Jay

Chapter 1

15 Years Later

I cursed as I ducked back down behind the car. Serbia and I were not on good terms right now. Which, of course, had everything to do with mobsters shooting at me.

I stood back up and shot two more mobsters, before ducking back down behind the car and checking my ammo.

"'No, Jay,'" I muttered. "'I got your back, Jay. I'm not going to trust the girl, Jay. I'm not compromised, Jay. I can bang her and still do my job, Jay.'" I cursed again. "Fucking Wilwiki. Lucky that whore killed him before I could get my hands on him."

I looked over the car and quickly counted. Okay, 5 on the right and 6 on the left. 5 left in this clip, a full clip in my back pocket. I hated guns, but it was suicide to try and kill them with knives.

Not screwed yet.

"Agent Barton," Coulson chirped in my ear. I pressed the piece in further so I could hear him. I prayed he hadn't found out about me trying to grab Hill's pass card again. 11 years and she still caught me every time. Most would think that it was not a great way to ensure job security. But considering who and what I was, they couldn't fire me, only yell and punish. Which they did, often.

They couldn't let me run around as a civilian. It was too dangerous, better to have me on their side working as an agent.

"Coulson, I'm being shot at by Serbian mobsters in the middle of Kosovo," I told him. "Wilwiki was terminated by his now widow and I don't have back up. Now is not the time to yell at me."

"I'm not yelling," he said.

"Oh, okay, you didn't find out about it yet," I told him. "Okay, got to go, bye."

"Find out about-" he started, and then paused. "I don't want to know. You need to come in."

I blanched. "Excuse me?" I said. I fired off two shots, and they both hit. "I have 9 targets left and I only have half the package."

"We'll send another agent in to get the rest, Barton," Coulson said. "Barton - Jay, Clint's been compromised."

In that instant everything stopped. That wasn't possible. Clint was loyal to a fault. He'd never turn against his own. Not when we were in the circus. Not when Tasha went rogue and he was ordered to kill her - he refused to - and we all got in big trouble. But he's always stuck by his family. He's always stuck by Tasha and me. Always.

I snapped out of it, remembering where I was when more bullets ricocheted off the car I was ducked behind.

"Give me 5 minutes," I told Coulson. I stood up and shot another 3. I crouched, reloaded, waited for the gunfire to slow, stood up and shot the last 6.

"Coulson," I said, pressing the com. "Where is he?"

"We're working on finding a location now," Coulson said.

"You have the world's most advanced gadgets, contacts so deep in the black market that it should be illegal, and you can't find one man?" I nearly shouted.

"Jay, it's more complicated than that," Coulson reasoned.

"Romanoff?" I asked. "If Clint went down, Tasha would have as well."

"They were working separate jobs," Coulson said. "Jay, were initiating the Avengers Initiative. Fury sent Romanoff to get the Hulk."

"Coulson, I thought that it was scrapped. And I didn't even make it. Stubborn, sarcastic, no respect for authority," I said, with just a slight smirk.

"This isn't about personality anymore, Jay," he said. "Are you in?"

"Are we going after Clint?" I asked him.