AN: So, this chapter is a little shorter than some of my other ones but as it reads over 3000 words I'm happy. I just berated a writer on here for writing a chapter of 750-so words and then demanding fifteen reviews before she posted the next chapter. I'm sorry if I offend anyone on here but I don't think it's okay to demand x number of reviews on a chapter that's shorter than my grocery list. Sorry, I'm a little heated right now. You're probably tired of hearing me rant so…here's the story.

Disclaimer: It's mine! It's mine! The Avengers, Clint, SHIELD, Clint, Stark Tower, Clint! Oh, wait, that was a dream. Nevermind.

Clint made only one stop on his way to the hotel room and that was to pick up some antiseptic and gauze. He bandaged himself, hid the gun, and promptly fell asleep on the hotel bed. Clint knew he should stay awake and finish this but he couldn't find the motivation in himself. He'd been running for this man since nine this morning and they were approaching midnight for London now. He dreamed that the Hulk married an Iron Man suit in a cold chapel. The Avengers were there in the pews, including Bruce and Tony, and Vincent was the priest. Strangely, Kline didn't make it into the dream at all and that was the only thing Clint remembered when he woke up. Kline was never there.

There are always two choices. Two paths to take. One is easy. And it's only reward is that it's easy. –Unknown

Clint woke with a start, like the way you jump right before you hit the ground when you dream you're falling. His head was pounding and his body was stiff, both likely came from the vigorous beating he'd received. He sat up slowly trying to reacquaint himself with an upright position. He impressed himself by not throwing up and just as slowly as he did sitting up, he tried to stand. The world didn't go black and Clint didn't collapse. Vincent, surprisingly enough, had kept his word. He'd been able to walk away and he could complete a hit. Clint sent out a small thank you to no one in particular and started moving.

He checked to make sure the rifle was still in the room, it was. He took a quick shower to get rid of all the dried blood and then changed the bandage on his chest and then he picked up his iPad to check the team. They were unmoved and they looked miserably bored but they were okay. In fact, the only team member that looked even remotely in pain was the Captain. He was still shivering but Clint was guessing that the temperature was still warm enough for his healing abilities to keep him awake. He wasn't sure that was a blessing for the Captain or a curse.

Finally, he checked his phone. He'd saved this for last; terrified that while he'd been unconscious Kline had decided to give him that call. He didn't have any missed calls or unopened text messages however. A cell phone rang but it wasn't the one in his hand. Clint followed the sound of the ringing to a bag next to the doorway that Clint was sure hadn't been there earlier. Clint opened the bag to find a phone down at the bottom. The Caller ID read BLOCKED and Clint answered with a vague, "Hello?"

"Agent Barton, glad to hear you've found my gift," Kline said.

"You do know I have a phone already right?" Clint asked.

"Forgive me if I don't want to use your SHIELD issued phone to discuss a contact hit with you," Kline said sounding not at all repentant.

Clint was about to reply when his other cell phone rang. Clint cursed by couldn't hide the fact from Kline. "Should I ignore it?"

"No, that'll only give them reason to worry. Answer but stay on the phone with me and put them on speaker phone," Kline demanded.

Clint followed the instructions, not eager to get one of his team members killed over a phone call. "This is Agent Barton."

"Agent Barton," Fury said said. His booming voice seemed only louder over the phone. "Is everything okay?"

"Remember," Kline said quickly. "You want to keep SHIELD out of this."

Clint sighed. "Yeah, Director, everything's fine."

"Have you heard from Kline?" Fury asked.

"I haven't seen hide or tail of him, sir," Clint replied truthfully. Phone calls, yes, but had he seen Kline? No.

"I'm worried about your team," Fury said.

Kline's voice hissed at him over the phone. "Think very carefully about how you want to respond."

Clint knew how he wanted to respond. He wanted to tell Fury that his team was indeed in danger and that if something didn't go right for Clint soon he was going to be committing an unsanctioned hit. Unfortunately, none of that could be spoken with Kline privy to every word. "What makes you say that?"

"I was on the phone with Captain Rogers this morning. I was telling him about Kline before the call was lost," Fury said.

"So?" Clint asked. "It took Rogers nearly a week to learn how to just make a call on the cell phone. I'm not surprised that he loses a call now and again."

