Morning found Spencer once more curled up in her bed. There was nothing to show any signs of the trouble that had happened through the night. She lay there as if asleep, while on the inside her mind raced through everything that had happened, everything she'd learned, and everything she now had to do. There was also the question of how things had gone with Clint and Laura once they left. Had they made it out okay?
That question was answered almost as soon as Spencer felt Natasha's presence coming her way. It was right there in the woman's mind, easing some of Spencer's tension. Clint and Laura were okay. They'd gotten away from here and to a safe location, and they were okay. Spencer let a bit of her tension drain away. Good. That was good. She wanted her family to be okay. It made it a lot easier for her to focus on what was going to come next. There was a lot that needed to be done.
When Natasha finally reached her room, Spencer had let herself 'wake up' and was sitting up in bed, trying to avoid the nurse at her side. She'd put on her best tired air, as well as making sure that little things slipped free to show just how done with being in a hospital she was. 'Erin' wasn't all that fond of hospitals and would likely want to hurry out immediately. Spencer played that up, letting it show in her body language as Natasha came into the room.
The other woman didn't miss a beat. She was perfectly in role as she came in, hugging Spencer and immediately telling her "What do you say we spring this joint, hm? I've got some clothes for you and reservations for an awesome breakfast buffet."
"I'd say you're a godsend." Spencer said fervently, letting her drawl thicken to make her words more believable. It must've worked because the nurse beside her chuckled.
In no time at all Spencer was dressed in the butter-soft jeans-which, really, she was going to have to find out where Natasha had gotten these for her, the material was so much softer than regular jeans and it felt amazing against her skin-a t-shirt, and the military surplus jacket. Inside that jacket she could feel a few subtle things that told her it was still as armed as she'd left it. Good. The weapons she'd hidden in here were ones that wouldn't be easily detected if someone searched her, and it always made her feel better to have something on her.
With Natasha's arm around her, Spencer made her way out of the hospital, and she sincerely hoped that it was going to be the last time she ever had to see it. As long as today worked out the way she hoped, it likely would be.
Spencer wasted no time once they were in the car. As soon as she was sure they were safe, with no listening devices, she turned herself towards Natasha and asked "How much do you know of last night?"
"I spoke with both of them and got both their stories." Natasha said. Her eyes were sharper, now, some of the facade breaking away now that they were in private. She ran her gaze over Spencer in a quick move before continuing to back out of the parking spot. "The drugs wore off, I see. You've healed."
Spencer waved a hand dismissively. The injuries were nothing; she could handle that. Though she shouldn't really be surprised that Laura had been bothered by it enough to mention it. What was important was what she'd learned last night. "I took out three of the four men who came after her, and I locked the other in a closet while I took Laura to safety. When I got back, I had a long conversation with him. I managed to get the name of the person in Laura's organization that's working with this group, as well as information about the meeting that's supposed to go down tonight. From what I understand, Dr. Totes, McKinley, and our newest player are meeting together for McKinley to deliver the necessary samples and make plans."
A light entered Natasha's eyes and all of her emotions shifted over into the same kind of eagerness that Spencer had been feeling all night long. An eagerness that came from the fact they were finally getting somewhere, might be able to do some actual work, and from the knowledge that this mission might soon be done.
"You have a location?" Natasha asked.
Spencer grinned at her. "Place and time. We've got," She shot a brief glance at the clock and did a quick mental calculation. "Twelve hours and forty two minutes to get a plan in place."
"Good." This time, Natasha's smile was sharp, an open threat to anyone who would even think about going against them. Spencer echoed it as she shifted into her seat and got more comfortable. It was time to work.
Only a small amount of their planning involved figuring out how to get out from underneath the watchful eyes of their shadows. That was honestly the easiest part, and something they'd come into this prepared for. All it took was a text to Clint to set that part of things in motion. Then the two women went about their day and Spencer gradually showed signs of having a 'good day'. By the time midafternoon rolled around, the two were having lunch in a nearby cafe with their shadows not far away, and Natasha made a point of suggesting they go out to celebrate how good of a day she was having.
