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Fury's POV
When he got his hands on Phil he was going to kill the man. He knew his order to not go save the Widow was harsh. At the same time it was a necessary order. Going in to save her was suicide. They didn't have the man power to take down that many Hyrda agents.
Not that it stopped Phil. His agent had taken with him Sitwell and May. Phil and May could take care of themselves. It was Sitwell that worried him. The man was an untested field agent. Recently he had been moved from the research and development. They didn't even know if the man had what it took to kill.
His fingers drummed on his desk in thought. If he had not been distracted by a personal matter he would have noticed this happening. The matter had blindsided him.
A file landed on his desk of a young man in Maine. A missing persons report had been filed on him. Due to the watch that Fury put out for someone of that description it had gone to him.
At first Nick couldn't believe it. There had been many false starts for Director of SHIELD. Descriptions that fit but not the correct person. He was beginning to think that he would never find the young man. The description and age fit and he hesitated to open the rest of the file. In it would have a picture. Would it be the boy who was now a man? Or was this just another false hope?
Flashback
Nick Fury had been a level 7 agent of SHIELD when he first met Clint Barton. The boy was only seven at the time and he along with his brother Barney were into the foster system. Their father and mother were killed in a drunk driving accident.
Nick was able to take one of the boys but not both. At the older's insistence and his own gut he took Clint in. One of the first things he noticed about his charge was the changes in eye color. They could go from blue to grey to green to hazel. Most commonly it was blue or grey but it was interesting to see.
With a child staying with him he spent more time in the States and off base. Despite this he felt inadequate when it came to Clint. The boy had trust issues and it was obvious that he didn't trust Nick. Many times Nick had found the child hording food. Or he would flinch away when Nick reached for him. The eldest Barton was lucky that he was dead. If Nick had found out earlier he would have killed the man himself.
One night every thing between the two of them changed. Nick had been awake with demons of his own and it was storming outside. He had been laying on his bed when his door opened softly. Given that there was only one other living being in his house he knew who was opening his door. It had been a surprise however. Clint never asked him for anything that wasn't necessary for living. Even then he hesitated to ask. Nick had taken to asking the boy in order to try and build his confidence.
He was about to ask Clint what he needed when the boy let out a soft sob. That made the older man's heart clench painfully. No child should make such a sound.
Quietly the boy shuffled so that he stood his head bent low in front of Nick's bed. He asked his voice shaking, "Can i sleep with you? Please?"
With the last word the child flinched away. Nick had been so shocked at first he didn't answer. Clint took that as a negative and began to move away.
Nick made a split second decision in that moment. If he didn't allow the child to get in with him then he would never ask for something again. So he sat up hating the flinch that it caused. Lifting up the covers he gave the boy a look.
There was half a seconds hesitation before he moved to get on the bed. Nick had to help him because he was too small for his age. Otherwise he wouldn't have ever made it onto his bed.
That night Clint slept with his head buried in Nick's chest. The silent sobs made the older man's heart ache. After that he made himself more determined to give the boy a better life.
He found out the young child's talent with a bow after a few weeks. Nick had bought him his first bow and Clint loved it. Once the gift was given it opened up communication between them. The boy would never be a chatterbox but he did hold a good conversation.
Then came the day that Nick had been dreading. Someone wanted to adopt Clint. Using his SHIELD resources Nick did a background check on him. Like himself the man was an army veteran. For intents and purposes the man seemed like a good guy. Meeting with him had been the same.
Clint had not wanted to leave when the time came. He wanted to stay with Nick. For his part the SHIELD agent wanted the boy to stay as well. However Director Carter was retiring and she named him her replacement. He no longer had the time to look after a young child. So he did the next best thing. He promised that Clint could always reach him by phone and letters. With that he let the boy walk out of his house.
That decision was one that Nick regret for the rest of his life. Despite all the checks he had made on Clint. All their talks it seemed he went back into the life that he tried to leave. The adoptive father had severe PTSD and abused the boy. Clint not wanting to worry Nick never said a word. Soon he knew something was wrong when one day both the letters and phone calls stopped coming.
