Hawkeye's Revenge

Thank you everyone for waiting. Posting this even though I am not completely happy with it. (Beta where are you)

They sat in silence for a bit before Steve asked sympathetically "Sarah, what happened after that?"

The woman took a deep breath to calm herself before saying "Clint went mad. I had never seen him angry, not truly angry before, but his eyes were so cold. He shot that woman square between the eyes before she could even blink then shot two others as he was putting Matt over his shoulder. He shouted for the rest of us to get to safety before he started running down the street while carrying Matt. Ceilo, one of our neighbors who owns a cab, came barrelling to a stop beside him. I don't know what was said but Clint hurried into the back of the cab just as the attackers started to flood the street. They took off and those people chased them. Ceilo said that Clint had been too busy trying to keep Matt from bleeding out to shoot at the people chasing them but that somehow they had managed to lose them. Clint directed Ceilo to what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse where an older woman rushed out to help them but when he took me back there the next morning, because I wanted to make sure Matt was ok, the warehouse was deserted."

The older woman's breath hitched and she had to duck her head to compose herself. Steve soothingly rubbed her hands between his own, his brow creased in concern and rightous anger tightening the lines around his mouth as his eyes scanned this peaceful place that had become a killing ground only a few days ago. Natasha allowed her eyes to wander the area again her own anger a coldly burning sensation in her gut.

Sarah looked up with teary eyes to study them both then said with an accepting if sad air "You are here to arrest Clint."

"Ma'am," Steve started in surprise but Natasha cut him off.

"How did you know?"

"I was born in 1936. Right after the war my parents, both doctors, came over to Europe to help rebuild. When they got to Italy they loved it so much that they stayed. After the war it was quite common for all the young girls to carry around pictures of a certain handsome American army captain and while I was too young for it my older sister had a picture of Captain America taped to her mirror. So when I saw all the stuff about the Avengers I knew that the Captain America on T.V. wasn't a new person donning the suit as people speculated but was the same person," Sarah told them with a sad little smile which took on a hint of mischief as she said to Steve "You have a very distinctive jawline, Captain and the bluest eyes I have ever seen. Hard to miss."

Natasha clamped down hard on the urge to snort out a laugh as Steve turned bright red under the teasing.

"Umm," he started inelegantly then looking at the older woman's watery eyes and sad smile his shoulders firmed. Suddenly Captain America was sitting in front of them instead of a blushing Steve Rogers and the change was startling. Gone was the blushing, shy smiling man of a moment before and in his place was the Captain who would fight off armies for what he felt was right.

"Ma'am, I promise you that no matter what I will not let anyone arrest Clint Barton for what happened here. The man acted heroically while putting himself in great danger and that deserves to be rewarded not punished," Steve stated with utter conviction. Natasha let out a small breath of frustration as she felt a headache building behind her right eye. Steve Rogers had just effectively set himself against all of SHIELD, probably the American government, the WSC, and possibly others for a man he didn't even know. She was going to have to get the evidence to have the charges against Barton dropped quickly or else Steve was going to start World War 3.

The older woman looked at Steve searchingly before she seemed to find what she was looking for as she sagged in relief tears welling in her eyes.

"Could you show us where Clint lived and give us directions to where Cielo dropped them off," Natasha asked quickly into the silence hoping to head off Steve promising this woman anything else.

Steve gave her a disapproving frown which she utterly ignored in favor of giving Sarah her best trust worthy expression.

"Why would you need to see Clint's apartment," Sarah asked a suspicious look coming over her face.

"We need to find out where he has gone so that we can help him and Matt. We have far better medical facilities than Clint will be able to find while on the run. Matt will need the best if he is to fully recover," Natasha told the other woman smoothly then added with a sincere expression "Plus we need to ensure that the people who did this don't get to him again. There is no telling what those people might do to Clint or even Matt if they got ahold of them again considering what they have already done."

Sarah followed Natasha's sweeping gesture that took in all the damage still visible around the square and so didn't notice as Steve opened is mouth, outraged at the blatant manipulation before snapping it shut with a hiss of pain as Natasha kicked him hard in the knee to shut him up. Steve's head snapped up to glare at her as he rubbed his knee under the table but stayed silent which Natasha counted as a victory.

