The Hunters and the Prey - Chapter Twenty-Nine
Author: Milady Dragon
Clint sighed, shaking off the Teleport magic that had carried him and the others to their destination.
It had been Nat's fancy, open-ended Teleport bracelet, and sometimes it wasn't the easiest trip, especially when there were more than just her with him along with the ride.
This time, this also included Toshiko and Jack, both looking just as peaky as Clint was feeling, so he didn't feel himself special.
"That was damned rough," Jack groused, his neck cracking loudly as he rotated his head carefully in order to work the kinks out.
Natasha tucked the magical bracelet back under her sleeve. "I've never carried this many people before." She didn't look at all affected, either, which wasn't at all fair.
"No offense," Toshiko said, "but I'm going to use my own Teleport artifact for the trip back."
Ianto had supplied them all with specific Teleport spells to bring them back to Gateway when they were done with whatever the hells they were going to be doing; Natasha had said something about checking in with a contact of hers, but she hadn't even told them where they were going. Nat was secretive that way, though, and Clint had come to expect it and went along for the ride. She'd talk when she was ready to. Apparently, both Tosh and Jack were alright with it, since they hadn't kicked up much of a fuss when the Widow had invited them along with her.
Also, Clint had his own Teleport bracelet, the one that Phil had given him, that would take him home when he was ready.
Home. He liked the sound of that.
Phil had also given him several more of the bespelled arrows, which were in his quiver at his back. The Elf was hoping to get to use them, but that would mean there would be trouble.
Oh, wait…of course there would be trouble. Why would he expect anything else?
"None taken," Nat answered, giving the other Elf a slight smile. "Now, I have some contacts to meet with. They've been looking into any sorts of leads, and the message I was sent said they might have been able to track at least one of our flown birds."
Jack twitched his cloak aside, taking a long look at where they were. "Lasavar, isn't it? Near the Pleasure Dome?"
Clint took his own look. They were in an alley, and it was just like a lot of alleys all over the Western Lands, so he wasn't at all certain how Jack had recognized it.
"It's the sound," the Deathless answered, when Clint asked. "Can't you hear the chime of the casinos?" He grinned. "I thought Elves had exceptional hearing."
Clint rolled his eyes at the banter. He wanted to make a sharp remark, but he really hadn't paid that much attention. Now, that Jack had pointed out it, the archer could indeed here the unmistakable sounds of the chimes of the games, and music being played. In the distance, a woman was singing, and it sounded like one of the more popular songs currently out.
"Have you been to Lasavar before?" Natasha inquired politely.
"A long time ago, but I bet it hasn't changed one bit."
Clint barked a laugh. "If you wanted to bet on anything, this is the place to do it."
They strode out of the alley to join the crowds that were making their way down what was the main thoroughfare of the gambling capitol of the Western Lands. Lasavar was one of the older cities in the Barony the city was named for, a place where every vice known to man was catered to; it was also the home of the infamous Pleasure Dome. To be honest, Clint really didn't care much for Lasavar, having been through several times in their travels; it was a bit too noisy, and crowded, and the sight lines were terrible. All of the buildings were gaudy and, while the Elf usually liked heights, were too tall for even his tastes. Only someone in the most excellent of health would have been able to climb to those upper stories. He was, and it still irritated him.
The five of them being heavily armed didn't even raise any eyebrows from the people bustling to and fro toward whatever gambling hall or brothel they were heading toward. It was still early in the day, but Lasavar was a city that was active anytime of the day or night, although it was somewhat less busy at this time of the day. Still, there were enough people around to make their progress a bit slower than they would have usually walked, and it grated on Clint's nerves just a little. He felt jumpy, not at home around all these strangers even though he was walking with people he trusted to have his back.
He might not have known Jack and Toshiko long, but Clint had trusted them almost immediately…which was really unusual for him. He would have been at a loss to explain it, except the archer knew it was because Phil trusted them. Well, Phil trusted Jack; Jack trusted Toshiko, but that made sense since the other Elf had been a long-term associate of both Jack and Ianto, and was Jack's Second. As long as they'd known her, Toshiko had become a part of their family, and Clint could get behind that.
Natasha was making her way toward a pub that Clint knew from the sign outside; on it, were a stylized pony, a puppy rollicking around its hooves. The Dog and Pony was the place where most of the mercenaries in the area met and made their deals, so seeing them walking toward it made sense.
Mercenaries worked differently in the Western Lands than they did in the United Kingdom. There, they were organized into a single Guild; in the Western Lands, mercenaries were in loose groups, not holding to any rules or regulations or contracts unless they were being well-paid for it. While it would have been easy to get the word out in the United Kingdom, here it was a matter of putting the right word in the right ear and letting rumormongering take its course. It wasn't pretty, but it worked in its own way.
