Mac was the first to climb into the tunnel. Clint made a less than graceful entrance into the poorly lit cavern. Not caring about his landing, Josh decided to hurry the injured man along, giving him a good shove through the entrance. If landing face first on the unforgiving concrete wasn't bad enough, William decided to follow suit and pushed Pepper down on top of him.

Hot agony filled his world again. Sure, Potts was small, but crashing down on top of him added more misery to his already battered and abused body. She tried to get off of him as quickly as possible, but that just caused her to push against his damaged leg and side. He was pretty sure that he felt a rib break, assuming it wasn't previously broken by the bullet that was still lodged in his side.

Barton was pretty sure he had heard Pepper scream Steve's name before his senses dulled under his anguish. If Steve was there, then the rest of the team had to be there too. They weren't alone anymore. Part of Clint wanted to just stay in a heap on the floor and die; the others could handle the situation. They could save the day and he could finally give into darkness that had been tugging at the edges of his vision for the last hour.

The pressure on top of him disappeared, only to be replaced with a constant tapping on his cheek. He opened his heavy eyelids and blinked a few times to try and bring the blob over him into focus. He looked at Pepper, then at their captors, who were grabbing weapons and flashlights they had thrown down when they first broke through. His job wasn't done yet; he had to keep Pepper safe and stop them from taking Keres. The pounding above them suggested that the team was having a hard time opening the door to the tunnel, which meant that Barton was still on his own for a little while yet.

"Do you still have that pocket knife I gave you?" The words barely made it past his split lip and Pepper had to lean closer to hear them. Barton had lost his weapon during his first attempt to take out the gunmen and knew Pepper had lost the gun he had given her when they searched her. He sincerely hoped that they had missed the knife.

"Clint, don't even think about it," warned Pepper. It broke her heart to see him like this. The thought of the archer trying to take the robbers on again in his condition wasn't a good one. She saw the determination in his eyes. It wasn't unlike the look she often saw on Tony before he rushed off to do something incredibility stupid and dangerous and idiotic and heroic.

She knew he was going to do whatever he was thinking with or without her help, so she might as well help. Supporting him as he shakily got to his feet, she slipped the knife from her pocket to his while the robbers were busy gathering their things. Clint gave her a small smile and a nod of thanks before they were grabbed and forced to march down the tunnel away from their rescue.

After making a fair bit of progress, a mighty roar echoed off the narrow walls. The thugs turned towards the sound, but Clint knew exactly what it was. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. "Now you're in trouble."

"Oh ya, hotshot, I think the only one who's in trouble here is you," snapped Josh pulling hard against the collar of Barton's shirt.

Clint wasted no time. As Josh yanked him back, he pulled the pocket knife out and jabbed the blade into the side of Josh's neck. The robber had no chance to register what was happening in time to stop Clint. Hand clutched to his throat in a feeble attempt to keep the precious crimson fluid in, he fell to his knees then flat on the ground.

Mac, who had been a few steps ahead of them, moved towards Hawkeye in an effort to restrain him. A quick elbow to the nose sent the thug reeling in the other direction. He dropped the case as he grabbed his now broken nose. The Keres vials spilled on the ground. Two came to rest near the wall, but the third shattered on the concrete.

Seeing his friends lose control of the situation, William hurled Pepper out of his way and charged towards Barton. Clint was still focused on Mac and didn't turn in time to see the last gunman lunge at him. They hit the ground hard with William on top. Clint's wounds gave a violent protest to being knocked around. With Hawkeye dazed, William managed to get two solid punches to the archer's head.

Barton painstakingly brought his right leg up in an effort to take the top position. Clint could feel the broken glass on the ground cut into his back as the pair rolled. They came to a rest when they hit the wall with Hawkeye on top. He blocked William's next punch and delivered one of his own. Not to be outdone, William gripped his opponent's neck and squeezed. Clint used one hand to try and pry off the fingers crushing his windpipe and used his other arm to apply pressure of his own to William's throat. It was a race to see who would succumb to the blackness first.

Barton let out a sigh of relief as he felt William go slack; he didn't think he was going to be able to hold out much longer. Then a foot slammed into his shoulder. As he fell onto his back, he couldn't help but wish he had never answered the text that morning. Mac stood over him like a mighty oak tree towering over an ant. Clint gasped, trying to catch the breath that had been ripped from his lungs on impact. He grabbed his wounded side as he writhed weakly in agony on the floor and stared up the muzzle of a gun; heard the safety click off and prepared for the end. The sound of the bullet discharging echoed off the walls but Clint never felt it enter.