A/N: I got a great review with a suggestion that I am going to take. The last chapter did seem like the end of that saga and now it's time to start a new one. So here's the first chapter of "Running Fearless" And as always...
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Do you ever just sit and reflect on your life. Just sit in front of a television or computer monitor and only pay attention to the images in your head. Katie sat at a small table of the small bistro listening to the distant sounds of an accordion playing. She looked up to the sight of the Eiffel Tower. Paris, France, the city of love. And here she was searching for a physicist she believed may be connected to Shield and Project Insight.
Running was now apart of her life. It was a necessity, because not running meant being caught and that wasn't an option.
Katie sat in front of her laptop not paying attention to the images on the screen. Instead she thought about the last year and a half of her life and how she hadn't seen or spoken to any of her friends or family. It was something else taken from her. She wanted to place all the blame on Shield, but in the end it was her choice.
Her eyes had witnessed so much. From aliens calling themselves gods, to a billionaire scientist who started as her biggest annoyance to becoming her best friend. She had admitted her feelings for Clint, the man she probably loved since the day he interrupted her lunch, and had to stand strong the day she watched him walk away from her. There were times she wondered how it is she was still standing. There were moments when she came back to that moment, standing there and listening to Clint tell her that he loved her, but not that he was going to leave with her, not that he believed her... it was what he didn't say that hurt the most.
Katie was snapped out of her thoughts by a beeping from her laptop. She dropped her eyes to the screen and tilted her head as she read.
"Why did your name show up on Shield's must have list for this project Dr. Heisenberg?" Katie muttered as she looked to the information that appeared. It was a tracking software she enabled to detect the doctors credit card activity. "Sofitel Paris Le Faubourg" she read the hotel's name before closing her laptop and sliding it into her bag. "Well it would be rude of me not to say hi" Katie stood to her feet tossing a couple of bills to the table before walking along the side walk. Her fingers went to pulling the baseball cap over her head to cover her eyes. For the past year and a half most of Katie's days were spent looking over her shoulder. She wasn't naive. She pissed off a lot of people and they weren't just going to let her go.
A piece of paper blowing in the wind hit her ankle and she stopped picking it up. It was a flyer for Resillience. One of the biggest science conventions in the world. The place would be filled with some of the most brilliant minds from across the globe, which is why finding Dr. Heisenberg wasn't that difficult.
The walk to Le Faubourg wasn't too far, and it gave Katie time to come up with an effective plan for entry. She knew it wouldn't be easy. Especially if this guy was working with Shield, then there probably were a couple of agents somewhere near. She was going to have to do what she did best, and that was keep her head down. Katie stepped through the front door, her eyes going to the front desk. She spotted the computers and knew if she was going to locate Heisenberg then she needed to be on the other side of that desk. She let her eyes scan over the hotel's lobby. It was obvious that there was some kind of event happening from the amount of people moving about. Katie decided to try her luck with a good ole fashion lie. She walked over to the front desk and waited in line until it was her turned to be served.
"Bonjour madame, comment puis-je vous aider" the clerk said his accent thick as he asked how he could help her. Katie noted the man's smile not quite making it to his eyes. He was exhausted and it showed.
"Uh, Bonjour" Katie greeted hoping her French was too rusty. "Je suis ici sur le travail" She assumed during this busy time, the hotel would be looking for extra help and hoped some lie about being sent by an agency would be believable. The clerk looked at her confused for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief.
"Zee, agency sent you?" he asked and Katie simply nodded with a wide smile. "Dieu merci, this place is a mad house and we desperately needed some extra help, but I assumed there would be more of you"
"As you can imagine, this is a pretty busy time for the agency as well" Katie said slightly shrugging. "We're being outsourced to so many places, its crazy. You're lucky to have gotten me"
"Oui, Oui" the clerk said with a nod before looking over to the clerk beside him. "Anton, aller chercher mademoiselle,-" his brow furrowed before turning back to Katie. "I so sorry, I didn't get your name"
"Uh, Kitty" Katie said with a nod. "Kitty Fline"
"Strange name" he said before turning back to the clerk. "Get mademoiselle Fline set up and let her follow Cheri à l'étage d'or"
"The Gold Floor?" Katie thought as she tried to keep up with what he was saying. He turned back to her and she quickly plastered on another smile.
