THE NEXT DAY, Clint sent Kate and Maggie to retrieve their trick arrows from an NYPD facility in Manhattan. She ended up taking Pizza Dog with her to speak with a group of LARPers in Central Park, who were also first responders.
The older archer went to talk with Kazi. Clint was able to have a sorta civil conversation with, only when the Tracksuit realized he had no weapons or leverage. He was demanded to convince Maya to stop her crusade against the Ronin.
Clint had been told to go to Grills's apartment, a firefighter he met at a LARPing event trying to first get the suit. Maggie and Kate were there trying out some of the gear they would wear.
"There's our guy." Grills exclaimed when Clint came in. He held a pan of treats. "Snickerdoodle? They're still warm."
"Okay." Clint simply nodded.
"Come on in."
He went further inside and saw Kate with another woman, Missy, who was fitting a costume onto her. Maggie stood nearby, already wearing her Viking attire and watching Kate.
"Hey, Clint. How was your day?" Kate asked.
"Hi!" Missy greeted.
"My, uh...my day's been fine. How are you two doing?"
"Great, yeah." Kate nodded as Missy removed the robe. "Better than yours, I'd say."
"So did you, uh, get my gear?"
"Yeah, yeah. They're on the way. They should be here any minute. Yeah, relax."
Missy put a leather chestpiece over Kate. Clint looked on in confusion at what they were doing.
"What are you two even wearing?"
Kate chuckled and looked at herself in the mirror. "Not gonna lie, I look pretty good as a Viking."
"You know, I made this myself." Missy said.
"No way!"
"By hand."
"Could I hire you to make my next one?"
"Oh, yeah. I would love to."
"Hey, wait a second." Grills spoke. "What if that's our deal?"
"What deal?" Clint asked.
"We get you the arrows and info, and you get us materials for a new costume."
Kate shrugged. "Okay, how about enough materials to make costumes plus...three more? I know a couple of people who could use some help with theirs."
"We're in." Missy told Kate with a smile.
"Hey, Orval, you hear that? We gettin' new costumes." Grills called out to the hallway.
He peeked out of a room. "For real?"
"Uh, Kate..." Clint turned to her. "I asked you to simply retrieve my arrows, not stage a play."
"Uh, we're a...we're a guild." Missy corrected.
Clint let out a sigh. Suddenly, his phone vibrated and he looked at the message. It was from Laura.
The rolex wasn't destroyed at the avengers compound. The transmitter is signaling from this location: 3715 GODFREY RD
"Okay." He muttered then looked at Kate. "I gotta go."
"We gotta go," Kate replied. "We're in this together, right?"
"Well, you're gonna have to change." He butted as he began to walk out. "You too, Mags."
"Come on! This is awesome! I look like I'm straight out of Assassin's Creed Valhalla."
Grills turned to her. "Whoa! You play too?"
"Hell yeah."
The man smirked and high-fived her. Moments later, another woman, Wendy, came in. She held the duffel bag of trick arrows.
"Hawkeye." She greeted.
"Oh, hi."
She held up the bag. "Arrow Retrieval Mission complete."
"Oh, yes. Thank you so much. Appreciate it."
He tried to grab the bag but the woman pulled it away.
"This is my bag."
"Uh...okay."
"You didn't bring your own bag?"
"No, I mean..."
"My wife gave me this bag. It's embroidered. It says Bombshell."
"I...I can see that, that it's very important to you."
"He'll get it back to you." Kate chimed in. "Yeah, I'll make sure of it. I promise."
Wendy was hesitant at first but ultimately gave it to Clint. He started to make his way out.
"Thank you, thank you." He said. "Beautiful bag."
• • •
IT WAS NIGHTTIME. They stood on a rooftop with Kate sporting her archery attire and Maggie wearing the all-black clothes, face mask, and beanie combo she had a few days ago. The older man had binoculars and surveyed the apartment building across the street.
Maggie looked at the duffel bag Clint had nearby. It had his gear and arrows and other things. She peeked into it and saw something that caught her eye.
"Whoa! No way!"
