Chapter 11- target identified

1 week ago enemy base, unknown location

Ivan Ivanoff aka Dent Baxter had accepted a new mission on behalf of his colleagues for a rather large sum of money and was now on his way to find out the details. He was sure that the amount the man was offering meant that this was going to be a highly dangerous mission that would put his life at risk.

The monetary reward was large enough to make him have a total lack of regard for any type of risk. He had come a long way since his days of petty crime and in the process of moving up in the crime world he'd met people that made you feel like death was staring you in the face. Once you learn to look into anybodies face without fear, to contemplate any terrifying task they set you without flinching ,then you truly belonged in this world of high stakes criminal activity.

Pulling up in front of what looked like a normal house Ivanoff wondered about who he was meeting. He was used to back alleys, bars, offices but a homely house in a suburban street was a first for a meeting with a super criminal.

He rung the door bell, waited rather impatiently for 5 minutes and was about to buzz again when the door swung open. The man who stood there looked like someone's kind old granddad, white hair, glasses and a stoop that spoke of advancing age. "Oh I think I have the wrong address", he'd said convinced by looking at this man that he was not any type of criminal. "No you haven't Mr Ivanoff', the man said in a light tone, "come on in". He opened the door wide and gestured him inside.

The house's interior spoke quite clearly about its owner ,average, boring and not someone you should take too much notice of. "Sit down Mr Ivanoff and we'll get down to business", the granddad told him.

He sat on the hard floral couch and felt totally out of place. "That is the impression I want to give Mr Ivanoff, a boring person who eats pizza and watches reality television. My neighbours come over to borrow sugar and talk about baseball, not one of them suspect that I am not who I seem."

His voice suddenly changed and Ivanoff found himself staring down the barrel of a gun that had seemingly appeared from nowhere. "You can call me Mr Fields', the man told him. "It's not my real name of course . All you need to know is that I can give you the amount of money I have promised".

Ivanoff was intrigued. He did not feel like this was a trap and the man in front of him an undercover cop, this was not the type of approach one of those would have used. The fake name did not bother him as Ivanoff was not his real one either. He just thought the name sounded cool. "Tell me more", he hinted.

The man smiled at him with perfect white teeth as he put away his gun. The gun was placed in a side holster, where it was easily accessed. The guy he noted quietly was left handed and those shiny teeth told him he was probably not as old as he looked. So his appearance was a disguise, nothing wrong with that either, Ivanoff decided. Maybe he should think up a good one to use.

"Do you know this man", a picture was thrown over in front of him. Ivanoff found himself staring at Clint Barton. From a place deep within him rage boiled up and he twisted the picture in his hands damaging its perfectness. He would like to do the same to Barton. Mr Fields watched intently, "I'll take that as a yes. You would know him as SHIELD agent Clint Barton. I believe you met briefly a few years ago".

So this man had checked his history, smart. It made him feel slightly out of his depth, he had no idea who this guy was or who he worked for. He had a feeling though that knowing the answers to those questions may just prove fatal. That made him feel nervous though he was careful not to show any sign. You could easily get shot just for a little shake, it had happened to some of his colleagues. He forced himself to look Field's in the eye calmly. His act must have worked because the man suggested, "so you want a little payback Ivanoff, against Barton and even SHIELD itself". "Yes", he'd spoken the world with a deep passion. He still remembered the humiliation he'd endured in Barton's hands as he worked him over in front of his colleagues . His hands were now tight fists at his sides, rage was something he had yet to control. Field's looked at him soberly, "ah well maybe you would not suit my purposes afterall. I do not want this man dead, or even harmed seriously. He needs to be able to help us", were his rather shocking words.

Now Ivanoff was confused, having Barton help anyone was not what he wanted. "I would prefer just to kill him", he said honestly. He knew that reply might just lose him millions of dollars but did not care. His desire to hurt the SHIELD agent was rooted deeply and he would pass up a trillion dollars if someone suggested he even shake Barton's hand. Fields' smiled at him again and his hands remained steady not even twitching toward the weapon. Obviously his attitude was fine with Fields. Ivanoff found himself feeling relieved that he had not lied to his man.