"Anton will get you set up with a uniform and you will train with l'un des meilleurs sur servantes" the clerk said and Katie didn't know what to expect for this best maid in the place, but it was her in and she was going to take it.
Katie simply nodded before following Anton. She looked back to the computer behind the desk.
"New plan" Katie thought as she turned to follow the young man. He didn't say much as they walked down the halls of the staff quarters. Katie's eyes scanned the area mostly out of habit. Another one of her father's rules that she couldn't let go, even if she wanted to. Anton suddenly stopped unexpectedly, causing Katie to run right into his back.
"Sorry, I mean Je suis désolé" Katie said with a slight nod. The man looked annoyed but turned to the older woman that stood before them. Katie looked over to the woman whose stood straight, her head held high as she looked over Katie as if examining her. The woman's blonde hair was pulled into a tight bun on top of her head.
"Remove the hat" The woman said her gravely French accent almost made Katie shutter. Katie let out a sigh before reaching up and removing the baseball cap. She ran a hand over her now pixie hair cut that she was still getting used to, before bringing her eyes back to the woman. "Hmph" she said as she began circling Katie like a vulture. Before Katie knew what was happening the woman was shoving a uniform into her chest. "Put it on, rapidement"
"Oui madam" Katie said before going to change into the uniform.
Katie stood looking at herself in the outfit thanking whoever was listening that she didn't have to wear what she usually thought of when she thought of a French maid's uniform. She straightened the bonnet on her head and almost jumped at the rapping at the door.
"First rule, move quickly and with purpose!" Cheri called from the other side of the door.
"Great, more rules" Katie muttered before stuffing her bag and clothes into one of the vacant locker before going on to see the woman who looked as if most of her life was spent sucking on sour grapes.
"Venir" the woman ordered for Katie to come along, before walking away. Katie tried her best to keep in step with the woman who even though she was walking, was moving at an impressive speed. Cheri was talking, probably informing Katie of the do's and don't of Faubourg, but Katie barely listened as she let her eyes scan over the halls hoping for a glance to the doctor. "seigneur, are you even listening?" Katie's attention came back to the woman and she simply nodded.
"Oui" Katie said with a small smile. Cheri rolled her eyes before continuing down the hall muttering something in French Katie knew wasn't a compliment.
"We are responsible for the l'étage d'or" Cheri said casting a sideways glance to Katie. "We don't get many guests to this floor at a time, which is good. Meaning we can give the guests we do have as much attention as they needed." They stopped in front of a door that seemed to be the only door around the entire floor. "Each guest gets their only wing for privacy concerns" Cheri raised a hand and knocked on the door. "Ménagère!"
"One second!" a voice called from the other side. Katie shook her head in annoyance. She really needed to get back to finding Dr. Heisenberg and not playing the french maid. She looked to Cheri's back and decided to taking her chances and slipping away. The door swung open and appeared a beautiful woman with cherry blonde hair. "Oh, hello"
"Bon jour, madame. I am Cheri and I shall service you for your stay" Cheri said with a slight curtsey.
"Oh, ok" the woman said holding out a hand for a shake. "I'm Virginia Potts, but everyone calls me Pepper" Cheri looked to the woman's hand a bit hesitant, but shook it anyway. "Please come in" Cheri nodded before looking over her shoulder, surprised that there was no one there. "Tony!" Cheri turned and walked inside just as a man she instantly recognized appeared. "Tony, meet Cheri, she's going to be our personal housekeeper while we're here" Tony looked the woman up and down before walking out of the room. "Sorry, he's not really a people person"
"It is quite alright" Cheri said. "My personal number is programmed into the room's phone, so if there is anything you need, just give me a call"
"I sure will, thank you" Pepper said with a smile. Cheri gave another slight curtsey before turning and leaving. Pepper turned and headed into the bedroom where she found Tony lying on the bed next to Matthew. "You were rude"
"I was me" Tony said looking over to Matthew whose eyes were focused on his tablet.
