Dear Agony

Chapter 4: Here To Fall

The SHIELD helicopter was reported to had landed, when in a few seconds Steve Rogers came charging out of the elevator. He didn't have to run far until two nurses confronted him, and instructed him to follow them. He was led into a room where at a large table sat Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Bruce Banner, and Tony Stark. Nick didn't even acknowledge Rogers' entrance, where as Maria had her head in her hands, and appeared to be exhausted. Tony seemed to almost purposefully look the other way, his eyes appeared bloodshot and his jaw trembled. Bruce exhaled slowly as he gave Steve a saddened gaze, saying as he adjusted his glasses,

"Natasha is in surgery right now, she's very unstable but alive. She has three gunshot wounds, one of which has caused internal bleeding and damaged her left lung. She has lost a lot of blood, and the other gunshot resulted in a break in her right Tibia."

Steve tried to follow along with Bruce's explanation, but there was only one real question that mattered, would she make it?

"Not to mention, almost all the veins in her hand were severed with a knife, which makes the loss of blood even more serious. But, doctors have reported that the blood loss may not be the problem, because the damage to her lung is potentially lethal."

Steve could have sworn he heard Tony scoff as Bruce finished. Steve put a hand on his forehead, sliding into a seat at the large table he took a moment to process it all. He remembered about an hour ago, getting that phone call that Clint Barton was dead, and that his wife, Natasha Romanoff, was in critical condition and had a greater chance of dying than surviving. He remembered collapsing into a chair, his voice cracking in disbelief, as he questioned the SHIELD official who had called him.

And now here Steve sat, listening as everything he was told over the phone was proven fact. It was not just Bruce's words that told the truth, but the energy and emotion of everyone in the room. Nick Fury, quietly looking downward, as if in shameful defeat. Tony, who seemed to be almost insanely on edge as he insecurely avoided Steve's gaze, hoping he wouldn't notice his bloodshot eyes.

Just as Steve joined this silence, as he found himself speechless and desperate for a moment to comprehend it all, the sound of steady pounding broke the silence. Seconds later, Thor appeared in the doorway of the room. He looked both disheveled and enraged as he looked from Steve to Tony and then to Nick and then asked,

"Is this is all true then? About Barton and Romanoff?"

Showing that he was indeed comprehending what the other Avengers were saying, Nick nodded his head. Despite being an all powerful god, Thor suddenly seemed as helpless and defeated as everyone else in the room. Steve's low and melancholy voice broke the silence,

"What happened to Clint?"

Tony's head jerked up, as if he were about to speak up, but Bruce calmly cut him off.

"There hasn't been an autopsy yet, but obviously he was killed in action during a mission to retrieve SHIELD files from Hydra. Basic reports say he has several gunshot wounds, none of which seem to be fatal though. He has several lacerations and stab wounds, again they didn't result in terrible blood loss and likely weren't the cause of death."

Bruce paused for a moment, it obviously wasn't easy to report such gruesome accounts about someone who was all of their friend and teammate. He inhaled slowly, removing his glasses as he continued,

"His spine and neck appear to be broken, and the back of his skull shattered. Even without an autopsy, I suspect these injuries were caused by a fall from a great height. If this is true, he most likely died on impact..."

Bruce's voice trailed off, as he appeared to have no more energy or heart to continue to talk about Clint. Maria added in quickly, her voice exhausted and almost restrained of letting emotions slip,