From there, the two went back to the hotel, and emerged a few hours later dressed to go out and have some fun. Tighter jeans, form fitting shirts, clothes that made it clear what they were hoping to come from the night. Then they found a bar and they waited for Clint to play his part.
Spencer had to work not to blow her cover when she finally spotted her friend. Tucked up against Natasha's side, with the woman's arm around her shoulders, Spencer had been scanning the room in a way that would suggest she was looking for someone interesting, but not one specific person. When her eyes landed on Clint, she let them light up a little, let a look of attraction dance over her face and into her body language, while on the inside she tried not to laugh. He looked… Jesus, he probably looked good to pretty much anyone in here-he must have, Spencer could tell, picking up a few stray thoughts as he sauntered over towards them-but for Spencer it felt nothing but ridiculous to have him looking at her with that kind of attraction on his face and that little sway to his hips, and the faux moustache he had on only made it worse. She wanted to reach out and tug on the ends of it and just laugh and laugh.
She caught one of his thoughts /Quit looking at me like that, you little brat/ and felt the amusement and affection laid over it, and she had to fight back her grin.
Her training was the only thing that saved her. It was the only thing that gave her any ability to keep in character when Clint stopped by her and Natasha, who had turned to look now as well, and he smiled before speaking in a heavily accented British voice, "I've seen many gorgeous sights since visiting this country, but they pale in comparison to the two of you."
/Does that line actually work?/ Spencer couldn't resist sending to him.
Natasha seemed to be thinking the same thing. She simply wasn't afraid to say it out loud. It fit her character. "Does that ever actually work?"
He grinned openly. It made his moustache wiggle and Spencer bit her tongue to keep from laughing. "More than you'd think."
"If all else, you have to at least admire the guts it took to come up and say it." Spencer said, smiling up at Natasha.
That was all the opening they needed. For their audience, they played it up a little longer, a bit of back and forth flirting that set the stage for Clint to finally ask them "What do you say we get out of here?"
"I'd say, what took you so long?" Natasha shot back, flirtatious in a way that Spencer had never been able to perfectly replicate. Most of the time Spencer knew her flirtations worked because she used emotion to back it. Natasha's flirting, it looked… natural.
To those watching them, there wasn't anything suspicious about it when Clint ended up with the two of them tucked under his arms as he escorted them out of there. The most it earned from those watching were a few chuckles and lewd remarks about the guy managing to bag not just one beauty, but two. Their shadows followed the trio to a nearby motel and then settled in to wait, sure that it wouldn't take long before the girls came back out once more.
Inside the room was a scene quite a bit different than the ones the watchers outside were expecting. The minute they were safely inside and sure that they weren't being watched, they dropped the act and slipped into mission mode. "What's the clock look like?" Clint asked, looking to Spencer.
The young genius was already strolling over towards the duffle bag on the bed. She knew her clothes and weapons would be in there. "One hour and twelve minutes."
"Not much time to get set up." Clint said.
It was Natasha who shrugged at that while she made her way over to join Spencer by the bag. "It's the best we could get. We had no way out earlier than this. Not without looking suspicious." That wasn't something they could risk. If they gave themselves away too soon, someone could alert their targets and the whole mission would be blown.
Spencer pulled out the SHIELD uniform in the bag, scowling only briefly at it. She really hated these things. As soon as she could find someone who could work with her specifications, she was getting her own made. She tossed it down on the bed and reached for the hem of her shirt. "How's Laura."
"Safe." Clint said immediately. He'd turned himself away a little, putting his back towards them as he dug through his own bag to pull out his uniform. "Annoyed at being put someplace out of the way, but safe. Things go well tonight and you'll get a chance to ask her yourself." He turned just enough to cast Spencer a brief, amused look. "And for her to look you over. She's not quite taking me for my word when I explained you've got a healing factor."
Considering the state she'd seen Spencer in, that wasn't any real surprise.
