, then," Nat commented, stepping into the room. "Your identities have been generated and inserted into the national databases, your shared home has been furnished, bank accounts and social security numbers have been formalized. Director Croft will give you your dossiers and answer any questions you have. He's ready to see you at your nearest convenience."

"I assume he wants to see us together, da?" he asked, with a glance toward the bathroom into which Aleks had disappeared not more than a few minutes ago. He was still feeling a little cranky, either from lack of sleep or caffeine or worry, or a combination thereof.

"Yes, your wishes are going to be respected," Nat assured him with a nod. "She'll have to go through basic training for A.E.G.I.S., but that doesn't mean she will ever be going out in the field. We learned the hard way with S.H.I.E.L.D. that all the good will in the world won't protect a scientist if they can't use a weapon to defend themselves."

Maxim seemed to relax as soon as Nat assured him that his wishes - their wishes - were going to be respected. He had promised Aleks he'd protect her, and for him, that promise hadn't ended when they'd reached New York. He nodded his head, agreeing with her. As much as Aleks might not like it, she needed to learn how to defend herself. He dropped into a chair, suddenly feeling exhausted. "She's not going to like it, but it's for the best."

"What am I not going to like?" Nat glanced up as Aleks walked out of the bathroom, dressed in the t-shirt and sweats she'd been provided with, still towelling her damp hair. The engineer looked between them in concern. "What has been decided about me without my consent?"

Maxim looked between the two women, almost as if he was waiting for Nat to answer Aleksandra's question. When that didn't happen fast enough for him, he took it upon himself to answer instead. "They want you to learn how to defend yourself, and I agree," he told her.

"What do you mean, defend myself?" Aleks asked warily.

Nat smiled faintly. "Basic AEGIS training," she explained. "Team-work, psych eval, weapons and hand-to-hand combat. Just to cover the bases."

Aleks' frown did not lessen as her eyes turned to Max, clearly needing his input to reassure her here. "I am not a ....a combat person."

"Nyet, you are not. You will not be going into combat, Aleks. It is only a precaution. You should know how to defend yourself," he said, not bothering to explain why, since he thought it went without saying. He could not follow her around like her shadow, and they would both feel better knowing she was not entirely helpless when it came to her own safety. But he did not say this either. "For your own safety."

"How long does this training take?" she asked, lowering herself to perch on the arm of the chair Max was sitting in.

Nat bit down another smile, making a mental note of the unconscious decision to stay as close as possible without crowding him. "It's a week, and it's office hours, nine to five, five days," she said. "Max will have to go through something similar on the same week, so you might as well look at it as orientation."

It took everything he had to resist sliding an arm around her and even drawing her into his lap. He wanted to soothe her, to console her, to tell her he'd always keep her safe, but that was a promise he couldn't really keep. He'd had no business even making that promise. He would most certainly try, but he couldn't be with her twenty-four to seven. There were bound to be times when they weren't together.

"It would make me feel better if you knew how to defend yourself, Aleks," he told her gently.

Aleks sighed, letting the damp towel fall into her lap as she held his eyes for a long moment. "But I will not have to carry a weapon?" she asked, more hopeful for a negative answer than she had expected to be.

"A weapon is the best means of protecting yourself, Aleks," Maxim pointed out, though it was not for him to say what kind of training she'd have to endure. "I will teach you," he told her suddenly, though that might not be what A.E.G.I.S. had in mind.

"Out of hours, what you do is your business," Nat said, stepping in to head this off. "But this is official A.E.G.I.S. basic training. You won't be alone - there's a group of new hires who'll be going through it with you."

Aleks bit her lip. "Then ....it is decided that I have skills you wish to use for more than just this debriefing period?" she asked.

Nat nodded a little reluctantly. "At this moment in time" The safest place for you to work is with us. Both of you."

"What if we decide we would like to retire or change jobs?" Max asked, as unlikely as it was. She was a scientific engineer by trade, and he was a field operative. It was highly unlikely she was going to decide to be a waitress and him a bus driver or some such thing.

Nat met his gaze for a moment, knowing perfectly well how unlikely that was, but answered the question, nonetheless. "After a grace period, once we're sure that you're no longer in danger of retaliation from your former state, you'll be free to change career paths if you choose. You're not prisoners."

