TWS Timeline: Kansas City Here I Come

[cfbhawkeye]

The shitstorm hit in the middle of deep cover for Clint Barton. Deep cover that had lasted exactly ninety minutes after all the world had access to the complete files of Hydra and therefore SHIELD.

For Clint, half a world away working a four month long operation, it meant that every contact he'd made to worm his way closer to a CEO running an international bio-weaponization organization made him for who he was.

And when he meant 'made' he meant 'shot on sight' made.

Op blown he'd tried to get extraction, tried to get home, still in the dark about what was going on back home in DC. But his three man team turned out to be one corpse and two Hydra henchmen.

Of course, he was shot again.

Really, overseas surgery was a nasty business. He was pretty sure they'd used actual sewing thread for his stitches and infection was less a chance and more imminent. It took every trick and trade he had to just get on a junker of a cropduster back to the Western Hemisphere. And when he ran out of favors and charm it was on to highjacking vehicles and slinking passed the boarder patrol just to get back into the good old US of A.

But his luck ended in Kansas City. So close to home but still so far away. He was out of assets, cash and options. He knew they would track and trace any call made to Natasha or Maria Hill or any of his normal contacts. He had one chance, one call then he was done. He weighed his options and went for the safest bet. From a pay phone in Union Station, the last old glory railstation in the Midwest and the sight of more than one Prohibition shoot out, Clint dialed Steve's number and waited...

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[doesntrunaway]

With Fury ostensibly dead and Natasha out of the country for her own sake, it had fallen to Steve, with a little help from Tony's considerable assets, to track down the SHIELD agents who had been on assignment when everything had been dissolved. The ones who had no way of knowing what was going on, the ones who may or may not have been Hydra agents instead.

He wanted to believe that those he hadn't been able to find yet were good agents who had just gone to ground until this blew over, and he'd managed to get the word out that it was safe, or safe enough, to come home, worked out ways for them to contact each other if it wasn't safe for them specifically. But still not as many as he would have hoped, and as much as he wanted to believe, he knew that the ones he hadn't found yet were probably dead, or worse.

Except for Barton. He refused, outright, to believe that Barton was dirty, though whether it was because of or in spite of the man's shady past even Steve didn't know. He also knew that it was going to take more than something like this to kill Clint, it was simply a matter of finding him.

He wasn't surprised by the phone call from a number he didn't recognize, it was something he'd gotten used to the past few weeks, odd calls at odd hours. So he did what he always did, he answered, "This is Rogers."

[cfbhawkeye]

Its like a balm. Steve's voice and it makes him sag. He almost falls completely to the floor. He has to cling to the phone to hold himself up. Its still a near thing. He sighs and sets a feverish brown against the metal. Eyes cloded and breathing heavily.

"Couldn't have waited for me to get home to do all this, Steve? Sometimes I think you have a gratification issue..."

His voice is rough and raspy. Unused and sick.

[doesntrunaway]

"Thought you could use a little more excitement in your life." He replied, glibly, though he could tell that Clint didn't sound good, and added: "Where are you?" More seriously, "Are you safe?"

He knew it wasn't likely to be a secure line, the best he could hope for was that it was a public one and it would be too hard to trace back to find Clint. He also hoped that Clint wasn't in bad enough shape that he'd be easily caught, though he definitely didn't sound good.

[cfbhawkeye]

Clint lets out a sound that's between a sob and a laugh. Its an ugly bitter sound and he almost chokes on it. Still chuffing he leans heavily on the phone. "Steve. Considering the current atmosphere of everything doesn't that sound like a stupid question? Am I safe. I think your brain is going in your old age."

Clint looks around himself. Checking. Searching for any trouble or lurkers that are a possible threat.

"I'm in Kansas City... I'm not in the best shape... I'm outta gas, Steve."

[doesntrunaway]

"You're on home turf, that means you're safer than you could be. I'm guessing you're the only one that came back from your trip." He didn't know if his phone was still bugged, or if there was even anyone still listening, "You can tell me later, find somewhere to hunker down for a few hours, somebody will come make a pick up."

Him. He'd come make the pick up, but if Clint didn't know who it was going to be, it meant that no one else could know either, on the off chance that someone was listening in.

[cfbhawkeye]

"I'm at Union Station. The rail depot. I'll stay still as long as I can but I can't be sure how secure it'll stay... if I move I'll leave a sign... thanks Steve. It'll be nice to be home again."

He reluctantly hung up the phone and pushed off the wall. Picking a spot he slowly sank to the ground and in an afterthought put his hat out on the floor next to him. It was a sorry cover but it was better than nothing.

[doesntrunaway]

With SHIELD disbanded at best and scattered at worst, it wasn't like Steve could just hop a jet to pick Clint up, and even if he'd had access to one, there was the issue of having somewhere to land it when he got there. It was really just more trouble than it was worth.

Of course, Tony being Tony, as soon as Steve suggested that he was going to fly commercial, found him a Stark Industries clipper and a pilot and was already calling ahead to make sure they had landing clearance even before they were actually in the air.