Then he got word. The father had been arrested for child abuse and Clint was missing. At the time Clint was thirteen. Rumors started around that a new circus performer was out. An archer with the ability to always hit his mark. Nick sent men to check on it but every time they arrived they would just miss the circus.
The game of cat and mouse went on for almost two years. Right before Clint would have turned fifteen he disappeared again. It was around that time when a black operations program started. It's name was Medusa.
For several weeks after its conception Nick watched the rosters. He hoped against hope to catch the boy before he went in. There was no sign of him. His last lead on the child he looked after had dried up.
End of flashback
Since then he kept his ear to the ground. Always on the look out for someone who could be Clint. The boy was too smart to die like a dog. Nick knew that he was out there somewhere. If it killed him he would find Clint.
So he flipped to where the picture was and froze. A picture of a frowning grey eyed young man stared back at him. On the top of his black shirt was a pair of dog tags.
Despite the greyness of the eyes Nick knew exactly who it was. Clint Francis Barton. So he began to read through the file.
Name: David Webb
Callsign: Delta
Assignment: Medusa, Century Team 12, Squad Leader.
Handler: Alexander Conklin
Assigned Psychiatrist: Morris Panov
Summary:
David Webb was brought into Medusa after losing significant other at 15. Before that spent several months in Colombia. Note: older brother was in intelligence division. Callsign: Almanac.
David Webb was thought to be a lost cause when he was first brought in. All he wanted to do was kill those who had wronged him. It wasn't until David Abbot (Monk) took him under his wing did Webb's full potential come out.
During training it was revealed that Webb had talent unseen before as a sniper. He had a 100% accuracy with all sniper rifles. Note: Webb also showed skill with bows and knives.
After finishing training Webb was given the callsign Delta and his own team. Century Team 12 quickly became the team known for doing the impossible. Many suicide missions were handed over to this time only for them to come back alive and the mission complete. When questioned about their success all the men would say was do not question Delta. If he had a plan then they would come back.
Many times this team was cited for insubordination and misconduct. Delta would protect his men from any who dared accuse his team of such. Crossing Delta was proved deadly when he killed one of his own men for spying on them for the enemy. This was the only time Century Team 12 did not come back with all seven members.
The file went on about different missions that had been completed by seven men. It surprised Nick the sheer amount of suicidal missions. He paled when he read about the mission to save Clint's older brother.
Barney or Almanac as he was called in the file had been kidnapped and tortured for information on his brother. The older man didn't give them a single shred of information. Instead he took the torture like a trained agent.
One man Alpha of the team had betrayed them. Delta killed them man for his betrayal. If Nick was honest it hurt him to think about what the boy he knew had become.
While the file didn't say where the boy had been before being picked up for Medusa. Just that he had suffered a loss.
What happened between the Circus and joining Medusa? How did a boy little more than a child meet a CIA agent?
He skimmed the rest of the file until he reached the end. He found what he was looking for. Discharge notes.
Discharge summary:
After being evaluated by Doctor Morris Panov David Webb was cleared for civilian life. This came with the stipulation that he must keep regular contact with his handler and see his doctor several times a month. To help Webb adapt he was given a job at a local Maine shooting range.
That was where the notes ended. A shooting range in Maine? He honestly never thought to look there. Clint hated cold weather. He would rather be too hot than too cold.
His mind began to go through the information he had. Delta sounded familiar and at first he couldn't remember where he heard it. It only took a few seconds for it to click. Delta of Century Team 12 had a kill on sight order out for him. This was made by the World Security Council.
First steps would be to recend that order. Then find a team of agents capable of bringing him in. It would not be easy. Clint was likely still harboring ill will to Nick for placing him in an abusive home. That was something that he would regret forever.
Now he could do right by the boy by bringing him in. First he had to find him.
