Chapter 8
“So now that we’re all here, will you tell us what’s happened?” You asked Coulson as you entered the Command Center. The team had upgraded twice from the tiny office you started in years ago.
“I would, but I don’t know what it is yet either. And there will be somebody else joining us this time.”
The three of you exchanged confused looks. No one had ever joined you in your missions before. This had to mean that something very big or very bad was going on.
Just in time to confirm your suspicions, Agent Nick Fury walked through the door. You hadn’t seen very much of him since your first meeting, except for the occasional encounter in the hallway where he and his dramatic coat were hard to miss.
“Sit down,” was the only greeting he offered.
After you all sat down, he said, “Our research facility in Arizona was infiltrated two hours ago. As far as we can tell, they only took one thing. But that one thing was the center of everything we were working on. We were still in the early phases of development, but they took all of our blueprints. It isn’t starting over that we’re concerned with, it’s those plans in the wrong hands. We need them back now.”
“No offense, sir,” Clint began, “but isn’t this the kind of thing the Alpha team would usually handle?”
“They were handling it.” Fury answered. “They were the ones guarding the facility. You’re the best I’ve got available now.”
Somehow that wasn’t a reassuring thought.
“Do we know who took them?” You asked.
“We think it was the KGB. We recognized someone from the security footage. She’s known to work with them.”
“What was it that they took, exactly? The blueprints to what?” Everett asked.
“You don’t have high enough security clearance to have access to that information.”
“So how are we supposed to find something when we don’t know what we’re looking for or where it went?” Everett continued.
You were surprised to hear him almost talking back to a senior agent. But if he was thinking what you were thinking, you’d feel a lot more comfortable knowing what you were looking for in advance.
“I want you to catch them in transit, which means it will be the only thing on them. As to where they went, one of our agents was quick enough to slip a tracking device on his opponent during the fight. They came in small numbers and used ground transport which means they’ll have to meet up with someone else in order to get back home. I want you to cut them off before they get there. I have some rookie teams you can use for extra firepower. You’re all going out in the field on this one, so suit up and be ready to go in ten.”
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“What do you think?” You asked Clint as you sat down beside him in the plane.
“It’s going to be ugly. If he’s talking about who I think he’s talking about, she’s already getting quite the reputation to be so young.”
“The redhead?” You asked, already knowing what his answer would be. The pair of you had encountered the remains of her handiwork before. From what you had heard about her, she was younger than you were and she worked like she had been raised to do it. You knew it wouldn’t be long until SHIELD sent someone to eliminate her.
You watched as he simply nodded his head in agreement. Something about her had always bothered him, but he never said what it was and you never asked. For some reason, you felt like he would volunteer it when the time came.
“We’ve got their location on the monitor,” Phil said. “We are going to land a couple of miles away and try to surprise them. Hopefully the darkness will give us the advantage. We’re going to start our descent now.”
Looking over at where Everett was standing a few feet away, you leaned over and asked Clint, “Do you think he’s going to be okay? It’s been a long time since he’s done anything like this.”
“You want an honest answer or one that will make you feel better?” That was your Clint.
“The truth.”
“I don’t know. The best SHIELD had to offer failed on this one. It’s just the four of us and a bunch of rookies. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
You sighed and let your head rest on his shoulder as you felt the plane start to dip down to the ground. He wrapped his arm around you and added, “I have faith in us though. We’re good at what we do. We’ll probably kick their asses while the rest of these guys just watch, so try not to worry. Okay?”
“Okay.”
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You woke up surrounded by all white. Part of your brain wondered if this was heaven, but you were pretty sure heaven wasn’t filled with the scent of antiseptic cleaner and that annoying beeping sound coming from somewhere. Besides, if you were already dead, your right shoulder wouldn’t be hurting like hell.
“Glad to see you’re finally awake,” you heard someone say from the far corner of the room. You slowly moved your head enough to see the person speaking, even though you would’ve recognized that voice anywhere. You were just shocked he of all people would be who you would wake up to.
“Agent Fury, sir” you mumbled. “What are you doing here? What happened?”
“How much do you remember?” He asked.
“Not much, I remember landing, and tracking them down…most of the fight is a blur though. How are Clint and Everett? What about Coulson? Was the mission successful?”
“They’re all alive. We got the blueprints back. We’ll talk details when you’re more alert,” then he turned and left the room with his coat whipping behind him.
The next time you awoke, you found Fury sitting in the same seat as before. It was really starting to feel like a case of deja vu.
“Haven’t we done this already?” You asked, earning what might have been a chuckle.
“How are you feeling?”
“Shoulder still hurts like hell. I’m guessing I got shot?”
“You don’t remember yet?”
“There was a huge firefight. It felt like I got hit out of nowhere. Everything after that is pretty hazy. You ready to fill in the details?”
“I don’t know all the details myself. No one is talking. That’s why I’ve been keeping this room on lockdown. They put up quite a fight, but I don’t like it when everyone acts like they don’t know what happened. Call me paranoid, but it makes me think they’re keeping secrets.”
Well that explained why Fury was the only company you’d had.
“I want to see my guys.”
Fury hesitated a moment, which sparked your suspicions. “You told me they were alright.”
“I said they were alive actually,” he said as he sat on the edge of the bed. “There is something I should tell you about that though. There was an incident after they got back.”
