Hawkeye's Revenge

Sorry guys it has been so long. Work is more than hectic. I hope everyone enjoys this latest offering.

"Phil, we were hoping to use the quinjet," Steve spoke up from beside Bucky as Hawkeye continued to poke around the damaged car, seeming to ignore the lot of them. Phil wasn't fooled. He could see how the man was placing himself so that if it came to a fire fight they would have to hold their fire or risk injuring one of their team mates and the way that the higher vantage point of the car gave the man easy access to several escape routes, including the roof of the mansion. Most people might not have been able to make the acrobatic moves necessary to go from the roof of the car to the roof of the mansion but Phil was well briefed on the archer and knew if he wanted to the man would have vaulted from the car, scaled the side of the mansion, and disappeared onto the roof before they could stop him.

What was telling was that the man had not already taken that avenue of escape, clearly Hawkeye was there of his own free will and had decided to work with them for the moment. The question Phil had to ask himself was why?

The man had been furious enough over the attack on his son to not only attack SHIELD and kill the strike team but to have carried out the attack while the Avengers were on the property, what then would cause the man to have set aside his anger in order to work with them? The answer came to him easily as he looked at the man he had actively been trying to recruit for fifteen years, something had happened with the man's son and he needed the Avengers help to fix it.

"Alright, it should have already been fueled by this point and be on standby for the Avengers," Phil agreed calmly still watching the archer who had tensed almost unnoticeably at his words.

"You are awful accepting of all this," Hawkeye drawled as he continued to poke at the car with a disinterested air "Welcome many enemies into the fold who have killed one of your strike teams before?"

Phil noted the way Natasha had tensed as she went on the defensive and the way that the others seemed willing to come to Hawkeye's defense but Phil ignored them, he knew the other man was testing him.

"I don't worry over the deaths of traitors who have harmed civilians. If you hadn't killed them I would have," Phil told him then added letting a little hint of the cold anger burning inside him leak into his voice "The only thing I am upset about is that I didn't get to interrogate them to find out what they knew about Hydra's plans."

Hawkeye snorted softly but whether in disbelief or humor Phil didn't know the man well enough to tell.

"And just like that you're willing to let me join up, use one of your few remaining aircrafts on a whim," the man asked with a lifted eyebrow and a mocking twist to his mouth as though he thought them all incredibly foolish but Phil could see the honest confusion in his eyes. The man before him was off center and grasping at straws. He didn't trust them, in fact he actively distrusted them, but he was being forced to trust them because of his son which was putting him on edge. A man on the edge was always dangerous but a man with Hawkeye's skills was an enemy that SHIELD did not need at the moment, so Phil needed to win an alliance with this man or neutralize him. Phil knew himself well enough to know that he couldn't kill a man who was just trying to protect his family so he would have to win him over if he could.

"Even though the strike team was following another groups orders the fact remains that they still used SHIELD to hurt you and others. If we can help repair that damage then we will," Phil said then knew immediately he had said the wrong thing. Something he had said had triggered the archer and now the man was looking at him from glacier eyes as he slipped off the top of the car and glided toward him.

"And what do you know about that damage," the archer purred in a voice that might have been taken as sultry if an undercurrent of rage didn't boil under the words. Phil refused to back away as the other man invaded his space but instead studied the other man for clues to what he might have said to set him off.

"Clint, Phil didn't know any more than the rest of us did," Steve said taking a step forward his expression earnest and open but Hawkeye didn't even turn towards his approach as he glanced at Natasha who had been stealthily making her way down the steps toward the archer.

"Far enough, Widow," the archer growled and Natasha stopped, hands up in a gesture meant to show how harmless she was but Hawkeye was not fooled and merely gestured her back. Natasha was too well trained to glance at him worriedly but Phil had known her long enough to know that she was concerned for his safety, Hawkeye was close enough that he could kill him in any number of ways and Phil knew he was no match for the man in front of him in hand to hand combat. Phil's strength lay in his ability to analyze a situation, come up with a plan, and change that plan at a moment's notice as the situation required and while he was a good fighter he wasn't in the same league as Clint or Natasha but really he didn't need that.

