Chapter 20.

Coulson and May were waiting for them in an office. Jemma smiled at the new Director, noting how tired he looked and suppressing the urge to fuss. She'd corner him and give him a vitamin shot later.

"Please sit down, Jemma," Coulson invited. There was an informal grouping of three chairs to one side of the office, he and May took two of them. Clint took up post by the window, seemingly lounging indolently against the wall, but Jemma could see the tension in his body. "We have something to discuss with you. A mission only you can carry out."

It was just about impossible to say no to Coulson. Still, Jemma found herself wanting to very much indeed. She glanced at Clint more than once, but he was looking out of the window.

"You really think I could infiltrate HYDRA?" she said hesitantly at last.

"I believe in you, Jemma," Phil said. "You can do this. We desperately need to know what's going on in that R&D lab in London, and you're the only person I trust that I can get in there. Your cover will be as perfect as Skye and Stark can make it. And I'm assigning Agent Barton to be your handler on-site."

Something in Jemma leaped with excitement at that revelation. "Is that not going to look somewhat suspicious?" she queried.

"He'll be undercover too, Jemma. To all appearances he'll be your reclusive upstairs neighbour you've never even met. In reality, he'll have a secret trapdoor into your apartment and all of your communications with the team will go through him. It will save you from having to go through the effort of dead-drops and the like, and will help to make sure no one from HYDRA gets suspicious about you."

They had an answer for everything. And with the thought of Clint close by, watching out for her, and able to drop in on her apartment any time he wanted – well, Jemma said yes.

"What about the rest of the team? Fitz, especially?" She winced at the thought of telling him she was leaving.

"We're going to be based here," May said then. "Fitz will be kept busy in Stark's labs, I promise you."

"I thought you didn't want to privatise S.H.I.E.L.D., sir?" Jemma looked at Phil.

Phil sighed and sat back. "I don't really see that we have much choice. We have no funding. No resources. The world's spy agencies and militaries are after us. There's only a few people left who even want S.H.I.E.L.D. to exist any more, Jemma, and most of them are in this room right now. Maria Hill was right, as she usually is. If we're going covert – and we have to – the money has to come from somewhere. Stark is willing, provided that we cut him into the information loop. As of now, we're a joint venture with the Avengers Initiative."

Does that mean I'm an Avenger? Jemma somehow managed to keep the idiotic question from springing from her lips. No, I'm just banging one. She smiled. "When do you want me to start, sir?"

Phil dismissed Jemma and May, but asked Clint to stay. Clint stayed by the window, arms folded, so Phil walked over to join him.

"Satisfied, Clint?"

"Yes, sir."

"You know I need you here as Director of Field Operations." It wasn't a question. Clint inclined his head politely.

"I understand that, sir." Seeing the glint in Phil's eye, he dropped the formality. "And you know there's no way I'm letting Jemma go into the hornet's nest without me there as her backup, Phil."

"I wish you'd let me know about your interest in her earlier," Phil sighed. "How have I become so unobservant that it took May to point out to me that you were stalking Jemma?"

"She keeps using that word too," Clint said, "but I was never stalking her, honest. Stalking implies ill intent and I assure you there was never any of that. I just – never quite got up the guts to approach her. I was so sure she'd shoot me down." He hung his head, making Phil chuckle a little sadly.

"Still working through those self-esteem issues, Clint."

"Always."

"Well, fortunately Jemma has proved you wrong. I trust I need not say how valuable she is to the organisation – and to me? The internal backup is already in place, so that's not your responsibility, but once she steps out on the streets Jemma's safety is down to you."

"Understood, sir." Clint straightened, reverting to formality.

Phil briefed him quickly, telling him that he and Jemma were booked on a flight to London the following evening. Clint would be wearing a face veil and travelling under a different identity. He was just too well known to risk being spotted.

"Before I go, sir, there is a situation developing which you should be aware of," Clint said. "Steve Rogers has expressed a desire to – well, to kill Grant Ward. Having heard from Jemma how Ward is playing Skye and refusing to talk to anyone else, I believe it might be beneficial to send in Natasha and Steve and, frankly, let Steve kick the shit out of him."

Phil considered it for a moment. "How tempting. But why does Cap want to kill Ward?"

Clint shrugged. "You want my best guess, he's interested in Skye. I think May and Natasha might be playing matchmaker for the two of them."

Phil's eyebrows shot up. "Steve and Skye? Hmm." He tugged on his lower lip thoughtfully. Clint, watching him, thought how different Phil was these days. He showed so much more expression and emotion than he ever had before Loki. "Al right," Phil said after a minute's thought. "I'll make it happen. I probably should have had Natasha in to interrogate Ward before, but his dislike of her is well known."

"She did slap him down real hard that one time he tried to hit on her," Clint said, grinning at the memory.

"Which is why it surprises me so much that he and May slept together," Phil shook his head. "I still don't know what May was thinking."

