Authors notes:
It finally truly rained today. A little after posting the last chapter I looked up and saw blue. I thought about my point of view on the world and I felt bad about posting such negative words in my last notes... I'm a pessimist. I try very hard to be positive but sometimes it's like trying to draw with my non dominate hand. It's a struggle and my dominant hand is just easier so I tend to just use it... Overall I'm very touched by the warm words and I just hope that my notes don't ruin the chapter... speaking of please have fun reading!
Chapter Twenty-one:
Clint stumbles into the little office that Fury has seemed to have claimed as their base of operations. He's blinking blearily at the fluorescent lighting as he cups a lukewarm grande coffee.
It's warm in his chilled fingers. The weather was nippy and he really just wanted more sleep. Life didn't allow for that though.
Yawning Clint takes a sip from his coffee and grimaces at the burnt taste. He's left wondering how such a popular chain could be so bad at making good bean juice.
"The bomber's left a note." Fury snaps. Clint's eye's lull over to Natasha who's got her legs crossed and propped on the table as she files her nails.
The night before Matt had led them to pier 83 where they found a warehouse with the bomber's telltale scrap and a dead end. Matt had raged at the pier. The trail lost in the river.
Now it is early Friday morning and Clint has officially dubbed the week shitty beyond repair. Matt had not been in a talking mood and Clint is still feeling awkward about how he'd treated Matt and the whole mess of the identity reveal.
"Barton!" Fury's voice barks into his thoughts. Clint groans. "Pay attention."
"Let me finish my shitty coffee."
"The use of your ears doesn't keep you from drinking." The man says and then continues in the tone he uses while reading. It's very slight, barely noticeable, especially with Clint's aids. However, he's learned to recognize it through the way Fury paces. "I tire of these games. The joy long dead like all I once loved. Innocence was lost in chaos and fire. Aboard a ship set upon the sky. I can not fly so I cast my sails upon the waters. When evening falls the fires will swallow the innocent and damn the so-called hero."
"You may save the ship perchance you can find it and bring my plans to an end. But I will not go alone. I will not deny my hand in this evil. Acknowledging this fact makes me a better man than your precious Hawk. I've already won."
Clint blinks sitting up, feeling a little less tired. "What?"
"The ramblings of a mad man." Natasha dismisses.
"Why did he single me out though?" Clint asks. He's shown his anger toward S.H.I.E.L.D pretty clearly but this is the first time he's singled anyone out."
"Who knows." Fury swears. "Barton, it may be wise for you to sit this one out."
"Wait." Clint is fully awake now. "You're taking me off the mission?"
"If you are this man's target we can not give him what he wants."
"If I am his target then why focus so much in the Kitchen? It's not my stomping grounds."
"Normally, no, but you have been spending more time there since meeting The Devil of Hell's Kitchen." Natasha says.
"You may also not be his only target." Fury says.
"Ma-man," Clint stutters almost slipping Daredevil's real name here would be heinous. It's clear what Nick is suggesting and it just has Clint's shoulders dropping. "Aww… no. You suggesting he's been after Daredevil?"
Fury shrugs. "Hard to say at the moment but our investigation has suggested that someone is helping him. Things are more complicated than they first appeared."
"Damn…" Clint frowns. "That note… it sounds like he's talking about a ship… and we lost his scent at the docks. Do you think he's being literal?"
Fury's brow ticks just slightly. "This man is good at blowing things up. He's not good at being subtle. His next target is clearly a boat."
"A ship." Natasha says and lets out an irritated noise. "There are only a few hundred he could pick from."
Fury sighs. "We have no choice. Let's look into it." He levels Clint with a glare. "Where are you going to be?"
Clint sighs. "I'll go find Daredevil."
"Oh no, you won't." Fury says. Stomping around the table. "You don't think I don't know what you'll do the moment you meet up with that vigilante? I'm not letting you play valiant hero. You're going to go back to the tower and be our guy in the chair."
"What?" Clint gapes. "No. No. You know I can help! So what if this guy is gunning for me? I mean I am on a 'hero' team so what do you mean you don't want me 'playing hero?'" Clint air quotes. "What difference does it make from when Dr. Doom sends out droids to fight the Avengers?"
"A world." Fury says flatly. "Tower. Now."
Clint sighs and glances at Natasha. 'sorry' she mouths. Clint just rolls his eyes and walks out. Trust him to fight Hydra and mutant rats but don't trust him to take on a very human domestic terrorist. Sure whatever.
Natasha watches Clint leave before leveling her gaze on Fury. "What are you playing?"
Nick is texting out something on his phone. "I have no idea what you're asking."
"You know he's not going to go to the tower. You know he's not going to stay away from this."
"Are you suggesting that Agent Barton doesn't know how to follow orders?"