She knew his silence would not last long but hopefully it would last long enough for her to get him somewhere quiet to explain. Steve was acting from a true desire to help, which she envied him a bit but she didn't think he had fully realized how messed up this situation was.

Either a SHIELD team had completely misunderstood their mission and ignored every mission directive SHIELD had in place for situations involving civilians or an elite SHIELD strike team had been infiltrated by another organization with their own agenda. If one of their most elite teams had been infiltrated then what was to say other parts of SHIELD hadn't been infiltrated. They had to find out what was going on, how deep the infiltration ran, how Hawkeye had managed to get all the information he had gotten, and what he might know about the people behind this attack. Lying to one little old woman was nothing if it meant fixing this FUBAR situation before it got any worse.

Steve's face was still pinched as Sarah turned back to them biting her lip with worry.

"Alright, I will take you up to their apartment but please," she pleaded looking at them directly "please help Matt and Clint. Clint is truely a good person and Matt is just the sweetest child."

Natasha ruthlessly suppressed a twinge of guilt as she easily promised the older woman that she would protect Hawkeye and his child, a promise she knew she had no way to keep and that she would ignore as soon as the promise conflicted with the mission goals. She might feel bad if she had to break her word but she would still do it to ensure that she and her team came out of this whole in the end, however, Steve looked at Sarah evenly before reiterating his promise from before with utter conviction and sincerity "I will do everything that I can to help them."

The promise was so simple, so easily bent or twisted to mean something else but Natasha could tell that all her beautiful, false words about keeping Clint and Matt safe had meant nothing to this old woman but that Steve's simple statement was everything. Natasha puzzled over the difference for half a second all of her words had been carefully chosen to lull the woman into trusting her, her delivery, timing, and expression had been perfectly coreograghed for maximum impact but they had meant nothing to this woman. Steve's honest promise had swayed her and Natasha wondered if that was because he was Captain America but decided it was just something about Steve, something that made you trust that he really did want to do what was right.

She considered feeling offended that all her carefully cultivated spy training was worth nothing in this situation but then dismissed the feeling as they followed Sarah into her apartment building and into the old elevator. Steve politely lowered the metal-grated elevator door into place as Sarah pushed the button to take them to the top floor.

"This is Clint and Matt's apartment," she said stopping by a door at the end of hall that was the same as every other door on the floor.

Sarah unlocked the door with a key from a keyring she had in a pocket.

"I often took care of the apartment while Clint was away," Sarah explained at Steve's questioning look.

"Did you also take care of Matt," Natasha asked casually as she examined the apartment in front of them.

"Only once. Clint usually took Matt with him," Sarah responded as Natasha continued to scan the room. Several windows allowed sunlight to flood into the room through gazy curtains illuminating the cozy room. The room was surprisingly free of clutter given the impression of Clint Sarah had given her and considering that a child lived here but she merely noted the unusual orderliness before catologing everything else in the apartment. A tall wooden table with tall chairs around it served to seperate the kitchen area from the rest of the living area while various pots and pans hung from a rack on the ceiling in the kitchen. Natasha immediately noticed the various knives tucked around the kitchen within easy reach should an unexpected attack come before moving to examine the living area. She lifted a mental eyebrow as she noted the bean bags scattered around a tv that had various game consoles connected to it. She spotted Call of Duty amoung the various games and briefly thought of Bucky and his love of that game.

Looking to Sarah for permission, who after a moments distraction gave her a nod, she went to glance in the three rooms leading off the main living area. The first was a bedroom with an attached bathroom, from the various posters on the walls and the purple walls themselves she surmised it must be Matt's bedroom but that idea was quickly refuted when she found a quiver of arrows tucked behind the headboard of the bed, in easy grabbing range, and a shaving kit in the bathroom. She glanced back into the bedroom from the bathroom allowing herself to lift a sceptical eyebrow at the room more suited to a teenage boy than a grown man. She was able to get to the next bedroom through a connecting door and found it to be neat and organized. The walls were bare and for a child's bedroom she found it surprisingly spartan. Given the state of Hawkeye's bedroom she had expected his son's room to be littered with posters and the lack struck her as unusual.