Kate turned. "What?"
She brought out two metal batons. "Staves!"
"Put those back." Clint said with eyes still glued to the apartment.
"Wait a minute...did these belong to—?"
"Yeah, yeah. Just put them back."
Maggie rolled her eyes and did as told.
"Anyways, you wanna tell me what we're doing here?" She asked.
"Something very important to me is pinging inside that apartment." He answered. "It was stolen from a black-market auction. I need it back."
"From the same auction the Tracksuits ambushed?"
"I think so."
Clint kept looking through the window of one of the rooms.
"No lights, no movement. This is our chance."
Kate sighed. "This would have been easier if we were on a higher rooftop."
"That's what you think." Clint said.
"Yeah, exactly. That's why I said it."
"Kate, you always wanna prioritize a quick exit over a quick entrance so when things go sideways, and they usually do, you have an exit strategy."
Maggie nodded. "Yeah. Like Splinter Cell."
Clint didn't get what she meant. It was actually the second video game mentioned that day that he was oblivious to. He ignored the remark and continued.
"This is why I chose this spot. It's got good sightlines for all my exits. Entry should be easy. Think it should take me about three and a half minutes to get in. So, if any of you see anything out here, just give me a signal. All right?"
He put the binoculars down and looked to his left, only seeing Maggie. His brows furrowed after noticing that Kate was gone.
"Uh...where did she go?" He asked.
"Oh." She pointed toward the street.
A car honked and Clint looked down to see Kate crossing the street. Clint shook his head and looked at Maggie.
"And you let her?"
"She can handle herself, Unc. Ease up a bit."
Clint let out a huff and spoke to her through his earpiece.
"Kate? Kate?"
"There you are." She replied.
"You were supposed to be lookout."
"Yeah, but of the two of us, who do you trust there not to get distracted?"
"That's not fair. It's not my fault that you're inability to act like a grown-up helps you get your way."
She scoffed. "Nope, it's not. But it is what it is."
"All right." He exhaled. "I need you to use your grappling hook arrow to anchor yourself in. Propel down the side of the building to the window. If it's locked, break in quietly."
"Yeah, love all of that. Great plan, just a slight tweak though."
"She's gonna go through the front door." Maggie told Clint with a chuckle.
"No, she's not. She isn't—"
"Good evening, sir," Kate spoke to an old man about to enter the building. "Can I help you with your bags?"
"What are you...?" Clint looked in the distance. "No, no, no. Don't...don't engage."
"Yup. Told ya." Maggie said.
Kate helped the man and entered the building. After some time, Clint looked through his binoculars again.
"Where are you?" He asked.
"Oh, relax, I'm taking the elevator. See? The least complicated plan is sometimes the best plan."
Clint rubbed his face and sighed. Through the earpiece, they heard Kate speaking with the old man.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" The man asked.
"Oh, I, uh...I'm sorry. I wasn't talking to you." Kate chuckled. "Can I tell you a secret?"
"Please don't do this." Clint said.
"I was talking to an Avenger. He's in my ear."
Clint shook his head. "Maybe you should stop talking."
The old man was starting to get weirded out by the girl. He took his bags back and exited the elevator while Kate stayed inside to get to the desired floor.
Clint and Maggie kept tabs on Kate as she snuck into the room. They overheard her curse and shoot an arrow.
"What was that?" The redhead asked her.
"I don't know. There are, like, strobe lights attached to the wall."
"What do you mean, strobe lights?" Clint asked.
"I don't know."
"What else do you see?"
"Okay, what am I looking for?"
"A watch, vintage Rolex. Belongs to someone I used to work with."
"Is that the whole story, Clint?"
"They've been out of the game a long time but their identity is still attached to that watch."
"Hmm. And if the Tracksuits find out about it?"
Clint paused for a second. "It would blow their cover. Goodbye, friend."
Kate kept looking. After a minute, she reported back. "Got the watch."
He let out a sigh of relief. "Great."
"Wait a minute..." Kate said. "Clint, someone's taking notes on your family."
"What?"
