On Target

Chapter 6

I played the video,

"What can I help you with, Eleanor?" Fisk asked.

"We've had a good relationship, haven't we, Wilson?"

"Yes."

"I've never asked questions, I've always done what was told," Elenor said.

"What I'd expect when there's a debt, and your husband owed a small fortune."

"Which I have repaid tenfold by now."

"All the while doing pretty well for yourself. Like you said, it's been a good relationship, which is why I'm a little confused where you're headed with this."

"I handled Armand like you asked. My fiancé is taking the fall for Sloan. But my daughter, my daughter is home now, and she's getting too close. And that's where I draw the line."

"There are no lines in this business. And that is why I have to leave this business," Elenor said.

"Eleanor, don't be rash."

"I want you to know that I have been keeping an insurance policy."

"Eleanor..."

"Copies of everything, in a safe place."

"In the spirit of the holidays, I'm gonna give you a minute to think about what you're starting right now."

"I don't need a minute." The video ended.

"Who sent this?" Barton asked me.

"Yelena," I answered.

"Apparently my mom is the one who hired her to kill you. Oh, wow. It doesn't make any sense. My mom doesn't even, she doesn't even jaywalk. And now she's working with the mob?" I put my arm around Kate, "She killed Armand?" Kate stood up and walked in front of the table, "My God, I need to talk to her." She called Elenor. But she didn't pick up.

"Kate, wait. You gotta calm down, okay? Let's talk this out."

"Just take a breath, okay?" Clint said, "But your mom needs our help. That video, Kate, it's not good. The Kingpin will not take this lightly. He is going to react, and he's gonna do it in a big way."

"Clint, this is my mess to clean up. You should go home, you should be with your family. You can still make it in time for Christmas."

"Kate, you're my partner. Your mess is my mess. I'm not going anywhere until this is finished."

We got on a subway and were going back to the apartment. "Kate," Clint said, "I'm really sorry how this has all turned out for you."

"Well... Can't think about it right now. We've gotta focus on tonight," Kate said. I put my arm around her.

"You're right," Clint sighed, "We need a ton of gear. Like a whole batch of way-too-dangerous trick arrows."

"You can make more?" Kate asked. Clint smiled and turned away. Kate turned to me and smiled I smiled back, I was glad that she was happy about something, after finding all of this out. The subway stopped and we got out. Clint laid out all his arrows and we started working. Clint instructed us on what to do and I kept helping. "What is this one?" Kate asked picking something up.

"Way too dangerous."

"Too dangerous," I said as I made a label for it. We kept working for a bit.

"So, this, uh, this holiday party tonight, is it a fancy thing?" Clint asked.

"Yeah. Formal."

"You know, you don't have to do this. It is part of the job. It's always inconvenient. It's lonely. You will get hurt. Heroes have to make some tough decisions. So, if you're gonna do this... I just wanna know you're ready, both of you." Clint said.