With a distinct lack of modesty the three of them stripped out of their bar clothes and suited up into their uniforms. Next came weapons, the amount of which would have probably made even some of the agents they knew shudder. Clint had the least of the three of them, at least in hidden weapons, but he was still well prepared for more than just his bow and arrows. Natasha and Spencer-it was a bit of a tossup which one of them had more. They both secreted countless knives on their person as well as a few guns. Natasha had more guns; she was more fond of them. Spencer had more of knives; those were her weapon of choice. The sight of her favorite one had Natasha letting out a low hum of appreciation. "Nice."
Spencer looked down at the dagger she'd just strapped to her thigh. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was kept sharp, and the pure black hilt fit her palm perfectly. It had been a gift a long time ago from one of her trainers and had helped to save her life many times since then. "Thanks."
"We ready?" Clint asked them, drawing their eyes back over to him. He was geared up just as they were and there was an air of readiness about him. One that Spencer and Natasha both shared. It was time to get this mission done with. Time to go and get these bastards and stop whatever it was they were trying to do here.
The three agents exchanged looks and they all nodded. It was time to go. If they were lucky and all things went well, they might be able to be home again by this time tomorrow.
For the first time in what felt like a long time, things did go right. They went more than just right. Spencer almost wanted to scold the guys once they'd captured them. Their security had been pitiful in comparison to the three spies. Without the illness clogging her veins anymore, Spencer was back in top form, and she took out all of her recent inactivity on them. The fact that it took forty minutes from arrival-twenty five of which was spent simply waiting-before they had every person as well as the samples secure, well, it was sort of sad.
"I really expected something better here." Clint said conversationally as he looked down at the bound men in front of him.
Spencer folded her arms over her chest and let her gaze cool as it settled on Dr. Totes, McKinley, and their newest player-a Dr. Maya Lise. She was the doctor that was a part of Laura's charity group.
The two stared down at their captives and contemplated what needed to be done. Natasha was securing the last of the samples that had been brought. Clint had already made his call to SHIELD. Really, they could just wait here for extraction and leave these guys to SHIELD interrogators. That was what Phil had said for them to do. But… Spencer shifted a little to the right and looked at McKinley. He was the one who had brought the samples tonight. He was the one who had knowledge of where the samples came from, the compounds that this group would be at, and so much more. If she still worked for the Facility it'd be easy to know what to do next. If they wanted information they always sent in Erinyes. Erinyes could get the answers that no one else could… whether the person she was asking liked it or not.
Working for SHIELD had taught her different techniques. They didn't ask of her the types of things that the Facility had asked of her. Mind rape was never even an option. However, what she picked up from their casual thoughts, the things that screamed out that she couldn't really ignore anyways-those were fair game. All she had to do was get them talking about it and often their minds gave the answers for them.
She knew SHIELD wouldn't be upset with her for finding out information for them before the people got to their interrogators. Her information had never proved wrong for them and she always got more out of people than anyone else.
With that in mind, Spencer shifted her expression into a small pout. Barely any time had passed since Clint had spoken. Her thoughts had traveled fast. "I expected at least a challenge." The way she said it made her disappointment clear. "I've barely had a chance to work out at all lately. I wanted to have some fun."
"Maybe one of them will try and run." Clint offered her.
That had Spencer smiling. Not her nice smile, the one that Clint and now Natasha could draw out of her, small and sincere. Not her fake one, either, that she put on during a cover. This was one that only Erinyes wore and it was one that made those looking on shiver and draw back from.
"There's been a big mistake here." Dr. Maya said. She was looking to Clint, obviously trying to appeal to him. The way she twisted herself his direction, how she curled her body in, it was a clear ploy to make herself a weak woman, someone that he might pity.
Clint chuckled, low and just a bit dark. "Sure there has, sweetheart."
Everything about Maya that Spencer was picking up made it clear that she'd known exactly what she was doing with these guys and hadn't cared in the least. She wasn't a part of their core group; was, in fact, a recruit they'd probably picked because of her job. She wasn't the one who was going to give any important information. No… she had a feeling that one would be McKinley. He was the coldest, quietest, and the one that looked least likely to start talking. That meant she was going to have to be the one to get the conversation going.
