Chapter 7: Old Habits Die Hard
Fury reconvened the meeting without a hitch, everyone with coffee in hand, since the only person who actually wanted to be there was Natasha. The library down the street was mentioned briefly, and STRIKE Team Delta carefully scanned the faces around them for any nervousness. No signs of sabotage in the room, they mutally decided.
"Well, now that Agent Romanoff is here, I'm sure we would all like to get a more detailed explanation as to her viewpoint on what the mercenaries seemed to want to know," the director suggested, and Natasha obliged, staying seated since standing was impractical.
"Well, I originally thought they wanted to know about SHIELD intel, as that's what Henri kept asking about," Natasha began, sending a wave of relief since their stories matched perfectly so far. "But now, after seeing that email, I don't think it had to do with me personally. Agent Barton and I have a solid partnership and our teamwork is brilliantly unmatched by any other duo I've seen, and I believe they wanted to exploit this and try and break our team apart. For what reason is hard to say, but their motives seem complex, and not as simple as one thing or another," she explained.
'She always had a way with words in these big meetings,' Clint thought proudly. They truly went together like chicken and waffles or fries and a milkshake. Two people that wouldn't seem to go together at first glance, until you tested it, and boom, you get something totally new and perfect. If Natasha was right about anything, it was that they were in sync. No words had to pass between them to come to a mutual understanding. And this was no exception.
The man in the light gray suit slightly raised his hand and waited to be addressed. Romanoff nodded in his direction and he wondered, "Agent Romanoff, why is it that you two work so well together? I can't help but question the basis of your relationship." The suggestion had been aimed at her, and not the archer. Clint could feel the bubbling irritability radiating off of his partner, but he was surely the only one that could sense it. Her posture and demeanor didn't shift in the slightest to the average person's eye.
"Agent Barton and I are coworkers, partners, and teammates, nothing more. He is the one who recruited me to SHIELD, and naturally, is the person I trust most in this building. I hope you are not suggesting that a man and woman cannot work together without," she did air quotes for emphasis, "'taking things to another level', but I assure you it is entirely possible, sir," she shot back. Confidence oozed off of her, and that train of thought had been put to rest, made obvious by the gentleman who brought it up leaning against his hand and attempting to hide his embarrassment. The two female executives in the room tried to hide their smirks at how quickly the sexist comment was shut down.
"Anyways," Coulson announced, clearing his throat, "we haven't talked about the breakout itself yet. I have a map here of the route STRIKE Team Delta took to get back to the evacuation point." The slide on the TV was switched to show a Google Earth perspective of the mountainside, a red line traipsing through the terrain.
Imposingly, Fury stood and proclaimed, "Thank you, Coulson. Agent Barton, please tell us how you two managed to escape the compound."
Barton took a sip of his water, and rose to his feet. "Well, as I mentioned earlier today, Agent Romanoff managed to swipe the key from a guard. I took out the cameras; we ambushed the people that rushed down the stairwell, took their weapons, and made our way to the first floor again. Once we had retrieved our weapons after blowing out a wall, they didn't stand a chance. I picked them off one by one as Nat-Agent Romanoff," he stumbled over his words, "held onto to my shoulder for balance and shot at anything that moved. Only one guard was able to get close enough to make contact, and it's because he jumped from above us. He dislocated my shoulder, but Agent Romanoff managed to kick his feet out from under him and pop my shoulder back into place. We hustled down the mountainside here." He began to point at the map in unison with his words. "And they followed us down into this ravine. So we hid behind the rock formation here, and ambushed them. We crossed this canyon and cut the bridge to avoid being followed. By this point, she had lost a lot of blood and it was getting dark and snowing, so we had no choice but to whole up in this cabin, marked with that star toward the top of the map, to treat our wounds and recoup." Clint took another drink of water after that long monologue. He had been doing more talking in this meeting than he had originally hoped.
Natasha nodded along to his recount of the events, and added, "Once we had reached the cabin, Agent Barton used the limited medical supplies at our disposal to patch me up as best as he could. My ankle was broken, my back ripped to shreds, and as you can see," she motioned to her torn up arms and bruised legs, "I couldn't go any further that night without collapsing. Agent Barton saved my life out there by starting a fire and getting us warmed up." She sent a light smile his way encouragingly.
