A/N Thanks for your reviews and support.
Coulson's POV
He was able to put together two other agents to help him. No one else would volunteer to try and save Romanov. She wasn't well liked even after five years of working with SHIELD. To them she wasn't worth dying for.
Jasper Sitwell a level 4 agent volunteered first. He had a lot of respect for both Romanov and Phil. There were even a few times that they worked together. It was someone he knew he could trust to watch his back.
The other agent was level 5 Melinda May. They trained together when he first became an agent. She was worth four or five other agents. Like Sitwell he knew that she would have his back.
This was going to be an off the books mission. He was told straight out that the rescue was suicidal. Not that he cared Romanov was worth the risk.
There was a big variable that made Jasper, and May nervous. Delta of Century Team 12. It was widely believed that most of Medusa had ties to Hydra. He knew that if Delta was part of Hyrda then Romanov would never trust him. She was forced into the Red Room group at a young age. That gave her a healthy hatred of anything close to Hyrda or it's affliates.
He received coordinates to meet with the man at. They were in northern Maine. According to the satalight images it was a heavily wooded area. There was a single clearing that had a lake around it. It was just big enough for a quinjet to land and pick up agents.
Borrowing one of the quinjets was the easiest part of their mission. Being high level agents allowed them to take it without anyone giving them a second glance. May was the pilot and the rest of them took the time to look over the building plans.
There was two entrances to the building that Romanov was in. A fence surrounded its perimeter and was electrified. If anything even touched it, it would be dead in a matter of seconds. The only way past the fence was a gatehouse. They checked ids and if you weren't on the list you were shot.
If you got past that there were patrols that walked the fence perimeter. It consisted of four guards and four attack dogs. If the dogs didn't get you the guards would and vice versa.
Then getting inside you had to get past one of two doors. They were both electronic fingerprint scanners and biometrics locks. Difficult but not impossible. If they had some of the tech from research and development it would be easier. That was what made off the book operations difficult. You couldn't borrow tech or equipment.
It was early in the morning that they made it to the sight. Phil was hoping to scout the place out before Delta arrived. Instead he found that seven men were on the ground. Six were in a circle around a man. Hearing the quinjet approach they all looked up. It seemed he was beaten to the punch. All that was left was to go meet this man called Delta.
The quinjet landed so smoothly that Phil barely felt it. Walking outside was a completely different story. It was late November and absolutely freezing outside. This was one of the few times that he wished he wore SHIELD suits. His own was custom tailored for him but didn't have a logo on it. Perfect for undercover operations. Not so perfect for the weather changes. Unlike other agents he didn't let his uncomfortableness show on his face.
He glanced at the men in front of him. They varied in age, stature, and nationality. Looking at the oldest of them he could tell the man was a Frenchman. While being the oldest he didn't seem to be the leader. If Phil had to guess he was likely the second in command. By the sniper case in hand the man was their long range specialist.
Just like their looks, these men's chosen weapons varied. Most preferred a glock for a side arm and an automatic as a primary weapon. He could see the slightest indentations giving away hidden knives. Mostly they were in the boots but one man had one hidden against his wrist.
These six men looked like they were ready for combat in any weather. Heavy jackets protected them from the cold. There was no doubt in Phil's mind they were wearing Kevlar underneath the jackets. As interesting as these men were they were nothing compared to the leader.
The leader was the youngest out of them. He looked just like he sounded over the phone. The man couldn't be older than eighteen. Dirty blond hair lay on top of his head. It was his eyes however that have Phil pause. He of course heard of the grey killer eyes but seeing it for himself was completely different. They were grey like a slab of stone. How his agent met someone like this was behind him? Even in her worst moments Romanov didn't have eyes like these.
Like the others he had a flock glock at his hip. Phil could also spot many hidden knives all over the others body. There was one weapon that gave him pause. A bow and quiver was slung across the man's back.
In recent years there was a new assassin making a name for himself. The killer was known simply as Hawkeye. Not much was known about him besides that his favored weapon was a bow. Rumor had it the man never missed and that he had come out of Medusa. Could they be the same person? If so Fury was going to murder him. Hawkeye was becoming more of a nuisance every day. It wouldn't take long for SHIELD to give the order. Bring him in or kill him. Either way this wasn't a good thing.
