Agent Hill sat in Nick Fury's office. Well, not officially. Having just been handed her new identity, Kate Walker sat in Nick Fury's office. Kate was in her early 30's, into her art and history, confident, friendly, and apparently had the fashion sense of 67 year old woman. Maria's squirmed in Kate's scratchy blue cardigan. She didn't like being Kate Walker already, and she had been her for about 7 minutes.

Fury poured Hill a glass of scotch. It had become a sort of unspoken tradition, a pre-mission drink between the two of them. They used to get Coulson too, but they were keeping Coulson's resurrection secret for now, and getting him wasted on expensive scotch might just let that cat out of the bag. Not that they would be getting wasted, but Coulson was a lightweight. He had one drink and he would start singing musical numbers. It was quite a show.

"I'm going to miss you, Hill,"

"Wow. That was surprisingly honest for you, boss,"

"You're my best agent,"

"Well, no you've got…That guy…Okay yeah I'm the best,"

"Keep an eye on Natasha whilst you're out there,"

"Please, nobody has ever needed an eye on Natasha,"

"I told her about Barton,"

"Oh Jesus, Nick, that's not smart,"

"It was the only option. I do not know the exact relationship between the two of them-"

"Oh, they were totally in to each other,"

"Agent!"

"Hey, come on! It's obvious, but you wouldn't get Nat to admit to feeling human emotions unless I filled her up with vodka, vodka and more vodka. And Barton's a closed book, it's messy,"

"I can't have fraternising Agents! It's bad work ethic,"

"Please, you so dig it. Besides, fat chance of that now,"

"Would you just keep an eye on her?"

"She wouldn't let emotions compromise her work. But yeah. Sure boss,"

Hill took a swig of the whiskey. She was actually really looking forward to the mission. She hadn't been on a case with Natasha in years. In their early S.H.I.E.L.D days they partnered up a bit, but now they were both important figures. They were in charge of missions now. Natasha was her best friend at the agency. Sure, she and Fury were close, but there was always a level of authority there. She would follow him into battle and fire, but he was her boss when it came down to it. Natasha and she had more of an equal friendship. For a while now, they had been having a girls weekend once a month when they would get drunk at Maria's place and honestly, sometimes, it made her month. Working at S.H.I.E.L.D meant it was hard to find friends outside of work, due to the clear lack of shared life experiences. Dating was an absolute nightmare and keeping up friendships wasn't the easiest. And Nat understood it all.

Fury stood up, and taking his glass with him, he walked to look out his window.

"Uh oh, brooding out the window look? Come on, talk to me,"

"What the hell?"

"I know you. Talk to me,"

"Fine. I can't shake this feeling something's wrong. Everything's too calm. The world's just seen the Avengers, Loki and his alien army. And there's nothing,"

"Well that was pretty big. Maybe the baddies are taking their holiday,"

"Hill-"

"I know. When it comes, we'll be ready. The Avengers will come back and save the day,"

"You're so sure?"

Hill smiled at him. She was sure. None of The Avenger's were particularly suited to team work, but she knew how much they had all enjoyed it, in their own twisted ways, and how much they cared about saving the Earth. Whenever the new 'big bad' came, as both she and Fury were sure it would, The Avengers would return. She believed in them too.

There was a sharp knock at the door, and Natasha walked in. Hill couldn't help it. She burst into giggles. She could feel Natasha getting annoyed but she couldn't stop. She looked too ridiculous. Fury walked over and smacked her lightly on the head. Hill composed herself.

"Oh like that cardigan's so much better Nana," Natasha snapped, crossing her arms angrily.

"So Barbie, when's yours and Ken's big day?"

"Hey, that's not fair, Barbie has blonde hair-"

"So do you,"

"No, he did it brown, I asked for brown,"

"Yeah, that Victor's a lying little bastard. It's a two colour micro-hair shield. It looks brown to you, but to us…"

Natasha looked like she was about to scream. She took a deep breath and smiled.

"Nick, we have got to kill Victor,"

"I think you look great," Fury said, also suppressing the urge to laugh.

Natasha glared at them both and sat down in the seat next to Hill. She poured herself a glass of whiskey.

"What happened to 'I'm Russian and I drink vodka'?" Nick asked, knowing it was dangerous to push Nat, but god if it wasn't fun.

"I'm overlooking my principles. For now, I will take anything with an alcoholic percentage,"

Fury and Hill smirked at each other, which Nat drowning her pain with whiskey didn't notice. Fury walked over and sat opposite the two of them. It felt odd talking to them when they were in disguises. Blonde bombshell barbie Natasha and boring library worker Maria. About as far away from their true personality as you could get. Still, they did make a cute couple. Fury decided against telling them that.

"Natasha, meet your wife Kate Walker,"

"Well hello gorgeous," Natasha looked up from her drink and smiled at Hill.

"And Maria meet your wife Eva Walker,"

"Am I in this relationship for the looks or?"

"Try my dazzling personality,"

"Agents," Fury said, effectively silencing them. They could plan the relationship dynamics on the flight over and bicker then too. They were on a time schedule. He had looked over Natasha's file whilst the women had been getting into their new identities. She was right. This didn't look good. According to Natasha's research, Hydra's rogue agents had made several attempts at creating their own Hulk. None of them had been particularly successful but they were getting closer every day. Hydra were evil, yes, but they weren't idiots. They had scientists. With enough time, who knows what they could accomplish. The sooner the agents got out there and shut the whole operation down the better.

"You fly in half an hour. Read through your identity files on the plane. If you need back-up at any point during your travels, there is a European branch of S.H.I.E.L.D. I've informed them of your mission,"

"If there's a European branch, why haven't they picked up on this?" Hill asked.

"Because it's very, very undercover. We have the Black Widow. They do not,"

Natasha smiled at her boss. That was praise indeed. The three of them clinked their glasses together and took their last sip of whiskey. There was a moment of silence. Nobody needed to say 'good luck' or 'good bye'. It was all conveyed in that silence.

"Alright then. Plane's on the roof,"

Agent Hill stood up, she shook Fury's hand and made her way to the door. She then became aware Natasha had not moved from her seat and seemed to be contemplating her decision. Natasha took a deep breath.

"You give this letter to him, or I will hurt you Fury," Natasha said, pulling out a white envelope from her pocket. She left it on the table, got up, shook Fury's hand and walked out the door. Hill and Fury exchanged a look for a moment.

"So when you said you'd told her-"Hill said, somewhat confused. Fury cut her off almost instantly.

"Half. I told her half. And that is all she needs to know,"

Hill knew there was no point arguing with Fury when he had made a decision. She walked out the door, slamming it behind her. God, Fury was an ass sometimes. She loved him, but this was a big mistake. Hawkeye had precisely zero chance of reading that letter. And she knew why. And she also knew, she could never bring herself to be the one who told Natasha. She took a moment, put her game face on and followed after her. She could do the trip without telling. She was a spy for god's sake. It was her job. But god Nat deserved to know.

Nobody knew where Hawkeye was.

He had broken out of the mental rehabilitation centre 2 weeks ago.

They hadn't heard from him since.