Chapter 6: Can't Seem To Miss
In the secret headquarters of the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division, or S.H.I.E.L.D., Deputy Director Maria Hill was monitoring the communications of one of their agents before she lost contact. Before she did, however, one last word was able to make it through.
"Budapest."
Hill swore, then tossed her headset aside.
"Someone get me Agent Barton!" she requested. "We have a Code Black. Repeat, we have a Code Black."
…
Meanwhile, Agent Clint Barton was in the rafters of the hanger bay, sifting through the prescribed files for a specialized initiative S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director was planning. He was reading over the many potential candidates, snorting at their descriptions and histories.
"Man, Fury must be desperate if he thinks these guys can do what he wants," Clint remarked. "No way any of these clowns could-"
"Agent Barton!" a voice called out.
Clint looked down to see Coulson standing directly beneath him. With grace born of a life in the circus, Barton slid off the rafters, landing perfectly in front of Coulson. The agent didn't even bat an eye at this, having gotten used to the odd behaviors of Barton over the years.
"Agent Hill's looking for you." He explained. "Agent Romanoff needs your help."
"What? Nat needs my help mingling with the one percent and eating shrimp cocktails?" Barton asked.
"Budapest."
With that, Clint dropped the wise-ass attitude and got serious.
"Give me ten minutes to prepare," he replied before walking off.
"You have eight," Coulson told his retreating form.
…
Within the hour, Clint was decked out in a black suit with a purple arrow on the chest, with a set of purple sunglasses and a quiver of arrows slung onto his back. He bored a stealth jet and quickly took off towards Natasha's last known location.
"How long since Nat's last transmission?" Clint asked.
"About thirty minutes ago," Hill answered over comms. "We received intelligence that Gorgon Castle was a front for a HYDRA operation, and we were right."
"I was there for the briefing, Hill. Skip to the stuff I don't know."
"HYDRA's making a comeback, and Romanoff was right in the center of it. She had reports they had outsourced to a new partner but sent out a distress signal before we could learn who.
"I'm guessing that's where I come in."
"Right. You need to get to Natasha before Gorgon kills her."
"No, I need to get to her before she kills him."
…
Inside the underground facility, Natasha was tied to a chair with cuts and bruises all along her body, her dress even more torn up than it was before with one of the shoulder straps torn off, a cut on her lip, and a black eye. Nobu and Gorgon were standing in front of her, the former sporting a bloody lip and a black eye of his own as a result of the fight. Gorgon stepped forward, striking her across the face.
"I will admit, this is not how I wanted this evening to go," he commented.
"I know how you wanted this evening to go," Natasha remarked. "Trust me, this is better."
Nobu chuckled in response. "Such spirit with this one," he commented before turning to Gorgon. "Though her presence here does not paint HYDRA's promises in a favorable light."
"This doesn't change anything. HYDRA can still-"
"You had a spy in your own fortress. If you cannot defend your own facilities, how do you expect to protect the Hand's interests?!"
"He's got a point," Natasha remarked. "I mean it was really easy to break in here."
"Silence!" Gorgon demanded, striking her again.
Natasha winced before turning back to them. "Ooh, looks like I struck a nerve there."
…
Finally, the ship flew over Gorgon Castle before opening up its back hatch, allowing Clint to step forward and draw an arrow from his quiver. He aimed it at the top of the castle, before finally firing it. It flew forward, carrying a cable on the end that went taut as it connected with the roof of the castle. Once it was secure, Clint leaped out of the back and swung on the cable towards the castle.
…
Inside, a guard was on patrol, walking past a window and looking out to make sure everything was clear. Just as he did though, Clint came swinging through, crashing through the glass and knocking the guard out in the process.
"Sorry about that," he remarked, getting back up and notching another arrow before heading off. "You can bill me for the window later."
…
Clint continued making his way through the castle, keeping a sharp eye out for any possible obstacles to his mission. As he rounded a corner, he saw a guard walking down the hall, looking up at him.