"Clint Barton, wife, Laura, daughter, Lila, age 14, son Cooper, age 16, son, Nate."
Maggie arched a brow. "What...?"
"There's more," Kate added. "Y/N. Natasha. Nikolai. They got you, Maggie."
The teenager turned to Clint. The man spoke to Kate.
"Kate, get out of there."
"What? Why?"
He realized. "That light's an alarm. It's a silent alarm for people who can't hear. It's Maya's apartment. I'm going—"
Suddenly, there was a flash. Maggie and Clint were disoriented by it. The archer stumbled back before he was quickly grabbed and tackled.
"Clint?" Maggie's sight slowly came back. "Clint?"
Hawkeye escaped the assailant's grasp and got up. He barely got a look at them before they engaged the archer again. Meanwhile, Kate encountered someone else in the apartment.
"Maya's here." She informed.
"Yeah. I can see that." Clint replied as he dodged the attacks.
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Maggie panted. "She's on the roof with us."
"No, Maya is definitely here!"
Clint kicked the attacker away. The smoke from the flash grenade dissipated and they finally got a better look at who was with them.
"What the hell?" Maggie muttered, as she sort of recognized the attire.
"Clint Barton," Taskmaster spoke. "The Ronin."
He walked closer. Clint put his arm out in front of Maggie and kept her back. The mercenary continued.
"Hope you enjoyed the holidays so far...because you're not going to be able to enjoy the rest of it."
Taskmaster ran at Clint. The man pushed Maggie away and quickly engaged Hawkeye. The redhead immediately spoke to Kate through her earpiece.
"Some guy's fighting Clint out here!"
"Maya is here too!"
Taskmaster brought of his retractable sword and attacked Clint. The archer was able to weave and block hits with his bow. Unfortunately, the mercenary was able to cut Clint on the arm.
"Argh!"
Taskmaster quickly kicked him away. Before he can go at Clint again, the mercenary was hit on the side of the head with a baton.
"Aah!" He flinched.
Maggie ran at him after throwing the stave. She leaped onto Taskmaster which the man didn't expect. Clint groaned on the floor and saw his niece combatting him.
"Mags!"
She kept hitting his head and masked face. Maggie clung to Taskmaster and was starting to greatly annoy him.
He ended up slamming her on top of a roof vent. Maggie groaned as Taskmaster wrapped his hand around her neck. He started choking her but the teenager was able to kick him in between of crevice of his armor by his hip. He grunted in pain.
"Ugh!"
Maggie removed his fingers from her neck and then kicked him again. He let go and Maggie dove away right when Taskmaster slammed his fist down onto the roof vent.
She was behind him. Maggie picked up the baton she threw and now held two. Taskmaster turned around and saw her standing alone, but Clint soon joined her side.
"Go, Mags." Clint muttered.
"Hell no." She butted. "So, how are we gonna do this?"
Clint glanced at her, then looked back at Taskmaster. He recalled a memory from years ago.
"Like your old man's old man once said...together."
Taskmaster drew his sword. Maggie and Clint waited for him to act first and the two quickly engaged the mercenary.
The tandem of Hawkeye and the Captain's daughter proved to be formidable...but it still wasn't enough to take down Taskmaster.
He hit Clint hard in the stomach and kicked him aside. Maggie ran at Taskmaster and fought him by herself once again. She was quick on her feet and very agile.
The tall and burly mercenary thought he'd easily handle the short-statured fighter, but he was dead wrong. It perplexed him...how effortlessly she was able to react to his attacks and come up with a counter to his moves, even replicate some of his own. Their battle was seemingly coming to a stalemate.
As they fought, Clint grabbed his bow and shot an arrow at the apartment building across the street and formed a zip line.
"Get on the zip line." He told Kate.
There was a pause in her fight with Maya and she traversed the zip line with her bow. Maya ran out onto the balcony, seeing the fight going on across the street.
She noticed the mercenary fighting Hawkeye and Maggie. Knowing that her Uncle must be involved in it, the girl went back inside her apartment and let the scuffle happen.
