I like so meant to post this on Saturday but lost track of time. _
So most people (who reviewed) asked me to put the mature chapter 10 up as a one shot... I'm debating wiether I want to do that or have an inbetween story where I can use that before I post the second half of this story. Well, I could also have it appear as a flash back in my second story. I don't know. What do you guys think? Well, no matter what, it won't be posted until this is done. And I have no idea when that will be. ^_^
Anyways, here is chapter 11!
Natasha screamed and cursed, switching from English to Russian so fast it confused Bruce and Steve. She jumped to her feet and began to hit the instruments that had been tracking Clint but they just suddenly stopped. They had been so close at a location and then the blips paused before not returning all together. Bruce and Steve calmly watched as the assassin beat the machines and cursed some more. It took maybe three minutes of this before Tony came rushing back into the room.
"Did we fin-" he started asking but hesitated as he watched the deadly woman snap. Tony gulped as he looked down to Bruce. The other scientist turned to face him, but a wary eye was still kept on Natasha. "What happened?"
"Um. We stopped getting hits," Bruce mumbled. Tony 'ah'-ed as he faced Natasha once again. She was now playing with dials, switches and knobs. Tony winced when he heard a pop. Natasha had just broken off a piece of the tech. Her added curse and near squeal of anger made the men tense more.
"Natasha?" Steve worried-ly called to the S.H.I.E.L.D agent. She didn't respond to the super soldier. Just kept on messing with the instrument before her. It worried all of them that she didn't answer. She was normally so attentive. "Natasha."
"Hello? Anybody home?" Tony joked, expecting her to turn and lash out at him. Still, nothing. Sharing a look with the other two Avengers, he decided to push his luck. So what if it risked his life. That was something Tony was well known for. "Natasha? Natalia? Natalie? Nat? Natty? Natto? Shasa? Tash?"
Natasha paused as she listened to Tony's word play on her name. It almost made her smile. That was until she realized that Clint used many of them. After a moment, she spun on Tony. He didn't notice.
"Tasha?" he called. Natasha's eyes opened in surprise. Tony did not just use that nickname. The nickname that Clint always used. No one had time to react before Natasha's right fist pounded Tony's face. The billionaire dropped back several steps from the force before recovering. His hands quickly came to his face to survey the damage. "Shit! Christ, Natasha!"
"Don't ever call me 'Tasha'," Natasha growled as she death glared Tony. The billionaire nodded. He wasn't going to argue with her. Especially now that she seemed to be uber insane woman.
"Natasha, calm down," Bruce warned. Natasha and Tony looked to him. Both were slightly surprised to see him standing. Steve was also on his feet, waiting to see what would happen next. Natasha snorted before turning back to the machine. She hesitated when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Slowly she tilted her head to look back. Steve was there. He dropped his hand.
"We'll find him, Natasha," Steve mumbled. It took her a minute to realize the soldier was trying to calm her. Sighing, Natasha looked away and nodded. She knew he was right. Even if the others gave up, she'd keep going. Clint would be fine. All she had to do was believe.
"Yeah," she whispered.
"JARVIS is running facial recognition on nearly every video in the world," Tony softly remarked. Natasha and Steve looked to him, surprised. Steve remembered that same tech being used to find Loki and Clint once before. Natasha didn't even realize that Tony had that tech. Bruce snorted.
"You so would have lost," he noted. Tony glared at his science buddy.
"Hey, at least mine is still running!" Tony snapped. Bruce shrugged and left the room. Tony was fast on his heels. "Hey! You listen to me! I had a shot!"
Natasha smiled as she faced the ground. It felt nice having more than just Coulson watching their backs. Yes, there had been times that Hill or Fury showed their concern or they had been with a larger team but it was never like the care that Coulson and now the other Avengers were showing. Too bad Clint wasn't there to see it. Steve cleared his throat. The assassin raised her eyes to stare at the super soldier.
"We still have time. He'll be alright," Steve declared. Natasha nodded as she looked down the hall to Tony and Bruce. The two were having a rather heated argument. Her smile widened ever so slightly before she turned her gaze back to the man beside her.
"I know that now."
