Chapter 16

As the sky grew darker Clint Barton found himself walking down the quiet street that led to the SHEILD base. He thought back to what he had said to Natasha before leaving her. He swore that he had seen a flash of hurt in her eyes but he couldn't be sure. It made his stomach twist up in knots. He had saved her life and then basically told her that he considered it as being a mistake. He hadn't really meant it, he had said it when caught up in the moment. The worst part about it though was the fact that, whether he meant it or not, it might be true. Maybe he should've killed her. As it stands at the moment, she might very well be the cause of that mission going wrong. Also, she was a master manipulator and he knew that she could very well be faking all of it. The thought that she could be there to kill them all hurt. It hurt, not because of the fact that they'd all be in danger, but because when he had that arrow trained on he had seen her ready to give up. She was ready for him to end her life and he knew that she hadn't been faking that. If she was sent here to kill them all, and if she did, it hurt because he knew she'd be working for an organization that she wanted no part of anymore.

Then again it all made sense. If she had been sent there to kill them what better way to gain their trust then having her tell them all their secrets. He hadn't heard what those secrets were but he had been told that she gave them. Whatever organization she had worked for wouldn't have to worry about it because those secrets would die with the organization she gave them to. The perfect touch, in his opinion, was her almost dying and finding the chip in her. It would definitely throw them all off and maybe even get them to feel sympathy for her, have them more willing to join them.

But, the mission being blown didn't make sense. If the goal was to get them to trust her then why attack a SHEILD mission knowing they'd automatically blame her? Also, they must have suspected that SHEILD would've already told the secrets they had learned with the higher up people in their organization. Was she sent to get rid of the council to? Was that her mission all along? Or, Clint thought to himself, could the fact that the mission was blown by Russians be a coincidence. Could she really be innocent in all of this?

That was the reason he found himself walking along the mostly emptied sidewalk. All the thoughts raging a war in his head would not let him rest until he did this. He was lost in those thoughts as the sun began to set around him and the air began to get cooler. He was only brought out of those thoughts when something just a bit more down the road caught his eyes. Standing there was a two story, brick building, that Clint had never known was there. Out towards the road was a sign the read "Public Library, here for knowledge, imagination, and adventure."

He was in a much better mood then he had been in since he had arrived here. As he walked through the halls he actually smiled. It earned him a few strange looks because they had never seen the expression on his face before. He couldn't help it. The energy in the air had changed. It was charged with the promise of action. The feeling of anticipation ran through every fiber of his being. It was finally time. He had finally received his orders and he was more than ready to finally fulfill his assignment.

He slowly approached the woman behind the front desk. He was still in a state of not quite believing what he was seeing. He wanted to run back to the SHEILD base and shout her innocence, but he needed more confirmation first. He needed to hear it. That fact that she knew there was a library here meant nothing really. She could've seen it from the jet when they had first arrived at the SHEILD base. He needed confirmation that she had actually spent time here.

"Hello," the woman looked to be in her late seventies. She was a small woman with short and curly silver hair. Her voice was warm and gentle in a grandmotherly kind of way. "May I help you kid?" Clint smiled at that.

"I'm hardly a kid anymore," he said back to her. The woman laughed at that.

"Honey, you can't be more than twenty-one, twenty-two, years old. You're a kid." She said with a bright smile of her own.

"If you say so," he said shaking his head.

"You're right though," she said then "your eyes are older than you are. Mentally you are much older than a child and I can't help but feel sorry for that." He didn't know what to say to that but she continued, saving him from having to try "Like the woman who was in here the other day."

"There was a woman here?" Another smile graced the woman's lips and she looked off into the distance for a moment with a fond look in her eyes.

"She stepped in here and was a bit taken aback. Poor thing looked like she had never been to a library before." Clint took out the picture he had brought with him. One that was taken shortly after she had arrived at SHEILD so that it could be added to her file.

"Is this her?" He said showing it to the woman. She looked at the picture then back up at him.

"Are you some kind of cop?"

"Yes," he said and showed her the badge he had made for situations like this. "Detective Mark Lucas."

"Librarian Angie Mathews," she said with a hint of a smirk. "She told me her name was Sarah Daniels."

"Did she check out anything?"

"No, she was here for a while but she didn't take anything. The first time I tried to get her to sign up for a library card but she turned me down."

"Did she…Wait, the first time?"

"Yes, she was in here twice. The first time she just took it all in. She was probably here for twenty minutes or so and the second time she actually skimmed through a couple of books but she didn't take any with her. I don't think she was here more than thirty minutes though." Clint nodded to her with another smile.

"Thank you, that's all the questions I have."

"I hope I was able to help."

"More than you realize," he said softly as he headed for the door. He had to get back to SHEILD.

"What are your feelings on the situation?" Fury took a seat behind his desk and look at Coulson.

"I don't know what to do with her sir," he said with a sigh. "I don't believe her yet there is a part of me who thinks that just maybe she could be innocent."

"Do we have any proof that she did have anything to do with it?"

"Besides everything that agent Higgins pointed out? No." Coulson replied. "Do you think it's possible that she was telling the truth?" Fury didn't answer the question.

"The council isn't happy with this. They said we have one more attempt to interrogate her and if they aren't satisfied they will send that kill order."

"Barton won't be happy about that."

"They aren't exactly thrilled with his actions either," Fury added.

"They wouldn't…"

"I won't allow it, the kid is impulsive and needs to think more before he acts but he doesn't deserve to die for that." Fury interrupted "but I can't say that it won't happen if she does start killing people." Coulson felt his heart pound. He was about to say something but was interrupted once again when the loud, piercing, wail of the emergency alarm filled the air.

Clint had just walked into the SHEILD base and was on his way to Fury's office when the alarm rang out. He immediately redirected his course and headed to the cells. He rushed past the agents who clogged the halls and didn't stop until he could see her. She was sitting on the cot inside her cell. She didn't seem to look all that surprised but when he called out to her he saw the slightest bit of fear flash in her eyes.

"Natasha!" he yelled over the siren as he reached her cell "who would they send?" She looked a bit surprised at his words and she looked at him for just a second before she was on her knees and gripping her head in her hands. She cried out in pain and he hurriedly looked to the guard that looked just as shocked as he was. "Give me the key."

"You crazy?" he said in disbelief "she's the cause of this!" Clint shoved him and grabbed the keys. The guard glared at him then hurried away as Clint got into the cell and went to her side.

"Natasha are you ok?" He asked worriedly. She then jumped up and was out of the cell before he could even wonder what happened. He saw her lock it and throw the key way into one of the empty cells in front of him. She said nothing, just simply turned and walked away leaving him to stare angrily at her. "Natasha!"

So, I think that I got a little carried away with this one, hope you enjoyed and I promise there's action in the next chapter. Oh and me and a friend of mine have a bet going on so please go to the poll on my profile and vote for who else would be a good match for Natasha besides Loki and Clint since they are the more popular choices. Also, don't get me wrong Clintasha is my favorite, we were just curious and I might do a story based on the results :)