Under or Over: Hawkeye & Black Widow

CHAPTER #37

When the bottle was empty, Barton passed out and Bird returned, as per his instructions to her earlier.  Stark and Banner picked him up and carried him to his room.  They both knew that in the morning Barton would be ready to get back out there and find Fury. Both believed that he had gotten very close to where Fury was hiding out, hence the motorcycle pursuit and distraction. Once Fury was found, then their questions would be answered.  But for now they would just let him sleep.

In the morning, Barton showered, ate breakfast with Stark and Banner, then changed into his gear and left. He returned to the block where he'd seen Fury. He watched the area from the tallest building; traffic patterns, pedestrians, couriers, everything.  Then at night, Barton went into the area he determined was where he'd find a sign of Fury.  What he didn't expect to see was Romanoff.  She was alone and not with any HYDRA agents.  He followed her on the roof tops, to see what she was up to or where she was going.

Romanoff knew that Barton was watching her, she slowly lead him away from Fury's hideout. What she really wanted, was for him to come down and talk to her. Missing him aside, she needed to tell him to stop looking for Fury.  She just hoped he'd understand why, when she explained.  But he didn't get a chance to talk to her right then, because S.H.E.I.L.D. showed up.  Their agents began to fire at her and she had to get out of there fast.  Fury had told her Barton was once again working for S.H.E.I.L.D., so he couldn't save her this time.  

"Dammit!  Just when I was closing in, Hill has to mess it up again." Clint grumbled under his breath.

He didn't pursue Romanoff or the quinjet, instead he stayed in the area. He hadn't come here for her anyway.  Barton made sure she would escape without him, then he back tracked. He went down to street level and looked for a hidden entrance.  He was sure he had seen her come out of the wall, even though it appeared to be all brick.  

"Bird stay cloaked, but come scan this wall, is there a door or some anomaly in the brickwork?"

"Yes sir. Two steps to your left is an area that is not brick, even though it appears to be."

Using his hand, Barton felt along the wall.  There was what appeared to be a crack in the mortar. When he put his fingers along the crack, a click sounded and the brick moved. Then a door opened. It was very ingenious actually and he quickly entered and closed it behind him. His bow was notched with an arrow, as he cautiously walked down some tunnel.  There was just a little red light, like an emergency exit sign, that glowed and lighted the way. It opened into what had to be a lower level or basement of the existing building.  

"I was wondering when you'd find me Hawkeye," Nick Fury smirked.

"I would've come sooner, had you not had Natasha trying to stop me.  What's going on Fury? Who's side are you on? Is Romanoff with you or HYDRA?"

Nick looked at him with his one good eye, "put the bow down and we'll talk."

"How do I know that you're not going to taser me or escape again?" Clint asked.

"Not with S.H.E.I.L.D. hovering around."

Barton lowered his bow and put the arrow back in his quiver, but his stance remained ready to fight.  He looked around and saw a few monitors and other equipment, that he knew came from either Stark Industries or S.H.E.I.L.D. or both. Fury waived him over to the central monitor.  They watched Romanoff elude her pursuers. Both grinned as she flipped the pilot the bird and then disappeared into a building.  The woman was good.

"As you know I've been accused of being a HYDRA spy.  What's your opinion on that?"

Clint looked him in his eye, "you're a lot of things Nick, but a HYDRA spy you're not."

"Someone on the Council planted damning evidence. Coupled with Goldman's HYDRA influence, it didn't take much for agent Hill to stop listening to me.  So I escaped custody.  I think all of S.H.E.I.L.D. has been compromised, but I have no proof.  I only know the Council's faces, but no names or any other data."

Clint nodded, "so far we're on the same wave length.  What about Natasha?"

"Originally she was under cover, on special assignment to act as a spy within HYDRA. Then I had her looking into the Council and only reporting to me.  Agent Hill got in the way again."

"Ya she's been a pain in my ass too.  Very narrow minded," Clint grumbled.  "So is there a connection between the Council and HYDRA?"

Nick shrugged, "Natasha's in deep with HYDRA, but we still have nothing on the Council."

"Why not just go to Stark, let him and Jarvis help you figure it out?"

"He's got a leak somewhere.  How can I trust that Jarvis hasn't been hacked?  Tony can't figure out how HYDRA is ending up with his technology as it is.  I didn't know who I could trust."

Clint nodded, "I know that feeling. So now what?"

"Well I can't stay here anymore, so I'm moving to a new location in Manhattan.  You continue to do what S.H.E.I.L.D. wants, just keep your eyes open about information on the Council.  If you figure out the leak within Stark Industries let me know."

"How do I reach you?" Clint asked.

"Use this burner phone. My number is in the speed dial. Dial once and hang up. Then dial back again.  If you just dial once and hang up without the second call, I will ditch the phone.  And Barton, stay out of Romanoff's way."

Clint rolled his eyes, "had you just told me the truth in the beginning, without all the games, I would have left her alone."

"You're persistence is what I have always admired, even more so than your other skills." Nick shook Barton's hand, then gave him the burner phone.

"Don't go out the same way you came in. There's a hatch on the ceiling, that gets you into the vent of the building above. Find your way out from there," Nick advised.

Clint nodded, "alright. I'm out of here."

Barton left the way he'd been directed to. Once in the vent system, he found a way to get to the stairway and then left via the roof.  Bird picked him up.  Barton had to figure out how to get S.H.E.I.L.D. to leave Fury alone.  Faking Fury's death, by way of exploding arrow head, might just do it.  He'd have to plan his next steps carefully, to buy Fury some time to relocate.  After that he'd go after that industrial spy and find out his connection to Stark Industries.