Archive of Our Own ^beta

After All These Years

Story 8

xXx

“Brock!”

Rumlow gasped, eyes flying open. He struggled against the weight in his limps.

“Agent Rumlow? Agent Rumlow? Can you hear me? Please, you need to relax.”

His eyes found the voice, Dr. Simmons, the young woman kneeling beside him. His head was pounding, a quick pulsing staccato in the back of his skull, his throat dry and cracked as he tried to speak. “Darcy.” he finally forced out. Jemma’s expression said all he needed to know.

“Is he awake?” Jack’s voice carried across the room before he appeared in Brock’s vision. He knelt down beside Brock on the hardwood floor of Darcy’s loft. “Can you speak commander?”

Brock swallowed thickly. “Yeah.”

“Good, we need to know what happened.”

xXx

“Brock? Have you seen my purse?” Darcy called out to be heard over the shower. There was a moment where she heard the shower curtain slide open a bit before;

“It’s in your office, with your briefcase.”

“Thanks babe.” She called back making her way to her home office and finding said purse, taking it back into the bedroom. She searched through it finding her phone and tossing the bag on the arm of the chair in the corner. She then climbed into bed under the duvet and leaned back into the pillows against the head board.

Darcy was just opening her email when Brock stepped out of the bathroom, running a towel through his hair, a pair of sweats hanging dangerously low on his hips.

Brock tossed the towel in the hamper and walked up to the bed. He picked his tablet up off the nightstand and slid in beside Darcy. She leaned over and pecked him on the lips with a smile before they turned to their devices, Brock working on a report, Darcy responding to various emails.

They worked for close to an hour and when their busy day caught up with them they put away the phone and tablet and snuggled down into the bed wrapped around each other, whispering to each other in the darkness.

They were close to sleep when Brock heard the faint click of the lock at the front door. He was up and out of bed in moments reaching for his sidearm in the bedside table.

“Where goin’?” Darcy mumbled sleepily.

“Something’s not right.” he whispered back. Darcy roused herself from sleep and got herself out of bed, grabbing her own side arm as Brock made it to the door. When he knew she was ready behind him he looked over his shoulder and mouthed a count down from three.

Brock barely made it passed two before the bedroom windows exploded as several large bodies crashing through them. Brock spun quickly taking Darcy to the floor behind the bed, avoiding the glass flying everywhere. When the first footsteps sounded he raised up over the side of the bed firing off three ICER rounds and dropping one of the intruders. He dropped down, his body covering Darcy’s as the intruders raised their own weapons.

Brock felt Darcy shift beneath him and watched as she reached beneath the bed fiddling with something before retracting her arm, a flash grenade in hand. “Good girl.” He muttered shooting her a smirk in reply to her own, he took the grenade from her and whispered; “Eyes closed.” Before whipping the grenade over the bed. A pop, a flash and screams of pain and Brock pulled Darcy to her feet pulling her into the living room where he didn’t hesitate to fire four more rounds into the two men moving toward them.

Brock slowed slightly as they approached the cracked open door, but it wasn’t enough to get out of the way as the door burst open, slamming into Brock and knocking him back into Darcy. He had just enough time to catalogue the three new intruders before he felt Darcy snatched away from him. He turned as she yelped the gun ripped from her hand. She put up as much of a fight as she could but the man who had a hold of her was as big as Captain America and as tall as Jack.

Brock readied himself for a fight, taking note of every detail. Six men, all of varying sizes and armed to the teeth. He recognized the man he pegged for the ring leader but before he could really consider the ramifications of who this man was he felt a sharp jolt to the back of his head, sending him sprawling to the floor. He could barely hear Darcy’s muffled scream through the ringing in his ears. Despite the pain and confusion he pushed himself to his feet and he fought hard. He gave out quite a beating but he took one too.

Darcy continued to struggle as they tried to drag her out. Her eyes never left Brock as he fought off the gang of intruders, putting one on the ground and doing serious damage if the sound of cracking bone was any indication. It was obvious the man’s comrades didn’t take his defeat well and Darcy watched horrified as they ganged up on Brock, bringing him to the floor despite his skillful retaliation.

