The little boy clung to his brothers hand. The social worker smiled down at him and asked the boys to please take the garbage bags she handed them and fill them with any clothing or toys that they wanted to keep. Only the things that fit in the bag will be kept. Looking at the white bag Clint wondered if all his things would fit. In the end he packed a few change of clothes including extra underwear. Mommy always told him that he needed clean underwear just in case he ended up hurt so the doctor would know what a good clean boy he was. He was also able to fit his Bucky Bear and his captain America figure but there was no room for anything else. At the last minute he grabbed the family picture off of the wall, took it out of the frame and shoved it into the side of the bag. The lady pursed her lips at this but didn’t say anything.
“Why are you taking us? What did Daddy do wrong?” Barney kept asking. The lady, her name was Miss Tann, kept telling them that because his daddy hit him and mommy allowed it they were being taken to a new home. One that was a lot safer. But their parents didn’t do those things. They were never hit. Mommy and Daddy loved them very much. The boys were confused, upset and scared. They started to cry.
The drive to the orphanage was quick. Clint didn’t really even remember the intake where he was asked a lot of questions and was scolded multiple times for not answering correctly. After the third time he refused to say he was hit Ms. Tann took him to a little closet and locked him in. It was a hot day and his throat quickly got sore from yelling. He could tell by the small space at the bottom of the door going dark that they were leaving him for the night. No amount of pleading to at least use the potty helped.
The next morning he was allowed to clean himself up as soon as he was able to scrub the mess he made on the floor. They gave him a glass of lukewarm water that tasted chemically. It was wonderful.
“Now,” Georgia Tann glared down at the little boy. “how often did your dad beat you?”
Clint was just about to answer with the truth when her eyebrow went up and she nodded towards the empty closet. “Ummm… daily. He beat me every day.”
‐------------------------
About a week later he and Barney were packed into the back of a small car with their garbage bags. He didn’t know anything about vehicles but his brother was excited to be inside of an actual Cadillac. They were warned by Ms. Tann not to get anything dirty since it was her personal car.
They drove about two hours until they came to a large city. Welcome to Des Moines the big brother read the sign for Clint. The other side of the city had an auditorium . A banner out front showed acrobats and clowns. The Barton brothers got excited. No one had ever taken them to see a circus before.
The car stopped and Ms. Tann told the boys to stay put. She got out and walked towards a white trailer. As she got close an older man that had seen more dinners than exercise came out.
“Mrs. Georgia! How long has it been?” They clasped hands and smiled at each other.
“Too too long my dear.”
The pleasantries lasted long enough that the boys got bored and started to look about. The place was full of people. Some were practicing their acts with twirls and stretching. Some were carrying heavy things here and there. What worried Clint is the four young teens they saw collecting animal stuff and being bullied by the bigger guys. One even tripped a boy so he landed on top of a fresh pike of dung. Instead of getting angry the boy apologize to the older man and hurried away to get cleaned up.
The door to the car suddenly got yanked open. “Come out you brats. I haven’t got all day.”
They were pushed to the side and watched confused as Ms. Tann adjusted her bra to hide the money she just stuck in there then drove away. They had no idea what just happened. They adjusted the bags in their hands and looked at the fat man.
"I'm Carson. This circus is mine. So are you." He whistled over a young teenage boy whose clothes were in bad need of mending. "Take these new recruits and teach them what is expected of them."
The boy bowed and motioned for the two kids to follow him. They picked up their bags and scurried after him. After placing their stuff in one of the carriages they are shown around the circus. They are told that they will be cleaning after the animals. That they are not to bother the adults with stupid things. That they need to show respect to those bastards even if they don't deserve it.
Barney looked at the boy, "Why the fig do they get to push us around?"
"You like to eat? They are the ones who decide if you earned your meal. You get oatmeal in the morning no matter what but lunch and dinner are at their discretion. Don't count on dinner. They look for ways to take that away most of all. And they punch harder than you do. Don't forget that."
Barney, being older asked a question that terrified Clint. "Are their other duties?"
The older boy looked down at them. "Luckily no. We are cleaners. Nothing else. It's cheaper to make a one time payment and just feed us than to actually pay a roustabout a full wage."
"Then why not run away?" Clint piped up.
