To embrace the extraordinary
Summary: Leanne Barton has never been what you would class as normal. She is very good at pretending she is an ordinary girl but she's not and with her big brother in danger it is time for her to stop hiding. The time has come for her to embrace the extraordinary
Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you recognise. The idea is the only thing that's mine.
AN: Hay guys, I would like to thank everyone who has favoured, followed and reviewed this story it means a lot to me. Here is the next chapter I hope you like it.
Chapter 3
Leanne had seen people do a lot of impressive things in her life, things that a normal person would consider impossible but she had yet to meet anyone quite like Nick Fury. The man stood in the middle of her roof and hailed a chopper with more ease than she could a cab.
A helicopter was one of the few vehicles that Leanne hadn't travelled in before and she was surprised to discover the interior was more spacious than she would have imagined.
"Where exactly are you taking me?" she asked the director as she strapped herself in
"Somewhere safe" he told her completely ignoring his own seat belt
"I hope you don't expect me to hide out in the middle of nowhere until this is all over because that's really not going to happen" Leanne stated firmly.
Fury didn't bother to hide his smile he didn't doubt that she could escape from any S.H.I.E.L.D safe house he tried to confine her to. Barton being the slightly paranoid, over protective and over prepared ass that he was, would have made sure she had the skills to do so. He didn't think that the girl realized just how well her brother had taught her and he wasn't going to be the one to enlighten her.
Leanne watched out of the window as they flew appreciating the New York sky line in a way she never had before, it was both beautiful and awe inspiring even the newly erected Stark tower couldn't change that.
Soon the chopper began to descend heading towards a huge building just off time square that seemed to be made mostly of glass. There was a helipad on the roof but for one illogical moment Leanne wondered if all that glass was going to hold the huge crafts weight. As they touched down safely she couldn't help but breathe a small sigh of relief and Fury's deep chuckle told her that he knew exactly what she had been thinking.
There was one question Leanne hadn't asked Fury because she was scared of what his answer might be. As the helicopter descended she realized she was about to lose her chance, she reached out and grasped his hand "You are going to get Clint back aren't you Director Fury?" she asked him pleadingly
"That's the plan Miss Barton, that's the plan" He replied before getting out and helping her down.
Leanne followed Fury but she was moving on auto pilot still reeling from the blow he had just unintentionally dealt her. To most people his answer would have been encouraging but Leanne wasn't most people. Fury was smart enough to know that lying wouldn't fly well with her so he had gone out of his way not to. He had chosen his words very carefully to ensure he didn't have to lie, it was a tactic she knew well because she used it herself.
What Fury's statement told her was that Clint was an asset that S.H.I.E.L.D wanted back but his return was not a priority to them. Well he was the very top priority to her and she had no intention of letting Fury or S.H.I.E.L.D forget that.
She did her best stick close to Fury as he led the way thought the intricately twisted corridors of the large building they had just entered. While from the outside it may have passed as a simple office block, inside it was a very different story. The place was clinically organized and Leanne could practically smell military coming off every underling that scurried out of Fury's way. The director marched along at such a pace that at times Leanne had to jog just to keep him in sight.
The S.H.I.E.L.D building was such a maze that soon one passageway seemed meld into another twisting right or curving left, bland white corridor after bland white corridor. The only thing the usually hyper aware girl knew for sure was that they were moving steadily downward and she only knew that due to the amount of stairs they had taken.
The long descent finally ended when they reached the basement of the building, which was as different from the rest of it as you could possibly get. When Leanne opened the door clearly marked gym she expected to find any number of ultra modern work out machines not a dog eared boxing ring and a wall of punching bags. She felt like she had stepped back in time.
A lone figure with muscles to spare stood in the middle of the room pounding a punch bag as if it were the root of all evil. Leanne liked to think of herself as quite brave but she couldn't help jumping when the boxer hit his bag so hard that it snapped the chain that it hung from and flew clear across the room
"Stay here" Fury ordered pointing at the doorway they had just come through; Leanne just nodded and watched as the director stalked his way over to the seriously focused young man. Fury interrupted his work out by enquiring about his sleep
Leanne didn't hear his response or any of the conversation that followed but she could see enough to know that he was not exactly pleased to see Fury and he really didn't like what the director was telling him either. When Fury was finally done talking, the younger man turned to leave but he wasn't going alone, he hoisted one of the old style punch bags onto his shoulder.
To say that the man's effortless show of strength shocked Leanne was an understatement, She was so stunned in fact that she realised too late, that he hadn't seen her and found it impossible to get out of his way before the man mountain collided with her.