"I haven't been able to reach him since," Fury said. "Or anyone else."

"Look, Director, I'm sure it's Natasha trying to give everyone a break or one of Stark's inventions gone wrong or, hell, maybe the Hulk got a little too close to the phones in the training room. Who knows? I do know that if Kline's coming, he'll be coming after me."

"Get some rest," Fury snapped back and then he hung up.

It was more than frustrating to know he'd kept Fury off Kline's trail for a little while longer. Kline's smug reply following certainly didn't help. "They talk about the Widow's manipulation skills but you definitely have talent."

Clint nearly growled. "I got your gun. Now put them in the same room."

"I know you have the gun," Kline replied and with a slight chuckle continued. "And it looks like it might have cost you more than six thousand dollars."

"Sixty-six thousand plus pain and suffering," Clint repeated Vincent.

"You need to make some new friends if this is how your present ones treat you," Kline said. "Don't worry, I'll reimburse you though. The cash part only. Pain and suffering doesn't look good on me."

Clint didn't want the man's money but he didn't argue. "So what's on the agenda for today? Do you want me to bomb a daycare? Fire a missile at my face? Sell me for cheap labor?"

"Well, as exciting as that all sounds – melodramatic aren't you – just sit tight for a while. It's going to take me a while to get all of your friends into one room," Kline replied. "Suspicious bunch."

Clint frowned. "Why is it going to take a while?"

But he was talking to a dead like, Kline had already hung up.

Steve was sure he was going to lose his mind. The cold never relented, the shivering had him biting his own tongue, and he was so damn tired. Only the biting cold kept him awake which wasn't doing him any favors. Time seemed to stretch forever alone in the training room where nothing, ever changed. And that's probably why Steve thought himself hallucinating when he heard the doors click open.

His head shot up. The room, so empty, made the unlocking echo off the walls. Would a hallucination echo? Steve fought the stiff muscles in his body as he stood and carefully walked over the door. He squashed any hope inside him that the doors were actually unlocked. Steve wasn't sure he could handle the idea of freedom if it wasn't real. He took a deep breath and pushed against the door. When it opened for him he let out a cry of joy. The warmth from the hallway made his skin hurt like thousands of little needles but Steve didn't care. He was warm. Steve still shivered feverishly as his body desperately continued to try and rid himself of the settling hypothermia but he kept walking forward. The door shut behind him and clicked as it locked again. Steve frowned and walked farther down the hall. When he got to the end and to the other door he found this one locked as well. Steve cursed silently but his train of thought was derailed when the sound of the door unlocking filled the empty hallway. Steve pushed against it and it, like the training room door, was now operable. Steve stepped through and shut the door behind him. The unmistakable sound of the door relocking made him frown again. Steve continued forward, obviously whoever was controlling the doors intended for him to do so. The doors led him through several hallways and several rooms and down two floors before finally locking him in Tony's largest conference room. Steve had been in there a few times before. There was much space and two doors but after allowing him in there the doors had stopped opening.

For the first time in over twenty-four hours Steve heard a voice that wasn't his own. Unfortunately, it was only Jarvis and even more unfortunately, it didn't sound like the friendly Jarvis Steve had grown to like. "Containment protocol continued. Isolation protocol complete. Threat not active. Repeat, threat not active."

Paper was not dangerous to an Iron Man suit, not even when it was crumpled up into tiny balls that stung normal human skin. The Iron Man Robots did not seem to have a problem with Tony playing with the paper on his desk. He'd reached for it to do origami, finally reaching the point of boredom where origami was a plausible use of his time. Of course, he'd never quite mastered the patience required for origami like Bruce had so halfway through a crane he crumbled up the paper and threw it at the nearest Iron Man. It smacked the faceplate and bounced off onto the ground. The Iron Man Robot didn't react. "Going to take that lying down?"

As usual the Iron Man didn't say anything. Now, approximately three hundred paper balls later this was less boring than origami but still growing dreary. Tony packed four paper balls into the palm of his hand and threw them at the nearest Iron Man simultaneously. All of the sudden, it stepped forward. Tony jumped out of his seat and swore. Of course, it chose now to show its displeasure when Tony could hardly use I didn't mean to throw it at you as an excuse. The Iron Man Robot grabbed Tony's upper arm. Instinctively, he tried to pull away but only succeeded at nearly pulling off his own arm. "Ow."