Fury piped up again, "We had received their distress signal long before they broke out, and were monitoring their whereabouts via satellite using the latest technology. Agent Coulson here, was put in charge of tracking their journey, while myself and a couple of flight medics flew out to get them. Our helicopter waited 20 minutes south of the evac location until Coulson sent word our agents were approaching the site. When we picked them up the next morning, Agent Romanoff was the worse for wear and received immediate medical attention. We have not heard from or seen any activity from this mercenary group since the incident. Agent Romanoff managed to provide us with this." A flash drive was held in front of the onlookers. The secrets contained within it drew everyone's attention.
"And what is that," the woman in the green pantsuit said, everyone wanting to ask the same question. Even Clint's eyes went wide, as he had forgotten about this entirely in the grand scheme of things.
"This is why STRIKE Team Delta is at the top of the totem pole around here. They consistently complete their missions, even under the most stressful of circumstances. Agent Romanoff managed to download the files containing the location of all the hideouts this group functions at and profiles of all their members, among lots of other information. Is that correct," Fury asked, turning to Natasha for confirmation.
"Yes, there was a computer in the room we found containing our belongings during the breakout, and I began the download while Clint held off a majority of the guards. I attached it to my rappelling line, and simply extracted it with a press of a button as we subdued the enemy," she boasted gladly. Clint couldn't contain his smile after that revelation, and resorted to turning away from the group where only Natasha and Fury could see his face.
The next 30 minutes of the meeting was spent going over what SHIELD had discovered about their target, and how this ultimately led to the collapse of the enemy organization. The group parted ways, except for Coulson, Fury, Clint, and Natasha.
Coulson congratulated them on a job well done, and assured his favorite STRIKE Team that he would be working diligently to find out who leaked their personal and professional information. Taking the hint, he walked away when Fury gave him the eye.
"You two are a force to be reckoned with, that's for damn sure," Fury affirmed. "Now Romanoff, you've been medically cleared to leave the infirmary, but you need to have somebody watching over you for the next week and you're on leave until cleared by powers higher than myself." He held up a finger before she could begin to protest, and stressed, "It's not a punishment, you just need to take care of yourself until your ankle and back are healed. Okay?" There was no malice in his voice, and Natasha and Clint could tell he was being genuine. She sighed and nodded in response.
"She'll be staying with me until she is healed, Fury," Clint declared, and shot down Natasha's shocked expression with a stern look. This was an argument she would not win, obviously, so she let it go, and followed Clint to the parking garage. A shiny, dark blue BMW sedan was the car that Clint held the keys to, much to Natasha's surprise. She exclaimed, "Since when do you own that?!" Clint wiggled his eyebrows at her, and opened the passenger door for her.
"I don't, this is a company rental until we know who is trying to kill us. What? You don't like it, princess," he sneered sarcastically. Natasha laughed at his snarky comment, and waited for him to get in the car to respond.
"It's just… not you at all. But I, on the other hand, like it a lot," she sassed back, admiring the leather interior and luxury fittings. A brand new can of Dr. Pepper was waiting for her in the cupholder, and she took her prescription with it.
"Ya know, Tasha, I don't think they intended for you to take your meds with only soda," he joked, sliding her a granola bar. Gratefully, she took it and smiled beautifully. They laughed and listened to the radio, Clint making stupid puns and Natasha ignoring them by singing along to the radio. The atmosphere was light-hearted and yet intimate.
Natasha fell asleep an hour into their two hour drive to Clint's apartment near Richmond, VA, her hand holding onto his as Barton steered contentedly with only the one arm. It was an old habit to steer with one hand anyway. After all they had been through in Canada, he was glad to be able to have her stay with him. If he couldn't go back and prevent it from happening, at least he could contribute to her healing.
When they pulled up to his apartment, the Black Widow was out cold from her muscle relaxer, so Clint carried her inside. Even though it was only 1300, he was emotionally and physically drained. He laid her on his bed, tucked her in, and decided to take a shower after such a long morning. As the water fell all around him, he let out the tears he had been holding back since his heart broke as Natasha was beaten and bloodied. He silently sobbed for the next 10 minutes, until his frustration and anxiety faded into acceptance of everything that had happened. Everyone needs an outlet after all.
After getting dressed, he cooked himself and Natasha lunch, putting hers in the microwave for later, and ate in the living room while Natasha slept. It was peaceful and comforting to be back in his own apartment, and he eventually dozed off on the couch while watching some mindless documentary. When he woke, Natasha was cuddling into his side with a blanket and had put on a 007 movie. He pulled her close and kissed her on the head lovingly. They both fell back asleep, warm and happy, not a care in the world.