The quirk of Fury's brow and the slight tilt of his head leaves Natasha feeling like he's laughing at her. She narrows her eyes. Fury streightens up and yanks on the collar of his jacket. "He needs to be more cautious." Fury says. "I have never known him to show more stealth then when he's trying to avoid medbay… I'm sure being forced to stay put for his own safety and well-being won't trigger a similar response. When we manage to capture Mr. Brown, I am sure we'll find him sulking over a pizza. Wouldn't you say so?"
Natasha hums. "You sure this isn't some kind of test?" She's caught on to Fury's game now but she's not sure she approves.
"You know me." Fury walks to the door and says as he's leaving. "Everything is a test."
Natasha lets out a sigh. Fury was sniffing around. He ordered Clint to drop Matt Murdock as a suspect but never expected him to without evidence. Even finding the bomber didn't necessarily clear Murdock as an accessory.
Yet, Clint hasn't brought up the blind man once. Not since discovering his secret. From Fury's point of view, Clint just dropping it like that must be setting off all his bells.
There was no telling what Fury was thinking. No telling if he's made any connections but he was looking now. It was only a matter of time.
Clint and Matt clearly had more to worry about than a bomber. Something potentially more frightening. Natasha wasn't sure what she would do when it all came to a boil.
"Come on Aunt May, I'm not a baby." Peter whines as his aunt readjusts his scarf. They are standing on a dock waiting. As planned they are taking the earliest ferry to Manhattan. In hopes of arriving before the next bombing.
Peter knows May doesn't like it but Spider-Man can help. He lets out a sigh as she tugs his hat down more snugly. "I know… but it's cold out." She says.
Peter rolls his eyes and ducks his chin to hide the fond smile in his scarf. He was appreciative of her care. Even if it was embarrassing.
It is early and the sky is just gaining light. A fine mist clings to the docks, snaking around their legs. Already a handful of people are gathering for the boat even though it will be another fifteen minutes or so before it arrives and another twenty before departure.
Peter assumes most of them are going for a job. He honestly couldn't think of any other reason to get up this early for a boring river ride.
He hears a shift in the waves and perks up looking out into the misty water. The boat lets out a warning sound of approach and a bundle of nerves settle in his stomach. "It's early." May says, sounding pleasantly surprised.
Peter just hums trying to settle his nerves. The last time he was on one of these Tony took the advanced Spider-Man suit away. Not fun memories. He wishes they could have taken the subway, which would have been cheaper but there had been a random giant rat attack about a week prior.
The second one in the last three months and the Hulk and one of the larger beasts had fallen through to the tracks and they were still repairing the damage. The bridge was under construction so traffic was slow enough to justify the ferry time-wise. Besides, it was cheaper than a taxi ride.
He shook his head and shoulders and took his aunt's hand when she offered it. "Ready?" She asked her voice a bit jittery as if they were about to get onto some kind of roller coaster at an amusement park.
Peter swallows. A weary feeling tugging at the back of his mind. He would probably feel better overall if May had just stayed home. He'd ditch her in the shopping district, he decided quietly. She could rage over an iced coffee and he could search knowing that she was relatively safe. "Yeah." He says nerves shaking up his voice.
May squeezes his hand and Peter smiles. Everything would turn out okay. He was Spider-Man. He could handle this. Besides, the Defenders were definitely working together on this one. Peter wouldn't be facing down what to do here alone. Peter squeezes May's hand back as they bord and lets it go as they settle in.
Olin knows his identity is no longer a secret. He's known since the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents raided his apartment. It makes the following steps easier. He fiddles with the receiver. Creating objects that don't explode is a little harder for him, but he manages to set up the video camera and computer with relative ease.
It isn't quite time to use it yet though. He shuffles his feet readjusting himself in the little makeshift seat he'd set up for himself. Leaning back he is able to see the water. The boat is loading up finally and it would only be twenty minutes before he would be ready to move. His heart is pounding with excitement. This was surprisingly fun. It made him think of highschool. It made him think of Rick and he found himself frowning.
Rick always knew when Olin was up to no good. It'd been years since he'd last run around blowing shit up. The bombs he built back then were tiny though. Barely big enough to blow up a paper box. Closer to the kind of fireworks people set off in their driveway during the fourth of July. Meant to cause trouble and distract. Not to maim and kill.
Liz was the reason he stopped. Liz is the reason he is doing this now and Rick isn't around to stop him anymore. Olin closes his eyes. Bernard would never forgive him. Taking a breath he shakes his head. The here and now is what he needs to focus on.
As the boat pulls back into the water he imagines what it'll feel like to sink beneath the waves.
Authors notes:
This is a transitionary chapter... of sorts... Next chapter gets kind of complex so it might be a while before I post it semply because I want to make sure it makes at least a little sense...