Prompt: Held at Gunpoint
Title: Christmas Circus
Fandom: Hawkeye (Marvel Disney+ show)
Warnings: Mentions of guns, being bound, violence
Word Count: 2,503
Synopsis: Apprehended by all too familiar men clad in matching tracksuits late one night, Y/N, a former SHIELD Agent, is forced to sit tight and wait for a rescue from a pair of Archers, too stubborn to admit they work well together.
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Christmas Circus
You'd never had the chance to live any sort of 'normal' life.
Right from birth, it seemed.
Orphan, taken in by some organization, that practically became your life.
A life that had been the farthest thing from normal.
A life that has made you many enemies.
A life that you'd been foolish enough to think for just a moment... that you'd somehow managed to put behind you.
Until now.
"Wakey, wakey, little lady," A rather taunting accented tone calls from outside your thoughts, pulling your awareness back to you in pieces.
Pieces that are thrust back to you all too quickly as something hard and heavy makes contact with your side, earning a gasp of pain from you, your eyes flying wide.
Your hazy thoughts are quick to recover, your gaze hastily surveying the rather large room surrounding you.
Old, dusty shelves line the one side of what you're deeming an abandoned warehouse, their metal frames no longer holding any glimmer to them.
Instead, they almost appear to have been completely discarded and forgotten by the previous owners of the building, some even twisted and broken beyond repair.
And on your other side...
Sit two rather bored looking men, clad in all too familiar tracksuits.
"Damn it," You curse lowly, your raspy voice barely audible to your own ears.
You'd barely gotten a glance of the guys who'd jumped you last night as you'd been leaving that convenience store, having bought some Christmas themed snacks to offer.
See, you'd been a SHIELD Agent.
But you certainly weren't a solo operative.
No, no.
You had a Partner.
A Partner who'd somehow managed to get in touch with your new phone number after you'd both parted ways years ago, after the organization you previously served and lived under, fell to its knees.
He'd sent you an unsuspecting apartment address, one that you figured he'd rented for a few days while in New York celebrating the season with his kids - something he'd always talked about doing.
So, you'd grabbed some snacks and headed on your way, trudging through the howling winter wind and blowing snow that profusely hindered your vision.
Vision that would have been useful to have had at the time.
Before you could've even reacted, men clad from head to toe in red and white tracksuits had surrounded you and made quick work of rendering you unconscious, even against your struggles.
Which would explain the pounding in my head...
"What do we do with her now that she's awake, bro?"
"I don't know! Ask Kazi, bro! He'll know."
With a groan of confusion, frustration and pain falling from your lips, you attempt to lean forward from where you sit, on cold concrete floor, only to hiss in realization as a sharp pull tugs at your wrists, accompanied by a metallic clatter.
Chains.
They'd tied you to this pole with chains.
"Are the chains really necessary, boys?" You holler towards the two members of the Tracksuit Mafia who are merely sitting there, watching you, dumbfounded.
"It's all we were given."
"We wouldn't want ya runnin' away on us."
At this, you laugh, a grin tugging at the edges of your chapped lips.
"I don't think you'd have to worry about that. You fellas did a number on me last night."
Through your peripheral vision, you can just make out the rather giddy looking expressions spreading across their features.
"Yeah, that was me! That hit with the crowbar from behind! Bang!"
"Pretty disrespectful, if you ask me," You huff with a feigned chuckle, realization gradually trickling into your thoughts. "So why bring me in? Why now?"
"Boss' orders," One replies far too quickly, earning an inward smirk from you.
"Who is this Boss of yours? I'd really be interested in talking to him instead of you-"
"Oh, would you please just shut her up!" A new, unfamiliar tone sounds from behind you, the clanging of heavy metal doors reaching your ears as the newcomer's weighted, booted footsteps echo closer. "The last thing we need right now is for you two to be filling her in!"
The pair go silent, almost shrinking back in their chairs, gazes lingering far too long towards the floor.
And as he comes around in front of you, a false grin plastered to his features, you're quick to realize why.
A rather shiny looking handgun sits comfortably in his grasp, being held idle at his side as he nears your detained figure.
"Why so chatty?" He taunts, smirk not vanishing as he pulls up a chair and takes a seat in front of you, purposefully close. "Oh, I know... you want to know what the hell you're doing here!"
