CHAPTER # 36

Barton didn't think it was coincidence that the Council had requested him to track down Nick Fury. S.H.E.I.L.D. had many skilled agents to do that very thing. What Hill's file didn't tell him was what Fury had done to become compromised. There were too many unanswered questions. One thing he was 100% sure of was that Fury was not a spy for HYDRA, nor would he spill his guts about S.H.E.I.L.D. The way the Council had acted about the Tesseract, made him think that one of the members on it, was the mole. Too much interest in destruction and weapons, than in keeping the planet safe. And why had the Council allowed S.H.E.I.L.D. to have Reeser work on a portal device, when that's the very thing they wanted to prevent; alien access to EARTH. Agent Hill was too by-the- book to be a double agent, which is why she was Fury's second in command and acting Director. Captain America's assignment had also been an order from the Council. That took him out of direct contact with S.H.E.I.L.D. Something definitely smelled fishy and it wasn't his feet.

Who wanted Fury and Captain America out of the picture? Why did they want them gone? If an attack was being planned, then why hadn't anyone attacked Banner or Stark? Would Fury even know the answers to his questions or even tell him if he did?

"Sir, your S.H.E.I.L.D. ID is being used to track you. Do you want Jarvis to disable it?" Bird asked.

"Not yet. Where I'm going first is not where Fury will be, but it will look like I am obeying Director Hill."

"Understood Sir."

"He'll be in New York, it's his town. But he will be hard to find on his home turf. He knows how to stay off camera and to work a disguise. He's too smart to use anything except cash. Anything linking him to S.H.E.I.L.D. he'll have ditched or bartered away. Bird ask Stark if he gave Fury an emergency burner phone or com."

"That's a negative sir. But Fury does know the private sequence to use from a pay phone."

"So he's not in danger, or Stark would've been contacted. Have Jarvis check if S.H.E.I.L.D. reported any missing inventory over the last six months."

"Nothing missing, but a few items marked to be destroyed were not accounted for; some weaponry that was malfunctioning, one of the new uniforms that was an early prototype, etc. Jarvis is uploading the complete list to me now," Bird reported.

"Fury must have set up shop elsewhere, if Goldman didn't take that stuff for HYDRA," Clint deducted. "Bird have Jarvis give you a list of all Fury's old contacts that are still alive, especially from when he was a Ranger."

"Yes sir."

The council had twelve members and they had ties to the world political powers, United Nations and USA military. Even though the Director of S.H.E.I.L.D. took their orders from the Council, no one knew very much about them. Their names and their faces were in no data base on Earth, so who monitored them? One or all could be working for HYRDA or some other alien race.

All these thoughts and conspiracy theories ran through Barton's mind as he rode around New York, apparently looking for Fury. He took a quinjet, which Bird shadowed while cloaked, to some of the more distant regions, of where Fury was thought to be hiding. Instinct told Barton that Fury was in New York somewhere, not these other locations. He reported into Hill regularly, but as the week ended she told him to only report in if he found a lead. As Barton expected, by the end of the third week, S.H.E.I.L.D. no longer monitored his movements. When Barton did get a solid lead on Fury, he didn't report to Hill, he let Stark and Banner know. He would then cloak his movements, just in case someone was watching. Stark did report that Fury had not used any dimensional or universal portal, because his energy signature was still on planet Earth. At least that's what Barton was able to understand from Stark's scientific explanation.

It was a month later, when Barton accidentally found Fury. They were both on motorcycles and it had been a glimpse of Fury in his peripheral eyesight, but that had been enough. Barton stood on the seat of the motorcycle, letting Bird steer, lining up a shot to take out the rear tire of Fury's bike. But his chance was interrupted when a black SUV hit him, a split second before he released his shot. His arrow went wide and he had to use his acrobatic skill to not end up road kill. Bird was not damaged, so while he was falling though the air, he commanded her to change into jet mode and he landed on top of her. He held on as she sped him to safety on a roof top. He got inside the jet and began pursuit once cloaked, but Fury was gone. The black SUV had disappeared also. There were a few of the same model in the traffic, but not black. So he guessed that either it was cloaked or had the tech to change colour.

"Jarvis is there anything on any of the traffic cameras we can use to locate Fury or that SUV?"

"Fury was out of camera range and nothing from the surrounding buildings' security cameras. Sorry Hawkeye."

