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Clint's POV
He was brought down a few floors and into an office. The hallways getting to the office were white and pristine. No matter where you turned it all looked the same.
If you weren't familiar with the halls it would be too easy to get lost. If the fortress was ever attacked it would make it difficult to get anywhere.
The office they went into overlooked what seemed to be a gym. There were agents down in it sparring and using various types of weapons. They were trained but not many would hold up against Medusa. Not with the way they were training.
Fury cleared his voice causing Clint to return his attention to the situation at hand. Fury said watching him carefully, "Kid as a Medusan you should be in jail. That's just how the state of the world is right now. A handful of the promised pardons went out. Otherwise, the rest of the world's agencies are looking for those who got away. Especially for Century Team 12. SHIELD is willing to protect you and your team."
Clint folded his arms across his chest as he snapped, "At what cost? We didnt survive the hell that was Tam Quan to become government sanctioned murderers."
Fury pinched the bridge of his nose as he replied, "That's not all that SHIELD does, kid. Romanov I'm sure I can give tell you. As you two have experience working together I will assign you to Coulson. If you accept a place as an agent here."
"And my men?" He questioned.
Fury sighed, "I will ensure their files and yours will be eradicated personally. In exchange for two years of service with SHIELD."
Two years of service as a SHIELD agent. That was a better deal than he would have gotten from the CIA. It also guaranteed his men could go about normal lives when they wanted to.
There had to be a catch though. There always was with agencies like SHIELD and the CIA. So what more did Fury want?
Fury sighed at the look, "There isn't a catch. If after the two years you want to leave then I won't bother you again. As long as you stay off of SHIELD's radar."
Clint turned his head to the side to look at the doctor. Panov was watching him carefully. There were two people on this ship that he trusted. Panov and Nat. Everyone else could go to hell.
He asked, "What do you think doc?"
For a moment the man was silent then he replied, "Have it written out in a contract. I also would require that my presence is on whatever base Barton's stationed at."
Fury glanced at the doctor before nodding. He said, "You are his assigned doctor. The doctor's here would only set him more on edge. Though you will both need to do a SHIELD physical."
Clint winced. Fury was not going to like his injuries. Or the amount of old scars he had. Not all of them from Medusa.
Clint said making his decision, "In exchange for our agreed terms and for them to be written out in a contract."
An agreement was made between him and the SHIELD Director. The man had once been one of the few people he knew he could trust. A time that had long since passed.
If Fury thought things would go back to the way things were when he was a kid he had another thing coming. He spent too much time in war for that. His mind was too far gone.
The doctor might not admit it but the only thing keeping him from a white room was Alex and Gordon. Their protection couldn't last forever. He knew that he was walking free on borrowed time.
This would be one more thing preventing him from ending up in a hospital. There was still one more thing he wanted from Fury. Coulson wouldn't stop him... probably.
Panov noted the sudden change in his posture. He stepped forward but was stopped by the agent who shook his head. Coulson wanted to see how things played out.
Fury watched as Clint moved to stand in front of him. There wasnt any indication of what be was about to do.
Just him putting all of his strength and weight behind a single punch. A loud crack resounded in the room. Blood poured from Fury's nose that Clint had just broken. On instinct, the man's single blue eye watered and they stared each other down.
Then a hand on his upper arm dragged him away. Turning he found Panov was the one who dragged him away.
Panov said with a slight quirk of his lips, "We have to work on your temper."
"Sure doc," he quipped back.
Coulson's POV
When he stopped Panov stopping Barton he didnt expect that outcome. Barton had one hell of a right hook that no one expected.
As soon as the blow landed Panov had moved. He grabbed Barton by the upper arm and took him from the room. They would need Phil's help to find their assigned rooms. And in the case of Panov his office.
The helicarrier had plenty of room for new arrivals. They ran on a basic crew and held training areas for new recruits. Though not many recruits came to this specific group.
Recruits that did come to the helicarrier were handpicked. Handlers and Fury could handpick recruits. It was rare for Fury to choose someone.
Phil knew that they made the right choice in Barton. It took guts to punch the Director.
Nick said through the snot and blood, "He has one hell of a right hook. I wasnt expecting him to slug me. Why didnt you stop him?"
Phil said hiding a small smile that was trying to form, "Stop him from giving you the slugging you deserve. I think not. You deserved to have your nose broken, Marcus."
Nick snapped, "How do you figure?"
Phil sighed. He knew that his friend wasnt being difficult. Nick just wanted to get to know the boy he looked after once.
"Cheese he doesn't trust anyone here except Natasha and maybe the doctor," he explained, "He hates me for tranquilizing him to bring him in. You jumped back into his life without any warning. His life hasn't been an easy one from what I understand. Trusting you led him to pain and despite it not being your fault he does still distrust you. We practically blackmailed him with his men's lives to work with us. So breaking your nose was the only way he could relieve the stress of everything. Keep that in mind Marcus."
