Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Marvel. I just have fun with their characters.
A/N
This story is still getting followers and favourites even at this late stage so thanks guys! Every email alert I get makes my day.
Thanks to UlvDakota, Guest, Wayang,Silver, Armand, Hofherrp and jaguarspot for reviewing chapter 8!
Guest: It's the seed for Strike Team Delta that is sown in the last chapter, it won't mature and grow for a few years as none of them are near ready for that sort of partnership at this point. I have a master plan for this Universe mostly worked out and know what's going to happen and everything that happens now happens for a reason. This is especially apparent in the sequel but is true for Shades of Red and Black as well.
Armand: There is a lot of Coulson in this chapter and the next so enjoy!
As always I want to thank my beta jaguarspot. Her help was invaluable to me in making sure everything I wrote made sense and giving me new ideas to play with. Any mistakes that are found are mine.
The French is courteously of Microsoft Word Translator. I'm still in the market for a French translator if anyone would like to volunteer?
Here's the next chapter. Enter Coulson!
You make a choice in your life and it affects your life in all the ways, both good and bad. John Mayer
Chapter 9: Choices
August, 1998;
SHIELD's New York Base; over a month earlier:
"You think WHAT? Have you officially taken leave of your senses Phil?"
"Maybe I have Director, because I honestly think there has to be a better solution to this problem then elimination."
"And just what happened that caused you to change your mind? A week ago you were more than ready to take Hawkeye out; I had a difficult time restraining you."
"Things change Director, and people can also change given the right chances and motivations, we both know that. After what I witnessed Hawkeye do in Tokyo I think that elimination would be a waste of potential and talent that we can benefit from having on our side."
A pause. Phil waited. Then,
"He's a trained killer Phil, not some lost puppy looking for a home. He's dangerous."
"Granted he is a trained killer, imagine if he was our trained killer though. You have any idea what a valuable asset he would make if we can bring him on board?"
Fury resisted the urge to groan and roll his eye or rub his eye patch. Instead he simply stared over his desk at Phil; the two men were meeting in Fury's private office.
Coulson and his team had arrived back early that morning and had been debriefed on what had happened in Tokyo. As soon as that was over Phil had requested a private meeting with Fury ASAP, and then proceeded to tell Nick he thought that Hawkeye would be an amazing agent if Nick were to reconsider the kill order and instead think about bringing him on board as an asset.
Bringing him on board? Bringing a crazy, rouge, and deadly ex-sniper turned free-lance assassin into a covert government organisation? That was a bad idea on so many levels. Before Fury could contemplate any further on that line of thought Phil spoke up again.
"Just think about it for a moment Nick. We currently don't have any professional long distance assassins in this agency and our need for specialists in this area is growing every day. I can think of at least five jobs in the last few months that if we had had a long distance operative in the organisation would have been easy. Given Barton's sniper training and his obvious skills with distance kills he would be invaluable in this regard."
"We could train a long distance assassin if you really want one but that would take time; what if we could have one now? One who's among the most feared and skilled in the world and already has most of the necessary training and real life experience? You let me do this Nick and we might very well end up with one of the greatest assets we've ever brought into SHIELD."
"Or everyone here could end up dead, that's what's more likely to happen."
Phil didn't answer that, instead he simply watched Fury and waited for him to speak again. Fury contemplated what Phil had said carefully, he did have a point. Fury picked up Barton's military service file, which was lying open on the desk between them, and flipped through it again. He'd already read it through several times but this time he read Barton's evaluations and scores very carefully, thinking hard while he did.
They were impressive, the shooting scores in particular. He'd never once missed what he'd aimed at, no matter what gun or rifle he'd used. And Fury knew he was a crack shot with a bow and arrows, his track record as an assassin spoke for him as far as his shooting prowess was concerned. There was no doubt SHIELD could use those skills, it was the other parts of the file that concerned Fury.
Barton's disdain for authority could be a big problem. Even though they were more flexible than the army he would still have to listen to other's orders and follow them, two things that according to his file he wasn't very good at. Being an assassin-for-hire for almost 18 months wasn't likely to have done his emotional and mental states much good; even if they successfully brought him on board he might prove to be too unstable and have to be terminated after all. There were many what-ifs in this idea and a high chance it would fail spectacularly or back fire on them.
Fury finished reading through everything in the file and thought very hard for about five minutes. Finally reaching a decision he looked across at Phil who was waiting rather impatiently for him to speak.
"How do you propose to stop him killing everyone here on sight? From what I know about him, which admittedly isn't much, he doesn't exactly bleed mental stability."
"Easy, joining SHIELD will have to be his own choice. I won't force him to, I'll ask him nicely, and if he accepts and wants to be here there won't be a problem with that."