“What happened?” You asked as you tried to sit up, but he gently pushed you back down.
“Ross and Barton tried to have a fight right in the middle of headquarters. Well, Ross attacked him first, if you want to call it that. Punched him right in the face. Would have escalated into a fight though if people hadn’t intervened. Normally, I’d let men sort a thing like this out for themselves. But there were a few dozen witnesses, and it’s a decision that’s out of my hands to make considering they weren’t private about it.”
You just stared at Fury in disbelief. What had happened out there that would cause them to blow up at each other like that? Especially Everett…he wasn’t the type to engage in a fist fight right in the middle of everything. That required a level of rashness he wasn’t normally capable of.
“You said the decision was out of your hands? What does that mean?” You asked, suddenly feeling very frightened.
“Agents have to be able to have a level of trust amongst each other. Barton isn’t to blame because he didn’t get a chance to do anything, but they won’t want Ross around after that.”
“You mean, you’re going to fire him?” You asked with tears starting to form in your eyes. “You can’t. The job is everything to Everett. What is he supposed to do now?”
Fury must have been moved by your crying, or perhaps he had made up his mind before he even talked to you. He patted you tenderly on the hand and said, “The decision has already been made. I can’t do anything about it. But he’s been a great agent. This incident has been the only blemish on his entire record. I could make it go away. Another agency would snatch him up in a heartbeat.”
“Thank you…for that at least,” you said, drying your eyes and turning your face from him. “What do you expect from me in return?”
“Your loyalty,” he said without hesitation. “You and Barton are two of the best operatives at my disposal. I don’t want you taking off because of this. Stay with SHIELD, and I’ll make sure your friend is taken care of in return. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
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“Hey, baby,” Clint said as he stood in the hospital room doorway. He looked tired, like he hadn’t gotten much sleep the past couple of days, and you noticed one of his eyes was bruised. He was carrying a bouquet of your favorite flowers, and he lingered at the door like he was waiting for an invitation to enter.
“You going to stand there all day or you going to come visit me?” You asked, patting the bed.
He smiled a weary, but genuine smile and made his way over to sit beside you.
“Here you go,” he said, handing you the flowers. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. Fury must have taken me off lockdown. Guess he felt sorry for me.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Clint seemed distracted and distant. You were trying to decide whether to ask him what was wrong or wait for him to tell you when he said, “I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”
“What are you talking about?”
“She shot you…the redhead. I had the drop on her earlier, but I couldn’t bring myself to shoot her. I’ve never had to kill a girl before. And there’s something about her…I don’t know why…but when I look at her, I can’t help but think of you. I dropped the ball by letting her go, and you had to pay the price. I should have put an arrow through her when I had the chance,” he ended bitterly.
“Clint, you showed her compassion. You let someone who barely qualifies as a young woman live. That doesn’t make you responsible for what she did.”
“It’s my job to have your back though. We’re supposed to keep each other safe,” he said while reaching up to touch his bruised eye. You had the feeling it was an involuntary action connected to the memory of what he was talking about.
“Is that why Everett hit you?”
“Yeah, he was right to do it too. I don’t blame him. I would have done the same thing in his place.”
After a few moments of silence he added, “I’m the one who screwed up but he’s the one losing his job. Isn’t that just fantastic? I tried talking to the bosses to smooth things out, but they said it didn’t change anything.”
“None of this is your fault, Clint. You did what felt right at the time. I wouldn’t have wanted you to act any differently. As far as I’m concerned, you and I are as good as we ever were.”
Clint smiled at you affectionately before saying, “You’re the best partner ever, you know that?”
“Yeah, I know.”
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Clint stayed and visited with you for a few hours before he kissed you on the forehead and told you he’d be back the following day to help you get ready to go home. Just a few minutes after he left, Everett walked through the door carrying flowers exactly like the ones your previous visitor had brought.
“I thought he’d never leave,” he said.
“How long have you been out there waiting for him to?”
He avoided your question by busying himself with adding the new bouquet to the other making for one very full vase.
“How long are you going to stay mad at him?” You asked. “He’s been blaming himself enough as it is. You know what happened wasn’t really his fault.”
“I know,” he replied, joining you on the bed and rubbing his hands against his face in frustration. “But you don’t know how close we came to losing you. I was scared, and angry. I’m not the same kind of man that Barton is. He’s always been the tough guy who never misses a step. I didn’t worry about you out in the field as much because I felt sure nothing could happen to you with him around. But we were both there and neither of us could stop it.”
You sat up and leaned forward until you were resting against him. “So you two are going to make up?” You asked.
“No.”
“What do you mean ‘no’?”
“I’m not angry with him and I’m not going to try fighting him anymore, but I’ve decided that it’s best if I move out.”
“You can’t move out, Ev! I won’t let you! I don’t want you to go,” you said. For the second time in a matter of days you could feel the tears start rolling down your cheeks.
He reached out and very gently wiped them off your face with his fingertips.
“Why are you going? Why do you want to leave us?”
“I don’t want to leave you,” he said. “And I hope we can still see each other all the time and that we won’t let anything change between us. I just have my reasons for needing to go.”
“I don’t understand this at all.” When you said it, you could hear the defeat in your own voice.
“I know you don’t. But one day you will. And when that day comes, I’ll explain everything. I promise.”