"Why is he in our bed?" Pepper sighed looking over to Matthew who glanced over his tablet to her. Since Matthew came into their lives it was as if he'd been there forever, comfortably making a place for himself. That place seemed to be annoying little brother.
"Apparently looking for French single women" Tony said glancing at the tablet before Matthew pulled it away and stood to his feet.
"Bite me Tony" Matthew said before turning to Pepper. "I don't have to go to this convention or whatever do I?"
"Well seeing as you're my new personal assistant, I would say yes" Tony said and Matthew glanced over to him.
"Stop calling me that. Just because I get you coffee and pick up your dry cleaning and-" Matthew just shook his head and sighed. "I'm not helping my argument" he turned back to Pepper.
"Tony's right. if you want to be paid, you actually have to work" Pepper said with a shrug before looking over to Tony. "I have a meeting with the CEO of Cyberteck. I want to plant the seed of a merger. Can I count on you two to behave yourselves"
"We're grown men Pep, of course we can behave ourselves" Tony says standing to his feet and walking over to his girlfriend and placing his hands on her waist. "Don't you trust me"
"Not as far as I can throw you honey" Pepper said before giving him a quick peck to his lips. "You hate these conventions, so you suddenly wanting to come to this one specifically lets me know that you're up to something" Pepper says before grabbing her purse. She turns to Matthew. "And as his personal assistant it's your job to make sure he doesn't end up on some magazine cover or some breaking news. Keep him in the building and out of trouble."
"You make it seem like I'm a child and he's my babysitter" Tony says and Pepper simply shakes her head.
"I should be back in time for dinner, I made reservations so make sure he's dressed and ready to go" Pepper was about to head out when Matthew called her.
"And when does he take his nap?"Matthew asked. Pepper sent him a glare before sauntering out of the room. "This sucks. I'm in Paris, and I'm stuck with you" he looked over to Tony who was rummaging around his bag before pulling out a transparent sheet and sliding it across the table. "What are you doing?" Matthew watched as Tony touched the sheet activating a hologram.
"I'm looking for someone" Tony said swiping and typing away. "A doctor Ralph Heisenberg"
"Ok, why?" Matthew asked walking beside him hoping to see what he was trying to accomplish.
"Well while I was assisting Shield with their little project, I may or may not have been snooping and spotted the doctor's name on one of Nick's files" Tony said when a picture appear. "And once I had a name-"
"You found out he was going to be at this convention and made up some bullshit story about getting together with great minds that you sold to your girlfriend so we could be here" Matthew said and Tony look over to him.
"Pretty much" Tony said with a smile. "Dr. Heisenberg has a connection to Shield, I want to know what it is. And don't worry, we won't even have to leave the hotel"
"He's staying here?"
"Yep" Tony said already hacking into the hotel's system to find out where the doctor was staying.
Pepper stood looking down to her cell phone as she waited for the elevator to open. She glanced up as the doors opened only to stop when she saw a familiar face.
"Clint, hey" Pepper said stepping onto the elevator. "This is a pleasant surprise. What are you doing here?"
"Working" Clint said with a nod. Pepper noticed the man dressed in all black stood at a distance in the small elevator. "The agency wants us to keep an eye on someone. What are you doing here?"
"The convention. Tony surprisingly wanted to come and it could be good for the company" Pepper said as the elevator stopped. "Well I have a meeting" She stepped off the elevator, but stopped and turned back to him. "Have you-" she cleared her throat. "Have you heard from her?" She was surprised when Tony came back and said that Katie was gone. She didn't believe it, but with each passing day there was no word from her. Pepper hated to admit that she was kind of glad. Tony wasn't pouring all of his energy into this woman, but the other part of her was guilty. Tony liked to pretend that he was fine, that not seeing Katie didn't effect him, but there were times Pepper would find him standing on the balcony alone. As much as Pepper hated to admit, Katie had become Tony's best friend, one he was finding it hard to just forget.
"No" Clint said before reaching forward and pressing one of the buttons. "I should go" Pepper nodded and took a step back and watched as the doors slid closed.
Clint stood on the elevator staring up to the numbers, before pulling out his cell phone and dialing a familiar number.