"And if he doesn't accept Phil? It's on the books he won't, he's been his own boss for the last eighteen or so months and he may not want to go back to taking orders from someone else."
Phil swallowed at that and when he spoke he was careful to keep his voice devoid of any emotion.
"Then I'll take him out sir, just as originally planned. You said it yourself, he's dangerous. That's why I think we should do our uttermost to have him with us. Killing him would be the worst thing we've ever done if he can be converted to our side."
Fury suddenly longed for this meeting to be over, however Phil had made his point about Hawkeye. Convincing the higher-ups might be a different matter, and there was the small problem of his criminal record and the dishonourable discharge from the army, along with the fact Hawkeye the assassin was on several government hit-lists, but for now Fury was willing to give Phil the benefit of the doubt. Having a trained long distance assassin on board would be a good idea and they could definitely use one, but this assassin?
Fury had his doubts about recruiting this one.
"OK Phil, here's the deal. You go after him alone and try and convince him to join us. If he refuses then you take him out then and there, just as you should have the first time around. I'm not happy about this, but I trust you Phil and if you succeed I'll back you up the whole way and deal with the government types who are going to be distinctly less happy with this. If he refuses the recruitment offer than you take him out and the higher-ups don't know any of this ever happened. Just try not to let him kill you first Phil; that would be a waste of a valuable asset we already have."
Phil smirked, then nodded, an almost grin spreading over his face as he heard Fury's last statement.
"I didn't know you cared so much about me sir, but thank you."
Fury just frowned.
"Don't thank me yet Phil; thank me when you come out of this mess alive. You are on your own with this, I can't risk the lives of any of my Agents in this mad endeavour of yours. And you be careful please, I've lost one good eye already and I don't want it to happen again."
Phil nodded, looking supremely happy now that he'd gotten what he wanted.
"I will be careful, thanks boss. I'd better go get started on finding Barton again. I've got a lot of work to do."
Fury just watched as Phil picked up the file and left. As the door swung shut behind him Fury tapped a finger on his desk, lost in thought.
Nick was sure there was more to what happened in Tokyo that Phil purposefully wasn't telling him about. It just didn't make sense that Phil would be so keen to kill Hawkeye a week ago and was now even keener to spare his life and recruit him. Fury wouldn't ever admit it out loud but the idea of having a trained assassin on board was very appealing and he was sure that's why Phil had played that card. However he was sure Phil's motivations came from something much deeper than what would benefit SHIELD.
Not many people within the organisation knew about Phil's somewhat chequered past or what he and Fury had been through together when they were younger. It wasn't need-to-know for anyone and wasn't on any record. Of course that didn't stop the rampant speculation that constantly made the rounds, especially among new recruits, but none of those rumours were even remotely close to the truth.
The truth in its simplest form was that Nick had once given Phil a chance to make his mark on the world in a positive way. Phil had gone beyond anything Nick had ever initially expected of him, even saving Fury's life at a great cost to himself. It was due to this past that Fury trusted Phil the way he did. He trusted him enough to at least let him offer Hawkeye a similar chance at living a different life to the one he currently had.
They just had to catch him first, preferably without anyone getting hurt in the process. From past experiences Fury knew it would be easier said than done. But if anyone could do the impossible in this instance, Phil Coulson was definitely the man for the job.
Two months later.
Phil wondering half-seriously if Fury was right and he really was going senile in his advancing age, never mind that he was barely thirty. What he was going to attempt to do was perhaps the craziest thing he'd ever done in his life, and that was really saying something given Phil Coulson's life. He was actually going to came face-to-face with one of the most feared and deadly assassins in the world, and then offer him a job.
Yep, he was definitely crazy.
Of course, he didn't expect it to be that easy in practice. First he had to find Barton (which wouldn't be easy), then get close enough to actually speak to him without been killed (a feat in itself), convince him this wasn't a scam (that would be almost impossible), and hopefully then bring him back to SHIELD (the most favourable outcome). If that plan didn't work then Phil was under standing orders from Nick to take him out, but Phil wasn't sure he'd be able to carry through with it if it actually came to that.
His doubts about killing the assassin had started coming after he'd locked eyes with Barton for a few moments in that boarding house in Tokyo. Those eyes, Phil hadn't been able to shake them out of his memory. They were so empty and devoid of hope. The boy had looked so young, lost and broken, so desperate and lonely. No wonder really, he had no one to care for him or about him, no friends, from what was recorded in his military file no family, or at least none who cared about him given he had apparently had an older brother.
After knowing all that he did about Barton's past Phil had felt slightly uncomfortable with killing him in Tokyo but at the time had reasoned with himself it was the best course of action to take for everyone involved. However, that was before he'd actually laid eyes on the kid and realised he had probably never been given a chance in life to do something good.