Kate rappelled down the line and was about to attack the mercenary, but he noticed the archer coming and jumped up to kick her. Kate fell to the floor.
"Ugh...that hurt." She groaned.
"More of you?" He asked. "Ugh!"
Once she got up, Taskmaster brought his pistol out and aimed at Kate. Clint immediately got in front of her, which was what the man wanted.
"Making it easier for me, arrow boy?"
Before he can shoot down Clint, Maggie threw her baton at the mercenary's gun. It knocked the pistol out of his hand.
With the immediate threat quelled, Kate and Clint engaged the now unarmed assassin. It didn't last long though as he kicked the older archer away and Kate tried to punch him but missed.
He ended up grappling the young woman and throwing her to the parapet. She fumbled over it and almost fell off the rooftop, but thankfully held on. Clint saw this and quickly ran over to help.
Maggie charged Taskmaster, throwing both of her staves at him. He turned to her.
"You're starting to get annoying." He remarked.
"Good to know I'm doing my job."
Taskmaster activated claws from his gloves and ran at her. Maggie was able to dodge the attacks and tried to land some kicks, but Taskmaster reacted quick enough to evade them.
The fight between both of the gifted fighters went back and forth for a bit with no one landing a single hit. It was pure evasion, parries, and counters.
Maggie backflipped away from one of his attacks and gained separation. At the same time, Clint had helped Kate up back onto the rooftop. They circled the mercenary.
"Aww, look at all of you," Taskmaster said. "More fun for me."
The trio engaged him at the same time. He was able to fend them off but still couldn't land a hit on Maggie. He sent Kate flying toward a roof vent, leaving just Clint and Maggie combatting him.
Once Kate recovered, she looked on at the scene before her. The archer immediately grabbed a trick arrow from her quiver and, out of instinct, shot it on the ground near them.
The sonic blast sent everybody flying back. Their ears rang and the heroes and attacker were disoriented.
The mercenary recovered from the blast which had knocked off his skull mask and now had his hood down. He gritted his teeth and engaged Clint again.
The archer tried dodging his attacks. He ended up grabbing his neck and electrocuted him with nodes from his gloves. Clint grunted in pain.
"Stop!"
Suddenly, Taskmaster felt a pain in his shoulder. Maggie had grabbed one of Clint's normal arrows and stabbed it into a crevice of his armor.
"Argh!"
He threw Clint aside and then immediately turned around to backhand Maggie. It finally connected and the hit sent the redhead to the ground.
Taskmaster gritted his teeth and pulled out his retractable sword. He looked down at the redhead, who had lost her beanie and face mask during the blast a minute earlier.
He pointed it at her, but before he could strike, began to falter. Tony noticed that the redhead before him was young...a teenager. He couldn't bring himself to kill a child. He would never. He couldn't believe that he almost did during their fight.
Then for Maggie's case...she got a good look at the man's unmasked face. She focused on features like his jawline, his brow, his nose, then...his eyes. They looked very familiar.
They stood there in silence for a moment. Finally, Kate recovered and aimed her bow at Taskmaster.
"Don't! I'll shoot!"
He simply looked at her. After a few seconds, the man dropped smoke and leaped off the rooftop. The trio coughed as the fog dissipated.
Clint got up, recovering from the electrocution moments ago. Maggie still laid on the floor, processing what she saw.
"Who...who the hell was that?" Kate abruptly asked.
"You don't want to know." Clint breathed out.
"We cannot work together if you don't tell me what's going on."
"We shouldn't be working together. You're not my partner." He shot back. "Do you underhand that? You never were."
Clint looked back at Maggie, who still was sitting on the ground and breathing heavily. She finally spoke.
"Clint...who was that?"
The archer relented and answered.
"A mercenary. He has been active the last few years. Goes by the name...Taskmaster."
Maggie's eyes widened. She turned to him.
"Like—"
"Yes. Like your dad did before." He interjected. "Has the same memory thing too."
The girl got to her feet. "How have I not heard this? Does my dad know? Why—"
"Save all that." He said sternly, then got more serious. "Someone has hired him to take me out. This has gotten very real, very quickly. You need to remove yourselves from this case."