"I seem to be missing some facts, care to enlighten me," Phil asked meeting the other man's stare and hoping that his read of the other man was correct. Hawkeye might have been an assassin but he was an assassin with strong morals, he had never once gone after a target that he hadn't considered deserving of the kill nor had he ever to their knowledge attacked someone without cause.

True to form the man continued to stare him down, waiting perhaps for a reason to attack him but holding himself back from doing so until that reason was clear.

"My son and the others shot by 'your team' started experiencing extreme pain within 48 hours of being shot. Two of the wounded have already died from shock and my son is the only one left. We had to put him in a medical coma," the archer didn't pause as he said this but Phil saw the way the man's hand tightened as though longing to hit something and knew that the man was far from detached from his son's suffering "and the people treating Matt found a substance that those two," he indicated Tony and Bruce with a nod of his head "were working on. So I came here to find out what they knew."

Phil noted that both Bruce and Tony looked extremely guilty at the reminder that something they had been working on was being used to torture people but knew that neither man would have been working deliberately on something meant to cause pain so the substance they made must have been used for something else.

"And you knew they had been working on this substance the same way you knew the schematics for the Ironman suit," Phil asked and Hawkeye's eyes narrowed as he considered whether to give that information or not before he nodded once.

"I would like all information that you obtained from that hack," Phil requested and the man in front of him clenched his jaw in anger before saying softly "In return for the use of the quinjet and the treatment for Matt, I suppose."

"No," Phil said immediately wanting to make it clear to the archer that they were not holding the man's son's safety hostage "Your son will receive the best care we have but I need to plug those leaks so this doesn't happen again. We have some ideas how the information was leaked but confirmation would be helpful."

"And you really expect me to believe that SHIELD will expect nothing in return for Matt's care," the archer scoffed clearly not believing him at all and angry at what he saw as manipulation.

"No, we won't," Phil promised simply and knew he was going to have Director Fury down his throat and out the other end for not binding this man heart and soul to SHIELD with every threat and promise at his disposal. In a way Fury would be right, Hawkeye was dangerous, he had proved that with his attack on SHIELD headquarters in New York but Phil also knew the archer was a free spirit. If SHIELD tried to bind the man with chains of force the man like his name sake would fight those chains until he had broken free or broken himself under their weight and neither would help SHIELD in the long run. However, if Phil could bring the archer into SHIELD willingly by showing him that they would help him with his son without strings attached they would gain the loyalty of a man who was willing to do anything for those he cared about and Phil knew that core would make an agent that SHIELD could depend on.

"Do you think me stupid," the man snarled "You have been chasing me for years and you are just going to give up that easily on your dreams of me joining your super secret spy club?"

"I am not giving up on anything, Mr. Barton. I still want you for SHIELD but I am not stupid enough to think I can drag you in with force. You are too hot headed by half and more likely to damage any mission I put you on if you felt resentment toward SHIELD," Phil explained easily then added meeting the man's eyes "No, I want your loyalty. The best way to get that is to show you why you should fight for us, what SHIELD is all about."

Hawkeye blinked once at him then fell back a few paces to lean against the Jaguar, his expression unreadable as he studied Phil closely.

Finally, he seemed to come to a decision and shrugged as he said quietly "Always knew you were a wily bastard Coulson," then louder he said "So which car are we taking to get to the air strip?"

Coulson raised an eyebrow at the change in topic but was wise enough not to try to raise the topic again instead simply turning to Tony for his input.

"What," Tony asked surprised as all eyes turned to him but then the billionaire seemed to realize that they needed a car.

"Over there, there is a garage or maybe it is over there," Tony added pointing his arm in the opposite direction. "Sorry, I don't use the D.C. place often but there are cars. Just choose the ones you want."

He said this with a careless wave of his hand and Hawkeye glanced to him in question but Phil merely shook his head. He had learned over the last year that the billionaire really didn't place much significance on material objects excepting maybe his suits.

