A/N All right guys, we are winding down now. There will only be one more chapter after this one.
Chapter 11
Clint woke up sometime a few hours later and just stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes.
"One hundred twelve."
Clint turned and saw that Tony was awake as well.
"What?" the archer asked.
"One hundred twelve. The number of ceiling tiles," Tony replied.
"You've been awake awhile, huh?" Clint said with a smirk.
"About an hour," Tony replied.
They fell into a companionable silence for several minutes until Clint cleared his throat and spoke hesitantly.
"Tony. I-"
"Don't say it," Tony said, cutting him off. "You have nothing to be sorry for."
"But-"
"No buts, Clint," Tony said, cutting him off again.
Clint remained silent, a bit surprised by Tony's use of his first name. Tony usually called him by some stupid nickname. He hardly ever used his actual name. Only when he was having one of his rare, completely serious moments, did Tony call pretty much anyone by their actual names.
"Look, you're my friend. You needed my help. That's all there is to it," Tony stated matter-of-fact.
For a full minute, the room was quiet again.
"Thanks Tony," Clint said, sincerity filling his tone.
Nothing else was said after that. The two of them had settled what was between them and no more needed to be said on the subject.
The easy silence remained undisturbed until Clint heard the door open and looked to see an orderly walk in. He heard Tony suck in a breath and looked at the billionaire. Tony was staring at the orderly with a look of fear. Clint looked back at the orderly in confusion and was about to ask Tony what was wrong...
Then he saw the knife in the orderly's hand.
)()()(
Night fell, and after several hours, the deck had cleared enough for Hassan to leave the jet unnoticed. He made his way inside and managed to keep from being seen as he worked his way toward where he thought the medical ward to be. His guess was confirmed as he saw an orderly walking down the hall. He ducked into a room to hide and found himself to be in a supply room. Having a sudden idea, he grabbed a set of scrubs and quickly changed into them.
He stepped back out of the room, his knife hidden under his clothes and continued up the hall. He wandered the floor before deciding that his two targets must be on a different level. He went to the elevator and waited for the car to arrive, only for the doors to open to reveal two SHIELD personnel.
"You going to Stark's and Barton's floor?" one of the men asked.
"Yes," Hassan answered, marveling at his luck as the SHIELD man pushed the button for him as he stepped onto the elevator.
He got off on his floor and, before long, he found his way to Stark's and Barton's room. He slipped inside and saw both Barton and Stark laying in beds against the far wall. The two men were talking quietly, completely unaware of the terrorist's presence. Hassan's lips turned up in an evil smirk. He was about to get his revenge. He reached under his shirt, pulled out his knife, and stepped forward.
)()()(
Clint leapt out of bed and grabbed Hassan's wrist, stopping the knife from slashing forward and into a helpless Tony. Clint and Hassan struggled for a minute until Clint was able to smash Hassan's hand against a nearby table, causing the terrorist to drop the knife. Hassan took a swing at Clint's face but the archer evaded it and sent a knee into Hassan's stomach. Hassan dove at Clint, ramming his shoulder into the archer's torso, and slamming him into the wall.
Clint responded by kicking Hassan's feet out from under him, but the terrorist still had a hold of Clint and they both went sprawling to the floor. They grappled for a few seconds before Hassan got the upper hand and managed to get on top of Clint. Then he grabbed the archer's head a proceeded to slam it into the floor. He did it once, then again, then a third time. Clint's ears rang and his vision swam. He couldn't get enough leverage to get Hassan off of him so he reached out, feeling for anything to use as a weapon. Suddenly his fingers encountered a smooth wooded surface and his hand closed around the hilt of Hassan's knife. Without hesitation, Clint drove the knife into Hassan's chest before the terrorist could slam his head into the floor again. For a moment, Hassan sat frozen, a look of surprise on his face, before he slumped forward. Clint shoved the now dead man off of him and laid on the floor, panting for breath as his head pounded and the room spun sickeningly.
"Clint? Clint, talk to me," he distantly heard Tony say.
The best Clint was able to do was moan as his stomach decided to join his head and eyes in revolt. His breathing became labored and irregular as he struggled to draw in enough air. Distantly, he thought he heard more voices but he couldn't be sure as the ringing in his ears grew louder. Clint blinked, trying to clear his vision only to be overwhelmed by dizziness, which proved to be the final straw for his stomach. He rolled onto his side in time to lose everything in his stomach. He vaguely felt hands on his back and head as his stomach contracted over and over, long after it was empty. He just couldn't stop. It just wouldn't stop. His blurry vision began to give way to darkness around the edges and after what seemed like a lifetime, his stomach stopped. His body relaxed, going completely slack on the floor. The darkness at the edges of his vision grew and unconsciousness took over once more.
)()()(
There isn't anything more terrifying than seeing someone you care about experience something life threatening. That was Bruce's opinion anyway.
He had been on his way to Clint's and Tony's room to check on his friends, and had reached the doorway just in time to hear sounds of a struggle inside. He entered just in time to see Clint's head get slammed into the floor by Hassan, followed by Clint shoving a knife into Hassan's chest. Bruce stood stunned, staring at the dead body now laying next to his friend.
"Clint? Clint talk to me," Bruce heard Tony say.
Tony's only answer was a moan from Clint and that was enough to shake Bruce out of his shock and send him moving to Clint's side as the archer began to throw up.
"Bruce, what's wrong?" Tony asked from where he laid, helplessly, in his bed.
"I'm not sure yet," Bruce called back.
Actually, Bruce had a pretty good idea, he just didn't want to voice it until he was sure. Clint was already recovering from a head wound and he just got his head slammed into the floor at least once. Bruce rubbed Clint's back, comfortingly, with one hand and ran the other over the back of Clint's head feeling for damage, his hand coming away bloody. Clint threw up for a couple of minutes before he stopped and went limp on the floor.
"Clint?" Bruce asked.
He gently rolled Clint over onto his back just in time to see Clint's eyes before they fluttered closed. It was enough to make the scientist's heart stop.
Clint's pupils were two different sizes.
A/N What? You didn't think I would pass up the chance at one last cliffhanger did you? :P