"To where? Todd over there did once," he motioned over to a boy about seventeen who was way underfed. "The cops brought him right back. Seems that one of the acrobats signed his adoption papers and they have all rights to him until he turns 18 in three months. I promise you he is out of here at midnight the night before."
"But we have real parents!" Barney's eye widened. Clint whimpered.
"That woman, Ms. Tann? She made sure that you don't belong to them anymore." The boy rolled his eyes. "Each of us went through that blonde bitch to get here. She's made a fortune on unwanted kids."
The kids kept asking the teen questions. Each one was answered. It seems the boy, Andy, was willing to talk for as long as he was allowed. During the conversation he showed them where to find the shovels and where to take the dung. He also showed them to the man that they would be waiting on. Turns out that a Swordsman known as Duquesne had signed their papers.
________
The days were long. They soon learned to wake up with the sun or they were kicked awake. After an hour of feeding the animals they were allowed a bowl with one cup of oatmeal each. They licked the bowls clean then did the dishes.
They spent the rest of the morning doing whatever Duquesne wanted. Sometime they cleaned his swords and daggers. Other times they polished the fancy leathers he wore for the show. Occasionally they were given odd jobs but there was always work that needed to be done so that he was free to practice.
If they made him happy which usually happened they got a peanut butter sandwich for lunch. If they passed a farm they sometimes got fruit in with their sandwich. Then they did dishes again with the other kids. The afternoon meant time with the tigers. Clint loved this time. He got to pet them as he cleaned up their cage. They were sweet to him and sometimes licked his cheek. He even got to brush their coats twice a week.
The actual roustabouts hated the kids. They took away jobs from real men. Whenever possible Clint and Barney were shoved about. They were tripped and even smacked a bit. At first the kids fought back but they were so little compared to these men. They soon learned it was easier faking respect and getting fed then going to bed hungry and bruised.
________
One evening after actually getting to eat the daily stew Clint was given the rest of the day off. Instead of going to his bunk like the other kids he decided to wander about. He had found a spot earlier that week that was perfect for throwing rocks. He managed to get over half into the hole in the tree. He admired the man he served. He wanted to learn how to throw daggers but knew that he had to learn how to throw at all first.
________
A few years had passed. Both boys were in their early teens with Clint just turning thirteen. He had learned how to do his chores quickly to give himself a few hours of free time every day. He spent that time watching Duquesne very closely.
When the man was doing his shows the Barton boys made sure to be there to help hand out the tools of his trade and then clean up afterwards. The very few days it wasn't a show or moving day he would wait until the swordsman had gone to get drunk with the rest of the main acts. Then he and Barney would sneak in and use the daggers to practice the tricks themselves. They both had gotten pretty good.
It shouldn't have surprised them when they were caught. They had gotten complacent with Duquesne's schedule. It was Sunday so that meant only one show in the afternoon. They waited for the swordsman to go off to drink like he always did so that they could use his tools. They were always careful to clean up afterwards.
This time during their practice time they heard a voice clearing behind them. They both turned around to see the man they served frowning at them. Duquesne stomped over to them and grabbed the daggers from Clint as it was his turn with them.
"You idiots! You could have chipped them!" He spends the next while yelling and hitting the teenagers. For the next few days the only meal they get is breakfast. At the end of the third day they were a bit weak from lack of food.
"Get in here," the Swordsman demanded the Bartons. The two dropped their shovels and ran after him.
"Here," They were each given one of his daggers. There was a target set up on the opposite side of the tent.
Nodding Clint took the weapon and lined himself up. The dagger flew through the air and landed dead center of the target. Barney soon followed suit with his dagger a mere half inch away from his brothers.
"Thought so."
The boys were trained. They still had all of their chores to do but now their little free time was spent learning how to twirl, fight and swallow the swords. They soon became a part of his act. Duquesne earned half again as much money in tips with the boys in his show.
Jacques Duquesne's best friend was named Buck Chisholm, going as Trick Shot in his act. He was watching the daily lesson one day when he called the boys over to him. He handed each one a bow and one arrow.
Clint looked at the bow curiously. He held it up and pulled it back like he had seen Chisholm do in his act. He lined up the shot and let go. The arrow hit the paper just outside of the circle. His brother was next. The arrow went wide. Extremely wide.
"I'll take the boy off your hands," Trick Shot said to the Swordsman.
"And why do you think you can do that?"
"You only need one for your act. This one has aim. I can work with that. "
So the boys were split up. Clint missed the look of envy his older brother gave him.