Spencer tried on a few different scenarios in her mind before she settled on the simplest. Cocking her head, she watched his face as Maya continued to try and speak to Clint-"Please, you have to understand, they made me!"-and saw the slight little twitch to his lip, the tiniest giveaway at his distaste for what she was saying.
"Be quiet, Maya!" Dr. Totes snapped out.
Unfolding her arms, Spencer took a few steps forward, keeping a watch on McKinley. "You're awfully quiet, Mr. McKinley."
The man arched one eyebrow, then shook his head. "I've got nothing to say to you." He wasn't as stupid as his cohorts here. The man was smart and she got the feeling he was at least somewhat trained on what to do on situations like this. Too bad for him there was no training for something like her.
Spencer let her smile grow. Moving forward another step, she squatted down in front of him, knees together and arms folded on her legs. "Is that so?" Dark amusement colored her tone. This time she was the one arching her eyebrow. It made her amusement and disdain clear. "Nothing you want to say? Nothing at all?"
McKinley looked her over on a long, lazy gesture. When his eyes finally settled on her face again, after spending long enough on her chest that Clint's emotions turned angry and sharp, he was the one looking amused. "I don't need to speak to the guard dogs. I'll save that for when your master shows up."
"They really don't make them intelligent in your group, do they?" Natasha asked, coming over to join them. She stood behind Spencer, likely at Clint's side. A good plan since Spencer could feel how pissed of Clint was.
Clint was the one to answer her. "Apparently not."
"You can't do anything to us." McKinley said with confidence he really did feel. "Your masters want us alive. Dead people can't speak." And clear as day Spencer could see his thoughts of how he planned to try and escape as well as father Intel on SHIELD on his way out. Idiot.
Time to pay a bit more. Spencer drew her dagger in a quick move. Before he could blink the tip was at his throat. Spencer's expression was calm and serene. People wetter more freaked out by calm captors promising them pain. "Alive doesn't mean unharmed."
When he froze bit said nothing, Natasha scoffed at him. "Do you even realize who's in front of you? Anyone with an ounce of intelligence would be shaking in fear. I imagine many would wet themselves."
"Once or twice." Spencer agreed. One corner of her mouth worked up and she leaned in a little, pressing on the knife until he had to top his head back. "Do you have any clue who caught you? Behind me are Hawkeye and Black Widow."
The way his eyes widened and his body tensed gave away his fear, though Spencer could feel it. Obviously he knew who they were. And judging by the way he was looking from one to the other, he was scared of both of them. Smart choice. Some people seemed to look at the two of them and think for some reason that Natasha was the only one worth being scared of. But Hawkeye didn't have a reputation for no reason. Spencer knew the man had done many bad things, both on his own and under SHIELD's name. He wasn't innocent and pure. He had a reputation of his own that was well deserved. He'd also done plenty more that no one ever knew about.
"Good." Spencer said, letting a purr slip into her voice. "You know who they are. You know how dangerous they can be. But, let me let you in on a little secret." She leaned in until there was barely any space between them. "It's not them you have to be afraid of."
"Who are you?" McKinley breathed out.
"Me?" Spencer twisted the knife a bit until a drop of red appeared on his skin and chuckled as it made him hiss. "They call me Erinyes."
The fear that hit him almost choked her. It crashed over him like a tidal wave and came pouring off his body in a thick cloud. Something deep in her stomach clenched at the idea that just her name was enough to terrify someone so much.
She let none of that show on the outside, though. All he saw was her pleased little smirk. "Ah! You do know me." Spencer said happily. "Them you probably know that I'm telling the truth when I say I'm going to get some answers from you tonight. How I get them is entirely up to you. What's it going to be, Mick? The fun way…" she pushed the knife in again and drew a bit more blood. "...or the boring way?"
He was so close to breaking. So close. Fear was a good, strong motivator, one that could get someone to give you almost anything. But when he looked up at her and plainly said "I can't" in a way that suggested he meant what he said, she knew he was going to require another push.
She pushed down her own feelings and worked on feeding his fear. Taking it from him and giving it back, stronger than ever. "You can." She told him, voice low and cold. "And you will. I want to know all about your operation, McKinley. What you're doing, what your plans are, where you're storing more samples-all of it. And you're going to give it to me."