In truth, he barely touched her, it was a glancing blow at worst but the guy was like a walking brick wall and even the slightest contact was enough to send Leanne tumbling towards the ground.
Years of gymnastics had taught Leanne that tensing up was the worst way to deal with a fall but she couldn't help bracing herself for her impending impact with the floor, thankfully it never came. Apparently the blond boxer was as fast as he was strong. In the time it had taken Leanne to close her eyes he had dropped the punch bag and wrapped both of his large hands around her waist.
"I'm sorry ma'am" he apologized quickly "Are you all right?" he asked with genuine concern filling his warm blue eyes
"Yeah I'm fine, thanks" she mumbled feeling completely embarrassed as he set her back on her feet
"Captain this is Miss Leanne Barton, Miss Barton Captain Steve Rogers" Fury introduced, coming up behind them "Miss Barton is Agent Barton's sister, I don't think you have met him yet" the director told the captain
"No I haven't" captain Rogers agreed "But I hear he's a good man" he said giving Leanne a bright smile and offering her his hand
"He's the best" she smiled back at him as they shook hands
"Then I'm pleased to meet you Miss Barton and I look forward to meeting your brother as well" he said releasing her hand
"Thank you captain, it's nice to meet you too" Leanne said honestly
"If you decide to take up our offer you will be sharing a ride with Miss Barton at 07:00 hours tomorrow morning" Fury said, he was speaking to the captain but it was Leanne that reacted
"Tomorrow?" She asked him
"Yes tomorrow" Fury repeated sounding exasperated despite his calm appearance "Until then you are to stay here and stay out of trouble" he told her firmly. Leanne opened her mouth to protest but Fury was having none of it "This is not a debate Barton" he snapped at her "You are staying here until I say you can leave, are we clear?" he demanded. For a moment the girl just stared at him in silent defiance and Fury could almost believe he was actually talking to the older more deadly of the Barton siblings but she finally conceded (something he had never known her brother to do). She gave him a small nod and cast her eyes down to the floor excepting that he was in charge and that his orders were to be followed, at least for now
Captain Rogers cleared his throat awkwardly in an effort to remind them that he was there the whole scene had made him feel uncomfortable.
While Fury had been laying the law down to Leanne he had re-shouldered his discarded bag, he was ready to get back to his apartment up on the top floor and the information packet that awaited him there. His decision was made, that whatever crazy plan Fury had cooked up, he was in. That cube was too dangerous for him not to be but he also knew that he couldn't just walk away and leave the girl with an obviously unhappy Fury, the man was intimidating at the best of times.
Steve hadn't told Miss Barton her brother was a good man just to be nice, it was the truth. Even though he had never met him Steve had heard enough about Clint Barton to know what kind of man he was. Clint was not only good he was also smart and loyal; he was a man that Steve could see himself being friends with back in the days when he actually had friends instead of fans.
Clint Barton didn't seem to be the type of man to allow his sister's safety to depend on anyone else –not ever Nick Fury- unless he had no other option. If Leanne Barton's life was in the hands of S.H.I.E.L.D then something had to be very wrong and Steve had every intention of watching her back until he knew she was once again safe with her brother.
"I can escort Miss Barton to the guest quarters sir" he told director Fury politely
"That won't be necessary Captain" Fury shot back without looking away from Miss Barton. Seconds later a small dark haired agent strode through the door behind them. Steve didn't know her name but he had seen her around the base often enough, he was sure that she hadn't been sporting that black eye the last time he had seen her. "Agent Pips will be Miss Barton's escort for the remainder of her time here" Fury told them firmly
"If you follow me Miss Barton I will give you a brief tour and show you to your quarters" Pips smiled tightly at the younger woman. The agents tone was polite and her words formal but the look she was giving the girl was anything but friendly. Miss Barton shot one last defiant glare at Fury before following Pips from the room.
As Pips silently led the way through the halls of the S.H.I.E.L.D base she was radiating anger and while Leanne really couldn't blame her it didn't make the whole situation any less awkward for her. She felt bad enough about what she had done back at her apartment without Pips giving her the silent treatment.
"Look, Agent Pips, I'm sorry about your nose" Leanne called out running after the female agent trying to make amends "I didn't mean to hit you so hard" she said indicating to the woman's black eye.
Pips just rolled her eyes at Leanne and strode on ahead, she only paused for a moment here or there to tell the younger woman what a particular room was used for or to remind her that she didn't have the clearance to go into it. Any questions that Leanne had, were answered with as few words as possible and soon the two had arrived at the room that Leanne had been allotted for the night.