"Probably that she needed some physical contact," Clint said. "It had been more than a year since she saw Tasha, and they couldn't even keep in contact. You know how they are, Phil. Neither of them consider it cheating to sleep with men, only other women."

"Hmm." Phil shook his head, dismissing the problem. "I may well let Steve and Tasha at Ward. He's wrecking Skye's peace of mind and we've got almost nothing useful out of him so far anyway." Looking at Clint, he smiled wearily. "Well, be careful in London. I'm glad you'll be there; I need someone I can trust over there keeping an eye on European operations. Fury's over there somewhere and he may make contact. Jemma is your primary responsibility, though. Take care of her."

Clint nodded. "You take care too, sir," he said it quietly. "Share some of the burden. There are people you can trust, you know that. Trust them."

Phil gave him a tight little smile and then dismissed him. Clint left, shaking his head. Coulson was trying to do everything himself. It wouldn't end well. He'd have to ask May and Tasha to keep an eye on Coulson while he was in London with Jemma – he couldn't help a grin at that. In London with Jemma. They'd practically be living together. He'd be able to see her every night when she got home from work.

Well, right now he needed to find her and brief her on her cover. Not that they were really giving her one: she was going in under her own name, her story simply that S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer had the resources to allow her to pursue her scientific interests.

Clint wasn't surprised, when he quizzed JARVIS, that Jemma was back in Bruce's labs. "No message, thanks, JARVIS," he responded to the AI's query. "I'll meet with her for lunch. No doubt she'd having too much science fun right now."

"I'm sure that your consideration would be appreciated by Miss Simmons if she knew of it, Mr Barton," JARVIS responded politely. After a short pause the AI suggested; "Your presence might be appreciated in Lab 86, Mr Barton."

Clint raised his brows. Lab 86 was the Tower's 'nerve centre'; nicknamed 'Hacker paradise'. "Very well, make it so, JARVIS."

"Aye aye, Mr Barton," JARVIS responded promptly, and the elevator zoomed upwards.

Skye was there with Tony – no surprise there – and Natasha, which might have surprised Clint a little more if he hadn't known she was actually quite interested in the young hacker. May had told her all about Skye's skills and how she had managed some remarkable hacks with limited resources. And Steve was there too, being as unobtrusive as he could – which wasn't very, as Tony kept making sarcastic remarks about Cap's supposed inability with modern technology.

Every time Tony said something, Clint saw Skye's typing slow down. She never said anything, but clearly she was fighting the urge to slap Tony upside the head. Grinning, Clint walked over and did it for her.

"Hey, what was that for?" Tony swivelled around and glared at him.

"Being an ass. Regular smacks required to keep him in line," he told Skye. "Feel free. We all do. Just don't smack his ass, he likes that."

Natasha, tapping away at her own keyboard, glanced at Clint and shared a private little grin with him.

"Oh," Skye said a bit nervously, "I don't think I could…"

"Sure you can. Steve's too nice, so his friends have to smack the manners into Tony for him. Just wait until he hasn't got his armour on, or you'll hurt your hand." Clint hopped up on a desk and crouched so he could see everyone's screens. "So. Who're we hacking today?"

"HYDRA," Natasha didn't take her eyes off her screen. "Skye wrote a highly entertaining little program that's been piggybacking its way from Cybertek across lots of different HYDRA systems. There's all sorts of fascinating information here. We've just got to sift through the Nazi propaganda crap to find it."

"Wait," Steve lunged forward suddenly as an image flashed across Skye's screen. "Go back."

Skye paused, tapped a few keys, looked over her shoulder at Steve, who was looming behind her chair. "That?"

"Fuck," Natasha, Clint and Steve all said in unison.

"Thought you said he was dead?" Clint said angrily.

"I thought Sam killed him!" Steve snapped back.

"I'd assumed he was crushed under the Triskelion rubble," Natasha said thoughtfully. "We pulled Sam out of the building just as it collapsed. No way Rumlow should have survived that."

They all looked at the image on the screen. Brock Rumlow, the image was titled, AKA Crossbones. It showed a handsome, swarthy-skinned man with a five-o'clock shadow and short dark hair. Underneath, it said Status:ACTIVE, and listed a number of mission dates. Several since the Triskelion collapse.

"You know what that means," Tony swung idly back and forth on his chair. "He's enhanced. Has to be, if he came out alive and he's healed up already."

"I hate enhanced people," Skye muttered. "Except you! And, er, everyone else on our side!"

Steve suppressed a grin as she looked at him with wide, panicky eyes. "I understand you've had a few run-ins, Skye. It's all right. We've got your back now."

Natasha looked at Clint and rolled her eyes as Steve and Skye just stared at each other for a few moments. Clint reached out and smacked Tony across the back of the head again just as Tony opened his mouth.

