Disclaimer in chapter 1
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SHIELD Headquarters, Washington DC, three weeks later
"And you're sure about this?" Questioned Fury. In front of him were Natasha and lead intelligence officer Gert Botha.
"Positive, sir." Answered Natasha.
"We found the cypher imbedded in the coding of one of the programs on the first flash drive." Botha said.
"And thanks to Hydra's predictability—"
"—And Agent Romanoff's inside knowledge." quipped Botha.
"—we found the keyword to be venom." Finished Natasha.
"Once we cracked it, the cipher led us to this," Botha pulled up an image on the screen, "Dr. Sall said these are the blueprints to a synthetic chemical. She doesn't know the exact functions, but judging from its ingredients, it's not good." Botha opened up more files. "Further digging and analysis of data revealed that one of the key elements in the chemical is yttrium-90. It's a rare element and therefore highly regulated."
"By process of elimination, the only place they could obtain it would be a mountain range in Sweden." Said Natasha, "Agents Barton and Morse have already come up with a tactical plan to infiltrate and obtain any intel on the chemical."
"And what makes getting this chemical so important?" Questioned Fury.
"During my time with Drakov, there was talk about creating the perfect brainwashing chemical. That's why he was based in Sweden: he was close to another facility that mined the yttrium-40." Natasha elaborated, "Like the guards at the facility with computer chips, Hydra wants a way to guarantee loyalty and control over it's members. Drakov was one of the scientists helping to develop a less invasive way of doing so. Only one in fifteen woke up from the brain chip procedure."
"What we're saying is that infiltrating the facility and getting those plans would allow us to hinder the rate at which they multiply. Agent Romanoff estimates that they will soon be operating at a level of capacity equal to that of SHIELD with the help of this developing chemical." elaborated Botha, "We may even be able to make an antiserum if we acquire the rest of the plans."
Fury eyed the two agents, and the dog, in front of him, "Gather supplies and fuel-up the quinjet. If you're right, this is something that needs to be dealt with sooner rather than later." He turned to Natasha, "Romanoff, you and Coulson will stay here and act as handlers for Zeta and their support team."
She shouldn't have been surprised, but Natasha couldn't help but feel like Fury's orders were affirmation that she was now useless in the field as the operative she once was. Swallowing down her emotions, she simply gave him a curt nod.
"For the last time, Coulson, we're fine." Clint insisted as he loaded supplies into the quinjet, "This isn't the first time we've gone on a mission after an argument."
"This is more than an argument, Clint. You're getting divorced." Said Coulson. He only ever used Clint's first name when they were talking as friends. Only Coulson, Natasha, and Fury knew that he and Bobbi were getting divorced, but Coulson seemed to be the only one who insisted on bringing it up every once in a while.
"Yeah, thanks for reminding me." Clint answered bitterly.
"I've always been against SHIELD's fraternization policy. Even if dating within the agency keeps things in the circle of influence, it's problematic when things like this happen."
Clint stopped packing and sighed, "Coulson, this isn't a bitter angry divorce we're going through. You know we were fighting long before Natasha showed up. This was a mutual agreement. We're both professional adults." He resumed packing, "Besides, she seems to be moving on fairly quickly. You know Jason from accounting?" Coulson gave him an 'Are you serious?' look, "Oh yeah." Clint chuckled, "She's fine. I'm fine. And we're still partners. Things'll get back to normal before you know it."
Coulson quirked an eyebrow, "Hawkeye and Mockingbird normal? Yeah, that'll be the day." He slipped on his black sunglasses and walked back into HQ.
It actually surprised Clint how he and Bobbi were coping. Sure, there were some awkward moments in the last three weeks since she moved out, but there was a sense of relief and ease between them now. It seemed that for a long time they denied what they knew to be true for fear of hurting one another, or even themselves, but now things were good, better, he could argue. She was still one of his closest friends and confidants.
Then there was Natasha. Ever since he woke up at her place with a slight hangover, he felt as if he'd gotten his best friend back. The thought of it made him outwardly smile.
"What's so funny, birdbrain?" Teased a familiar voice.
He turned around and gave a small bow, "Why, Agent Morse, good evening."
She waved him off and strapped her pack to the wall of the quinjet, "When do we leave?"
"In about twenty." He replied, taking a seat.
"And where are the others?" She asked, noting the lack of support team.
"On route." He replied. She took a seat opposite him and looked around the compartment. An awkward silence filled the space between them until Clint couldn't take it anymore, "So," he quipped, "you and Jason, huh?"