Darcy was screaming for them to stop so much so the remaining man holding her clamped a hand over her mouth while signaling to one of the men not attacking to break it up. The group dispersed and again the leader tried to take her out of the loft, but she fought hard her focus solely on Brock so she missed the movement to her left until she felt the prick in her neck.

As the darkness over comes her she watched as one of the intruders raised his gun and fired at Brock.

xXx

“The bullets were from Agent Lewis’ ICER gun.” Fitz explained as Simmons patched Brock up.

“Lucky me.” he muttered wincing as Simmons applied liquid band aid to his wounds. “How long have I been out?”

“What’s the last day you remember?” Jack questioned.

“Thursday night.”

“It’s Saturday Night.”

When Simmons was finished Brock grabbed his shirt and stood from the sofa, walking over to where his team and the Avengers were gathered with Coulson and Sitwell.

“Commander Rumlow,” Coulson began his voice tight with tension. “What can you tell us about the intruders?”

“They were members of the Circus of Crime.” Brock explained looking to Clint.

“The what?” Tony questioned confused.

“The Circus of Crime.” Clint answered. “It’s an organization of criminals that began as a legitimate circus a few decades ago.” He sighed. “I grew up in that circus and when it turned towards crime I got out. My older brother Barney runs the organization now.”

“What would Barney even want with Darcy?” Jack questioned. Clint just shook his head, turning away from the group and following a crime scene tech into the bedroom.

“We need to figure out where their working from.” Brock continued.

“Agent Skye is working on it. In the meantime we’ll focus on a why.” Coulson explained.

“I think I can answer that.” Clint interrupted, reappearing through the bedroom door, Darcy’s Bucky Bear in hand.

xXx

Darcy jolted awake, the scream dying in her parched throat. The tears started immediately her final sight becoming her first thought. Months of nightmares, nearly a year, came flooding back to her all at once.

They killed him, they killed Brock. She saw it, counted the shots before the darkness took over. He was gone, just like in her nightmares. Dead. Never again would she feel the warmth of his embrace; be overwhelmed by the safety of it.

She faintly registered a door opening and closing. “Oh good, you’re awake.” A woman’s voice called out to her. Darcy didn’t move from where she was curled up under the covers of the queen sized bed. She listened as the woman walked around the room, her heels clicking against the hard wood. She heard the distinct sound of the curtains being rolled open, before footsteps moved closer. She could feel the woman standing at the edge of the bed.

When Darcy didn’t move from under the covers, the woman sighed harshly and pulled the covers back, hesitating when she laid eyes on Darcy’s tear stained face.

“Oh sweetheart, please, don’t be sad. The circumstances of your being here are not the best I know, but I assure you, you are in no danger.” The woman knelt down beside Darcy gently laying a hand on her shoulder.

Her words, though meant to calm, only lit a white hot rage in her. Her eyes popped open, her head snapped up, her teeth bared like an animal and without warning she launched herself at the woman hands gong around her throat.

“No danger? You came into my home, take me against my will and kill…” she faltered, her grip loosening. The woman took the opportunity to flip her much gentler than one would expect.

“Shhh.” The woman hushed her wiping the tears as they fell. “Shhhh, sweetheart, it’s all going to be okay.”

xXx

“Barney and I ran away from foster care when we were kids, ended up at a circus called Carson’s Carnival of Traveling Wonders. Started as errand boys for the bigger acts and later we became an act of our own. It’s where my code name comes from. Hawkeye and Bullseye.” Clint took a breath fiddling with the bear in his hands. “Barney was really into our act, always trying to get better, he was proud of what we were doing. Bucky Barnes was Barney’s hero.” He held up the bear. “So when he found this left over at one of the game stalls during pack up he took it. We parted ways when I was eighteen years old and he still had this thing, even then.”

“Okay, hold up.” Tony interrupted. “What are you saying?”

“And how do you even know that’s Barney’s?” Jack questioned.