"Agent Barton, please tell me you haven't run into trouble already" Fury answered.
"I'm not sure yet sir" Clint replied. "Stark is here"
"You think he's going to be a problem?" Fury asked.
"This is Stark sir, he doesn't come to conventions, he likes his toys not people" Clint replied. "I think he maybe up to something"
"As long as his something doesn't involve our doctor then I don't care" Fury said. "Where is Heisenberg now?"
"In his room. I'm doing a sweep" Clint says as the doors slide open. He freezes when he see a maid down the hall walk past before disappearing down another. He was a couple of feet away, but there was no denying the woman's resemblance.
"Agent Barton, did you hear me?" Fury asked.
"Sir, I have to go. I'll call if anything comes up" Clint spoke before ending the call before the director could reply. Clint almost ran down the long hallway, stopping and looking in the direction the woman had gone, but there was no one there. "I'm going nuts" he muttered as he scanned down all the halls. It wouldn't be the first time he thought he saw Katie. The last time he saw her was right before she jumped off of the roof of Shield. It had been a little over a year since the last he saw her and if you asked him the exact time he probably could give it to you. He missed her with every passing day and it killed him not knowing where she was or the fact that she thought he didn't choose her. He pressed a finger to his comlink. "We're all clear, keep your eyes open. I don't want any surprises"
Katie found herself back in the lobby, glad that the crowd had thinned down a bit. She looked over to the front desk to see that the clerk was nowhere in sight. If she was going to do this then it was going to have to be now. She quickly walked behind the front desk going straight for the computer. After bypassing the initial security screen, Katie was able to search the guest log, but to her dismay Heisenberg wasn't checked in under his name.
"Great" Katie muttered. This was going to take longer than she anticipated. She glanced up making sure she was still in the clear before glancing back down to the screen. Now she had to locate the room purchased with Heisenberg's credit card. Which would've been a snap if the computer wasn't ancient and moving slower than a snail. "Come on" she looked over to see the Clerk appearing on the other side of the lobby. "Shit" she muttered looking down to the computer when the information suddenly appeared. "Got it" she quickly closed down the screen and scurried from behind the desk. She was so determined to get away that she didn't see wasn't paying attention and bumped into someone causing them to drop their glasses.
"Shit, I'm sorry" Katie said dropping down to pick them up. "I don't think they're-" she stopped when she looked up to familiar green eyes. "Bruce" Bruce's eyes widened as he looked to Katie.
"Katie, what-"
Katie looked over her shoulder to see the clerk looking over to her and Bruce with a look of confusion.
"This is all I need right now" Katie said before turning back to Bruce. "Bruce I know you have no reason to do this, but I need you not to tell anyone that you saw me here"
"What are you doing here?" Bruce asked. "Are you here to see Tony?" Katie's eyes widened. "You didn't know he was here?"
"No" Katie said closing her eyes and letting out a deep breath. She opened her eyes and pointed to the elevator. "No problem at all monsieur, I will be happy to show you" Bruce looked around confused but followed Katie over to the elevators. Once they stepped inside they turned to each other.
"You want to tell me what's going on here?" Bruce asked. "No one has heard anything from you, I thought you were dead"
"Well I'm not" Katie said taking a step toward him. "I'm..." even after all this time she couldn't find a word to describe what she was doing. "I'm digging"
"You have a lot of people looking for you, you know that?" Bruce asked. "After that stunt at Shield, you're at the top of the most wanted list"
"All I did was turn the lights off" Katie countered with a shrug.
"No all you did was prove to an agency that can't afford to be compromised that there is one person who can and has proven that they're not really safe" Bruce replied. "I think they've created a special threat level just for you"
"That's cool" Katie replied looking over her shoulder as the elevator doors slide open. "Look, no one can know I'm here. Once I do what I came here to do, then I'm gone"
"What did you come here to do?" Bruce asked and Katie shook her head.
"Sorry Bruce, I'm on this mission alone" Katie said before turning about to walk away. She stopped and turned back to the man before standing on the tips of her toes to place a kiss on his cheek. "It's good to see you my green friend" and with that she turned and almost ran away.
