Chapter 7: Baby's First Kidnapping
K had driven to the end of the lot and just turned to head for the road when a big, black SUV pulled across the entire exit, blocking them from even going around. She narrowed her eyes and didn't say a word as she threw the car in reverse and squealed the tires backward, slamming it into first as she whipped the front end around, drifting the car until it was facing the other way. The tires were smoking before they caught, and they rushed to the far end of the lot to try that exit — only to stop short at the same results. And by that time, more SUV's, vans, and larger vehicles were lining the edges of the lot beyond the guard rails, blocking them all the way around.
"Mom," Clint said quietly, but he didn't say anything else. He knew how much trouble they were in, and he couldn't quite hide his fear when he knew who they were likely dealing with.
"Hit your button," she said, throwing it into reverse again. She might not have been able to get them out, but she figured she'd take a few out while they could. Or that was the plan until the armed troops came out with the rifles raised. She swore under her breath but didn't take her focus off of the soldiers around them. "Okay. So. Barney, you know how to drive now. Tell the guys this was Army."
She put the car in neutral — not park — and left it running, though she pulled the parking brake. "Don't forget to release the lever before you get out," K instructed before she gave them both a tight smile and then slipped out of the car.
"What about you?" Barney asked, though he was automatically climbing into the driver's seat — and couldn't believe that he kept getting driving lessons the hard way.
"I'm going to try cooperating," she said. "Maybe they'll leave you two alone."
"Mom," Clint breathed out.
"It's the only play I've got that can keep you two out," she said. "And the guys will come looking if you can tell them who it was. Carol has everything. She'll lead the charge."
Barney was nodding even though Clint was shaking his head. "I'll get Logan, too," Barney promised.
"Pretty sure he'd come looking without direction. Even if he shouldn't," K said before she winked at them and started toward the soldiers — hands up at shoulder height, palms to them. She walked slowly, ignoring the sounds of rifles cocking around her, and when she was halfway between the car with the kids and the soldiers, the shouting really started up. It was hard to hear what exactly was being said with a dozen guys or more shouting on top of each other, but K could at least decipher what was going on. She stopped, then slowly turned in a circle before a couple dozen armed soldiers came up on her, rifles up and shouting more orders. In a matter of a few moments, she went from standing to kneeling to on her stomach, the whole while keeping her hands in view as the soldiers circled closer, fingers on the trigger every step of the way.
There were clearly conflicting orders — easy even for the boys to hear where they were — as several soldiers were shouting for her not to move while others were telling her what they wanted her to do. So, K did the only thing that made sense to her and stayed quiet, not moving until one of the soldiers came close enough to shove the muzzle of the rifle against the back of her head, pushing her into the concrete. That was the one she listened to as he shouted for her to cooperate as one of the others yanked her arms behind her back and cuffed her with something that hummed. A moment later, the same soldier was turning out her pockets, tossing anything she had in them in a small pile just out of sight. Wallet, cash, keys … a pack of gum, and the panic buttons. They even went so far as to yank her boots off and toss them into the pile as well before one of them dragged her to her feet backward and another stepped forward to hold her other arm as the general made his appearance.
Her attention was drawn as one of the soldiers set fire to her things, and the instant she took her focus off of the men around her, someone took it as a threat and emptied half a clip into her torso.
And that was too much for either of the boys to ignore. Clint and Barney didn't even need to say anything to each other before Barney gunned it, at first aiming to get out and then, when the soldiers seemed to think the vehicle was a threat, aiming toward K, figuring he could give her some cover to heal while Clint pulled her into the car.
It was about as good of a plan as they were going to get when the soldiers around them were already trigger-happy and nervy. Barney did make it to K, but as soon as he slowed down close to her and the soldiers nearest her, several other men started shouting orders for him to stop or they'd shoot up the car.
"Barn…" Clint swallowed as he looked at how surrounded they were. "This looks bad."