"Hey!" the guard let out, raising his gun.
Thinking fast, Hawkeye quickly fired his arrow, causing it to attach itself to the guard's chest, allowing electricity to surge through his body as he fell to the ground. Clint just gave a little smirk before moving on.
…
As Clint continued, he looked over the edge of some railing, seeing that the party was still in full swing. Guests were chatting back and forth, completely unaware of the operative stalking above them.
"Civilians," he noted. "Gotta clear them out if things are gonna get ugly."
"Freeze!" another guard yelled, aiming his weapon at him. "Drop the bow and put your hands in the air."
Not seeing many other options, Clint dropped the bow on the ground and slowly raised his hands.
"Turn around. Slowly."
"Buddy," Clint warned as he turned around. "You don't want this kind of trouble. So get out of here now, before you get yourself hurt. Kay?"
"Stop talking and get down on the ground."
"Alright," Clint replied, getting down on his knees. "But don't say I didn't warn you."
Moving fast, Clint grabbed an arrow from his quiver and flicked it right at the guard. It had no arrowhead, so it just bounced off his body, distracting him long enough for Clint to rush forward and tackle him to the ground. The two tussled for a bit, wrestling each other on the ground before the guard managed to kick him off. Clint landed on the ground, eying his bow nearby, and tried to grab it, but the guard leaped towards him, tackling him to the ground.
"Seriously?!" Clint let out, looking back at the guard.
He managed to get a leg free and kick the guard in the face, knocking him back and causing him to let go. Clint quickly scrambled towards his bow, grabbing it and pressing a button on it. This caused a panel on the bottom of his quiver that contained several different arrowheads to spin around. It finally stopped, allowing an arrowhead to screw onto an arrow so Clint could pull it out. He aimed it at the guard and fired, causing the arrow to release a cable that kept spinning in the air until it collided with the guard, wrapping itself around his arms and torso while hitting him with enough force to knock him to the ground. The guard struggled to free himself, but the cable proved too strong for him to break.
"Hey, I tried to warn ya," Clint remarked.
As Clint looked back over the railing, the guard carefully got back to his feet, before rushing right at Clint. Just as Clint leaped onto the railing to get a better vantage point, the guard collided with him, causing him to fall over the side. Thinking fast, Clint drew an arrow and aimed it at the railing. He fired it, allowing it to carry a grappling line on the end of it toward the railing. It collided just as the line went taut, allowing Clint to swing down to the party below and land on a table full of entrees. Several guests gasped in response to the archer's sudden arrival, but Clint just shrugged it off.
"Don't mind me," he replied. "Just wanted to sample some horderves."
The guests remained still for a moment but became panicked again when several armed guards came rushing in, their weapons trained on Clint. The guests moved out of the way, making for the exits as Clint drew another arrow and strung it in his bow, ready to fire.
"Let's do this!" he let out, firing the arrow.
…
"The Hand has survived on its own for centuries," Nobu continued. "We did not need your toys and promises then, and we do not now."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. is just the beginning," Gorgon pressed. "Over the past few years, beings with incredible power have been showing up all over the world. Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, not to mention your own troubles with a certain 'devil' in Hell's Kitchen."
Nobu went wide-eyed. "How did you-"
"It doesn't matter. What does matter is that you are vulnerable. HYDRA can help with that if you work with us."
"Work for you, you mean," Nobu countered. "The Hand did not exist this long by being lap dogs for a cult that hasn't made any strides for its goals in nearly a century!"
As the two continued to argue, Natasha just sat back listening to them with mild disinterest. She glanced over at a nearby guard, spying the watch on his wrist and noting the time.