Jarvis voice came over the speakers again. "Containment protocol continued. Isolation protocol complete. Threat not active. Repeat, threat not active."

The Iron Man Robot pulled him closer to the door. Tony ignored the bruising pain as he drug his feet. He wasn't sure where these robots were taking him but he certainly wasn't going into a situation blind. He'd had enough of a bad situation already. "I am not going anywhere with you."

In the end, however, Tony's protests did nothing to help him. Against six Iron Man Robots he was useless and they managed to drag him down several halls before he finally gave up fighting and walked with them. He hated the thought of giving up but recognized the intelligence of conserving energy for a future battle. Finally the door to one of his largest conference rooms opened and Tony was gently pushed inside. I guess they didn't want to harm him too bad too soon. The door closed shut behind him and then locked, he could hear the click. Tony turned to face the room. Just as his eyes landed on Steve sitting in a chair the door on the other end of the conference room opened and Natasha and Bruce came through. Tony noted that their hands were cuffed together and caught the tip of what was likely a gun. Steve stood. "Oh, thank God. I wasn't sure what had happened to you guys."

"Oh, you know, containment, isolation, await further instructions," Tony said. "The same thing Jarvis has been broadcasting for the past two days."

Steve frowned. "I didn't hear any of that until I got in this room."

"Where were you?" Tony asked.

"The training room," Steve said.

Tony cringed. "The speakers aren't hooked up in there. You wouldn't have heard a thing."

"God," Bruce said. "I thought it was bad with just me and Natasha but to have no one at all? You two must have been miserable."

Tony fanned himself, starting to feel the astronomical heat in the room. "Are they trying to cook us in here?"

Steve sighed and looked away. "I was cold. I guess I went overboard on the heat."

Tony marched over to the thermostat. His jaw dropped. "No kidding. Eighty-five is overkill even by my standards."

Tony busied himself in stabilizing the temperature while Natasha asked him a question. "Where did they keep you, Tony?"

"My lab with six of my closest friends," Tony said. "I just about lost control of my bodily functions when the Iron Man suit sat up on its own."

"They had an Iron Man suit watching you?" Bruce asked.

"They had six Iron Man suits watching me," Tony said with a glare at the door. "And one of them almost shot off my hand."

"They turned the temperature down in the training room," Steve said quietly.

"Jesus," Bruce said. Steve's fear of the cold wasn't a secret from most of the team. They'd all been there when the doctors had finally determined that part of the reason Steve had been asleep for so long was the time he'd spent in the ice.

"Cruel bastards," Tony said. "Who do they think they are?"

"My name is Kline," a voice said and all of the Avengers jumped. The projection of a man, a man Natasha seemed to recognize, appeared in the room.

Steve jumped up from his seat but Tony just motioned for him to sit back down. "Throwing stuff won't do you any good, Spangles. It's just a holograph."

Steve took a seat but looked confused. Natasha seemed to whisper something to him, maybe an explanation. The man cleared his throat. "I must say. It's truly a pleasure to meet the Avengers."

"What did you do to Clint?" Natasha asked.

"Clint's fine," Kline replied. "A little bruised but that had nothing to do with me."

"I presume you are the cause of all of this?" Tony asked. "The temperatures, the robots, the handcuffs?"

"Guilty," Kline replied.

Natasha glared. "You have picked the wrong group of people to use as pawns, Kline. The moment we can, we are going to-"

"Stop. Just, stop," Kline said shaking his head. "You're embarrassing yourself. I am well aware of the power the Avengers have to their disposal but try not to underestimate me. I did, in fact, imprison four of the six Avengers. One is working for me and the other isn't even on this planet."

Kline continued. "Ms. Romanoff, I'm sure you've just about figured out what happened but for the rest of you…you are blackmail material. Agent Barton is currently elsewhere about to complete a contract hit I've hired him for."

"Who is he going to kill?" Bruce asked.

"Even Barton doesn't know that. I'm certainly not going to tell you," Kline said. "I've given him instructions on what to do and the consequences of not following those instructions."

"Why are you telling us any of this?" Steve asked.