The Dog and Pony wasn't anywhere near full capacity when they entered the dimly lit pub. A long bar along one wall had an innkeeper behind it, serving the few standing there, waiting on drinks. There were round tables dotted about the room, some of them with occupied; but there were more empty than full ones at that time of day. The immense fireplace wasn't lit, but it wasn't necessary; Lasavar was a desert city, and was rarely that cold except in the middle of the night and in the winter.
It didn't take but a moment for Clint to realize who they were there to meet.
"Aw, Nat…no," he sighed.
That earned him twin looks of confusion from both Jack and Toshiko, and a smirk from the woman who was supposed to have been his best friend. "Come on," Natasha urged, not quite laughing in his face, as she made her way toward the table at the back of the pub.
Two people were at that table; two people Clint were known to him. Too well, really.
"Clint," Jack murmured, "if there's a problem…"
"It's personal," he assured his new friend, since Nat had apparently given up that title, "it won't affect our mission."
"Just say the word, and we'll pull out."
The archer was pitifully grateful for the support but, if Nat had decided to meet with these two, then there was a valid reason for it. She was aware of how he felt, and wouldn't have deliberately set out to irritate him.
Wait, this was Natasha Romanov. Of course she'd do something like that, just because she enjoyed being a pain in his ass.
Natasha took a seat at the table. "You have anything?" she asked the pair, as she motioned for the others to sit down as well.
Clint did so. He didn't have much of a choice. The was Nat's show; he'd been busy elsewhere, and Natasha knew what she was doing.
Most of the time.
However, things were tense. Not that Clint hadn't expected that, the moment he'd seen who Nat had tapped to be her contacts for this particular mission. It was as if every single expectation weighed far too heavily over them all, like something was going to explode and no one would escape the blast.
Damnit, Nat.
"You going to introduce us to your new friends?" the woman asked, raising an eyebrow.
Her companion spoke up. "That's Jack bloody Harkness," he stabbed a finger toward Jack, his accent easily identified as from somewhere near London-town. "And that would make her Toshiko Sato." He turned toward Natasha. "When did you start running in such rarified circles, Widow?"
Natasha just gave him her patented smirk, the one that promised danger and death, usually in equal measure. "Jack…Toshiko…this is Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter. They're very good at ferreting out information that doesn't want to be ferreted out."
That was an understatement. Bobbi and Hunter were excellent spies, and were usually paid very well for what they were asked to find.
Bobbi looked impressed. "We've heard a lot about you, Captain Harkness."
Jack gave her a bright, flirtatious smile. "I'm sure you have. Most of it was most likely bad."
She laughed. "I also know you'd flirt with anything, despite being married."
The immortal laughed. "Ianto's often claimed that if I didn't flirt he'd think someone had either cast a spell on me, or replaced me with a doppelganger."
"Yeah," Hunter snorted, "keep that to yourself, mate."
"Hunter gets jealous," Bobbi grinned. "It's going to be only worse with Barton here."
Jack gave Clint an appraising glance, as if making some assumptions about what he'd just heard. He'd probably get close to the truth, but the archer wasn't about to let those assumptions get out of hand.
"Bobbi and I were married once," he admitted. "It didn't go well."
Bobbi shrugged. "It was fun while it lasted, but it was a mistake."
That was an understatement. He and Bobbi had had a whirlwind romance – that was mostly sex – and had gotten married after about a week. The marriage itself lasted for two months, when they'd come to figure out they'd made a really big error in judgment. Bobbi had been a rebound, in a way, from Phil…who'd been dead at that point. It had been a year after Loki, and he hadn't been over losing the man who could have meant more to him than his own life, so it hadn't been fair to Bobbi.
But then, Bobbi had been rebounding from Hunter, who was an asshole and who didn't really deserve her, but she loved him all the same. Now, the two of them were back together, and Clint had Phil, so it had all been for the best.
Hunter was giving him the evil eye, and Clint was glad he wasn't some sort of Wizard because he'd be feeling the effects of a curse right about now. There was no love lost between the two of them, and it really because of Bobbi.
"As for the Widow's question," Bobbi got them all back on track, "we think we know where at least one of your Hydra targets is right now."
"Do tell." Jack's expression went predatory, and Clint made a vow right then not to get the man mad at him.
Ever.
"Madame Aida's brothel," Hunter answered. "A man matching Daniel Whitehall's description has been seen inside the place."
"That's not all," Bobbi added. "There are some strange happenings inside that house. Large supply orders going in…too large for what usually goes on inside a brothel. We've discovered that some of those deliveries contain weapons and items that would normally be used in spells and potions."