Clint flipped the bear over and lifted the back of its blue jacket revealing two bold black B’s printed with magic marker.

“Barney Barton.” Brock breathed.

“Anything that doesn’t have your name on it is communal property.” Clint explained.

“So, what? Barney and Darcy know each other?” Tony added.

“He’s her father.” Brock spoke up gaze starring down at the bear. Coulson nodded despite the disbelief around him.

“It makes sense.” He replied. “Darcy was left with child protective services not long after she was born. There was no birth certificate, no way of knowing where she came from or who left her."

“That doesn’t really prove anything.” Jack said. “It’s a good argument though.”

“Where was she left?” Clint asked Coulson.

“Waverly Iowa.”

“Fuck.” Clint breathed. He looked up from the toy in his hands. “When Barney and I found out what the circus was a front for we made a plan to leave, enlist together. I missed our rendezvous and he went AWOL. Old family friend said he moved back into our parents’ house, fixed it up, hung out for a year or two until Maynard Tiboldt, The Ringmaster, came looking for him, offered Barney the job of Ring Master when he retired. He’s been running the circus ever since.”

xXx

“She’s distraught.” The woman explained. Barney sighed leaning back in his chair. “She thinks the man who was in her apartment is dead.”

“Is he?”

“It’s possible. According to Bruto they shot him with her gun which was filled with a tranquilizer of some kind. They shot him half a dozen times if he didn’t die from injury he could have died from overdose.” Barney stood from his chair.

“Alright, make sure she eats and takes care of herself. I’ll talk to her tomorrow. Don’t tell her anything, Zelda.”

xXx

As the overwhelming sorrow settled in her heart an unprecedented rage filled her. It was only her training that allowed her to hone that rage into something useful. She was almost positive she was being watched so she did what she could to keep up the appearance that she was too upset to be a threat all the while planning out her grand escape.

Darcy took the opportunity to take stock of the room. Suite was more an apt description if she were honest. A queen sized bed done up in expensive sheets, a dresser and closet filled with designer clothing and an ensuite bathroom equipped with luxuries she barely made enough to afford a tenth of. It seemed more like whoever took her was trying to woo her rather than hold her.

By the time Zelda returned she’d worked out a pretty decent plan. She continued her act as the woman entered, never looking away from the sprawling fields outside her window.

“I brought you some food.” She said softly and Darcy could hear the guilt in her voice. “You should eat.” She continued setting the tray of food on the table. Darcy slowly turned to look at her, her face grim before her eyes traveled down to the tray and the spread of food that both looked and smelled amazing. She fought off the pang of hunger turning back to the window. She was hungry.

Judging by the way the sun was setting it was after 6:00 pm and while she didn’t know how much time had passed since she was taken, she knew her last moments in her apartment were around midnight on a Thursday. She hoped she hadn’t been out long; that she hadn’t missed much time. She feared how long Brock’s body had been lying on the floor of her loft and hoped that someone had found him; given him the dignity he deserved. The thought brought tears to her eyes and she wiped them away quickly before returning her gaze to the horizon perpendicular to her window. There was something just beyond that point; she could just make out its dark, blurry silhouette in the waning light. If she could just figure it out; what it was maybe it could be of some use to her.

“Miss Lewis?”

“Agent.” Darcy snapped. She turned to look at the woman who had been tended to her. Darcy’s eyes were like steel as she continued. “It’s agent Lewis.”

“Agent Lewis.” The woman said softly. “Please eat.”

xXx

Zelda Dubois known as Snake Charmer in the circus was a patient woman. It was what made her so valuable as one of Barney’s “Henchmen”. There was very little that could shake such a powerful woman, but ever since Barney came to them with this new mission she had been on edge. She couldn’t shake the thought of how everything could go wrong, of how all of this could backfire on them.

Zelda stopped in front of Barney’s office and knocked before entering. Barney was behind his desk, eyes focused on his computer monitor.

“She’s not eating.” Barney said before she could.

“No, she’s not. She’s angry, she’s sad and she wants answers. I wouldn’t be surprised if she wants revenge.”

