Again a 'Thank you' to Senema for proofreading this chapter, any remaining mistakes are my own.

Chapter 6

Clint paced restlessly in his cell. Not knowing what had happened to his family and where they were almost killed him.

Of course, Ross hadn't missed the chance to come by and tell Clint spitefully that someone had raided the farm and that his family had disappeared without a trace. No wonder that he and Tony Stark liked working together, they were brothers in spirit with the same wickedness to make others suffer.

The only thing that oddly enough gave Clint hope was the amount of blood that Ross said had been all over the place. When he asked Ross in which rooms it had been found, Ross didn't want to answer his question.

Sam watched him worriedly. He didn't know Clint very well, but that he was witnessing a man on the verge of a nervous breakdown out of concern for his family was evident. "Clint, I know you don't want to hear it, but please calm down."

"Do you have any idea how I feel right now?" asked Clint bitterly.

"No, I don't", answered Sam patiently. "You have to clear your mind. This is what Ross wants, he wants you to lose your composure and your mind."

Clint paused for a moment. "Don't you think I know that? But the whereabouts of my family are the only thing I can think about."

"With that I can't help you but let me ask you a few questions! Perhaps it will help you to rule out a few things and maybe distract you a little."

Clint sighed and sat on his bunk. "Ask!"

"How likely is it that all the blood came from Laura and the children?" Sam immediately started with the toughest question.

Clint rubbed his face wearily. "If Ross is telling the truth, maybe a part of it but definitely not all."

"Would Laura be able to hurt or kill so many people that it accounts for so much blood?" Sam already knew the answer to this question.

Clint shook his head. "Impossible, not against my enemies!"

"Is it possible that different enemies have found your farm at the same time and they fought each other over who of them would get your family?"

"No", Clint replied confidently. "The only ones with the resources and a quick response like this are Hydra and the government."

"And we know the government doesn't have your family because Ross wouldn't hesitate a second to use them against you", Sam said quietly.

Scott had listened with interest. He could imagine what Sam was getting at with his questions and as a father he knew how Clint must be feeling right now. "If the blood is from Hydra Agents and if it couldn't be your wife who attacked them, do you know anyone who is on your side and could have gotten there fast enough to wreak havoc on a unit of Hydra Agents?"

Clint didn't answer, but both Sam and Scott saw Clint's expression change strangely and then he began to grin maliciously. That was enough answer for them, though Clint responded with a shake of his head. "No", he replied softly. "I don't know anyone who fits that description other than the other Avengers of course."

Sam and Scott showed not external reaction. By now they all knew where the cameras were hidden. Clint had been sitting on the bunk in such a way that no camera could have captured his expression. The eavesdropping devices could only intercept his verbal answer and that was a lie.

"So we're back at square one", noted Sam, trying to keep the deception up.

"Well, your questioning at least helped me to realize that most of the blood can't come from my family", Clint replied and lay back down on his cot, where he hid his face with his arm.

The people behind the camera might assume it was to hide his relief and eventual tears, but Sam knew better. Clint's strategic mind began to develop different scenarios about what could have happened, which distracted him nicely.

The next day both Sam and Clint were taken from their cells again to be interrogated in a decidedly unfriendly manner. Neither of them answered the questions, despite the guards' cruel and painful encouragement.

When Clint and Sam were brought back to their cells, they were both limping and fantasized about righteous retribution against their guards. As always, their dinner, if you could call it that, arrived punctually at eight o'clock, but after their interrogation neither Clint nor Sam were very hungry.

The guard, who brought it today to them, was known for its tendency to mock and antagonize them. That is why it felt immediately weird to them that he did not utter a word. It was like he was waiting for something. Suddenly the lights flickered, which seemed to be a sign for him.

"Clint, Elijah sends you his regards! Your family is unharmed, safe and under his protection. You have 10 minutes before the surveillance is reactivated", the guard said in a dull voice, before turning around and leaving the cell block.

Clint dropped onto his bunk, joy and complete relief was evident on his face.

"What the hell was that?" Sam asked disturbed. The guard's face had been completely emotionless and empty when he delivered his message.

"Is that a trap?" Scott asked worried.

Clint laughed softly. "No, that is a message from a friend of mine. And in my opinion it means that our rescue is only a matter of time."

"And who is this Elijah?" Sam asked sceptically.

"Someone who can defeat a Hydra combat unit without breaking a sweat. It means that the blood found on my farm does not come from my family and that now no one can touch them anymore. And if one of my enemies should find them nevertheless, which I don't believe could happen, they will get a surprise that will cost them their life."

"What about the guard's strange behaviour?" Scott asked uncertainly.

"Oh, Elijah has some interesting tricks up his sleeve", Clint waved him off.

"Could you explain that in more detail?" Scott asked a little suspicious.

"No, not here and not now." Clint hesitated. "Besides that I gave him my word that I will keep his secrets and Elijah only values one thing more than keeping promises, be it his own or from someone else."

"Why do you think help is on the way?" Sam asked thoughtfully.

"Because Elijah never pulls things off half-heartedly. He is very concise in everything he does. This message was a big risk. He wouldn't take it if he didn't already have a plan to get us out of here. The ten minutes are up soon. You have to keep quiet about Elijah", implored Clint.

"Don't worry, Clint, we will say nothing", Sam reassured him.

"Yeah, and if that Elijah gets us out of here, I owe him a drink", Scott said. Clint laughed in amusement. "What's so funny?"