Toshiko nodded. "Whitehall is a Void Wizard. That sort of thing makes sense."
"How many residents are in this brothel?" Jack asked, any trace of flirtatiousness gone, his eyes steely as they stared at Bobbi, who didn't even look uncomfortable under that strong gaze. She was a better person than Clint was; he would have been looking away. "And can we get some sort of building plan? Get the layout?"
Hunter was giving Jack that little grin that said he thought the man was insane. "You really want to go in there after him?"
"We need to get to Whitehall," Jack pointed out. "Going in after him is most likely the best alternative… unless there's a way to get him outside that place."
"He doesn't come out, from what we've seen." Bobbi shook her head, blonde hair coming loose from the really sloppy ponytail she'd pulled it back in.
"Are there any other Hydra Wizards in there?" Natasha asked.
"That, we don't know."
"Bloody hells," Hunter moaned. "You really are crazy."
"Nope," Jack denied. "Just Deathless."
"And Ianto will have both our hides if you die again," Toshiko scolded.
"He has to catch us first."
Clint stifled a sigh, wondering if Phil would ever get this cavalier about his life. He hoped not, because it didn't matter than the Void would keep him alive…it was still coming that close to death that the Void would have to act, anyway. That was the last thing the archer wanted for his lover.
"We can get you the original plans for the brothel," Bobbi said, "but we can't guarantee they'll still be accurate."
Hunter rolled his eyes, but didn't make another comment on their mental health…which was a surprise to Clint. Hunter was usually the one to make that sort of caustic statement, and he didn't mind repeating himself as he felt was needed. "From our surveillance, we believe there are ten whores in the building, not including Madame Aida: six ladies and four men. There's also security; four rather nasty-looking guys…two in the front and two in the back. Five employees: servants, a cook, and there's also a doctor who comes in when needed. We saw him show up this morning."
"With Whitehall," Toshiko said, "that makes five combatants, plus we don't know what sort of self-defense training the…employees…have been given. The servants, well…they'll most likely run if there's any sort of assault. What do you know about Madame Aida?"
"She's been in business for about five years," Bobbi reported. "Hers isn't the most popular brothel in Lasavar, but it has a good reputation. The workers are clean and she takes care of her own. Her reputation says she's strict, and there are rumors she can be a real bitch if someone mistreats one of her people, or if she's betrayed. We also heard she can be a bit…"
"Crazy," Hunter finished her sentence. "Bat-shit crazy."
"That's only if you cross her," Bobbi hastened to add.
"She stabbed a client because they short-changed by two silvers."
Clint whistled. "That's a bit…drastic."
Hunter shrugged. "Bat-shit crazy."
The Elf couldn't disagree. Anyone who'd get that bent out of shape over that little bit wasn't playing with a full deck.
The comparison was apt, considering where they were.
"Do we have any idea why Whitehall would have gone to her for shelter?" Jack wanted to know.
"Nope," Hunter answered. "No idea."
"We thought about going in as clients," Bobbi added, "but Hunter gets jealous."
"And you don't?" he accused.
She grinned, and took a sip from the mug that was sitting in front of her, only to discover that it was empty.
"Let me get the drinks in," Jack offered, "and we can make some plans." He stood, his chair scraping lightly across the wood floor. With a dramatic swirl of cloak, he strode toward the bar, leaning his forearms on it and talking to the innkeeper.
Flirting, more than likely.
Toshiko snorted. "I'd better go and rein him in." She also stood and left.
Clint spared a glance at Natasha, knowing what she was thinking: that the two of them had left them to be questioned. After all, the Hawk and the Widow knew Bobbi and Hunter, and vice versa, and while the trust might be a little loose it was certainly greater than what would have been for two strangers, even one who was claiming to be the Deathless.
"Does he really think it's a good idea to go in there?" Hunter demanded, confirming Clint's own thoughts on the matter.
"We need to root out Hydra," the Elf answered. "And this is the first lead we've had since Nat brought in Grant Ward."
Natasha was nodding. "Until we get rid of Hydra, the entire Wizard's Guild won't settle. At the moment, each and every Wizard out there is paranoid that their friends or family are Hydra. That's going to lead to…mistakes. And the Grand Masters may not be able to rein in anyone who believes someone might be plotting against them."
"It's also playing into the prejudice against the Voids," Clint added. "Right now, the Voids' collective reputation for evil outweighs the good they've done. Every single member of Hydra, so far, has been Void. If we don't help them get their house in order, it's only going to get out of hand, and the last thing we need is a war between the Orders."
It wasn't something that Phil had come right out and said, but Clint could read between the lines. This could get ugly fast, and the Grand Masters needed to clean things up and dig out Hydra before it became too late.
