Rise Up \\ Marvel + Hamilton

Following Aaron Burr, Sir [Part I] \\ Janet

"...we lost him," I stated.

Tony muttered a few swear words under his breath, and Thor shook his head.

"What do you mean 'we lost him?'" Clint frowned, "it was one guy, walking through the deserted streets of NYC! How hard could it be to follow him?"

"It's dark, Barton," Tony pointed out, "and besides, you should know how hard it is to follow people without being noticed, you're a spy, aren't you?"

"Yeah, and I thought you were capable enough to follow him without my help, but apparently I was wrong," Clint snapped back, before taking a deep breath and sighing heavily, "sorry, I'm just a little tired, I think."

"It is pretty late," I agreed.

"Why don't we go ask over there if they've seen him," Thor pointed a large house, "the owners of such a grand establishment are bound to have means of security that have seen this sir we search for."

"Now we're talking," Clint grinned, his tiredness seeming to lift slightly as he marched towards the mansion.

I rolled my eyes. "You overestimate the eighteenth century. I was going to suggest we see if that 'grand establishment' over there is renting out rooms, which is pretty common among richer families."

Clint didn't react -- either he was becoming deaf, or he was ignoring me.

"Oi! Hawkeye! Stop marching away!" I shouted.

He turned on his heel, facing us with a frown.

"Aren't you coming? Standing around isn't going to help, and I didn't think you lot would be the type for "we need a plan" either. Although I can't speak for you, Jan-- Jacob."

"Can you just come back for one minute please, and let me talk? I happen to know the people who live in that house of which you look like you're about to break down the front door. So if you give me a minute or two, I might be able to come up with a more agreeable option for everyone involved. Is that okay?" I raised an eyebrow at him, genuinely not knowing what his answer would be.

Clint's gaze flashed from the door of the house to Janet.

"You say you know these people... do they have coffee?"

"Probably not. But I guess it's theoretically possible."

Clint shrugged.

"Fine, talk away. But every second you spend talking is more time for the guy we were following to get away."

I took a deep breath, mentally trying to sum up what I wanted to say in as little words as possible.

"Right, okay. I did a case for this family--the Schuylers--a couple years back. It's a man and his three daughters, Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy. Not really sure what happened to the mother. I'm not sure they'll know the guy we're following, but we can at least probably get a place to sleep."

"That's better than nothing, I suppose," Clint shrugged.

"A place to sleep does sound like a good idea," Thor nodded, raising his eyes to the sky as if to judge what time it was, "it's well over midnight."

I nodded. "Great. Now, you guys are going to let me talk, okay? No dimensions, no arrogance, no sarcasm. Just let me convince them to let us stay. Because they can turn us away at the door. But once they've said yes... then their manners will keep us there at least until the birds start singing."

Tony chuckled. "You make it sound like we're walking into the house of fairies or some mythical creature when you put it like that."

"Do you promise to keep your mouth shut?" I enquired.

"Yeah yeah, sure," Tony gave in, "but only until we're inside."

"If you make him wait any longer he'll explode," Clint snorted.

"Speaking of explosions," Thor pointed out, "you look like you're on the verge of blowing up yourself, Barton."

"Shut up and walk to the door," Clint instructed with a grumble.

I laughed, shaking my head as I walked up to the mansion. I paused on the front step turning to face them as I spoke.

"And remember, I'm Jacob, okay?"

Taking their silence as acknowledgement, I knocked, stepping back.

"May I help you?" A servant answered the door.

"May I speak to Miss Eliza Schuyler, please? Here will do, and you may stay, if you don't trust my friends to keep watch," I smiled slightly, glancing at the ragtag group of men behind me, one grumpy, one who looked about as sarcastic as physical characteristics could be, and one who looked strangely at peace. It wouldn't surprise me to find that no one trusted the group.

"Of course, sir. One moment. Do you have a name I could give to Miss Schuyler?"

"Oh, yes, of course. Jacob Levin," the servant glanced back at the others.

"...and guests," I added.

He nodded sharply, and turned to fetch Eliza, returning moments later with a young lady on his heel.

I heard Tony catch his breath behind me, but before I could react the billionaire let out a sharp yelp -- Clint had stomped on his toes.

I rolled my eyes. "Seriously. It's like, five more minutes, guys. Thor, how do you get them to behave?"

Thor gave me a sage look. "I mentally compare them to Loki and decide that compared to my brother, their annoying behaviors are at worst a minor inconvenience."

"Of course you do," I shook my head, "Danny wasn't much for annoying, so I suppose I'll have to find my own solution."

"Danny?" Tony enquired.

"My brother," I hissed quickly, "different universe."

At that moment Eliza reached us, a large smile on her face.

"Jacob!"

I hurriedly composed myself and smiled politely back. "Eliza. How have you been? No more land disputes, I expect?"

"No, not at all. Who are those... fine gentlemen with you?"

"Um, new friends. We happened to, ah, loose track of time, and loose track of our host for our visit to the city. I hate to ask, but would you--and your father--be kind enough to put us up for the night?"

Eliza's gaze moved from me, to the three men behind me, and back to me.

A grin broke over her face. "Well, I don't see why not. It's good to see you, Jacob."

I smiled. "It's good to see you too."

Clint tapped my shoulder.

"Can we go inside?" he asked, "I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, I think we're good." I turned back to Eliza. "This is Clint. Think you can handle him?"

"How bad can he be?"