The duvet on the bed caught her eye and running a hand over it she blinked. The duvet was silk and obviously extremely expensive and flipping a corner over she looked at the tag sewed into the edge of the blanket surprised that the blanket was pure silk outside and all natural duck down inside. The label proclaimed that all materials were natural with no chemicals used to dye or wash the products at all. Natasha frowned before examining the sheets and even the bed itself and finding that the sheets were silk and that all of them were from all natural products.

Moving back to Hawkeye's bedroom she found that the man's bedclothes were made of similar material and as she looked more closely she realized that everything in the house was made of all natural materials that were undyed and untreated. Even the purple paint on the wall when she moved over to scratch at it yielded an herbal smell instead of the chemical smell of most paints.

She came back into the main room to find Steve talking quietly to Sarah as she gestured around the room. Natasha met Steve's eyes to see if she was needed but with a minute shake of his head he indicated that he would handle it. She trusted him to tell her about anything Sarah might have to say so quietly she moved to the third room finding a studio.

Briefly she mistook it for an art studio but then she saw the fletching on a table and looking closer realized that this must be where Hawkeye had made his arrows. Looking around the area she had to admit she was impressed. She knew from the intel that SHIELD had gathered and from her own experience that Hawkeyes' arrows were state of the art and everyone had thought he was buying his tech from someone else not creating his own arsenal. Tony would no doubt want to chat with him about how he had learned to make his various arrows.

Unfortunately despite a through search she was unable to find a laptop, phone, or even a shred of paper that might tell them where Hawkeye might be hiding. She moved out of the workroom to suggest that they go back down to the courtyard to find Steve alone in the outer room looking through the draws in the kitchen.

"Sarah went to call Cielo to ask him to take us to that warehouse," Steve stated as he looked up to meet her questioning gaze. "She also told me that someone had been here since the attack."

Natasha raised a questioning brow as she cocked her head and asked "Hawkeye."

He shook his head.

"Sarah doesn't think so. Says that whoever it was, took most of Clint's bows and a lot of Matt's stuff but that they missed some things of Matt's that Clint would have taken if he had been back."

"It could still have been Hawkeye if he were in a hurry or was limited to what he could take," Natasha said evenly as she moved to examine the papers Steve was looking over, a bunch of takeout menus from around Venice.

"Sarah doesn't think so since one of the items the person missed was Matt's blanket," Steve said quietly gesturing to one of the beanbags. "She said that Matt loved that blanket and that Clint wouldn't have left it."

"Most teenage boys don't really want a baby blanket. Hawkeye might have decided that it was unneeded," Natasha said a bit sceptically.

"Matt has sensory issues. This blanket is a pressure blanket that was specially made for Matt when he was six," Steve told her as he moved to pick up the blanket and as he did she realized that what she had mistaken for a simply blanket was actually weighted throughout its length and that it was more like a quilt with squares of different textures all around it. She frowned slightly. Unlike a regular quilt all the patches on this one were a uniform color and formed no real pattern that she could discern.

"These type of blankets can be pretty expensive and a specially made one like this probably cost a thousand dollars or more. I know Clint could afford it with the sort of money he was making but even so it will take weeks to have a replacement made. I think Clint would have taken the blanket if he had been back," Steve told her simply as he ran a gentle hand over the blanket.

"How do you know so much about these types of blankets," Natasha asked with a slight frown. Steve was obviously beginning to emphasize with Hawkeye too much. Steve blushed slightly as he admitted "I looked them up when Bucky was having such a hard time. They can help not only with sensory disorders but also PTSD suffers who are hyper aware. I actually have one special ordered for him but it is still a few weeks from being ready."

Natasha ignored the faint happy look Steve got when talking about Bucky as she told him "A sensory disorder would explain why his son's room was so spartan but had such expensive furniture."

Steve looked puzzled so she explained about the duvet, blankets, and furniture. She could see something click behind his eyes before he said "All the food in the refrigerator is organic and chemical free also. I haven't looked in all the cabinets but I did notice that the 'silverware' is all made of bamboo and that the pots are all copper. Seems like Clint is very interested in keeping any and all additives out of his son's food."

"And why do you think it is all for his son. He could just be a health nut," Natasha asked quietly as she examined the rest of the kitchen.

