Chapter Twenty: Jinxed
If there was one thing Clint hated the most it was his birthday, nothing ever seemed to go right on his birthday, in the past whenever he'd been on missions on this date they had always ended badly.
He'd suspected that Natasha had told Shay what today was, when after their rather unexpected and vigorous bout of lovemaking she had managed to convince him to let her out of the tower unescorted.
It was hard to deny her anything when her supple body was wrapped around him as it had been, he'd regretted letting her go and had been about to go looking for her when she'd messaged him asking him to meet her at a café.
He'd gone, of course he'd gone, he'd go anywhere and do anything for her, he hadn't known what to expect but it was definitely not the sudden sting of a needle piercing the skin of his neck as he waited in the line to order her favourite white chocolate mocha.
Groaning as he came back to consciousness Clint could just hear Shay's voice calling his name, forcing his eyes open he had to blink rapidly to adjust his eyes to the sudden bright light.
When his vision finally came into focus it was locked on Shay, who was struggling against the handcuffs and the small loop of chain that held her arms over her head against a concrete pillar. He watched her body relax when she realised he was conscious, her shoulders slumping as far as was possible with her restraints as she whispered apologetically "I'm so sorry."
His head was still a little foggy, as he shifted he found his range of motion seriously limited, he knew he was sitting on a chair he could feel the cool metal against the bare skin of his back, his hands were zip tied behind him and he was pretty sure his ankles were also zip tied to the chair legs.
Turning his attention back to Shay his steely gaze drifted over her studiously, he could see a bruise forming on her right cheek and there were clearly dark marks at her throat that appeared to be finger shaped. Struggling against his bindings in a seething rage he snarled in frustration when he realised it was getting him nowhere before eventually asking "Are you ok?"
Lifting her head to look at Clint, Shay swallowed wincing as it jarred her tender throat before quietly rasping "It's mostly just bruising."
"For the moment, Sweetheart." That voice had not only her head jerking towards it but Clint's as well as a tall dark figure emerged from the darkness, her brow furrowed as she studied the man walking towards her.
No it couldn't be him, he was supposedly dead and yet here he was standing before her, looming over her. He was six inches taller than she remembered and definitely had more muscle mass, there was also now a nasty scar now residing on the right side of his face from temple to chin. Sucking in a sharp breath she rasped "Rumlow?"
"No fucking way. He's supposed to be dead." Clint's voice drew her gaze from the dark figure looming over her; she could only partially see him now that Rumlow was standing in front of her, his broad shoulders blocking most of her line of sight.
"Not quite Barton, I'm like a bad penny. I turn up when you least expect it." As rough fingers grasped her chin Shay tried to turn her head out of his grip only to have it tighten painfully, wincing as her eyes locked with Rumlow's dark coffee ones she glared and managed to spit in his face.
Probably not her brightest move since it wound up with the back of his hand connecting with the side of her face and sent her head jerking sideways, licking her now split lip she snapped sarcastically "Oh, how I missed you."
"Sweetheart, I'm going to enjoy re-educating you." Rumlow's rough growl made Shay shudder with revulsion.
"Don't you fucking touch her!" The venom in Clint's tone was clearly evident to her and had apparently surprised Rumlow as his head turned towards Clint, the feral grin forming on Rumlow's face made her stomach twist.
"Didn't she tell you Barton? She used to love me touching her, used to love it when I fucked her till she couldn't walk straight." Was Rumlow's retort, which had her wincing and looking to the floor, she heard his booted feet moving away.
"She told me enough about what you did to her, you bastard. You took advantage of a teenage girl fleeing a bad situation; it doesn't get much fucking sicker than that," Clint spat vehemently as he struggled against his restraints, he could feel his shoulders and biceps straining but the only thing he achieved was that the zip tie cut into his wrists.
He was rewarded by Rumlow's fist connecting with his abs with enough force to wind him, sucking in a breath Clint tried to straighten in the chair, his steely gaze locking on Rumlow. There was something off about the older man aside from the change in height and the increase of muscle mass; that blow had way more force behind it than he remembered Rumlow ever having in the academy.
