Chapter 2: Clint's Side

(A Day Earlier)

Clint was in the playroom with his daughter Rowena. The three-year-old was constantly running around, playing with all of the other toys that were in the room. Her sandy-blond curls bounced around her shoulder while her green eyes sparkled with excitement in the fluorescent lighting. The little girl saw her daddy sitting in the middle of the floor and ran over, jumping into his lap. "Don't hurt daddy," he said laughing.

He kissed his daughter's forehead and she snuggled up to him, grasping his ring finger and playing with the silver gold band around his ring finger. "When mommy coming home?' she asked.

"She'll be home soon, sweetheart, she' working," he answered.

The little girl pouted, sitting in her daddy's lap as she was tracing the lines on his hand. Clint smiled, kissing her forehead gently. "Agent Barton," a voice called out as the doors opened. Clint looked up as two SHIELD Agents came in. "You need to come with us, sir, Director Fury wishes to speak with you," one agent told him. Clint looked at his daughter, having her stand up on her feet.

"I have to go talk to Mr. Fury about fighting bad guys okay?" he told her.

She nodded her head slowly sadly and Clint held up her favorite stuffed animal, a black hawk with a Black Widow symbol in its stomach. "Here's Mr. Blackhawk," he told her smiling as he placed the bird in her arms, "Can daddy get a kiss?" The little girl pressed a kiss to her daddy's lips. "I love you, sweetheart," he told her.

"Wuv oo daddy," she answered.

She watched as he stood up and left the room. Like she normally did, she sat in the middle of the playroom, ignoring the rest of the kids in the room and just cuddled with her stuffed animal.

As Clint walked down the hall with the two agents, he became aware of something about this. One, normally it was Hill who came to get him if Fury need to speak with him. Two, since when they start escorting him to Fury's office? He looked to his left to see one of them holding their gun. Suddenly, his phone started going off and he reached into his jacket to check his text message, it was from Natasha and it said only two words:

SHIELD COMPROMISED

Clint put his phone back in his pocket. Then he reached for the knife that was right next to the phone. Before the Agents could react, Clint swung out with his knife, cutting the one on his left in the wrist to make him unable to grab his gun. He struck out, kicking the man's feet out from under him before he ducked as one tried to use the tazer on him. He swung a punch at his head when the man blocked it and thrust the tazer into his middle, which Cling blocked, twisting his wrists around easily he heard them both break before he took the man's head, throwing it into the nearest wall.

Running back down the hall towards the play room, he heard the alarms starting to go off. "Shit," he muttered. He knew he had only thirty seconds to get back to the room before they put it on total lockdown. He ran into the room, finding his daughter where he had left her.

"Daddy!" she gasped.

"Come on, sweetheart, we have to go," he told her, picking her up.

"HEY!" one of the caretakers called out.

Clint held onto his daughter as he jumped between the doors just as they were closing for the lockdown. "Agent Barton, what the hell is going on?" Hill demanded.

"SHIELD's been compromised, I just had two agents try to kill me," Clint replied as the two of them rushed down the hall.

"Mommy?" Rowena asked, looking around.

"Mommy's with Mr. Steve, sweetie," he answered as they ran around a corner.

They saw agents running down the hall at them and Clint looked at Hill. "Take her and go to the jet," he ordered.

"You don't make the orders…" she started to say.

"DO IT!" Clint shouted angrily

Hill held onto Rowena as she ran down the hall towards the jet. He punched one agent in the face before he jumped and kicked another one in the chest, sending him flying into a group of his men that sent them all to the floor. He grabbed his gun from his holster, firing shots. "Dammit, I need my bow," he muttered. He rolled across the floor as one tried to hit him in the face with a tazer. He jumped back to his feet, running as fast as he could down the hall towards the weapons area that wasn't far from him.

Reaching his locker, he took his gun and fired a shot, breaking the lock. Swinging the door open, he grabbed his bow and quiver, pressing a combination on his bow as the arrows changed arrowheads. Grabbing a bow, he fired one it into an agent that ran around the corner, running out of the locker room as the arrow exploded. He fired another arrow, the little weapon landing in front of group of men. "TAKE COVER!" one shouted.

Clint grabbed one man by his arm that was aiming for the back of his neck with a knife, throwing him over his shoulder. He took his knife, stabbing it through the agent's knee to keep him from getting back up. Rushing down the hall, he hit another combination on his bow before firing another shot. "Shit," he muttered as they started shooting their guns at him. He took off running towards the top deck.

He saw the jet waiting for him. "HILL! TAKE OFF!" he shouted. He ran towards the jet, jumping inside, shouting "GO!" Hill took off without another word.

"What the hell is happening?" Hill demanded.

"I have no clue," Clint replied.

He looked at his daughter who was staring at him with wide eyes. "It's okay, baby, it's okay," he assured her, sitting next to her and hugging her.

"Where's mommy?" she asked.

"Mommy's fighting bad guys," he replied, pulling his daughter into his lap.

The little girl cuddled into his chest as he stared out at the vast ocean. "Where do we go?" Hill asked.

"To the safe house," he replied.

He let out a deep breath as he reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out his now destroyed phone that blocked a bullet from hitting his chest. "Great, Hill, contact Nat," he told her.

"Our communications are down," Hill answered.

He cursed under his breath, holding his daughter close as the little girl still cried over the fear of what was going on.

When they arrived at the new bunker, Clint got out of the jet, holding his daughter on his hip. "Report," he told the agent.

"Director Fury is right now in surgery," an agent answered.

"Are we going with Operation Underground?" Hill asked.

"Operation what?" Clint asked.

"Something you don't have clearance for, Agent, can you get Agent Barton a phone so he can get a hold of Romanoff?" she asked.

The agent handed him a phone and he was escorted away.

Sitting in an office he let out a deep breath when he was finally able to get a hold of Natasha when Rowena walked up to him, her little arms wide open for him to pick her up again. "Come here, little one," he murmured, holding his daughter in his arms. The three-year-old started playing with the ring around her daddy's finger. "We're safe here, sweetheart, no one will hurt us here," he assured her.

"Mommy?" she asked.

"She'll join us soon," he assured her.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "She'll join us soon," he whispered.