After watching him in action on the roofs and then shooting him Phil had been sure he would find the assassin lying on the ground and the end would be swift. He hadn't particularly liked the thought of killing him but at that stage had still been on an adrenaline rush and hadn't been thinking beyond carrying out his orders, completing the mission, and keeping his agents safe.
Then Hawkeye had somehow managed to pull a disappearing act right under their noses despite being wounded and outnumbered. It was afterwards, when Phil had had time to think and clear his head, that he'd come to the conclusion that killing Barton would probably be the worst thing they could do in this situation. The look in the ex-snipers eye's made Phil feel sure he didn't enjoy what he did. Phil was good at reading people's eyes and Barton's eyes had been so empty and hopeless, not seeing any way out of his current predicament. It had been at that precise moment that Phil had suddenly longed to offer him a way out but he wasn't about to disobey direct orders due to feeling regrets, Phil faced regrets in his job all the time and he buried them all deep within himself. It was only later when they were back at the safe house that Phil had started to think of recruiting Barton into SHIELD as actually being possible.
With the right sort of guidance and encouragement Barton could easily be something great one day, he could even surpass Phil, his shooting skills were already second to none in the organisation. The kid was talented and had great potential, and he had his whole life ahead of him to do good if he was saved now. It was partially for that reason that Phil had requested a meeting with Fury as soon as he'd stepped off the plane once they were back in New York.
He'd eventually been able to talk Fury around to agreeing to let Phil at least try to recruit Barton into the organisation, and Fury had even agreed to back him up and deal with the higher-ups if he succeeded. Phil was immensely grateful to Fury for that as it wouldn't be easy given Hawkeye was a marked man. The government would likely be furious. Scratch that, several governments would be furious, not to mention the World Security Council. Coulson had had to play all the cards with Fury, but the end result had been well worth it.
Now he just had one small problem left. Actually, on second thoughts it was more of a mountain of a problem. Barton had gone-to-ground after Tokyo and hadn't been seen since. He'd vanished off the radar completely, just like that. Before Phil could put his plan for an offer of recruitment into effect he had to first find the marksman. From previous experience Phil knew it wouldn't be easy.
Fortunately he had one clue as to where he might be, whether it was actually any help Phil wasn't sure but it was the best lead he had. While they were still studying the arrows before finding the fingerprints on them Phil and Amy had identified where they had originally been bought. Paris, or more specifically from one of three stores in Paris who all sold arrows like them. They were a well known French brand of hunting arrow that boasted as being the best there was in terms of quality. Given that the arrows had also being found in Paris Phil thought it was as good a place to start looking for the assassin as any.
He'd given the matter some thought and in the end decided he would be better able to track Hawkeye if he set up a base in Europe, as that seemed to be where a large part of his work was carried out. From what Phil had been able to find out about his attributed hits Europe and Asia seemed to be Barton's main territory of operation, Phil wasn't that surprised he seemed to steer clear of the Middle East. From the man's military file it was clear that Barton didn't have good memories of that place and though the military thought him dead there was always the chance of being found out and hunted down if he turned up in their territory.
So, Phil had ended up travelling solo to Paris a little over a week after getting back from Tokyo and talking with Fury. Paris had a nice safe house he could use while he conducted his search which would make life somewhat easier for him and he was hoping he'd have better luck finding Hawkeye from here as the camera surveillance program hadn't picked up anything since Tokyo; Barton was damn good at staying invisible. Phil had already decided he would have to resort to more old fashioned methods once he was established in Paris.
There had been no more reports, official or unofficial, of assassinations using arrows since Tokyo so it appeared the Hawk was taking time off. Or had been killed, thought that possibility didn't deter Phil. He had the slightly modified and digitally aged photograph from Barton's service file and intended to put it to good use.
After finding out which shop Barton bought his arrows at and confirming it was indeed him thanks to the photograph Phil decided he had to narrow down his search area, a meeting with the police station that had provided the arrows a few months back and he soon knew the exact location where they'd been found. Phil could work with that.
He knew that Barton would likely avoid the flashy part of the city and go where the natives lived if he did have a safe house in Paris (which seemed quite likely given the evidence) because that's what you did when you wanted to blend in, everyone in this profession knew you didn't draw attention to yourself if you wanted to live. With this in mind Phil resorted to old fashioned methods of investigation and started walking the surrounding streets working his way away from that area, showing the photo to cafe workers, post offices employees and people at their market stalls, anyone who he thought might recognise the man on it or be able to give him a lead. Three weeks into the investigation and he still had zero results. It was disheartening but Phil doggedly pressed on.
