Previously:

The man placed the gun on the ground slowly, and stood with his hands in the air. "My name is Agent Phil Coulson, and I have a proposition for you Clint."

Chapter 3

Coulson finally fount Clint Barton about a week after arriving in Berlin, Germany, but did not approach. He wanted to observe the so-called "deadly assassin". He kept his distance though so the man would not figure it out. The first thing he noticed was that the man that Barton was keeping an eye on was Luka Richter. Richter was charged in the kidnap and torture of Emma Fischer who was the daughter of a politician in Berlin. The day before Emma was supposed to give her testimony, she was found dead in the bathtub.

After her death, which is believed to have been suicide, Richter was let out due to lack of evidence. Emma's testimony was supposed to be enough to put him behind bars for life. Mr. Fischer blamed him for his daughter's death saying that she killed herself because she wanted to be free of Richter and the nightmare's he brought.

At first Agent Coulson thought Barton was protecting him, but he saw his posture when staring. Clint Barton wanted this man to die. His body was rigged, and his fists were clenched while he was observing Richter. About three days after this Coulson tried to go into Barton's hotel room. When he finally made it in, he discovered it empty. The bed, television, and windows were left untouched. The bathroom was the only thing used. "Where on earth does he sleep?" the agent asked out loud.

The next day Coulson followed Mr. Richter because he lost Clint. Near the end of the day, he ended up near an abandoned building in the outskirts of Berlin. The agent kept his distance, and decided to rest a minute. The second his eyes closed he heard it. FLOOMP! His eyes popped open, and that is when he saw the arrow sticking out of Luka's left leg. Coulson looked in the distance, and saw nothing. He then heard the sound again, and returned his attention back to the man. An arrow was sticking out of his right arm. Throughout this Luka was screaming for the pain to stop and for someone to help him.

A minute later he saw a man approach the victim. The man was six feet tall and had light brown hair. The stranger was wearing all black, had arm protective gear on, and was carrying something on his other side that he could not see. The man was speaking to Luka.

"That was for Emma Fischer you piece of scum. They make a special place in hell for people like you."

"What? She deserved every minute of what I did to her and then some!' Richter screamed

"I beat she was like you now. Crying, wanting the suffering to end. I will kill you when I want to. Emma was fifteen, and she did not deserve what you did to her."

The stranger then took a knife out and cut Richter's left wrist. He then proceeded to take yank all of the arrows out. Then he stepped back about ten feet, and lifted a bow and arrow. Barton then spoke to the man in a low deadly voice, "This is the end Luka Richter. Maybe know Emma will be at peace," in flawless German. The man then let go of the arrow, and walked towards the man before the arrow even pierced his heart. He then collected all evidence that would even show that he was there. A minute later he was gone.

The next time he Coulson saw his target was in different clothes, was wearing sunglasses, and carrying a back pack. The stranger walked into the hotel, but did not go to his room. Coulson discovered from workers that his target paid extra for roof access. When he got to the door, he heard sobs. The agent slowly opened the door, and moved as quietly as he could. He was sitting near the edge looking at something, and the quickly turned around with an arrow pointed directly at the agent's heart. All the while the agent had a gun pointed directly at the target.

"Put the gun down or I will shoot you. Believe me, I will not hesitate to do so," the target said in a deadly tone. Coulson placed the gun slowly on the ground, and rose with his hands in the air. The agent then spoke in a gentle tone, "My name is Agent Phil Coulson, and I have a proposition for you Clint."

Agent Coulson could see the man tense. "Who do you work for," the archer asked still holding the arrow trained on the agent. "Come with me and I will explain."

Clint walked closer to him. "Why should I trust the person who bugged my room?" he explained with a raised eyebrow. "See, that is one of the reasons why we want you. You probably want to relieve your conscience a bit, and this will help. The agency I work for helps people instead of hurting them," the agent spoke.

After about an hour of silence Clint made the decision to with him. "My job here is done, and I have nothing else to do at the moment," he explained to the agent. On the plane Coulson found Clint staring at a picture. Barton looked into the man's eyes and trusted him automatically. He then explained to the agent about what happened when he was little.