Barney sighed, slouching back in his chair. It was rare to see Barney in such a vulnerable state, but Zelda was in a unique position to see him this way.

“She thinks the man that was with her is dead.” Zelda explained. He looked up at her. “It’s quite obvious that she loves him. She thinks he’s dead and for all we know he is.”

As if she knew what was being said, Barney watched on the monitor as Darcy fell over, liquid pooling around her on the floor.

“Shit.” He explained. “Get the medic!” he ordered bursting out of his office.

xXx

“What are you doing?” Jack questioned watching as his team leader strapped on his gear shakily.

“What does it look like?” Brock replied wincing as he fastened his vest across his chest. Despite his own version of the super soldier serum pumping through his veins (a remnant of his times as a mercenary) he still took time to heal. With the beating he took and almost over dosing on the ICER tranquilizers, it was a miracle he could even move.

“You can’t be serious?” Jack looked around the locker room, before stepping in and closing the door. “I know you want to find her, but you’re in no condition to be in the field.”

“I’d like to see you try and stop me.” Brock challenged. Jack sighed.

“You and I both know it would take very little to stop you at this point.”

Brock glared at his oldest friend but Jack stood his ground.

“Luckily, for both of you, it won’t come to that.” Sitwell’s voice cut through the tension. Both men turned their attention on their former Handler. “Agent Rollins will assume tactical command of STRIKE team. I will resume control of operational command, and you, Agent Rumlow, may observe from mission control, but you are here by restricted from field duty until you are completely healed.” Brock opened his mouth to protest. “That’s a direct order from Director Hill.”

Brock glowered but said nothing, turning to strip himself of his gear. Jack watched as he finished, slamming the locker shut and storming out. He found Deputy Director Coulson waiting for him in the hallway.

“An armed escort to make sure I don’t do anything stupid, huh?”

“Not at all.” Coulson replied. “I don’t think you’ll do anything foolish, because I think you know full well that doing so may hurt our chances of finding Agent Lewis.”

“On the contrary,” Brock replied. “Let me make a few phone calls and I’ll have her back in no time.”

“You’re not Crossbones anymore.” Jack interrupted as he and Sitwell stepped into the hallway. Brock didn’t say anything, but deep down he knew Jack was right.

“What we really want to know,” Sitwell began. “Is how long you two have been blatantly breaking the fraternization regulations?”

“Since Christmas.” Brock replied tersely. “And we didn’t say anything because we weren’t sure how serious things were. I didn’t want her to jeopardize her career if by chance it wasn’t anything more than convenience.”

“And we can assume you decided it was more than convenience last month when Darcy asked for information on her options within S.H.I.EL.D.”

Brock nodded. “She told me a few days ago that she had made up her mind and wanted to discuss it.”

Before any of them could reply, Coulson’s phone rang. They waited as he answered it and when he was finished he turned to them. “Agent Skye managed to track the SUV Darcy’s kidnappers used to escape.”

xXx

“I managed to track the SUV to an airfield outside the city. I lost track of them after that, but thanks to Tony’s private satellites I picked them back up in Iowa. They pulled into a barn in a different SUV.”

“Where in Iowa?” Coulson questioned.

“Waverly.” Clint replied.

“Suit up.”

xXx

“Darcy!” Barney exclaimed as he crashed through the door into her suite. As soon as he knelt down beside her he knew something was wrong. “Shit.” He breathed with barely enough time to block the knife she tried to stab him with. He managed to wrench it from her grasp but was unable to stop the blow to the side of his face.

Barney fell back the knife skidding across the floor and Darcy was up landing a kick to his gut before bolting out the door. She rounded the far corner as Zelda appeared from the opposite direction.

“Forget me! Go get her!” she heard Barney yell. She pushed herself harder as the pounding footsteps started behind her. She turned down hallway after hallway, ducking into rooms and only having to scuffle with a few men.

Darcy ducked through a set of double doors and found herself in a training room. She pulled a set of batons off a rack and found a nook behind a machine to hide just as the doors swung open again.