With a sigh, he led the team toward the left side of the building remembering that that was where the garage was. As he typed in the code that would open the external doors he noted the way that Natasha was wearily watching Hawkeye which was normal for the spy anytime she felt someone had the potential to be a threat and the way that Steve was keeping close to Bucky which was also normal. What surprised him was that Hawkeye was keeping close to Bruce and that Bruce was not only letting him but seemed relaxed in the archer's presence. It had taken Bruce months to relax in the presence of the other members of the team and even now he and Natasha were like oil and water but Bruce seemed to have taken an unprecedented liking to the archer. Tony unsurprisingly was sticking close to Bruce but was also trying to draw Hawkeye into their discussion without much success which didn't seem to bother any of the three at all.

Observing his team more closely, Phil realized that even Bucky was pretty accepting of the archer and that Steve was just being Steve and accepting the man at face value as he did with anyone who he felt was a good person. Glancing at Natasha he realized that she was the only hold out that was still worried about the archer and that he would have to work on that. If Phil's plans for Hawkeye to join the Avengers were to come to fruition he would need all the team to be able to work comfortably with the man and he refused to have the man's joining be another wedge to drive Natasha out.

Natasha was first and foremost his agent and he wanted her to be included in this team but he knew that the only person she was truly comfortable around was him. Even with Steve the most open and least threatening she kept her distance. Phil wondered, not for the first time, if he should have put Natasha with another handler when he had first brought her into SHIELD, wondering if his own standoff personality had kept her from making any personnel connections within the organization but dismissed the idea once more. At the time, the young Black Widow had trusted no one else and likely would have run if placed with another agent but he still regretted that he had failed to show her that life was more than a continuous fight. Glancing at the archer sharing a joke with Tony he wondered if things might have been different if he had been able to bring in Clint all those years ago. Clint might have been just what Natasha needed to realize that while life could be horrible it could also be beautiful.

His musings were given new life when as the garage door opened and Clint turned to whistle at the collection of cars revealed as the over head lights came to life.

"Wow, I call first dibs," the archer said with a small grin as he ran appreciative eyes along the rows of gleaming cars.

Natasha watched the archer move along the rows of cars uncertainly and Phil felt a bubble of hope rise in his chest as he wondered if Clint might just be what was needed to form these people into a true team, he resolved to find out.

Any excitement that Clint might have felt upon seeing Tony's impressive collection of cars quickly faded as they moved to pick two cars that could carry the lot of them. The only thing that seemed to lighten his mood even slightly was when Steve offered to drive and Bucky quickly vetoed the idea.

"But Bucky," Steve had started but Bucky had just sent him a glare saying "I have PTSD already Stevie. I don't need it made worse with your piss poor driving. Remember the convoy incident."

Steve had actually winced at Bucky's words and quickly agreed leaving Tony and the others extremely curious about what they were referring to but unwilling to take the time to bring it up. Tony resolved to ask the two super soldiers about what happened later when he was not crowding into one of his less conspicuous cars with three other people.

The trip to the air strip passed in relative quiet and Tony could see the way that Clint became stiller and stiller as he brooded over what they would find when they got to where Matt was. Tony could understand, he also tended to brood when he was dreading something but generally he was never that still. Tony didn't do stillness.

'Seriously, the guy barely seems to be breathing,' Tony thought then realized he must have been staring when Clint looked up at him questioningly.

"Um,....sorry you were just really still. Not really something I am familiar with," Tony babbled then shut his mouth with an effort looking to Bruce for help. The other scientist just gave him an apologetic half smile and turned his attention firmly to the tablet they had been looking at as they theorized different ways to help Matt.

"Sniper," Clint muttered and Tony blinked.

"What? I mean I usually am pretty quick on the uptake but even for me," Tony started but Clint cut him off with a snort of laughter and Tony was pleased to see a small smile on the man's grim face.

"Stark, I am a sniper. Tense situations where others would be moving or fidgeting I go still," Clint explained easily as he relaxed enough to lean back in the seat and cross his arms (quite impressive arms Tony noted) "Just the way I am."

"Alriiiiight," Tony drew out the word unsure really what being a sniper had to do with staying still.