The room was large and comfortable, with both a lounge and a bedroom area; it had even been decorated stylishly. It was not what Leanne had expected to find in a top secret government base "Wow, this is pretty amazing" she breathed moving to the centre of the room to take a better look.
"The room is usually used for visiting dignitaries or politicians and was always your intended destination, Pips told her without emotion, "If you had cooperated in the first place you would have gotten dinner as part of the deal but your little display delayed you arrival and now the kitchens are closed, sorry" she said coldly not sounding sorry at all and slamming the door behind her
Leanne breathed a deep sigh and dropped down onto the soft, over stuffed sofa that S.H.I.E.L.D had provided her with. She allowed herself a few moments of quiet contemplation before she retrieved her go bag, opened it up and set it down on the low coffee table in front of her.
The first thing she pulled out was a bundle of clothing that she had actually forgotten was in there. She had a stretchy pair of grey jeans, a plain black vest and a big blue zip up sweater. It was not a particularly flattering outfit but it was both comfortable and practical; Leanne got the feeling that she was going to be glad of that. She laid the clothes out ready for the next day and went back to her bag.
The next items she recovered were a first aid kit and a small supply of snacks. The snacks where what she had actually been looking for because as soon as Pips had mentioned that she had missed dinner Leanne had realized she was in fact very hungry. Unfortunately the snacks were of no use to her because she foolishly hadn't replenished them as often as she should have and they were now out of date. Sighing dejectedly Leanne threw them into the nearest bin before returning to the bag that was now almost empty
The last object in the bag was the only thing in the whole pack that was in there at Leanne's insistence instead of Clint's. It seemed to be just a normal black belt. It was a little too wide to be considered fashionable perhaps but it was otherwise unremarkable, until Leanne unhooked a few discreetly placed buttons and the top half of it folded down to reveal a set of small but wickedly sharp throwing daggers.
These blades where Leanne's most protected secret, Clint didn't know that she still kept them and her friends didn't know that she had ever had them. They believed she had spent her years under the big top as a gymnast, and sometimes acted as Z's assistant but that wasn't the whole story, She was not the sweet little flower child that everyone believed her to be, she had the potential to be deadly just like her brother but where Clint shot arrows she threw knives.
Leanne had only ever used her skills for entertainment and she knew she lacked the killer instinct that Clint needed in his line of work but she also knew that if she ever had to defend herself using her daggers she could. It was with defence in mind that she set about cleaning and sharpening the knives that had not seen the light of day since she had left the circus. The young woman had forgotten how absorbing she found the routine of maintaining her weapons, almost two hours had passed by the time she was satisfied with her work
Christopher, the elderly gentleman that originally taught Leanne how to throw swore that it was just like riding a bike once you knew how you never forgot; she hoped he was right
In the bedroom she noticed there was a wardrobe made of good think wood, it would make a perfect target. Leanne selected her favourite knife it had a small straight blade that was no more than three inches long, she tossed it gently from hand to hand checking that the balance was still even.
Taking a deep breath Leanne chose a section of the wardrobe door, took a firm stance, aimed and let the dagger fly. The knife imbedded it's self firmly in the wood of the door but not quite where she intending to, She had expected that, what she had not expected was searing pain that engulfed her right forearm the moment she released the dagger.
Leanne slowly began to remove her jacket, all the while wishing she had thought to do it earlier. She had to peel it gingerly down her right arm. Once the jacket was gone Leanne was shocked to find a long wide graze covering most of her forearm, It looked awful and there was a lot of blood but she knew it must look worse that it was otherwise she surely would have noticed it sooner.
Thinking over the events of the last few hours Leanne vaguely remembered a stinging pain racing across the skin of her arm as she hauled herself up onto the roof of her building. She wanted to kick herself for not realizing what that meant and treating the wound back then. Now she not only had to disinfect and wrap her arm she also had to make sure she got rid of any and all of the fibres from her coat that had gotten into it.
Leanne had just opened up her first aid kit and settled on the bed to deal with her arm when there was a loud knock on her door, she thought about ignoring it and pretending to be asleep but she didn't trust whoever was on the other side not to come in anyway. She took the time to pull her dagger from the wardrobe and hide it under one of the pillows along with her the belt before marching over to answer the door. She was surprised to find Captain Rogers on the other side but not as surprised as he was to see her bleeding it seemed.
"Miss Barton what happened?" He asked her as she stepped back to allow him in. He placed the tray he was carrying, on the nearest available surface and gently took her arm in his hands so that he could examine it.
