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The two agents arrive at the lower equipment room. Natasha looks around in suspense. "I need you to wait at the other side," she tells Hunter, "just follow the bridge and hide somewhere between the crates or something."
"And then?"
"Then we surround him," she declares, "I'll be the one to fight him if needed."
"You know I have skills too, right?" Hunter questions as he walks up the bridge.
"This is my fight, not yours," Hunter responds to her with a loud sigh, finding a spot at the end of the bridge. Natasha watches him disappear between a few crates before hiding herself.
It doesn't take long for Agent Barton to show up. He walks up the bridge, bowing down to avoid some shafts as Natasha slowly sneaks upon him without the man noticing. It's when Hunter appears at the other side of the bridge, the man realizes he is surrounded. But that doesn't stop him.
Barton turns around fastly, drawing his bow and shooting an arrow at the woman. Natasha manages to grab the end of the bow, turning it away from her as he releases the arrow. He turns his back to her, throwing his elbow into her face. He then lifts his arm, ready to swing her bow at her, but Natasha dodges his attack and kicks him backward. Before he can make another movement, Natasha slides underneath a shelf. As Barton bends down to follow, she appears and kicks him again. He pulls his bow again, firing another arrow but she avoids again by swinging to the other bridge. Barton follows, trying to launch his bow at her but she manages to either dodge or block every attack. She moves her arms past the bow's wire, trying to take the bow away from him. But Barton pulls back his bow, taking her along, and he pushes her against the bridge's railing. She answers his charges with a kick and a punch in the face, and Barton stumbles back, leaving her with the bow. And as Natasha points the sharp edges of the bow towards him, he pulls out a knife with a smirk. He walks up to her, taking another swing, but she grabs his arm tight and twists it. He groans in pain and anger and tosses the knife to his free hand, trying to put the knife in the side of her head. She dives down, again grabbing his arm when she gets up. Barton pins her against an iron bar, trying to push the knife towards her face instead of his. Pulling her red hair, he moves the knife closer to her face. Without hesitation, Natasha bows her head and puts her teeth into the skin around Barton's wrist. Letting go of the knife, he screams in pain and Natasha wraps her legs around his neck, flipping herself over so his head is locked between her legs, and throws his head into the railing of the bridge. He falls to the floor, staying down and Hunter quickly rushes to the other bridge. He joins Natasha, both looking down at the turned agent, who looks up to her with a blue glow covering his eyes.
"Natasha?" Agent Barton asks quietly. Natasha pants quietly before answering him by punching him in the face, knocking him out.
"That works too," Hunter says in surprise.
"Help me get him to the Medical Room," she orders, pulling his limp body up and putting one of his arms around her neck. Hunter follows her order.
"Agent Coulson is down," Nick's voice sounds through the comms, interrupting Natasha. She freezes at his message, her grip on Barton loosening. A loud bump snaps her out of her own thoughts, her eyes slowly drift to Hunter, who dropped Agent Barton on the ground. He stands motionless, his gaze almost burning a hole through the metal floor. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she opens her mouth to speak up but she hesitates.
"Did you know him well..?" she asks eventually, quietly.
"We met in 2000, in California," he tells, "my father was killed in 1994 in Iraq. Killed by an American F-15 Eagle in a friendly-fire 'incident'." He chuckles in anger. "I was fifteen. Two years later, I applied to join the army. My mother, of course, didn't let me."
"But you did join..."
"Yeah, one year later," Hunter points out, "at the age of eighteen, you're the boss of your own choices..." He sits down on the floor, head leaning back against the iron railing. "In the two years before I met Coulson, they never sent me away to fight. Two years long, I thought they let me train for nothing..." he mumbles, "until 2000. When Nick got told that somewhere in California, there was this young soldier that was driven by anger and ready to fight but never got the opportunity to fight that rage away." A small smile appears on his face as he remembers the time he was told that story. "No one at S.H.I.E.L.D. had the fate that my wrath could be controlled," he continues, "no one besides Phil and Nick. And I showed that their fate was indeed correct."
"He was your mentor," Natasha figures out, sitting down as well.
"He wasn't just my mentor," he says, looking at her, "he was the one that believed in me when no one, along with myself, did. He was a mentor that became a friend, who even made sure that I was okay when I left S.H.I.E.L.D."
"What happened after you left S.H.I.E.L.D. that made him check up on you?" she suddenly questions. Hunter turns his head away, and she can see the tears appear in his eyes and the sudden shaking of his hands. She's about to apologize when Nick's voice sounds again.
"Agent Black," he calls, "Briefing Room." Hunter gets up, his eyes meeting Natasha's, who looks away in guilt.
"I'm sorry," she apologizes in a whisper, "I shouldn't have-"
"Don't worry about it," he answers shortly before walking down the bridge, passing an agent on his way, leaving Natasha with guilt.