"How did you both get involved?" Bobbi was giving them both curious looks.
Clint met Natasha's eyes once more. She nodded slightly, which confirmed to the archer that she was on the same wavelength that he was: they didn't need to know that the newest Grand Master was also the former Dark One. Still, there was something he could say, something that would explain things.
"If you must know, I'm…intimately familiar with the newest Grand Master of Voids."
Clint held his head up proudly. He wasn't ashamed of what he had with Phil; far from it. He would be shouting it from Lasavar's rooftops if he could. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Phil Coulson and he didn't care who knew it.
He knew Bobbi would understand it. Her eyes widened, and she gave him a pleased smile. "You finally meet someone who could put jesses on the Hawk, huh?"
"Wait," Hunter exclaimed. "You…and this Grand Master bloke?"
Clint grinned slyly. "Grand Master Phil Coulson. He's the only trustworthy Void in the lot right now."
"Damn, Clint," Bobbi laughed. "That is great news. I'm not going to have to threaten him, am I?"
"I've already done it for you." Natasha's own smile was small, yet full of fondness. "Grand Master Phil knows what I'll do to him if he hurts our Hawk."
Clint couldn't believe that Bobbi was as equally happy for him as Natasha was. After all, they'd parted under terms that were far more acrimonious than anything, and she was still prone to trying to needle him about it under the right conditions.
Yet, he could see just how glad she was for him. It gave him a warm feeling in his chest, one that he'd never believed he would ever associate with Bobbi Morse.
"I was beginning to wonder if you'd be pining for whoever it was you were pining for, forever," she added.
"What?" His jaw dropped. "What are you talking about?"
His former wife snorted. "Please. Once we got past the 'I can't keep my hands to myself' stage of our relationship, it was obvious I was just a substitute for someone you couldn't have. Now, I don't know what happened to that person, but you must have cared for them a great deal if they continued to haunt you like that, Hawk."
Well, he'd always known that Bobbi was smart as well as beautiful.
"That person died," he admitted. "I couldn't have him because there wasn't a him to have anymore."
Bobbi reached across the table and put her hand over his. "I'm sorry, Clint. If I'd known that, I wouldn't have given you so much grief."
"To be fair, I didn't know the reason you were, so that's fine." He gave her his own smile, letting her see just how he felt about Phil in his expression. "Besides, I got Phil now." He didn't need to go into that it had been Phil himself that he'd thought dead, that simply wasn't important.
But then, it really hadn't been Phil back then…it had been the Dark One. They were actually completely different people, if Clint was being honest with himself. And that wasn't a bad thing at all. He much preferred Phil Coulson to his evil alter ego. The man he was now was something incredibly special, and the Elf wouldn't have traded him for the Dark One, if there were some way for them both to be in the same room.
"Shit, he's in love," Hunter commented, his eyes glittering as he must have come to the realization that he didn't have to worry about Clint coming back after Bobbi anymore.
Not that he had to worry about that in the first place. However, there was no way either of them could have reassured Hunter of that. He was also a man in love, and Clint knew exactly how that felt now.
"So," Bobbi leaned back in her chair, "when do I get to meet him?"
Clint barked out a laugh. "Never."
She joined him in laughing. "I knew you were going to say that, Barton."
With that, the atmosphere at the table seemed to relax, to gain a bit of the camaraderie that old friends should have had at once, except there was the past that kept getting in the way. The air was clear, and hopefully it would stay that way. Things were going to be getting bad enough, depending on what they planned, and Clint needed to know they could depend on each other when things went to hells.
"Everything taken care of?" Jack's voice had Clint looking up just in time to have a mug of something dark and foamy set down in front of him.
"We're good," he said, accepting the drink.
"Excellent." With the grace of someone who'd carried that many drinks before, Jack set down mugs in front of both Bobbi and Hunter, while Toshiko handed one to Natasha and then put her own down before taking her seat. Jack slouched down in his own chair, his own drink held in his hand. "So, you said we can get a floor plan to the brothel?"
"Actually," Bobbi reached into a pocket of her tunic, "I anticipated that request and have it here. I do like to be prepared."
Jack favored her with a bright smile. "If you ever get tired of being independent, you've got a place on my team if you want it."
"I might consider it." Her eyes went sly.
"Not without me you don't!" Hunter said vehemently.
She didn't answer that. Instead, with a flourish, Bobbi had the diagrams out and was unfolding them, laying them on the table for everyone to see.
Clint wanted to laugh, but managed to contain it. Bobbi on Jack's team? That could be very entertaining indeed.
Then, he was leaning over the floor plans, listening as his former wife and her current husband explained what they'd seen for themselves of the brothel, without having set foot inside.
It turned out to be quite a lot.