Bobbi tilted her head in amusement, "You know he and I have been friends since we were at the academy, Clint." she looked him once over, smirking, before retorting, "What about you and Romanoff? Spending some quality one on two time with her trusty companion lately?"
"That dog is actually the most most unpredictable things. He's focused on the job but turns into a goofball when he's off the clock."
"Hmm, sounds like someone I know." She said innocently.
"You're getting cheeky on me, Morse." Before Bobbi reply to him, the rest of the tac team loaded onto the quinjet, strapping themselves in, "About damn time, guys." Clint said.
"Cortez over there couldn't find his lucky boots." Said one of the agents.
"They're a must have when we go on missions like this, Muller. You don't joke about these things." Agent Cortez replied seriously. He glared at Muller when she laughed.
"Enough, you two." Scolded a third agent, "You're embarrassing yourselves in front of SHIELD's top strike team."
"Thank you for finally gracing us with your presence Agent Kruger." said Clint, "It's been a while since we've worked with the another team."
"Likewise." Replied the agent. He was older than the two teenagers on his team. A man of much experience and an Iraq war hero, Kruger was considered a respectable member of SHIELD.
"I'll let the pilot know we're ready for take off." Said Bobbi.
Moments later, she returned and the quinjet shut its door, humming as it left the flight deck.
Northern Sweden, four hours later
"Clint, you copy?"
"I copy you, Widow." He whispered as he and the others crouched behind a hill overlooking the Hydra facility.
From Washington DC, Natasha smirked at the use of her codename, "Botha reported about fifteen heat signatures around the outside of the compound. A live feed will be streamed to you shortly."
Clint looked down at a small tablet in his hand as the infrared images appeared, "Got it. Engaging in two." He looked over at Kruger, nodding and heading in.
The agents surrounding the facility were easily subdued, "Kill the system," Clint ordered through his comm.
A computer tech named Wallace tapped away on his keyboard, "Entrance go."
Natasha paced nervously, Gus's leash hanging loosely in her hand, as she heard them engage the Hydra agents.
"It's gonna be okay, Natasha." Whispered Coulson from beside her.
She stopped pacing and nodded, "Yeah."
"Okay, Widow," Clint called as he took cover behind a door, "Where to next?"
"They always have their data rooms at the deepest levels of their facilities. There's usually a staircase somewhere. Follow it until you come across a door with a cobra painted on it."
"How inconspicuous of them." Said Bobbi as she quietly took down the last guard.
Kruger and the other two agents came up beside them, "We'll cover the upper levels, you two sweep down and get the intel." He suggested.
Clint nodded and headed down the staircase with Bobbi.
"This thing goes on forever, jeez." Complained Bobbi.
"They have the secure rooms at the deeper levels to make an extraction more difficult." Said Natasha, "Be careful you don't trip any alarms you two." It took her a while to realize she'd resumed pacing.
"Found it." Said Clint. The door in front of him had an intricately painted snake on it, eyes green and red with poison, "And that's not creepy at all." He said, pulling out a device and holding it over the scanner. It clicked green and the door unlocked, releasing the vacuum tight seal to the room with a light hiss. Guns poised, the pair stalked in.
Couslon couldn't help but eye Botha cautiously as the young officer watched the scenes play out with a familiar glint in his eyes. Turning back to the screen, he brushed it off.
Coulson, Botha, and Wallace watched the night vision feed from Clint's vest camera. The room was dark except for a blinding white light of a single computer monitor hooked up to a single hard drive. Bells went off in Coulson's head, "That's too small a drive for all the intel that's supposed to be there." He said aloud.
"Regardless, I'm plugging in the thumb drive." Clint's voiced buzzed through the speakers in the SHIELD control room.
"Look for an HTML file code. It'll read Project Venom." instructed Natasha.
"Copy." Said Clint as his eyes skimmed over the files on the brightly lit screen. Bobbi was covering him, gun poised at the door in high alert.
"Huh," said Botha from his chair in the control room.
"What is it?" Asked Natasha.
"It's nothing it's just..." He hesitated, zooming in on a still from Clint's camera on a small screen.
"Out with it, Botha." She demanded.
"Well, I mean, does that look like a cobra to you?" He asked, eyes glued to the screen.
She gave an annoyed look and rolled her eyes, "I wouldn't know since I'm blind." She raised her voice on the last word.
"Shit, sorry, um, guys?" He said, gesturing to Coulson and Wallace.
The two men came closer and looked at the painted image, "Looks more like a viper to me. Don't know your snakes, Agent Romanoff?" Said Wallace with a smirk.
The color seemed to drain from her face as she registered Wallace's words, "Get out. Get out now! All of you!" Urged Natasha through the comm.