He was half way through his fourth week before he got anything. Phil had reached a brighter, more cheerful part of town that was way off the beaten track, there were virtually no tourists in sight and the atmosphere was very friendly. The lead came from a nice little coffee shop located on one of the side streets. When he showed the picture to a waitress, explaining that he was a relative and Phil wanted to find him because of a death in the family, instead of shaking her head she examined the photo closely and then began nodding excitedly.
"Oui, oui, je le connais. Il vient souvent ici pour le café. Nous faisons le meilleur café à Paris, vous savez." (Yes, yes, I know him. He comes here often for coffee. We do make the best coffee in Paris you know)
Phil suddenly felt very hopeful.
"Je suis sûr que vous faites. Vous arrive de savoir où je peux le trouver?" (I'm sure you do. Do you happen to know where I can find him?)
She shook her head negatively as she continued to talk, gesturing with her hands the whole time like French people did.
"Non, je ne sais pas où il habite, juste qu'il vient ici souvent pour le café. Je n' pas vu depuis plusieurs semaines maintenant." (No, I don't know where he lives; just that he comes here often for coffee. I haven't seen him for several weeks now.)
Phil thanked the waitress, and after having a coffee (it was very good) left the cafe. Though it was starting to get late he decided to ask around these streets a bit more to see if he could find out anything else. By the end of an hour he had a little more information on Barton.
He learnt that no one had seen him for almost four weeks. The elderly lady in the Patisserie said that he was a regular customer of hers, a very nice young man with a very sweet tooth, and she was sorry to hear that a relative of his had died as she wasn't aware he had any family. Would Phil like her to pass the message on next time she saw him? Phil politely declined the offer, scaring Barton off was the last thing he wanted to do.
No one, however, knew where he lived. From what Phil could find out he didn't really have any regular patterns. He turned up randomly and did his shopping in a different order every time. No one Phil spoke to knew Barton's real name, they just called him 'monsieur'.
On questioning people many were surprised that he had an American relative, they thought he was French. Coulson spoke French fluently but couldn't pass for a native, apparently Barton could. That told Coulson that Barton was very good at impersonations, as Phil knew that Barton was an American by birth. Yet his French was apparently good enough to fool the natives into believing he was French by birth. Very impressive, and yet another talent they could use. Coulson was certain now that killing Barton would be the greatest mistake SHIELD would ever make.
He still hadn't found out where Barton lived, and was feeling very frustrated but decided to call it a day. He had seen a bigger cafe not far back; it was clean and cheery so he decided to get a bite to eat before heading back to the empty safe house. Coulson settled at a table where he had a good view of the whole place including the entrance and ordered a steak before sitting back and breathing in the enticing smells waffling in from the kitchen as he lazily watched everything that happened around him.
Suddenly he stiffened, but that was the only outward reaction he showed, Coulson was too experienced an agent to make such a rooky mistake. What made him stiffen was that the object of the whole reason he was in Paris had just walked through the door. Barton. Here, in the same cafe as Coulson. Talk about coincidences.
Barton was wearing dark jeans and a light blue shirt with a slightly bulky looking grey vest that Phil though more than likely hid at least one weapon. His hair was longer than it had been in Tokyo and he wore dark purple sunglasses, which he removed as he entered the cafe. Otherwise he looked the same, though very nicely tanned. Phil decided to wait and follow the kid when he left, once they were out of the crowd he would hopefully be able to talk to him without causing a scene. He didn't want to injure or endanger civilians if he could avoid it and he had no idea how Barton was likely to react when confronted, it could turn into a hostage situation if he wasn't careful.
Just then the young man turned and looked straight at Coulson, who saw the recognition dawn in his target's eyes before he turned and hurried out of the place.
Cover blown, great one Phil. You've being taught not to stare at the target.
Phil silently cursed as he jumped up and ran out after him, murmuring an apology to the waitress he almost knocked over as he did so. Tearing out onto the street he saw Barton already halfway up it, and took off in pursuit. Damn it, that kid was fast.
As he pounded up the street after his prey dodging pedestrians Coulson thought fast. The only thing he could do right now was keep Barton in his sight and not let him get away until they got to a less crowded area where Coulson could speak to him. He would likely have to corner him, not the best idea but Phil couldn't think of another way to do it as he didn't want to injure the kid unnecessarily, he still felt slightly guilty for shooting him in Tokyo. Shooting him again, even non-lethally to slow him down, would be counterproductive to what he wanted to achieve here. But Phil had his taser with him; if he had to he could always use that though he had to be fairly close to his target for it to work.
