Problems: From Rookies to Babies.

[istillbelieveinheroes]

They were on a mission in Canada. Nothing too bad about this one it seemed. Or so it was meant to be pretty easy. There was word of a device being set up there by some unknown group, that was putting off strange readings. For one, they had no intil on the group, for another they had no idea what kind of device. Both things they needed to know about. Why? Because it’s SHIELD and they need to know everything.

It wasn’t top priority however. A training mission, really. Scout and Scoot as Coulson would call it. Since the events in New York, (and, you know, living and all) Fury had been placing him on smaller training missions, when he wasn’t keeping an eye on the Avengers. He had been officially moved to the ‘Ambassador to the Avengers’ as Sitwell laughed.

The point being? This was a simple training mission that won't stay so simple. Because of the need for eyes from a distance, Clint was pulled along as well, which suited Coulson fine, really, and it might have suited Barton fine as well.

But as I said, the mission was simple that didn’t stay simple. One of their rookie Agents got himself into a spot of trouble, captured by a dart to the neck and dragged inside. Another Agent followed him in, tracking. Phil knew she was a good tracker, but he didn’t like the next problem that followed.

Communications ceased to function once the Agent’s stepped inside the small base set inside the hill side. Great.

“Barton. Lost Meyers. Lost Hutchinson. Do you have eyes on Jackson?” Their third rookie who was with them.

Comments

[from_a_distance]

Clint knew Coulson was going to carry this one for a while. He would too, really. After all, he was just as capable of keeping an eye on them as Coulson was and no less culpable when he didn't.

"Yeah, definitely a baby," he whispered, nodding at Coulson. "Let's find Meyers and get them both out."

[istillbelieveinheroes]

Phil nodded darkly. He'd make sure they came back with a clean up crew to extract their Agent's body as well, but for now the focus was on those hopefully still alive.

He moved, letting Clint take lead again however, towards the door.

The sounds from below were louder for a moment, yelling. A couple of men holding Meyers to his knees, arms behind his back, just having shoved him down before someone else. The yelling from the men holding him. If old Hawk eyes here notices, it appears that Meyers put one of the men down in a bloodless mess, the head twisted.

Too bad you can't shoot through the glass. It would be like fish in a barrel from here. Further down this hall of doors, one of the last doors lead to an access stair case leading down into the room. But it was pretty visible to the others.

One man, holding a bleeding nose and looking as if he were in charge swung his hand out and pointed to a machine as he ordered something that sounded like 'Put him in the pod!' And turned to storm off to a part of the room they couldn't see cus of their position.

Meyers was dragged to his feet, and a well trained eye could see he was about to move, to try and escape and take out his two captives, but a 3rd came behind and butt busted him with his rifle end. He didn't move.

[from_a_distance]

Clint took a quick glance into the room, memorizing the layout and the positions of the people in it. And then he headed for that door. He couldn't come blazing in, but he might be able to get off a few shots without exposing himself.

A hand sneaking through a doorway tended to be a difficult target to hit.

[istillbelieveinheroes]

Phil peeked in as well, not missing the downed body, nor the fact that Meyers almost took down his captors. Good boy, good. You almost did it. Clint was already moving, and Phil followed. He didn't have to give an order for this. He knew what the man was going to do. The only thing he could do. There were four men down there. The only read they had was for 4 to 6 men, so he had to assume there were more in there.

One more could be seen with the leader, who was cleaning his bloody nose now. There in a small rounded clear bowl like space was a naked baby, little legs kicking, screaming and crying. A woman standing there, trying to take care of the leaders bloody face.

Thus there were five targets, one taken down already, one knocked out Agent being shoved into a tall cylinder like space, and a baby who was crying loudly and most angrily.

[from_a_distance]

Clint moved quickly, peeking his head around the corner just long enough to determine his targets were all still in the same position before pulling it back, only his hand and his sidearm in the room as he fired off his shots. Just two to begin with. He figured they'd start moving by that time. His first targets were the ones manhandling Meyers. He didn't know what that pod would do, but he was guessing it wouldn't be pleasant.