"I'm not." Kate butted. "Look, I know that tonight didn't go as planned, but I chose to be here. I understand the risk, I understand all of that."
"Kate..."
Maggie cut in. "She's right, Clint. You can't—"
"I'm not gonna do it! You hear me?" He exclaimed and stepped up to them. "You hear me?"
Kate sniffled, not knowing what else to say. Clint went up to her and took his bow back.
"Go home, Kate. It's over. Take Mags with you."
"Clint!" The redhead exclaimed.
"I'm not going to argue with you."
"You saw how I faired with him."
"Mags—"
"If he has the same ability as my dad and I, then I have a better chance—"
"Listen to me!" She shouted, startling the teenager. "This entire thing...this is way above you. I am not going to let you risk your life because you want to prove you can handle it. I'm not."
Maggie stayed quiet. Clint continued.
"And if anything were to happen to you...I wouldn't be able to look your parents in the eye. I wouldn't be able to live with myself."
Kate looked on, on the verge of tears. Maggie was too and tried to keep her composure. He finished.
"It's over."
Clint walked away, leaving the two girls alone on the rooftop.
• • •
THE YOUNG ARCHER went back to her apartment with Maggie. The place was still vacant, burnt, and damaged. Clint had left them...likely to deal with the entire Maya and Ronin situation himself.
Maggie went to sit down on one of the chairs. Kate put her keys down and turned to him. She knew that the redhead had been in her thoughts since she was quiet the whole way there.
"You all right?"
"Not really. My uncle basically told me to screw off."
She shrugged. "The both of us."
"Yeah."
She fiddled with her hands. Maggie let out a breath as she looked at them.
"Not just that though...but—that guy. I got a good look at him and..." Maggie paused. "I don't know."
Kate raised a brow as she didn't know what he was getting at. As they stood there in silence, the archer looked around and noticed that one of the windows was open. That's when she heard footsteps behind her.
"Kate Bishop."
The lady quickly grabbed a bottle from the table and threw it at the blonde. Yelena Belova caught it before it could hit her face.
"Hi!"
"I'm sorry. Who...?" Kate asked confusingly.
Maggie heard the commotion and looked over. She was shocked at the sight of the blonde.
"Yelena?"
The former Widow put down the bottle and looked at her. "Maggie."
Kate eyed the both of them. "Wait. You two...?"
"Yeah." The redhead stood up. "She's my aunt."
The archer reacted. "Oh."
"What are you doing here?" Maggie asked Yelena.
She didn't respond at first, hesitating a bit. Maggie spoke again.
"Why here? Why now? After all this time?"
"I—"
Kate just stayed quiet, giving the ladies their space. Maggie let out an exhale and turned around.
"I get it." Yelena finally replied. "There isn't an apology that can make it better."
"You think?"
"Look, we can sit here and talk about it...but that's not the urgent matter at the moment. You're in danger."
"Uh, we know." Kate said.
Yelena turned to her. "What?"
Maggie cut in. "A little late. We just been attacked. Me, her, and Clint."
"And where is he?" She asked.
"I—I don't know."
"And your dad?"
"He's out of the country with my mom," Maggie replied. "Why do you want to know?"
Yelena glanced at Kate and then back at Maggie. She put stuffed hands into her coat pockets.
"The man who attacked you, they've been contracted to take Barton and Y/N out. I know...because his handler had asked me first."
Maggie's eyes widened. "What?"
"She came to me...while I was visiting the memorial in Sokovia. Told me that someone wanted Hawkeye and Captain America dead. I-I couldn't accept. It wasn't right."
Despite her pain and inner turmoil caused by Pietro's death, she couldn't follow through with a false sense of vengeance going after them. They weren't to blame for Pietro's passing and he wouldn't have wanted her to live with that resentment.
"They thought my feelings toward them would sway me into wanting to go after them...but no. He...he's gone, but in the back of my mind, I always thought about everyone else. You, Nikolai, Natasha. I just now started to realize what I've been pushing away."