Just then Phil saw a flash of grey and light blue disappear into a side street, and cursed under his breath again; he knew most of these alleys contained roof access ladders and if Barton got onto the roofs Phil knew he would never be able to catch him.
Phil put on an extra burst of speed to reach the entrance to the alley. Looking down it he realised that it was in fact a dead end, it was simply a space between two buildings where the rubbish bins belonging to the buildings around were located. It looked to be devoid of life, the only thing stirring was some old newspapers lying on the ground next to one of the bins. He couldn't see Barton so he started to walk into the alley, all the while listening for any sound that would tell him where the archer had gone.
Clint knew this part of town well, and knew that this alley had a roof access ladder that led onto the highest roof around here. At least it should have a roof access ladder. In the time he'd been away in Budapest said ladder had disappeared which was just great. It had been old and likely taken away for maintenance, the brackets that secured it to the wall had also been taken so there was nothing for Clint to climb as the gutters were too high for him to use as a lever. He was trapped and that guy in the suit from Tokyo was closing in on him fast, likely wanting him dead.
Clint decided that he would just have to be sneaky and try to get away; if that plan failed then he would fight. If this was going to be his end he wouldn't go out lightly, why make life easy for yourself when with just a bit more effort you can make it hard? Ducking behind one of the bins he held his breath and listened hard, willing his thudding heart to be quieter, afraid it would give away his hiding place.
Phil didn't see any way out of the alley, there had obviously been a roof access ladder leading onto the roof at some point but it had been removed, probably for maintenance, which meant his target was likely hiding. Phil decided to try and talk to him without a confrontation. Stepping right into the alley to get off the busy street Phil looked up the alley before speaking English in a non-threatening voice. It would probably have freaked Barton out less to have used French but he wanted to minimise the chance of local ears prying into this conversation.
"It's okay kid, I just want to talk to you. I'm not here to kill you like everyone else who's chased you has. I might have wanted you dead in Tokyo and I know I did shoot you then but things have changed; now I have a proposition for you. Why don't you come out and we can talk about it. It's a bit hard to talk to someone when you can't see them."
Silence greeted his words, Coulson had expected that. Barton had been hounded and betrayed for years, he wasn't going to trust someone not to hurt him just because they said they wouldn't. Time to change tactics.
"Hawkeye, I know your real name is Clint Barton. I know you were a sniper in the army and somehow survived that explosion at the jail in Afghanistan. I know that you've been working as a free-lance assassin for the past eighteen months, gaining a reputation that rivals even the Black Widow. I know you're a trained and experienced killer, and yet you seem to want to run, not fight or kill, when you can. Even though I've tried to kill you before, right now that is the last thing I want to do. I'm here to offer you something that I bet no one has offered you before."
Still no answer. Coulson started walking down the alley, not pausing until he neared the first of the bins where he hesitated. He knew that Barton had to be hiding behind one of them; it was the only possible place to hide in the alley. The question was which one? Coulson though the one closest to the missing access ladder would be the best bet. He started towards it, all senses alert, making sure his footsteps could clearly be heard.
Coulson heard a slight scuffling noise directly behind him. Spinning around he saw Barton make a break for the entrance and freedom, he was a matter of a few feet away and Phil reacted on pure instinct. He lunged at the kid, his weight and the element of surprise bringing him to the ground. Barton was much smaller and skinnier than Coulson was but he was surprisingly strong and Coulson could feel the flight-or-fight mindset practically radiating off him, having taken the first option away the kid would probably try to fight him now.
Barton had had the breath knocked out of him when Coulson had landed on top and taking advantage of this fact Coulson quickly handcuffed the kid before hauling him up and turning him around to face him, making sure to block the escape route as he pulled out his taser gun just to be sure Barton would listen. He didn't intend to taser the kid if he could help it but a gun was a good incentive to listen. That was the reason R&D made taser's that looked like guns, they were a standard part of an agent's outfit.
Turning his full attention to the cowering yet still defiant person standing in front of him with his hands cuffed behind his back, his mouth firmly shut and eyes blazing, (his purple sunglasses had being knocked off in the scuffle and Coulson was getting the full effect off a very angry assassin's glare) Coulson started speaking.
Clint had had all the breath knocked out of him when this guy had tackled him to the ground. Man he was good, he not only heard Clint but reacted so fast that almost before Clint realised he was on the ground he already had handcuffs on. He hated handcuffs and though they were easy to pick if you knew how he didn't think he'd get the chance to pick them this time, he didn't think this guy was the type to make that sort of mistake.
This suit then proceeded to haul him up and turn Clint around to face him, pulling a gun out of his pocket as he did so. Clint cowered slightly, he felt helpless and out of control, and bad things always happened when he wasn't in control of a situation. He response to fear had always been the same, be defiant, if they knew how scared you were that gave them an advantage. So Clint let his eyes blaze and set his mouth in a grim line, showing anger and generally being pissed off. He hadn't broken down in front of a stranger for over ten years and wasn't going to start now. Who did this guy think he was anyway?
