Clint knocked on the door to Hill's office, glancing up and down the hall to see who all would see him enter the office. It wasn't like he was hiding or anything, he was just paranoid.
"Come in." Hill called from the other side. He opened the door and walked in to her office.
"How's Valente?" Clint questioned instantly.
"She's okay. Captain Rogers is with her right now."
"What happened, Maria?" The Hawkeye sat down heavily on a chair in front of her desk and rubbed his temple. "Did I do something?"
"No. At least not directly." Hill shook her head, tapping a pen against her desk for a moment. Clint furrowed his brows together and turned his head just slightly.
"What is that suppose to mean?"
"Barton, I need you to distance yourself from her." Hill sat back in her chair, folding her hands together on her lap.
"Why?"
"She's remembering the 2005 mission."
Clint's shoulders straightened and his jaw locked.
"You said she'd never remember it. All those doctors and Director Fury said that her memory was totally screwed up from what happened. She shouldn't be able to remember anything."
"It was. However, we always knew that there was a possibility that she could remember who she was."
Clint locked his jaw, lifting his head a little more and squaring his shoulders.
"She isn't that person anymore, Maria."
"I didn't call you in here to discuss who Valente is as an individual. You're being sent on an assignment to Sri Lanka. Should take a little over three days."
Hill slid a folder across her desk but Clint made no efforts to pick it up.
"I.... I don't understand why I have to be the one who gets punished for what someone else screwed up—,"
"You aren't being punished, Agent Barton." Hill cut him off. "This is just so that I can get Valente's mind on something else."
Clint took a step towards the desk and reached out to take the folder but hesitated. He clearly didn't want to take the mission.
"She's having dreams about the warehouse." Hill looked away for a moment to the coffee on her desk. The coffee was in a mug that she had given to Hill as a Christmas gift one year. 'Black like my soul' was written on the coffee cup. "She wakes up shaking and sick to her stomach because of it."
"I don't understand why you want me to stay away from her." Clint picked up the folder and tapped it against his opposite hand for a moment. "She'll notice something is up. Valente's not stupid."
"You were the only agent who survived that mission, Barton. I don't want you to trigger any memories she might have tucked away."
Knowing very well that arguing wouldn't improve where he stood, Clint nodded his head, turned away, and moved for the door but then rubbed the back of his head and stopped.
"You know, we shouldn't have kept this shit from her. We should've came clean from the get-go."
"It wasn't my call, Clint." Hill shook her head, bringing one hand up to brush along her chin. "And it's still not my call."
•*•*•
Delaney had work to do. She couldn't linger on her own problems when there were things to be filed and people to be taken care of. Once she managed to calm down, Delaney fixed her hair and her makeup to make it look like she had never been crying to begin with.
The intern began to sort through the papers that had once been thrown on to the floor of her office. Once the papers, folders, and files had been sorted through, she picked them up and made her way down to the Archives on the fourth floor of the Compound.
"I think I want pizza tonight." Delaney murmured to herself as she emerged from the Archive room. She closed the door tightly behind herself. As Delaney was walking down the hallway, she turned a corner and nearly ran into someone.
"Oh gods." Loki cursed as he stopped.
"Hi, Loki." She gave him a soft smile but stepped around him and continued to walk. Almost instantly, Loki could tell that something was wrong with her. Should he see what was wrong with her? He let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand over his face.
"Is something wrong?" He mumbled, silently hoping she didn't hear him. Delaney turned around and looked up at him with a frown on her lips.
"Everything feels weird."
Loki stayed silent. He was unsure of what to say. Delaney let out a soft breath and moved to stand closer to him.
"Do you ever have bad dreams?"
Loki straightened his posture as he held her gaze.
"That is what this skulking of yours is about?" He scoffed and moved to walk past her. "I'd expect nothing less from you."
"What is that suppose to mean?" Delaney began to follow him.
"You're acting as if someone's hurt your fragile feelings. If you can't handle a bad dream then maybe you shouldn't hang around these people."
Delaney nodded her head, taking a small breath.
"Do you have bad dreams, Loki?"
He was silent, blue-green eyes staring ahead as they continued to walk. Night was falling on the facility so not many agents were out and about.
The lights suddenly cut out and for a second, Delaney was left in total darkness. Just as her eyes started to adjust and her night-vision began to set in, red and white emergency lights flicked on.
"What the hell is going on?" Loki questioned, looking down the hallway for any signs of other agents.
"Something's happening." Delaney whispered before pulling the walkie-talkie from her sweater pocket. She turned the volume up and pressed the button on the side. "What's going on, Commander Hill?"
"All agents are to stay in their current locations unless otherwise instructed." Hill's scratchy voice came over the walkie.
"What does that mean?" Loki asked.
"Come with me." Delaney hooked the walkie to her belt and then pulled her phone out as she started to walk down the hallway. She dialed Hill's number and held the phone up to her ear.
"Valente? Tell me you aren't in the West Wing of the Compound." Hill spoke as soon as she answered the call.
"I was in the Archive room." Delaney told her, holding her free hand out as she came to a slow stop. The duo was at a four-way intersection where two hallways crossed paths.
Delaney peeked down the hallway both ways before grabbing Loki's wrist and pulling him quickly across the hall.
"Okay from what I've gathered, most of the shit is going down on the North-West corner. You should be able to make it to the breezeway and cross over to the East Wing. Is anyone else with you?"
"Loki." Delaney replied. "What's going on, Commander?"
"I'm not even sure if I know the answer to that. Just stay safe, Delaney."