Thank you for all the reviews! Even though most were telling me that I'm evil/mean, but I am being evil/mean so... This chapter is basically well, what happens now? It also has a flashback with some Clint and Natasha goodness! And I agree that the baby's been through too much, but I mean it has some kick ass parents.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers...
It had been three months since he'd let the beautiful Russian spy live and three months since he'd found out that he wouldn't be running missions solo anymore, now she was his partner. He had observed her a few times before in training, but the two still hadn't spoken since he spared her. In watching her and hearing of her progress in between his last few solo missions he knew he'd made the right decision so today when Coulson brought them into the debriefing room for their first assignment he was almost looking forward to it.
She sat already reading the file with her usual blank expression. He tried not to linger on her though, the fiery red hair, the subtle part of her lips… he could see why she was a natural. "Sorry if I'm late, Sir."
"You're right on time Barton," Coulson said as Clint sat down and started reading the folder as their handler narrated it for them.
"You'll be undercover as a married couple from Canada who are looking into buying illegal software to ruin your insurance competitor's records system. The man you're after is Antonio Medina, Spain's most infamous virus designer, who is starting to work on software capable of hacking into main frames that hold nuclear launch codes. So far there are limited interested parties, but we'd prefer to shut him down before we have to begin intercepting nuclear launch codes," he paused for a moment. "This would prefer to be an extraction so we can get him to start playing for the home team, but if he won't come quietly it becomes an authorized hit."
"What will be our individual parts?" Natasha said looking up from the file. Clint had seen her flinch ever so slightly when Coulson said they'd be pretending to be married; this was going to be fun.
"You two can decide what angle you want to take, but your first arranged meeting with him is a benefits banquet in Barcelona tomorrow night. SHIELD just wants him as an asset or dead. Your flight leaves in three hours. Your wardrobes are already packed for you, all you have to do is choose what weapons you want available when you arrive," he said. "Have fun." Coulson knew his agents well. This mission would turn out all right in the end. Barton was already one of his favorites for his decision making and listening skills (whether bad or good), and the eyes on Romanoff; this would be fun to watch. Coulson was betting they'd already slept together.
Clint didn't waste any time. He kept his comm-link active in one ear and dialed SHIELD with his phone in the other, "Get me Fury."
The woman on the other side was a voice Clint heard often, but never learned the name of; Fury's secretary he never used, "I'm sorry sir Director Fury is on the phone with the ambassador from Croatia." The man really never slept.
"Tell him it can wait, Agent Romanoff has been kidnapped, and that I need to talk to him now," Clint said sternly. He was sure not to yell. He needed to keep his cool or else none of this was going to happen the way he wanted it to because all he wanted to do was steal a Quinjet and go after her. Go after the baby. But he couldn't think emotionally now, Natasha would be scolding him for it.
The next voice he heard was a pissed off Fury, "You had better not be sounding a false alarm Barton, my world does not revolve around your personal life."
"The chopper left the roof less than three minutes ago," he said peering down at his watch. "But it was going north fast. I know SHIELD is in pursuit, but they won't catch them. She's gone, Sir."
"From the beginning," Fury said now seeing that this really was a priority.
So Clint told him everything not caring that anyone who listened to the conversation would know he and Natasha shared a bed and an apartment and basically a life, it meant he'd have a better shot at getting her back the more everyone knew about the attack. "You saw no tattoos or emblems on their clothes, anything that stood out to you at all."
"No, Sir, they were very thorough," Clint said wishing he had looked better, but he knew he was the best. If he hadn't noticed something there was nothing to notice. And there hadn't been anything particular about the men, but right now SHIELD agents were also hauling the two men Clint had left alive out for questioning and he was sure they'd also investigate the dead.
"We'll bring you in for debriefing Barton," Fury said following protocol, but Clint had been patient and now he was done with protocol.
"No, Sir, I think it would be best if I began pursuit right away," he said hoping Fury would let him, but tonight was not his night.
"Agent Barton you know the conflict of interest here," he said trying not to sound too much like a boss. Fury understood emotion and right now he couldn't let Clint's get the best of him.
"Sir, she's my partner."
"And I don't need you to be running off ready to kill everyone in your path to get her back. We'll be setting up a team to search for her," Fury said knowing what the man's next request would be.
"Then I select the team," he said knowing the only people he trusted to try to get her back.
"Give me the names and I'll call them in."
Clint had already called Steve and Tony when he arrived at the tower. On the ride over he had still held it together and not let himself think about what they may be doing to her or what horrible place they may have taken her. Natasha was still a strong person and she would survive until they found her. He did, however, allow himself to think why the men took her; it would be vital for the search.
The only thought that continued to pound through his head was the baby. They wanted the baby. A few hours ago he had been so happy. He was going to be a dad. A year ago the last of his priorities had been family, yet now he and Natasha had been falling asleep discussing the color of the baby's room. The only thing he had to hang onto now was that he'd get her back. He'd get both of them back somehow, and then they could be happy. In a few days he hoped to be painting a bedroom yellow…
When he stepped into Tony's media room he and Steve were listening to the last of his debriefing with Fury. Quickly removing any unnecessary thoughts from his mind he put on a face so serious even Natasha wouldn't have been able to read.
"I'm sorry Clint," Tony said looking up as the man entered still with small spots of blood on his clothes.
It was the first time Tony had called him anything but Legolas, Robin Hood, or Barton, but he ignored the sentiment, there wasn't any time.
"What do you have so far?" he said looking at the various screens Stark was running.