"Why do I get the feeling this weekend isn't going to be as calming as I would like" Bruce says looking down to his watch that's monitoring his heart rate. He notices the subtle spike and sighs before going to find Tony.
Katie walked down the halls, now looking over her shoulder because now there were people here who knew who she was. She'd gone all this time without coming under anyone's radar and now she was so close to being caught. Katie was so deep in her head that she barely missed bumping into someone. She let out a long sigh when she saw that it was Cheri.
"Sotte, where have you been, I have been looking for you everywhere" Cheri said forcefully grabbing Katie's arm and pulling her.
"I had to pee and then I got lost" Katie replied trying the pull from the woman's grasp, but for a older lady she had a really tight grip. "where are we going?"
"I'm taking you somewhere you can't get lost" the woman reply. Katie was about to question her when they past a hall. Two guards, Katie instantly recognized as Shield posted outside a door.
"It's now or never" Katie muttered before turning to Cheri who was still pulling her. "Oh, Cheri" the older woman stopped and turned to Katie.
"What do you-" the woman's question was cut off as Katie quickly wrapped an arm around the woman's neck.
"No offense, but the stick up your butt is making you a bitch, so how about a nap" Katie said before looking around to make sure the coast was clear as she felt the woman go limp in her arms. Katie dragged the woman inside a nearby maid's closet before straightening out her uniform and headed back toward the room. She stopped just at the corner of the hall peeking to see the agents still at their post not looking like they're about to move for any reason. Her back pressed firmly on the wall, Katie closes her eyes. There's only one way in that room and that means getting the two obstacles out of the way. And that meant calling them to her... sort of. "Oh my god!" she yelled. "He has a gun!" She looked around to make sure no one other than the guards heard her, but no one even stepped out of their room.
The agents stood outside Heisenberg's and shared a look after hearing the voice.
"Could be nothing" one of them said and the other shrugged. "Some kid just messing around"
"Or it could be something and I don't want to be the one to tell the hawk that we didn't at least check it out"
"I doubt he would even care."
"Whatever, I'm going" and with that one of the agents headed in the direction the voice came a hand hovering above his gun. The other guard stayed at his post watching his partner walk down the hall. He shook his head before letting his eyes roam the other end of the hall. He heard what sounded like a grunt and turned back to see his partner no where in sight.
"Reese" the agent called but didn't get a reply. He had a feeling that something wasn't right, so he looked over his shoulder to the door. He wouldn't go far and he'd be back soon enough. He took out his gun and headed down the hall. "Reese?" It was at the end of the hall that he found his partner lying on the floor unconscious, a maid standing above him. "What the hell happened?"
"There was this woman" Katie said walking over to the agent. "And she totally just did some Kung fu shit and just-" her hand quickly shot out grabbing the the top of the slide pulling it forward causing the clip to drop to the floor. The agent swung a fist and Katie ducked barely missing the hit. She grabbed the side of his arm before twisting it and pushing his face into the wall. She pulled him back slightly before pushing him back into the wall, this time the hit knocking him unconscious. "Now that was a workout" Katie says now out of breath before bending over and grabbing one of the agents and pulling him to the maids closet. She did the same with the other agent, stuffing their bodies inside the cramped space with Cheri. After a few moments of cleaning up her mess, Katie found herself standing outside of Heisenberg's door. She plastered on a bright smile before reaching up a fist and rapping on the door. "Le ménage!" she called hoping the German born was familiar with the French translation of housekeeping. She stood there looking down either side of the barren halls before turning as the door opened and a gray haired man appeared.
"I did not call for housekeeping" the man said his German accent thick and aged.
"Well here at Le Faubourg we like to anticipate our guests needs" Katie said before reaching behind her and pulling out the gun she snagged from one of the agents. "Like now, you need to walk back into your room slowly and take a seat"
"Who are you?"
"Let's just say we have some common acquaintances" Katie said stepping inside as the man backed away. "Now take a seat, we should talk"
Clint was doing a sweep of the outside of the hotel, glad to have come up empty. He was actually hopeful that he can get the doctor back to HQ without any hitches.