"No kidding," Barney said — and he would have pulled off a perfectly dry delivery if he wasn't obviously scared, his hands tight on the steering wheel as he tried to figure out what to do. K had told them to get out, but they hadn't been able to in the first place… and now they were in trouble too. "You still got your panic button?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Think you can keep it hidden?"
"Um… against the Army?"
"You could always play it like we used to with the bad fosters. You're close to young enough to be wide-eyed, right?"
"You know these guys aren't the same level as the guys we dealt with as kids, right?"
"Yeah, but remember how you redirected those department guys at the circus by crying?"
"I was also seven."
"Hey, it's worth a shot."
Clint sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face, but he also could see the soldiers squaring up and knew they didn't have any good options, so he did his best to look scared and innocent — and he was very successful at one of those, anyway. He really was scared as they got out of the car with their hands up.
He was scared for Barney, too, because he might have been young enough to maybe get some sympathy from the Army (not from the department, though, he knew) but Barney was fifteen and mean. He was in trouble; Clint just knew it.
"Don't shoot!" Barney said, his hands high — but the soldiers were already moving in on him, considering he was the driver.
But that was really just a sign of how inexperienced Barney was. Clint watched in horror as his big brother got swamped and restrained, and he saw the moment Barney went from defiant to panicked. Barney hadn't even been kidnapped like this. He'd heard stories, though, and he was smart enough to know getting dragged away by guys in uniform like this was so far beyond bad.
Clint swore and fought back, but he was restrained and subdued soon enough too, which was how both Barton boys found themselves being put in separate vehicles. Three different transports for three different prisoners — all of them worried about each other, especially since both boys had been searched and they weren't sure if the X-Men or Avengers would be able to find them.
Barney was freaking out.
He'd gotten used to looking over his shoulder and looking out for his little brother. He'd stood up to abusers and drunks. He'd spent his winters in a school that was constantly being targeted by genocidal maniacs. But he'd never faced anything like this.
No one had ever dragged him off in a military vehicle. No one had ever handcuffed him. He'd had guns pointed at him before, but other than when he'd dealt with Creed alongside Logan, he'd never been in so much trouble.
The soldiers were all jumpy. Barney figured that was because they were dealing with K, and they knew she could take them down with both hands and a foot tied behind her back. He and Clint were with K — she was their mom — so these guys had every reason to treat him like a major threat.
Except he wasn't like Clint and K. He couldn't heal. He'd never done this. And he was surprised by how much he couldn't get his terror under control. He'd always thought he'd be okay after being a big brother to Clint and taking the hits for him. This… was not the same.
Eventually, he was manhandled out of the vehicle, and he wound up trying in vain to spot Clint or K. That was only serving to make him panic more, of course. His brother and his new mom had been through way too much already; not knowing what was happening to them was only making his imagination go wild. And he had a pretty vivid imagination, too.
He didn't get any explanation before he was taken to what had to be a cell and locked in, left to his own thoughts and the overly loud heartbeat in his ears. Or, at least, he thought it was a heartbeat until he realized that what he was actually hearing was something else. Something big, way deeper in the building.
Barney was suddenly very sure he didn't want to know what that noise was.
"If you're smart," the guard nearest him said. "You'll just be quiet and do as you're told, kid."
"Not really known for being smart," Barney said almost automatically; it was an old answer.
"You might want to be anyhow."
"Right." Barney swallowed and glanced around the cell. "So.. you gonna read me my rights or what?"
"Nobody locked up here has any rights to be read, kid. Just keep your head down."
Barney narrowed his eyes at that but leaned against the wall of the cell all the same. He… wasn't very good at keeping his head down, but he was scared enough to try it. At least until he knew what the heck was going on.
He waited until the suspense had him pacing, and then he waited some more, spending every second convinced that something terrible was happening to Clint and K. Probably some new evil scientist or something. They called down the worst kind of trouble.
And then he heard the unmistakable sound of his little brother swearing in English and Swedish and even some Korean that Katie had taught him in giggled secrets.