Barney stepped into the gym cautiously, his eyes immediately picking out the missing weapons by the door. “Darcy.” Barney called out. “Please, I just want to talk. Trust me, there’s a lot to talk about.” When he didn’t receive an answer he stepped further in, scanning the room. “Darcy, I know this is all very confusing and you’re very upset about everything, but I promise you if you just give me the chance I can explain everything.”

Meanwhile, Darcy had crept out of her hiding place and prepared to attack. She ran up and leaped up, batons raised. Barney spun around just in time to catch her and toss her to the mats. He tried to pin her but she kicked out, knocking him back. He caught himself quicker than she anticipated and put her on the ground again, his enormous size and the fact that she’d barely eaten working against her.

“Enough.” Barney ground out finally managing to pun her to the floor.

“What do you want?” Darcy exclaimed frustrated.

“I think I was pretty clear. I want to talk.”

“What could we possibly have to talk about?”

Barney sighed.

“Quite a bit actually. Please, if I let you go will you behave?”

Darcy didn’t really think she had any choice. She didn’t have a hope of over powering this man. She nodded and a moment later Barney eased up and stood helping her to her feet.

“Why don’t you go back to your room and get cleaned up and dressed and I’ll have someone escort you to our dining room. We’ll have dinner and I promise you I will explain everything.”

xXx

“When we get to the barn.” Tony began. “We’ll go in through the front. Jack, lead your team through the back and we’ll meet in the middle.”

“Not that I don’t think your perfectly capable of leading the Avengers Stark, but where’s Captain Rogers, and Widow for that matter?” Davis questioned. Coulson was the one to answer.

“Captain Rogers and Agent Romanov are on a classified op and couldn’t be reached in time to assist. Just focus on the mission."

“Yeah, when we rescue Lewis we can totally hold it over their hands when they get back.”

xXx

Darcy did as suggested if only to finally get some answers. She showered quickly then dressed in a pair of jeans and sweater, something she could easily move in and then followed Zelda to a large dining room where the man was waiting for her. It occurred to her as he pulled out her chair for her, that she had no idea who he was.

“I suppose I should start with who I am.” He began as if reading her mind. “My name is Barney Barton. I’m sure you’ve met my little brother.”

Darcy nodded. “Good guy, good friend.”

Barney snorted. “We definitely have differing opinions on that.”

“Yeah, well, your opinion neither matters not holds water.”

“Fair enough.” He replied as Zelda brought them food. She placed the plates in front of them.

“So, Barney Barton, what do you want with me?”

Barney’s demeanor changed at the moment, eyes softening as he watched her. “When Clint and I were kids our parents died in a car accident. Because we didn’t have any other family we ended up in the system. Few years of getting bounced around and we decided it wasn’t for us, so we ran away. Sounding familiar?” he asked watching her face carefully. “We ended up at a circus of all places. Started out as lackeys before we got out own act. Hawkeye and Bullseye.” He paused to take a drink. “That lasted a few years until we realized the circus was a front for a crime ring. Clint and I left, decided our skills could be put to use in the army. So we enlisted and went our separate ways to tie up loose ends but when we were set to meet up again, Clint never showed up.”

“You know, this is all very well and good, but how exactly does your history tell me what I need to know? Like why I’m here.”

“I’m getting to that.” He replied. “When Clint didn’t show up I went AWOL and headed back to our family home. Place was a mess, so I fixed it up. While I was home I became reacquainted with a young woman who I’d known as a child. Beautiful woman, brown hair, blue eyes, we were close as kids. Her name was Lilah and all I heard from her in the time we’d known each other was how she was going to get out of that town, go somewhere, where stuff actually happened.” He chuckled bitterly. “Years later she’s still there all grown up, absolutely gorgeous, still wants out and I guess that worked in my favor because she fell in love with all my stories from the circus. We were together for about a year when she realized I was perfectly happy staying put. One morning I woke up and she was gone.”

“How awful.” She dead panned. “Again, why should I care?”