"Well as entertaining as this is…"
With that, Natasha stood up still tied to the chair, and spun around and hit Gorgon with the chair. As a guard tried restraining her, she slammed a chair leg on his foot before hitting his head with the back of her head. As another guard came running up to her, she placed a foot on a recovering Gorgon and sprang up, flipping through the air landing on the oncoming guard and shattering the chair in the process. As she got back up, another guard tried grabbing her. Before he could, she swung one of the pieces of the broken chair around, hitting him in the face. As he stumbled back, she ran up and jumped towards him, wrapping her legs around his neck. She then used her weight to flip him onto the ground as she landed on her feet. As she steadied herself, more guards came running towards her. She just shrugged it off and got ready for the fight ahead. As the fight progressed, Noby quietly slipped away, unbeknownst to the others.
…
Back inside the main castle, Clint was knocking down guards like shooting skeet. Some of the guards tried firing at him, but he just rolled on the ground and fired off another arrow. The arrow landed right in front of them before blowing up, sending them flying. Clint then stood up, notching another arrow and firing it at another one of the guards. It connected with the chandelier above a group of guards, releasing a corrosive that ate its way through the support and caused the chandelier to crash down on top of them. Just then, a guard approached from behind, grabbing hold of Clint as he pulled out another arrow. He closed his eyes and looked away before activating the arrow, causing a massive flash of light to go off. It blinded the guard as he let go of Clint and stumbled back, prompting Clint to pull out another arrow and fired it at the guard, causing it to release a purple puddy that covered the guard. Clint quickly drew another arrow and spun around, firing it toward three more goons. As the arrow flew through the air, it split in three, nailing all the guards at once.
Once that batch was down, Clint made his way toward a nearby hallway, hearing another group of guards approaching from behind. Not even turning around, he notched another arrow and fired it up at a chandelier just above them. The arrow severed the chandelier, causing it to crash onto the oncoming guards. Smirking, Clint continued walking through the castle, pressing a button on his sunglasses
"Now if I were an evil supervillain," he said to himself. "Where would I hide the entrance to my secret lair?"
Clint scanned around the hallway until his eyes locked on the art room and he saw something inside. He walked inside and looked at a particular painting, seeing an opening behind it. He pulled out an arrow and fired it at the painting. It connected with the wall behind it, releasing an acidic substance that ate through the painting and the wall, revealing the elevator behind it.
Clint climbed inside, seeing Nat's heels, fur coat, and torn dress fabric on the floor as he did. Once inside, the elevator started to descend, prompting Clint to string another arrow in his bow.
After a few moments, the elevator stopped, allowing Clint to make his way down the hallway. Once he made it to the end of the hall, he rolled out into the room and aimed his bow and arrow… only to find all the guards present on the floor either unconscious or dead. Clint just sighed as he got to his feet, putting his arrow away
"You know, what's the point of me coming to rescue you if you're just going to beat everyone up?" Clint asked.
"Cleared the way, didn't you?"
Clint turned to see Natasha back at the computer downloading several files. Her dress was slightly torn, and she had marks on her wrists and ankles, but aside from that, she was fine.
"Touché," Clint replied, walking over to her. "What about Gorgon?"
"Over there," Natasha answered, gesturing to the unconscious HYDRA member. "His buddy got away though. Worked for the Hand."
"The Hand? Yikes, HYDRA's got its thumbs in more pies than we thought."
"Yeah no kidding," just as Natasha finished, the computer dinged, signaling that the download was complete. "Finally."
Natasha plucked the drive from the console and the two went off, Clint taking one last look at the downed goons.
"You know if this is what happens when Fury sends us to these fancy shindigs, I'm disappointed I missed out," Clint commented.
"Usually it's just small talk and pretending I give a damn," Nat replied. "Give me Papa Johns and John Wick at your apartment any day"
"Eh you got a point," Clint admitted. "Maybe it's just the fallout I enjoy so much."
"And that's why we're partners. Now, I assume our ride is close?"
"Jet I came in on is looping around as we speak."
"Then let's go. Can't wait to get out of this dress."
"Yeah, not your most flattering look."
"Well, then maybe you can wear the dress next time and I'll clear the exit."
The two shared a laugh as they exited the castle.
