Hawkeye: Agony

Hawkeye's Big Escape (Part 2)

"You grab the boy!" Peggy Carter yelled across the tent to Phil as SHIELD surrounded the tent.

I remember waking up on the ground outside of the tent, with a tight chest as I struggled to cough up the water in my lungs. A young man was knelt over me, with his hand on my shoulder to keep me lying down.
"Are you alright?" He smiled when he saw my small nod as a reply, "My name is Agent Coulson. I'm going to keep you safe."

I looked up and saw the outline of the open tent flap behind me, blurred by my watery vision and the glaring lights of the flashing police sirens.
"You need to stay lying down," Phil tried to lie me back down as I sat up against him - realising he could feel the bone in my shoulder as he did.

He looked down at me shaking in his arms and took off his jacket and wrapped it around me to keep me warm in the cold night. Then he noticed the collar and tried to pull it out. Tears ran down my face but I didn't cry audibly, and Phil only realised I was in pain when I tightly grabbed his wrist for him to stop.
"I need to take this out. I don't want you hurting yourself again," he paused slightly in his operation, "You can let me help for one second, right?"

I didn't hear what he said or see his lips move through wet eyes, but I could feel his chest vibrating like he was trying to sooth me, and so I let go and he pulled out the collar, which left a ring of holes around my neck.

When my vision finally cleared I saw SHIELD agents covering every flap: all of them being tossed around, beaten and blocked.
My eyes caught the attention of a man in a brown leather jacket and an eye patch, and an old lady beside him. They didn't look like they would hold up a fight, but they were the only ones landing any shots on the circus members. The old woman began to look frail and tired but her expression made it look like she wouldn't stand down for anyone - which seemed the polar opposite to the only other caring looking figure I'd met, my mom.

**

Ms Carter pointed her gun at the Ringmaster and he smirked in anticipation of the shot. She didn't falter as she pulled the trigger, only to watch it circle the Ringmaster's body and hit her own leg.
As she fell to the floor, the ground began to shake and men started to fall back, sprinting out of the tent flaps towards their armed vehicles.
"What are you doing?" She glared up at him and tried standing up straight as Fury reversed towards the door and tried to think of a diversion to help her escape the Ringmaster without getting any men hurt. No ideas came to mind.

I knew what was about to happen and so I took my confiscated cowl from Phil's hand and put it on, tightening the strap against my bleeding neck to stop the flow.
Phil reached to grab me but that gave me an opening to duck under him and grab the bow from against his belt. (It was too small to touch the floor.)

"Get back here!" Phil yelled with a desperate tone of worry. He started to jog in after me, only to fall on to his back when Python's snake tore through the ground with her riding on it's head. "Agent Carter!!" No one could see anything through the cloud of dirt and sand that followed the woman and her snake - aside a green glow fading as the Ringmaster vanished.

I ran through the smoke and in to the tent; taking a quick glance around through the holes in my cowl. I saw the old lady on the floor holding her leg, and pointing a gun around at the smoke - unable to tell that a snake tail was forming circles around her. My deafness increased my eyesight, and so as I fought back tears of pain in my neck - I managed to figure out where everything was.

With a leap, I landed on the ladder for the tightrope and climbed up to my nest. Perched on the edge of the wire, I aimed down at the glowing red eye of the snake and fired with an angle that caused it to fall away from Ms Carter.
The snake tore through the air as it circled to try and strike up at me but I leaped and landed with a roll on it's head, directly in front of Python. As I fell, I had placed a taser arrow between my fingers which I lit against her chest so she fell to Fury's feet.

Another jump off of the snake's  head gave me the perfect shot at his face - and so I shot a grapple arrow and swung on it down to Peggy and grabbed her wrist. My weight didn't throw the snake off but it gave me enough speed to throw us both at the gymnastics mats so she would have a soft landing. Just as we were about to get bitten I shot an arrow up through its mouth and it landed by our feet - which left Ms.Carter rather speechless, but I wouldn't have known.
I smiled at her and she stared a little then smiled back and got up.
"Thank you, Dear," She then proceeded to take my hand and walk me out to Fury who looked stern but very concerned by his own lacking ability to help.
"What happened?" He looked straight at her, but she couldn't really give him a reply.

I had realised the other members of the circus were being arrested by then, and so, not fully developed in the conversation, I walked over to a car and leant over on the hood with my hands on the back of my head. I wanted what I deserved. 
Phil glanced over with a look of pure confusion followed by Ms.Carter. Fury didn't seem too bothered by it and pulled out some cuffs before she stopped him.
"I want him in Access 1," she said with a stern expression to Fury.
No one dares to defy that expression. It's the face that says 'Or you're fired' with a glance.

It's that face that gave me my first safe home, in SHIELD - and I wouldn't have turned back for anything.