He knew how unlikely it was, too. If anyone knew how all this worked, it was Nat. Even if Russian Intelligence had forced him into become a spy, this was who he was now. He was quiet a moment, remembering his excitement at the prospect of becoming a cosmonaut, but he had given up on that dream a long time ago. "I made a promise to destroy Hydra. I can do that better with A.E.G.I.S. than without them."

"You're in a much better position to work against Hydra with us than with anyone else," Nat agreed, glancing up at the clock. "I'd suggest getting yourselves ready to meet the Director - you'll be spending the evening in your new home tonight."

Maxim nodded in agreement. Though he knew nothing about this Director Croft, he would find out soon enough what he - or she - was like. One thing he couldn't deny was that A.E.G.I.S. certainly didn't mess around. "Are you okay with that, dorogoya?" he asked, looking to Aleksandra, at his side, referring to sharing living quarters with him.

The endearment was not lost on their companion, but Aleks didn't bother glancing to see if that was the case. Her expression softened trustingly as she looked down at Max. "I-I want to stay with you," she told him, a little nervous of saying it aloud. "Please?"

Maxim exchanged glances with Aleksandra. He couldn't and wouldn't tell her what to do, but before they decided, they needed to know what exactly the Director was offering. "What would be expected of us if we joined your organization?" he asked, curiously.

"Well, you would be offered a place in the intelligence center, Mr. Ivanovich, as a member of the covert ops team, on active duty," Croft explained. "As and when a target is identified by our intelligence operatives, the covert ops teams go in to neutralise that target, either alone or in a support role to the enhanced team. Miss Biala, we would be delighted to have you join our R&D team in the labs here; with your advanced understanding of technical engineering, your insight into the technology our active teams deploy in the field would be invaluable."

Aleks tilted her head, a curious gleam in her eyes. "When you say technology ....would this be for both the covert and enhanced teams?"

Croft blinked in surprise. "Ah ....there are additional security checks before an allowance is made to become involved in the tech used by the Captain and his team, but, uh ....yes. Yes, I believe you would be trusted with both teams' tech."

Maxim said nothing while Aleks and the Director discussed the possibilities of her position with A.E.G.I.S. He didn't know if she'd accept the position or not, but where else was she going to find a job doing what she did best' As for himself, he just wanted to get on with taking down Hydra.

"What kind of targets?" he asked, unsure what kind of ops missions he'd be ordered to undertake. Croft claimed they were a peacekeeping organization, but how exactly did they intend to keep the peace"

"Our targets are always Hydra, or Hydra associates," Croft informed him. "Most covert ops involve the shutting down of businesses identified as fronts for Hydra, or the retaking of facilities in conjunction with international governments. There have also been instances where we have been required to liberate towns or regions under covert Hydra control. We maintain a presence in those regions until such time as the local government is able to take over that task."

There was nothing Maxim would rather do than help eradicate Hydra from the face of the Earth, but he wasn't sure he should look too eager, and he wanted a chance to discuss it with Aleks before either or both of them signed on the dotted line. "I will need a few days to consider it," he told Croft.

"Oh, of course," the director assured him, looking shocked at the idea of making them decide at that moment. "I'm not going to present you with contracts to sign here and now. No, the purpose of this meeting is to provide you with your new identities, new dossiers, and the keys to your new home." As he spoke, he pushed two folders across the desk toward them.

Maxim furrowed his brows, looking a little confused. This was too easy; what was the catch' But he said nothing, instead, reaching for the folder that was being pushed his way. He tapped a finger against the folder a moment, before flipping it open, sipping at his coffee while he looked it over.

Taking her cue from Max, Aleks set her coffee down to pick up the other folder, opening it to take a look. And immediately came up against a personal irritation. "That is not how you spell Aleksandra," she informed Croft, who looked uncomfortable.

"No, Miss Biala, but it is the Western spelling, and is less likely to draw attention on official documentation," he explained. "Alexandra Solova is your established identity on American soil."

Maxim's name had been shortened to Max, his last name changed to Kuryev - still Russian, but different from his given name. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," he murmured, under his breath, remembering a Western film he'd once seen about married assassins. Well, at least they weren't that.

Unimpressed with this new spelling of her own name, Aleks considered the folder a while longer, glancing curiously to Max as he murmured to himself. Then a thought occurred to her. "Ah ....Agent Romanoff said something about non-invasive observation," she said thoughtfully. "What does that mean, for us" I see we are to share a house, but I am not familiar with such terms."

