The little girl squirmed under Steve as she yelled, "Mom!" A woman in her mid thirties came running out of a side door and scooped up her daughter. The happy reunion was filled with tears of joy and in between sobs, Rogers was thanked many times over for saving her child.

Relieved that the girl was alright and safe with her mother, he now had a more pressing issue to contend with; who had just kidnapped his friend and where were they taking him? He ran to the street and took off in the direction the car had fled in but after a few turns and the head start their assailants had, Captain America lost the car.

Steve ran back to the car but kicked the tire in frustration as he realized that Clint had the keys. Hotwiring wasn't his specialty and he immediately began scanning the street for an alternative. The one time he desperately needed a cab there were none to be found. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out his team issued cell phone Stark had given them all; after a few moments of trial and error Steve finally managed to get the phone to dial Tony.

"Steve, you figured out how to use the cell phone, I'm kinda impressed buddy," greeted Stark.

"Stop talking for a moment Tony and listen. We have a huge problem!"

"If you crashed my car you bet we have a huge problem; I just got that one."

"Someone took Clint!"

There was a pause on the other end as Stark weighed the meaning of the words; then a tirade of questions assaulted the captain's ears "who took him? What happened? Where are you? Are you alright? How's my car?" he asked as he began punching up images of the city and trying to triangulate Rogers' position through the cell phone.

"I don't know who took him; men dressed all in black. They pinned me down in the alley; one of them drugged Barton and threw him in the back of a car full of more gorillas and took off. Clint has the keys to the car; I need a way to get back to the tower."

Stark's fingers flew over the computer access screens. Using Rogers's phone he pinpointed the place where Barton was taken, and then began pulling up security footage and traffic cameras to try and find the vehicle that had kidnapped their team mate. "I can start the car from here; drive back to the tower, I'll let everyone else know what's going on. Hopefully by the time you get back I'll have found out who our new friends are and we can free the trouble magnet canary from his latest cage."

Steve jumped slightly as the engine started; deep down he knew he was never going to get used to all the technological gadgets of the twenty-first century. However, he climbed in and swiftly started his journey back to Stark Tower and the search for Barton.

"Is there not some sort of time limit to this game?" asked Thor who had grown rather impatient waiting for Bruce to make his move.

"A good move takes time," his partner replied as he tapped his index finger on top of his knight, considering the various options.

"In the heat of battle there is not time to sit and ponder all one's options. One must know their goal and act swiftly if they are to be victorious."

"Yes, but you of all people should know the value of a well thought out battle plan." Bruce moved his knight to where Thor's queen had been and pulled the white piece off of the board. "Your queen has been taken."

The god frowned. "I assure you my queen is quite safe in Asgard."

"Your queen," repeated Bruce holding up the chess piece.

"Ah. I shall move my castle with the intent to take your king in my next turn," explained Thor as he moved the rook.

It had started out as a novel idea to teach Thor chess. Not only would it give Banner someone to play with besides Tony, who cheated by bringing in extra pieces he created, but it would create some of the much needed bonding time Steve had been insisting on lately. Of all the games Bruce was willing to play, he figured Thor's warrior side would lend itself well to a game of strategy like chess. Looking at it now, he wasn't sure if the frustration was worth it. Not only did his team mate forget the rules all the time, but he also had the patience of a child.

"No Thor, the bishop moves in diagonals, and the rook moves in straight lines. You can't put that pieced there."

Stark's voice interrupted the game. "Bruce we have a situation red...a code yellow; damn it I can't remember the stupid colour – basically, the falcon's been pinched."

Thor scanned the room looking for Tony. Banner shook his head "the speakers Thor; Tony's talking via the speakers." Raising his voice so Stark could pick up the conversation he asked, "What are you ranting about Tony?"

"I need you and Thor to come down to the lab. The Captain said someone kidnapped Barton."

Bruce rolled his eyes "if this is some kind of joke..."

"No joke, honest ...we really have a situation here. Romanoff's in the kitchen, make sure you grab her on the way down."

The chess game all but forgotten, the pair quickly made their way down to the lab to learn the fate of their friend.

Rogers ran into the lab to find the rest of the Avengers already assembled. Stark and Natasha were staring at the large computer screen panels intently which were showing the footage from various sources following the car that took Barton. Thor was sitting next to Bruce who was looking up something on his tablet.

Upon hearing Steve's arrival Stark said, "Whoever they are, they're good. I don't know how they did it but the only images I can hack are delayed by fifteen minutes and what I can get is sporadic at best."

Steve looked up at the screen to see the car pull up to an abandoned airstrip. "So this happened fifteen minutes ago?"

"Yep." The single word conveyed all the frustration Stark felt at not being able to obtain better Intel that could actually allow them to try a rescue attempt. The limited visuals and time delay were preventing the team from being able to rush off anywhere and help Clint.

They watched as two heavily armed men exited the plane and moved towards the car. The men reached in and dragged Barton's limp body back to the plan. They had Clint's hands cuffed behind his back, shackles to his legs and a blindfold tied tightly across his eyes.

"Doesn't that look an awfully lot like one of SHIELD's planes?" asked Tony to no one in particular but all eyes fell on Natasha who glared at the screen and clinched her hands into tight fists. Without a word she marched towards the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Stark

"I'm going to talk to Fury," she snapped.

Banner spoke up next. "What do you want us to do?"

"You and Tony try to figure out where that airfield is and the Captain and Thor should go back to the scene and see if anyone saw anything or if they left any clues." Romanoff stormed from the room and headed for the garage.

"You all have this under control?" asked Tony as he waved his hands to indicate the tasks set forth by the Black Widow. Bruce nodded and waved Stark out. They could all tell she was going to do something rash and it would probably beneficial if she didn't do it alone.

Tony ran to catch up with Natasha and found her about to hotwire one of his cars. "whoa, whoa, whoa - keys." Tony pressed the button on the car starter and started the engine before tossing them to Natasha.

"What are you doing here Stark? Shouldn't you be helping Banner?"

"They have it under control, besides you're going to confront the big guy and that's my favorite hobby." Tony jumped over the door to settle in the passenger's seat. Romanoff raised an eyebrow but didn't reward him with her usual death glare. "Look, I wouldn't normally admit to him or the rest of the team or you; but despite what you, Clint and everyone else thinks, I do care about what happens to the guy. I mean we are a team, we're not very good at the whole team thing, but we are a team. Let us help you."

Her only response was to step on the gas and peel out of the garage. She and Fury were going to have a few words and heaven help him if anything happened to Clint.