Author's Note: I do not own anything. All Characters belong to MARVEL. Only the Villains are mine. I have not read the Comics and am basing this solely on the Movie and my Imagination. When you see 'This' That is a characters inner thoughts. When you see "This" that is Natasha and Clint speaking in Russian.
Am I coming back?
Barton was still going to have to go on the mission that he had recently been assigned. With out concrete evidence that they were targets or that this mission was a setup, they couldn't over look any mission. He was packing all of the usual weapons that he took on a mission. He packed his bow, quiver and arrow shafts. He opened the box where he kept all his specialty arrow tips. He was taking the usual ones he needed and used on missions as well as some new ones that S.H.I.E.L.D and Stark made for him. He was adding extra grappling hooks to his quiver as well as explosive heads. He also packed extra weapons since he had a feeling that this one could be an ambush. 'Not taking any chances on this one'. He told himself as he zipped up his duffel bag. He was thinking of the sniper that had been sent to take him out. They wouldn't send another one like that, the next one would be more experienced or a different kind of assassin entirely.
Natasha was sitting in the common area thinking about Barton and this mission he was about to be going on. Nothing about this mission felt right to her especially since several missions in a row had been set ups. Thinking of the other missions brought a feeling that Barton would not make it back unscathed or even at all from this mission . She was terrified every time that they went on separate missions that Fury would call her, telling her that her partner was killed and wouldn't be coming back. What scared her even more was that she was feeling this way. She decided to change her thought from Barton to the mission file. When they both went over the file they discussed their thoughts on a possible ambush. They also decided that Barton needed to carry extra weapons with him on this one. They were about to separate so he could dress for the mission and pack his weapons. She had grabbed a hold of his arm, stopping him in his tracts. "I want you to come home". He smiled as he moved his arm so his hand wrapped around hers. "You know I will". He squeezed her hand and she gave it a squeeze back. "I don't want you to come back for the Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D or anything else". He looked confused for a moment. "Then what for?". He asked her as he pulled her closer to him. "For me, come home for me". Then she went and did something she had never done before, she kissed him. She had put all her feelings from the past years and the added fear from the mission. Barton had done the same. The kiss was long and passionate as they refused to leave each others embrace. "I love you" Barton whispered after they had separated. Natasha smiled and said "Love is for children". Barton smiled as he knew that was her way of saying it back.
Barton was going to be leaving in several hours. All the others had heard about the set up missions and that this one could be one as well. The unspoken topic was "would Hawkeye come back from this one at all". It put everyone on edge to think that they could lose one of their own. They had been sitting there reflecting on the team. Natasha had already let him know about the others feelings about all this. "What choice do I have, I have to take what Fury gives me". Clint said as they sat across from each other at the kitchen island. She hated that he had no choice and couldn't say no to a mission. He had made her a cup of her favorite herbal tea as well as one for himself. They sat there drinking their tea still discussing the mission. "If I don't come back, I want to end my memory with the team on a good note". Clint took a sip of tea and then went into the living area to sit amongst the team. She had placed his hand firmly in hers as she joined him on the couch. No one said anything if they did notice. This mission and his fate were affecting the whole team. 'Who knew I would have such a home and family'.
The time finally came for Clint to board his plane. The team had escorted him to the air strip even though he told them they didn't have to. They wanted to see him off and remember everything in a positive way. The whole way over Natasha had her arm around his arm. It wasn't much but it was enough for him. The others didn't mention any of the displays of affection between the two of them. As soon as they arrived at the airport all the nerves hit. Clint's breathing changed. He had a bad feeling about this mission but, he had no choice. Clint shook hands with the others. Pepper embraced him in a hug and wouldn't let go. Clint stood in front of Natasha. "I promise you, I will do everything in my power to come back to you". He said in Russian. She nodded with tears in her eyes. "You better". She answered. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. The others looked away for the sake of privacy. Tony started to laugh as he looked at the others and said "You all owe me $10.00". Pepper stared at him. "What was the bet this time?". She asked as she wrapped her arm around Tony's. "That they would get together". Pepper smiled at him and then turned back to see Clint heading towards the plane. She moved from Tony to her side. She placed a hand on Natasha's shoulder. She was expecting her to reject it but was surprised to find her grabbing onto her hand for comfort. Barton boarded his plane and was handed a new mission file. "I already have it to go over again". He told the other agent as he took a seat on the plane. "Understood Mr. Barton however, I was informed that there was new information added to the file". Barton took the outstretched folder from him. "Thank you". The other agent nodded. "Are you ready for take off?". He asked Barton. "Yes". Barton answered as he buckled his seat belt and opened the file to read over the new information.
