Next chapter with an explanation. Let me know what you guys think. A lot more details and drama to come in the following chapters. Also before I forget, not only did we go over 10k+ views but also over 100+ follows! Thank you so much! I never expected any of that when I started writing this! I love you all!
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Kate closed her eyes against the throbbing headache that was hitting the back of her eyes as she and Sam stood in the elevator heading to the top of the Tower. She had clammed up, though Sam tried to ask her what that was about, she hadn't said a word since they left the river. Putting a hand to her left ear, which was ringing, she pulled it back to see blood on her fingers.
~ "More like someone." One of the men said, stepping forward. "Hello Katie."
Kate felt Sam watching her, but she couldn't remove her eyes from the man in front of her. "What are you doing here?" She asked.
"You're smart enough to know the answer to that Katie." The man said walking forward more, no longer in shadows so she could see his reddish-brown hair and all too familiar blue-grey eyes. "We've been looking for you for a long time. You took something very important and we want it back."
"So, it's we now?" Kate asked watching out of the corner of her eye as the men with him slowly spread out to try and force their way behind her and Sam. "Last I heard you were turning over a new leaf. What happened? The Army not okay with you making a little money on the side?"
Barney smiled at her taunt. "Don't make this harder Katie." He said stepping forward. "Come on sweet pea."
"Don't call me that!" She snarled reaching for her knife.
That was the trigger to make them converge. Barney shot forward before she could react, hand coming down on her shoulder like a vice, hitting a nerve and seizing her arm up while his thumb pressed against her windpipe just enough to cut off her cry of pain. The others held Sam back knocking his legs out to bring him to the ground.
Kate stared down the barrel of the gun that Barney aimed right between her eyes, his eyes now cold and unforgiving. She set her jaw. "I don't have what you want." She said.
Barney smiled mirthlessly. "But we both know that's not true." He said.
With that, he put the gun past the side of her head and fired. Kate screamed as she fell to the ground, holding a hand to her ear.
"You have three days." ~
Three days. Three days to reconstruct data that would take anyone an average of three months to recreate if they were staring right at it all day. Three days to reconstruct something she didn't even have. But that wasn't her only problem.
The elevator doors opened, and Sam put a gentle hand to her elbow, helping her because her balance was still off. She could hear everyone in the living room, minus the few that were on missions, but it was muted as she was only had half her hearing right now. As they came in to sight, Clint looked up and he zeroed in on her, sharp eyes never missing a thing. He shot to his feet and crossed to her in a few long strides.
"What happened?" Clint demanded cupping her face gently and turning her head to see the blood at her ear and take in the bruising appearing on her shoulder and neck, not even remotely hidden by her tank top.
Kate grimaced feeling all eyes on her. She met Clint's gaze grimly. "The carnival is in town."
…
"Carson's Carnival of Travelling Wonders." Clint said. "We were there as kids after our parents died." Vision glanced at Kate, but she was watching her brother's face as he talked about it. "Kate was pretty little at the time, but they allowed her to stay as long as we did our work."
Kate fidgeted with her necklace while Bruce checked her neck and ears to see how bad the damage was.
"One of the main performers, Jacques DuQuesne, who called himself the Swordsman, decided to train me as an apprentice but one of the others, who I knew as Chisholm, but was called Trickshot…he thought I would be better suited to the bow." Clint said. "So, I was trained by both. One day I learned that Swordsman was stealing from the carnival and he wanted me to join him, but I refused. He nearly killed me. Later on, while I was looking for a point where I could get her and I out—" He motioned to Kate— "I learned that a lot of the performers had side jobs as mercenaries and assassins. It was around that time that I met Coulson. He told me that the carnival was going to be attacked. That I needed to get Kate and leave and that S.H.I.E.L.D. could help."
Listening to Clint recount their time before S.H.I.E.L.D. sounded much worse than the way that she had remembered it. He really had sheltered her from a lot.
"But if you just left, why are they after Kate?" Steve asked. "What could she have that would make you have to hide her away?"
"It's not what she has." Clint said. "It's what they think she saw."
"A list." Kate said quietly.
Clint clarified. "A comprehensive list of assassins, both individual and organized groups, along with targets and benefactors. Things that could cripple multiple governments and things that certain people would pay a high price for." He said. "They think she saw the list and they've been trying to get to her since."
"Did she?" Tony asked somberly. He looked at Kate. "Did you?"
"Not all of it." Kate said running a hand through her hair. "I saw a small section of it."
Clint shook his head. "When I realized what she was looking at I got rid of it. I destroyed it but they think that she can recreate the whole list." He said.
Sam looked up. "And this Barney guy." He said. "Who is he?"
Kate flinched, partially at Bruce moving her arm to test her shoulder but also at the name.
Clint looked grim. "Our brother." He said. "Barney was the oldest, the most ambitious when it came to that life. He was always looking for a way to get rich and not live a life just scraping by."
"And he's willing to turn his own sister over to mercenaries?" Bruce asked in horror looking up.
Kate had never seen the expression on Clint's face that she was currently seeing. She couldn't quite place the emotions that registered.
"I realized before Barney, what her memory was." Clint said. "I mean at five, she looked at the elemental table once and could recite them in order. But when I showed Barney, he saw it as a way to make money. He wanted to use her as a sideshow act…"
Kate stared at Clint, but he refused to meet her gaze.
Bruce finished up his assessment. "Obviously there is deep bruising in your shoulder and neck. I would like to put your arm in a sling just for a little while." He said to which Kate started to protest but Clint immediately cut her off and said yes. Bruce continued. "I would like to talk about your ear though. How has your hearing been?"
"A little muted." Kate replied. "My ear is still ringing but things sound like I have that half of my head underwater."
"The gun being fired that close to your head caused a rupture to your tympanic membrane." Bruce said. "Normally, those can heal on your own but because it was fired so close to your head, there is a possibility that you could have nerve damage to that ear."
Kate swallowed. "So, what does that mean?" She asked.
"I would like to monitor it." Bruce said. "These can fix themselves but considering you have had multiple exposures to loud noises, there is a risk of more serious damage."
Great."Okay." Kate replied. She looked at Clint. "Can I go back to our floor now?"
"Yeah go ahead." Clint replied.
Kate hopped down from the exam table and went to the door, slipping out silently but staying a moment to listen in despite her current trouble with it.
"This is all my fault. If I hadn't brought her to Berlin, none of this would have happened." Clint said. "We've gone five years without contact with them…"
Bucky spoke quietly. "Are you sure about that?" He asked.
Kate moved on and went to the elevator.
…
Turning the shower off, Kate wrapped herself in a towel and stood at the mirror, trying to avoid going out to the living area where she knew that Clint was waiting for her. Taking a deep breath, she dressed in her pajama pants and an old S.H.I.E.L.D. t-shirt and walked out toweling off her hair.
Clint, who was actually sitting on her bed when she came out, looked up. "How long?" He asked.
Kate lowered the towel, twisting it in her hands, a nervous habit that Clint recognized and didn't miss. "Five weeks." She replied quietly.
Clint stared at her, waiting for her to continue, his expression unreadable.
"When I went to the movies the first week of school, I got a phone call." She said. "I didn't recognize the number, but I thought it might have been Natasha needing something, so I answered. The minute I heard Barney's voice I hung up; it was no more than thirty seconds."
There was a silence that seemed to stretch forever between them before Clint spoke.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked.
I wanted to…I should have.Kate looked up. "I didn't want to leave again." She said quietly.
Pain flashed through Clint's eyes before he stood up and walked out without a word. Kate pressed the bunched towel in her hands against her mouth, tears streaming down her face as she slowly sunk to the floor.