A/N Thanks for your reviews and support.

white collar black wolf: Thanks for your review my friend. Glad you enjoyed it.

Clint's POV

The mission was in a small middle eastern country. The locals spoke Arabic. It made him grateful that Alex made him learn so many languages. While he didn't look like a local he could speak like a local.

He was on a rooftop watching the hotel that the intel said their target was in. So far he had not seen the target but that didn't mean he wasn't there. More than once as an assassin he was forced to wait for days for a target to appear.

At least with SHIELD he was allowed to come back to the safe house. Coulson required him to come back at least once every twelve hours. This was as much of check in as a you are still alive check. It was strange to Clint who was unused to someone caring about him.

He was just about to go down for another check in when he spotted movement. Moving slowly back to his post he watched as a man came out of the hotel. It was his target.

He said over his comm, "Hawkeye to Overwatch."

Coulson responded immediately, "Overwatch to Hawkeye I read you. Whats your status?"

He said watching the target speak on his phone, "I spotted the target. Do I take the shot?"

Coulson didn't respond at first. It made him nervous that he would lose the target before the order was given. If this was before SHIELD he would have taken the shot the moment the target came into view. With SHIELD however he needed permission. He would play his part for as long as they wanted him to.

Coulson ordered suddenly, "Take the shot."

So he did. One pull of the trigger to his sniper rifle and the man dropped like a fly. It only took half a second for people to realize that he was dead and they began screaming. It only took him a moment to disassemble his rifle and put it in a bag. Then he was down the side of the building and into the street.

Several false turns later he arrived back at the safe house. Coulson was waiting for him. The man looked him over for injuries before nodding satisfied. Despite it being a simple mission he knew when they returned he would have to go to medical. Oh how he hated medical. The only thing he was looking for was the possibility that his visor would be ready. Three days would hopefully be enough time. If not he looked forward to playing with his new arrows.

Coulson said breaking him from his thoughts, "Barton we will leave first thing in the morning. Make sure you are prepared. Here take this as well. You can either do it tonight or tomorrow. Just sometimes before your next mission it is required to be sent to me and have it signed off on."

Frowning Clint took the papers that were held out to him. The frown quickly turned into a grimace. It was a mission report. There were few things as boring as a mission report in their world.

If he wanted to go on another mission soon he would have to do it. Coulson was giving him a final chance. One he didn't want to blow because he didn't like mission reports.

He did the mission report in silence only occasionally looking up at Coulson. His handler seemed focused on the screen in front of him. By the time he finished his report it was early in the morning. Despite the hour he didn't feel tired. His inner clock was still on base time.

Clint said drawing Couslon's attention to him, "Couslon get some rest. I'll watch over the place for now."

Hazel eyes stared at him for a moment. Then Couslon nodded as he said, "Five more minutes. I need to finish this."

He asked curious, "What is it you are working?"

Coulson sighed as he replied, "It's above your clearance, Barton."

Clint tsked at that. Everything was above his clearance level. He was only a level one operative after all. It didn't mean however that he wasn't curious about it. As long as it didn't pertain to him or those he considered his he didn't care.

As promised five minutes later Coulson turned off his computer. The older man went to the second bed and pulled off his jacket, tie and shoes. Silently his handler laid on the bed and it seemed as if the other was asleep. Turning his attention to the night sky Clint allowed his thoughts to wander.

This country was so much like the others he had visited. Most of them were on missions for the CIA or as a killer for hire. Things seemed to be better for him here.

He didn't trust anyone at SHIELD 100%. Then again he didn't trust anyone completely. Too many times he was hurt by someone he trusted. Or betrayed by them.

His thoughts went to when his squad was betrayed by one of their own. Pain flared in his chest. That was one of the most brutal missions he ever went on. A mission that was not sanctioned by Command Saigon. A mission that he didn't regret doing.

Flashback

The helicopter they were in was a hastily put together pilot and team. There were only a handful that would go out in this weather. It was near typhoon wind speeds and the rain was coming down hard. None of this interested or dissuaded Delta.

His brother was in the encampment below. If they did not rescue him now they would never get a second chance. Almanac was down there and they would kill him for the information he carried. Something that Delta could not allow to happen.

One of the pilots shouted over the wind, "Delta if you're going to jump it has to be now! Know that we won't be able to do a pick up on you guys!"

Delta shouted in return, "Got it! We will see you back at camp! Century 12 get your asses up and prepare to jump! Alpha you are first!"

