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Clint's POV

Natasha asked her voice a hoarse whisper, "Delta? You really came for me?"

Clint moved closer to her his voice soft as he replied, "Of course I did, my spider. You are the closest thing I have to family left. Though you joining SHIELD I have to admit was a surprise."

Coulson moved past him so that he could check over Natasha. Her eyes widened even further. She knew Delta well. He would never allow SHIELD to work side by side with him. Not unless the odds were too far beyond his capabilities. Sixty on seven; even she didn't like those odds.

Coulson stated simply as he found an open wound to her left side, "Seven members of Medusa along with myself, Sitwell, and May. Ten against sixty were better odds. When we get back you and I need to have a talk about appropriate contacts. How not to hide that you know Medusans."

Natasha looked between them but Clint was already focused on the sounds outside. Some thing was going on out there. They had to move before they were trapped in here.

He snapped, "Is she able to be moved? We need to move. Now."

Natasha snarled at them, "Of course I can fight. Delta, did you bring any weapons other than your bow? You know not everyone can use a bow."

Putting his now across his back Clint pulled his sidearm from its holster. Once she took it he gave her half of his knives. Their trust in each other was built on years of knowing each other. She knew him as Hawkeye and Delta. He knew her as the Black Widow. They were two killers you didn't double cross.

Clint said over the comms, "All teams meet back at the rendezvous. We have the Widow. I repeat. "All teams meet back at the rendezvous. We have the Widow."

Coulson gave him a look but didn't say anything. Instead he took point and led them from the building. The charges were planted and it was going to be a crater soon.

Half way through the building they hit a wall of Hydra agents. He snarled, "You guys go. I'll make you sure that you get away."

Alpha shook his head and said, "Delta..."

"Go! I'm right behind you."

The three of them exchanged glances and Alpha shrugged. He would do what he had to do. It was one of their codes. Never question Delta in front of outsiders. It would make him look weak. They would question it when they were alone. For now they would follow his orders.

Drawing back an arrow he aimed and fired. It buried itself into the agent's throat. He smiled grimly when the others hesitated. No one wanted to die by arrow.

He didn't hesitate to continue his firing. Arrows his their marks in chests and throats. Only the soft twack and thump were heard. It was another reason he preferred the bow to a gun. There was less sound involved, even with a silencer.

Glancing at his watch he realized that he didn't have much time left. He would have to run for it otherwise he wouldn't make it out of the blast zone. Firing two more arrows he began to run towards the exit. It was a risk showing his back to the enemy but he didn't have much of a choice.

A few feet from the door he felt a searing pain in his right side. It almost made him drop his bow. The pain was unmistakable he had been shot. There was no time to stop however and return fire. He only had a few seconds left.

Clint barely reached the doorway to the building when it exploded. A rushing heat hit him in the back and flung him forward. The result boom made him disorientated as his ears were ringing. It had been a miracle that he remained conscious.

His vision swam as he tried to push himself up onto his hands and knees. Doing a swift examination of his body he found that it wasn't likely he would make it back to the ship. His body was in shock from the explosion so he didn't feel the wounds.

On his right side alone there were burns covering most of his back. His jacket protected him somewhat but shrapnel tore through it. This left his back open in some places for the flames to get through. Already trying to move his shoulder and back was difficult. It would only get worse as the shock wore off.

Those weren't the worst of his wounds. There was a five inch piece of shrapnel in his leg. Standing would be difficult. Running impossible. A smaller four inch piece was stuck in his left side.

All in all he was in no shape to make the journey back to the ship. He couldnt remove either large shrapenel pieces. They were too close to main arteries. He would bleed out before he could be of use to anyone.

His eagle like eyes were already picking up movement that could only be Hydra agents. A choice had to be made now.

He could tell his men to leave with Natasha. This would leave him to cover their exit. As such he would be the only casualty of this venture on their side. It was the best chance for survival.

Or he could have one of his men come get him. This would leave openings for Hydra to pick them off. Best case scenario two of them died instead of one.

He crawled to a tree and propped his back up against it. There was no choice here. His men had to make back. If he died here no one would truly miss him. Just miss the skills that he had.

He switched the comms over so that it was just his and Echo's frequency. Taking a deep breath he said, "Echo."

Immediately the Frenchman replied, "Delta? Where are you? Everyone's waiting for you so that we can head back."

Delta shook his head and said coughing slightly, "I... I won't make it to the meeting point. Echo you are now team leader. I'll hold the Hydra agents off as long as I can."

Echo denied his voice cracking, "Delta... I... I can't. It's against the code you made."

Clint pulled his arrow back wincing as he did so. He growled, "There's no time to argue, Echo. I won't be able to walk much less run. Even if someone came to get me, we would both end up dead. This has the highest probability of most of you getting bsck to the ship. It sucks. I know. After all we've been through this is what kills me. However I have to do this. Make it back. Tell Alex that I died protecting those I care about. Tell Almanac that I'm sorry."

There was another name on the tip of his tongue. The one that made him who he was today.

Echo said determination in his voice, "I will, Delta. Take as many of those bastard as you can with you."

Clint coughed painfully as he said, "There's one more. I don't know where he is now but I was close to him growing up. He made me who I am today. Nick Fury. Please give him my extra pair of tags."

"I will. I swear to you, Delta, I'll find him."

With that he turned off the comms. If he was going to die then it would be fighting.

Coulson's POV

The order to return to ship was given. At first there seemed to be nothing wrong with the order. Not until he noticed how pale some of the men went. They were listening to another comm line.

Phil knew some thing had to be going on. It wasn't his place to argue with the Medusans. All his team made it out fine and the Medusans were only missing their leader.

When he tried to ask them about it he was shut out. This wasn't the usual way they would shut him out. It was almost like they were in mourning.

When they finally made it to the ship Phil noticed that Echo had made it back. The Frenchman ordered indifferently, "Stow your gear and prepare for take off. Widow can I speak to alone?"

Using the wall to aid her Natasha walked to talk to the Frenchman. Phil moved so that he was just close enough to listen in.

Echo said bowing his head, "I'm sorry. Delta insisted on staying behind. According to him his injuries are too grievous to walk much less run away. So he chose to stay behind and cover our retreat."

Green eyes widened in shock. Phil's own hazel eyes mimicked that of Natasha. They were leaving someone behind.

Despite Delta not being one of his people he would never leave someone behind. He couldn't stop himself from rushing forward. His right hand enclosed around Echo's collar.

He snarled, "What kind of person are you, to leave one of your own men men behind? What happened to Medusans stick together?"

It was Natasha who answered quietly, "It's because of who he is. No Medusa would dare defy Delta. His orders are absolute. Even if they go against everything he built."

Now that Phil took a real look at Echo he could see the fear. There was an underlying hint of worry in the man's grey eyes. It wasn't that he didn't care about his leader. Just that he couldn't break the order set out by the man.

Glancing at the other Medusans he noted the same. They wanted to go and drag Delta back. Their honor however didn't allow them to. This was what it meant to be apart of Medusa.

He wasn't, though. There wasn't a code or a rule he would break going after Delta.

He said stubbornly, "I will go get him and bring him back."

Instead of waiting for an answer Phil left. He would drag Delta back by force if he had to.