Clint had just left the third location when he had a sinking feeling in his gut, the one that usually told him shit was about to hit the fan. Making his way back to his Ducati, Clint remained wary of his surroundings and proceeded with an air of caution. The street was empty, and Barton got the sinking feeling he was being watched. He hated that feeling and quickly jumped on the bike.

The Hawk was only ten minutes away from the base when the memory from his childhood came back to him like a slap on the face. He hated that it took him this long to piece it together, but it all made sense. The symbol, the blood and the constant reference to death. He'd known a kid like that from his days in the orphanage, the archer had tried to blank out his time spent in that hell hole, which was probably why it had taken him so long to recall the young boy. The kid's name was Reece and he had been brought in not long after his own father had almost beaten him to death in a drunken rage. Clint had taken it upon himself to look out for the youngster but even he had noticed something off about the kid. He wasn't sure if it was because of what his dad had done to him or if he'd always been that way, but for the first three months Reece barely said two words to anyone and when he finally did start talking he spoke of death and blood, and started drawing weird pictures that were a match to the symbol on the coins he had found. Clint pulled onto the side of the road and pulled his helmet off with a frustrated growl. Damn it! It had been right there in front of him.

He snapped open his phone and dialled Phil.

"Coulson."

"Phil, I need you to look up a name, Reece Myers." Clint heard his handler's fingers typing quickly and smiled to himself, Phil didn't even ask why, he just did.

"There is no file on him after he turned sixteen Clint, it's like he just disappeared." Clint sighed and scrubbed a hand through his hair. "Who is he Clint?" Came the worried tone from his handler when he knew his charge was going to do something stupid.

"It will take too long to get into Phil, but I will explain later, alright? I have to meet up with Lucas back at the bar the last victim was taken from. I think the Reaper might stay close by."

"Lucas?" Phil's confusion was clear.

"Yeah Lucas from prison, the one you helped out," Clint explained.

"Alright, just be careful Clint. I'm sending agents over to assist you. This guy is dangerous and I don't want you taking any unnecessary risks." His handler made it clear he wasn't getting a choice and Barton's lips quirked in a childish grin, it was so like him.

"Fine, but I will meet them there. I'll be at the bar."

"Be careful."

"I will." With that he hung up and dialled the number Lucas gave him. It rang a few times then went to voicemail. Clint frowned and tried again, this time it went straight to voicemail. Shit. Maybe that was the sinking feeling he felt, something had happened to Lucas. The young archer knew he might just be acting paranoid but when had anything ever worked out right for him. He also knew that Lucas was like him, a protector and did what he could to look out for the people he cared about. Clint knew he'd fallen into that category with the older man. The young agent was willing to bet that Lucas went asking questions after he left the bar. Deciding to be safe rather than sorry, he sent the number to Phil and asked him to find the location. Pulling the helmet back on, Clint flicked up the stand with his foot and took off in the direction of the bar. He would be damned if he let anything happen to Lucas after he saved his life.

As he pulled up outside the bar Clint felt his phone vibrate, pulling it from his pocket he checked to see what Phil had found but it wasn't from his handler, it was a message from Lucas. 'Meet me at room 102 in the apartments across from the bar. I have news on the Reaper'. Clint felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He was pretty sure this was a trap, but he needed to make sure Lucas was alright. He headed towards the apartment building and sent a message to Phil letting him know where he was headed. The man would literally kill him if he went ahead without letting him know where he was going.

Finally reaching the room, the archer checked his gun and wondered for the hundredth time why he hadn't brought his bow with him. He felt naked without it. He knocked first but was already sure that he wouldn't get an answer. Twisting the handle he pushed the door open and peeked inside. It was quiet and dark. Clint reached for the light switch on the wall and froze when a voice called out, "In here Clint."

Barton moved into the room silently, ignoring how loud his heart was beating in his ears. The voice hadn't been Lucas's, and he was certain he would find the Reaper at the end of the hall leading into the living room. This man had taken out SHIELD agents and killed more than the one civilian they knew about. This wasn't the little boy Clint had once tried to protect. He just had to remember that.

When he entered the room he couldn't have prepared himself for what he found. Lucas was strapped to a chair in the centre of the room, ropes tied around his wrists and feet. Blood covered half of his face, dripping down onto the laminate flooring. The sound echoed in Clint's ears. His first instinct was to run over and check to see if the man was still alive, but he couldn't see the Reaper. He checked the other rooms quickly, efficiently and was about to open the last door when a noise behind him had him spinning around, gun drawn. Lucas lifted his head slowly and turned to Clint, his eyes were full of sadness and apology. The archer froze as a hand reached around his neck placing a knife so tight that Clint could feel it scrape against his Adam's apple when he swallowed. The Reaper raised his other hand and snatched the gun out of Barton's hand, keeping the pressure on the blade to remind the archer who was in control. Clint wasn't too bothered, he didn't need a gun to take someone out, but it did help. Clint was pushed back into the room and spun to face the boy he once knew.