Maggie took in her words. Yelena looked down and let out a quick and seemingly inaudible sigh.
"I haven't been there for you since his passing. I didn't think about how it affected you. I'm sorry."
With that, Maggie went up to Yelena and embraced her. The blonde was taken by surprise, but ultimately hugged her too.
Kate stood there with a smile. Having some blonde stranger break into her home was unexpected but seeing them reconcile with their niece was a welcome sight. Holiday magic.
"So you don't know where Barton is?" Yelena asked after parting from the hug.
"No. After that assassin fled he told us to back off from the case and left. I think he went to take care of it himself."
"Дерьмо." She cursed.
"What?" Maggie asked. "Who—who was that guy anyway? He had a similar...look to what my dad used to wear years ago. And he goes by the same name."
"Taskmaster," Yelena interjected. She rested a hand on her hip and scratched her forehead with the other. "I know who it is."
Kate and Maggie listened in. The blonde continued.
"His real name is Tony Masters. Retired Army Major and was in their police force. We've been colleagues for the last few years. Met during my job as a PI."
Yelena had become a private investigator once she settled down during the blip. She currently still is one but also does contracts for Val on the side.
"How come you never mentioned him?" Maggie asked.
"Never chose to talk about my work life. And there was really never much to mention about him. He's a private person."
"So an army cop turned assassin for hire?" Kate asked. "How did that come about?"
"Not sure. I haven't spoken to him in over a year."
Maggie also wondered how a military officer like Masters went over to the side of contract killing. She had an inkling that maybe he lost someone close...like how Clint became Ronin when he lost his family.
"And why Taskmaster?" Maggie questioned. "Why take that name? Did he know my dad?"
She shook her head. "If he did, he never mentioned him."
"Who hired him?" Kate asked. "Who tried hiring you?"
"Our handler never said a name. That's what I'm going to figure out."
"How?"
She smirked at the raven-haired girl. "I have my ways."
Maggie chimed in. "She sure does."
"Ah. PI skills?" Kate asked.
She nodded. "That and all that spy shit I learned as a Widow."
Yelena went over to the open window. They watched as she made her way there and Kate arched a brow.
"Wait..." She turned to Maggie. "She was a Black Widow too?"
"I mean...she is my mom's sister."
Kate let out a breath. "Wow. Your family is full of badasses."
Yelena stood by the open window. She turned to the ladies below.
"I'll call you when I get any information. Remember, be careful out there."
They watched as Yelena deployed a grappling hook and rappelled out of the window. The girls looked at each other, the redhead exhaling and turning back around.
"You got anything to eat here? I'm hungry."
• • •
TONY WAS IN his motel room. He sat at the dingy table and had been for a while. He kept thinking back at the encounter he had with Hawkeye a few hours ago. And his battle with the young redhead.
He also had a ripped-up envelope on the table. Tony doesn't recall ever opening it...but still had it with him. He didn't even remember why he had it...but something in him always made him carry it around.
The burner phone he had rang. Tony looked at it for a moment before picking it up. He answered it.
"Hello?"
"Mister Masters."
Tony recognized the gruff voice as the contact for both Norman Osborn and De Fontaine...Wilson Fisk. He was the man who hired him to take out Hawkeye and Captain America.
"Just Masters." He corrected.
"Is the job done?"
"Not yet."
"What is the holdup?"
"Ran into an issue. First off, it's just Barton. No sign of Carter. And...Barton had a girl."
"A girl?"
"Yes. I looked into it and found it's the Captain's daughter."
"I know."
"You know?"
"I was told she was with him which means Carter isn't far behind."
"Well, he isn't. It's just Barton. Don't you think they'd be together if they were working on something? Trying to get to you."
Fisk took a moment before responding.
"You have a valid point, Masters." He replied. "In the case of the girl, I think you should take her out as well."
Tony raised a brow. "What?"
"Take her out. I will triple the bounty. Even if the Captain's not around...I want him to regret ever meddling in my business. I want him to lose a part of him. The girl."