“Fast forward to six months ago.” He continued on, ignoring her attitude. “I’m in L.A. overseeing a job when who do I run into but Lilah Redfield. She owns her own bakery in the city, amazing pastries, excellent coffee. We got to talking, catching up. She’s married now, two kids, twins, boys. She had no idea what I really do for a living and I didn’t tell her, which is probably why she eventually worked up the nerve to tell me that she was pregnant when she left me. She hid out with some friends in the next town over and after she gave birth she left the baby with Child Protective Services. Are you starting to see where I’m going with this?” Barney questioned taking in the realization that flashed through her eyes. “Clint and I were born in Waverly Iowa and Lilah left our baby girl at CPS in the same place Clint and I went into the system. The irony is not lost on me.”

“You’re… my father?” Darcy spoke slowly and softly, looking away from him, trying to keep her breathing even. “I don’t…. I….”

Barney could understand her reaction; he didn’t exactly expect her to be excited or to start calling him dad. All he really wanted was the chance he’d never gotten; to maybe be a better father than his own.

“I didn’t notice my Bucky Bear was missing for a few years and by then I just assumed it was lost to time. Then Lilah told me she took it as a memento of me and left it with you. Like it would protect you.”

Darcy stood abruptly turning her back on him, her heart racing, and pulse pounding in her ears.

xXx

“There’s nothing here.” Jack practically growled, eyes scanning the empty barn. He could hear Brock curse over the coms.

“The SUV isn’t here either.” Tony added. “Jarvis, do a complete scan of the area above and below ground.”

“Beginning scans now, sir.” Jarvis replied.

“In the meantime spread out.” Coulson ordered. “Search the area for any signs of having been used recently.”

“Copy that.”

xXx

“I know this is difficult to hear Darcy.” Barney spoke softly from his seat at the table. Darcy had taken up starring at a landscape on the wall. The rolling hills similar to the ones outside her window, in fact the longer she looked at it, the more convinced she was that they were one and the same.

“Why did you bring me here? She asked when she finally found her voice.

“You’re a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Getting in contact with you could put my organization at risk.”

“And kidnapping me doesn’t?”

“Also a risk, but for you it’s one I’m willing to take.”

She sighed harshly. “Let’s say I believe you, no questions asked, no doubts. Why the hell would you think, for one moment that I need you in my life nearly thirty years later?”

xXx

“Hey, I think I’ve got something.” Clint called out. “Look at this section of the floor.” a few members of each team gathered around. “This section here.” Clint clarified pointing to a rectangle of floor made of about three floor boards.

“Looks like a trap door.” Agent Clement said.

“Jarvis, did you finish the area scan?” Tony questioned.

“I have sir. I am uploading the scans to the command center now.”

“Anything?” Jack directed through the coms.

“I’ll say.” Skye muttered. “That barn is drawing more power than there are lights in the entire area.”

“Reading indicates it’s using the same amount of power as The Hub.”

“How is that possible?” Davis questioned.

“Larger overviews are downloading.” Skye explained. “Holy shit.”

“What is it?”

“Jarvis picked up an entire structure underneath the barn.”

“What kind of structure?”

“We’ve got concrete, steel. Jarvis picked up some kind of plexi glass, probably bullet proof and heat signatures. There are bodies, living bodies beneath you.”

xXx

“Not being in your life was not my decision.”

“I’m well aware of that.” Darcy replied arms crossed stance defensive. “What I don’t understand it why you would ever think that kidnapping me would ever be a good way to become a part of my life!”

“It certainly wasn’t my best moment.” Barney told her a bit of humor in his voice.

“You think this is funny? This is my life. A life I built from nothing. A career, a family, a…” tears pricked her eyes as Brock flashed through her mind.

“Please Darcy, I know that you’ve done well for yourself, the company you keep is a perfect example of that.” Darcy shook her head. “A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent of all thing, how ironic is that?” he tried to lighten the mood with a little humor but Darcy wasn’t having any of it.

“The company I keep?” she questioned and by the tone of her voice Barney knew he had a long way to go to win her over.

xXx

Clint managed to pry the trap door open and Tony flipped open his face plate to peak inside.

