the prompt for this one was "Jail Cell"
Clint had his hands so tightly wrapped around the bars of his cell that they ached.
"I'm going to kill you," he promised lowly, voice hard and eyes lethal.
Natasha shot him a quelling glare from where she was held firmly between two burly men. She clearly didn't want him drawing attention to himself. But he had to try. She was trying to hide it, but Clint could see her legs trembling as they fought to support her weight. Her hands were clenched tightly at her sides and her mouth set in a hard line.
"Are you?" their target mocked him, lightly tapping his cane against his palm. The same cane he'd used to beat Natasha only a moment ago. Lightning fast, the man he struck out, catching Clint's fingers before he could withdraw them to safety.
Clint didn't flinch although he was pretty sure he had at least one broken finger now. He just clenched his jaw and tightened his hold on the bars. He wondered if it was possible to will someone to death.
Their captor arched a brow at what his sick mind likely perceived as a challenge and drifted closer. But he stayed just beyond Clint's reach.
"How do you plan to accomplish that?" the man asked with a taunting chuckle. "You're in there and I'm out here…with her."
At their captor's signal, one of the burly men slammed a fist into Natasha's abdomen and then another into her face.
Clint swore, withdrawing his hands only to slam them, open palmed, against the bars.
He didn't make his threat again, instead let his glare do the speaking for him.
The man drifted closer, a victorious smile on his face. He tapped the cane against his palm again.
"You should not have come here," he scolded. "You should have not tried to steal from me."
Clint tilted his head a little, feigning innocent confusion.
"Who said we were here to steal from you?" he asked casually. Then he dove forward, reaching through the bars and wrapping his hand around the man's throat. "We're here to kill you."
Natasha took that as an opportunity and struck out at the two men holding her while they were distracted. Clint knew she could handle them so he focused on the man in his grasp.
"You got sloppy," Clint scolded. "When you stayed out of reach before, I thought it was on purpose…but no, you really are that stupid."
The man tried to hit him with the cane, but Clint reached through with his other hand and snatched it from him.
"Man, you really had no idea who you were dealing with did you?" Clint taunted. "If I had the time, I'd beat you to death with this damn thing. But as it stands, we've got a plane to catch."
He pulled the man sharply forward, slamming his face against the bars. While he was still stunned, Clint turned him, wrapping his arm around the man's neck and pulling him back against the bars.
"SHIELD sends their regards," Clint hissed before smoothly and cleanly breaking his neck.
He let the body drop and looked up as Natasha moved stiffly towards him, keys dangling from her hand.
"You good?" he asked before he could stop himself.
She grinned around bloody lips and jangled the keys demonstratively.
"I'm saving your ass, aren't I?" she teased.
"My very own knight in shining armor," he agreed. He moved toward the door as she unlocked it and stepped through as soon as she pulled it open. His hand went to palm her neck, eyes assessing the damage he could see.
"I'm good," she promised softly.
Jaw ticking with tension, Clint nodded and reluctantly took her word for it.
"Exfil in 40. We need to move," he reminded.
But neither of them budged.
Finally, he sighed out his tension and dropped his forehead to rest against hers.
"Sometimes I hate this job," he muttered.
"Yeah…me too," she agreed with a chuckle, motioning demonstratively at the bruises forming on her face.
"Let's take a vacation," he decided, turning to hook an arm over her shoulders and steering them both toward the door. If his objective was to make sure she had support to walk, well he wasn't going to mention it.
"Oh yeah? Where?" she wondered as they stepped over bodies to get to the exit.
"Somewhere sunny and cheerful."
"You know somewhere were there isn't a price on one of our heads?" she asked with a chuckle.
"Hmmm…somewhere dark and cold then."
Look for one, possible two more of these later today!