"I doubt Clint was doing it for himself. From what Sarah was saying Clint would eat anything but Matt was very picky," Steve said as he carefully folded the weighted blanket and set it by the door obviously intending to take it with them in order to give it back to its owner at a later date.

"Steve you need to stop this," Natasha said turning her full attention to Steve as he turned to frown at her.

"What do you mean?"

"You are getting far too emotionally invested in this mission. You're referring to the target by his first name, emphasizing with his son, and," Natasha started but was cut off by an angry swipe of Steve's hand through the air.

"Natasha, that target is a man who was attacked for no reason by a group of armed soldiers while enjoying a meal with his family and friends. That target not only had to defend his friends and family from said attack but when he surrendered to spare his loved ones the cowards attacking him went to slaughter a bunch of innocents. The target then had to watch his child get shot while defending others. That target is a decent human being who we should be helping not objectifying," Steve spoke with a combination rightous anger and empathy which had her straightening as he paced toward her to stare at her over the wooden table.

"I can see your point but we have much bigger problems on our hands," she told him starring into his angry blue eyes preparing to explain exactly how FUBAR this situation was but he interrupted her again.

"Do you think I don't understand exactly how bad this situation could be," Steve asked with a raised eyebrow. "We have not only a breach of security but at the least a whole strike team that has been compromised if not far more. We have no idea who was pulling the strings on this mission. We don't know what was so important about capturing Hawkeye that the ones behind this attack were willing to risk an incident of this size. Even if they had captured Hawkeye and he hadn't attacked SHIELD HQ this would have drawn a hell of a lot of attention. So either the group behind this thinks they could have covered it up or they don't think they have anything to fear from SHIELD because one they are more powerful than SHIELD or they have enough of SHIELD infiltrated that SHIELD won't be able to retaliate. Did I miss any points?"

The litany of facts has Natasha pulling back and looking him in the eye before shaking her head. She curses herself for having underestimated him. It was so easy to forget that the man in front of her had led several successful campaigns during WW2 and been known as one of the greatest tactical minds of the age when he was wearing his heart on his sleeve like he was now.

They are silent as Steve moved away from her back into the living area and Natasha appreciated the moment to regroup.

"You should go and examine the courtyard for any evidence that the police missed. I will wait for Sarah and pack up any belongings I think Clint or Matt might want," Steve said as he emptied a laundry basket on the floor and started placing things inside it.

"Why are you packing their things," Natasha asked cautiously honestly confused why Steve would be going to the trouble and that made her nervous, a situation that she couldn't understand was a situation that could go bad at any second. She trusted Steve, he was a good person who wouldn't hurt someone without reason, but that didn't stop the voice in the back of her head screaming at her to understand and adapt to any situation, the voice that promised pain if she failed.

"We have orders to bring in Hawkeye and we will," Steve said then turned to look over his shoulder at her earnestly "but our orders don't say we have to deliver him to SHIELD custody. We can hold him just as effectively at the tower and provide Matt with state of the art medical care plus Clint will be able to stay with his son at the Tower instead of being locked in a cell. So," and here he holds up what is obviously a child's sculpture "they will want at least some of their own things."

Natasha blinked and thought about arguing. Taking a known threat into the Tower could endanger all of them but she stopped the words before they had even formed on the tip of her tongue as she spotted a pair of children's tennis shoes sitting by the door. The counter was a cold, solid presence under her hand as she stared at the shoes remembering rows upon rows of similar childrens' shoes that had sat in cubbies in the Red Room dorms and how long some of those shoes would stay in the cubbies gathering dust before one of the minders remembered to remove them after their owner had been culled for failure to thrive in the program.

She cursed her wandering mind as she focused back on Steve, anger burning in her heart and ready to lash out at even the slightest hint of sympathy but the kind, understanding look in his eyes hit her harder than any physical blow. She stiffened before forcing her muscles loose once more. With a flippant shrug of her shoulders she walked to the door saying "You're team leader. On your head be it."

She knows, he knows that a simple pair of children's shoes had rattled her but she also knows that he is far too kind to call her on it. Escaping out of the apartment she gratefully turned her mind to the task of figuring out projectile trajectory and weapon type as she enters the courtyard.

Thanks again to everyone who commented, you are amazing.