Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot.

A.N. I know, I know. It's been a long time. My muse disappeared and she's just now started nipping at me to finish this story. I'm not going to promise chapters every week. They will come when the come. Thank you for sticking with me and to those that still review and show interest in this story. I think there are only a few more chapters left before it's complete. Enjoy.

Everything and everyone screeched to a halt at Hector's proclamation. Steph stepped away from Clint and walked to where Hector had stopped, only to grab his hand and drag him back towards his room. She didn't say anything until they were both sitting in front of the computers and everyone was standing around them.

"Show me."

He didn't need to be told twice before his fingers were flying across the keyboard, typing in a series of numbers and letters, commanding the system to give him the information he was seeking. Steph kept her eyes locked on the screen in front of her, while Clint rested his hands on her shoulders, doing his best to keep her calm.

A few minutes after they stepped into the room, Steph sucked in a breath at the same moment Hector pointed to the screen.

"What is it, Bomber?"

"I know where he is and I hope I am wrong, but I don't think they are going to let him go unscathed, if at all."

Clint turned her in the chair so she was facing them all before squatting to be on her level. "Steph, baby, you're going to have to give us a little more than that."

"Right. Um," she cleared her throat before looking at Hector. He gave her a slight nod of approval, encouraging her to tell them. "They have him in Florida, at their main compound. It's where new recruits go and get injected with the serums."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Darcy asked, grabbing Ram's hand.

Steph nodded. "Yeah. They are going to give him a serum or two, if they haven't already."

"Ok. Well, that sucks, but, Cap and Bucky lived through being injected. He'll just be a little more durable." Darcy stopped when no one agreed with her. "Steph? He's going to be fine, right?"

Steph was chewing on her bottom lip and shaking her head. "No. I mean, I don't know. Sometimes the serums don't work and the person being injected reacts...negatively...to them."

"Like rashes and throwing up?"

"No. Like death."

"Shit," Ram muttered under his breath.

"We need to get to him, the sooner the better. First we need to check in with Rangeman and see if they received anymore videos. Knowing this asshole as well as I do, he has probably sent one more since we've been gone."

"I'll call T-" Ram started only to be stopped by the ringing of his cell phone. He looked down at the display screen. "Speak of the devil." He pointed to the door and left to take the call. While he was gone, Steph moved and pushed Darcy towards the seat that she just vacated.

"I need you to get on there and help Hector with whatever he needs. I need to know how many people are at the compound in Florida. I need to know where Romanoff is. Lastly, I need to get back into Avenger's tower and into Stark and Banner's lab to retrieve the case with the serums."

Darcy nodded and got to work. Steph turned towards Clint and nodded her head towards the door before walking in that direction herself. He followed behind her as they made their way back to their room. Once inside, he grabbed her and sat on the foot of the bed, making sure she was in his lap and facing him.

"What do you need me to do?"

She sighed. "I need you with me. I have a bad feeling and I don't know if that has to do with Ranger or with you. Something bad is going to happen over the next day or two and I hate that I don't know what it is or who it is going to affect."

He tucked some of her curls behind her ear. "You've got me. I wasn't going to let you go by yourself anyways."

"Ok. But we can't stay long at the tower. We also can't let anyone else on the team know what is going on."

"I'm pretty sure you can trust the rest of the team, Steph."

"I'm not saying we can't but I'm also not saying we can. Natasha has been part of your team for a couple of years now. The others will trust her more than they will trust me or anything I say for that matter. It's going to be hard enough to get that briefcase back from the Nerdy Duo without telling them much. I rather we just get in and get out."

Clint watched her fidget. He knows there's more to her reasoning why, but he decided to let it go. He didn't want to have an argument so close to a mission. Especially one that has a lot on the line. He must have been lost in his thoughts for too long, because Steph's worried voice broke through.

"Clint?"

"Sorry. Just lost in thought." He leaned in and gave her a chaste kiss, pulling away before he allowed her to deepen it. "I'll let it go for now, but I know there is more to it than what you're saying. Now, when do you want to go there?"

"As soon as you're packed. I have a bag ready to go at all times, so I just need to change and grab that."

"Well then, as soon as you're dressed we can head out. We all have go bags stashed on the jet."

She nodded and hopped off his lap, rushing through her routine. Grabbing her bag last, she was standing in front of him 10 minutes later. "Let's go. We still need to come back here afterwards."

