Clint would always remember one of his first assignments with SHIELD. He spent five long years as a cop on a SWAT team in L.A. and while he loved it, he also hated it. Clint wasn’t allowed to excel in what he did best, but he still had to maintain strict standards that were required by members of the LAPD. It was easy enough with a partner like Jim Street.
The worst part of it was when the word came down about Alex Montel making a move to visit California. Clint hadn’t expected the order from his SO, Agent Phil Coulson.
“You want me to fuck over my partner?” Clint couldn’t believe it.
“Montel is coming in under the radar,” Coulson told him. “He knows about SHIELD and how to evade us. I need you available to make a move on him and once we get him, you’re done with the LAPD.”
“Yeah, but this? I can’t do it.”
“You laid out a path of unpredictable behavior in the time you’ve been with SWAT, Agent Barton. The bank robbery today is your opening and you are ordered to use it.”
“I wouldn’t have shot that hostage…”
“She knew the risks when we got word about the robbery,” Phil finished. “Officer Street will stand up for you, Agent Barton. It has to go down this way.”
“Yeah,” Clint took the chair across from Phil. “He doesn’t deserve what I’m going to do to him, Coulson.”
“I need you on Alex Montel. He’s a priority for SHIELD. Once we get an opportunity, you’ll have to move fast in order to exploit it.”
“Think we’ll get one?”
“Montel is a spoiled brat. He’ll offer it up to us on a silver platter,” Coulson answered. “Check back in 12 hours. We’ll know something by then.”
Still unhappy, Clint headed out and got on his motorcycle. This was an ugly assignment and he had hoped for much simpler work without the weight of these kinds of entanglements. He hated that he cared for Street as deeply as he did.
~*~
Director Nick Fury stood at the cemetery marker and gazed down. He knelt and tore away a weed threating to cover up the plaque. In recent days he came out less and less. Today, there was no choice in the matter.
“You’re early,” said a voice behind him.
Nick turned to see his brother coming towards him. “You know I’m always early for all my appointments.”
“Only because you’re a paranoid bastard,” Hondo said with a grin. He pulled Nick close for a hug. “How’s it going, Bro?”
“Good. I hear you’re going to run a SWAT team.”
“Why is it that you know everything about me, but I don’t know a damn thing about you?” Hondo asked his brother.
“Because you don’t give a shit what people know about you,” Nick replied. “Momma always said you wore your heart on your sleeve.”
Hondo chuckled a little. “This little meeting of ours wasn’t just to catch up.”
“Sure it was. I also need a favor.”
“You tell me what you’re doing first.”
“I’m trying to save the world.”
“CIA?”
“You are so cold that all I’m getting is an arctic blizzard.”
“So tell me, then.”
“You know I can’t, Danny.”
Hondo, knew that when his brother called him ‘Danny’ then it was serious. He wasn’t going to budge. “What’s the favor?”
“Someone important is coming to LA. I need you and your team to look the other way when he arrives.”
“Who?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
Hondo then laughed. “Bro, you must think I’m on smack to go along with that especially not knowing who the fuck it is.”
“I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important.”
“Sure you would.” Hondo studied his brother for a moment. “You won’t even tell me how you lost that fucking eye. Your entire fucking life is a secret not because you can’t talk about it, but because you won’t. You don’t want to have to explain the shit you’ve done. How far off am I?”
“Some of it, not so far,” Nick answered honestly. “I’ll tell you this much, Danny. When this person gets in, I’m sending my best people after him. He’s that important.”
“National security shit, right?”
“Right.”
“Then I’ll know who it is when he arrives. I’ll be ready, Bro, and you’ll get him over my fucking dead body.”
“Hondo!” Nick yelled when his brother turned to walk away. When he kept going, he cursed under his breath. Nick took out his phone and dialed Coulson. “We’re a no-go here. Tell Barton to put on his Halloween costume and get to work.”
~*~
When Clint saw Street at the bar, he did everything he could to egg him on. He wanted his old partner to beat the hell out of him. He needed it just so he could feel his hands on him one more time. Clint hated himself and hated Street for the tactics he used to start a fight. On his way out of the bar, Clint bashed an ashtray into a photo of them together.
He had connections with some of the worse elements in the city. It took quite a bit of money to get them in line. Only a few required cash upfront and Coulson was quick to provide it. Montel was a major target for SHIELD so funds were not an issue.
Throughout the operation, Clint had to swallow his gut every step of the way. The operation had to go off without a hitch. Once he got the scheduled route, it was easy enough to railroad the thing into the ground. The helicopter was just a simple act of replacing the pilots with experienced SHIELD agents.
Clint shot the bird down knowing that the controlled descent would keep casualties at a minimum. It made it easier to make a move on Montel with him on the ground.
What he had least expected to happen, turned out to be a major break and one that Clint would have to exploit. It also meant that the name “Brian Gamble” would be forever tainted with his criminal acts.
Once McCabe had come to him with details of Montel’s movements, Clint planned the rest of the operation down to a tee. He would spend much of it with only the backup of the degenerates he had recruited. With little effort, the criminal underworld of LA was more than willing to take on the LAPD with the promised share of $100 million.
Clint still remembered it as if it was yesterday. He had shot Boxer, a cop he liked and respected. The officer had moved his hand and Clint’s SHIELD training had kicked in. With expert precision, he wounded Boxer and cuffed Street to the steering wheel of the car.
The next time he saw Street, the entire mission had turned into a massive failure. As per instructions, he had to get out. Further damaging the Gamble name, Clint took a hostage and used her to get to the edge of the bridge. The woman was panicking and there was no telling what she would do with bullets flying everywhere. Clint had to maintain his cover and make sure she got out alive.
He was almost out, but Street caught up to him. Clint nearly yelled on the spot that he was a SHIELD agent, but the orders in his ear were loud and clear. Don’t break cover. So, Clint had no choice but to fight his friend and ex-lover. To make matters worse, he had to make it believable which meant making sure that Street would hate him.
When Clint got word in his earpiece they were ready, he distracted Street long enough to move away and then a fresh body was put in his place. He watched from the darkness as Street held his bleeding hand and walked away.
Clint got into the SUV and gazed out the window at nothing. “We lost him.”
“It’s not your fault,” Coulson told him. “Fury’s brother got in the way.”
“I had to do some unspeakable shit, Coulson.”
“If you hadn’t been here, Clint, a lot of people could have died.”
“One cop is dead from the decoy.”
“That was out of our control. Officer Boxer will live.”
“I know. I never miss. Isn’t that what you always say?”
“I want you to take some time off, Agent Barton. As soon as we get you out of the country, I’m sending you to Spain.”
“Think that’ll make me forget the shit I did?”
“No,” Phil told him. “It might make you realize the good you did.”
“God, I hope you’re fucking right.”
“The only thing I know I’m right about is the time you’ll need to work through this.”
Before leaving LA, Clint waited until the early morning hours and went back to the bar. The photo of him and Street still hung on the wall. Someone had taken the time to remove the broken glass he had shattered. Clint took down the frame and got the picture. He stuck it in his pocket before leaving.
END