Under or Over: Hawkeye & Black Widow

CHAPTER #35

"She was meeting with who?" Tony asked.

"Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio.  I know his alias name sounds ridiculous, but he's a class A felon.  He's the person to go to if you want to steal industrial or military secrets.  He's also a wizard and stunt man.  He had a gig in Vegas, but it wasn't enough money," Clint explained.

Bruce asked, "do you think HYDRA hired him to get something for that portal device that Reeser was working on?"

"Don't know, maybe.  Tony do you still  have those surveillance videos I looked at, from the last four months at your industrial building?"

"Yes, what do you want Jarvis to look for?" Tony asked.

"If we have a picture of Quentin Beck, check for him in the footage. And Jarvis also look for any anomaly from the cameras; static, cut feed, whatever.  Even if it's just a few seconds.  Let me know what you find please."

"You think he's been helping steal my tech for HYDRA?"  

"Just covering all angles.  Did Hill report anything worth knowing?"  Clint asked.

"She forgot her com was on and swore like a sailor.  She reported that some HYDRA agent with superior knife throwing skills took out her weapons, almost decapitating her trigger finger."

Bruce grinned, "nice work Clint."

"Agent Hill is a drama queen. There was plenty of room between the blade and her finger."

"Jarvis, pull up the photo she put in her report." Tony raised a questioning eyebrow at Barton when the picture came on the screen.

Bruce whistled in awe, "how you did that, with the wind factored in... damn son you're not just good with a bow and arrow!"

Clint shrugged, "like I said lots of room."

"Jarvis how close is the knife to where Agent Hill is showing she had her finger?"  Tony asked.

The requested data was revealed and Jarvis added in the statistics of the accuracy and probability for error.

Laughing Clint said, "then I guess it was just good luck. See you later boys."

Banner and Stark watched Barton leave.  Bruce said what they both were thinking, "sometimes I wonder if S.H.E.I.L.D. didn't put something in his coffee to enhance his abilities.  We both know that wasn't luck."

"I did a blood panel on him once, we checked for everything, not a trace of anything," Tony replied.  "I give him all kinds of new weapons and he resorts to using throwing blades, so old school."  

"Hawkeye he definitely is and always will be," Bruce mused.

** ~ ~ ~ ~ ~**~ ~ ~ ~ ~ **

Barton went out to get food, once again appearing on S.H.E.I.L.D. radar as being in Manhattan and doing normal things.  He knew it wouldn't be long before they'd call him in.  No sooner had he finished his meal, when an agent gave him a handheld communication tablet.

"Agent Barton you are requested to come to the airship."

"What do you want agent Hill?"  Clint asked.

"Nick Fury has been compromised, we need you to come in."

"Alright, but I'm flying, not this joker."

Agent Hill was annoyed, "just get here immediatel!"

Barton smiled and followed the other agent to the awaiting quinjet.  He got into the pilot seat and turned on the engines.  Shortly they were airborne and flying toward's S.H.E.I.L.D.'s home base.  He landed on the airship and then went to report to agent Hill.

"What's the story on Fury?"  Clint said, without proper formalities.

"Come with me," Agent Hill said ignoring his question.  

He went with her to a private room and then she gave him the file.  According to her, Fury was a HYDRA spy.  Barton barely kept himself from laughing in agent Hill's face.  He read the file and then waited for her to tell him what she wanted from him.

"Fury escaped custody and we are unable to locate him.  That's were you come in.  We need you to track down and capture him.  That's a direct order from the council."

Clint looked at agent Hill, "alright.  Do I have access to anything I want?"

"Full clearance to everything.  We need him brought in alive agent Barton."  Then she added, "you can take a team of five with you for assistance."

"I'm working alone on this one.  If I need them, I'll call in."

She didn't like it, but she had no choice.  "Fine."  Agent Hill stood up and left.

Once she was gone, Barton also left.  Something didn't add up in her report.  As usual he wasn't given the full story.  He was getting tired of women doing that to him; first Romanoff and now Hill.  Instead of solving this ongoing puzzle, the deeper he got, the more bizarre it became. It wasn't his nature to give up, even when nothing made sense, so he put on his com device and left in a S.H.E.I.L.D. quinjet.  He went to all the locations that Bird got from Jarvis, that Nick Fury could have gone.  When that came up with nothing, he left the quinjet at the airport and rode Bird out of town.  Barton had some theories of his own on the location, that if he were Fury and on the run, he'd go there.

"Hawkeye, we discovered your hypothesis to be correct.  Mysterio had indeed been inside Stark Industries stealing technology.  Tony is looking into it," Jarvis reported.

"Thanks for the update.  I'm on assignment for now with S.H.E.I.L.D. tracking down Nick Fury," Clint advised, even though he was sure they already knew that.

"I uploaded the locations that Bruce and Tony suggested he might be," Jarvis said.

"Let me know if  you see him on any of the traffic cameras or security cameras for the airport."

"Yes Hawkeye."

Barton's motorcycle screamed down the highway and out of Manhattan.  He was on his way to New York City, he was following up on a hunch.  The sooner he found Fury, the quicker he could get back to watching Romanoff's back and investigating Beck.