Kazi gestures to the large, dingy warehouse surrounding the now four of you with wide arms, a chuckle falling from his lips.
"Well, Miss Y/N," He sneers, leaning closer down towards you, a certain glimmer in his gaze. "I would love to know the same thing."
From the corner of your eye, you watch the two tracksuits from before exchange a sudden worried glance, an inward smile tugging at your own lips.
"See, I've heard rumors of why we were to bring you in. But, to be honest, I'm skeptical."
The second-in-command gestures, hopping up from his seat and beginning to pace about, the firearm still in his grasp, evidently a symbol of his authority in the room.
As if his presence didn't demand it enough to those two goons...
To you, though...
The man pacing back and forth in front of you, his voice merely a drone to your tired senses, he seems weak.
Hiding behind a much larger figure you thankfully have never had the pleasure of meeting.
All you can hope is that today won't be the day.
"But the idea that you're a former Partner of his... of a former Avenger turned vigilante... Though it is just a theory, it does seem the most plausible, wouldn't you say?"
And that's when you notice Kazi looming over you, a curious glint in his gaze, a sternness upon his features.
He's waiting for a reply.
"I can't say it sounds too realistic," You huff, blinking a few times to root yourself back to the present, though a certain nagging sinking feeling is beginning to grow within you. "Sorta sounds to me like you just picked your favorite story and decided to run with it."
Your feeling of uneasy realization swells as the man standing over you turns away with a huff of laughter, shaking his head.
"Denial," Kazi chuckles, a grin appearing once more. "So I am correct."
"I don't know what you're-"
Your sentence is cut short, however, as the sound of shattering glass fills your vision that is quickly becoming rendered useless by the sudden thick haze filling the room, cries of alarm and hollers of uncertainty filling the air.
Broken glass... a smoke bomb... A rescue mission?
Shrugging that thought aside, you struggle against the chains securing you to the pole at your back, making some progress as you strain against the cold metal... biting against your skin...
Only to collapse with a defeated huff and a cough, the smoke becoming even thicker now.
In fact, Kazi and the other two are nowhere to be seen.
It's just gray, all around, every which way.
But then... footsteps.
Urgent.
Light...
But still heavy...
Boots, likely.
An unfamiliar pattern.
And then someone appears through the fog.
It's a young woman, maybe about twenty-two, clad in a purple and magenta archery jacket, the glove and wrist guard a tell-tale sign of that fact.
And, the bow she carries in her grasp, a few loose arrows bouncing in the quiver on her back.
"You must be Y/N!" She greets far too enthusiastically with a genuine smile, kneeling at your side and making quick work of tugging your binds free. "Clint's told me so much about you and your days together at SHIELD!"
She's cut off with a cough as you stagger to your feet, rubbing your wrists and hands together as if to gain back some feeling in them after being unused for so long.
"Try not to talk too much. Breathing this stuff is bad enough," You encourage, patting her on the shoulder in a friendly fashion as you stand there, mulling over your thoughts and trying to determine just who your apparent rescuer could be. "What's your name?"
"Kate."
"Well, Kate, thanks for the rescue. Explanations can wait for later. For now, if you don't mind..." You trail off, reaching around her shoulder and grabbing the fletching of an arrow and pulling it from the quiver, weighing it in your grasp. "I'm gonna hang onto one of these 'till we're out of here."
"But you don't have a bow?"
At this, you just laugh, though it quickly turns into a cough, your vision clouding.
"Don't need one. Now let's get out of here, shall we?"
The young archer merely nods, spinning on her heel and hurrying deeper into the smoke with you hot on her heels, keeping pace with her longer strides.
Shouts and threats echo after the pair of you as you pick up the pace, the arrow in your hand being grasped even tighter in anticipation, your gaze scanning the looming shadows for threats.
"They're after us now," Kate exclaims, breathless as you both finally find some clearer air, pausing for a moment to catch your breath. "Clint's waiting with a car in the parking lot. If we hurry, they might not get the chance to chase."
Surprise ripples through you at her enthusiasm and awareness.
She almost reminds you of a younger, more spunky version of who you once were.
Before life unfolded and became nasty.