______
"Barney, don't do a Robinhood. I need those arrows for tonight." They agreed to keep training each other in the different tricks. After a few years they had perfected not just their various acts but each others. That came in handy when the occasional flu ran through the troop. Clint, now Hawkeye, had an act all to himself where he rode standing on a horse and shot at the targets. All of his tips went to Trick Shot just like all his brothers went to the Swordsman. Clint missed how his brother looked enviously at him during his personal shows while Barney was still just a prop in Duquesne's act.
Barney saw something as his brother reached to pull out the arrows. He grabbed Clint's arm and pulled up sleeve. "You told me this had stopped."
Clint yanked his arm free and covered up the cuts, "I missed the bullseye yesterday. You know that doesn't go unpunished."
"You were off by less than a quarter inch!"
"Drop it, Barney."
"Doesn't matter. We're getting out of here next week." Barney checked the tips on the practice arrows and returned them to the quiver.
"No, you are getting out of here. I still have a couple of years. Plus, how will we feed ourselves?"
Barney looked at Clint and then focused on putting the archery tools away. "I have something set up. A few of us guys have a major haul coming up."
Clint knew that Carson's circus was a front for a lot of crime. Heck he participated in a few of these hauls himself. He was curious why Barney was so hesitant to share the details.
"So, you're not letting me in on the action?"
"No," Barney said, "Best if you don't know."
As he watched his brother go back to his chores Clint got a bad feeling in his gut.
____
Three days later Clint was walking past the various tents when he heard a ruckus from Carson's trailer. It was just a few quiet thuds but Carson was away setting up a return date with the owner of the field for next year. No one should have been in there.
He went and grasped his bow and arrows. The three men were coming out when he returned. Duquesne, Chisholm and Barney were each carrying a large duffel bag. They had robbed the very circus that housed and protected them all these years.
"Stop," said the teen loud enough to make them pause.
"Quiet kid," hissed Duquesne. "You want to get us caught!"
"You are caught. By me." At that the three started to chuckle.
"You back to your bunk. This doesn't concern you," Chisholm said.
"No." Clint pulled the string on the bow aiming the arrow at his mentor.
"Clint! You are ruining this. Carson owes us. We worked our butts off and have never gotten paid. Never!" Barney tried to get his brother to stand down.
Before he could make up his mind Clint felt a sharp pain. The arrow was let go and flew wide. Looking at the dagger's handle protruding from his shoulder the teenager let his bow go in shock. He never knew who punched him but he ended up on his back. The weapon was yanked out of his body causing his blood to flow freely.
"Don't look for me," Barney said. "We are getting out of here."
The three men left having no idea if the younger man would even live the night.
A few minutes later one of the acrobats screamed as she stumbled over a body on the ground. He was still breathing but barely. She applied pressure until her screams woke up enough people to call an ambulance.
________
Clint woke up in a hospital bed. He spent over a week there before he was able to get away. Children's Services was trying to find out where his parents were. They all chuckled when he told them that he belonged to the circus. Carson's had left town days ago without making any missing person report.
He had nobody. He wandered the streets in stolen clothes and shoes. The very thought of renting himself out to afford clothes made him so nauseous he knew that wasn't an option.
A few picked pockets helped him with basics like food and water. He only took the money dropping the wallets in the post office boxes when he was done with them. Slowly he made his way across the states back to Waverly, Iowa. He wanted to see his mom and dad again.
Finally he had made it.
The Barton farm was empty. The butcher shop has been closed for over a decade and was now a dress shop. The cattle had all been sold off. Looking like a vagrant Clint asked around about what happened. Turns out that his father started drinking after his boys were taken from him. Word of his supposed abuse had gotten around town and people stopped coming to his shop. After losing it to foreclosure he went on a major bender and wrapped his car around a tree. Both of his parents were dead.
Clint now had no plan. Nothing was in his way but there was no support either. He formulated a plan. He begged and stole until he could afford a nice set of clothes.
The first job was easy to find. A rich socialite was being abused by her husband. It was one of the worst kept secrets in town. He went to her father and simply asked if he wanted the problem to be taken care of for a small payment of $10,000. The man spent a week thinking about it. At the end of the week the husband's new Lamborghini had a mechanical malfunction that sent him into a building and Clint was walking away with a briefcase full of unmarked bills.