"You've got guts Barton, I'll give you that. Maybe our little Sinthia here would like to see them spread across the floor?" His confusion at the name must have been evident on his face given the way Rumlow smirked before chuckling loudly while turning to look between the both of them as he spoke again "Or maybe, I should be threatening to spill her guts over the floor? That might get me the answers I need out of you."
"You hurt her and you're a fucking dead man," Clint spat struggling futilely against the restraints holding him as Rumlow crossed back to Shay, he watched as the older man removed the gun holster from around his waist and placed it on the table to Shay's right.
"Big talk Barton, especially when you're trussed up to that chair like that." When Rumlow pulled one of his two tactical knives free from the sheath on his back Clint saw Shay stiffen, he was helpless to do anything however as Rumlow flicked his wrist over her thigh slicing a small gash, he heard her barely contained whimper and the chain her hands were cuffed through rattle as she tried to pull away.
"Now, Barton, where is Rogers?" Rumlow's growl combined with the feral glint to his eyes and set of his mouth set Clint on edge, especially when he wrapped a fist in the top of Shay's hair and placed the tip of the knife beneath her chin.
"Don't know, I'm not his fucking travel consultant." That probably hadn't been the best response to give but Clint was furious, why on earth Rumlow thought he'd know where Steve was honestly was beyond him, while yes he knew what Steve and Sam were up to they never shared any specifics when they left.
"Wrong answer." Rumlow snarled and his eyes met Shay's as Rumlow stepped to his right and with three flicks of his wrist in quick succession left three cuts of varying depths on her left thigh, side and upper arm, Clint watched her bite down so hard on her lower lip that it drew blood in her effort to not make a noise.
Forced to watch as Rumlow forcefully grabbed Shay's hair again as the bastards mouth crashed down on hers had Clint snarling "Leave her alone, you dick-less son of a bitch."
Between the tight grip in her hair and the bruising kiss Shay was frozen, her mind whirling trying to figure out a way to stop the unwelcome pressure of Rumlow's mouth upon hers, in the end she ended up parting her lips slightly and when he went to take advantage of the move she bit down hard on his lower lip.
As his grip on her hair released and Rumlow stepped back bringing one hand to his now bleeding lip Shay spat the blood that had pooled in her mouth at him, with a low hiss she said "Bastard."
She had expected the fist that struck her ribs forcing the wind out of her in a startled gasp, what she hadn't expected was the sudden glint of black steel in her peripheral vision as Rumlow swiftly swung the tactical knife down, embedding it into her flesh beneath her right collar bone.
There was no way known she'd have been able to stop the scream that tore from her throat as the pain bloomed first in her shoulder and then radiated through her nerves, she could hear Clint's raised voice but was unable to focus beyond the pain burning through her shoulder to actually hear what he was saying.
She was however aware of Rumlow's imposing figure stalking away as his rough voice joined the background noise of Clint's, the sudden sound of pained grunts accompanied by soft thuds told her foggy brain that Clint was being beaten.
Taking several slow breaths Shay tried to focus to block out the pain signals her brain was rapidly shooting throughout her body, bracing her feet on the floor she forced herself to straighten.
Bringing her left hand across to her right Shay took hold of her left thumb, gritting her teeth she pulled down on her thumb with enough force to dislocate the joint, breathing heavily through her nose she looked up as she started to work her left hand free of the restraint.
When her hand finally slipped free of the cuff her arms dropped to her sides as she leant heavily against the pillar for a minute to steady herself. Once she was certain she had her balance, Shay reached up her right hand to curl about the hilt of the knife and pulled it free.
Curling the working figures of her other hand around the knife's hilt Shay inched her way to the table her gaze focused on Rumlow's back as he kept lashing out at Clint, her now free hand reached out to ease the gun from the holster.
