Hey, everybody. Back quickly with another chapter.

Let's get to it.

Chapter 7- Unlikely Help

Oliver and Yelena slowly make their way into a safe house in Japan on the island of Hokkaido that Yelena uses from time to time. They had decided to head back to the United States while they tried to figure out what to do next and track down the Ten Rings, hoping this might at least make them a little more difficult to be found by the Ten Rings.

"What are we going to do?" Yelena asks, feeling a sense of despair she is not accustomed to feeling.

"We're going to have to pull all the contacts we can. Anyone that may be able to help us find the Ten Rings.," Oliver says.

"We don't have the time to go searching, Oliver. The Mandarin is not someone who's going to take his time. He's either going to kill them, or he's not going to stop trying to accomplish what he wants. We have to find them fast. We need to find them now. We need someone who can help us find them now," Yelena says.

Oliver is quiet, then asks, "Do you know anyone who can lead us so fast to the Ten Rings?"

Yelena deflates a bit. Then, she says, "No. I'm sorry. Nobody I know could lead us to them."

Oliver nods in disappointment. "Neither do I. The only one close would be Fury, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't. I would've called Tony, but he hasn't had any real contact with the Ten Rings since they kidnapped him in Afghanistan. That fake Mandarin he faced wouldn't have given him anything on how to find the real Mandarin," he says.

The two stand there in silence for a few moments. Then, right as Oliver is about to speak up again, he remembers something. Someone he knows of that he thinks there may be a chance they may have some useful intel. If they're willing to give him what he wants.

"Actually…on second thought, I may know somebody who could help us in this situation," Oliver says.

"Really? Who?" Yelena asks.

"Well, first off, there's a problem. I've never contacted him. The only way I can think of to contact him is going to be extremely difficult," Oliver says. He pauses, then says, "I'm going to try. But it may not work. We'll just have to wait and see."

(The following day)

Oliver and Yelena are feeling very antsy. Miraculously, Oliver had managed to contact the person he had thought of. However, it had taken some time, and some time for him to come. They're feeling very antsy to talk to this person, especially because they're worried about the time that's passed and the time that they are worried they have left.

"When did he say he would be here?" Yelena asks.

"Any minute," Oliver says.

The two of them are quiet for several more seconds before they suddenly hear a voice from off to the side, saying, "I'm disappointed. I'm surprised you didn't see me coming."

The two of them turn to the direction of the voice, and sure enough, as the voice suggested, they see Taskmaster approaching them.

Oliver folds his arms. "Taskmaster. Glad you agreed to come," he says.

"I have to admit, your request intrigued me. Given that I was trying to kill you just days ago and vice versa, I'm surprised you'd request a meeting," Taskmaster says. His hand drifts slightly towards his sword, and says, "I'm slightly tempted to kill you to stop you from interfering with me in the future, and I'm not convinced you didn't call me here to try and kill me to remove me as a threat."

"If we wanted you dead right now, Taskmaster, we wouldn't have reached out on the black market and directly requested a meeting. We wouldn't have given you such an advantage," Oliver says.

"Fair point," Taskmaster says. He then turns slightly away from them and says, "Well, clearly you must be desperate to come to me. What do you want from me?"

"Information," Oliver responds tersely.

"Hmm. Not something that requires my trademark fighting skills. Not as much worth my time. Why should I help you?" Taskmaster asks.

"Because we can reward you handsomely, and let you go from this place today," Oliver says.

"Hmm," Taskmaster mutters. He stands there for a second, then asks, "What's the information you think I possess that you want so much?"

"Where to find the Mandarin and the Ten Rings," Oliver says.

Oliver and Yelena see Taskmaster actually tense up a bit, then turn towards them. He's quiet for a second, then asks, "Why is that? Do you have a death wish?"

"No. The Ten Rings has captured my wife and some of our friends. We need to find them so we can free them," Oliver says.

Taskmaster is quiet for a few moments, then says, "Do you even know what you're throwing yourself against?"

"Probably not, but I don't care," Oliver responds.

Taskmaster stares at them for a moment, then says, "I do happen to know where their headquarters is. The Ten Rings have hired me in the past, and I've been to their headquarters once in the past. However, I will admit that the Mandarin is one of the few people out there who actually makes me nervous. I don't think you realize the power he holds thanks to those rings."

"I don't care about the rings or whatever power he has. I'm going after the Mandarin, and I'm getting my wife back," Oliver says firmly.

Taskmaster is quiet, just staring at Oliver for a moment. Then he walks towards Oliver, stopping next to him while still looking straight ahead. Then, he says in a low voice, "The Ten Rings headquarters are in the western portion of the Daba Mountains in central China, two hundred and seven miles from its western end. It's difficult to spot from the air unless you're flying at very low altitude. A direct assault on the fortress will be very difficult, but I heard a whisper once of old tunnels under the complex, and I saw something that looked like a cave just east of the fortress the one time I visited it."

"Thank you," Oliver says.

"My payment," Taskmaster says bluntly. Oliver sighs and fishes out a massive wad of cash that he hands over to Taskmaster.

"You will say nothing of me helping you. The last thing I want is to be put in the crosshairs of the Ten Rings. If I end up with the Ten Rings after me, you'll regret it, Queen," Taskmaster. He pauses for a moment, then says, "Good luck." With that, Taskmaster walks away and disappears into the trees.

Oliver stands there for a moment, then turns to face Yelena. "Let's go," he says firmly.

"You sure nobody else can help us?" Yelena asks.

"Yes. I don't want to bring the Avengers along. Too great a chance we'll be discovered. And I tried Marc Spector. He's busy with something in Egypt, and can't help us right now. It's just the two of us," Oliver says.

"That'll have to do, then," Yelena says confidently.

Oliver smiles confidently. "Then let's do this," he says.

And, I'll end the chapter there.

Obviously, I decided not to include Moon Knight. Partly because I think it would be better if it was just Oliver and Yelena. Also, I don't necessarily want Moon Knight to be continuously tied to Moon Knight. But, given the show is airing, I felt I had to mention him at least once during the chapter.

Next chapter will show them rescuing their friends, and the escape from the Ten Rings Headquarters. Until then, please leave a review and stay tuned!