That was just what he did. Oh, not with his words. His mouth trembled a little as he once more told her "I can't. But his mind… oh, yes, his mind gave her everything.
The sound of their extraction team arriving didn't bother Spencer in the slightest. She had what she needed to know. As the agents came towards them, Spencer chuckled and drew back from McKinley. "Thank you, McKinley. You've been ever so helpful."
He looked confused but that was fine. Spencer didn't really care. She rose to her feet and moved back towards her partners. Clint already had a notebook and pencil in hand. Spencer took them with a grateful smile. Once she had everything written down that she'd gleaned from his mind, she'd pass it over to the agent in charge and then, finally, the little trio would be able to get the hell out of there, their mission done.
Fifteen minutes later, that was exactly what they were doing.
Spencer was quiet yet content as she followed Natasha and Clint. Where they were going at the moment, she wasn't quite sure. She trusted their destination to Clint and simply focused on how good it felt to stretch herself out once more without any lingering signs of illness or injury. Having to spend so much time sick hadn't been anywhere near fun. With the illness gone and her healing back in top shape, no more weird discrepancies in the time it took to heal, she felt more like herself again. She felt safe.
Unfortunately, other things kept trying to creep into her head. Like the serum for suppressing her healing factor. The fact that SHIELD had that put something down low in her stomach that made her feel a bit sick. SHIELD was supposed to be different from the Facility. In the time she'd been with them Spencer had discovered that that was mostly true. But there were some things the group did that...well, she couldn't quite put it into words. It made her uneasy, though.
She'd only just managed to push those thoughts back when they finally reached their destination. They were at another motel-a different one than they'd been at earlier. Clint didn't take them inside or anywhere near the front desk. Thankfully. The way they looked in that moment probably would've caused quite a stir. However, when he opened up the door and led them inside, Spencer understood why it was they'd come here and she berated herself for not realizing it sooner.
Laura was waiting inside the room. She pushed up immediately at the sight of them and Spencer could see as she hid away a gun that she must've drawn when the door was opening. A second later she was launching herself at Clint, who easily caught her up in his arms.
The couple embraced and reassured each other that the other was okay. While they did that, Natasha and Spencer stood awkwardly off to the side, neither one of them quite sure what to do here. Emotional scenes weren't really their thing; either of them. They couldn't just leave, though. Not after so long apart. Being together and being back to normal, that was something they all needed right now.
To Spencer's surprise, Laura seemed to understand that. She broke away from Clint before she was ready-it wasn't hard for Spencer to tell that, able to feel it in her emotions and see it in the way she let her hands linger on the archer-and she turned to look at the, her smile including them in a way that made Spencer want to squirm uncomfortably. "I'm so glad you all made it back all right." Laura said, open and honest in a way that was foreign to the two women watching her. She focused on Natasha and smiled warmly at her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Natasha. Clint's talked about you so much." Then she turned to Spencer and the lines around her eyes softened a bit. "And I'm glad to see you're doing better, Erinyes. Clint said the stuff you were taking would wear off, but I was worried."
"She's good at that." Clint teased her. The elbow to the gut that earned him only made him grunt and laugh. He hooked his arm around Laura's waist, pulling her in close, and while she rolled her eyes she also didn't fight him at all. If anything, she melted into his embrace with only a low murmur of "Be nice."
"I'm not entirely sure he knows how." Natasha said dryly. She was uncomfortable, Spencer could feel it, but she also was making an effort. It spoke to how important Clint was to her.
More than anything Spencer wished she could melt back here and slowly vanish from the room. The longer she was in here, the more she wanted to be, and she knew just how dangerous that train of thought could be. It was just… there was so much love present between Laura and Clint. Spencer could feel it. Her empathy picked it up easily and she wanted to bask in the sensation of it. No one had ever looked at her with that kind of feeling before. She'd never felt it for anyone else, either. Not like this.
