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Clint's POV
His breaths came in ragged gasps of pain. Bodies littered the grass each with an arrow in them. His quiver only held two more arrows. Then there was only a handful of knives left.
Clint had his back to a tree and knew this was where he was going to die. Even if he killed every Hydra agent here, he wouldn't be able to move. It was becoming too much to simply raise his bow arm.
A grey fuzz encased his vision as another group of agents closed in. Shakily he drew back another arrow and aimed. He let it fly and for the first time in years the arrow missed.
A gasp left his lips as pain shot up through his back. The three agents stopped for a second before continuing. With a great effort he drew a knife from one of his hidden sheaths.
Three shots rang out and for a moment Clint's heart stopped. Instead of feeling pain he saw the three agents fall. A hand grasped his upper right arm and yanked him to his feet.
His back and leg screamed in protest as he tried to get his feet under him. A familiar voice snapped, "On your feet, Delta. I will not let you die here."
He snarled back, "Leave me here, Agent. I'm in no shape to run or right now."
Coulson said, "Not a chance, Delta. If I have to carry your hide all the way back to the ship myself. You saved one of my agents knowing that you might not come back from it. Now come on!"
Clint struggled to keep up with the man. His leg threatened to give out as he limped. He had to lean heavily upon the man.
The ground that they took to get there had been easy. With an injured leg and his back badly burned it became increasingly difficult to keep up. Several times he stumbled straight into the agent. It was only the older man's strength that kept them both on their feet.
Was this what drew Natasha to SHIELD? It would make sense everything considering.
Coulson came back for him. The SHIELD agent could have left him no problem. His men would not have begrudged Coulson.
He bit back a yelp when Coulson slung him without warning over his shoulder. The man was a good four or five inches shorter than Clint. How in the hell had he pulled that off?
Coulson growled, "We will never make it to the ship like this. Don't struggle," Coulson spun on his heel and shot twice behind them, "You are going back to wherever you came from. I will be sure of it."
Clint could do nothing but let Coulson drag him through the forest. He was too weak to fight the man. Blood loss and the burns were getting to him. His vision faded in and out. The sounds of gunshots muffled by the ringing in his ears and his body trying to escape it's injuries.
Coulson was trying to speak to him but the words were being drowned out. The ringing of his ears was too loud. Soon the whole world went black.
Coulson's POV
The moment he felt Delta sag against him he knew he had to hurry. Delta would succumb to his wounds. They had to get him to the doctor. There was also the Hydra agents to worry about. Two miles of forested terrain had to made faster.
For a tall man, Delta was much lighter than he excepted. It seemed almost like the man weighed nothing.
What the hell did this guy eat? Grain? If Phil was correct on his other identity then maybe he took after his namesake. Hawkeye...
Any doubts of Delta being the elusive assassin disappeared the moment he saw the bow. It was further compounded by the reaction he got from Natasha. His specialist only reacted like that to those she considered her friends.
Hawkeye and Black Widow were known allies. SHIELD knew that when they first brought her in. Just before they brought her in Hawkeye disappeared. Then he reappeared recently. Right back to what he was doing before.
As if sensing his thoughts the man on his shoulders, stopped moving. It made him pick up his pace and Phil's heart stop for a moment. Then he felt the other take a shuddering breath. He pushed himself to move faster.
With each passing moment the heartbeat against his back grew fainter. When he finally made it back to the ship members of Medusa rushed out. Each of them grabbed an arm of Delta. Once he was on the ship it took off. Melinda had known the moment he stepped on the ship.
Echo had Delta on the ground considering the younger's wounds. It was then that Phil saw the wounds he ignored. Two large pieces of shrapenel were in the boy.
Charlie was next to the Frenchman and was speaking quietly, "Keep pressure on that, Echo," Echo's hands went to keep pressure on the side wound.
Phil dropped down beside them inquiring, "What can I do?"
Echo snapped, "Left jacket breast pocket. Call the number tell him two shrapnel wounds and at least second degree burns to the back. I've already given the dropoff point to our pilot."
Prepared as usual it seemed. These men truly were the best of the best. They prepared for every eventuality, including their own deaths. Taking the card from the man's jacket he moved to make the call.
A gravelly voice answered, "Collins. What do you want?"
Phil answered carefully, "I have Century Team 12 here. One man with two shrapnel wounds and at least second degree burns to the back."
Collins swore violently on the other side of the line. Then replied, "I'll meet them at the usual drop off. Try to get the rest of the team here in one piece."
Collins knew he wasn't part of this team. That spoke of many dealings between them.
A groan drew his attention back over to Delta. The boy was awake but his eyes held a glaze. He was already trying to shake it away.
Coulson snapped, "You should stay down, Delta. There are several wounds that could have killed you. They could still kill you."
They all felt as the ship landed before the boy could reply. They couldn't be at their destination already. To contradict this Echo and Charlie were pulling Delta to his feet.
Echo said nodding to the opening hatch, "We got Delta from here. Coulson thank you. Without you we would have lost him."
Phil said as grey eyes of Delta met his, "Without you we would have lost, Natasha. We are even. Delta, this won't be the last you see of SHIELD. The Director will likely want us to bring you in."
Delta seemed to contemplate his words. It would not be easy trying to hunt this man down. From everything he had seen, Delta was a ghost. To Phil's surprise the pushed off of Echo and held out his hand. There was a heavy away that showed it took all of his strength to remain standing.
Delta stated with a shake of his head, "They won't catch me so easily. However you have earned the right to call me by my name. Call me Clint. Clint Barton."
The significance was not lost on Phil. He took the hand and shook it firmly. Then just like a group of ghosts they were gone. Echo and Charlie leading Delta off and the rest following silently behind.
Clint Barton? Even as the ship took off again that name felt familiar. For the moment he shook it off. This wouldn't be the last he saw of that boy. It would be something to consider later.
