Not Everyone Can Be Saved

Chapter 2

(Y/N) knew she was being followed. She wasn't stupid. She had learned a long time ago how to spot a tail, even the best. She wasn't one to mess around, so as soon as she could, she had the man pinned to a wall in a dark alley with a knife to his throat.

He wasn't bad looking at all...

(Y/N) shook her head. This was not the time to get distracted.

"You have ten seconds to tell me who you are and give me a good enough reason not to end you here and now."

Her calm yet deadly tone sent chills down Barton's spine. The woman in front of him was wearing a dark cloak with a hood, her steady hands covered by black leather gloves.

"I can help you."

(Y/N) hesitated, but didn't lose her cool.

"Who says I need help? Besides, you still haven't answered my first question."

She pressed the blade against his throat, drawing a bit of blood.

"Easy, sweetheart. I never called you a damsel in distress. I'm with an organization called SHIELD, you might've heard of us? Y'know, the whole 'city in the sky' thing? I'll admit, that wasn't one of our prouder moments, but--"

The assassin applied more pressure, cutting him off.

"You gonna keep rambling, sweetheart ? We could just skip to the part where I decide whether or not you're useful."

"Okay, okay, my name is Clint Barton. SHIELD sent me here to take you out."

(Y/N) snorted.

"And you're doing a marvelous job of that."

"I can't be useful to you if you don't let me finish."

She smirked.

"Sassy, even under the threat of death. I like that."

"Yeah well, I've got nothing to lose."

She could sense a deeper meaning to his words, but nodded for him to continue.

"They wanted me to kill you because you've been giving us and our associates quite a bit of trouble, sweetheart. But I think that you want a little something more than assassinating agents just because someone told you to. You want to be free, don't you? You've been controlled for your whole life, but now you want to use your skills for what you want. Why not use them for SHIELD?"

"Alright, I'll play your game. Why would I want to trade the assassins for SHIELD? I'd still be controlled, just by a different group. Besides, the assassins would hunt me down."

Clint smirked.

"With your skill set sweetheart, we can't exactly force you to do jack. Whatever you do would be completely up to you."

"And the assassins?"

"SHIELD will hide you."

(Y/N) rolled her eyes. "You don't know them as well as I do."

"We took the Black Widow out from under the noses of the Red Room. I think you'll be fine."

She slowly took the knife away, and Clint immediately relaxed.

"Fine," she stated emotionlessly. "I'll give it a try. But just know this: if they try to put me in a cell, you'll be the one I kill first."

Barton rubbed his throat and laughed.

"Fair enough."

Natasha and Tony stood on the jet landing awaiting Clint's arrival. Tony smiled, but it immediately dropped when the ramp descended and he caught sight of the black-clad assassin. The red-headed Russian, however, displayed her usual winning smirk.

"What's that look for, Nat?" Barton questioned as he approached his friends.

"Oh, nothing," she replied. "Tony just owes me fifty bucks. So do Bucky, Sam, and Pietro..."

Clint followed her gaze to the girl who was supposed to have been his target. Her hood was now down, unveiling her messy (Y/H/C) hair and watchful (Y/E/C) eyes.

"I take it he has a habit of picking up strays?" (Y/N) asked as she swaggered over.

Natasha eyed her warily, but opted to be friendly. She knew from experience how daunting a choice like this could be. One person's kindness might make all the difference.

"That he does," she nodded.

"I do not!" the man protested.

"Yeah, you do," Tony interjected, heading inside.

Clint thought about it for a second.

"Yeah, I do..."

"Anyways," Natasha continued, "The rest of the team will be wanting to meet you. They're all already in the meeting room, so we might as well head down there."

The agent paused for a second, waiting to gauge (Y/N)'s reaction. The assassin shrugged, placing her hands on her hips.

"I'm game for meeting the rest of your little 'club.'"

She moved towards the doors after Tony, calling over her shoulder to Clint.

"Just remember what I said about a cell, sweetheart ."

Natasha raised an eyebrow at that remark. Barton held his hands up in defense.

"It's a long story..."