21 Days [A Hawkeye/ Clint Barton fic] [HEAVY EDITING]

Expiration Date

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Clint couldn't get the thought of being executed out of his head that night.

Meeting the enhanced twins was a shock, and Clint hoped he wouldn't run into them again. Pietro had given him a black eye.

He sat on the cot in his cold dark cell. The blanket draped over his shoulders didn't do much help, but he was glad he had it. Why did they have to confiscate his uniform? He didn't care about the suit. Clint cared about what he kept in his breast pocket: a picture of his wife and children.

His heart ached for them...and for Natasha. He shouldn't have left her at the motel. Clint should've let her call SHIELD to have him picked up. He could be lying in bed at home right now with his kids curled up by his side. And Laura forcing medicine down his throat every few hours. Natasha would probably be by her side, calling him a baby for not wanting to take his medicine. It wasn't regular medicine a person could by at Walmart. Jemma Simmons back at Shield labs would make something that worked quickly, but it tasted like she mixed oil, kerosene, all healthy foods Clint didn't like, and soap all together.

His daughter would probably be pretending to be his little nurse and telling Laura every time he sneezed.

His son would probably be telling his sister to leave Clint alone because he's trying to sleep.

Clint smiled at the thought, then a sneeze snapped him back to reality. He may have already received two operations and a lot of drugs, but he was still running a high fever.

The archer pressed the back of his hand to his forehead, then his cheek. Still warm, well, hot. He laid back on the cot and pulled the blanket out from under him. He clutched the thin material in his hands.

He may never see his family again. His team had to have told them about his whereabouts by now. Did they? Did Laura break down and cry? Are his kids okay?

The sound of the door sliding open snapped him from his thoughts. Once Clint saw Red Nails walk in, he bolted for the open door. It was his best chance at escaping, but he never thought of taking Red Nails down first.

He felt a needle sink into his shoulder as he ran by her. The drug immediately brought Clint to the cold hard floor.

Red Nails snickered. The side of Clint's face pressed against the cold floor. It would've been more relaxing if he didn't see her heels in front of him.

"Not so fast." Her voice made Clint squirm and push himself up from the floor. He collapsed again.

"What did you give me?" Clint asked weakly, trying to push himself up again.

"Just the strongest sedative we have in our possession." She ruffled what little hair he had at the moment as if he was a child. " I see you met the twins today. Great kids, they really are."

"What's this about an expiration date?" He struggled to keep his head up.

"That? Oh, it's nothing. We're just going to make you as useful as possible for the next week. Starting in the morning. On Saturday, you'll go on your first mission: destroy the Avengers."

"I thought you were going to murder me!?" Clint snapped. If he could get up and punch her in the face, he would.

"It's hard to explain. You see, we're not going to put you through all this just so we can kill you off. Once the mission is complete, you will no longer be of use to us." She thought for a moment. "I guess it is like an expiration date."

"And the twins?"

"They're not ready to go out on their mission yet. You see, Clint, you've been training with SHIELD for years. You have the proper training to kill. They don't. Their expiration dates will be after their missions."

"You're a sick monster..." Clint pushed himself up and glared up at her.

Red Nails smirked. "And you will kill your team. And on the twenty-first day, you will be transported back here for execution."

It took every once of strength in Clint's body to jump up and wrap his hands around her neck. He'd choke the life out of her if it was the last thing he'd do.

How was that? I know it was short and fast, but this is the second part of the turn of events. Pietro and Wanda will come back soon.

Sorry for any spelling, grammar, or sentence structure mistakes. No flames please!