"It's too difficult to explain, but believe me, there's a certain humour to it."

The lights flickered again and the private conversation between the prisoners was over.

xxxxx

Elijah leaned against the plane wall in his seat and kept his eyes closed. He was aware of the furtive looks the humans kept giving him. Perhaps it had been a mistake to reveal so much of himself, but in this particular case it was a necessary sacrifice that he was willing to make.

He also had the strange feeling that this would not be the last time on this mission, that he showed people what he was really capable of. Elijah sighed. It was always amusing what he was willing to do to protect those he considered family.

With a bit of luck his message had reached Clint. Elijah had no control over the roster and could only hope that the man assigned to the Avengers cell block would deliver it in time.

There was still a long flight ahead, so Elijah decided to take a nap. His internal clock, which had become almost perfect in the last 1000 years, would wake him up on time. And his instincts would wake him if someone approached him with dishonest intentions.

T'Challa furtively eyed Elijah, who by now gave the impression that he was sound asleep. That was the first time that he had the leisure and the opportunity to do this undisturbed without Elijah being able to notice it and return this attention.

The combat suit was nothing special, every Swat unit had the same, and Elijah probably had stolen it from somewhere. His boots however were tailor-made and expensive and Elijah wore an even more expensive watch on his arm.

From what Natasha had said, Elijah was more than wealthy, but T'Challa had never heard of him. Even if he didn't recognize every face, the super-rich knew each other even if it was just to compare their fortunes but the Mikaelsons seemed completely under everyone's radar.

As he looked at Elijah like this, T'Challa winced sympathetically. Elijah slept in a very uncomfortable position and when he woke up afterwards he would be quite stiff. "Shouldn't we wake him?"

Steve glanced at Elijah and knew what T'Challa was getting at. "He does not seem to me like someone who falls asleep suddenly and without design."

"I don't think so either", agreed Natasha with Steve.

"He's a soldier", added Steve. "I think he can sleep anywhere."

T'Challa shrugged and let it go.

After a few hours Elijah opened his eyes and looked at his watch, it was almost time. He straightened up and announced. "The gas should be released at any moment. As soon as everyone is asleep, all doors will be locked and only those that lead us directly into the cell block are opened. Every communication method is disabled, so even if some are not unconscious, they cannot warn anyone."

Everyone startled a little, there had been no sign that Elijah had woken up before he began to speak, but everyone composed themselves rather quickly.

"You mean we can just walk through the Raft without having to deal with inserting security cards or entering number combinations?" Natasha asked, who could hardly imagine something like that.

Elijah shrugged. "If everything goes as planned."

"And what if not?" Steve asked as the seasoned strategist he was.

"I have a few alternative strategies", Elijah replied truthfully. "In all honesty, I'm pretty sure that something will go wrong."

Steve sighed and nodded. "Yes, liberation campaigns in particular never run smoothly." The two men grinned understandingly at each other.

"Do I have your permission to go into the cockpit to tell the pilot the correct landing platform?" asked Elijah T'Challa politely.

"Of course, Elijah", T'Challa immediately agreed. He was well aware of Okoye's disapproving expression. Elijah had been honest with them and revealed things about himself that were not necessary. It was time to put some trust in him too, it was just honourable.

Elijah got up smoothly and went to the cockpit. Nothing in his movements indicated that he had sat motionless on a very uncomfortable seat for several hours.

Natasha, Steve, and T'Challa exchanged glances. Even in their prime, they couldn't have moved so gracefully after such a long flight.

Elijah left the cockpit door open so everyone could hear what he was saying. "When the Raft emerges, three landing platforms are deployed. All of them will emit light signals, but the correct one will flash the word 'here' in Morse code."

Elijah assumed rightfully that the pilot knew the Morse code because of his job.

"Understood", the pilot replied coolly. Finding the right platform would be easy.

Elijah returned to his seat and sat back down.

"Do you want one of my weapons, Elijah?" Natasha asked as she got up.

"No, thank you, Natasha." Elijah watched as the humans prepared themselves for their mission by checking their equipment and weapons.

"What if your plan goes wrong and you have to defend yourself?" Okaye asked acerbically.

Elijah smiled. "I only said that I don't use guns, not that I'm harmless. I don't need physical weapons to protect myself."

His completely calm and convincing statement made its impact on the humans and they exchanged telling looks.

Elijah noticed it of course but he ignored it, for the moment it was irrelevant.

Everyone on board felt the plane touch down gently.

T'Challa took a deep breath. "Everybody ready?" Everyone nodded seriously. "Two of the Dora Milaje stay on board to protect our way of escape."

Okaye gestured to two of her warriors, who nodded. They would protect the plane with their lives.

"Captain, from now on it's your show", T'Challa handed over the command to Steve.

"Okay. T'Challa, you and I take the lead, then Natasha, after her Elijah, while Okoye and the other two warriors bring up the rear." Steve fixated Elijah. "I know you said you weren't defenceless, but since you're the only civilian, I want you protected."

"This is fine with me, Captain", Elijah replied indifferently. When the time came, he would do what he thought was right anyway. And somehow he felt like Steve Rogers was a lot like him in that.

"Open the heck!" T'Challa ordered and the pilot obeyed.

Prepared for everything, the real Avengers entered the Raft to free their comrades from their unconstitutional imprisonment.