The plan was to land at a public airport, blend in and make his way to the safe house. There would be a car he would pick up under his assumed name. He would have a full stock at the safe house of everything he needed and requested from the agency. There he would unpack and stash his weapons, go over the mission file one more time and then turn in early to get plenty of rest. He would start his operation the next day. He had to learn his targets schedule and the only way to do that was to observe. He had an observation schedule of about 3 days. Longer if there were inconsistencies. From the first file he had received, it seemed as though he had a pretty redundant schedule. So hopefully he wouldn't change it in suspicion of a hit or attack. If that was the case then he would have to move quicker. He hated rushing a job that required observation. It wouldn't be clean and an innocent bystander could get hurt. 'No, even if the schedule changed, observation first was the best route'. Clint thought to himself as the plane was beginning it's decent.
Clint made it through all the checks with out a problem. The next step was to get his car and get to the safe house as discretely as possible. "Hello sir, how may I help you?". The clerk at the rental desk asked. "Hi, I'm here to pick up my rental. I'm registered under Aaron Brandt". He told the clerk as he handed over the printed out confirmation. The clerk looked it over and typed in the code into the computer. "Yes sir, we have your car ready to go. One of the valet's will bring it around in a minute". Clint nodded his thanks as he stepped off to the side and waited. A black midsized car came to the front. The valet driver got out and handed the keys to Clint. "Here you are sir. Enjoy your rental". Again Clint nodded his thanks and began his drive to the safe house. He had a several hour drive before he reached his destination. He had his IPOD plugged into the car and was listening to the mp3 version of the mission that he received in the updated file. There was some communication between the target and another undercover agent. He was pulled days before Barton was called in. He was listening to the plans that were made between the two. 'What a messed up freak'. Clint thought as he listened to them planning to take out S.H.I.E.L.D with some sort of dispersal unit. What he planned on releasing was not clear but, if this guy was planning it then, it couldn't be good. Even after reading over the file several times and listening to this guy, Barton still couldn't understand him. 'Why S.H.I.E.L.D, what was the connection?'. Clint finally made it to the safe house. He put in his lock code in the panel behind the door bell and put his hand on the identification screen and then waited for the green light. Once he was inside he set his bags down by his bed and pulled out his laptop. He checked into the main S.H.I.E.L.D database and went looking through past files. He saw a familiar name over and over again. 'Alexander Woodlawn. How did I know that would be there'. Clint said to himself sarcastically. He was looking at how many times he had been written up. 'Essentially his career in the government was ruined due to him getting caught. He blames S.H.I.E.L.D'. "Oh that is so not good". Barton said to himself. It seemed Woodlawn specialized in viral dispersal weapons. Clint looked them up in the database and saw some video taken after one of the dispersal units was set off without authorization. The devastation was horrific. The amount of people that were killed was beyond anything he had ever seen. "If this is what he is planning on releasing on us, we are so screwed". Barton thought as he prepped his weapons for the mission tomorrow. He would bring his bow and arrow anyway incase if he had to act fast or if it was an ambush. He had extra round of arrow heads on him to reload if need be. He double checked his gun was in working order and cleaned it. He reloaded it with a full magazine and put several extra in his uniform for tomorrow. He set up his communications system and ran a check on it as well. All the gear checked out and he was ready for just about anything this guy had to throw his way.