They made their way downstairs and were met by Ram. "Tank called to tell me that another message has been sent to you. Good news is that it was sent to Rangeman, so they think you are still there. Bad news, Tank couldn't get the video to play. So he doesn't know what was on it."

"Shit. Looks like we will have to stop there on our way back here." Looking at Clint, "Do you think Natasha is at the tower? Is there any way for you to find out?"

"Once we are in the air, I'll contact J.A.R.V.I.S. and find out."

"Good. Ram, Hector and Darcy are in the monitor room. I gave them both some things to work on. Tell Darcy we will let her know if Romanoff is at the tower, if she is then she can stop looking for her. I need you to get our firepower together."

"Alright. Do you want me to reach out to my contacts-"

"No. I probably have anything you would think we'd need. Come with us and I'll point you in the right direction. Just get everything ready and if you think there is something we need that I don't have, call me or Clint and we will take it from Rangeman while we're there."

"Right, Boss." He followed behind them as they moved back towards the hall that would take them to the jet.

She shot him a glare over her shoulder. "Don't call me that."

Clint and Ram chuckled but immediately stopped when she turned to face them.

"That's what I thought." She smirked and continued back on her path. "Move it, Barton. I want to be back here tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest."

Clint was wiser and kept his mouth shut this time.

~~oOo~~

They were halfway to the tower before Clint called out to J.A.R.V.I.S.

"J.A.R.V.I.S?"

"How may I be of assistance, Mr. Barton?"

"Can you tell us the whereabouts of the team?"

"Of course. Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts and Dr. Banner have flown to California for a benefit. They will be returning tomorrow morning. The Captain is following a lead he received concerning the whereabouts of The Winter Soldier and Thor went back home to see to his father."

"And Romanoff?"

"Ms. Romanoff isnt in the building and has requested that she not be tracked. She informed sir that she would be back online tomorrow as well."

Steph cleared her throat before thanking the A.I. for his help.

"You are most certainly welcome, Ms. Plum. If you need further assistance, I am always available."

Steph giggled at his cheeky humor, no doubt Tony had a hand in, before turning serious again. "Looks like we are in luck. The tower is empty, at least the floors we need access to."

Clint nodded as he switched gears and prepared to land. "Just means we can get in and out without having to lie to our friends."

"You're friends, Clint. Mine are currently kidnapped or in an undisclosed location."

"They're your friends, too, Steph. It might not seem like it at the moment, what with Natasha doing what she is, but everyone else likes you."

She scoffed while bracing herself as Clint landed the jet. Clint smirked as he reached over and began unbuckling her harness. "Still afraid of flying, Plum?"

She stood up and shoved him away. "Shut up. It's not natural for something that weighs this much to be able to float through the air at unnatural speeds."

She began walking away, while pulling out her phone and sending off a text to Darcy, telling her to stop looking for Natasha. The phone rang seconds after hitting send.

"You don't want us to see if we can find out exactly where she is?"

"Well, hello to you, too."

"Yes. Hi, I'm good and you're good, yada yada. Now, do you want us to keep looking?"

"You aren't going to be able to find her. She went dark."

"What about the tracker that S.H.I.E.L.D. implanted in her arm?"

At that question, Steph put her phone on speaker so Clint could hear and answer as well. She looked to him, hopefully only to feel disappointment at the shake of his head.

"No go, Darce. Those are and have been inactive since the summer when Cap and Tasha blew up headquarters."

"Um, nooo. That wouldn't change anything. I mean, yeah their mainframes were ruined but even S.H.I.E.L.D. has backups to their backups to their-"

"Darcy!" Steph shouted bringing her back before that tangent went on forever.

"Right. You get the idea. I just have to find it and then bring them back online even if it's for a few minutes. It's all I need in order to get a lead on her."

"It's a long shot, but worth it if we can atleast get the general vicinity of where she is."

Steph and Clint listened to a flurry of keys being tapped before they hung up, knowing they lost her to her mission. They moved about the tower warily, because even if J.A.R.V.I.S. believes her to be gone, it doesn't mean she left.

Steph left Clint at his rooms to grab a few things while she went to retrieve the briefcase from Bruce's lab. She was just turning down the hall when she was hit from behind. The force threw her forward causing her head to bounce off the wall directly in front of her. The last thing she saw was the Black Widow smirking and walking away with the briefcase before her vision faded and she lost consciousness.