All in all, it was only about three hours before Steve arrived, and he still wasn't great at going incognito, even after his experience with Natasha, but in jeans and a zippered hoodie layered over his usual t-shirt and the glasses Natasha had found for him he did well enough.

Union Station wasn't huge, but it was still big enough that he didn't spot Clint right off, especially as Steve himself was doing his best to look like any other tourist, trying not to draw attention to himself.

[cfbhawkeye]

Clint saw Steve long before the soldier saw him. He waited until the soldier walked passed before sticking his foot out to trip Steve. It was already sprained so it didn't matter if the 240 pound man stepped on or kicked him. It wouldn't hurt much more than it already did.

"Spare some change for a guy running from an international conspiracy" He asked with a battered smile.

He tiredly lifted his head and let it fall back to better look up towards Steve. He glanced over the disguise and gave it a little nod. "Not bad for a first few tries."

[doesntrunaway]

Steve had enough spatial awareness that he didn't trip up, or cause Clint any further injury, but he did stop, hands in his pockets, looking Clint over before offering him a hand up, "You okay to walk?" He asked, even as he did so.

Not that he had any problems with carrying Clint out of there, though he suspected Clint might, especially since they were supposed to be going unnoticed as much as possible.

[cfbhawkeye]

"I'm okay to limp."Clint picked up his hat, tucking it around his head before trying to lever up to his feet. He leans heavily on the wall to get up but he waves.

"You okay? Nat?" He stumbles and nearly falls when he tries to take a few steps towards Steve.

[doesntrunaway]

"Luckily you won't have to limp far." He replied, having moved forward smoothly, looping an arm across Clint's shoulders at the stumble, "I'm good. Tony and I and a few others are still at the Tower. Surprisingly the city hasn't called for anyone's head on a platter yet. And Nat's... safe."

He didn't know where she was, exactly, but that had been her idea, she'd contact him when, and if, she needed help, but unless he heard from her he was supposed to assume she was safe.

[cfbhawkeye]

"Knowing her she's fine. Probably bored really." He might cling a bit, hand locked in Steve's jacket and stayed upright. He didn't hesitate to put his weight on the soldier knowing he could bare it easy enough.

"Tower locked down? What about some of the guys in the city? Stephen Strange? Peter Parker?"

[doesntrunaway]

"All safe." He said, curling his arm just that much more securely around the other man's shoulders, leading him out front where they could catch a taxi to the airstrip, "Tony's been setting up a network for anyone who was, anyone who might have been a target, check in with each other, make sure everyone's safe. Buddy system. It's actually working surprisingly well."

He wouldn't have thought it would, but he was glad for it since if they were looking out for each other they'd also be watching each other's backs.

[cfbhawkeye]

"More eyes and good back up. Its the only way to do it. Kinda glad I missed alot of it already. I don't think I'm up for much in the way of strategy for now."

Once they had a bit of momentum Clint moved a bit easier and carried his weight forwards a bit. Once they were out of Union Station and into the streets Clint went on alert, twisting his head as far as he could and keeping his eyes open. "I tried to make sure I wasn't followed."

[doesntrunaway]

"I did the same." He smiled, small, almost sad, "Really all we can do right now." All they could do was try, try to make sure they weren't followed, try to make things right, try to keep their footing in a world that was becoming increasingly unstable.

Steve figured they'd come out on top, in the end, or at least on the right side of things, but they wouldn't do so without effort.

Getting a cab was easy enough, even though, and maybe because, it was busy at that time of day.

[cfbhawkeye]

All momentum lost he slumps down in the seat. He looks pale and it seems hard for him to hold up his head. His breathing it a bit rough. A bit to wet for normal.

"I'm gonna have to apologize... I think I might pass out on you... you gonna be mad at ne if you have to carry me back to work?"

[doesntrunaway]

"I'll be surprised if you don't." He replied, shaking his head a moment later, "And I won't. You need the rest." And some kind of actual medical attention, but he figured Clint already knew that and Steve didn't have to bring it up again.

The trip to the airstrip wasn't long, a half hour at most, and that was mostly due to the traffic, and he wasn't going to be at all surprised if Bucky made it the whole way there without passing out.

[cfbhawkeye]

Clint hung on. Staying awake but only just. His eyes were glassy and heavily lidded and he was only awake by pure adrenaline and by focusing on muttering softly to himself, and possibly to Steve... but his English was starting to slur and stumble. Chinese and Russian started to blend together.

He's shaking badly when they get to the airstrip. Panting tiredly. "Steve if I keel over try and prevent Natasha from raising me from the dead to kill me again..."

[doesntrunaway]

"Is she allowed to raise you for any other reason?" It surprised him, sometimes, just how easily he'd taken on the same almost-gallows humor the rest of the team seemed to have. It wasn't often, but sometimes it cropped up unexpectedly. Like it just had.

He knew Clint was in a bad way, but he'd seen guys closer to death pull through just fine, and Clint, as far as he knew, was tougher than most of them, he'd have to be being the team's token squishy-human and still keeping up with the rest of them.