Clint had boots on the ground for four days. He was still scouting, laying bugs and gathering intel while looking for the female assasin known to him only as the "Black Widow". The Ukranian peace leader that Clint was ostensibly protecting was of course unaware of the archer's presence.
By the end of the week, he was starting to get concerned that maybe the intel wasn't right and he was barking up the wrong tree. While he wasn't in constant contact with SHIELD, he checked in with his handler, Phil Coulson, to make sure there weren't problems.
The Ukrainian leader was being joined by his family for the weekend after a long week of meetings, which is when everything fell apart. Clint's watchful eye marked each family member as they got out: Mother, eldest son, youngest son, youngest daughter, oldest daughter and... a red-head that was familiar to him.
Hawkeye's stomach dropped. She was the Black Widow? A colorful string of curse words in a variety of languages sped through his head. He could hear through the bugs that the other spy was posing as a school friend of the oldest daughter who had been brought along for the weekend in the country. That worried him greatly. It meant that she was planning on taking out the whole family, to ensure no one could ID her.
For now, she was playing the part of a young university student, though he noted that she was cataloging everything she saw as well. He had no idea what her timeline was so he knew he had to move quickly. Clint jumped from his vantage point and started pulling things together in his mind.
Hawkeye slid through one of the open casement windows in the basement, getting ready to sneak into the upstairs part of the house. He heard two girls giggling as they came down the stairs, talking about some current movie star heartthrob. He quickly ducked under the stairs, his arrow ready to fly if needed.
"Hold on, my dad's cognac is back there. Once I get it for him, we can go watch something," the uninvolved girl said in Ukranian. She would delve into the cobwebs alone for the bottle. Clint was poised. If the Widow was going to make a first move, this was the time.
Clint's eyes were trained tightly on the woman, frowning when he noticed almost regret in her eyes, and still she didn't make her move. This is when the slaughter should have started, he knew. If he were planning it, it's what he would do. The family was split up and by killing the girl down here, she could even hide it for a while. But she didn't move until suddenly the red head called out, "I want to see the one that has the guy...you know, the one with the arms," still in Ukranian of course.
She was stalling, it was the only explanation he could come up with. That changed things. "You have a headache and you want to lay down," he hissed from his hiding spot under the stairs.
The Black Widow allowed a mili-second of surprise to show on her features before she hid it, not acknowledging the words in any way except to say to the other girl as they went up the steps, "Actually, my head is starting to hurt, do you mind if I go lay down for a little while?"
Hawkeye was surprised she actually did it.