Masters took in his request. Although Taskmaster was seen in the underworld as a ruthless and efficient mercenary, he had morals and ethics. He would never harm a child or anyone innocent.
"No." Tony sternly said.
Fisk huffed. "No?"
"You heard me. I will not hurt that girl."
"You're saying no to me?"
"You heard me, fatso." He shot back. "Barton is still my priority and that's that. Don't bother doubling the money. Whatever was proposed is fine."
"Masters..."
"And if you sent anyone after her. Any goons, any other mercenary, anyone...I will kill them. And then I will kill you. I know what you think you are Fisk...you think you're someone that can't be touched and that everyone should fear. Well, not me. I'm not like them. I will come after you."
There was no initial response. After a moment, he finally spoke.
"You're making a mistake."
"Sure, whatever you say. Goodbye."
Masters hung up the call. He was taken aback by his own response. He didn't understand why he was so protective of Maggie Carter and why he cared so much if they were to hurt her.
Tony figured it was simply the memory of what his mother said about using his gift to help others. As well as when he dealt with the bully who would hurt his younger brother. Fisk was a bully and Tony didn't like that.
The man looked down at the burner phone in his hand. Not wanting to get a call back from Fisk or anyone else, he crushed it.
He then let the scraps fall to the floor and walked to the bathroom.
• • •
THE FOLLOWING NIGHT, Maya Lopez stood in the middle of the Fat Man Auto Repair parking lot. The Ronin had delivered a message earlier in the day to her men, informing them that he'd confront her that night.
Many Tracksuits were hiding behind cars, with Kazi up on the roof of the establishment holding a sniper rifle. He surveyed the area for the Ronin, looking through his scope. Suddenly, he felt a cold blade press against his neck.
He slowly lowered his gun and looked back, knowing who it was.
"Okay..." He breathed out. "Let's ta—"
The man was hit in the face and knocked out. Back in the lot, Ivan and Tomas crept through the parked cars. Suddenly, Tomas's foot was grabbed and pulled down, where he was dragged under a car.
Another Tracksuit was tackled and Ivan quickly spun around to see what it was. It wasn't long until the large man was taken down too.
Nearby, two more Tracksuits were closing in. One of them was pulled down and accidentally shot the foot of the one in front. He groaned in pain but was silenced immediately afterward.
Maya looked around, seeing that her men weren't around. She pulled out her handgun, holding it up, and immediately shot at the shadowy figure sprinting behind the cars. She ended up emptying her clip and not landing a single shot.
She dropped her pistol and the Ronin came out of the shadows. He held his sword and slowly walked up to Maya.
Maya glared and immediately charged the ninja. She landed kicks with her metal prosthetic leg but Ronin blocked them with his sword. He stabbed down but Maya pinned it to the floor and disarmed him, taking the sword for herself.
She slashed the shoulder of Ronin and he let out a grunt. She tried to attack again but he blocked it with his gauntlet. He countered with a punch across her face and kicked the sword out of her hand.
With no weapon, Ronin and Maya engaged one another again in hand-to-hand combat. Maya grabbed his neck but he escaped her hold with a hard kick to the stomach. Maya fell back but quickly recovered.
Suddenly, a stray bullet hit the car near Ronin. He looked back and saw two Tracksuit reinforcements arriving. He dove out of the way of another gunshot and took cover.
Before they can advance on him, a baton hit the gun out of one of their hands. Another baton bounced off the foot and then hit his face, knocking him down.
"Argh!" He grunted and fell to the floor.
The second Tracksuit looked around in confusion. Maggie, in her dark clothing, was like a shadow as she slid and tripped the man. She then hit him hard with the baton she retrieved and knocked him out.
With the men down, Ronin took the opportunity to engage Maya again.
Ronin dove for his sword and reacquired it. Maya charged and tried to land a kick, but Ronin trapped her leg and threw her aside.
The hooded ninja slowly walked up to the downed Tracksuit leader and pointed his sword at her.
Maya looked up at her assailant and father's killer. Ronin moved his hand toward his hood and pulled it off...revealing himself to be Clint Barton. All Maya could do was glare.