"Clint Barton, it's been a while." The Reaper smirked and twirled the knife around in his hand.

"Yeah Reece, it has." The archer kept his guard up even though they sounded like two friends catching up.

Reece smiled and stepped closer to Lucas who was staring between the two in confusion. "So you remember me, I'm impressed."

"I'm not. Why the hell are you doing this Reece? What happened to you?" Clint inched closer to his tied up friend. He needed to get him out of here.

The Reaper kept a safe distance between himself and Barton, the man was a SHIELD agent after all. He smirked at the archer. "I found my calling Clint, I see you found yours too." Reece chuckled at the glare sent his way. "Too bad I have to kill you, but you see," Reece shrugged, "I just can't help myself."

"You don't have to do this Reece, let Lucas go." Clint tried to bargain but he already knew that it was a futile effort.

The assassin laughed. "Umm….no. I think I will kill him and then you and I can have a little fun. What do you say?"

Clint's eyes darkened as he took in Lucas's injuries and the fact the man was barely holding on to consciousness, then turned his heated glare on the Reaper. "I think your fun is about to be over."

"We'll see."

The trained SHIELD assassin moved quickly to the left when the knife the Reaper held was suddenly hurled at him. Clint rolled to his feet and threw a knife of his own. Reece knocked it away at the last second and if Barton hadn't been trying to kill the guy he might have been impressed. Knowing he only had another two knives on him, the agent had to make them count. Ducking under another knife as it sailed through the air towards his head, Clint managed to get close enough to slip one of his knives into Lucas's hand as he moved past him.

The Reaper smirked to himself as he watched Clint scramble out of the way to safety, using the old sofa as cover. He thought he might get more of a challenge from the man in front of him. If he was an agent of SHIELD he had to be good. Didn't he?

The archer gripped his back up gun and took a deep breath before diving out from behind his cover and squeezed the trigger. The Reaper moved quickly but not quickly enough to completely avoid the bullet. It skimmed the side of his head leaving a trail of fire in its wake. Reece growled and moved closer to the restrained man in the middle of the room. He held another knife ready in his hand, if Clint thought he was going to get another shot at him, he was sadly mistaken.

Barton moved from behind the couch he was using as cover and brought his gun up to bare. He never even got a chance to squeeze the trigger before he saw the flash of silver and the knife imbedding itself in his hand. The gun clattered to the floor and Clint grunted in pain, dropping back behind the sofa. He stared at the three inch blade sticking out of the top of his hand. Grasping the handle he grit his teeth before yanking the offending weapon out of his skin. The archer bit his lip to stop from crying out and then used the blade to cut a strip of material from his shirt to use as a bandage.

"How you doing Clint?" Reece asked without a hint of emotion. "I think you should come out now."

Barton squeezed his eyes shut from the burning pain in his hand and desperately pushed it to the back corner of his mind, he needed to focus now. "Dandy….and no I don't think so."

"C-Clint….." The archer froze as he heard the whispered words from the man who saved his life over a year ago.

"If you don't come out now, I will slit his throat," the Reaper promised.

Clint sighed and peeked over the couch and wanted to groan in frustration. Reece stood holding the knife the agent had given to Lucas and pressed it against the injured man's throat, his eyes cold and devoid of any emotion. Clint knew the man would carry out his promise, and he just couldn't live with that. Knowing Phil would probably kick his ass for being so reckless and getting hurt, he also knew his handler would forgive him, he always did. And right at this very moment Clint knew he would be screaming at him not to do anything stupid. Where was the fun in that though?

"Okay, I'm coming out." Barton stood slowly, his hands in the air. Lucas's eyes pleaded with him not to do this, but Clint just gave a slight shake of his head. He owed him this.

"Good, now very slowly put any other weapons you have onto the floor and kick them towards me." Reece grinned evilly and pressed the knife into Lucas's skin, a thin trail of blood trickled down his neck to soak into the already stained t-shirt. "Quickly now Clint, or I might just lose my patience."

The young agent removed all the weapons he had left and kicked them over. He felt naked without them but he also knew he'd gotten out of situations without a weapon before, it was called improvising. Clint seemed to do that a lot.

"That's better. Now you and I are going to leave here together, and in return I won't kill your friend here. But don't try anything stupid Clint, I'm not that scared little boy anymore, and I will put a knife between your shoulder blades if you do anything stupid." The Reaper smirked as Clint arched an eyebrow at him, then nodded to his terms.

"Clint don't, I'm not worth your life," Lucas pleaded.