"It's nothing Captain" Leanne lied trying to reassure him "I scraped it earlier, I didn't even notice till now"
"It doesn't look like nothing" the man said firmly never taking his eyes off her injury "Do you have a med kit?" he asked
"Yes on the bed" she said pointing towards the still open kit with her good arm, she moved to go and fetch it but the captain stopped her
"Sit down" he said giving her a push toward the sofa "I'll get it" he told her before going to retrieve the first aid kit from where she had left it.
Leanne enjoyed watching the young captain work on her arm (even if it did hurt a little) she had never seen anyone focus so intently on a simple graze, not even a doctor. He was careful and efficient, she got the feeling that he was trying very hard not to hurt her and that fact made her smile despite the day she had had.
"Have you had medical training Captain Rogers?" she enquired as he covered the now clean wound with some sterile gauze, she couldn't believe he was already done
"No ma'am, just lot's of practice" he replied with a smile that told her there was a story there "I got beat up a lot as a kid so over the years I got good at patching myself up" he volunteered the information without her having to ask
"Must have been some brave kid's to take you on" she commented giving his bulging muscles a meaningful look
Steve smiled down at the young woman who even when they were both sitting was dwarfed by him. He liked her, something about her made him want to smile and not many people had been able to do that since he had woken up from his 70 year nap. For a moment he was tempted to tell her his story, he wanted to see how she would react to the news that he was technically old enough to be her grandfather but then he remember the details he had read in the dossier from Fury. The poor kid had to be out of her mind with worry for her brother but you would never guess, she hid it very well. The last thing she needed was for him to give her more to think about, besides she would know the truth soon enough so he just laughed her comment off with a bright smile
"Actually I was kind of an easy target as a kid" he chuckled at how big of an understatement that was
An awkward silence began to fill the air and Steve took that as his queue to leave but he had some things to give her before he left. "I got you something to eat Agent Pips mentioned you might be hungry" he said a little self consciously as he went to retrieve the tray he had bought with him
Agent Pips hadn't actually mentioned it to him. It was more like she and one of her friends had been gloating over the fact that Barton's bratty little sister was going to have to go hungry because the kitchens closed before she arrived and he had overheard them. It was not really the way he wanted to learn the pretty agents name but at least he would never forget her, it also meant he now knew to steer clear of her.
"But I thought the kitchens were closed for the night" she queried as he placed the tray in front of her
"They are" Steve admitted "but I have a kitchen in my quarters so-" he trailed off not really sure how to finish his sentence
"You cooked for me?" she asked sounding astonished as she looked down at the steaming bowl
"It's only stew" Steve told her feeling his cheeks begin to flush "But it's better than nothing" he assured her
She smiled warmly up at him it was the most genuine smile he had seen from her yet "Thank you Captain, I really appreciate it"
"I also bought you this" he said lifting a brown file from the tray and handing it to her
"What is it?" she asked as she took the file from his hand.
"It's my debriefing packet, I thought given the circumstances you have more right than anyone else to know what's going on" he explained
"Are you allowed to show this to me?" Leanne asked him. She knew from Clint just how strict S.H.I.E.L.D was with their intel and as much as she wanted to know what was happening she didn't want Captain Rogers getting on the wrong side of Fury for helping her.
He dismissed her concerns, "It's mine, I can give it to who I like" Steve told her. This wouldn't be the first time he disobeyed orders to do what he thought was best and he couldn't help but think that Agent Barton would approve of his actions.
"Thank you Captain Rogers, that's very good of you" Leanne whispered it didn't seem like enough but she wasn't sure what else she could say.
"Goodnight Miss Barton" the captain said making his way to the door
"Leanne" she corrected him as she got to her feet to go and see him out
"I beg your pardon ma'am?" he queried from the doorway
"My name is Leanne Captain" she told him warmly "And after everything you have done for me I think you should use it" she explained
"Well then if you're Leanne I guess that makes me Steve" he countered with a grin
"Goodnight Steve" Leanne said with a smile
"Goodnight Leanne" Steve repeated before walking out the door. Leanne smiled after him for a moment before returning to her food and reading. It was not easy to keep her cool when the part of her that wanted to freak out over Clint kept getting bigger and bigger by the moment. Steve had a calming effect on her, having him around seemed to make it easier for her to breathe
She cast a longing look over at the plush bed she had been given before she settled herself back on the sofa. She would eat first then she would read, the file Steve had given her was as thick as some of her favourite novels and she would need sustenance to get through it. If at any point she actually made it into that comfortable bed it would be an added bonus. She hoped Steve's stew tasted as good as it smelt because she knew was in for a long night
Thank you for reading and please let me know what you think
Millie
