A Shot Through The Heart (Book 1 of Love, Monsters and Magic.)

Chapter 21

Natasha

After my shower, I got into the clothes Loki had provided for me. They were so casual and casual was something I definitely wasn't used to. The clothes fitted my body perfectly though, the soft black jeans sitting perfectly on my hips and the deep bourbon tight slim fitting t-shirt highlighted my curves even more. I dried my hair the best I could with the towel and left the rest to dry naturally, meaning that my hair would sit in gently waves with the occasional curls. I crawled beneath the bed sheets, it was unnaturally cold in the room, and hugged them close to me in an attempt to keep the cold from chilling my body any further. I thought to get some sleep while Loki was away. My mind was vulnerable when I was sleeping so I knew it would be better to sleep while I was alone. Pulling my knees to my chest, I hugged them tightly. My eyelids were heavy with a lack of sleep and instinctively began to close over themselves, my hand reaching beneath the pillow out of habit to take a hold of the hand gun that, for once, wasn't there.

I must have slept for around four hours before I woke up. I pulled myself into sitting position and glance quickly around the room to make sure I was still alone. I was. My head fell backwards slowly as another wave of tiredness waved over my body. I had almost returned to my unconscious state when gun shots echoed loudly throughout the building where I was being held. I heard cries of pain and heavy footsteps. The sound of a laser ricocheted throughout the halls and at that moment I knew exactly know it was. That was Tony's repulsor beam. Clint must have tracked me. I owed him for this. I sat tight, waiting in great anticipation.

Clint

Tony gathered the team in record time while I got suited up. Just like Tony had said, Bruce nearly took a fit when he saw me all suited up, but after a few minutes of arguing, Bruce gave in, sighing and shaking his head in disapproval. We boarded one of the S.H.I.E.LD helicopters and made our way to the building that, with any luck, Natasha was in. The address, though, was in a rundown residential area of Manhattan. The buildings were high rise, a nasty grey colour and plastered with rough cast. This didn't seem like the sort of place that the oh so great God of Mischief would take to residing in. But we carried on. The helicopter dropped us off a few blocks away from the building, and we ran over to the building (at a slower pace than normal, on doctor’s orders). The building Natasha was supposed to be in was one of the middle floored apartments and as expected the lobby of the high rise flat was swamped with Loki's men. With an arrow already pulled back, I released it, sending it sailing through the air and tearing effortlessly through the throat of one of the advancing men. It only took a few minutes for us to take out the handful of men, and with no appearance from the 'other guy'. Bruce had done well in containing the beast, using only a handgun that Fury had provided for him.

“Where does Loki find these guys?” Tony mused.

“S.H.I.E.L.D has no shortage of enemies; it is just a matter of knowing when to look for them.” I informed Tony. He muttered something under his breath that I didn't catch. Bruce spoke to me over his shoulder as we pressed on.

“How's the wound holding up, Clint?”

“Just fine, Doc,” I told him, with a smile on my face.

“I don't see a reason for splitting up.” Steve said more to himself than to us. “Agent Barton, what floor?”

“The ninth, I think.”

“Right, let's go.”

It came as no surprise to us that the door to the ninth floor apartment was guarded heavily with thugs with excessively large weapons. The men spotted us and let of a few blind shots in our direction, each bullet missing us and ricocheting off of the wall. I shot a an arrow filled with tear gas into the wall behind the men, causing them to cry out as the thick gas burned their eyes and clouded over their judgement. That's when Steve stepped in, his star spangled shield in his hands, doing a few neat twists and kicks the result of which had all of the pea brained thugs littering the floor, unconscious. (I think if Steve never joined S.H.I.E.L.D he could have easily became a world renowned choreographer.) This is far too easy. Tony stepped forward with his arm extended in front of him and blew the door clean of its hinges. We stormed the apartment and it seemed to be vacant until Steve caught sight of a door to the back of the apartment. He rushed over and with one swift boot the door swung open.

“Agent Barton, get over here!” I ran over to where Steve was standing in the door. Peering over Steve's shoulder, I saw Natasha staring over at us, her eyes wide and a genuine smile on her face. I pushed past Steve and rushed over to her, hugging her to my chest tightly.

“Are you okay, Nat? He didn't hurt you did he?” I asked her, speaking into the crook of her neck. She shook her head.

“No, he didn't hit me.”

“That isn't what I asked. Did he hurt you?” I repeated myself.

“When he finds out I'm gone, he's going to kill you, all of you.” She choked out.

“No he's not. He's not going to hurt any of us.” I got Natasha to her feet and walked over to the door with her, my arm around her waist. The team stared over at her, at us. Natasha blushed slightly before she addressed the team.

“Thank you guys for coming to find me. We need to get out of here. Loki will be back at any time.” She told them, her voice shaking ever so slightly. Steve looked from us to Tony and Bruce and then back to me and Natasha.

“Actually, Bruce and I are going to stay here. We need to get Loki, to put some kind of crook into his plans.” Tony told us. I felt Natasha tense up beside me, I rubbed my hand in small circular motions on the small of her back.

“We will head back to base, and send some back up your way.” Steve told Tony and Bruce.

“Thanks, Cap. It's good to have you back Nat.” Tony said I in a sincere tone. Natasha hugged Tony, whispered something to him but I couldn't hear what she said, then hugged Bruce and then Steve who looked slightly taken back by the gesture but went along with it anyway. She returned to my side and we left the apartment complex with Steve, heading in the direction of the helicopter.