… Clint PoV …
He's been watching her for fifteen days now. He'd followed her from Prague all the way to Moscow more than two thousand kilometers. A tiny beep sounds in his ear. He taps the little button on the com. "Hey, Coulson."
"Hawkeye. What's your status?"
"Still watching. I think she knows I'm following her. She's skipped town five times since I started tailing her. Won't stay still for more than three days."
"She's seen you?"
"No. I keep out of sight. She still hasn't found Stark's camera. I attached it when she went to pay the landlord the day she arrived in Nysa. I barely got out the window before the door opened. I don't know if it's habit for her or because of me but she's been sleeping with a knife under her pillow."
"You watch her sleep?" Maria Hill's voice snapped out at him from several countries and a big ass ocean away. "Pervert."
"What can I say, Hill? I'd rather watch her sleep than not and wake up to have her gun in my mouth."
"Is she that dangerous?" Coulson asked.
"She's downright deadly. And we're not the only ones after her. That first night in Prague, two SUVs parked out front. The room was pitch black and I couldn't hear a peep from two doors over. Twelve men went in- two limped out." Coulson whistled.
"You know the plan, Hawkeye. Don't waste time and don't take risks. Do whatever you have to."
"Yes, ma'am." Coulson chuckled.
"She's a threat, Hawkeye." Hill barked, leaning in towards the mike to amplify her words. "Eliminate the threat." He almost yanked the piece from his ringing ear.
"Fine. I'll move tonight. If you don't hear from me in five hours, you probably need to send someone else." Coulson made an approving noise.
"Five hours? What are you planning to do, take her out to dinner first?" He grit his teeth together. Hill was a hell of a woman and a fantastic agent but she was a hard ass sometimes.
"Hill, she killed ten men without a single shot that first night and left them pilled in the guest room when she left. She knows I'm following her. She sleeps with a knife under her pillow and a gun on the nightstand. I need to get her when she's unprepared. Stop bitching. I'll get it done." He can hear her huff of resignation.
"Good luck, Hawkeye. Coulson out."
He hadn't been quite sure what to expect when Fury gave him this case. He'd just gotten back from a mission in Hat Yai, Thailand, collecting a briefcase he hadn't bothered to open. He hadn't even dropped off his bow and quiver yet, just climbed out of the chopper and dropped into the nearest chair. He'd been eyeing the coffee machine across the room when Fury tossed the folder to him. "Fury."
"Barton. How was Hat Yai?"
"Hot." Fury settles into the chair across from him passing him a mug of coffee. Fury watches him stir packets of cream and sugar into his drink in silence. Clint speaks without looking up, "What is it, Fury?"
"I have a mission for you." Clint catches the edge of the photo that slid out of the folder and slips it out. Hot damn. "She's a Russian assassin and is causing us a lot of issues. We need you to neutralize the threat."
"How so?" he asks, thinking of his bow. Fury shrugs.
"Whatever works."
"So what do we know about her?"
"She's known as the Black Widow" Clint's eyebrows arched. "Yeah. She's more than just a spy. We think she was trained by a Russian group similar to SHIELD. She's been at this for at least a decade." Clint looked back to the photo of her. "She's older than she looks. She specializes in close combat and making sure her enemies underestimate her. We've been after her for months. She keeps slipping away from us. I need your eyes on this, Hawkeye." Clint nods.
"When do I leave?"
"We've reason to believe she'll be arriving in Prague two days from now. This won't be an easy mission, Barton. She's good at hiding. If you can get a clean shot, take it, but she likely won't let you. She'll do everything she can to make it on her terms, and no offence, Hawkeye, but her terms usually leave everyone but her dead." He stood, slapping Clint on the shoulder, "Don't underestimate her."