Clint rolled his eyes but seemed more amused than annoyed.

"I take it you don't know many snipers," Clint asked and Tony shrugged.

"Just Bucky Bear and he is never that still," Tony said studying the man.

"Yeah, well Barnes is coming off a bad time and dealing with the PTSD so he is probably not acting much in character. Give him a chance to get acclimated and you will likely see him go still," Clint explained. Tony didn't miss the way he put an emphasis on the word still as though it was something more than a lack of movement.

"See snipers can wait hours, days, or in some cases weeks for a shot at their target. Some of that time is spent finding a nest," at Tony's confused look Clint explained "a nest is where a sniper waits for their target. Usually it is someplace high but not always. It does have to be someplace that is in the middle of things without being conspicuous and you have to be able to hide there and get a clean shot at the same time. For one hit I spent over a week in my nest just waiting for my targets to be in the right place at the right time for me to take them out."

"And by take them out you mean....," Tony trailed off suddenly uncomfortable. Sure he and the other Avengers had killed before but he couldn't imagine waiting in one place for days, observing the person he was going to kill, and then having to take the shot.

"By that, I mean I put an arrow through their boss's aortia and killed his two lieutenants before getting out of there," Clint told him simply with about as much emotion as someone else might use to describe a walk they had just taken.

Tony decided to ignore the elephant in the room for once and asked instead "But you said you spent a week in ..... your nest. Didn't you have to get up, move, eat, go to the bathroom?"

Tony listed things off in a more incredulous voice but each time Clint just shook his head with a small smile.

"When I am in my nest I go into my own head. Eating is only granola bars, if that, some sips of water, the bathroom is usually a bottle, and the rest is just stillness," Clint tried to explain but seeing Tony's confused look he just shrugged "It may be something that only another sniper would fully understand but.....well don't you have anything you are really into, that you do better than anyone else?"

"Yeah, inventing," Tony told him immediately and would have launched immediately into telling the other man about his latest suit design but the smile the other man wore stopped him. It was like he actually got Tony's passion for his craft.

"Ok, so inventing is your thing. Do you ever get really into it and kind of go into your own head and when you come out you find that hours have passed and you haven't once thought about eating or drinking or sleeping," Clint asked passion in his voice and Tony found himself nodding fully understanding what the other man was talking about. From beside him he could see that Bruce was also looking up and unconsciously nodding his head. Phil didn't appear to be paying attention to anything besides the road in front of him but Tony knew the man was listening to every word.

"Well, that is what sniping is for me. When I find the perfect nest I go in my own head until I am completely focused. It isn't that I am not aware of my surroundings but that I am so aware of them that I can see the sparkle off an insect wing or feel the beating of my heart like a drum chorus," Clint told them and Tony realized he could understand the passion in the other man's voice if not the reason for it.

"Ok, I guess I can get that," Tony said consideringly adding "Not literally, you know. I have no desire to stay still for an hour let alone a week and peeing in a bottle.....well, the suit does have a built in."

"Tony," Bruce interrupts quickly before Tony could go into all the amenities that he had built into his suits.

"What Tony is trying to say is we can understand your passion if not your reason for it but....well...," Bruce hesitated then after fidgeting for a moment asked "How will you explain what you do to Matt when he is older? Or do you just intend not to tell him?"

Hawkeye stared at Bruce blankly for a moment and Tony could feel the way that the tension in the car ratcheted up as the other man continued to consider the scientist before, to everyone's surprise, Hawkeye burst into laughter.

"Doc, I told Matt what I did for a living a long time ago," Clint explained with a shrug "I don't keep secrets from my son. I mean I don't tell him details or anything and he doesn't go on missions with me but he knows enough."

Tony and Bruce stared at the other man in surprise. On the one hand it was good that Clint trusted his son but at the same time it was a little inappropriate to be telling an eleven year old that you killed people for a living.

Clint merely looked at them slightly confused by their silence but didn't get a chance to ask them what was wrong before Coulson cut in smoothly "We are almost to the airport. You all had best get ready to move. I don't trust that Hydra won't have tracked us."

