He can see her now, leaving the little café. He had to let her finalise her deal, so that her client, a prominent banker, wouldn't get wind of what was going on. She seems to be in a happy mood. It would be hard to tell, if he were a casual observer, but he's been following her around Europe for the last month, waiting for his chance. Or maybe waiting for her to prove something to him. Prove that she's more human than everyone thinks she is.
'Hawkeye, take her out. You've wasted enough time as it is.' His bow is ready. He draws the string back without hesitation, like the obedient little foot soldier he is. She pauses to give a note to a beggar, then she straightens and looks around. She's being watched, and she knows it.
He doesn't want to kill her.
'Are you sure she can't be an asset, sir?'
'Listen, Hawkeye, between you and me, yes, she could well be. But Fury wants her taken out.'
'If she won't do it, we can always kill her after interrogation.'
A pause. The handler thinks. The archer watches the target. She's more on edge now, moving quicker. He'll have to switch roofs soon, to keep her in sight.
'Fine. Do it. If it fails, though, it's on your head.'
He smiles. He can deal with that.
She spots him three blocks away from the café, and it doesn't matter that he's wearing a suit and that ridiculous hat, she can tell he's a military man from the way he walks. Just because he's a soldier doesn't mean he's here for her, but the odds are leaning that way. Her suspicions are confirmed after they've walked another block. Who he works for, she doesn't know or particularly care. He's a threat and he needs taking out.
Down a little alley she slips into a doorway and waits. He's not long in catching up, and he approaches the door with caution. He takes one step inside, and she charges.
He ducks, expecting a weapon, so she presses the advantage, and attacks. They fight, twisting and pulling and punching. He's more flexible than she expects, more like a circus performer than a soldier. She has one distinct advantage, though: He's not trying to kill her. It makes her job oh so much simpler.
But why does he want her alive?
Fight now, think later.
The fight's longer than she envisioned, but finally she knocks his head against the wall and he slides to the ground. She considers her next move. He wasn't trying to kill her. Perhaps she should leave him alive. Either way, she needs to know who he's working for.
She's searching him when he moves. It's not a waking reflex, it's a carefully placed shove that sends her sprawling. In the second it takes for her to realise he wasn't unconscious in the first place, he's kneeling on her chest with a knife pressing on her jugular vein. The message is clear: Don't move.
'You ever been to the US, Black Widow?' he asks, and she's surprised to hear a thick American accent. What's an American doing in Brussels? Surely there's enough work for someone like him in his own country?
'No,' she says. If she's going to die, she has to know.'Who are you working for?'
'Ever heard of S.H.I.E.L.D.?'
Of course she's heard of S.H.I.E.L.D. She didn't think she was on their radar. 'What do they want?'
He grins. 'We want to offer you a job.'
A year later they give her a badge, a certificate and her own guns.
'Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D.,' says the archer.