Barney couldn't see far past his cell, but from what he could see when he strained, Clint was swearing and just generally being a pill for the guards trying to lead him down the hall. Barney wasn't sure if they were just taking Clint to a cell like his or taking him somewhere worse, but he was, at least, reassured to see Clint doing well enough to be that creative with his swearing. It was when Clint was quiet that it was time to worry.
And hey, it looked like they were headed his way, so maybe he'd at least know where one of his family members was while they were stuck there until one of the teams could get them out.
"...you didn't even know were physically possible to have your foot," Clint was saying as the guards dragged him forward. He was doing the exact opposite of keeping his head down, drawing attention from everyone around them and doing a good job of forcing the guards to work harder by being dead weight they had to drag.
Which was all the encouragement Barney needed to join Clint's crusade to annoy the guards.
"Hey, you're staying at this hotel too?" he called out to Clint.
Clint stopped fighting — just for a moment — and then grinned as he called back, "Apparently. I'm gonna run up a room service bill and then dine and dash, though. They've got terrible bellhops."
"Room service sucks, though," Barney said.
"Yeah, you try it out?"
"Got an order of 'stay quiet' and a side of 'you have no rights despite being an American citizen,'" Barney said, shooting a pointed glare at the guard who'd told him to keep his head down.
"Oh, you got words?" Clint was getting closer now, so Barney could see his wide-eyed look of pretended shock. "I got glares and threats. Jealous."
"Oh, I got glares too."
"They're complimentary. Come with the place."
"You both need to keep it quiet," the guard who had tried to advise Barney said.
"What, I can't talk to my own brother? Jeez," Barney said, rolling his eyes.
"You two really can't take a hint, can you?" The guy said, leaning toward Barney and lowering his voice. "Wait. Just wait."
Barney's every instinct said to screw the rules, but hey, one person in this place was being helpful, might as well at least try that out for size. "Fine," he said with a shrug.
Clint took his lead from Barney, if only because it was hard to keep up a back and forth with only one half of their duo, and the two of them had a whole conversation in dry expressions instead as the guards let Clint into Barney's cell.
In a second, Clint ran over and hugged Barney, then stepped back and started to sign furiously. They took my button when they looked me over. We're gonna have to wait for Dad to realize something happened, and then he'll find us. Don't let them do anything permanent, okay?
Like healing? These aren't those guys.
They're working with those guys. Clint bit his lip, glancing toward the door. They're letting us see each other. That usually means a carrot or stick. At least that's how this usually goes.
Trying to analyze the situation?
That's what I'm supposed to be learning to do, right? Plus, I've got experience.
Yeah, I hate that experience, you know that?
Me too.
Do you know what they want? Barney asked. He didn't realize he was putting himself between Clint and the guards, but he was already falling back into the same patterns he and Clint had established growing up together.
They haven't told me yet. But they must want something, Clint said. They probably want us to get Mom to behave. That's happened before.
With Sinister, Barney finished for him, nodding along; he still remembered the stories Clint had told after all that, especially since Clint had had nightmares about Sinister ever since. He still had those nightmares, too.
Clint had his arms crossed and was holding onto his elbows. Yeah. With Sinister.
Barney frowned when he saw how nervy Clint was, then bumped shoulders with him in an attempt to pull his attention into the present. Hey, this isn't Sinister.
I know, Clint replied, though he was still holding his arms tight to himself.
And you know Mom is going to escape soon and make them all regret grabbing us.
At that, Clint finally cracked a smirk. True.
These guys aren't at the same level as Sinister or the department, Barney reasoned. As much as I hate to agree with that guard, if we keep our heads down, Mom will have us out in no time.
Clint nodded. It's what happens while we wait that scares me, he admitted.
Barney didn't admit that he was worried about the same thing, because he didn't want to freak Clint out — especially because the guards were stepping back into the room to separate the boys again. Instead, what Barney said was, "Give 'em hell, Clint."
"Don't I always?" Clint said — proving the point by already making it hard for the guards to manhandle him.