This was where Rogers spoke up. He was better at game plans than Tony, "We were unable to get a fix on the chopper before it left the city, but judging by the way you described it, they'll need to stop and switch over to a personal aircraft unless they plan on keeping her within a 50 mile radius, but they planned well so they'll know to take her far away. Tony's set up a program that'll let us track any airplanes that depart from private air fields over the next twelve hours within 50 miles." As he said the last bit Clint could see the sadness in Steve's eyes, "Right now that's the best we can do."
"I gave Fury the list of agents I want you two using," Clint said watching Tony already watching private airfields. "You should be able to leave as soon as they're assembled."
Steve nodded quietly also watching the screens. When he had called he'd simply wanted the two to run teams from New York, but Natasha was their friend in whatever strange way it had come about, and they'd both insisted that although sometimes separate they were all a team, the Avengers left no one behind.
Steve insisted he could reschedule his date and Tony said Pepper wanted him to go as long as JARVIS made a call to him the second she went into labor and Clint stayed at the tower to keep a watchful eye over her. Clint made sure agent Hill was placed on Tony's team not only to keep him in check, but also so that she could take lead should Tony have to leave in the middle of a battle. He also had no problem staying with Pepper and keeping Stark Tower their communication center, especially if it meant getting Natasha back sooner.
Their departure came a few hours later and as usual Clint stood against a wall in the corner watching. Steve had their bags packed and slung over his shoulder as Pepper said goodbye to Tony, "Don't worry about me. Just try to come back in one piece."
"I always do," he said giving her a quick kiss. "And the second anything-"
"Don't worry about me. You'll get the call and Clint will be here to help. Just focus on finding Natasha," Pepper said practically pushing Tony out the door. He knew just as well as she did that the sooner they left the sooner this would be over. Clint had to applaud the maturity Tony had gained over the past months; he seemed to actually start caring about things other than himself.
As Pepper then turned to Clint he expected something expressing how bad she felt, but instead he got what he wanted to hear, "They're going to find her."
He was quiet for a moment before he let himself break, "We were going to keep the baby. Get a bigger apartment and everything. I finally convinced her we could be safe then this happens." Pepper put her hand gently on his arm. "They took her for the baby. And if it's the people we think it is… Fury should have let me go. No, none of this ever should have happened…"
Pepper wasn't going to let him beat himself up, "I know that the last couple months have been tough, but you couldn't have seen this coming. You did everything you could and they will get her back Clint. Then you and Natasha and the baby will be a family. You can't let yourself lose sight of that. And just because Fury didn't let you leave doesn't mean you can't help. You're going to know everything that's happening and you can help them search from here. And nothing happens that wasn't meant to. When Tony disappeared for those few months I was just angry… but then he came back a better person. If you can believe that. All I'm saying is you'll get them back, and the baby wasn't a mistake."
He looked at Pepper then, still just as tired as she'd been a few hours before when he and Natasha had left. What made her care so much about others before herself he wasn't sure, but he appreciated that about her. And right now he wished Pepper could have been out looking for Natasha too.
Ultimately though he would have to trust the team he chose and trust his friends to bring her back. Right now he wouldn't leave Pepper, but if they didn't find Natasha soon… well Clint was never one to break promises.
Over the plane ride Clint and Natasha had quietly discussed how they wanted to play Medina. They were going to use Natasha's beauty and seduction skills to get him alone, where Clint would be waiting bow and arrow in hand. It was simple and easy and would become their routine for many years to come.
Now they were almost ready in the hotel room. "Zip me up?" Natasha asked lifting her waves of hair away from the long zipper on her back.
Clint turned, still with his tie undone, to see her in a long purple dress that somehow smoldered on her. Her hair somehow looked a little darker so it wouldn't clash with the color, but it was still as fiery as ever. He felt bad for whoever was supposed to be resisting her charms tonight; they were going to lose. He moved to zip up the dress as she began to talk, "Why can't we be like we used to be, so young and in love."
He laughed a little as she released her hair and it once again cascaded down her back, "Well once the company started to grow and I got my secretary I kept coming home later and later… you know how it is with work."
Natasha had turned then pulling the fake wedding ring onto her finger, "Which is why I've decided to have a love affair on our trip. I hear the men in Spain are very… fierce."
Their faces where only inches apart as she tied his tie for him without even looking and just keeping her eyes on his, "The looks you give me would scare most men away."
"That's why I married you. You're not easily intimidated," Natasha said moving away a little further then spinning in her dress, "See any guns?"
"Nope," Clint said tucking an extra gun into his jacket. He'd already hidden his bow and arrows in the mansion the party was being held at. "And if either of us is compromised the plan is?"
"See who makes it back here alive," Natasha said as if it was obvious. It always seemed to be life and death for her. He knew he'd never understand why.
"No," he said catching her eye before they left. "Partners stick around until the bullets stop flying." She seemed a little confused so he elaborated, "I'm never leaving you behind. And that's a promise."
She drank it in for a second. Maybe he'd had a partner before that died, or abandonment issues, but she nodded in acceptance of the rule. She did owe him a life debt after all so dragging his sorry ass out of a fire fight might be enough to repay the debt. Either way she felt better about it knowing someone finally had her back.
So a little Clint and Natasha back story and fluff? Or just sexiness, but a little treat to counteract the sadness. So now some of the Avengers are going after her and Clint's warpath has yet to begin. And I don't mean to spoil but expect the arrival of one of the little ones in the next chapter!
So any comments, last minute name suggestions for either baby, ideas for flashbacks, reactions, and/or predictions please review and I'll leave my little message at the top of the next chapter!
Next update Thursday during the day so everyone within the continental US should get it Thursday!