Old Wounds

Chapter 2

A/N: I don't know if anyone's actually going to read this story, but it's okay. If you are reading, please vote and stuff :)

6:44 24-AUG-09, UNKNOWN CITY

“Let’s go to the roof.” The man with the bow and arrows pointed to the staircase. He preferred to be up high where he was able to see everything around him.

 His partner agreed and they ascended the rickety staircase. They found the door to the roof barricaded, but the man kicked the door powerfully with his boot-clad foot a few times, and the door swung open. The sudden brightness from the afternoon sun temporarily blinded the man and woman whose eyes were accustomed to the darkened interior of the warehouse.

The view that the two saw from the roof surprised them. They didn’t expect to still be in Europe, much less Switzerland. The familiar skyline of Zurich, Switzerland was laid out before them. From their spot, they could see a part of the city where police officers swarmed the area. That was the street where the acidic liquid had spewed out of the sewers.

“Nat,” the man said, nudging his partner. “Do you think those people survived?”

The woman turned to him. “I don’t know, Clint.”

"Should we-”

“No,” Natasha said firmly. “We are not going to check on them. It wasn’t our fault. Their city can deal with whatever caused that to happen.”

Clint’s light eyes continued to watch the scene in the distance. He knew that whoever caused the eruptions was targeting him and Natasha. The attacker must have been someone who knew who they were and their motives in Switzerland. They had been sent to look into a secret underground crypt and retrieve some information on it. Natasha was responsible for getting into the vaults and actually getting the papers. Clint had to watch her back, tracking her with a special device from their agency, and taking any potential attackers away from her.

That had always been Clint’s job: always having a birds’ eye view. His bow and arrows was a perfect match for him because it allowed him to take down a target unawares from any distance. Clint was the world’s best marksman. He recognized that fact although it seemed a bit pompous. Ever since he discovered his talent while in a travelling circus, he had never parted with his bow. Natasha had teased him about it, saying that he probably slept with it (which he had only done once, but he had truly been drunk that night).

“Clint,” Natasha said, pulling him out of his thoughts. “We should go. S.H.I.E.L.D. will want to know that we’re alive.”

Clint put a hand to his ear where is earpiece usually was. It was gone. Their captors must have spotted them and removed them while they were unconscious.

“Wait, Nat,” Clint said, putting a hand on his partner’s shoulder. “What about that other guy earlier? What happened to him? Did you see him? Or better yet, did you kill him?”

“You mean the guy with the sunglasses?” Natasha asked, and Clint nodded. “I didn’t see him. If he was ever in this building, he’s probably long gone by now.”

“Have you seen him before?”

Natasha hesitated. “I think so. I sort of recognize him, but I have no idea where I’d seen him.”

“Maybe you saw him during your time in the-” Clint paused seeing the warning look on Natasha’s face, “the Red Room.”

As soon as the two words were uttered, Natasha felt a rush of blood go to her head. Instantly, her vision began to darken and she couldn’t do anything to stop it. Then, she passed out.