"Dammit. Bird call S.H.E.I.L.D. I need to report in." Clint said with displeasure. "Agent Hill, I spotted Fury in Jersey City. Unable to make contact, interference from an unknown SUV."

"I expected better results from you agent Barton. So much for you never missing," she replied. "Don't let it happen again." She ended the call.

Barton was really beginning to hate that woman. She needed to get a good kick in the ass or get laid, preferably both. He was now at a major disadvantage because Fury knew that Barton was after him. If he was hard to find before, now he'd be invisible. Barton returned to Stark Towers, he needed a strong drink and to clear his head.

Tony had a glass of whiskey waiting for Barton as he came out of the elevator. "Go change, the room you had before is still yours. Bruce and I need to show you something."

Barton nodded, downed the drink in one gulp and went back in the elevator. When he returned for the refill, he was wearing a black t-shirt, black jeans and his black boots.

"Going to a funeral?" Bruce teased.

"Not everyone can be as colourful as you Banner," Clint snapped.

Tony grinned, "a bit on edge? Sit down, have another drink."

Clint sat down and said, "leave the bottle."

"Look at what this black gem of yours can do. Jarvis if you would run the video please," Tony requested.

Barton watched the black diamond that fused with Tony's reactor open a full sized portal. Iron Man disappeared and the diamond projected a prism of colour that opened multiple universal portals. It gave off a sound, like a harmonic hum. When Iron Man returned and the portal he had gone through was closed, the diamond stopped reacting.

"What the hell was all that about?" Clint asked in shock.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Bruce grinned.

"Maybe we should just dump the diamond into the portal you went through and close it," Clint said.

Tony shook his head, "where's the fun in that?"

Clint rolled his eyes, "don't we have enough problems without some alien diamond calling in reinforcements?"

"You knew if you gave it to Tony, what would happen. Why do that if you just want to get rid of it?" Bruce asked.

"Shit I don't know anything anymore," Clint sighed.

Tony wouldn't give him a break. "The SUV that hit you…. Natasha was driving it."

Clint didn't say a word. He undid the whiskey, didn't bother with the glass and took a long swallow. He got up, taking the bottle with him and left. Jarvis reported that Bird had left the building.

"Is he going to be okay?" Bruce asked with concern.

"His whole world is upside down. He doesn't know who to trust. Jarvis was Bird in control?"

"Yes Tony," Jarvis said. "She has blocked all contact and has disappeared."

"I expected that. He'll be back soon."

Bruce looked at Stark. "Why'd you tell him it was Natasha? Why not leave it alone?"

"He already suspected it. He needs truth right now and to know he can still trust me and you, if no one else."

"You're a shrewd, complicated man Tony."

"Yes I am, thanks for noticing."

Bruce shook his head and threw his glass at him. Tony caught it easily and winked. "Don't get mad, I don't want the Hulk kicking my ass today."

"The Hulk is worried about Barton as much as I am," Bruce said.

"There's nothing any of us can do for Barton right now. We leave him alone and like usual, when he's ready he'll be back."

CHAPTER #37

When the bottle was empty, Barton passed out and Bird returned, as per his instructions to her earlier. Stark and Banner picked him up and carried him to his room. They both knew that in the morning Barton would be ready to get back out there and find Fury. Both believed that he had gotten very close to where Fury was hiding out, hence the motorcycle pursuit and distraction. Once Fury was found, then their questions would be answered. But for now they would just let him sleep.

In the morning, Barton showered, ate breakfast with Stark and Banner, then changed into his gear and left. He returned to the block where he'd seen Fury. He watched the area from the tallest building; traffic patterns, pedestrians. couriers, everything. Then at night, he went into the area he determined was where he'd find a sign of Fury. What he didn't expect to see was Romanoff. She was alone and not with any HYDRA agents. He followed her on the roof tops, to see what she was up to or where she was going.

Romanoff knew that Barton was watching her, she slowly lead him away from Fury's hideout. What she really wanted, was for him to come down and talk to her. Missing him aside, she needed to tell him to stop looking for Fury. She just hoped he'd understand why, when she explained. But he didn't get a chance to talk to her right then, because S.H.E.I.L.D. showed up. Their agents began to fire at her and she had to get out of there fast. Fury had told her Barton was once again working for S.H.E.I.L.D., so he couldn't save her this time.

