A/N thanks for your reviews and support.
dogman999: thanks for your review my friend. Yeah I feel that. I work retail and people are just jerks.
Clint's POV
They were at it again. Jabs and parties. Almost like a song and a dance the two men fought. It had been several weeks since he was cleared for training. Every day Coulson pushed him to his limits and beyond.
Never once did Clint complain. He wanted to be stronger than he was. Getting stronger was the only way he would continue to be useful. If he wasnt useful he would be cast away again.
Coulson tried to sweep his leg again but Clint was faster. He jumped over it and tried to lunge at his handler. Both men crashed to the ground with Clint on top. It only lasted a few seconds before he was flipped.
Blows rained down and he had raised his arms to protect himself. He tried to fight back but every strike he made three were delivered to him. He tried to buck off the man but couldn't get any leverage.
Another strike hit him this time cutting right above his eye. Blood dripped from the cut into his field of vision. When he tried to wips it away the arm was trapped. Coulson went for the triangle and no matter how much Coint hit the other with his free hand it didnt do any good.
Eventually he had to tap out before he passed out. Another thing he had learned during this was his limitations. Coulson was hellbent on teaching him that he wasn't super human. Like everyone else there were limitation in what he could do.
Coulson after a moment released him before getting to his feet. Clint stayed laying against the mat trying to catch his breath. A hand appeared in his field of vision. There was only a half second of hesitation before Clint took it.
The amount of hesitation he showed was growing less and less every day. Coulson was proving that he could be trusted. Or at the very least he wouldnt offer his hand unless he meant it.
Coulson promptly pulled Clint to his feet before releasing him. Their unspoken agreement showing through. No more physical contact than necessary outside of training.
Coulson praised lightly, "You're getting better. These last few weeks you've made a lot of promise. More than most of our recruits make within a year."
"Thank you," thanked Clint warily.
Coulson nodded in before retaking his fighting stance. Clint barely withheld a sigh as he did the same. Then like they had never stopped the dance began again. Parrying and blocking in kind both men trying to get the drop on the other.
A few hours later found Clint inside one of the abandoned briefing rooms. Alex had sent some codes that needed breaking. One of the many things he had learned and eventually excelled at was code breaking. Across the table were papers that he had been using trying to break the code.
He barely lifted his head when the door across from him opened. A growl escaped him at the sight of Fury. Using the vents he had avoided the man so far. Now he had been cornered by Fury while trying to do work Alex. Great it's the last thing he wanted.
Fury questioned leaning against the wall, "What are you doing?"
"Code breaking for Conklin," grumbled Izuku.
"Do you need help?"
Clint took his eyes fully off his papers to glare at the man. He snapped, "No. No I dont need your help trying to break our codes."
Fury sighed, "I know you don't like me based on what happened. However I never meant to hurt you Clint. I honestly thought you would be okay there."
Clint bit back a snarl that would have sent all of his men running. Instead he stared coldly at the man and said, "Whether you meant to or not means nothing. Its what happened that counts and people like me dont forget. Nor do we forgive."
Fury gave him a hurt look but he ignored it. Instead of reacting he turned back to his papers. His focus was on one of the more complicated cyphers. Free handing it was difficult under the best of circumstances. With Fury breathing down his neck it was annoying.
Growling he questioned, "What do you want, Fury? I need to focus on these codes as they are time sensitive."
Wait... time? Clint stood and grabbed at the papers. Time stamps were printed on them and he inputted it into the code he made for Medusa. The blood drained from his face what the last communication said.
Almanac to Delta, equipment damaged. Will try to find parts to fix.
That was three days ago and there wasnt any communication after that. Only one person would go by the Almanac. Gordon. His brother in all but blood was in trouble. He needed to get this information to Alex and Monk immediately. They needed to form a rescue party.
Calling his team would be risky. They couldnt keep getting together like this. There were still those who wanted their heads on pikes. Fury's protection only extended so far.
Then again he could request help from SHIELD. No that was not an option. SHIELD wouldnt help a CIA agent without receiving something in return. No this was up to him.
That plan was thrown right out the window by Fury a moment later, "What is it?"
"My brother is in trouble," Clint responded lowly, "I need to put a team together and go after him."
"Barney? I thought he was in jail."
Clint flinched at the name of his biological brother. He glared as he snapped, "No, not Barney. I haven't spoken to him since I joined Medusa. Gordon Webb the oldest of the two brothers. The Webbs took me in as their own. I cannot just abandon the man who became my brother."
Fury turned on his heel as he said, "I'll alert Romanov and Coulson. Be ready for a briefing in an hour."
"Excuse me?"
Fury glanced back at him his eye full of steely resolve, "You're one of my agents now, Barton. If you think you're going into an unknown situation without backup you've lost your mind. Gather whatever information you have and get to briefing room 7."
"Yes sir."