"I presume you heard what I said before so you know why I'm here. Barton, my name is Phil Coulson. I am an agent in an independent sector of the American government that you probably haven't heard spoken of before. It's called the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division."
Clint was practically vibrating with anger and though shutting up and listening to this guy was probably a very smart idea Clint wasn't exactly renowned for following smart ideas.
"Great, you do super secret stuff in a super secret agency. What a name, how do you fit it on a business card?"
"It's not easy but we manage."
Coulson's blasé tone didn't impress the assassin who didn't hesitate in telling him as much.
"You trying to impress me? Hate to tell you but it ain't workin' sunshine."
Coulson didn't bat an eyelid at the insult or the traces of a Midwestern accent that crept into Clint's words; he simply ignored it like Clint hadn't said anything and kept going.
"This organisation does things most people wouldn't dream were even possible. Espionage, assassinations, Intel gathering, these are just a few of the things we do."
"Why should I be interested in what some random guys in a super secret spy agency do?"
"You are interested because I am offering you a position as an agent with us."
Clint couldn't help it, he laughed. It wasn't a pleasant sound, more like a somewhat broken and desperate howl but he seriously couldn't care a less at this point.
"Are you nuts? You do know who you are talking to right? Why would you want me?"
"I am well aware who I am talking to." Coulson looked perfectly calm and completely unruffled, unlike Clint. "I also am not finished speaking to you yet so it would be nice if you would stop interrupting and just listen."
"I don't listen to people; it's a part of my irresistible charm."
Coulson chose to ignore that comment and ploughed on.
"The reason we want you? Well for a start you have many unique skills and if you agree to join us we can get you training to improve them even more. We'd protect you as well, we protect our own and I know Hawkeye has many enemies."
That was the understatement of the century as far as Clint was concerned; it was easier to name those who didn't want him dead. The answer was zero, maybe with the exception of Natasha. Clint thought it slightly amusing that they'd never actively tried to kill each other, even living together for a week they'd managed to co-exist quite peacefully for two world class assassins before splitting up and going their separate ways two days ago.
"What else do I get besides training and people not actively trying to kill me?"
"A place to live and a steady pay check. Backup and support on missions, travelling all over the world without having to pay for it, learning to fly quinjets, I can promise if you join that your life will never be boring."
"So what would I be doing exactly?"
Phil knew this was the make or break moment, so he didn't sugar-coat his next words, if this had a remote chance of working he had to be honest with Barton.
"You'll be eliminating traitors, spies, assassins, drug lords, human traffickers and people like them, the real scum of the earth. The kind of people who make the world a bad place and make people suffer."
"People like me then? That's ironic."
Phil felt a mixture of emotions roll over him at the kids' words. Of course he would see himself in the same light as those sorts of people, until a month ago Phil had seen him in that light as well.
The difference was Phil believed Barton could change who he was and deserved the chance to at least try.
"No, they aren't like you Barton. I've looked into your kills and not once could I find an instant that the marks suffered more than they had to, I also couldn't find one account where children were involved; you don't seem to kill children which for a renowned master assassin is rather unusual. It's obviously not all about the money."
Phil knew he'd struck a sore point with the assassin when he didn't immediately get a smart comeback and Barton lowered his eyes for a second. Having found an obvious weak point in the assassin's steel façade Phil relentlessly pressed on.
"The kind of people you'll be eliminating torture innocents, including children, for fun. And those that aren't, political leaders and the like; you'll always be given all the information we possess on the target before you accept the job and you have the right to refuse if you don't feel the kill order was justified. There will be no repercussions if you decide not to kill someone for a legitimate reason. But let me tell you that doesn't happen very often, the people we take down generally aren't saints."
"People can actually refuse to kill someone without consequences?"
"Yes, it doesn't happen very often but it isn't unheard off."
"What happens to the target if someone refuses to kill them?"
"The kill order is revaluated by several people and depending on the reasons for refusal is either handed to another agent or modified. In extreme cases it can even be dropped completely."
"Really?"
The level of sarcasm in the kids' voice made it clear he didn't believe much if any of what Coulson was saying. It was discouraging but not entirely unexpected.
"Barton, I have told you everything you wanted to know and haven't lied to you. You can choose not to come with me but if you don't want to die I'd suggest accepting my offer. I think it is likely to be the best one you will ever receive."
Unfortunately it said a lot for Clint's life in that this was probably the best offer he would ever receive.