Hawkeye said breaking him from his thoughts, "You must be Agent Coulson and team from SHIELD. From left to right you have Alpha, Charlie, Echo, Foxtrot, Bravo, and Gamma. I am Delta leader of this band."
Hawkeye while cold eyed held out his hand politely. It seemed the younger man had at least some manners. By the way the other men were shifting they obviously didn't trust the SHIELD agents. Hawkeye or Delta as he introduced himself was trying to promote goodwill between the two groups. The least Phil could do was accept but be wary.
So he shook the hand in front of him and replied, "I am, Agent Coulson. Behind me there is Agent May as known as the Cavalry. The man is Agent Sitwell. We have all worked closely with Agent Romanov for several years."
Hawkeye rubbed at his eyes as he said, "Its been awhile since I last spoke with her. We kept in contact for awhile. When she first joined you people I gave a way to contact me and my first pair of dog tags. Then the war picked up and we grew apart. Its been almost a year since we last spoke."
Phil for half a second caught the sight of just a hint of blue in the grey eyes. So this man wasn't completely irredeemable. It would be something to bring up to Fury. After they brought Romanov home.
There was little else to be said. Phil led the way into the quinjet. There was no hesitation from the others to follow. Hawkeye fell into step right alongside him. What surprised him was that the other Medusans followed. Given who they were and what they had done, one would think they wouldn't follow so easily. It was like how agents were with him. They trusted him with their lives and would follow him to the end.
As soon as they entered the quinjet Hawkeye moved to the maps with interest. The others crowded around the table.
May asked glaring at the seven, "I don't like them, Phil. Especially the one with the bow. There is something off about him."
Phil said trusting her instincts, "I don't trust them either but they are our best chance at finding Romanov. She trusted Delta and for now that is good enough for me."
He would wait to share his suspicions about the man's other identity. There was still the possibility that he was wrong. If this wasn't Hawkeye he might have a lead on where Hawkeye was.
While May went to pilot the jet he noticed that Jasper was standing with the Medusans. Like he had with Romanov he took quite well to the Medusans. There was no problem with him giving his input into their discussion. It was something he would have to keep an eye on.
Clint's POV
SHIELD wasn't as bad as he was expecting. They only brought the minimum he asked for. Though quality over quantity was a good rule of thumb. Even in the underworld he heard of Agent May also known as the Cavalry. She was like Century Team 12 all on her own.
Agent Sitwell jumped right in to hear about what they thought of the compound. Memories best left forgotten threatened to surface. The compound was in a dense forest. If he had to guess it was in South America. Likely in Brazil or somewhere close to that. His comments were on par with those of the team. He would have made a good Medusan.
Coulson was a little less friendly and ready to be a team. He watched them with a wary caution that was healthy but didnt build trust. Coulson would be one to keep an eye on.
Then finally there was their pilot. Agent May better known as the Cavalry. All in Medusa had heard of the Cavalry. At one point three teams were compromised by Hyrda. It was the only time SHIELD was let into one of their camps. All three teams had been disbanded and their members were never seen again. Rumors had it there was a showdown between Medusa and SHIELD. It was obvious to anyone with half a brain which won that fight.
In a way he was more wary of her than she was of them. He knew that she could probably take the entire team down herself. Not that he would ever let her or anyone else do that.
Echo said drawing his attention back to the mission at hand, "This will not be as easy as getting Almanac out of that compound. Delta are you sure we can do this with only ten men?"
Echo had a valid point. When they went to rescue Almanac they had a typhoon as cover. They only went in with seven men but they did their jobs. After taking out a traitor they left with the exact number they came in with. Seven men. Eight dog tags. Despite being a traitor they brought the tags back. It was their way and no one would tell them otherwise.
Sitwell's timbre voice questioned, "Almanac?"
"It was an off the books rescue mission. We were told it was a suicide mission. Like with Romanov I could not leave him to die. We jumped out of a copter."
He paused and Echo laughed, "Yes we jumped out of a copter but that wasn't all. We jumped out in a typhoon."
The shock was almost palpable. That wasn't the craziest thing they ever did with him. It was however, the only time he ever came back without one of his men.
Coulson said in a cold tone, "We won't be doing that."
A feral grin formed across Clint's face as he replied, "We go in no matter the weather or odds. You can go with us or not. I don't care."