Director Croft nodded once again. "In this instance, it doesn't refer to any form of organized surveillance," he explained. "Your new home is in a suburb that is totally inhabited by agents of A.E.G.I.S. and their families. It's more ....protective surveillance by coincidence."

"And if we don't join A.E.G.I.S.?" Max asked, looking up from his study of his dossier, with a questioning look on his face. What would happen then" Would they be relocated elsewhere" Or was Croft gambling that they were going to join"

"You will still be asked to stay in the housing provided until such time as it is proved safe for you to move away from our direct influence," the director said awkwardly. So there was the catch.

"Hmm," Maxim murmured thoughtfully to himself. He had already decided, but he could not and would not decide for Aleks. They would have to discuss it in private ....unless she, too, had already made up her mind. "I suppose I could get a job as a security guard," he said, with a smirk at Aleksandra, as if it was some sort of inside joke.

Aleks snorted softly with laughter, rolling her eyes at him. Given that she'd spent the last four years lusting after him in his role as security guard in Murmansk, that just sounded absurd now she knew what he really did. "If you do that, I will become a car mechanic," she threatened.

Across the desk, Croft's expression relaxed. If they could tease one another, this was not going down as uncomfortably as he had first thought it might. "By all means, take a few days to think it over," he told them. "You'll be provided with the means to contact this facility as and when the decision is made. You will also need to memorize the contents of those folders, your social security numbers, and whichever backstory you agree upon for your relationship. I recommend you spend a little time acclimatising to your new home and settling in before making any decision."

"Da, spasibo, Director," Maxim agreed, a small smile touching his lips. "But if you do not mind, I would like very much to finish my coffee," he said, lifting his cup for emphasis. And that meant small talk, or whatever small talk the Director might like to make.

With the official business apparently out of the way, Aleks felt herself relax a little, taking up her own cup as she set the folder aside. "What is this, um ....neighbourhood" Yes, neighbourhood - what is it like?"

Croft shrugged. "It's a typical suburban American neighborhood," he told them, though he likely didn't realize how little that actually explained. "Kids playing on lawns, dogs, local wildlife. There's a couple of convenience stores and coffee shops. My wife wanders along the main street at least once a day, so she tells me. It's just ....homely."

"We will be living nearby?" Maxim asked, a little surprised. He knew the Director had told them they'd be living in an area with other A.E.G.I.S. employees, but he wasn't expecting one of them to be the Director and his family. Who else might they run into there, he wondered? Certainly not any of the Avengers, he assumed.

"Certainly," Croft assured them. "A.E.G.I.S. employs a considerable staff and, as such, we have several neighborhoods discreetly populated with our own people in the nearest towns to this facility."

Still looking a little unnerved by the whole experience now she was awake enough to absorb it, Aleks turned her eyes to Croft. "How did you get our clothing sizes?" she asked suspiciously.

To her surprise, Croft blushed, no doubt guessing she was referring to the bra that fitted perfectly. "It was in your Hydra file."

Maxim grunted at that. "Perhaps we could see those files?" he asked, assuming Hydra had a file on him, too. It was not quite a demand, but more than a request. He needed to know how much Hydra - and perhaps even Russian Intelligence - knew about him.

"Of course." Croft nodded, gesturing to the folders they each had. "We included those in your dossiers. It was felt you have a right to know what Hydra considered to be valuable information on you both."

"May we take these with us?" Maxim asked further. They hardly had time to look them over while they'd been sitting there, and they weren't going anywhere, so there wasn't much risk in sharing the information. It was their lives, after all.

"Naturally. We do expect you to destroy those dossiers when you have finished with them."

Aleksandra nodded, lifting her own folder onto her lap and sealing it once again. "After we have memorised the lives you have given us," she stated, needing clarification.

Croft nodded himself. "Yes."

Maxim had another question, but it was a question that he deemed might be better left for later. It wasn't that he didn't trust Croft or A.E.G.I.S., but it was just too soon to be sharing all his personal secrets just yet. "Give us a few days and we will give you our decision," he promised, securing his own dossier for later review.