"This is a picture of my family. A few hours after this picture was taken, my life changed. Upon arriving home, my father Conrad Barton had a weird feeling. When I was little I realized that every time my dad got these feelings something bad happened. One day, at the age of five, I was taking a bath. While playing submarine, I hit my head on the faucet when coming up for air," he smiled at the memory. "I passed out. When I came to, I was at the hospital. My parents where in the kitchen making supper while I was in the tub. It turned out that my dad came to check on me because he had a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. He later said it felt like someone shot him with an arrow in the gut.

"Anyway, he came up to check on me, and then opened the door just in time to see me slide into the water. They said if he did not come up there at that time, I would have been dead," he finished by pinching the bridge of his nose. Barton then put his sunglasses back on.

"Alright, back to where I was. He had that feeling in his stomach, and told my mom to stay in the car with me. The last time I saw him he turned to smile and wave at us before going into the house. About ten minutes after going in my mother covered me up with a blanket, told me not to move, locked the doors to the car, and then went in," Clint let out a deep breath, and paused for a few minutes.

"Did you see her again?" the curious agent asked.

"Yes I did, but it was horrible. While waiting under the blanket I heard her scream. Wanting to protect her, I got out of the car, went up to the house, and slipped inside through the shadows. Worried I called out for her, 'Mommy where are you?' I called even though I knew I should have been quiet. Then I saw her in the doorway to the kitchen. I remember running up to her wondering why she was so pale, and why she was covered in red stuff and crying. Then she spoke. She told me to run and hide. A few seconds later she died.

"Not knowing what happened, I asked her to wake up. Then there was a loud bang in the other room. I did what my mother asked and ran, but was caught before I got to the door. A man was behind me, and grabbed my arm. He twisted it around causing pain so bad I started shrieking. Trying to keep me quiet, the man beat me. He thought I was dead, and he proceeded to bury me in the woods behind the house. Before he could cover me with dirt, he ran. The rain woke me up, and I did not know how long I was out.

"I dug holes into the side of the grave to create places for my hands and feet. Then I grabbed branches, and climbed up a tree. When I got up there I searched my pockets praying that they didn't go through them. There I found a pocket knife. Within a day I had a makeshift bow and some arrows. For the bow string I used the elastic in my boxers, and then held my boxers up with my one shoelace, and used the other shoe to hold the arrows. With that one I hooked the shoelace through two holes, and then tied it around me.

"The day I got out of the grave was the day the life I have now begun. I raised myself, stole things I could not catch, and then one day someone discovered me in the woods somewhere in Alabama. I was practicing that day trying to get used to my new bow. I was resting in a tree when I heard a twig snap. I shot up with my bow ready, and shot it. A few seconds later I heard someone cussing. I jumped down from the tree and asked him what he was doing there. He started reaching for something in his pocket, and when he looked back up I already had an arrow pointed at his head. And, as some say, the rest is history."

"Who killed your parents?" the Coulson asked.

"A couple named Tom and Leah Blackwell. Earlier that year their son was killed in a hit and run. They thought that I looked like him, and they wanted me. We were the same age. The couple was never caught by police," Barton said.

"What happened to them? Did you…," the agent asked hesitantly.

"I didn't kill them if you are asking. When I found them, Tom was dead. I found out through contacts that Leah had Alzheimer's. I went to where she was staying to see her. She thought I was her dead child. I asked her what happened that night, and she told me. I felt so horrible for her that I did what my parents would have wanted me to do. I stayed with her until she passed, and then left before anyone saw me."

"How did you stay alive out there for so long?" asked the agent.

"My dad and me did survivalist training since I was four. He also taught me a little archery before he died. After the police left the house, I snuck in and stole weapons. Some of which included a bow and arrow. I hid those somewhere once I became an assassin because I did not want to get rid of my dad's things."

After that, Clint Barton turned away from the other man indicating that the conversation was over. What he did not realize was that the archer was silently crying, and that that was the reason why he was still wearing the sunglasses. It wasn't until a few years later that Clint told Coulson the reason why he trusted the agent immediately. After that neither spoke of that conversation, but from then on out, Agent Phil Coulson was the father Clint wished he had.

To Be Continued….