Woohoo, I updated within 24 hours. This chapter is a bit longer, I hope you like it! Feel free to review, tell me if you liked it!

The rest of his sentence was cut off by the deafening shot of a gun.

They lost their ease as quickly as the distraction came. Over the years they had been on so many missions together that they did not need to look at each other or utter a single word to understand what would come next. Together, they were a unit, and they acted as one. Natasha drew her gun with her right hand and took her earmuffs off with her left so that she was on full alert. She dropped them to the ground with no intention of picking them up again. Clint had pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back and notched it into the string of his compound bow, all in one swift rehearsed motion.

Luckily, the bullet hadn't hit them. Instead it had burrowed itself deep into the bark of a tree about three feet from Natasha. The gun sounded like it was far away, supposedly from a sniper. He probably wasn't very good since he had missed his targets- if they were. Natasha was certain that they were. Who else would shoot into a tree next to two people? The other possibility would be that the shot was supposed to alarm them, but that would not make much sense.

"Whoever has shot has to reload. Quick, can you see anything?" Natasha asked.

Clint narrowed his eyes. His eyesight was far better then hers; therefore he quickly scanned their surroundings for any signs of their attacker. All he saw was trees and snow.

"No. We have the lower ground; he must be high up, in a tree or something that we've overseen. Probably in a sector that we haven't been in," he replied. He nudged her with his elbow. "We have to go. Now."

"Okay, into the A sector-"

Boom. Another shot. It hit the ground, just a few inches from Clint's left foot. This time, it sounded much closer. Clint took a step back, now seriously alarmed.

"That's more than one. We have to go," he said and turned to run. She followed him without hesitating. The packs on their backs slowed them down a bit but they were the key to their survival. They carried food and shelter, a tent, which was essential for survival in the cold weather of Alaska. Both of them carried their weapons at hand so that they could use them to defend themselves at any given time. For now, they could not fight back at whomever they were attacked by since they could not see their attackers. Clint was able to run with an arrow notched into his bow. Even though it was slightly dangerous it would be way more effective since it would take too long for him to draw an arrow in the time of danger.

They ran as fast as they could, doing their best not to trip over anything while doing so. The snow covered the ground about three inches high, which made it hard for them to go really fast. It was comforting to know that their pursuers would have the same problems. They could not hear the sound of an engine which meant that both hunters and hunted moved on foot. Together they darted past trees and boulders that decorated the vast landscape.

Natasha knew that they were in a very difficult situation. Their attackers must have known their location for a long while now. They had had the time to set up a sniper and a second shooter attempting to eliminate them. Maybe they even had the time to circle them in. Either way, she knew that they had to confront their pursuers sooner or later. There were at least two of them, possibly even more. If they belonged to the terror cell, this attack must have been organized. In addition to that, they were easy to track. They could not erase all the tracks they had left in the snow. Wherever they would go they would leave a visible trail behind them. They would be found soon, either way. That idea became clearer and clearer to her with every yard they left behind them. She quickly glanced over to her partner, asking herself if the thought had dawned to him as well. Probably. It wouldn't have been the first time that they had thought alike.

Boom. Out of nowhere came the third shot. It hit Natasha's pack. The momentum of the impact caught her off balance as she fell to her left side, right into Clint. She took him with her as they collapsed into the snow.

"Are you hit?" Clint shouted as he scrambled to his knees, his hands frantically searching for his bow, which he must have lost in the snow during the fall. He found it and pulled himself to his feet.

"No, I'm alright. It hit the pack, I just fell," she replied and got up. "They're clo-"

Boom. Boom. Two shots, both fired from the same weapon. One knocked the gun from Natasha's hand and it disappeared in the snow. The second missed Clint's shoulder by less than a finger's width. He looked surprised and raised his bow, drawing the string with the arrow back, aiming in the direction from where the shot came. Natasha ducked down, feverishly fishing for her gun in the snow.

"Drop the weapons!" shouted a voice behind them. Clint whipped around, instinctively letting go of the arrow into the direction of the voice. Natasha turned just in time to see the arrow hitting the target into the shoulder. The man who ordered the disarmament cursed creatively and dropped his gun, using his hand to pull the arrow from his shoulder. Clint reached into his quiver to pull another arrow from it as another shot from the left hit him in the upper arm. He groaned and dropped the arrow.

"Tsk, tsk," mocked the second attacker as he stepped into the scene, the arm that carried his arm fully outstretched. He aimed at Clint. "Don't you Avengers ever do what you are told?"

Behind emerged another two men, both armed. One of them now aimed his gun at Natasha, who slowly held her hands up in the air, signaling that she had no intention of fighting back. Clint in the meantime dropped his bow into the snow, his right hand applying pressure on to the wound in his left upper arm. He gritted his teeth in pain as he hatefully stared at the man that shot him.

The man looked like he was about thirty-five years old and obviously was the leader of the group. He was dressed in a white cameo suit and wore goggles and a white hat so that Natasha could not make out the rest of his appearance. His lips were curled in an arrogant snarl as he looked at the two like they were his prey. The other three men were dressed just like him and came closer, their weapons pointed at the heads of Clint and Natasha.

The leader was circling the crouching Avengers, examining them. "We've been watching you for about twenty hours now. Adorable, how you thought that you were the ones in control," he said as he kicked the bow out of Clint's reach as he looked down at the archer. "Although I must say, this little cardio exercise was fun. We should repeat that. Maybe I'll let you run from me for another bit."

Clint grunted and spat in front of the man's feet in disgust. The man narrowed his eyes and snarled. He kicked Clint in the face. Natasha heard the ugly noise of his boot connecting with Clint's temple and winced as the archer collapsed face first in the snow. The ice turned a light red color around his shoulder.

She looked up into the face of their attacker, just in time to see his fist lashing out at her.