"You spoil all my fun," Tony muttered, turning back to the screen. "Okay, big bad Brock Rumlow aka Crossbones is still alive. We'll keep our multitude of electronic eyes out for him too."

"Too?" Clint queried. "Ah, of course, the Winter Soldier."

"Bucky," Steve said firmly.

"The problem is that we have no idea how HYDRA referred to him in their system," Natasha murmured. "He's not in there under any name we recognise."

"What about cross-referencing by dates of missions?" Skye said suddenly. "We can start with the Triskelion attack…"

"Every HYDRA asset on the planet was active that day!"

"Or maybe the day he attempted to kill Director Fury," Steve said thoughtfully. "And Tasha, you said he'd been confirmed, or suspected, on missions going back half a century. If we can find dates of those…"

All three hackers started typing furiously. It was Natasha who sat back with a satisfied noise. "Aha! активы. It means "The Asset" in Russian," she translated when everyone except Clint stared at her blankly.

"Okay…" Skye leaned over, squinting at the Cyrillic characters. "Are the files all in Russian too? Because if so I'm not going to be much help."

"Primarily English, actually," Natasha flicked a few keys to copy the file to Skye and Tony's screens, and all three of them dived back in.

Clint leaned in over Natasha's shoulder and made a low-voiced suggestion. She hmmed softly and then tried it. "Hah. Smartass."

"You're into this stuff as well, Clint?" Steve asked.

"I've picked up a few tricks. Helps to relieve the boredom on long stakeouts," he deadpanned.

"Look!" Skye had found something. "The last three mission dates coincide with assassination attempts. Two failed, one successful. All in The Hague. International Court of Justice officials who've been involved in the successful prosecution of Nazi war criminals."

"The Winter Soldier failed in two assassinations?" Tony said disbelievingly.

"His conditioning's breaking down," Steve said urgently. "Skye, when was the last one?"

"Yesterday. It failed. The other two were the same guy. One failure, one success."

"They'll make him try again for this one too. We gotta get there!"

They were all on their feet. Tony touched his chest. "I can't. I'm on light duty only for the next eight weeks."

"We can take care of him," Steve said confidently. "Tasha, Clint?"

"I'm afraid not," Clint said reluctantly. "I have a new mission. Classified, but I'm on a plane to London tomorrow night and I can't break cover." He hesitated. "Jemma's coming with me. She's being implanted undercover. I'm her handler, I can't risk her."

Natasha gave him a knowing look, and then nodded. Tony wolf-whistled. Skye said "Way to go, Hawkeye!"

Steve blushed, as usual. But then he said "That's all right. I'll talk to Coulson: May can take us in the Bus."

"Good plan," Skye said approvingly, "because if we do catch Barnes, we'll need the Bus's holding cell to keep him. It managed to keep an Asgardian locked in, it should hold the Winter Soldier."

"That's a story I'm keen to hear," Tony said eagerly, but Steve was already shaking his head.

"Another time, Stark. We've got work to do. Tasha, suit up!"

Jemma was upset when Clint went to fetch her, telling her that Steve and Natasha were going with May on the Bus. Fitz was keen to go along, and Jemma pleaded to go with them, but Coulson said no.

"You need to be on that flight tomorrow night. Avoid suspicion. Realistically, if they run into any biological issues, you'll only be an hour's flight away in London if they need you, then."

Skye couldn't quite believe that she was going on a mission with Captain America and the Black Widow. It only got more unreal as the Falcon turned up just as they boarded the Bus.

"You weren't thinking of leaving me behind, were you Steve?" the handsome black guy said as he climbed off his motorcycle.

"You back for more punishment, then?" Steve grinned, offering his hand. "Glad to have you along, Sam. Always good to have aerial support." He remembered Skye, then. "Sam Wilson, this is Skye."

"Well, hello there," Sam gave her a very appreciative once-over. "Why is it that whenever I meet an extraordinarily beautiful woman, she's with Steve Rogers?"

Skye laughed at his flirting and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, sir."

Fitz was gazing at the metallic pack on Wilson's back. "Is that the EXO-7, sir? Is it possible I could…"

Sam grinned. "Oh, I've heard all about you, Fitz. I brought you a present." He held up a thumb drive. "Specs on the wings. Stark's been playing, but you can take a look."

Fitz grabbed the drive with a slightly manic look in his eyes Skye recognised all too well, and headed for the lab doors.

"Wheels up in five," May's voice said crisply over the intercom.

Skye grinned, heading for the seats. Just like old times. Except with Avengers. Steve sat down beside her, unavoidably crowding her slightly with his broad shoulders. She looked at his shield, hanging just inside the cargo door, and shook her head slightly. I'm going on a mission with Captain America. How is this now my life?

We're gonna be sticking with Skye's POV for the next chapter. Shit's goin' down! I've also managed to write quite a few chapters ahead of myself so will increase posting frequency for a few days…