In the privacy of her mind she could admit that she loved Clint. Not like Laura did, no. Like the family they labeled one another as. At least, she thought that was the way to label it. The only frame of reference she had was her emotions towards her mother and those had been colored by so many other issues.
What Laura and Clint had went deeper than that. It was like a warm fire, blazing and sparking when they touched or looked at one another, staying steady even when their focus was off of one another. It was hot and bright, comforting and terrifying, beautiful and dangerous. It was everything Spencer had never known she'd wanted, and what she knew she'd never be able to allow herself to have. How could she? This… this was glorious, and it would destroy her. It wasn't made for things such as she was. Something this pure, this raw and beautiful, it was everything that was good and light. What she was, what she'd been made to be, was meant for the dark. She wasn't something meant to be dragged out into the beauty of that light.
That realization struck Spencer hard. She reeled inside, the pain of it sharper than anything this illness had let her feel. This was so much worse than that. It gutted her, taking away a kernel of hope she hadn't even known she'd had. It took every single ounce of control not to let it show on the outside. To simply smile at Laura as the woman faced her once more. To make her voice steady as she told her "It's a pleasure to meet you too, ma'am." There was honesty in her voice; she really was pleased to meet the woman who meant so much to the person that mattered the most in Spencer's world. For him, she pushed down her internal revelations, pushed away the pain, refusing to let them see any of it. Her smile was small, barely considered one by anyone else, yet she knew Clint would recognize it as a big one for her. "I've heard nothing but wonderful things about you from Clint."
"Now, I highly doubt that." Laura said with a laugh. The way that Clint lit up at the sound, eyes crinkling a little from the strength of his grin, it helped chase away some of the coldness inside Spencer. Anything that made him that happy wasn't bad. Laura gave him a fond look and then turned back to Spencer, unconsciously leaning to rest more against Clint as she did. "And please, there's no need to call me ma'am. I can't have my sister-in-law going around calling me ma'am. Laura will do just fine."
Chuckling, Clint bent down and pressed a kiss to Laura's head. "Well, now, about that…"
"What?" Laura asked, tilting to look at him.
Spencer rolled her eyes and Natasha gave a small chuckle. She seemed to be settling into this a whole lot easier than Spencer was. She was tense inside, yes, and on alert, but she was doing a better job of acting calm at least. "What he means to say is that he's been upgraded." She teased them.
As Laura's confusion grew, Clint gave her a sheepish grin and shrugged. "Um…" Then he spread his hands out, palms up, and said "Congratulations honey-it's a girl!"
The words took a second to sink in for Laura. Then she looked at Spencer, wide eyed, and back to Clint. Instead of looking annoyed, as Spencer was momentarily afraid of, the woman's eyes actually softened and the love between them blazed even brighter. "What am I going to do with you?" Shaking her head, she tipped up to press a kiss against his lips. Then she turned away from him and broke free to step towards Spencer. Though she had to have heard plenty about her from Clint, likely including how little Spencer like to be touched, the smaller woman didn't hesitate to step towards her and keep her arms open, the offer of the hug clear.
Spencer hesitated only briefly before deciding that, just this once, she could do it. For the smile she knew it would give Clint, she could do it.
She took two steps towards Laura and let herself be folded into those arms. There came that strange, uncomfortable feeling of being touched, being restrained, by someone she didn't know-by anyone-but it was all weirdly muted by the sense of comfort she felt. The fire of Laura and Clint's emotions seemed to grow and, for one brief moment, it was like she was included in it. That feeling only grew when Laura turned in, pressing her cheek against Spencer's, and whispered "I've always wanted a child. Welcome to the family, Erinyes. Spencer."
Oh, God. Spencer closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. Her hands clenched just the slightest bit in Laura's jacket.
The light of love between these two might not be made for her, but it didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the feeling of warming herself at its edges. They were offering to let her close, including her in a way she never could've expected, and her powers told her clearly that they both meant it. They were actually, honestly, letting her close to them. To the blaze that was so beautiful.
As she held tight, she knew she would never have a fire like that of her own, but this… feeling it from them, watching from the sidelines, tasting in the forbidden… this would be enough. It would have to be.