[istillbelieveinheroes]

The men had just got Meyer into the pod, the door not closed yet, when the shots came through, one man dropping to the floor, the other grabbing onto the pod and sliding down it, shocked.

The others in the room pulled their own weapons. Someone was yelling in another language, giving orders. Guns were pulled, weapons were aimed and one man was firing at several locations, most of which came from that direction. If Clint under stood Italian, he might hear the leader cursing his subordinate for being stupid, state that there was only one way in, and go take care of it.

He then told the woman to take the baby and go. Clearly there was more then one door in or out.

Phil stayed back, out of the archers way, but was ready to keep cover as needed.

[from_a_distance]

Clint does not at all speak Italian, but he is pretty good at deducing people's positions from sound, so as the man is cursing and giving orders, he fires off a shot in his direction, probably not as precise as he's used to, but close enough to hit they guy somewhere. As for whoever was being sent after him, Clint decided his cover was blown enough that he could risk leaning into the room to get a clear shot at him.

[istillbelieveinheroes]

Phil was trying to hear out things as well. "He's sending someone out with the baby." He hissed to Clint, knowing Italian enough to pick that much up with out seeing. There was another exit, and if he knew where it lead he would have rounded onto it. Seeing as he had no clue, they needed into the room.

As Clint ducked in, Phil inched closer to the end of the open archway, still half on a step, leaning out to take a fast glance and lean back. He was letting Clint take care of the grunts.

Only there was a shout from above them. Phil turned to see him, gun raised, but his own fired, covering their backs as he took down mystery man number six.

Meanwhile, Clint's shot winged the Leader in the chest, but it seemed to do nothing. He's wearing armor. He's also drawn his own gun, but he's more interested in getting the child out and grabbing something else. He yelled at his men at the pod (Fools!) or something. And demanded they close the door and start the chamber!

Phil barely heard it but called to Clint. "Get Meyer's out of there!" Because just as Clint was making his move, one of the first downed men had just hastily reached up to shove the pod door closed.

[from_a_distance]

Clint was already heading down the stairs when Coulson gave the order, sprinting for the chamber. He didn't make it in time to stop the door closing, but he did manage to take the guy out just as it shut, knocking him out with a blow to the head. They were probably gonna need some info on what this thing did, so killing him was not their best option.

[istillbelieveinheroes]

Good call. They needed SOME form of survivor to work information out of! Phil cleared the other body behind them, the one that fell half down the steps after he was shot. He make sure the gun was clear and covered Barton.

The moment the door closed however it glowed blue again. It was openble however, if you pulled the leaver at the side. This however was a distraction. The woman with the baby headed to another door, headed out it. The leader was hauling a canister with a redish liquid inside it, pulling it out of the machine and, trying to at least, shoot at Clint. Phil shot back first, as cover.

"Don't move, please!" He yelled to the other two people still standing. He repeated it in broken Italian, not a language he had full grasp of yet.

Don't move was clearly the green light to shoot at Clint and the door again and try to make a run for it.

[from_a_distance]

Given the situation, Clint chose to head for the lady with the baby rather than try to get Meyers out right now. Whatever they were doing with that kid was not okay with him, and he was going to stop it. He turned as he headed after her to return fire.

[istillbelieveinheroes]

The leader was moving towards another machine, hauling the cylinder with him and actually stepping into it. Though it wasn't a machine, but a possible way out, because if checked it was clear.

The woman made it through the door and was running, wedge heel boots slapping the hard ground hard as she nearly sprinted. It was a long hall way, with no turns, and seemed to slope down. The baby in her arms, crying with such strong anger.

Phil moved as Clint ran off, headed to the mechine with Meyers in it and looking for a way to stop it. To open it. He found the leaver, hauling it down strongly and hearing the door hiss open. He then took off for the leader, moving to the machine and doing the same to it, opening the hatch to see a very long curving tunnel dug out in the hill side. "Shit..." He hissed to himself, trying to see where Barton disappeared to.

He could go in after him, and not know what he might be headed into. Or he could let him go until he had his back up return. But they had an Agent to deal with in a pod, and Clint was after a baby. With a tight fist he backed up again, away from it, and went to check on Meyer.