Fields leaned closer , his hazel eyes intent. He suddenly felt much more menacing. Still Ivanoff did not flinch. Fields sat back again seemingly satisfied again and told him."Oh but this is so much better Ivanoff, something that would cause him humiliation and death at the hands of his own agency". Now that sounded like a fitting type of revenge Ivan thought. Fields knew he had him now and dropped the next piece of bait, "you see Mr Ivanoff, this man is not Clint Barton." Ivan found himself bending over to look at the crumpled picture again. He had never seen Barton wear a suit, like the man in the picture but it made no difference whatsoever to his identification. Fields must be trying to trick him for some unknown reason he thought. "He's dressed differently but that is him nonetheless", he told Fields.

Fields opened a laptop that had previously lain forgotten on the seat beside him. He posted the picture he'd just seen as well as one of Barton in his SHIELD gear side by side. "This one is Clint Barton", he told him, "this one is his identical twin brother William Brandt", he tapped the suit picture. "You now possess knowledge that neither of the two agencies they work for or the men themselves have .I want to use that ignorance against SHIELD and have this one", he tapped Brandt's photo again, "infiltrate the agency by impersonating his brother." "He will then carry out a plan to cripple SHIELD beyond it's capacity to heal." It was a mind blowing plan but Ivanoff had thought it was a little too good to be true. "Okay so from what you are telling me, it seems Brandt is an agent as well. I take he does not work for our side", he hinted. "That is true, he is currently employed by IMF who are as much danger to the criminal world as SHIELD", Fields told him. "So why would he help us", Ivanoff asked. "He might be persuaded to in exchange for the knowledge of his brothers existence", Fields told him."Yeah and he might not", Ivanoff had countered. "If they truly do not know about each other then he might just think you are full of crap".

"Oh they don't know trust me on that", Fields told him. Ivanoff did not feel convinced. "How do you know", he challenged. In response Field's put up a photo of a dead man that almost had him empty his stomach on the spot. "This is what is left of the doctor who performed the surgery that erased their memories. It took awhile to get the truth but eventually he talked", Fields said it in a tone that left no doubts that it was him that had done the convincing. Suddenly the grandpa in front of him had shifted to an even higher level of dangerous , the word cold blooded stayed in his head. As he steeled himself to study the digital image of the doctor, he noticed a few things that raised questions. "Looking at his clothing and hints about the location leads me to believe that image is more than a few years old. So if you have had this knowledge all of this time, why not act before now. SHIELD could have been taken out before they became a real threat", he asked firmly. This was an important question to him.

"Because the while the bastard did know there were two of them. He did not know where either of them went. It has taken years of study to determine the location of Barton, then years more to finally track down Brandt." He has been the harder of the two to locate. But he cannot escape us now", Field added with distinct menace. "So you want to use Brandt to infiltrate SHIELD but not have Barton to do the same to the IMF. If they are dangerous I would think a double whammy would work very well", Ivanoff asked.

"For now it is only SHIELD and Barton who are in our sights Mr Ivanoff. The fallout will most likely damage IMF as well, but it will not be a deathblow". "You could say that I too have personal reasons for wanting to rid the world of SHIELD". IMF's turn will come another day"', Fields had replied. "As for your original question about compliance, Brandt will cooperate either willingly or not Mr Ivanoff ,that too I can guarantee". If you handle yourself well you will live to see the end of Barton and SHIELD. That would be the ultimate revenge". Fields crossed his arms over one another and waited for his opinion.

It of course was a tantalizing offer, though Ivanoff wondered if there was something he was missing here. As yet he had not be told how to acquire Brandt, he reminded himself. He was still interested and had to make sure Field's knew that so he framed the question in the way that made him seem like the mercenary he was. "Well the moneys good", he hinted. "Of course ,because it does carry an element of risk", Fields confirmed, " to acqure Mr Brandt you will need to contact your colleagues and make yourselves the target of the IMF. They are people who will think up creative ways to put any end to you and your team. They will not hold back , Mr Ivanoff".

"How good are we talking about", Ivan had to ask, the amount of money offered warned him about the answer he was about to receive. "This team is acknowledged as the best IMF have ever had. But not to worry Mr Ivanoff I can detect them in a way they no knowledge of and no way to counter. I will send you details of their movements so you can anticipate most of their moves and get me my prize", Fields had nearly sold him.

Field's had certainly had a way about him that was convincing. He still had the feeling that he did not get told everything . But once again the money and the chance for revenge against Barton made everything seem fine.