Suddenly the archer was all business as he pulled a small pistol out but Tony was damned if he could see where the man had stashed the thing. The man cast a considering look back at the two scientists when they didn't move to draw a weapon of any kind but shrugged when Phil explained "Neither Tony or Bruce are trained to use a weapon."

"Hey, I used to build weapons for a living. I can use anything you name," Tony told them, stung by the remark. He was Ironman not some civilian, he could handle himself.

"Tony, this is not about ability it is about training," Phil explained as he pulled into the air strip. "I know you are a good shot on the range but in a fire fight you can't just shoot. You have to know when to take cover and how to stay in cover while taking the shot."

"If you want to learn the proper way to handle yourself in a fight that doesn't involve the suit I will be happy to teach you and Bruce both but for now just follow our lead and let us protect you," Phil added as Tony was gearing up for a protest. Tony slumped back into his seat sending a glare at the back of Agent Agent's head but had to admit the man had a point.

"I could just suit up," he said with no real heat in his voice.

"You and covert aren't on a first name basis," Clint dead panned with a raised eyebrow and Tony felt himself grin. He liked someone who wasn't afraid to snark back at him.

"We haven't even been in the same city before," Tony said blandly with a smirk threatening to curl the corners of his lips.

The archer rolled his eyes with a grin that slid more into predatory territory as they pulled into a parking spot and the car carrying the others slid in beside them.

"Remind me to introduce the two of you sometime. Covert ops are just like playing hide-and-seek but with a whole lot more guns and broken bones than the kids version. You will love it," Clint told them as he moved quickly out of the car, doing a perimeter check while keeping his gun out of sight.

"You and sanity parted ways a long time ago," Tony rejoined as he exited the car at Clint's signal.

"Never even knew the fella," Clint told him with a smirk as he spared him a glance before his eyes were roaming over the area once more for possible threats.

Tony kept up the banter throughout the trip to the quinjet and realized just as they were entering the jet that Coulson and Barton had been playing bodyguards for Bruce and him as they shepherded the group to the quinjet while the others followed behind as added fire power.

Really the whole operation had been carried out so smoothly Tony didn't know if he should be insulted or impressed but settled on shrugging it off as they settled down for take off.

"Where to," Natasha asked as she took her customary seat in the pilot's chair.

"Head like you are going to New York City. I will give you directions as we go," Clint told them from where he was somehow perched on top of one of the quinjets seats.

Natasha turned to glare at the archer but Clint merely returned her glare with a calm look and an arched brow.

"Is there a reason you can't give us exact coordinates," Phil asked as he clicked his seat belt into place.

"I don't trust you," Clint said simply then added at Bruce's hurt look "I trust you to help with Matt but I don't trust you not to arrest some of the people who have been helping me with Matt. So I will get us close, call them to bug out, and then give you the exact location."

Natasha seemed unsure but Coulson simply nodded as though that had been the plan all along.

"You had best sit down. I can't guarantee a smooth take off," Natasha said and Tony stared a bit. Usually, Natasha was a bit cool towards them with the times they had been able to get her to relax and banter with them counted on one hand but just then she had sounded down right annoyed. Glancing between the two Tony saw that Clint was smirking and obviously baiting Natasha while Natasha was stiff and just as obviously unsure of the archer.

"Don't worry. Nothing this thing can do will be able to get me off my perch," Hawkeye told her. She seemed annoyed by this but after a moment she started take off procedure.

Tony shared another look with Bruce as the quinjet shuddered, bounced, and dipped as they took off but both of them wisely kept their mouths shut as the quinjet dipped sharply to the left and Natasha glanced back at a smirking Clint who was still firmly perched on his seat back. Tony caught Cap's eye but the man merely shrugged slightly while Bucky shook his head as though to say he was having none of the craziness. Coulson seemed completely unconcerned by the uncharacteristically bumpy take off as he continued to look over a report in his lap. Finally the two scientists traded another resigned look before they started working on a treatment for Matt, leaving the two assassins to work out whatever they were doing on their own.