"Exterior clear, how's it going up there?" Clint asked. He waited for a response, but the only answer he got was silence. "This is Hawkeye, reply" still nothing and that's when he began having a sinking feeling. Without a second thought Clint went running back into the hotel, heading straight for the elevator.
Bruce knocked on Tony's door and wasn't surprised when it swung open to see Matthew, the new edition to their screwed up group.
"What's up doc?" Matthew greeted moving aside to let the man inside. "I thought you were smart enough to skip this fiasco"
"Tony called me again last night and gave me some story about how this was a once and a lifetime opportunity for me to congregate with my peers" Bruce said stepping inside the room.
"Plus he told you there was a chance Dr. Ross could be here" Matthew said and Bruce gave the man a confused look. "It was a long plane ride and I talk non stop to distract myself from the whole thought of possibly plummeting to my death, but don't worry I'll help you woo your girl"
"Thanks for the offer, but no thank you" Bruce said glancing around the room. "Where's Tony?"
"Oh you are going to love this" Matthew said when Tony finally appeared now dressed in a black suit and tie that fit him impeccably as always. "That's what you're wearing"
"I'm not sure how long this is going to take and I thought I wouldn't waste time for my date" Tony said before looking over to Bruce. "Brucey baby you made it, I'm glad"
"Stop calling me that and why are you glad to see me?" Bruce asked.
"Because you intimidate people you know with your whole green rage monster and I need a little intimidation on my side" Tony said straightening his tie. He glanced down to his watch. "We have to do this now"
"Do what exactly?" Bruce asked still trying to decipher what was happening.
"Oh, we're going to shake down some German scientist" Matthew said and Bruce looked over to him waiting for the punch line. When it didn't come he looked over to Tony who simply nodded.
"Ok, why?"
"Heisenberg's in bed with Shield, and I want to know why" Tony said before heading to the door, Matthew behind him. Bruce stood there for a moment suddenly having the feeling that Katie and Tony's plans were crossing and they didn't even know it. The doctor shook his head before turning to catch up with Tony and Matthew.
Heisenberg sat in the center of a couch as Katie sat in a chair across from him, a gun held firmly in her hand pointed at him.
"You have no idea what you are doing you dumme schlampe" Heisenberg hissed and Katie let out a snort.
"Would you believe that a stupid bitch isn't the worse thing I've been called" Katie replied crossing her legs. "Lets cut through the bullshit, shall we. I have places to be and you have a speech to give."
"I will not tell you anything" the doctor replied defiantly turning away from Katie.
"The agents who were outside your door are going to be gone for a while meaning there won't be anyone here to stop me when I beat you to death with this gun" Katie said and the doctor turned to her. "You're being escorted by Shield Agents, which I can only assume mean they think you're worth protecting. Why is that?" Heisenberg remains silent and Katie shakes her head before holding up the gun and pulling the trigger shooting the man in the shoulder. The man lets out yelp, but bites his bottom lip to stop any sound from coming out. Katie quirks an eyebrow. He was trying not to show how painful the shot was. "Now the first shot was not fatal, it'll heal in a month or so, the next shot starts altering behavior. What do you offer Shield?" The man gripped his bleeding shoulder before turning back to Katie. "Ok, lets go for the leg. I'm sure the ladies will think a limp is sexy" she pointed the gun toward Heisenberg's knee cap.
"Knowledge!" he snapped and Katie brought her eyes back to him. "I can offer them knowledge"
"You're a physicist, they literally employ hundreds of them . Why are you so special?" Katie asked.
"Not my knowledge of physics, but my knowledge from work with Arnim Zola." Heisenberg says and Katie turns away slight surprised. "You have heard of him?"
"You can say that" Katie says.
Clint stood nervously on the elevator as he impatiently waited for it to reach his intended floor. He let out a groan of annoyance when it stopped sooner than he wanted. But his annoyance only grew when he saw who was stepping onto the elevator.
"Huh"Tony said stepping onto the elevator with Matthew and Bruce. "Now this is a surprise. What are you doing here big bird?"
"None of your business Stark" Clint said reaching around the man to close the elevator door. "I can't say I'm surprised, you seem to make it a point to stick your nose in other peoples business"
"I'm sorry, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Tony asked taking a step forward only for Matthew to pull him back. Tony looked over to the young man.
