The Lone Wolf (Clint Barton)

Chapter 25: Capture

Jackie POV:

        "Who's dying?" Dad asked as soon as he entered the room. After changing from my ruined clothes, I started aggressively glaring at the wall, imagining each and every way I knew to kill someone. Why? Because I didn't fancy not telling Dad about the news. "Winter?"

"HYDRA's still operative and looking for both of us." I growled, glancing at him before glaring at the wall. "Which means that everyone I'm friends with is in danger."

"And judging by your body language, I'm guessing that there's some that don't know how to defend themselves." Dad sighed.

"Not exactly." I said, standing up and moving to the kitchen to start fixing lunch. I couldn't fix a gourmet dinner, but I could fix a simple sandwich. "They know how to defend themselves, but not against HYDRA."

"Guess that means we're going hunting." Dad mumbled.

"You don't have to go with me. I'll be fine by myself." I assured.

"You're forgetting that I have a bone to pick with HYDRA too." Dad smirked. "Plus, what kind of father would I be if I didn't help out my daughter?"

"Normal family rules don't apply to us because we are nothing like a normal family." I pointed out. "But thanks." A faint smile appeared on Dad's face for a split second, but it still made me smile. He was slowly getting comfortable with his own mind. It was a slow but steady process, something I was grateful he was allowing me to help him with.

*****(Month Later)*****

Ducking behind a dumpster to gain my breath, I growled in annoyance. "I thought you said that this was abandoned!" I hissed into a comms unit that I had made.

"Guess I was wrong." Dad's voice came through, and I could just hear his shrug. "How are you doing?"

"Other than being extremely pissed at you, I'm fine." I snapped, rolling to the side and shooting a couple of shots before rolling back. "And you?"

"I'm getting shot at, but no sound of the words." Dad assured. That was our only concern with the hunting, his trigger words. It wasn't that I couldn't take him, but it would be very chaotic and would not help with our plans. Plus, I'd probably have to kill him to come out on top. "I thought you brought grenades for this very reason?"

"Oh yeah...I forgot about that." I chuckled, hearing his exasperated sigh. "You in the clear?" I heard some movement accompanied by gunshots and yells from the men.

"Clear." Dad confirmed. I grabbed a grenade and pulled the pin out with my teeth, flipping the cap and throwing it towards the center of the building before ducking back behind the dumpster. It was followed by a boom and several yells of surprise. Repeating the process at least three times, I couldn't detect any more heartbeats.

"I think we're clear." I relayed, stepping out from behind the dumpster. "Yup, we're clear."

"You just stepped out into the alley, didn't you?" Dad sighed. At my silence, he knew his answer. "Idiot." Ignoring him, I trotted towards the building and tried to shove the door open. Hearing an amused chuckle, I looked up to see Dad with his arms crossed.

"Well, you try!" I exclaimed. With one shove, the door swung open. "Showoff." I huffed, pushing him back slightly before letting my eyes glow so I didn't have to use a flashlight.

"Anything?" He asked.

"Nope." I sighed. We were still on the search for the little red book that contains the trigger words. "Where to next?"