Steve sighed softly as he glanced over at the two assassins who were throwing random bits of things at each other. He had been worried at first that the throwing match would escalate into something dangerous but thankfully the two seemed content to throw the random bit of paper. Clint seemed to be enjoying the game while Natasha simply seemed annoyed by the archer's childishness and Steve was reminded sharply of the times Bucky had tried to get his older sister's attention.

The picture of Clint as a five year old putting mud in ten year old Natasha's shoes almost made him laugh but thankfully he stiffled the urge quickly but not before Bucky was giving him a quizzical look. In answer to Bucky's silent question Steve drew a quick sketch of his thought complete with the child like depictions then gestured descretely at the two in question. Bucky glanced between the picture and assassins before a wide grin spread across his face and the man was pressing his face into Steve's shoulder to stifle his laughter.

Looking up he noticed Phil and the others giving them a questioning look and with a guilty look he handed the drawing to Phil who glanced at it before looking at the two in the front of the plane and cracking a smile. The two scientists exchanged a look before rising in unison to look at the drawing. The men were just starting to look when something flipped over their heads and landed behind Phil's chair with the sketch book in hand. Clint made a show of examining the cartoon before shaking his head.

"Captain, captain, captain. Drawing in class really. What do you think, Widow," the man asked as he threw the sketchbook expertly to Natasha who looked startled but at an encouraging nod from Clint looked over the cartoon Steve had drawn. She seemed uncertain what to make of the drawing and Steve was struck once more with the idea that this woman had had a very hard life where play was almost unheard of.

"Personally, I think the dimensions are all wrong. I mean really is my head that big," Clint drawled as he strolled up beside Natasha and held his hand out for the sketch book. Natasha considered the archer before finally handing the book over with a flippant "I don't know Hawkeye. It seems spot on. After all where else would you put that big ego?"

The tone of her voice might have been flippant but Steve didn't miss the way she glanced around to see if she had acted correctly nor the way the tension left the muscles of her back as Clint staggered back as though mortally wounded and gasped "Ouch, Widow, that hurt. That hurt a lot."

"Good god, what are you part circus monkey," Tony groused as he came out of his shock and snatched the book back from Clint who let it go easily.

"Half right, Stark," Clint snarked easily "Not monkey but circus certainly."

"What," Tony asked and Steve saw that even Coulson was paying strict attention now.

"I would have thought it would have been in the file you have on me," Clint said with an easy shrug as he vaulted back onto his perch on the chair back "I lived with a traveling circus from the time I was seven to the time I was fifteen. I learned to shoot there and did the high wire and trapeze. It is even where I got my name, the Amazing Hawkeye."

Clint did a quick tumble along the chair backs before doing a split which had most of the men in the room wincing in sympathy.

"Actually, we were a little fuzzy on your childhood. We knew you disappeared from foster care after your parents' deaths but we couldn't find anything substantial after that," Phil told Clint as he studied the man like a fascinating puzzle.

"O' well. Not important now," Clint shrugged the information then added "Widow, turn 8 degrees to the west. We will be landing in five minutes. Coordinates are here."

Steve blinked as Clint threw a quickly constructed paper plane to Natasha who caught it deftly and unfolded it one handed. Natasha glanced at the archer then changed course without a word after exchanging a look with Phil.

Without another word, Clint took a phone out of his pocket and Steve realized with a start that it was a new Stark phone just as Tony shouted "Hey, that is mine."

"Still is. Just borrowing," Clint said with a shrug while holding the phone to his ear.

"Yeah, it is Hawkeye. I am bringing company. Clear everyone out," Clint said into the phone then frowned as he listened intently for a moment.

"No, we are only 4 minutes out. You don't need to stay. Get out of there," Clint said then scowled as he listened before saying "Listen to me. Get out of there. This is SHIELD, do you want to end up in the deepest, darkest cell they have."

A pause then Clint said in relief "Good, I will contact you later."

Clint ended the call then tossed the phone back to Tony who caught it.

"Is there any point to me tracing that," Tony asked and Clint shrugged.