[from_a_distance]

Clint tore off down the hallway after her. There was no way he was letting that baby out of his sight, practically leaping down the hall with the slope of it.

[istillbelieveinheroes]

She could hear him gaining on her, so she stopped running, turning to hold the baby close and ... one might think as a shield, as she called out in broken English. "Please don't shoot! I have baby!" Her hand moving into the the bundle of the baby, as if to hold it close, or to get something small...

[from_a_distance]

Clint was betting on the latter, and he stepped closer slowly. He was fairly certain he could shoot her and dash in to catch the baby as she fell, but he wasn't sure he wanted to take the risk she'd do something desperate.

"Just put it down and we'll be fine," he said, wishing he'd picked up more useful Italian in the circus than just swear words.

[istillbelieveinheroes]

"P-please. D-don't. Shoot!" It sounded like someone trying to remember how to speak English disparately. Like she was worried he'd shoot her if she didn't get the words out right. She was backing up, still moving away, down the long tunnel.

Her hand still awkwardly placed in the bundle. "I have baby!" She repeated again, still moving backwards...

[from_a_distance]

"I see you have a baby, lady," Clint says, still heading toward her. "But if you don't stop moving, I'm gonna stop letting that be a problem for me real quick."

[istillbelieveinheroes]

Welp, so much for that.

She pulled a gun, right from the babies bundle, and pointed it at him, firing three shots just as she started to run again. The Baby screaming louder now at the loud bang shots.

The woman had a few problems now though. The way out was up a ladder. She needed two hands. The baby was loud and annoying. She stopped suddenly yelling "You want the baby!? Take it!" And thus threw, yes, she threw the baby his way, under handed toss, a little bundle of blanket and screaming kid. She then took off for the ladder out.

[from_a_distance]

Clint was ready for the shots, but she still grazed his shoulder. Not enough to throw him too much off balance, though, and he managed to catch the baby in his right arm, cradling it carefully against his body.

"Shit. Fuck! Shit," he snapped out, then glanced down at the bundle and mumbled, "Sorry, kid."

There was no way he could go after the woman and keep the baby, so he shifted to make sure the bundle was secure and then headed back the way he'd come to see if he could help Coulson and Meyers.

[istillbelieveinheroes]

Coulson had lost the leader. The woman had gotten away from Barton. Meyers was now laying on the floor, shivering, and looking a bit older then when he went in.

Phil had pulled his coat off, covering Meyers who was grasped to it, shaking a bit. He was then looking around for some form of device to shut down to get the communications working. He trusted Barton to get the woman and baby so he didn't follow yet. They needed the coms.

But at the gun shots he hissed, moving to the door where the long hall way was, looking in and not seeing anything. He told Meyers to hang on and he started down into the tunnel, only to stop as a figure was headed back. Not a female figure. "What happened, Barton?"

The child in the mans arms was crying, because really? This was all very traumatic, thank you!

[from_a_distance]

"She got away," Clint answered shortly, ignoring the blood flowing down his arm. "How's Meyers?"

[istillbelieveinheroes]

"Alive." He said flatly, about Meyers. So much for catching the woman too. At least Clint kept one of them alive in the room there. They could get info from him, and now they had this base location.

"You're hurt." He said, not as a question, but a note of his own sight, seeing the blood as Barton came closer. The baby crying loudly, little bundled arms trying to fight but cant, all wrapped up. It's a very angry baby.

[from_a_distance]

Clint shook his head, not in denial, just letting him know it's not important. "It's fine. I'm going deaf, but it's fine."

He can't blame the kid, really, but he kinda wants to.

[istillbelieveinheroes]

It's important if he's bleeding! But... he does understand. A flesh wound perhaps? It's not like the man hasn't had a few of those before. The deaf comment however made Coulson hold his hands out for the child.

"Here. Get a bandage or some pressure on that. I'll need your help getting Meyers out."

[from_a_distance]

"It's fine," Clint insisted again, though he was more than happy to hand over the baby. "Just grazed me."

He was also fine with getting a bandage on it as soon as he was sure Coulson had the baby. He grabbed the downed scientist's lab coat and ripped off a strip of cloth to make a pressure bandage.