Wow! I'm back! At least for a bit. Guy's I am so sorry, I had the worst writer's block and I am currently in the process of moving to a brand new state! It's been insanely busy that I have had almost no time to even breathe. The next time I update I'll be in a whole new environment. It's exciting but never wracking! Anyways, here is a new chapter, the next one will be much longer though!
As always, please review :)
Watching the RAFT rise out of the ocean was still an ominous feeling to Kate. She didn't come here a lot, but she didn't like the feeling of isolation, of feeling trapped in the middle of the ocean. It was sobering to think of how close she had come to ending up here. It felt like a lifetime ago.
Looking to her left, she spied Clint's posture as he watched the prison rise out of the water. They didn't really talk about what happened when he was there, but they had been back a couple times trying to reason with Barney to no avail. Which made Barney reaching out to her all the stranger.
A guard met them as they disembarked the chopper. They were escorted to the main security area where all the surveillance was located. Kate glanced in the direction of the armory which was close by for the guards to react should they need to.
"Tell me about that night." Clint told the head security guy.
They severe looking man with a jagged scar from the back of his left cheek bone down to the middle of his chin, who was easily 20 years older than Clint looked less than pleased. "Prisoner 736582 had attacked a guard and stolen the phone that the guard had on his person." He replied.
"I thought you guys weren't supposed to have phones while on duty?" Kate asked curiously.
The man scowled at her. "The guard has been appropriately punished." The man replied.
"I assume he was interrogated regarding the call." Clint said looking at the man.
The severe man nodded. His jaw clenched.
"He wouldn't talk." Kate spoke. It wasn't a question.
She was bored of talking to this man; clearly, he was proud and the fact that something had interfered with his system bothered him, which made him defensive, which made him useless to her.
"Where is he now?" Giving her a side-eye, Clint asked the man.
"In his cell." The guard replied, sounding affronted.
Clint nodded towards the door. "Show us." He said, it wasn't a request.
The guard looked at Kate for a second before he nodded and moved to guide them to their bother's cell. Kate scanned the cells, looking at the prisoners as they passed by. She recognized most of the faces, but there were ones that she didn't know.
She heard the wolf whistles and jeers being directed at her as she walked by. She kept her face impassive with no more than a bored glance in the direction of the caller. Technically, bringing a teenager here wasn't a great idea, but it wasn't like she was defenseless, and Barney wouldn't talk to them unless she was there. He had made that clear when the guards interrogated him. Kate wanted to come but she was still healing, and they wouldn't permit Steve or Bucky to come since they weren't on the approved list of people to speak with Barney. It made Clint coming back a necessity.
"Well, you certainly cause quite the commotion around here."
They turned to look at the voice seeing DuQuesne casually looking over at them, seeming bored with all the fuss. He was sitting in his cell on the bed, legs outstretched with his arms behind his head.
The man smirked. "I would almost say it's impressive that you're still standing here." He commented to Kate. "But I guess you Bartons are hard to kill, right Clint?"
Clint put a hand on Kate's back, nudging her forward. It was easier just to not engage.
They approached Barney's cell to find that their brother was already standing at the cell, looking to see what the commotion was about. He almost seemed to pale as he saw them, but it was hard to tell. He removed his hands from the cell glass and stepped back as they approached.
"Hello Barney." Kate offered as they stopped in front of the cell.
"You made a mistake coming here." Barney said looking at her with something that almost looked like concern.
Kate tilted her head slightly. Why is that?" She asked.
Barney glanced down the halls. "Considering you've helped fill more than a few of these cells, especially after Russia, you aren't exactly a favorite." He commented.
"Sounds like I'm pretty popular." Kate snarked hearing a few of the bawdier remarks.
Clint and Barney seemed to have a shared reaction to that remark which would have been amusing despite the circumstances.
"This visit can't have been a surprise." Clint commented looking at their older brother. "How did you know that someone was going to attack Kate that night?"
"You hear a lot being in here." Barney replied carefully. "For all the talk about the high security of the Raft, it's not as secure as people think."
That wasn't new information, Kate had never found any place to be as secure as people always bragged.
"But you're mistaken on the target."
Kate looked up at Barney's comment. "Enlighten me then." She replied.
Barney leveled his gaze on her. "You've kept an interesting sort of company." He replied. "They've made their own enemies as well."
Kate's mind was racing. That would mean…
After a particularly nasty call followed by a prisoner throwing himself against his cell door, Kate glanced at Clint who was frowning, eyes narrowed. He sensed it too, the prisoners were more worked up today than normal. Something was off.
She spoke softly, using the ciazarn from the carnival to make sure she wasn't understood by the guard. "We need to leave. I feel like something is about to go very wrong."
Clint nodded.
"You're not wrong." Barney commented in the same language having heard her. Looking at him, she saw him nod at something down the hall.
Kate spied the guard at the back of the hallway standing stationary. Her sharp eyes focused in on his face and she felt her blood run cold. "Clint, that's him." She said in horror.
It was the one from Rockefeller, the shooter. As she spoke, Clint turned in the direction of the shooter, but suddenly the lights went out and the backup generators started, casting the halls into an ominous glow.
She heard the faint warning tones in the background as the locking mechanisms of the cells began to open.
"Go!" Clint grabbed her arm, yanking her with him into a dead run.
They were skilled fighters, but a prison full of people, especially a number that personally want them dead was not a good scenario to come out alive.
They were almost to the door as all the cells opened. One of the prisoners that Kate didn't know attempted to grab her, but she dodged him. They flew through the door and hit the locking mechanism. One burly prisoner attempted to get through the door before it closed but Clint spartan kicked him back through the door and it shut.
"What the hell just happened?" Clint shouted at no one in particular.
"We've got to find a way out of here." Kate said backing away from the door as she heard pounding against the metal. "We need to get a call out to Tony and the others."
Clint grabbed her arm and started towards the main security room. "We need weapons, and we need to get back to the chopper." He said grimly. "How's your side?"
She swallowed. "It's fine." She replied, glancing back over her shoulder warily as she heard more banging on the metal. "Clint, what about Barney?"
He paused and looked back at her. "What about him?" He asked.
Kate bit her lower lip. "He seemed different. He almost seemed like he was trying to help and now he's in there with the rest of the maniacs—including DuQuesne." She said quietly.
Clint frowned. "Listen, he made his bed with all of the bad things that he's done." He said firmly. "Don't forget that he was part of the crew that's been trying to capture/kill you for years."
"I know but—"
"No 'buts' Kate." He said firmly. "We need to focus on getting out of here alive."
Kate swallowed but nodded.
The heard the shriek of metal as the prisoners started to pry the door open.
"We gotta go." Clint said motioning her forward. "Now."
"Yep." She replied and they took off down the hall.
Her heart raced, her focus became sharp once again, but there was a nagging piece in the back of her brain that told her something was off. However, none of it would matter if they didn't survive this.