"What's going on, Nat?" Asked Clint. The file on the screen was 89% copied.
"It's a trap. That was a viper on the door. Hydra is coming for you! Get out now!" Her impatience was growing along with her panic.
"What do you mean? Is Kruger's team down? How many agents are headed our way?" He asked from the other side. 96 %.
Natasha slammed her fist on the computer table, "Clint, I swear to God I will explain as soon as you both get your asses out of that file room right now."
"You might as well start now. The file is only three percent away from being loaded so we'll be outta here in fifteen seconds."
Natasha groaned in frustration, gritting her teeth, "Madame Hydra." Those were the only two words she needed to say before he ripped the thumb drive from the USB port and motioned for Bobbi to exit.
Just as she reached the door handle, it clicked shut. Cursing, she pulled harder on it, "Wallace, door is locked!" Her voice was laced with panic.
Wallace quickly got to work on his computer as his network began flashing red, "No, no, no, no." He repeated, "It's locking me out, too. I've only got access to the security feed."
"I hate to make things worse, but it seems reinforcements are headed for us." said Agent Kruger. He and his agents braced themselves for the oncoming Hydra agents.
"We're trapped in here." Stated Bobbi.
"Okay, there should be a hatch above you guys. It's the ventilation shaft. You should be able to crawl through it." offered Natasha.
Just as he registered the words, Clint looked up at the sound of the shaft being opened. He and Bobbi raised their guns and aimed, "Uh, I think someone beat us to it."
Then the room went dark. The computer screen shut off and in a flurry of swift movements, he felt himself being thrown across the room, landing on the concrete floor with a loud crack of his skull. His vision swam as he heard the faint struggle between Bobbi and their attacker. Feeling around on his tac vest, Clint pulled out a glow stock and lit it up, throwing it in the direction of the struggle.
The light bounced off the tall thin figure of a woman holding Bobbi against the wall with her hand closed tightly around the agent's throat. Bobbi gasped for air, mouth agape as she looked into the eyes of Madame Hydra herself. They were a venomous green. Hydra's crimson red lips tugged into a sadistic smile at seeing the look of panic and terror in the young woman's features. Reaching down, Hydra placed a soft kiss on Bobbi's gasping lips. Her eyes widened at the sensation of burning pain consuming her body as she came in contact with venomous woman. Bobbi felt like fire was coursing through her veins, boiling every fluid in her body. A choked scream fell from her throat as Hydra pulled back, admiring her handy work before letting Bobbi crumble to the ground, coughing and wheezing in silent, choking, excruciating agony, "Pathetic." She said, seeing the young woman fight back tears in vain.
Hydra turned her attention to Clint, who was trying to stand, despite the overwhelming dizziness and nausea. His limbs felt so heavy. He'd been hit on the head before, but that just about topped it. His double vision made it harder to stay awake and focus on the approaching figure. He finally managed to stand up straight, only to lose his balance and fall against the wall, clinging to it as he slid back down to the floor.
Hydra kneeled down in front of him, eyeing him with a malicious glint in her emerald green eyes, "So you're the reason I lost one of my top scientists." His mind reeled, trying to figure out what he did to personally piss off Madame Fucking Hydra, 'Oh wait, Natasha did that part for you' he thought, recalling how she killed Drakov to save his life. A loud banging on the door drew him back to the present, "You're friends are here, which means I don't have much time. I'm only going to say this once," she paused tipping his chin up to her as she opened her mouth and released a paralyzingly toxin into his face. He breathed in, despite himself, and began to fall limp. She tapped the lens of the tiny camera on Clint's vest, "You're recording this so you can play it back if I talk too fast for you pathetic knaves the first time around." Natasha clenched her fists in anger as she listened to the live feed, "I'm talking to you, Natalia, when I say you have two options here. You can either keep digging, and watch those you care for die, or you can halt your contract with SHIELD and maybe, you'll live. Either way, the destruction will not end with Hydra." She said, twirling one of Clint's knives in her hand, "Nihilism, terrorism, death. You remember, right?" She pricked her finger with the tip of the blade and licked it off, grinning into the camera, "Pick your poison, Romanova." She said before jabbing her sharp fingernail at the camera, shutting off the visual feed.
Clint barely heard the sound of Kruger and the others breaking through the door. Cortez immediately went to attend Bobbi as Muller cleared the room and Kruger kneeled down in front of Clint. He went unconscious before Kruger could even try to keep him awake.
Isn't Madame Hydra just a doll?
Well there's chapter 10, short, I know, but the last T rated chapter! Curious as to why the rating suddenly went up for chapter 11? Review and find out!