Xxxxxx Real Time- the unknown Hawaiian Island

Yeah and now look where you are, the others are all dead and you are on this island all by yourself. He told himself. It is one thing to know where the team was it was another to know what they were doing. That had been of course why he'd been paid such a high sum. That mission had ended with him and the others being blown up. The fault of course rested upon Brandt who could not have known his capture was the real reason for his and his colleagues so called terrorist mission. The idiot had grabbed the case they had wanted to use to draw away the rest of the team and led them on a chase up on top of the hill. Then had come the thing he had not expected, the explosion. He had mere seconds to launch himself off the cliff and into the water. His colleague Manton had survived alongside him for awhile before he'd been killed in the shark attack. It had been a harrowing experience where he'd more than earned every dollar he'd yet to be given. But it was not over yet, Brandt was not in his custody.

One thing Fields had not told him was firmly on his mind right now, how he was tracking the IMF team and specifically Brandt himself. It mattered because if that tracking method failed for some reason then what he'd told Brandt about rescue was a lie. He had to hope that Fields really was a good at the super criminal game as he seemed. The man had left him with chills that he thought after all these years of crime that he could no longer feel.

He was not he type you should fail and that prompted Ivan Ivanoff to finish counting in his head and decide to head after Agent William Brandt. He was only doing this to stall for time. Brandt was too severely injured for shooting him to have really been an option, though of course he had not wanted the other man to know that. Then of course was the fact that his gun was not water proof and he had no idea it could still fire. He had now wasted the only bullet the weapon had left.

So he'd simply run out any strength the agent had left ,so he would be less inclined to resist what Mr Fields might have in mind for him. "He will be my prize", Ivanoff told himself."Prize", it was the word Fields had also used when talking about Brandt. Surely their prize should be the destruction of SHIELD. It was although the agent was more important to Fields than he'd been led to believe. Fields had known his history and was using his hatred of SHIELD and Clint Barton to fuel his passion and get him to do his bidding. Suddenly things seemed a lot less clear. But when he thought about the image of the mutilated doctor in his head, he decided that his questions would most likely prove to be fatal. How did he know that he would not end up dead anyway as soon as he gave the man what he wanted. He didn't know for sure. However he knew that if he did not take back Brandt that there was a 100 percent likelihood Fields would hunt him down and perhaps do the same to him as he had to that doctor. It was not hard to figure out what he should do. '"Just take him Brandt, grab your money then run", he told himself.

Moving slowly he headed into the jungle of greenness in front of him. He too had sustained some injuries in the explosion, which he had fought hard to conceal from Brandt. Still he was functioning much better than the other man and that should give him the advantage. If he stopped and listened he could hear crashing in the bushes not too far ahead of him. Obviously Brandt's stealth skills were only useful in the city or other habitable locations. This was going to be way too easy. He headed toward the sounds.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Ethan and Clint hours from making landfall

Ethan's stomach grumbled so loudly that it sounded like thunder. Reaching into his sodden jacket pocket he took out a chocolate bar. It's foil wrapping had protected it from the elements. He broke it in half and gave half to Clint. "Thanks", the other man told him. Clint was staring out into the blueness of the sea. Ethan followed his gaze and saw nothing. "There's land out there", Clint suddenly told him. "What", Ethan stared and still saw nothing. Maybe it was like in the desert when he thinks he see water but it is just a mirage. Being out a sea was getting to Clint Barton. Keep calm Ethan, he told himself. He said nothing not wanting to upset Barton in any way. His silence must have told Barton something though.

"You think I'm imaging it, don't you, that the sea is playing tricks on my eyes". Well my eyes are way better than yours Hunt", Clint said firmly. To make his point he without warning plunged the long spear he had carved into the water. When he pulled out a speared fish Ethan found himself staring open mouthed. "There is a reason they call me Hawkeye you know", Clint said. Ethan still had his mouth open and felt like he was not about to close it right this minute. He had heard the name Hawkeye before. "You are an Avenger", he said it with distinct awe. "Yes, I was recruited because of my enhanced vision, Hunt. It is also the reason I have spent years running from the wrong type of people and why my mother decided to make Will and I undertake that surgery. She was terrified that the men who wanted to use my skill for assassination purposes would use Will as a method of convincing me to cooperate".