“It’s a control panel.” He explained. “Jarvis, I’m jacking in. Send any data to HQ and hack the controls.”

“Right away sir.”

Within minutes the control panel beeped and the center of the barn floor shifted down into a ramp.

“Well, we found the SUV.” Carmichael commented crouching down to get a look into the lower room. The teams reassembled near the opening and took the ramp into the basement level.

Meanwhile, back at HQ Brock watched, posture ridged, through STRIKE’s body cameras as they descended the ramp. The bunker was filled, crates along the wall on one side while vehicles were parked along another.

“There’s the SUV.” Jack muttered the light on the end of his riffle shinning on the dark tinted windows. “Orders?”

“Groups of two, search the level.” Sitwell replied.

They did as instructed, pairing off and sweeping the sub level.

“I think we’ve got something over here.” Davis called out, Carmichael crouching down near a wall.

“Looks like another hidden panel.” Carmichael asked. He fiddled along the edge when it suddenly started to move. “Whoa, okay, not a panel, we’ve got an elevator.”

“Teams, proceed with caution.” Sitwell told them over the coms.

“We need a strategy.” Jack said.

“Agreed.” Clint replied. “If I know Barney he won’t make this easy.”

“Clement? Did you bring any flash/bang grenades?” Rumlow questioned.

“Yeah, a few.”

“Good, take the elevator down. If there’s anyone at the bottom set one off.”

“Are we sure we want to go in hot?” Davis questioned.

“He’s not going to hurt her.” Clint explained. “If she really is his daughter, he’s not going to hurt her.”

“How can you be sure?” Tony asked.

“Because he’s a lot of things, but he’s not our father.”

xXx

“The company I keep? That’s an interesting expression; let’s examine it a little bit, shall we? Do you mean perhaps my best friend, brilliant scientist and extraordinary woman? Or maybe you mean the Avengers, earth’s mightiest heroes. Oh, or do you mean Agent Coulson or Agent Sitwell who collectively have been better father figures than you could ever hope to be. Or maybe you mean my team who are the only real family I’ve ever known…” she hesitated her breath hitching. Her voice softened as she continued. “Or maybe you’re talking about Brock Rumlow, the only man I have ever envisioned a future with. A good man, a flawed man, a man your men killed!”

“Darcy…”

“No! He wasn’t perfect by any means but I loved him anyway, I loved him because of that. And now I’ll never see him again. I’ll never hear his voice or know what it’s like to grow old with him. Your men may have pulled the trigger, but it’s your fault, and I will never forgive you for that.” She stopped, wiping the tears she hadn’t noticed until then. “I’ve waited; I’ve thought about you my whole life, but now that I know you… I realize I didn’t miss much.”

xXx

The hallway extending from the elevator was empty and there was no one in the surrounding rooms. At the far end of the hall was another elevator, they bypassed it and turned right only to find nothing and have to return to the elevator.

They descended to the next level and found rooms full of crates, the few they could see into were filled with illegal goods.

“Good to see somethings don’t change.” Clint muttered.

The next floor was much the same but instead of crates there were filing cabinets filling room upon room.

It was the next floor down where things started to get interesting. As the elevator door slid open they were forced to fire on two men, officially alerting the base to their presence. They met armed men and women at every turn and with some degree of difficulty they fought through them.

Two more floors passed and with them at least two hundred men. “Where the hell are all of these guys coming from?” Brock grumbled his already frayed nerves splintering as more time passed without finding Darcy.

xXx

Zelda barged in, breath short, eyes wild and full of concern. “Barney! S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers are here, they’ve made it passed the third level.”

“What? Why hasn’t the alarms sounded?”

“They’ve hacked the system; we didn’t even know they had made it into the barn.”

“Fuck.” He breathed turning back to Darcy only to find the place she once stood empty.