"I know that leaving you in the dark is a bad idea," Kline said simply. "Better to lay everything out straight. Any attempt to escape will result in a death."

"No offense but some of us are pretty hard to kill," Tony said.

"Hard but not impossible," Kline said. "Except for Dr. Banner there, but I don't think Agent Romanoff would be very pleased if he got shot in the head."

Tony looked back at Bruce and Natasha whose hands were still handcuffed on top of the table. "So, you're just going to keep us here until Clint decides to put an arrow between someone's eyes and when you're done…what? You're just going to let us go?"

"Yes, despite Agent Romanoff's dubious glances in my direction I am not concerned in the slightest about you're having seen my faces. I have ways to escape even SHIELD's farthest reaches," Kline said.

Steve cleared his throat. "Why are you here?"

"You strike me as the kind of people to think that putting your lives in danger for the chance of freedom is a good idea. I just want to tell you it's not. Your tower is very keen on keeping you inside and if one of you died, well, I don't quite know how Agent Barton would react," Kline said.

Natasha slammed her fist on the table. "You do not get to use us against Clint."

"And yet, I already am," Kline replied. "Make no mistake, Agent Romanoff. If Clint doesn't follow orders you're first and Clint knows it."

Natasha picked up the speaker phone from the conference table and chucked it at the image. It flickered as the speaker phone went through it and then reappeared. "Have a nice day."

The hologram disappeared and Tony turned to her with a shake of his head. "You threw something at a hologram. Now we just look stupid."

"Doesn't this bother you, Stark?" Natasha asked. "Clint is out there doing God knows what and we're stuck here like helpless civilians trapped in your house."

"I'd love to know how he's doing that," Tony said. "Obviously Jarvis needs some updates."

"Tony," Steve warned.

Bruce cleared his throat. "Not to take sides but, Natasha has a point. Even if this Kline fellow is telling the truth and he does plan on letting us all go, Clint is in some serious danger."

"Aw, he's a big boy. He kills people all the time," Tony said, waving it off.

"With the backing of SHIELD," Natasha said. "What do you think is going to happen when SHIELD realizes Clint is off the reservation? Clint has strict orders against unsanctioned hits."

"What about a spy's license to kill?" Tony asked.

Natasha snorted. "Clint's not a spy, he's an assassin and the reality is that Clint's breaking a lot of rules. Protocol dictates that he has to notify SHIELD if any agent is in danger including himself. Instead, he hasn't notified SHIELD of anything."

"Why not?" Steve asked. "Couldn't they help get us out?"

Natasha answered, "Kline's watching and Clint knows it. One call that Kline suspects doesn't benefit him and one of us pays for it."

"Clint 's already dealing with the danger he put us in during the Loki incident," Bruce said. "And I'd bet all my money-"

"Not that you have any," Tony interjected.

"That Clint feels like the only way to get everybody out safe is to just complete the hit," Bruce finished, ignoring Tony.

"And what if Kline is lying and he just plans to kill us all once this is over?" Tony asked.

"And that's why Clint requested that we be put together," Steve supplied finally getting the idea of how Clint's mind was working.

"How do you know he asked for us to be put together?" Tony asked.

Steve shrugged. "I don't, not for sure, but putting us in the same room has no strategic advantage for Kline so unless he's an idiot – which we've clearly seen he's not – then someone else made the decision. I'm guessing Clint demanded we be moved together."

"That doesn't seem like a great idea if they decide to shoot me in the head," Bruce said drily.

"Ah, but Katniss is trying to protect everyone," Tony said and pointed to the cameras in the room. "There are cameras all over the tower. If he saw Steve slowly turning back into the human Popsicle he might have thought it worth the risk."

Natasha growled. "In the end we really have no idea what Clint is thinking right now."

"No," Steve said. "I think we're right. He put us together for a reason. He knows what he's doing. I say we wait and see if he can give us any more help."

Tony smirked. "Well, as long as we're just sitting here. We might could come up with a Plan B."

AN: So, I want 20 reviews before I post a chapter. Never mind that is totally unreasonable but I want it and I want it now. I only write for reviews, you know? (Groan). Of course, I appreciate reviews but whether you give me some or not I will post the next chapter next week. Please review but only do it if you have something to say about the chapter. Not because you felt like you had to.