"Of course," Croft assured him. "You're experiencing a great many changes, decisions like this take a little time. If you are comfortable with the information you have been given, and have no more questions, I can arrange for your car to be brought around to the entrance. There is a map in your dossier to your home address," he added, in case this was a concern. "You are both fully qualified to drive."

Seeing as how neither had ever driven a car on American soil, this was going to be interesting. Thankfully, they could presumably both speak and read English. It wouldn't hurt if the car was equipped with GPS either. "Thank you again, Director," Maxim said as he rose to his full height, towering over both his companions.

"It's a pleasure, Mr. Kuryev," Croft answered, deliberately using the pseudonym he was going to have to get used to sooner rather than later. He offered a hand to shake theirs, one at a time. "Welcome to America."

Maxim was accustomed enough to working undercover and using assumed names that he didn't so much as blink in reaction. Instead, he reached across the short distance between them to return the director's hand shake. He wasn't going to thank the man a third time in a row, but he did smile. "We will give you our decision in our few days," he promsied again.

Perhaps they hadn't noticed yet, but Croft had definitely noticed that Maxim was speaking already as though he were married to his diminutive companion. Aleksandra shook the director's hand with a small smile on her face. "Thank you, Director."

Croft nodded to them. "If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to get in touch. I'm pretty sure Natasha is still waiting outside for you."

Maxim knew he was speaking for both of them, but this wasn't just about him or Aleks anymore, but about both of them - or at least, so he believed. "Yes, Natasha," Maxim murmured. He had a few questions for his old friend.

Who was, indeed, waiting for them as they left the office, pulling her phone from her ear as she pushed out of her lean against the opposite wall. "Look at that, you survived and I didn't hear any screaming," she teased mildly.

Aleks let out a soft huff of amusement. "We are being released to find this house that is ours," she explained.

Nat grinned, jerking her head for them to fall into step with her. "First, let me show you to your car."

But Maxim came to a halt, needing to know the answer to a question that had been niggling at both him and Aleksandra before they went any further. "First, explain about Alyona," he said, not really feeling the need to go into any more detail than that. He wanted to hear what she had to say first.

Natasha glanced between them, rolling her eyes. "What do you want to know?" she countered. "Until you sign on the dotted line, I can't tell you everything."

"She is a telepath, yes?" he asked, though Croft had already told them as much. "I want to know what she saw in our heads," he said bluntly, remembering what the woman had said about him already being "invested".

"Yeah, she's a telepath," Natasha confirmed. "But she doesn't see what she isn't looking for, if that makes sense. She was looking for very specific conditioning or secrets pertaining to your being a double-agent. She didn't find anything like that, and anything else she touched, she won't tell anyone. Trust me on that one - she's seen everything in my head, and she hasn't told a soul."

"And what about Aleksandra?" he asked, wondering what, if anything, the telepath had seen in her head. It was Aleks, after all, who had seemed disturbed by what had happened. He wasn't sure if she had anything to hide, but he had a few secrets of his own.

Nat met Aleks' worried eyes. "The same thing," she said confidently. "We had to be sure, and in our line of work, not everything is above board at first. There is no harm done, and nothing will be passed on that doesn't directly affect A.E.G.I.S. and our operations."

The engineer seemed a little reassured by that. "I see."

Max wasn't sure what it was that Aleks didn't want Alyona or anyone else to know about, but he had one big secret he needed to be sure was protected. It was a secret that probably wasn't even in his dossier. "Do you trust her?" he asked Nat point-blank, as if that made all the difference.

Nat looked him dead in the eye, her expression utterly raw for a split second. He knew some of the things she had done in her tenure in Russia, after all; he would understand how important her answer was. "With my life," she told him firmly.

"That is good enough for me," he replied, looking expectantly to Aleks to see if it was good enough for her. She did not have the same history with Natasha, after all, and might not trust her the way he did.

Despite not knowing Natasha, or much about this world she had inadvertantly wandered into, Aleks did trust Max. If it was good enough for him, then she was content. "And it will not happen again?" she asked, just to be sure.

Natasha smiled ruefully. "Not unless you make contact with a known Hydra associate," she told them. "And I sincerely doubt you will."

"They will be looking for us, you know," he pointed out as he waved her onward, to follow wherever it was she was leading. He wasn't saying that to scare Aleks so much as to be realistic. New names might keep them safe for a while, but that didn't mean Hydra and Russian Intelligence wouldn't stop looking.