"Dammit! Just when I was closing in, Hill has to mess it up again." Clint grumbled under his breath.

He didn't pursue Romanoff or the quinjet, instead he stayed in the area. He hadn't come here for her anyway. Barton made sure she would escape without him, then he back tracked. He went down to street level and looked for a hidden entrance. He was sure he had seen her come out of the wall, even though it appeared to be all brick.

"Bird stay cloaked, but come scan this wall, is there a door or some anomaly in the brickwork?"

"Yes sir. Two steps to your left is an area that is not brick, even though it appears to be."

Using his hand, Barton felt along the wall. There was what appeared to be a crack in the mortar. When he put his fingers along the crack, a click sounded and the brick moved. Then a door opened. It was very ingenious actually and he quickly entered and closed it behind him. His bow was notched with an arrow, as he cautiously walked down some tunnel. There was just a little red light, like an emergency exit sign, that glowed and lighted the way. It opened into what had to be a lower level or basement of the existing building.

"I was wondering when you'd find me Hawkeye," Nick Fury said.

"I would've come sooner, had you not had Natasha trying to stop me. What's going on Fury? Who's side are you on? Is Romanoff with you or HYDRA?"

Nick looked at him with his one good eye, "put the bow down and we'll talk."

"How do I know that you're not going to taser me or escape again?" Clint asked.

"Not with S.H.E.I.L.D. hovering around."

Barton lowered his bow and put the arrow back in his quiver, but his stance remained ready to fight. He looked around and saw a few monitors and other equipment, that he knew came from either Stark Industries or S.H.E.I.L.D. or both. Fury waived him over to the central monitor. They watched Romanoff elude her pursuers. Both grinned as she flipped the pilot the bird and then disappeared into a building. The woman was good.

"As you know I've been accused of being a HYDRA spy. What's your opinion on that?"

Clint looked him in his eye, "you're a lot of things Nick, but a HYDRA spy you're not."

"Someone on the Council planted damning evidence. Coupled with Goldman's HYDRA influence, it didn't take much for agent Hill to stop listening to me. So I escaped custody. I think all of S.H.E.I.L.D. has been compromised, but I have no proof. I only know the Council's faces, but no names or any other data."

Clint nodded, "so far we're on the same wave length. What about Natasha?"

"Originally she was under cover, on special assignment to act as a spy within HYDRA. Then I had her looking into the Council and only reporting to me. Agent Hill got in the way again."

"Ya she's been a pain in my ass too. Very narrow minded," Clint grumbled. "So is there a connection between the Council and HYDRA?"

Nick shrugged, "Natasha's in deep with HYDRA, but we still have nothing on the Council."

"Why not just go to Stark, let him and Jarvis help you figure it out?"

"He's got a leak somewhere. How can I trust that Jarvis hasn't been hacked? Tony can't figure out how HYDRA is ending up with his technology as it is. I didn't know who I could trust."

Clint nodded, "I know that feeling. So now what?"

"Well I can't stay here anymore, so I'm moving to a new location in Manhattan. You continue to do what S.H.E.I.L.D. wants, just keep your eyes open about information on the Council. If you figure out the leak within Stark Industries let me know."

"How do I reach you?" Clint asked.

"Use this burner phone. My number is in the speed dial. Dial once and hang up. Then dial back again. If you just dial once and hang up without the second call, I will ditch the phone. And Barton, stay out of Romanoff's way."

Clint rolled his eyes, "had you just told me the truth in the beginning, without all the games, I would have left her alone."

"You're persistence is what I have always admired, even more so than your other skills." Nick shook Barton's hand, then gave him the burner phone.

"Don't go out the same way you came in. There's a hatch on the ceiling, that gets you into the vent of the building above. Find your way out from there," Nick advised.

Clint nodded, "alright. I'm out of here."

Barton left the way he'd been directed to. Once in the vent system, he found a way to get to the stair way and then left via the roof. Bird picked him up. Barton had to figure out how to get S.H.E.I.L.D. to leave Fury alone. Faking Fury's death, by way of exploding arrow head, might just do it. He'd have to plan his next steps carefully, to buy Fury some time to relocate. After that he'd go after that industrial spy and find out his connection to Stark Industries.