Darcy found her way back to her suite, why she had headed back she wasn’t a hundred percent sure but something about the window had been nagging at her since she’d first laid eyes on it. Looking closer now with clear eyes she could see it; the pixels. This wasn’t a window, it was a screen. No more than an oversized HD television screen. This brought to mind the dark shape off to the side in the distance. A glitch in the screen, but not just any glitch, a flash drive jammed along the frame disrupting the display signal. Something she was no doubt meant to find.

xXx

“I’ve got Barney.” Clint called, taking off after said man as he ducked down a hallway away from the approaching teams, a woman, Zelda, following after him. Clint followed Barney and Zelda down hallways left and right until they came up on a back storage room. When Clint came up on them, Barney had opened a panel into an escape tunnel and was helping Zelda through.

“Barney Barton!” Clint called out, weapon at the ready. Barney turned slowly, hands up.

“Keep going Zelda.” Barney called over his shoulder. Clint didn’t argue so grudgingly the woman backed into the tunnel and disappeared into the shadows.

“What the hell are you doing Barney?”

Barney snorted dropping his hands. “What the hell do you think? Just wanted to meet my little girl.”

“She’s not your little girl. She’s a grown woman with a real life who doesn’t need the shit that comes with your life.”

“That’s funny coming from you.”

“Agent Barton, focus please.” Agent Coulson sounded over the coms.

“Get down on the ground, on your knees, hands behind your head.” Clint ordered. Barney moved slowly, doing what he was told.

“How long have you been waiting for this moment?” Barney asked.

“You have the right to remain silent, I suggest you exercise it.”

“Fine. Can I at least ask if that Agent she was with is alive?”

“Why do you care?” Clint questioned, moving around behind Barney.

“I care because Darcy does. She’s convinced he’s dead and I wouldn’t be surprised if she did something stupid because of it.” He punctuated the statement by throwing himself back, knocking Clint off his feet. He dug his elbow into Clint’s gut knocking the wind out of him before pulling himself to his feet and turning to face Clint. “Take care of her kid, she’s gonna need it.” He told his little brother before disappearing through the tunnel, the panel sliding back into place.

“Barton, can you hear me?” Coulson called out. “Clint, your body camera is out, can you hear Me.” there was some wheezing before;

“I read you Control.” Clint coughed as he forced himself to his feet.

“Focus on Lewis, Rumlow, get a private com link. We may have to talk her down.”

xXx

“So far we don’t. We’ve got her.” Tony said, flipping up his face plate as he neared said woman three hallways from her suite. “Lewis.” He called out and she turned to face him, relief across her face as she spotted him. “You alright?” she nodded, stepping closer and flashing him the thumb drive.

“I’ve been better.” She replied taking a deep breath and dropping the drive into an open compartment in Tony’s armor. She let Jack take her arm and lead her back down the hallway.

“He’s gone.” She whispered to him and he looked down at her shaking his head.

“It’s gonna be okay boss.” He soothed.

xXx

“Come on we gotta go!” Rollins yelled over the roar of the engine as Clint ran full speed at the open ramp. He ran up stopping at the top and searching the body for Darcy. He found her sitting on a stationary stretcher against the back wall. He went to her, pulling a spare com piece out and stooping in front of her. Her eyes were cast down and he made her look at him before he placed the com in her ear.

“It’s going to be okay Darce.” He told her. He shot her an awkward sort of smile as he turned to walk away.

“Darcy, sweetheart?” Brock’s voice sounded over the com.

“Brock?” she exhaled, the tears starting up again. “You’re alive?”

“Yeah kid, I’m alive. Didn’t really think they could take me out so easily did you?” her sniffles were his only answer. “It’s okay kid, I…”

“He’s my father Brock. I found my father.”

“I know sweetheart.” He sighed. “I know.”

xXx

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Bonus Scene

“What are looking at?” Pepper questioned as she took a seat beside Tony on the sofa.

“Darcy slipped me a flash drive at Barney’s compound. I got the feeling she didn’t want anyone to know about it.”

“What’s on it?”

“I don’t know yet. It’s very heavily encrypted.” He explained. “It’s going to take me awhile to get this up and running. I’ll have Jarvis do most of it, but it’s complicated.”

“Well, if anyone can do it, you can.”