Still, Clint glowered at Coulson. Seriously, how stupid did this suit-guy think he was? He didn't believe a word of what Coulson had said, it sounded to good and easy to be true, he'd been lied to and manipulated his whole life so why should he believe some random guy now? Especially when random guy had him handcuffed and was pointing a gun at him? And had shot him just a few short weeks ago?
There was something about Coulson, however, that pulled Clint up a bit. He seemed to be genuine, unlike the lowlife scumbags Clint had dealt with before when that other organisation he couldn't remember the name of had tried to recruit him. Those guys hadn't had the open, honest and calm feeling that Coulson radiated.
Everything about this man screamed that he could trust him, but Clint wasn't going to be fooled by that kind of exterior. Trust no one but yourself and no one can hurt you was his motto, he'd learned the hard way people could not be trusted when he was still a little kid. Clint stared hard at the man's face and into his eyes, trying to read him and work out what his real play was.
Phil held the assassins gaze and waited. He had to work hard not to look away; those blue eyes were extremely intense, it felt like a bird of prey was looking into his very soul. He knew the kid was looking for something, so Phil tried to be as open and honest as he could, for this to work the kid had to trust him and come in of his own free will.
That gave Phil an idea, one that he knew would make Fury mad, but Phil felt that it might be a better way of getting through the layers of metaphoric steel that Barton had surrounded himself with. Having nothing more to say Phil waited for the kid to say something.
Instead of saying anything Barton suddenly twisted out of Phil's grasp and kicked him in the leg before making a break for the alley opening, hands still cuffed behind his back. Phil gasped from the flaring pain and reacted on pure instinct, pointing the gun he was still holding at Barton's back he pulled the trigger. The kid went down with a gasp of pain and lay on the ground twitching from the shock of the electricity. Phil knew he was still conscious enough to talk, the voltage hadn't been that strong, and when Phil rolled him over Barton was glaring at him with pure hatred and a glare that almost rivalled Fury's.
"I would recommend against walking away when I'm trying to have a conversation with you Barton. That kind of thing tends to piss me off and me being pissed off never ends well for whoever has pissed me off. Ready to talk now?"
After several minutes of patient waiting on Phil's part, Barton finally spoke up from where he was lying on the ground. He didn't attempt to get up again though he probably could have moved now, and for that Phil was grateful. He didn't want to have to tase him again, it was bad enough he'd done it once.
"Why would you want me seriously? And how do you know about me, how do you even know my name? According to the official records I'm dead. How'd you find me?"
Phil smiled the most honest smile he could at the sullen person lying on the ground.
"I'm not lying, you have skills we would like to have on our side. I found out your identity through some of your arrows, they had fingerprints on them. The prints led me to your military file, and then facial recognition software led me to Tokyo, where after seeing your skills first hand I started to have doubts that killing you was the best thing to do. I then traced you to Paris through the barcode on your arrows. Whatever you might think Barton I want to tell you that it's not too late for you to start over, using your skills for good this time. But the choice to come with me has to be yours."
Their eyes bored into each other for several tense seconds. Barton looked away first.
"So you just want to use me like everyone else does. I've said no to them, why on earth would I say yes to you? If I'm just going to be doing the same thing as what I do now what's the point of going with you? I'm sure I make more money now and I'm not shackled to anyone, I'm free to do whatever I want whenever I want to do it."
Phil had to struggle to keep his mask in place at that, of course the kid thought they just wanted to use him for his skills, he was partially right. But Phil wanted Barton on their side for more than just that. He could clearly see the kid had never really had a choice about what he did; he'd just did whatever he had to do to survive. Phil wanted to be the one to give him the choice he'd likely never had before.
That choice wasn't going to happen while he had him handcuffed and lying tased on the ground in front of him though. Phil just had one more thing to say to the boy before he had to make his final decision.
"Barton, I won't lie to you; we do want your skills on our side. But the reason I'm offering this to you is because I know that you don't enjoy what you do, in fact you hate it but see no way out. I'm offering you a way out, a chance to right all the wrongs, a way to balance your ledger. You'll always be given a reason for a hit; you'd never go in blind, you'd always know exactly why you are doing it. You'll have a permanent place to live that is safe, plenty of food, a regular salary, training to improve the amazing skills you already possess, amazing new toys from our R&D department to play with and the chance to make a positive difference to the world. In return you'll be loyal to us. I know that you've never been given a choice about what you want to do with your life, I doubt you entered the assassin game by choice."
Something briefly flashed across the kids eyes as he said those last words, Phil couldn't be sure he'd even seen it but pressed on anyway.
"I'm offering you a choice, and I can't guarantee that anyone will ever again. If you refuse this offer, which is entirely within your rights to do, the next person to come after you will likely take you out without second thoughts."
