AN: Thank you NocturnalRites for Beta-ing this work for me! Your comments and suggestions are much appreciated. Any mistakes are mine and mine alone, probably added after I got the edited version back.

Chapter 14 – To The Point

Felicity wanted to do a happy dance as she sat down in front of one of the laptops in Tony Stark's suite. The AI, Jarvis, greeted her at the door and let her know that Mr. Stark had informed him she would be coming. She could tell his voice was coming from another laptop sitting off to the side of the one she'd been directed to. This system was seriously next generation. She prided herself on keeping up with the latest technology, but this was light years ahead of anything available to the public.

"Wow, this system is seriously amazing," she commented to no one in particular as she started checking firewalls. It was habit to check security before she logged into her system from anywhere else.

"Thank you, Ms. Smoak," the AI's voice made her jump a little. It was going to take a little while for her to get used to the disembodied voice even though she knew where it was coming from. Felicity took a deep breath. In the midst of enjoy the tech, Felicity thought about the look on Steve's face when he'd taken the call that sent him off after his best friend. She wished she'd had time and privacy to be able to tell him that she hoped he found his friend. Most of the time Steve seemed so confident, but when he talked about his friend, she'd heard the pain in his voice. It was good that Oliver was with him, but she wished she could have told him she was with him as well.

Turning her attention back to the keyboard, Felicity pinged her system and logged in. Right as she established a connection to the system under Verdant, Felicity's phone started to ring. Her heart picked up speed as she saw who it was.

"Steve, I'm glad you called," she breathed into the phone as she picked it up.

"I'm sorry I had to run out like that Felicity," Steve said. She could hear the stress in his voice.

"It's OK," she assured him quickly. "You told me about Bucky and your search for him," and ordered me not to help, she thought but wisely held that part in. "I just hope that you find him safe and can bring him home."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. When Steve spoke again his voice cracked with emotion. "Thank you," he said simply. "I hope that too."

There was another pause. "Felicity," Steve's voice dropped at her name and became softer, but it had an edge to it. "I still don't want you in the crosshairs with Bucky and Hydra. All the reasons I didn't want you doing research on Buck still exist. Oliver is sending John to stay with you while we're gone and Jarvis will keep an eye on things as well. Be careful please." She could hear the worry in his voice. It felt a little strange that she was sitting in a hotel room in the lap of luxury, behind a computer screen and he was telling her to be careful.

"I'll be fine," she assured him. "I'm safe in a cushy hotel room. I'm more worried about you. I wish there was something I could do to help you."

"You're doing it," he told her, his voice sincere. "Just stay safe."

"I will if you will," she pointed out. "I'll be in your ear if you need me, Steve." She added before disconnecting. She wasn't sure how to feel. She was happy for Steve that he might find his friend, but from what she'd seen in the HYDRA files she'd downloaded, Bucky was actually the Winter Soldier and the Winter Soldier was not someone easy to handle on a good day. If he'd been so damaged by the things done to him that he'd tried to kill Steve once, what would happen if he tried again?

"You have your worried face on," Digg's familiar voice still sent Felicity jumping in her chair.

"Everyone gets bells!" Felicity sent a glare toward her friend. He was chuckling as he grabbed a chair from the table near the window and pulled it over to sit next to Felicity. "Oliver asked me to keep you company," the older man told her. "Mr. Stark gave me his other key card."

"Where's Sara and Roy?" she asked, wondering how mad Canary was going to be that Oliver had ditched her and headed out with the Avengers. Sara didn't always take things well.

"They're patrolling," Digg answered. "Sara wasn't very happy about being left behind, but she and Roy went out to make sure the city's quiet." He paused for a second and put a hand on her arm, "How are you doing with all this?"

"A little nervous running the comms for the Avengers," she blurted. "World's greatest heroes and all that, it's a bit intimidating."

"You will be fine Miss Smoak. I will assist you with anything you might need," The AI's voice sounded behind them. Digg spun with impressive speed, searching for the source of the voice. She couldn't help feeling a little vindicated.

"Way to go, Jarvis," she congratulated. "Thank you!"

"You are quite welcome Miss Smoak." Jarvis answered. John still wasn't letting his guard down. Stark had programmed in a sense of humor into his AI. She loved it.

"What was that?" John snapped.

"That's Jarvis, Tony Stark's AI," she gestured toward the computer on the side table.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Diggle," Jarvis piped up.

"Ahhh, likewise," Diggle was still not totally at ease. "Bells are not such a bad way to go, are they?" Felicity couldn't help pointing out. It had been really nice to see someone else startled besides her. John rolled his eyes at her but didn't correct her.

She smiled and turned back to the computers. While she waited, it wouldn't be such a bad idea to poke around and see what information she could find on the ship Bucky Barnes was supposed to be on. Jarvis shared what Natasha had sent through to him and Felicity dug in.

...

Oliver stopped his bike near the hanger Steve had directed him to meet at. This was a private part of the airport so there were very few people around.

"Should I be jealous?" The voice came out of the blue and sounded like it was above him. Notching an arrow out of reflex, he was surprised to see a very powerful looking man dressed in black sitting casually on the top of a Quinjet.

