The Story of a Bird and Spider || Clintasha

1

"I've lost count of how many jobs I've done. Fury said that this would happen. He has a new job for me; a woman who's on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s bad side. I'm told she has blonde hair, a slender figure, and porcelain-like skin. Classic female assassin -- sounds a bit like Bobbi, though she's long gone.

"Quite honestly, I don't think I'll be able to think about my new target's backstory. If I do, I might not be able to kill her. She's not the only one with this kind of life, what with using her skill set for anyone. If I think about her, then kill her, I'll feel like a hypocrite.

"Fury used to remind me I should be dead."

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1. Russia: St. Petersburg, Tuesday, August 11, 1:53

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"To be honest, I'm not sure where she's at right now." After a moment of his earpiece crackling impatiently for a response, he adds, "Yoo-hoo. Anyone home?"

There's a sigh on the other end and Hawkeye smiles victoriously. His eyes scan the desolate streets a few stories below as he paces along the narrow ledge of the building, all senses closing in for one little out-of-place movement or sound.

"She is here. Right?" His pencil makes soft scratch noises in the quiet night as he records the time in his journal. "I would rather this not to turn into repeat of Guatemala. Yeesh, what a nightmare. Hey, do you remember how you had to call off the entire mission because our target was in America? I remember. Hilarious!"

"Agent Barton," the voice interrupts abruptly. "Are you even aware of what she looks like?"

He pauses, thinking. "Red hair."

Tired of standing, he shoulders his bow and sits down, legs dangling over the edge. He looks back to his sketch, giving him a brief insight of what she may look like from the short description he got. Slender, thin face, pale skin, big, green eyes, full lips. And, of course, not red hair at all.

"Wait, no, blonde. Right-o, already got the red lass last week. Alright, I think I'll recognize this one when I see her."

"Fantastic to hear."

He doesn't respond, fixing all attention to his ears and dialing up the hearing aids in both. Still nothing. Becoming bored and fatigued, he stands and takes one more glance down the street, then jumps off the ledge and starts to walk across the roof to the door. It's only a second later that he sees his very target crouching just a few feet in front of him.

Instantly, he grips his bow and pulls the string back, taking in her sleek, black cat suit that blends with the backdrop of night. Her Widow's Bite bracelets look ominous in the moonlight, but she doesn't move.

It's too dark to know for certain, but it seems to Hawkeye as if she's crawling in her blood. Which, to be fair, makes her blonde hair look a bit red around the bottoms.

"Go ahead. I dare you," she calls, her voice smooth and confident. She clutches at a gash in her side and coughs up blood, eyes rolling back from pain.

It's not exactly a tone of defeat; the Black Widow still has fight in her. Even with her fatal wound, she's not going to let herself die as a coward in the hands of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, of all people. She'd much rather give herself up to HYDRA, and they're the reason she's on her hands and knees in the first place.

Every muscle in Hawkeye's body is tense, ready to release everything and be done. Mission accomplished. Go back home. And yet, he does nothing, only staring at the young woman in front of him.

It would be so easy to let the arrow fly. To live on with no regrets. Her head slowly travels up, bruises on her face. Too many scars. Her eyes look into his. She's seen too many things. She stares at Hawkeye's chest, where the S.H.I.E.L.D. eagle insignia on his uniform practically glows.

"Barton? Do you copy?" Director Fury's voice is static in Hawkeye's ear. They continue to stare at each other, the female assassin one movement away from being dead. She's too vulnerable, in too much pain.

If I die, she bravely thinks, Let it be known I died with my dignity.

Seconds pass, but they feel like minutes. The moon glints off of every object that reflects, and it becomes bright. Too bright. Everything is too much more than it should be; Hawkeye makes a mental note of it.

And then he the notched arrow is released. She closes her eyes and listens to that lightning fast sound arrows make as they pierce through the air. Suddenly she finds herself accepting death -- inviting it, at this point. Her training involved dying for the cause.

This counts, she convinces herself, and a hint of a morbid smile traces her lips.

But her death doesn't come. Another's does, just behind her. A heavy set man falls, an arrow straight through his heart, and as he falls the Black Widow looks up and sees the HYDRA snake badge. The other man sent to finish her off, with a wicked knife in his hand.

Gravity pulls him down, faster and faster, and the Black Widow's lightheadedness from blood loss fails to allow her brain to properly warn her that this man is going to fall on her. Before she can find the energy to roll, the dead weight slams into her back. She hits the smooth marble roof head-on, nearly blacking out. Just before her consciousness evaporates like morning dew, she hears the archer's footsteps.

And there is no mistaking the man's voice saying, "Easy, now. Just trust me, sweetheart."