PRESENT DAY: NEW YORK
Clint ignored his phone when it woke him up. After the assignment he'd been on, all he wanted was to take a nap, then eat and sleep some more. When the phone started ringing again, he removed his hearing aids. He couldn't get in trouble if he couldn't hear. What phone call? He didn't hear his phone.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been sleeping before he woke up to the smell of food, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, except he lived alone. So who the hell was in his apartment cooking food? Slipping in his hearing aids, Clint grabbed his bow and quiver from beside his bed and made his way quietly down to the kitchen. He didn't lower his bow until he saw Coulson pulling subs out of his oven.
"How did you get in?" Clint grumbled, setting the bow down by the couch.
"Your landlord let me in. You wouldn't answer your phone." Coulson pulled condiments from the fridge. "Do you like mayo?"
"Of course I like mayo." Clint took a seat on the bar stool by his counter. At least he'd gotten his nap, and a sandwich, before he went wherever Coulson needed him to go. "What do you need me to do?"
"Come to New Mexico with me," Coulson said, sliding one sub towards him.
"What's in New Mexico?" Clint bit into the sub, it was pretty good. Maybe even go to New Mexico after just getting off an assignment good.
"An 084." Intriguing. Another pro to add to going back to work without even a full day of rest between assignments.
"So why aren't you bringing it in for the lab rats to check out." Any other time there was an 084 they'd transport it back to the Hub or the Triskelion.
"It won't budge form the rock it landed in. So I'm building a lab around it and flying in the best of the best, which includes you."
"I know I'm amazing, but why do you need a sniper?" All 084s were objects last Clint checked. The threats they caused weren't exactly something an arrow could take care of.
"In case word gets out and someone comes for it," Coulson said, pulling the second sub out of Clint's reach. "You can eat that on the jet. Pack a bag and let's go."
"Will I get to work with a data analyst this time?" He hadn't had to call Katherine in a while and was kind of hoping this assignment would mean he'd have a reason to check in with her.
"It's on my list of personnel to bring in, why?" Coulson asked, watching as Barton collected a pre-packed mission bag along with his bow and quiver.
"Because I happen to know the best tech genius SHIELD employs, and she's field approved."
PRESENT DAY: NEW MEXICO
The car stopped on the hill above a massive crater that was already set up with above ground tunnels. SHIELD didn't waste any time moving in. Stepping out of the car to a gust of wind, Katherine closed her eyes against the sand pelting her. When the breeze died down she wiped her glasses off on her blouse, taking care not to let the sand scratch her lenses.
"Watch your step, it's a long way down to slide," Coulson warned as he started down into the crater.
"SHIELD couldn't have installed stairs or an elevator or something." They'd built a whole city around the thing, they could have added transport down to it.
"And I'm suddenly starting to understand why you and Barton get along," Coulson commented. The two of them whipped out smart comments no matter the situation.
"You know Clint?" Katherine asked as she picked her way down into the crater. She tried not to think how awkward it would be to climb back up.
"He's the one who brought you to my attention," Coulson said, holding a hand out to Agent Lee once he reached the bottom, helping her the rest of the way down.
Katherine had no idea what to think about that. She hadn't expected Clint to talk to anyone about her. She didn't have a chance to ask Coulson any follow up questions as he started right in on the short tour. The tunnels were stifling, trapping in the heat of the afternoon and making Katherine desperate to escape them as soon as possible. Thankfully the main lab area was more substantial, with ceilings and windows and air conditioning. Thank god SHIELD sprung for air conditioning.
Passing by the different stations, Katherine couldn't help but notice every agent wore standard black-ops uniform, save for the senior agents who wore suits like Coulson. It had Katherine feeling completely out of place in her jeans and sleeveless blouse. She hadn't packed anything close to the all-black uniform of cargo pants, tee, boots, and jacket, so changing wasn't even an option.
"You'll be reporting to Agent Sitwell while you're here," Coulson said, introducing the two before leaving Katherine to settle into her work space.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Agent Lee. I hear you're one of the best in your field," Agent Sitwell said as Katherine took a seat at her computer.
"Clint really needs to stop overselling me," Katherine muttered as she logged in with her passcode.
"I'm sure Barton's confidence in you is well founded."
Thankfully Agent Sitwell left her to work alone after that. Katherine wasn't used to supervisors watching over her shoulder while she worked. Agent Johnson took a hands-off approach with their department. They were free to work as they saw fit and call him in if they needed him. Sitwell seemed like one of those supervisors who liked to throw around his power a bit, and Katherine was never good at holding her tongue around agents like that: case in point, Rumlow. At least for the moment she wouldn't have to attempt to keep from blurting out what she thought of him.
Infrared pictures of the 084 lit up the screens above Katherine's, but the read out on it was all over the place. It wasn't any type of computer. She found that out after trying to find whatever wavelength or frequency it emitted electricity on, because it was releasing some sort of electricity.
Abandoning her computer, Katherine approached the tunnels of death. She needed to see this thing up close, not just through a computer screen, to try and help her understand the pulses of energy coming off of it. And the only way to get to it was through the extremely hot, plastic covered walkways surrounding it.
Hopping down from the ladder onto the orange dirt, Katherine breathed in the fresh air that didn't smell like a melting shopping bag and inadvertently started choking on the cloud of dust she'd kicked up around her. Once her lungs calmed down, Katherine approached what looked like a giant hammer; a shorter version of a sledgehammer.
"Looks like the carnival forgot to pack it up before they left town," Katherine muttered to herself as she stepped closer, thinking of the strongman game all carnivals had. There wasn't any obvious signs of electricity that normally presented: no static, no sparks, no shocks. It was just a Hammer. So why was it messing with their signals?
