"They don't know who you are," Natasha commented.
"Yeah," Clint sighed. "Which is a shame, because I kind of like them and they'll never trust me again."
Natasha nodded. She understood better than anyone the pain of betraying friends and allies. Before replying, she curled her feet up on the couch.
Her hotel room was nice, if unnecessary since she had an apartment in the city. IMF, however, did not know that, and she wanted to keep it that way. Tactically, it was not smart to have Clint - or "Agent Brandt" - in her room, where IMF could discover them, but even if they did, the situation would only feed into their cover as old colleagues. They had agreed to be as honest, yet vague, about their work history as possible.
Before S.H.I.E.L.D. fell, Clint Barton had been undercover with IMF, gathering intel and supporting S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ally. Only the inner circle of IMF leadership knew just who he really was. Originally, he had been used only as an analyst, but S.H.I.E.L.D. found his position on Hunt's team extremely useful.
"Don't forget about your old team," Natasha reminded him.
Clint shook his head. "I couldn't if I tried."
The Avengers were still a team, though they had not all worked together since the Battle of New York, as the press took to calling it. Steve Rogers and Natasha now worked as a new S.H.I.E.L.D. Strike Team, Barton was undercover, Stark and Banner acted as consultants, and Thor was back on Asgard for now.
"This cover is lasting a surprisingly long time," Barton commented. "I'm looking forward to coming home."
Natasha smiled. "Me too."
And then they were kissing.
"I've missed this," Natasha moaned.
"I've missed you," Clint responded.
!
"Hi, I'm-"
"I know who you are," the Black Widow said shortly. "You know who I am. We need no introductions."
"Play nice, Nat," Brandt said, as Jane Carter tried to back away.
The redhead rolled her eyes. "I would not work with a team without researching its members first. Jane Carter, Benjamin Dunn, Ethan Hunt, William Brandt. I know who you all are."
Jane tried to hide the chills going down her spine. She knew this woman was a cold-blooded assassin, but something in her mannerisms made it clear that she was dangerous. Jane decided not to trust her.
"Actually, I go by-" Benji began.
"Benji, I know."
Brandt clapped his hands together. "Well, this is nice and awkward. Why don't we go over the mission?"
"Good idea," Ethan said. "The basic plan is in place. We all know our jobs. Before the main event, we still have some work to do. Namely, finding out everything we can on the Syndicate. Romanoff, Brandt mentioned you might have some intel?"
She raised an eyebrow. "I might."
"Well, feel like sharing?" Ethan snapped impatiently.
"You already know the general structure of the Syndicate, that it is a loose connection of mercenary teams under strict leadership. You know Maddock is high up in that leadership. During the attack, we will gather more intel, yes? What do you want to know from me?"
Hunt frowned. "Anything useful."
"May I use your computer, Benji?" the Russian assassin asked politely.
He nodded wordlessly.
Turning the screen away from the group, she leaned over the laptop and began to type. Ethan had noticed a gold chain around her neck during their previous meeting, but now, he could see the golden arrow hanging down. He would not normally pay it much attention, but Brandt casually slipped the necklace back inside her shirt, with complete ease and familiarity. And the legendary Black Widow scarcely seemed to notice.
"How long have you two been sleeping together?" he asked abruptly.
Romanoff glanced up to look at him. Then, she and Brandt exchanged a look. Romanoff shrugged her shoulders and returned to the computer.
Brandt, the one seemingly designated to handle this situation, promised, "It won't interfere with our job."
"I'm not concerned about this mission. You're professionals," Ethan replied. "I am concerned, however, that you may be giving secrets to her and whoever she works for." Then he added as an afterthought, trying not to sound too accusatory, "Intentionally or not."
Barton had no real defense to this, particularly because that was exactly what he was doing. "Normal pillow talk does not include classified secrets, if that's what you're suggested."
He made careful eye contact with his team leader, refusing to back down. Neither moved nor said anything for several minutes.
"Here," Romanoff interrupted. "I've pulled up all files I have on the Syndicate."
Benji reached over to take his computer back. "S.H.I.E.L.D.? That's where these documents are from. I thought it doesn't exist anymore."
"Because the files were leaked. By yours truly, I might add," Romanoff replied. "These files have been online for months."
Benji shook his head profusely. "No, no. I definitely looked through those. There was nothing on the Syndicate."
"Maybe because the Syndicate is another name for Hydra."