“He never misses, he never quits, and never loses,” Coulson said. He sat down at the table in the conference room with a sigh. “If you’re alive, it’s because he wants you alive.”
“But why did he want me alive while he killed everyone else?” Steve asked. He held a ice bag to his bruised face and propped his foot with the cast on the chair beside him. “I mean, he killed the whole STRIKE team, pointed an arrow at me before he jumped off of the roof.”
“He jumped off of the roof?” Hill asked and furrowed her brows.
Steve turned around, winced and nodded. “Yeah,” he said, “He pulled an arrow out and then he jumped.”
“We found some hook in the wall of the opposite skyscraper. R&D’s taking a look at it at the moment,” Maria said.
“That still doesn’t explain why he let me live,” Steve huffed.
Phil took a deep breath and gave him the file he had had in front of him. “I think we have an idea,” he said. “All the members of this STRIKE team seemed to be involved with HYDRA.”
“HYDRA?” Steve’s eyes went wide. He knew this terrorist group had their fingers everywhere but within SHIELD? He couldn't believe it.
“Why would SHIELD agents collaborate with terrorists?” He asked and tried to frown but his face hurt like a motherfucker.
“Maybe they are HYDRA agents who are sent to spy on us?” Maria suggested.
“Steve, you know that Hawkeye is known to pick his own jobs. Yes, he’s an assassin for hire but he… we looked over all his assassinations and every single one of them deserved to die, so to speak,” Phil said.
“So, you want to tell me he’s a good guy? Like Robin Hood?” Steve asked incredulously.
“No, of course not. He’s still an assassin and we want to arrest him,” Maria sighed. “Even if he took lots of bad guys off of the streets.”
“Don’t remind me,” Steve sighed. After all, it was his job to find and arrest Hawkeye. But for the next weeks he was on sick leave till his broken ankle was healed. He just opened his mouth to say something when they heard a knock at the door
“Come in,” Phil said and the door went open. Outside were a junior agent and a man with dirty blond hair.
“Oh my god, Steve!” The guy said as soon as he laid eyes on Steve, hurried around the junior agent and went to Steve.
“I’m sorry, sir, he insisted to bring him to Agent Rogers,” the young man said.
“It’s okay, Agent Rand, he’s his husband,” Phil said and dismissed the junior agent.
“I’m fine, Clint,” Steve just reassured the man beside him, who looked over his injuries and was really upset. “It’s… it was just an accident.”
“He’s on sick leave for the next weeks, Mr. Barton-Rogers,” Phil said with a smile. “And I expect him to stay at home.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of him,” Clint smiled.
Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6
