New story! (Before I say anything extra - I am still continuing my other story A year in the Life of the Avengers) - this one is based on Clint meeting Natasha, working alongside her and eventually partnering up with S.H.I.E.L.D :) I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, nor any of the Avengers, organisations etc that are mentioned in this story. I hope you enjoy!

"I see. Of course. I understand. Why this information was not passed directly to me in the first place I do not know but I have my back-ups,' Director Fury turned to Coulson with a nod to the door, mouthing the words 'Get Barton' as he did so, 'thank you." He put the phone back onto the hook and sighed in exasperation, running a hand down his face and slamming it against the table. Looking out the large window Nick Fury gazed out to the skies, the clouds grey from the recent rainfall. S.H.I.E.L.D's Helicarrier was settled on water at the moment, no hurry to get anywhere. The water lapped against the sides, waves larger with the wind in their backs.

Coulson took the shortcut to the training floor where he knew Clint Barton would be. There greatest marksmen it surprised him that Barton hadn't been asked to complete the task when they first received it, but after sixteen years of working for S.H.I.E.L.D he had learnt better than to question his boss. Most of the time the Director was right anyway.

The training floor was dedicated in preparing the S.H.I.E.L.D agents for everything they needed, a sparring floor, a wrestling ring, target practices and all manner of high bars, ropes and obstacle courses. Clint was to be found in one of two places. The rafters, looking out on who comes and goes, or the target practice; firing arrow after arrow in the boards. The latter was where Coulson found him.

"Come to join me?" Clint asked with slight humour in his voice as he fired three more arrows in succession before turning to his handler.

"No such luck, Director Fury wants a word." The marksman sighed, collapsing his bow and slotting it back into place on the wall. He turned to Coulson and gestured for him to lead the way.

"Anything important?"

"A mission." Coulson's reply was professional, never being one for chit chat. He was a smartly dressed man, preferring to wear suits and ties than casual wear. Phil Coulson was one of the higher level agents, no longer going out into the field but instead training his men to be the best they can be. It was a field day when he was told that he was getting Clint Barton. Despite being an excellent marksman, a gymnast and incredible sniper, the man wasn't always expected to be on time everywhere, would do things at his own pace in his own time and more often than not being called into offices for trouble he seemed to always be around. The amount of paperwork generated around that one man was enough to put Coulson in an ink induced headache for over a week.

S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters was a moving Helicarrier that could transport on water, under water and in the skies. A large military base it held every single operation you could imagine and a lot more. The inside was expansive, corridors leading in all manner of directions; a labyrinth for those who hadn't been here long. Clint had taken to mapping out his surroundings to the last detail since he was a child and despite only being here four years, he knew the HQ inside and out. Following his handler and friend quickly through the corridors they soon arrived at Director Nick Fury's office and Phil ushered him in.

"You have a mission for me?" Clint asked, all joking aside as he slipped into his Hawkeye alias and perched in the chair opposite. Fury was looking over a file, studying the information and quickly closing it, returning Clint's gaze.

"I do. I did have another Agent but he became…compromised." He turned the file around and slid it towards Clint. Tapping the cover he began to explain;

"Black Widow. Russian assassin working for Department X – an organisation that seem to be kidnapping young girls and turning them into unforgiving killing machines. She's their best."

"What have we got to go on?" Clint asked opening the file. He was surprised to see the lack of information, and no photograph.

"As you can see not much. But we do know a couple of things. She has a particular skill set and is used to seduce men into giving up information before killing them in cold blood. Hundreds, both innocent and guilty have been killed under her name. The Black Widow got up on S.H.I.E.L.D's radar a while ago, after killing three Chinese emperors in two months and all for very little reason. We have been monitoring her activities, waiting for her to crop up again and now we have her." Nick explained, lifting the first page to show everything he had just said written down.

"Feisty. I take it you want me to swoop in, kill the widow, swoop back out again?"

"If you'd be so kind."

"Talk to me, where am I heading?"

"Just outside Baños Ecuador. Our S.H.I.E.L.D Agent tracked her down to the Agoyan waterfall. Word is there's a drugs-lord doing some extremely interesting deals to Red Room's leader and has duped him in some way. Black Widow's been sent to kill him. You're being sent to kill her. Kill him too and you get a Christmas bonus." Fury smirked.

"I'll be back before breakfast."

"I'll warm up the eggs."

That evening Clint boarded one of the quinjets and along with a single bag of luggage began the flight to Baños. It was around 7 hours and after finally landing Clint was directed to his safe house by an international Agent and began to settle in.

The room was nothing special, but it never really was. A double bed sat against the centre of the wall with a bedside table and a chest of drawers opposite. On the top sat an ancient television set but Clint wasn't one to watch mindless programmes. A little ensuite in the corner housed the basics, a toilet, a sink and a shower that appeared to have seen better days. After dumping his bag on the bed Clint propped up one of the thin pillows and got himself as comfy as possible, using the lamp light to read through the file once more. Not much was known about the Black Widow and a tiny spark at the back of his mind was begging Clint to find out more before ending her life. A face with just an alias was almost as bad as a face with no name at all and if he was to see his target, he couldn't kill her with no name.

Ecuador was hot, hot and sticky. Something that despite travelling all over the world, Clint still struggled to get used too. When he worked out for hours on end he was always covered in a thick layer of sweat but that was working out sweat, this was just annoying. He had taken two showers already before he deemed himself ready to try and sleep but the fight with whether or not he was sleeping with the sheet raged on. In the end the blanket had been kicked to the floor and Clint fell into a restless slumber, one arm tucked beneath his pillow and keeping a firm grip on the butt of his pistol while the other dangled aimlessly off the bed. Throughout the night he woke to several unusual sounds, the noises of a jungle city but eventually he got a few hours relatively decent kip. It was enough for him to go on anyway.

Ensuring his bow was secure over his shoulder, and the quiver tightened against his back Clint finished his glass of water and exited the cabin. The heat struck his skin like fire hits a match and in seconds his just washed body was coated with a thin layer of sweat.

"Brilliant(!)" He muttered to himself before heading off, trekking into the jungle depths. It wasn't long before the thick dense foliage crept up on all sides and the unfamiliar noises sparked up again. The sound of monkeys chattering to one another in the tree's and birds calling out from miles away. The sun peeked between the leaves, a longing to reach the ground but many rays failed to do so. This left Clint in the shadows, just the way he liked it.

Hope you enjoyed the start! I appreciate any reviews :D xx