"Even I know he could take you and I don't even know him" Matthew said.
"Well why don't I introduce you" Tony said. "Matthew Banks meet Clint Barton" Tony turned back to Clint. "Big bird meet Katie's little brother Matthew" Clint's eyes go to the man and Matthews once passive glance morphed into a glare.
"So you're Bart" Matthew said taking a step toward the archer.
"Let's not do this" Bruce said pulling Matthew away. "Clint, what are you doing here now"
"Sorry, doc it's sort of need to know" Clint said glancing up to the increasing numbers relieved he was almost to his destination. Bruce just shook his head.
"You wouldn't be here because of Dr. Ralph Heisenberg would you?" Bruce asked and the look Clint gave him was answer enough. "That's just perfect"
"I knew Stark being here would cause trouble" Clint said looking back to the elevator doors. "I don't know what you're doing here, but stay as far away from the doctor as humanly possible" The doors slid open and Clint pushed his way out, running down the hall. Tony stepped off the elevator running down the hall as well, Matthew right on his tail as Bruce decides to just hang back away from all the excitement and just leisurely walks down the hall.
Clint knew absolutely something was wrong when he ran to the doctors room and found that the guards he ordered not to move from this post were nowhere in side. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the key card, quickly swiping it and opening the door to find the doctor sitting on the couch gripping his bleeding arm.
"She went that way" Heisenberg says pointing toward the bedroom. Clint looks over to the door, before turning as Tony and Matthew come to the door.
"Have Banner check him out" Clint orders pointing to Heisenberg.
"What's going on?" Tony asks and Clint simply shakes his head before heading into the bedroom. He walks inside to find a gun sitting on the bed, but his eyes go to the opened window whose curtains blow in the window. "What-" Tony bursts in looking over to the window.
"Stay out of this Stark" Clint says walking over to the window, peeking out his head just in time to see someone slide around the corner of the building. Clint lets out a low growl before climbing out of the window to stand on the very narrow ledge. He carefully and quickly slides to follow the woman. Tony peeks his head out of the window looking up to Clint before looking down at how high they were.
"You do know that you're not actually a hawk?" Tony asks. "If you fall, that's just like the end"
"Will you shut the fuck up Stark!" Clint yelled trying to focus on keeping his feet secure. He moved around the corner to see an open window. He back into the window dropping inside the empty room to see the room's door wide open. There was no hesitation as he runs out into the hall to see what looked like a maid turning down a corner further down the hall. "Hey!" he yells before running down the hall. The moment he turns the corner he sees the maid now full on running toward the elevator. She stops pushing the button and having the elevator instantly open. The maid steps inside before turning to agent and in that moment they both stop and just look to the faces neither had seen in what seemed like forever. "Kat" Katie took a slight step forward only for the elevator doors to slide closed. Clint's feet are running again, this time only stopping to push the button, hoping for the doors to just slide open and for her to still be there.
"Barton!" he hears Tony's voice but does stop his attempt at bringing her back. "Barton!" Tony snaps grabbing the archer's shoulder only for Clint push him away. "What the hell is wrong with you, who were you chasing?"
"Katie" another voice speaks and they turned to see Bruce walking over to them.
"You saw her?" Clint asks glad that the woman he saw in the elevator wasn't just a figment of his imagination.
"Yeah, I sort of ran into her in the lobby earlier" Bruce said.
"And you didn't think that was something to share?" Tony asked.
"I was hoping to avoid the crazy for a while, but I see now that's impossible" Bruce said with a shake of her head. "She must have found out about Heisenberg and got to him first" Tony turns back to the elevator as they slide open both he and Clint stepping inside. "Tony, she's gone, you know she's gone" Tony doesn't say anything as the elevator doors slide closed.
The moment Katie's feet touch the floor of the lobby she's moving. She glances over to clerk who raises a hand for her to come over to him which she ignores as she turns and enters the staff quarters. Once she reaches the locker room she snags her bag and slips back on her clothes and tosses her bag over her shoulder.