"Knock yourself out. It was a burner and is probably destroyed by now."

"What was that," Steve asked well aware of how Natasha and Phil had tensed during the exchange.

"Just warning the people I had helping me to get out of the area," Clint told them taking his perch on the back of the seat again.

"Why would you need to warn them," Steve started but was interrupted by Bruce "Wait, you mean Matt is alone right now! Someone in an induced coma must be monitored at all times. He could choke on his own saliva, he could..."

"I know all the risks," Clint told him his eyes hard and his expression grim.

"Then how the hell can you allow this," Bruce exclaimed.

"The people helping me won't leave until they are sure it is safe," Clint told them.

"There is no guarentees with this," Bruce argued.

"I know that," Clint gritted out then staring hard at Bruce he said in a calmer voice "They won't leave until we are in the building and will be monitoring him the whole time and that is the best I can do."

"I can't ask them to go to jail for this," Clint told them earnestly and Steve could understand the man's dilemma. He clearly wanted to protect his son with everything he had but at the same time he didn't want to betray the people who had helped him.

"I don't suppose if I asked for names I would get them," Coulson asked and at Clint's flat stare added "I might be able to get them pardons."

"Most of the people I work with couldn't be pardoned by the president of the United States," Clint said with a snort.

"But you trust them," Steve said then continued as the man opened his mouth to protest "You left your son with them and they are probably the people you leave Matt with when you are on missions. So you obviously trust them."

"No one has said I have good judgement," Clint told them as he jumped down from his perch to peer through the cockpit window.

"Land there, Widow."

Steve watched the man but resisted the urge to refute his statement in favor of looking over the small clearing Clint had directed Natasha to land at. A quick scan of the area didn't reveal anything except trees but as Steve looked more closely he noticed several straight lines among the trees that looked man made.

As soon as they were down Hawkeye was out and jogging toward an old building that had been concealed almost seamless by the trees from above.

"If you are coming, hurry up," Clint called and Steve automatically grabbed his shield to follow. Bucky was beside him instantly and he gave the other man a smile.

"This is foolish. This could all be a trap," Steve heard Natasha hiss to Coulson her tone disapproving.

"Yes, but I don't think it is. The man has too much to lose at this point," Coulson said but Steve could see the way he was scanning the area for signs of an ambush.

"He could be in league with Hydra," Natasha said but Phil shook his head.

"Hawkeye has a code. He wouldn't work with them."

Natasha cast a side-eyed look at Coulson but refrained from saying anything else as they arrived at the door Clint was impatiently waiting beside.

"Step where I step and don't touch anything. The whole top floor is booby trapped and you do not want to spring any of them," Clint told them simply before he unlocked the door with a key he produced from his belt and then typed a series of numbers into a keypad revealed by the door at the turning of his key.

Despite the doors aged appearance it opened without a sound and soon they were moving quietly through the building to a set of stairs hidden behind a door marked women's bathroom. The stairwell was dark but as soon as they were half way down Steve could see light from down below and soon everyone could see clearly as they came out into a large room. The room looked like it had once been used as a garage but it had been re-purposed sometime recently as an emergency medical facility.

Sitting by the far wall was a bed with a small figure laying on it hooked up to several machines while a black man in scrubs checked the monitors.

"What are you still doing here. I told you to bug out," Clint shouted as he moved quickly across the floor to the hospital bed where he took the small figure's hand in his while glaring at the man.

"I decided to stay to monitor Matt. The risks were too great if I just left without someone being here," the man told Clint simply but Steve didn't miss the resigned look he shot toward them. The man obviously thought he was about to get taken into custody and still he had stayed to help a person in need, Steve found himself admiring the unnamed man.

"Damn it, Wilson. You could have bugged out the back way. It would have been a gap of thirty seconds," Clint snapped.

"I couldn't," Wilson said simply then added in a softer voice "Clint, Matt has been having heart arthemia, whatever the stuff is it is progressing faster."

Clint stared at the other man eyes wide and face pale before he sank down to sit on the bed beside his son.