"Jealous?" Oliver questioned, centering the arrow on the man. He wasn't sure who the man was let alone why he'd be jealous of Oliver.

"I'm usually the only archer Cap brings along. Come to think of it, I thought I was the only one he knew." The man leaned forward a bit and rested his palms on the roof of the plane to get a better view. "Interesting outfit, but nice bow," he remarked. Turning slightly, he hoisted himself down the side of the plane and dropped lithely to the pavement near Oliver.

"Clint Barton, Hawkeye." The man held out his hand to Oliver as if the bow was not drawn back and there was no arrow pointed at his chest. Barton himself had a quiver on his back and a compact bow slung on his shoulder. Oliver had read that Hawkeye's bow had a 250lb draw and he was the only unenhanced human able to draw it.

The part of him that prided himself on being Arrow couldn't help but be curious. His own bow was a 95lb draw weight. He had no trouble drawing it, but he was also extremely strong. He couldn't imagine the strength it would take to pull a bow nearly 2.5 times the draw weight of his own. He wondered how the extra draw strength affected the man's speed. He was assuming that Hawkeye's bow was made to deliver a strike with much more force than Oliver's could but then again his was made for speed. It was said that Hawkeye never missed, but neither did he, Oliver knew. It was interesting to meet someone so good with such a different take on equipment and uses.

Oliver slowly let the string of his bow slide back into place and put his arrow back into his quiver before taking Hawkeye's hand. There'd been so many wanna be archers in his city that he'd had to shut down, Oliver was surprised to find he was looking forward to working with one that was an expert and not trying to take over his city. Being part of a team instead of leading it was an interesting experience he decided.

"Tony radioed ahead and said to expect you," the older man told him. Oliver nodded.

"Arrow," he introduced himself. He saw Barton smirk a bit at his lack of a name to go with his alias. Hawkeye might be a legend and a friend of Steve's, but enough people knew he was Oliver Queen. Studying the man's face, Oliver's eyes narrowed.

"Stark already told you who I am didn't he?" He couldn't keep the irritation out of his voice. He'd been assured that Stark could keep a secret.

"Annoying little shit isn't he," Barton agreed with a chuckle. "But look, don't worry, he made sure to let me know its team only knowledge. You're secret is safe." Oliver tried to school his features back to neutral, but Barton just chuckled and slapped him on the shoulder. "Try not to shoot Tony, he means well and besides Steve gets pissy when you shoot Stark."

"Experience talking?" Oliver found himself more at ease than he expected to be. The Avengers were a closed knit team, that he got, but he was surprised to see they acted more like a good natured, squabbling family.

Barton didn't answer, just smirked before changing the subject. "Handmade arrow heads?" he inquired. He'd obviously noticed more about the arrow pointed at him then he'd appeared. Oliver drew one out of his quiver and offered it to the Avenger.

"I make all of mine myself." He watched Barton turn the arrow over and examine it carefully.

"Nice workmanship," Barton commented as he reached behind him and pulled one of his own out of his quiver and offered it to Oliver.

"What's this made out of?" Oliver liked the feel as he tested it in his hands. He'd bet it was incredibly strong for its light weight.

"Stark started making me an alloy that is lighter than anything on the market and stronger as well. We should see if he will supply you with some. The refined edge you're able to get on these combined with the alloy's properties…"

"It'd be a nice combination," Oliver finished as he continued to examine the arrow Hawkeye had handed him. "So this man we're going after. Steve told me that he's his friend from back in the day?" Oliver asked, handing back the other archer's arrow.

"Not as easy as that." Hawkeye slid his arrow back into his quiver and handed Oliver back his. "He's Steve's childhood friend, but he's been brainwashed. He doesn't remember Steve or at least he didn't when they fought in DC. We think there's a chance that his programming is breaking down, but we can't be sure." Barton dropped his head and ran a hand through his hair, Oliver couldn't see enough of his face to gauge what he might be thinking.

"You be careful," Clint warned, looking up and catching Oliver's eyes. "Stay on your toes. This man almost killed Black Widow and Cap the last time they met. If he's still The Winter Soldier, you don't want to get in his way." Oliver was surprised by that news. If the man could do enough damage to Steve Rogers to nearly kill him and the Black Widow as well, he was not someone to take lightly.

"Thank you for the warning," Oliver said.

"I've got one more for you." Oliver just raised an eyebrow and listened. He wondered what was next. Did the man want to warn him not to get Steve hurt? He wouldn't be surprised. All of the Avengers seemed to be very protective of their leader.

"Natasha is researching one Slade Wilson, formerly of the A.S.I.S. I'm guessing that's for you." When Oliver didn't say anything Barton continued. "I fought with Slade Wilson 10 years ago. I was in the area on a mission for S.H.I.E.L.D. when his team requested backup. I was sent to help. The man was good, very good." Clint met Oliver's eyes, his gaze intense. "The word on the street is that Wilson's crazy, whacked out. I'm not sure what happened to him, but I can tell you one thing. If the rumors are true and Wilson has gone round the bend, then he's going to be bad news. He was good when I knew him, really good. Mix that with crazy and shake: you get one deadly and hard to stop brilliantly evil psychopath."