The kid's eyes wore a 'how stupid do you think I am?' look that made Coulson worry he'd said the wrong thing. Then Barton spoke.
"And if I say no now you'll kill me I suppose? It's not like you're going to just let me walk away from this. This is blackmail. I see it all now; I either come with you and join your organisation or die here with a bullet in my brain? That's really giving me a choice, especially when I can hardly move."
Phil inwardly sighed. He knew Fury would live up to his name regarding what Phil was about to do, but Phil couldn't bring himself to kill this broken and abused kid and he knew this was the only way he could truly have the choice Phil had talked about.
Taking out the key to the handcuffs Phil removed them and put them into his pocket. Barton eyed him suspiciously but didn't move as Phil put his taser away before reaching into another pocket and pulling out a business card.
"You have a good point. Here," Phil leaned down and placed the card on the ground in front of Barton, who was starting to regain some mobility. "You have a week to call this number. If by the end of a week I hear nothing, you best understand most of the agents in the US government will be after you, and will kill you on sight. That enough of a choice for you?"
The kid was looking at him with confusion evident in every line of his body. To convince the kid he was serious Coulson took a few steps back holding out his hands where Barton could easily see them. However, even though he could have moved the kid didn't, instead he looked at Phil with an unreadable expression in his eyes.
"Are you for real?"
Coulson couldn't help smirking a bit at that.
"Yep, I am, a week Barton. This offer is limited to a week starting now; you have until the exact same time next week to call me if you want to take me up on my offer. I just hope you're convinced that whatever you decide to do is the right thing."
Coulson turned and walked out of the alley then, not looking back once. He knew Fury would go ballistic about this but he didn't care. The kid had to make the choice himself with no pressure or none of this would work. Coulson had been able to read in his eyes that he had listened and was actually thinking about what Phil had said, in spite of his attitude he was taking it to heart and Phil didn't think the tasing had anything to do with that either. Phil just knew he'd being right about Clint and was confident that he would hear from him before the week was up.
"You did WHAT?"
Phil winced as he held the phone slightly away from his ear. Fury was loud when he was angry.
"I gave him a week Director. He has a week to contact me and accept my offer to come in and if he doesn't he knows the consequences."
"And you'll know the consequences as well when he doesn't ring Phil. You disobeyed a direct order from me and let a crazy killer go when you had him handcuffed in front of you after months of searching for him. My orders if I remember correctly where to either recruit him or take him out, not let him go. I have a good mind to ship you off to Siberia right now."
"Your orders didn't specify a time limit on the recruitment period sir. Give me a week; I just know that I'm not wrong about Barton. I could see it in his eyes; he wasn't going to join us any other way. This way the choice will be his own, he'll come to us because he wants to. Please trust me on this one Nick."
Phil was playing the trump card and after he heard a long sigh from the other end of the phone knew it was working.
"I do trust you Phil, which is why you're not already in Siberia. But you're currently treading on very thin ice. If this goes sideways it's all on you, when the council finds out there is nothing I can do to protect you. You understand that?"
"Perfectly sir, but I wouldn't underestimate Barton if I were you. The kid wants a way out."
"We'll see. Talk to you in a week."
Phil disconnected the line and sighed deeply. Fury was furious, pun intended, just as Phil had known he would be. Phil knew his whole career was riding on this, he was sure he was right about Barton but after his conversation with Fury he really hoped he was right. His neck was on the line over this.
There was more to the reason he'd done what he had, much more, and that reason was simple. Phil could see himself in Barton. More correctly, he could see what might have happened to him if it hadn't been for Nick taking a chance with a troublesome sniper all those years ago.
Nick had taken on what many believed to be a lost cause and not worth the hassle of obedience training with Coulson, now Coulson wanted to give the same chance he'd had to someone else. Especially as this someone else was as lost and broken as Clint Barton, with a ledger that was over a mile long and stained red with blood. He just hoped the kid wasn't broken beyond repair, but Phil didn't think he was. If he wasn't strong he wouldn't have survived this long. That knowledge didn't make what Phil had done any easier, and if he didn't hear anything from Barton by next week Phil was well aware he was toast.
Phil knew the next seven days would likely be the most trying time of his life.
End of chapter 9
Yah, they finally meet! It only took nine out of ten chapters to make it happen. I hope that you will all tune in next week for our epic conclusion to Shades of Red and Black;
Chapter 10: A Second Chance
I will also be releasing the title and summary of the sequel and a couple of other stories that are in the works at the end of next weeks chapter.
Would love to know your thoughts on this chapter and hear your speculations on what you think is going to happen next week! Who knows, it might even give me ideas for the future...