-line break-
Agent Jones frowned as he glanced down at the sheet before him again. He had read them over and over numerous times but still couldn't believe what it actually said. Looking around at other agents that were scattered about the general living room area, Jones wondered if he should talk to someone about the page. But, the last line had written that he couldn't. Who knew who would be on his side.
'Find Agent Clinton Barton and bring him in for questioning to this address.' Jones sighed. Could he really do that? Bring him in like a wanted criminal? Then again... Had it really been less than a week since the Manhattan incident? The same incident that also had the Helicarrier attacked and nearly killed over fifty agents?
"Agent Kenneth Jones?" demanded a new voice. Jones jerked up in surprise. His eyes quickly focusing on Agent Maria Hill. Gulping, he grabbed the order sheet before him and folded it closed. Hill took note of the panicked action but said nothing.
"Yes, sir? I mean, ma'am!" Jones responded. Hill tried to hide her smirk of amusement at the younger agent's expense. She did a good enough job for those in the room currently but if Fury or an older agent had seen, they would have known.
"I just heard that you got a private communication from a certain someone. Director Fury would like to know what it was about," Hill ordered. Jones frowned. Explicitly explained in his letter was the order to not let Fury know about what he was being told to do. He didn't respond. Hill smiled and she was suddenly flanked by at least four other agents. "You are going to be placed in the brig for a short time until you figure out your true loyalties."
"But, I haven't done anything!" The four men calmly walked over to his side and two of them grasped his arms. Together, they awkwardly dragged him to his feet. Jones didn't protest them, but he also didn't help them.
"You are withholding vital information from your direct commander and are following orders from a secondary command. That could make you considered a spy. Think about that with your time in the brig," Hill commented before cuffs were strapped to Jones's wrists and the four took him away. Hill sighed and looked down to the still folded sheet on the table. Smirking, she picked it up and quickly read it. "Shit."
Turning on her heel, Hill stormed out of the room. Rushing threw the halls of the Helicarrier, Hill quickly made it to Fury's office. Once there, for the first time that she ever remembered, she didn't knock. Hill simply barged in.
"Sir, you need to see this!" she told the Director. Fury glanced up quickly. Hill ignored his curious gaze and instead, slammed the paper down onto the desk. Ignoring her strange mood, Fury focused on the page before him.
"Fuck. How many of these were sent out?" he questioned. Hill frowned as she thought back to the report she had gotten only minutes before. She had glanced over it so quickly but she could still remember most of it. All she could hope was that she was right.
"At least thirty, sir. None sent to anyone working directly under you. And certainly only a handful that would actually have any chance of catching Barton," Hill reported. But then hesitated. Fury focused on her. He had noticed the pause. Sighing, she spoke again. "There was one name on the list that worried me."
"Who?" Hill hesitated again. Fury narrowed his gaze at her. Mentally he was willing her to report the news. Sighing deeply, as though to steel herself, Hill answered.
"Agent Sitwell." Fury frowned. He couldn't believe that such a good agent would turn against them. But then something rather important struck him.
"He works directly under me," Fury retorted. Hill frowned. It was true. Hill hadn't even thought of that as she dealt with as many of the others as possible. Jones isn't the only agent in the brig. He was just the only agent dumb enough to leave his orders behind.
"Only recently. He had been working under Agent Coulson." Fury nodded. That was true. Most of his orders to the new handler had been sent through Coulson until the man had died. Now Fury had been ordering many new agents directly. It was certainly a new experience.
"Why does he worry you?" Fury questioned, leaning back in his chair. Hill shifted. She knew that Fury didn't know much background on many agents that had recently been given direct orders from him, but she had figured that the older man would have seen the closeness of the two agents.
"Sir, Sitwell and Coulson were very close friends. I believe he may hold some resentment towards Barton for what happened," Hill stated. Fury nodded and glanced back at his computer. Hill sighed, guessing that maybe she assumed too much. His one good eye suddenly widened in shock before narrowing in anger.
"I hope you're wrong Agent Hill," Fury muttered before standing. Hill tilted her head in confusion. "Sitwell just left for the day. Six hours before the end of his shift."
So, was it good? Don't forget to review and please answer my debate! Until next chapter! Bye! ^_^