The dark haired man closest to the door stood. Alpha was also known as Jason Bourne. He was one of the few that didn't fear giving his name out to the other members.

The others took their positions behind him. Each had their packs and weapons strapped to them. Grey eyes stared at him just like his own. They were killers from all different backgrounds. They followed him because he was their leader. Nothing more nothing less.

When the door to the copter opened and wind ripped passed them. It tore at each of their faces. A minute later the red light above their heads turned green. A nod to him and they began jumping from the copter.

Echo was the last one to jump out. His eyes met Delta's waiting for the final confirmation. He gave an ever so slight nod. It was enough for his second in command. The Frenchman jumped from the copter.

For half a second Delta hesitated. Then he jumped as well heading into the unknown. Most parts of the world were familiar no matter the weather. Tam Quan was different than most parts of the world. In the best weather it was difficult to traverse and land in. This weather was one of the worst that someone could attempt a parachute. There were Medusan teams that tried before and failed. So many had lost their lives trying something so dangerous. There wasn't a choice however. One of their own was captured and coud die.

By the time he counted to ten he pulled his chute. The jolt made his shoulder ache. Below him he could see his men with their own open chutes.

The wind tore at his face making it hard to see. The air smelled of fire and smoke. It signified that they were near one of the compounds. Specifically the one that held Almnac in it.

A harsh wind blew him several degrees off course. It took some maneuvering and quick thinking that he didn't end up too far north. A few minutes passed before he dropped to the ground.

As soon as his chute was detached he took stock of his surroundings. One of his men was stuck by his chute in a tree. It was Gamma by the looks of it. The man was never the best at landings. Already Echo and Charlie were up in the tree cutting him down. Bravo and Foxtrot were securing the parameter.

The only one missing was Alpha. Out of all of his men he would've expected that Alpha would make it into the drop zone.

He called up to Echo, "I'm going to find, Alpha. Stay here secure the drop zone. I'll be back."

"Yes, Delta."

Without another word he began walking towards the North. If Alpha was blown off course that's where the wind would have taken him. The smells of the forest calmed his fire just as it always had done. Unlike his men he felt oddly at peace with being in a forest. It was the one place he felt at home in. Even as a child he felt more at home in the woods than in the city. That was probably what made him such a good Circus brat.

Years of running around in the forests allowed him to move silently but swiftly. He was able to avoid branches that would have broken under his weight. Thorns that would have torn his shirt he avoided with skilled ease. His fine tuned hearing picked up a voice slightly east of him. It was easy to change the direction towards the voice.

Delta came close to the where the voice coming from. What he saw made his blood boil. One of their radios was in Alpha's hands. He was speaking in clear Vietnamese. It was about the location of their drop. That wasn't the only thing he was saying either. He was saying who they were trying to save.

Delta stepped out his glock drawn and pointed at Alpha. The man stiffened the moment he saw Delta. Fear was written all over the other's face. It filled the air so much he could almost taste it. If this was anyone else he would have relished in it. He couldn't bring himself to however. This was one of his men, one that he trusted for years. Now he found out that Alpha was betraying them. There was only one sentence for such a betrayal.

Alpha said in English his hands shaking with fear, "Delta, this isn't what it looks like. Listen..."

There wasn't anything left for him to hear. No excuses could be made for what he did. Delta took aim and fired.

As always his aim was true. The bullet passed through Alpha's skull. This blew brain matter and blood all across the tree behind the man. The tree was painted red with his blood and brains.

With little regard to the blood and brain matter he moved closer to the bloody. Bending to a knee he fished under the deadman's jacket until he found his dogtags. It didn't give names or any nationality but it did give his callsign and squad assignment. Even if the man was a traitor the family didn't deserve to not know what happened to their loved one.

Pulling until the chain broke he put the dogtags in his own jacket pocket. With that done he turned back towards the direction he came from. They would be down a man but that wouldn't stop them from achieving their goal. They had to save Almanac.

End of flashback

He came back to himself gasping with fear. It took him a several long moments of gasping for breath before he remembered where he was. He was not in the forests of Tam Quan. He was in the safe house with Coulson.

Speaking of Coulson he glanced at his handler. The older man didn't seem to have awoken during his flashback. Glancing at the clock he realized only a few moments passed.

He stood and moved towards the window. The city was quiet given the late hour. If this was his life now he needed to put his past behind him. That was easier said than done. At this point the only help he had was Morris Panov. Maybe he would pay the doctor a visit on his return.