~Broken Family~

Follow the Leader

Clay was hyped up on adrenaline, nerves, and the strawberry punch he had had at homecoming.

Everything had taken such a sharp turn from his original plan, he had actually started to feel excited again. He and Harley's time at that old woman's house and in the abandoned building had made it seem that almost, maybe, quite possibly, they could be friends again.

But he knew Harley would never forgive him for the Sophie woman's death, even if he hadn't been the one to make the order.

They rendezvoused with the S.H.I.E.L.D agents in the field by Tony Stark's jet. A chubby man in a suit ran over to Tony Stark and started blabbering things like how 'this situation is beyond dangerous' and 'how in the world am I supposed to find a decent pizza place in this German dump.' Clay had never personally met Happy before, but he had heard a lot about Stark Industries' Forehead of Security. He kept glaring at Clay with his beady little eyes.

Nobody told Clay the official plan, probably since they didn't trust him, but the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents grilled him on information of the base.

"Here is where you'll want to get in," Clay explained as he activated the holographic map on his wristwatch. "The corridors around Gwen's holding room are patrolled every thirty seconds, but I know the pattern and I think I'll be able to sneak us in. There are guards posted on either ends of the hallway and in her room, so we'll have to take them out after we take out the cameras."

"You seem to have this whole thing figured out," Happy Hogan grumbled. Clay rubbed the back of his neck with a shy grin, despite the glares he was getting.

"Well, I've just got a good memory."

"How do you propose we 'sneak' in?" Tony Stark asked. "I mean, there's no way we can get out of here unscathed if we creep around like rats. I say we attack with full force."

Clay winced. "Doing so will be even worse. HYDRA will have time to alert for backups, they'll transport Gwen before we can even get to her, and then we'll never get out of there."

"Good point," Tony grunted. "We have you two. The whole point of this thing is to rescue Gwen."

They decided a stealthy entry with a forceful escape was their best option.

Some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents stayed behind as last-resort backups and getaway drivers. Tony, Harley, and Clay began making their way on foot to one of the base's secret entrances with a small group of agents.

Clay could tell that Harley was struggling. He'd known him long enough to tell when he tried to hide his leg and back pain, those little breaths he let out harder with every step, the way he hesitated before moving, face twisted in pain.

"You good?" Clay whispered as they walked. He had been put on the front line and Harley in the back, so he stole away for a moment.

"Yeah," Harley panted through his helmet, orange lights pulsing steadily. "Just tired."

"I'll bet. I got you into this whole mess of getting tortured."

"What?" Tony yelled, but the agents shushed him.

"It wasn't a big deal, Tony," Harley said lamely. "Just a few punches."

"Sounds like a big deal!"

Clay waved his arm for silence. "Shh, all of you!" he interrupted. "We're coming up on the door."

Tony turned to glance at all of the agents. "We're still going with the 'Clay is our hostage' approach, so stay hidden until we give the signal."

Clay held up his wrists in mock surrender with a genuine smile. He felt like he was finally paying for spending the last few years furious with this very man, the thought of killing him the only thing on his mind.

"Take me in, Iron Man."

Tony clipped handcuffs around him. "With pleasure."

***

They took out the guards stationed at the door, and then Tony pushed Clay into the dimly lit hallway.

"Act scared," he hissed through his suit's speakers. Clay gave a nod and tried to put on a fearful face. It wasn't hard.

He had never been more scared in his life. Not for himself, but for Eleonora, Gwen, Harley, Tony Stark, that Happy man---every other person in this facility. If this didn't work, and lives were lost, it would all be on his hands.

He couldn't let them down, not after how much he had failed them.

They crept through the hall together almost as if they were one, everyone stepping, holding their breath, and inching forwards in near-perfect synch. Clay's sensitive ears grew so used to the quiet, he jumped a mile when he heard bootsteps marching down the hall. And fast.

"Someone's coming!" he whisper-shouted, but it was in vain. There was nowhere to hide but to turn the way they had come, and there wouldn't be enough time to make it to turn the corner.

"Hey! Youcan'taaahh..." The soldier started to shout and raise his gun, but quickly dropped the tip to the ground in shock as he realized how outnumbered he was.

"Re-lax, pal," Tony said, suddenly hooking a metal-armored arm around Clay's neck and pointing a blaster at his head. Clay remembered to look terrified. 

"Uh, help me!" he offered. One of the guards, Clay recognized him as Curt because of the mustache, raised a bushy eyebrow.

"If you don't let us through," Tony threatened, "we'll shoot your little guy here!"

"Go ahead!" Curt snarled, raising his gun again. Clay's blood turned to ice.

"Oh, come on!" he said. "Curt! Buddy! It's me! You ready to give up on me so easily?!"

"I don't give a rat's tail about you." Curt narrowed his eyes and jutted his chin at Tony. "Go ahead. We're not stopping you, tough guy."

"You sure?" Tony sounded surprised. "We're gonna do it if you don't let us through!" He pushed the palm of his armor closer into the side of Clay's head. He started to get really scared---what if Tony got mad and actually killed him?

"Like we'd do that!" the other soldier shouted.

"Fine! You asked for it!"

Tony fired his blaster.