Resuming your strides, you follow after the young woman, keeping a listen for the tracksuits no likely quick in pursuit, their footsteps a distant echo still.
The pair of you practically slam into the heavy industrial doors, barely halting your running as you continue on, sprinting out into the parking lot, the reflection of the sun against the bright white snow nearly blinding.
But through your squinted vision, you're barely able to make out a welcomingly familiar figure only a mere few paces away, his own bow sitting idle at his side, an arrow casually knocked on the string, ready if need be.
And as your eyes are slow to adjust, you watch as Clint's darkly clad figure becomes evidently alert, his features twisting into an expression of surprise and panic.
About what?
Your momentary blindness apparently had its costs as you find yourself falling towards the icy pavement, having tripped over... nothing?
A cry of alarm and agony is pulled from your lips as your hands and already aching body makes contact with the concrete, the woman who'd been at your side coming to a halt, turning back to face where you'd fallen with shock written across her features.
A shock that quickly morphs into a defensiveness, the arrow that had been knocked against her own bow string being drawn, her aim setting on someone...
Behind you.
"I'd put down your weapon if I was you."
Kazi's stone cold and unwavering tone sounds from behind where you lie against the snowy ground, the arrow that had been in your grasp now long gone.
"Do as he says, Kate! Put it down and walk to me! Slowly!" Clint's equally as stern and firm voice echoes from across the parking lot, the sound of various, booted footsteps joining the man looming at your back.
"Listen to him," You urge softly as someone grabs your wrists and hauls you to your knees, your body aching in protest. "He knows what he's doing."
The conflict in Kate's gaze is heart wrenching as she releases her draw, passing you such a genuine look of concern and worry, it tugs at something in your heart that hasn't been touched in quite some time...
"Smart!" The leader of the group applauds as the younger archer steps away, your Partner ushering her behind him, gesturing to the vehicle still running idle. "Now, the next few minutes weigh on your next decisions, Clint Barton!"
"I'm all ears," He returns, a bored tone dropping into his voice, though you know right well what that means.
He's got something else on his mind.
"You for your Partner, here. You come with us, she takes the girl and forgets this ever happened."
"I can't say I'm a fan of that idea."
Kazi just chuckles, the all too familiar sound of a pistol's safety being clicked off resonating with you, the icy steel pressed against the back of your skull matching the icy feeling of dread swelling within you.
"Fine then. You come with us or she dies. Your choice."
All you can do is close your eyes in anticipation of your seemingly inevitable demise, completely unaware of the brief words that had been exchanged between the two archers.
And with a simple yell of, "Now!" falling from your Partner's lips, the man who'd been holding you at gunpoint falls to the ground where you'd been moments ago, the silent smack of an arrow meeting its mark coupled with a strangled cry of pain a tell-tale sign of what just happened.
A familiar set of strong arms tackle you away from the tracksuit leader, the pair of you tumbling to a halt and springing to your feet, not even stopping to witness the other mafia members gathered around their fallen leader.
"Let's go! Let's go!"
Clint clambers into the drivers side as you slide into the passenger seat, wincing slightly as your shoulder makes contact with the firm leather seat.
Kate, however, is hastily climbing down from where she'd managed to sneak around to gain some leverage, atop of a few loose storage containers evident in the parking lot, and quickly bee-lining it towards the vehicle practically spinning its wheels in anticipation.
And as she throws herself into the backseat, the man behind the wheel takes off at an alarming speed, one that makes you look twice, the tires squealing as the three of you peel out into the road, leaving a confused and angry mob in the rearview.
A blanket of silence settles in the small vehicle as Clint slows down to just above the speed limit, rolling with traffic as the outskirts of the city blur on by.
You're thankful for the rescue, thankful for your Partner's save from your untimely fate...
But a question lingers in the back of your mind as the car you're sitting in rolls over whatever bridge you're passing over.
"Okay..." You sigh, exchanging a look with Kate in the rearview mirror before flicking your gaze to your Partner at your side. "Care to fill me in on whatever the hell that was all about?"
Now it's Clint's turn to pass Kate a glance in the mirror, the pair sharing a huff of laughter at your bewilderment.
"Welcome to the Christmas circus, Y/N."