"I wanted you...to see my face." Clint spoke as he gestured in sign language as well.
Maya could read his lips and responded in signs. "So I can watch you kill me?"
"No." Clint said. "But if you or anyone comes after me or my family...it will be the last thing you do. You have my word. You and I, we're the same."
"You're a monster." Maya shot back.
"We're weapons. But when you're filled with rage, it makes you blind. It could be used, could be manipulated. Trust me, I know."
He continued. "I was here that night...tipped off by an informant that works for your boss." Clint noticed her surprised reaction. He emphasized it with sign language. "Yes. Your boss."
"You're lying."
"Your boss wanted your father dead. Now he's using you—"
Maya immediately kicked his foot. Clint thrust his sword forward but missed the woman. She grabbed his arm and pulled him down, hitting his head against the car behind her. He took his sword and raised it over her head, ready to stab it down on Clint.
An arrow suddenly hit the blade and it fell out of Maya's hands. It clattered on the floor and she looked back, seeing Kate Bishop on the roof with her bow drawn.
Maya simply glared at her, then looked back to see that both Clint and Maggie were gone. She hopped on her motorbike and left the auto repair shop.
Kate regrouped with Clint and Maggie in an alleyway. The man was already out of his Ronin attire and was speaking with the redhead.
"I bet you're wondering how we found you." Kate said.
"Yeah, you tracked my phone again. Mags told me."
"Yeah."
The trio walked down the alleyway.
"So this rescue mission, you got an escape plan?" He asked them.
There was a honk by a car at the end of the alley. The driver called out to them.
"Hey, are you Tabitha?"
Kate nodded. "Yes."
"All right. Hop on in."
Kate entered the car. Clint looked around, holding his cut-up shoulder. He couldn't believe this was their plan.
"Come on, old man," Maggie said as she held the door. "We ain't leaving you."
The man sighed and finally entered the Uber. They drove through the boroughs as the early morning sun was just rising.
Kate finally spoke after a while of silence.
"Well, uh...there's something you should know."
"Yeah? What's that?"
Kate glanced at Maggie beside her. The redhead chose to explain.
"We spoke to Yelena."
The archer was taken back. "Yelena?"
"Yeah."
Clint didn't say anything else. He harbored some guilt about Pietro's death and had a feeling the blonde held resentment toward him because of the events. It was the only reason he could think of why she hadn't been around recently.
Maggie spoke again. "She told us who Taskmaster was. It's a guy named Tony Masters."
"Army cop. He worked with her during her early PI years." Kate added.
The man heard their information but all he could think about was what he was going to say to Yelena if they were to finally meet. He nodded.
"Okay."
• • •
IN HIS OFFICE, Wilson Fisk sat in front of the guest he invited. He folded his hands in front of him and continued speaking.
"This city needed correction. It needed...a spark after what happened five years ago. I try my hardest to make this the best place it can be. A utopia. Not the cesspool it was then."
The man inhaled through his nose. He continued.
"Some don't understand the lengths I take. Doing what needs to be done so that the right people keep the gears going. Making sure those who need to be kept down stay down and those who need to be propped up...are up. Then you have costumed folk like Spider-Man, Daredevil, Ronin, Hawkeye, Captain America...trying to break down the progress I made. I can't have that. I won't tolerate that no longer."
Fisk stood up, looking down at the man he was speaking to. He kept going.
"But right now...there are only a few people I need taken care of. They have gotten too close to my operations and they need to be exterminated. Now, I know what you do. I understand your efficiency and your...ruthlessness. You see only the goal at hand and the reward that comes with it. No questions asked. I respect that."
Fisk held out his large hand toward him. The man had his arms crossed as he looked up at Kingpin.
"Clint Barton. Maggie Carter. Tony Masters. I need them dead by tonight."
His guest, mercenary Paul Denning, who would often go by Paladin, nodded. He stood up and shook his hand.
Portrayed by Aldis Hodge
"Don't you worry, Mr. Fisk. They'll be taken care of before Kris Kringle gets to enjoy the Christmas cookies."