After making sure the safety was disengaged Shay started to slowly and quietly edge her way around towards Clint, she kept the knife in her injured left hand low and flat to her stomach while the gun in her right was currently pointed towards the floor.
Granted she had no idea how to use this particular gun but the principals were the same, at least she hoped they were, once she was in a position that was off to the side from the two men she took a reassuring breath lifted both hands aiming the gun with her right hand while her left slid in beneath her wrist for support as she snarled "Get away from him"
When Rumlow's head jerked suddenly in her direction she saw the briefest flash of surprise as his gaze then darted to the pillar where she'd been hanging, his voice a low rumble filling the sudden silence "Interesting, didn't expect that but I know you, Sweetheart. You don't have it in you to shoot anybody, least of all me."
As Rumlow took a step towards her Shay took aim, lining the gun up with the left side of his chest, the next step he took she squeezed the trigger twice in quick succession.
She watched warily as Rumlow jerked and staggered backwards, one off his large hands dropping to put pressure on his side where the two bullets had penetrated, her aim was out which she'd expected given the injury to her shoulder.
"You bitch! You fucking shot me." The angry growl of Rumlow's voice made her stiffen as he staggered backwards.
The moment Rumlow's back hit one of the pillars a safe distance away from where Clint was tied Shay moved quickly forward, dropping the gun to point at the ground she crouched reaching round to use the knife to cut his hands free followed soon after by his ankles.
It was sheer relief that surged through Clint's tense, aching muscles the moment Shay cut the zip ties free. Forcing himself to his feet at the same time she rose from the crouch in front of him, he reached out with one hand to take the gun from her hand at the same moment she let the knife drop to the floor with a clatter as he growled towards Rumlow "People change, asshole."
When Shay stepped in closer and gingerly wrapped her arms around his waist, Clint wrapped his free arm about her shoulders and lightly tugged her firmer into his chest as he tilted his head to brush a kiss across her forehead.
His cold gunmetal gaze never left the wounded man across from them who seemed to be slowly getting over the shock of being shot, by a woman he once tormented no less.
Clint had been known to be merciful at times, case in point Natasha, but given the fact he could feel his soulmates blood trickling down his bare chest from where the bastard had stabbed her again, no there would be no mercy at all for the former SHIELD agent and STRIKE team commander.
Even as he levelled the gun at Rumlow, Clint subtly shifted and murmured reassurances to Shay who he could feel shaking in his arm, though he wasn't sure if that was out of fear or anger, brushing a kiss across the top of her head he whispered "Don't look, darlin'."
He felt Shay flinch as the first gun shot sounded; he fired a total of three shots, the hollow point bullets in Rumlow's gun a bonus. He'd picked strategic targets for his first two shots, ones to make Rumlow pay for what he'd done to Shay.
His first target had been the hand that held the knife, his second was more vengeance than strategic, as he'd aimed high on Rumlow's inner thigh, his final shot well that Clint put right between the bastard's eyes.
As the traitor's body slumped in a heap at the base of the pillar Clint walked Shay backwards to the table, being careful to keep his body between her and the gruesome mess now lying on the floor.
Lifting Shay onto the table he left her briefly to recover his cut off shirt and the knife from by the chair, using the blade he cut the ruined t-shirt into strips, folding one piece into a pad he placed it over the deep wound beneath her collar bone, when she lifted her hand to hold it in place he grabbed two of the long strips and tied them together.
Placing the knot over the makeshift pad he wound it under her arm and over her shoulder twice before tying it tightly. The quiet rasp of her voice drew his gaze back to her face "Clint, I need you to put my thumb back into place and strap it. I can't do it myself."
"That's how you got out of the cuffs?" Shaking his head slightly Clint let out a rueful chuckle as his hands moved to cup Shay's cheeks when she went to look away, leaning in he rested his forehead against hers to look her in the eye while murmuring "My beautiful, brave, crazy girl. I can honestly say I've never met any other woman willing to hurt herself to save my life."