Potts knew that Barton had come back to the land of the living by the slight flinch and the way his body became rigid. The gunmen had left them on the floor opposite the other hostages; Clint was curled up with his head in her lap. The blow to the head hadn't been enough to break the skin, but a very large bruise was starting to make its presence known. She wasn't sure, but they could probably add a concussion to the list of his ailments.
By the sudden influx of movement, it seemed the bad guys had gotten what they were after. One had come out proclaiming that they had broken through and could now take Keres and go. Pepper held her breath, unsure if that was a good thing or not. If they had what they wanted, did they still need hostages?
She looked down to see a pair of grey eyes surveying the room. How he could be in what had to be a tremendous amount of pain and still employ his spy training was beyond her. She didn't know how any of the Avengers faced this kind of danger and still managed to save the day.
"Alright, I want all of you to stand up; it's time to leave!" yelled Josh, waving his gun around the room.
Clint lifted his head a little and watched the thugs start to gather people near the door. He knew he couldn't leave; someone had to stop these men from taking Keres. The police wouldn't know anything about it. They were just here to rescue the hostages and arrest the robbers. There was no guarantee that SHIELD had anyone mobilized to take these guys out. No, he had to make them keep him and make Pepper leave.
Pepper watched as the first group of three hostages was pushed out into the street. They had made it safely through this ordeal; maybe there was a chance that she and Clint could walk out that door too.
She leaned forward and whispered into Barton's ear, "I'm going to help you sit up now."
Even with the warning and Potts taking great care to help him move slowly, ever mindful of the bullet wound in his side, it was excruciating. He was hot and cold at the same time and could feel the beads of sweat build on his forehead. A small cry escaped his lips, but she was the only one that heard.
"They're letting us go now. You just have to hold on a little longer," she added.
He ran his tongue around his dry mouth, "I need to stay. You need to go, Pepper." He paused as a wave of pain surged through his body. "I have to stop them. No one else can."
"No, Clint, no. You're not staying. We're both leaving. You're hurt and there's nothing you can do."
"The shopping trip was fun, Pepper, but I have to go to work now."
Their argument paused as Josh approached the pair. "I told you to get up!" The command was punctuated with kick to Barton's injured leg.
The archer jumped a little as white hot agony overwhelmed him. This time, his cry of pain was heard by everyone. He grabbed a hold of the offending limb and tried to get his rapid breathing under control.
"Leave him alone, he's hurt!" shouted Pepper as Josh grabbed her by the arm and hauled her to her feet.
Josh was going to respond to the hysterical woman in his grasp when his knee buckled and he dropped to the ground. He glared at Clint who pulled his leg back under his body. The move served two purposes: one, it made him let go of Pepper, who was then able to take three steps closer to the door and freedom, and second, it irritated the gunman enough that he just might decide against letting Clint go.
Josh was just about to reintroduce Barton to the end of his gun again when William rushed over from the office that Pepper had taken refuge. He held up a phone for Josh to see the name and picture on the display.
"You know who that is?" William asked pointing towards Pepper who was being shoved in line with the other hostages by the turncoat security guard. Josh looked at the phone that displayed the open connection to Tony Stark then back to Potts. "She's the chick that's always with the billionaire. She's, like, his girlfriend or something. She runs his company."
A predatory smile crossed Josh's face. "We should probably keep a hostage for our trip through the tunnels. Something tells me he'd be more willing to deal for his girl than the cops."
Seeing his plan unravelling Clint argued through gritted teeth, "you don't need her. Stark will deal for me just as well as he would for her, probably better cause you let her go as a sign of good faith."
"And just who the hell are you to him, hmm?" Josh leaned over to get in the archer's face, "You don't strike me as his type. I think his girlfriend will be able to persuade him better. But don't worry, hotshot, I wouldn't dream of letting you walk away now."
He turned to the security guard. "You know what to do. Keep letting hostages out. When the last ones leave, you'll have about a minute to make it to the tunnels before they tell the cops there's no one left and they come busting in."
Pointing to Potts and Barton, he motioned to William. "Bring them."
Pepper rushed over so she could be the one to help Clint to his feet. She had a feeling she'd be more sympathetic than the gunman. They followed Josh up the stairs towards the vault while William continued to jab the end of his gun into Clint's back forcing them to walk or, in Hawkeye's case, hobble.