"He is stable for now but he can't be left alone," Wilson added placing a comforting hand on Clint's shoulder. Clint seemed completely lost as to what to say as he gently smoothed hair out of Matt's face.

"When did the arthemia start," Bruce stepped forward all business as he moved forward to meet Wilson.

"A little over two hours ago. We gave him medication but what we have is limited. I hope you have something that can help," Wilson said earnestly causing him to go up another notch in Steve's books. The man obviously really cared about his patient. He wondered what this man could have done that SHIELD would want to arrest him.

"We have an idea that might work but we would need a dialysis machine and a specialized electron magnet. We have both back at Tony's mansion," Bruce told the man. Wilson nodded then handed Bruce a set of files.

"This is all the information we have on Matt's case and the other cases," Wilson told Bruce before turning his attention to Phil who was watching the exchange with a speculative look. "I take it you will be taking me into custody."

"I have standing orders, too," Coulson said quietly. "You are Lieutenant Sam Wilson, 106^th army unit, pararescue?"

"Yes, sir," Wilson said coming to an unconscious parade rest while Clint looked on with a pained expression.

"Wanted for desertion, sabotage, treason, aiding and abetting the enemy, disobeying orders, and murder of several of your fellow soldiers," Phil said and Steve whipped his head around to stare at the man before him trying to slot this new information with the picture of the man he had been building and failing.

"Yes, sir," Wilson said after taking a deep breath, obviously upset but his words strong and clear.

"That is all bullshit," Clint exclaimed "Sam didn't do any of that shit. He was framed by that crazy general, General Ross."

"Clint," Wilson hissed warningly but Coulson interrupted him "Explain."

"He doesn't know anything and isn't involved in this," Wilson said at the same time that Clint said heatedly "I was there when Ross and his men shot down Sam and his partner, Riley, in enemy territory and left them for dead. I also learned that Ross was gunning for them because they had seen something they shouldn't have and that they had tried to report it to their superior who was on Ross's payroll."

"Clint, shut up. You can be indicted for aiding and abetting," Sam told Clint angrily.

"They already got me for murder so what is a bit more," Clint snapped back.

"They don't care about that. You were killing criminals and they can use your skills but this they won't over look. Think of Matt. He needs his Dad," Sam argued and Clint glared back.

"Don't you dare use Matt as leverage...."

"Will you both be quiet," Bruce growled and everyone fell silent as the scientist's eyes flashed green. Steve winced as he remembered that General Ross had been the one in charge of Bruce's failed project and the man who had chased him around the globe in order to kill him or experiment on him; being reminded of the man couldn't have been pleasant.

"Phil, I need help stabilizing Matt for transport and while Tony might be brilliant he knows less than nothing about patient care so I will need Wilson. Clint, you are not in charge anymore, your only job at the moment is to be there for Matt," Bruce told them after taking a deep breath to calm himself.

"No, Clint," Bruce added when it looked like Clint might protest "I know it is hard but trust us. We will do everything we can to get Matt better but you need to just focus on being there for him. And Phil will not be arresting anyone till after he has investigated everything fully."

The last was said with a pointed look at Phil who simply nodded "I already had questions about the warrant, Doctor Banner, and would be pleased to investigate it further."

"Good," Bruce said then asked Sam "Mr. Wilson, would you mind helping me hook Matt up to a portable ventilator that we brought."

At once the two men were moving in sync to get Matt ready for transport while the rest of them were left to watch and wait. Noticing the lost look on Clint's face, Steve placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and when the man looked up, gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile.

"I know it is tough but he is in good hands," Steve assured him "We will do everything we can to help him."

The man was still and silent under his hand for a moment as he went back to studying his son.

"I know you will do everything you can to help but...," Clint paused as he gently rubbed the back of Matt's hand. "But if it is too late...."

"He is still fighting," Steve told him knowing the words to be lacking but having nothing else to offer the worried man.

"Yeah, he has always been a fighter," Clint murmured softly. They lapsed into silence as they waited for the signal to load Matt onto the Quinjet.

Finally we get to meet Sam and Matt.