Chapter 8

The desire to close his eyes and give into the sweet nothingness darkness offered was strong. It pulled at his eyes and his very being but duty called. If SHIELD had gone to the trouble of hiding something here, then Clint was going to make sure it stayed here. The lack of stress gripping the robbers told him they were getting close to their goal. Their overconfidence was beginning to show and he only needed to wait for the perfect opportunity.

Two gunmen shared a few whispered words then one started moving the hostages together. He checked that their hands were still secure behind their backs before marching them closer to the front door. The other man moved to the phone that had been silent for the last twenty minutes and demanded to speak to the negotiator again.

So far, Barton had seen ten different men. They had been posing as customers, maintenance, and employees when the two men entered the front door and began shooting up the place. From what he could piece together, three were working on obtaining Keres, two were keeping watch over the hostages, two more were running errands and information between all parties, and the remaining three were drilling through the floor into an access tunnel that ran under the bank. The two runners would be out of the main lobby for ten minutes at a time. That only left the two guards.

If he jumped the one, the other would have to turn to see what happened. With the hostages gathered together at the other side of the room, Clint could take out the second guy and be ready to take out the others as they emerged from the vault without the hostages being caught in the crossfire.

The blade he had hidden made short work of the ties holding his arms together behind his back. The thugs had performed a very poor search when they found him earlier. It made it almost too easy.

The two runners made their way back to the vault and the second gunman had just moved another hostage over to the group. That left Barton and one of the bank security guards still on the opposite side. The second thug guarding the hostages moved over to the archer and poked him with the end of his shotgun.

He ordered, "Get up!"

Barton glared at him, trying to convey a level of defiance and weakness that would bring the man closer. The man took the bait and reached down to haul the injured man to his feet. He had just grabbed hold of Clint's shirt when Barton slammed his forehead into the man's nose. A loud crunch sounded and blood poured down the man's face.

Hawkeye jumped to his feet and began wrestling for the shotgun. An elbow to the chest dropped the thug leaving the gun in Clint's hands. He wasted no time in aiming at the second gunman. Just as he pulled the trigger, something cracked into the side of his head. The shot went wide instead of killing the other man, it ripped through his shoulder.

Barton landed on his hands and knees and shook his head to try and make the stars disappear. He cursed himself. The first man was still down, which meant another must have hit him. How had he missed a third robber in the vicinity?" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a pair of black shoes next to him. His gaze followed a black pant leg up to a blue shirt and the face of the security guard that had been tied up next to Clint. He blinked a few times and, eventually, the two figures turned back into one and the room stopped spinning.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" asked the undercover thug as he grabbed Barton by the throat and hauled him to his feet.

Barton struggled for breath as the hand clenched tighter cutting off his valuable connection to air. He could hear footsteps coming down the stairs from the vault and the sound pounded in his ears along with his own heart beat. His side and leg screamed in protest of the sudden and forceful movements.

The guard released his grasp and snaked his arm around Barton's neck as he turned him to face the thug that just entered the room. Clint couldn't help but lean against the man holding him .He was probably the only thing keeping him on his feet at the moment.

"Who is that?" demanded the gunman who had just entered the room, the bank manager in tow.

The manager flinched at the hostility directed at him and answered in a trembling voice, "I-I-I don't don't know. He's not a client here that I know of."

One of the men trying to retrieve Keres came out to see what the noise was spoke up. The man had been posing as a bank teller before the chaos ensued. Whoever these men worked for, they had managed to integrate themselves into the bank staff very well. "He came in with a woman but I don't see her here, Mac."

Mac turned to look at the guard holding Clint up; he just shrugged. The man Barton had managed to shoot had made it to his feet and was now under Mac's unimpressed gaze. "I thought you searched the place, William."

"I did, and we found him. I say we shoot'em, he shot me!" replied the wounded thug.

A cruel smile spread across Mac's lips and Barton got a sinking feeling. "I have a better idea." He pulled out a handgun and marched down the remaining stairs until he was standing right beside Clint.

His voice echoed off the walls as he shouted, "Your friend here is going to suffer some unfortunate consequences if you don't come out here right now!"

The other hostages cringed at the threat, but the rest of the building remained quiet. Clint said a silent prayer that Pepper would stay hidden. Everyone waited with bated breath for some kind of response.

Pepper had peered through the blinds of the office when she heard the commotion. She watched while Clint took out one of the thugs and wanted to shout a warning when she saw the security guard get up, revealing his hands were not cuffed together, and club her friend with his night stick. She wanted to rush to his side and hold him safely in her arms as she saw him collapse to the ground. She wanted to do all this. Instead, she found herself paralyzed by fear. Even now, as she watched Mac stand threateningly over the wounded Avenger, she wanted to walk out there but her legs refused to cooperate, her voice refused to call out, and she cringed as she watched Mac backhand Barton so hard he slipped from the security guard's grasp and crumpled to the floor.

The archer hit the ground; he spat out a glob of blood from his split lip. He felt the cold end of a gun press against the side of his head as he was pulled onto his knees.

"You have to the count of ten to come out here or you friend is going to redecorate the floor. One – two – three – four," yelled out Mac.

Pepper looked at the phone in her hand. She knew Tony told her to stay hidden, but she couldn't hide while the man shot Barton. She placed the phone on the floor along with the gun and stood up. If they searched her, she didn't want them to be able to talk to Tony, to use her against him the way they were using Clint against her now.

"Seven – eight."

"Ok." Her voice was quiet, but it caused Mac to stop his counting. All eyes focused on the office as they heard the door creak open. Pepper slowly entered the lobby with her hands raised. She focused on Clint who was shaking his head slightly,; his eyes asking why she had left the safety of the office for him.

Mac ordered, "Bring the lovely lady over here, Josh."

The other gunman standing on the stairs walked over and roughly escorted Pepper towards Mac.

"Leave her alone!" demanded Clint as he watched Josh manhandle Ms. Potts. Mac replied by slamming the butt of the handgun against Barton's head sending him sprawling.

"Don't hurt him," cried Pepper as she joined him on the floor. She scooted over and cradled his head in her lap; heat radiated off his skin from the fever that was quickly claiming his body.

"Watch them." Mac pointed to the pair on the other side of the room from the rest of the hostages. The security guard nodded and aimed his weapon towards the pair to deter any resistance on their part as Mac and Josh returned to the vault.

Barton let out a muffled cry. His body was tired of the abuse it was receiving. He felt his grasp on consciousness slipping away.

"Shhhh, shhh, it's ok going to be ok, Clint," soothed Pepper, running her hand through his hair. The archer closed his eyes and his body went slack in her arms. Please Tony, save us soon, prayed Pepper.