"Isn't that touching? Maybe I will get that story out of you Barton, I'm intrigued." Reece smiled and swiftly backhanded the man in the chair causing him to pass out.

"What the hell Reece, you said you wouldn't hurt him!" Clint shouted.

A knife was pointed towards Clint's face and he clamped his mouth shut. The guy did have a deadly aim.

"I was simply knocking him out. He was only a means to an end. When I found out you were here after your little conversation outside the bar and that you were investigating me, I had to get you here. You are SHIELD after all, and I've gotten quite fond of making your kind squeal. It's so much better than civilians, they cry and scream before I even cut them. Agents on the other hand, you are trained for this sort of thing, isn't that right? I made the last one, what was his name? Oh yes, agent Wilson." The Reaper smiled as he watched Clint stiffen. "He was tough, managed to outlast the others before he gave in and screamed, and then I took pity on him and slit his throat."

The archer swallowed down the bile he felt rising to the surface. "You're an evil, twisted son of a bitch, you know that. And I will kill you, you have my word."

Reece chuckled darkly. "I'd love to see that Clint, I really would. But will that be before or after I make you beg for death?"

"Why are you doing this Reece?" The young archer asked.

"Because I can, and it makes me feel alive for the first time in years." He stared into the archer's eyes. "You should know what it feels like, you are an assassin after all. How can you not love the feeling of someone's life draining out of them, and know it's because of you?"

Clint was shaking his head in disgust. "You're a monster Reece, and if it's the last thing I do, I will make sure you don't hurt anyone else."

"Only time will tell."

The Reaper picked up two knives, one that belonged to the archer and the other was the one he had put through the agent's hand. Then he grabbed the backup gun that had been used against him and aimed it at Hawkeye. He wasn't a fan of guns but it would be easier to keep Clint in line. The assassin motioned for Clint to walk out of the room and smiled when he saw the hesitation cross Barton's features. The archer really didn't want to be putting his back to his enemy, but what other choice did he have.

The agent walked out of the room hoping that his backup would arrive soon, if not in time to save him then at least to get Lucas out of there and to a hospital. They reached the elevator and Reece pushed the gun to the back of Clint's head, telling him to walk inside. The archer knew it was risky but at least they were out of the apartment. Before getting into the elevator, he spun and ducked at the same time the gun went off, the bullet slamming into the metal doors as they slid shut. Clint swiped the Reapers legs out from under him and knocked the gun away with his foot. It skidded a few feet away and Clint found himself staring at a very pissed Reaper, he grinned.

Reece's eyes narrowed in anger and he attempted to knock the archer off-balance by kicking his foot out, but Clint was ready and flipped backwards. His hand flared in agony but he ignored it, he had more important things to worry about right now. The Reaper jumped to his feet and glared at the stubborn agent.

"Impressive," Reece commented.

"You ain't seen nothing yet," Clint chuckled darkly.

Just as he was about to move forward the elevator dinged and the doors slid open, Clint heard the guns of three agents cock, ready to fire. The archer smirked back at Reece then immediately ducked as the other assassin started throwing knives with deadly accuracy. One of the agents was down before firing his weapon and the second managed to get one shot off before a knife lodged in his throat; he dropped to the floor dead.

The third managed to fire a few shots off then take cover inside the elevator. He called out, "Agent Barton get inside!" while firing another round of bullets.

Clint shook his head, he needed to take this guy out, not give him time to disappear. "Get out of here, and toss me a gun."

"Barton!"

"Now!" Screamed the archer as another knife lodged in the wall, inches from his head. How many knives did this guy have on him?

The agent inside the elevator threw out his spare gun and fired at Reece managing to hit him in the arm. The Reaper growled and threw another deadly weapon and watched with satisfaction as it sank into the third agent's chest. Clint knew he'd have to leave his cover to get the gun so he took a deep breath and dived out, gripping the gun, rolling to his knees and fired, at the same time the other assassin threw another of his endless supply of knives toward him. The bullet hit Reece's ear and he cried out clutching the injury, his hands were covered in blood.

The Reaper glanced over at the agent and smirked as he watched Clint reach up to touch the knife sticking out of his shoulder, the archer was feeling a little light-headed and weakly grasped the hilt of the blade. He hadn't lost that much blood, so why the hell did he feel like he was going to pass out.

Reece's lips quirked in an evil grin. "It's poisoned, how else did you think I managed to capture three SHIELD agents? You're all supposed to be the best after all."

Clint struggled to put as much distance as he could from the Reaper, who was making his way slowly towards him.

"Your mine now Clint," he chuckled.

Barton wanted to scream in frustration. His eyes started to close and everything felt heavy. Once he collapsed to the floor he knew he was in trouble. All he saw was a pair of black boots in his field of vision before he knew no more.