"Back away from the hammer, miss," a rather large agent ordered her as he made his way around to face her. When she saw he aimeda gun at her she couldn't help but roll her eyes. If he thought she was a trespasser SHIELD really needed to reconsider who they recruited. That or how they handled security. It shouldn't be so easy for a civilian to gain access to the center of this thing.
"It's Agent." Katherine stiffened when she heard Clint's voice correcting the agent, not through a com like usual, but behind her. She hadn't known he was going to be there. Turning her back on the idiot goliath of an agent, she found Clint leaning against the ladder she'd climbed down, his arms crossed. He was dressed in all black like the other agents, but he'd forgone the jacket. It showed off his biceps nicely.
"Barton, you know her?" The agent asked from behind Katherine.
"Yeah," Clint smiled, looking at Katherine instead of Richards. "I know her."
"If you're an agent, why aren't you wearing the uniform per protocol?" Richards asked.
"That's because I don't own one," Katherine commented, glancing behind her to see the agent had at least lowered his gun. "And I'm an individualist. Not big on the whole uniform thing. Had enough of that in private school."
"Right, I'll leave you to deal with her Barton." Richards wasn't up to dealing with both Barton and the new agent's sarcasm. It was hard enough for him to tell when Barton was joking or being serious.
Katherine watched as the agent climbed back into the tunnels, leaving Clint and her alone. Which was just a little disarming. Being face to face was completely different than thousands of miles away and communicating through coms. When there were only coms involved she wasn't as distracted by things like Clint's arms, or smile, or eyes. Snapping herself out of it, Katherine approached Clint, stopping before she got too close.
"Hey KitKat," Clint greeted, straightening his stance. "You're shorter than I thought you'd be."
"So are you," Katherine shot back, making Clint smile. Her comment lost its effect when she had to look up to meet his eyes. He wasn't the biggest guy, but that was nothing when she was still half a foot shorter than him.
"Bet I'm better locking than you thought too," Clint countered with a wide smile and a quick wink. "You here to hack the hammer?"
"I'm just trying to understand it," Katherine countered. She wasn't sure it was possible to hack the hammer. It seemed to be a conductor of electricity instead of running off of it. "How about you? What does Coulson have you doing here?"
"I have the great honor of being that things body guard," Clint said, pointing towards the 084.
"So if I would have touched it?"
"I would have had to take you out," Clint said, keeping a straight face that was actually highly intimidating if Katherine didn't known he was almost never serious.
"In that case SHIELD should really put up a warning sign. I don't think the fence and the tunnels and the men wearing uniforms and carrying guns send a clear enough message."
Clint couldn't help but chuckle at her response. He'd missed their easy back and forth. And seeing Kat's facial expressions was so much better than just bantering over the coms. The picture in her file didn't do her smile justice, or the mischievous glint in her dark eyes.
"Agent Lee, there you are," Sitwell interrupted, stopping at the edge of the platform of the tunnels. His gaze flicked between Barton and her before resting on her. "I believe your work station is inside."
"Sorry, got lost on the way to the bathroom," Katherine responded, trying not to crack a smile when she glanced at Clint's face to see him smirking at her retort.
"Just get back to work," Sitwell ordered before stalking away again. Katherine was beginning to see it as a habit of his to give his orders then make a dramatic exit.
"Is he always so…" Katherine paused, trying to find an appropriate description for Agent Sitwell.
"Uptight?" Clint offered. "Yeah, I think it's the suit. His belt and tie are probably too tight."
"I can tell." Sitwell definitely wasn't one for sarcasm.
"I guess should get back to my desk. Which is funny because I thought being in the field would mean I'd get away from my desk. Instead I just get a new one," Katherine sighed.
It wasn't like she hated working at a desk, she just thought fieldwork would shake things up a bit. On second thought. Katherine looked back over at Clint. Having a desk, even during a field assignment, wasn't so bad when it meant she met Clint in person.
"No one else uses channel 6 on the coms but me, in case you get bored at your desk." Clint offered, leaning against the railing of the ladder after Katherine had climbed back up it. As much as he would love to walk her back to her desk and continue their banter, he had a job to do as well.
"Considering the electrical pulses on that thing have nothing to do with anything tech related, I'll probably take you up on that," Katherine said, glancing back at Clint one last time before retreating back to the tunnels. If fieldwork meant more time with Clint, Johnson or Coulson could call her in whenever they wanted, even on her days off.
A/N Hope you all enjoyed the update as much as I enjoyed writing it. Hopefully it won't be long until I can update again! Thanks for those who continue to read this story. It means so much to know other people enjoy it like I do.
Onto Guest Review Responses:
Aurro siter of Morro: your Private Messaging is turned off so I'm responding to you here. Yes, Kat will be there during the Thor incident and so you'll get to read what happened on SHIELDS end during that time. I'm so glad you like the story. Don't worry, I'll probably handle any M scenes the way I do with my other Marvel stories: I'll keep it T here and post any M scenes in a separate collection of one shots so you won't have to read anything more than T rated content here.
Electric Raven: You're very welcome. I'm so glad this story means so much to you. It's really nice to hear you don't find this super cheesy. I'll do my best with not including depressing stuff. This story is meant to be more humorous, so while it will follow the Marvel Universe through it's darker moments, it will keep the lighter tone (or at least that's what I'm striving to do). I'm honored to be tied as your top favorite fanfic author, it means so much because I know there are a lot of us lol. I'm so happy you left a review and that you would favorite/follow it if you had an account. I'm just happy you're reading it and enjoying it.
To the guest who 'Hecka loves this story': Thanks! I'm super excited to see where the story goes (I never fully plan out any of my stories so it's oftentimes as surprising to me where it ends up as it is to my readers.)
Rach
xoxo