"Breath Katie" she tells herself as she feels her heart ramming in her chest as the sight of Clint remains glued in her mind. She walks back toward the lobby, stopping as she opens the door to see Clint and Tony standing in the middle, their eyes scanning before one of them spots her. "Tony" Katie mutters as her and the man's eyes meet. She refuses to to be caught, by anyone and at this point running was second nature, so Katie begins backing away.
"Wait!" Tony called already running after her, Clint right behind him.
"Monsieur!" The clerk calls trying to stop the two men, but his cries were falling upon deaf ears as Tony and Clint push through the door in to the staff area. They ran as fast as their feet could take them, ending up just outside the back door. Both men stood there, breathing heavily as they let their eyes scan over the area, but Katie was just gone.
"I can't believe she ran from me" Tony said still heaving. He glanced over to Clint. "Actually I can believe, you're here." Tony turned and walked back into the hotel. Clint stood there for a moment letting his eyes scan over the area hoping to to a clue as to where she went. When he didn't see anything he sighed and turned walking back into the hotel as well.
Clint walked back to Heisenberg's room to find Bruce and Matthew still trying to help the man who was still bleeding.
"He's going to need to get to a hospital" Bruce said looking over to Clint.
"That won't be necessary" Clint says and they look over to him confused. "You guys can go"
"Barton-" Bruce says standing to his feet. "If he doesn't get medical attention he's at risk for bleeding out, or infection"
"Which I'm fully aware of doc" Clint says turning her eyes to the man. "But first me and Heisenberg have to have a little talk about what happened today"
"I know what happened, that crazy bitch shot me" The man hissed still keeping pressure on his arm. "Did you at least catch her?" All eyes once again went to Clint.
"No" Clint replied. With those words Matthew was storming out of the room.
"Matt!" Bruce called before looking to Clint. "He needs a doctor and medicine" and with that Bruce turned to catch up to Matthew. Once the door closed Clint turned to the German doctor whose eyes were on his arm. After a moment Heisenberg turned to see Clint looking down to him.
"What?"
"You didn't see who shot you" Clint said taking a step to the man. "It all happened so fast and you couldn't quite see their face"
"What are you talking about, she was sitting right in front of me when she shot me" Heisenberg said with a shake of his head. "She was about to shoot me again if I didn't tell her why your agency hired me"
"Look, I get it, you want revenge. I'm just telling you that it's not going to happen" Clint replies his eyes growing darker and he kneels in front of the doctor. "I know it doesn't make much sense, but take my advice and just feign ignorance"
"And if I don't?" Heisenberg asked and Clint smiled slightly which only unnerved the doctor.
"I'm the only assurance that you get back to DC in one piece" Clint said standing up straight. "Just imagine what would happen if I'm not happy"
Later that evening Clint stood in the back of the auditorium watching Heisenberg standing at a podium giving his speech to the hundreds of other great minds in the room. He notices the doctor ever so often rubbing his freshly bandaged shoulder.
"We all clear?" Clint whispered into com-link. His agents replied back that everything was clear. Clint knew he should be relieved, but it only verified that Katie really was gone for good. "Well keep your eyes open. We're not home free until we get him back on that carrier to HQ" And so he stood there listening to the most boring speech he'd ever hear. He thanked God when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He suspected it was the director to yell at him some more, but he glanced down to his phone to see that it was an unknown number. "Barton" Clint spoke, but no one said anything. "Hello, is anybody-"
"First time we're both in Paris and we're not even together" Katie spoke. Clint lifted his eyes to Heisenberg who still was giving his never ending speech before dipping out of the auditorium.
"Where are you?" Clint asked.
"You're the enemy now, I'm not going to tell you"
"I'm not your enemy Kat" Clint replied. "I just-" he let out a sigh. He hadn't spoken to her in so long and now that he was he didn't know quite what to say. "I need to see you" she didn't say anything for a moment.
"I'm in Paris Bart" Katie replied. "Where do you think I am?" and with that the line ended.
Clint looked down to his phone before looking over his shoulder to the auditorium door. He reached into his ear pulling out his com link before dropping it to the floor and stomping on it with his boot. After that there was no turning back and so Clint headed for the door.
A/N: Soo, first chapter... what do you think?