Mistakes Were Made (Avengers/James Rhodes)

15. Prison

I stared at the screen in front of me. It was all the people I had known and thought I trusted. The people who wanted freedom from the government. The ones who hurt Rhodey.

Nick placed a hand on my shoulder. "You can go in whenever you want."

I glanced at him. "Yeah, okay."

Nick pulled me close. "Don't hurt them, okay? I don't want you to end up in here too."

I laughed. "No promises. Especially towards Clint."

"He's just misguided, darling," Nick replied. "You can have as much time as you need to talk to them."

I nodded and walked through the door. I paused outside of Scott's cell and he stared at me.

"You work alongside Stark," he spit. "You're a disgrace to the Avengers."

I raised my chin. "I am your superior officer. You should at least have more sense to respect me. Unless you lost all sense when you decided to work for that scoundrel."

Scott's glare got more intense. "It's better than working for Stark. Don't you know to never trust a Stark?"

I straightened my posture. "It's better than working for a rogue. At least when I work with Tony, it has structure and laws. You don't even have rights."

I turned away from Scott and went to the next cell, Sam's. He was sitting on his bunk with his elbows on his knees while staring at the ground. He looked up at me and nodded.

I nodded back. "Hey, Sam."

"Hey, Charlie," Sam replied. "How's Rhodey?"

I glanced down. "He's doing alright. He's getting better every day, no thanks to you."

"I'm sorry that I caused that," Sam said. "I know that that's hard to accept but I am. He didn't deserve that to happen to him."

I shrugged. "No one does. I'll see you around, man."

Sam tipped his head toward me. "Have a good life, Charlie. You're a good person for being there for Rhodey."

I nodded and kept going down the line. I stopped at Wanda's cell and squatted down. She was in a straitjacket and was huddled in the corner.

"Oh, Wanda," I murmured. "What have they done to you?"

Wanda looked at me, her bottom lip trembling.

I placed my hand against the screen. "You shouldn't be treated like this, sweetie. I'll try to get you out of here, alright? This isn't just and fair."

Wanda seemed to relax a little but she was still pressed against the wall. I smiled kindly at her and stood up. I ended at Clint. He was sitting in his bunk, his hands in his lap as he waited for me.

He smiled a little at me. "Hey there, kid. How are you doing?"

I straightened. "Fine. You don't look too good."

Clint shrugged. "I don't mind though. I'll get out eventually."

I gave him a look. "This is the Raft, Barton. You can't get out."

Clint shrugged. "So it's Barton now?"

"After what you did to my team, yeah," I replied. "You broke the law and you hurt Rhodey. I can't call you by your name or call you a friend anymore."

"Is it the same for Nat?" Clint asked.

I nodded. "She hasn't even shown her face since we went to the hospital with Rhodey. She's probably with Steve. Which we need information on. You wouldn't know anything, would you?"