"But you are an assassin, aren't you", Ethan asked. That was what he had heard. "Yes but not for the wrong type of people Hunt. I know you don't hesitate to shoot to kill either. I can live with what I have done.", Clint told him. Hunt would probably never know how hard it had been to feel like he could live with what he was sometimes.

Ethan just nodded because he did understand exactly what Clint was talking about. "It is kind of ironical though, Mom would not be happy if she was alive", Clint added. "Nor would she be happy with what Will's career choice is either. But I suppose we will always disappoint our parents in some way."

He looked at the fish on the end of his spear and broke the emotion of the moment, "do you like raw fish Hunt", he asked.

"Not particularly", Ethan told him with a smile. "Neither do I, so I'll save him until we make landfall which should be within 6 to 7 hours if I judged this current right", Clint told him. "We have made it to within landfall quicker than I had thought, Ethan remarked. "Yes, me too but that current was particularly swift. We could potentially now be within day behind Will", Clint said it with clear excitement. Ethan did not want to douse his enthusiasm so he kept to himself the thought that the odds of finding Will on the approaching land were very small.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ivanoff aka Baxter drew out his gun as he approached the rustling. Geez Brandt was certainly out of place out here in the bush, the amount of noise he was making was enough to attract the attention of someone miles away. He flew through the bushes ahead of him only to feel the forest floor in front of him suddenly disappear. Jumping up rapidly he narrowly missed falling into the hole that Brandt had tried to conceal using bushes. Stumbling and finding his ankle twisting as he landed Ivan cursed in Russian. Looking about him he saw no sign of Brandt. Instead there was a giant palm leaf tied with a vine on one end and a small stone on the other. As the wind caught the leaf it would lift briefly off the ground and rub against the other bushes to make the sound. It'd then be pulled back down by the weight of the stone. It was clever and warned him not to underestimate William Brandt again.

Will was only a few metres away bent over and trying to choke out gasping breaths as quietly as possible. He could barely move. It was difficult partly because of exhaustion and injury as well as the fact he only had one shoe. There was a thick sock on his other foot that smelt like something had died within it, but it was his only protection against sharp objects. The sock was not going to last that much longer as already the seams were ripping as it rubbed against the ground.

Running or rather hobbling into thick jungle was only a path to death anyway. He had to keep his bearings and circle back to the beach. But what if Baxter's colleagues come, his mind asked. He could tell the man had not been lying about that. So how do they know where you are, it was something that plagued his mind. Their moves had been anticipated on the mission as well. From what Baxter had told him it seemed that Mission Cliffhanger had a different purpose to the one they had expected. It was obvious that the men had wanted him and had made themselves get on the IMF radar to achieve that aim. All the things that Baxter had spouted about his memory still bothered him. But he could not afford for his mind to get distracted, he had to survive.

He'd learn the trick with the palm leaf from one of his hunting friends. It had only taken his about 2 miuntes to set the whole trick up. But it had been physically exhausting. He was not going to be able to keep this up. Surrender, one part of him said, he does not want to kill you. You can plan an escape later. It might be the only way off this island. Come on do you really think Ethan or someone else is out there trying to find you. He hoped Ethan was, though he could not be one hundred percent positive.

So should he surrender, it was definitely a possibility. He knew there would come a time when he simply would be unable to go on. That time is not yet Brandt. Maybe there are a few more tricks you can show Baxter.

xxxxx

Brandt would have been relieved had he been able to see the helicarrier that was searching the ocean for signs of life. Its sophisticated tracking system could scan the sea in a manner that left the men on board in no doubt about the fact that neither of the parties they were searching for were at this location. "We have one more sea area to search then we move on to the landbased ones", a searcher reported. "This island will be our final destination", he placed his finger upon the image ." Our scanners have detected a fishing boat in that area so perhaps we can liase our search with them".

That fishing boat certainly looked the part with nets draped upon the deck and crayfish pots hanging from the rigging. But it was all an act. Below deck the man Ivan Ivanoff knew as Mr. Fields was cleaning his gun. Around him several other men were doing the d same. He was taking no chances and hitting the island with a full force." Once we get there you are to locate this man", he showed them all William Brandt's picture ,"and bring him to me alive. "Anyone else you may shoot to kill".