Beyond Thunderdome: Clint and Noriko

[om_surge]

Clint and Noriko were left behind when LXQ mounted their op, so they mount one of their own. As you do. Just in case it's needed.


Abby had been kidnapped.

Clint had, okay, he'd kind of flew off the handle when Coulson had told him that she had been taken and that he wasn't allowed to come along to rescue her. Because he wasn't on the teams. Because he wasn't eighteen. He'd seen more in his lifetime than half the people on the senior team and he wasn't allowed to go save his - friend, good friend, fuck it, partial girlfriend - from some demented mutant collector, or whatever the guy was.

So Clint had kind of lost it.

But the more he'd thought about it, the more he'd rolled Coulson's words around in his head, and the more he'd realized his friend had given him every single piece of information he'd needed to follow them. Coulson had practically begged him to trail and provide backup...in his own Coulson way.

He was still pissed, make no fucking mistake. But it at least gave him something to do, and that was good enough. He didn't exactly run through the halls toward the elevator down to the sublevels, since running would probably be a total giveaway that he had something up his sleeve, but he moved with purpose, hooking his armguard and glove on as he moved, the quiver already bumping his hip, bow case slung over one shoulder.

A blur of blue electricity resolved itself into a small Japanese girl at the end of the corridor. "Well, that answers my question," Noriko stated evenly, arms crossed over her chest, waiting for him to reach her. Yeah, she'd been looking for Clint.

Clint eyed her and kept moving, punching the button for the lift downstairs. "What question?" he asked, his voice clipped and gruff. He'd managed to wrangle most of his rage, but there was only so far he could go with being cordial in the face of everything.

"How you're dealing with being left behind," Noriko answered, turning to wait for the elevator beside him, apparently unfazed by his restrained anger.

He glanced at her, then punched the button again, like it had somehow offended him. "It's bullshit. Why are you still here, anyway?"

"I was in the City, I only just got back," Noriko replied. Talk about shitty timing. "Phil talked to you?"

Her other question was, had Phil given Clint as much intel as he had given her, because she wouldn't exactly be surprised. They had their whole thing going on.

"Yeah." And at that, he slid into the elevator and glanced sideways at her. "Why?"

"Just checking we're on the same page," Noriko answered, and leaned past him to hit the button.

"Hey," he protested at the button pushing, and frowned that she'd hit the one for the level he was going to. Well. So much for sneaking out alone. "Seriously?"

"Back-up, right?" Noriko checked his intentions. He had the sniper thing down pat with his bow, and she could join the fray in a second, if needed. And you never knew what might be needed.

Clint sighed. "Fine, but I get to gear you up. I'm not getting Phil's girlfriend killed."

Noriko gave him a sideways look; whether at the intention or the way he referred to her, or both, was left up to his appreciation. "Whatever you need to feel better."

Fortunately, Philip left his office (broom closet) unlocked, so Clint just sailed right in when they got to the second sub-level, hauling open a cabinet behind his friend's desk that held all of their DR equipment. A pair of comms were tossed on the desk, along with two kevlar vests, a spare quiver of arrows, and a travel first aid kit. He leaned in and fished around at the back and came up with a spare pair of sunglasses too, and tossed them to Noriko.

"Scott leads the senior team, right?" he asked as he hooked the second quiver to his belt.

"Yeah," Noriko confirmed, fitting the comm into her ear but looking at the kevlar vest doubtfully. She picked it up and handed it back to Clint. "And okay, no offense, but I'm gonna go grab mine. Its a little less obviously three sizes too big for me." She only then noticed the sunglasses, and lifted them with an inquisitive look at Clint. Not part of her usual gear, for sure.

Clint just shrugged as he grabbed his vest and pulled it on. Normally, he wouldn't use it, but he had a feeling Noriko might tell on him otherwise. "Take 'em or leave 'em. But we're taking Summers' bike."

"You got a death wish?" Noriko asked with a skeptical look, and put the sunglasses back down. That was what helmet visors were for; she had zero intention of getting stopped by the cops on the way for riding without a helmet on.

"Would you rather take the bus?" Clint snorted at her. "I know his bike and motorcycles are easier to hotwire. Besides. He's the one that kept me off of this rescue anyway."

Noriko was briefly tempted to try and break into Scott's room to get his key, but hotwiring the bike would be less messy on all counts. "I'm driving," she decided, and it didn't sound negotiable, the way she said it. Scott might only try and maim them if she was the one driving. "Meet you in the garage," she added, and took a few steps away normal speed before lighting up to go and grab a skinny-girl-sized vest from the LXQ supplies. No gearing up in full uniform today.

She didn't usually use her electricity that often, but today was a special day, clearly.

"What the hell?!" Clint yelled at the empty room. First Steve, now Noriko. One day he would have his own bike, and no one would be able to make him ride passenger. Grabbing the leftover comm, he fit it in his ear and grabbed his bow case, slinging it back over his shoulder to book it out the door. As it was, Noriko was going to be waiting on him.

That gave her time to grab the old leather jacket she'd bought in the thrift store from her room, and hotwire the bike, before Clint got there. The bike was purring between her legs, and she had her gauntlets back on, by the time he walked into the garage. If Scott was going to be pissed at her, she might as well take responsibility for everything done to his bike today, the way she saw it.

"Come on," she stated once Clint joined her. Her helmet was hanging off one hand, and she nodded towards Scott's so Clint would grab it for himself.

Clint stumbled to a stop when he noticed that she already had the bike going, then frowned at the helmet. "Seriously?"

"You wanna risk getting pulled over on the way?" Noriko asked, pretty damn rhetorically, and put her own on.

"I'm starting to get why you and Phil are together," he muttered, shoving his shooting glasses into a pocket in his quiver before grabbing the helmet and pulling it on. In the next movement, he swung onto the bike behind her, giving her hip a tap when he was seated.

The garage door opened by the time he was in place, Noriko got going immediately. He didn't need to be given the speech about riding pillion, she was pretty certain.

***

Noriko had killed the bike a little way from the actual compound, and they'd trekked the rest of the way through a small wood, staying out of sight. Her instinct was to go in blazing, so to speak, but she was just back-up, and she didn't want to risk jeopardizing Scott's op, so she was following Clint's lead.

They were coming up on the actual buildings - a small house off to one side, a larger building, and a monster of one right across from it, likely where the main action was happening.

"What's the plan?" she asked Clint, staying hidden from sight behind a tree.

Clint peered around the tree he was pressed against, his gaze moving over the buildings - windows, ledges, and the guards moving between them. "Do you know hand signals?"

"Regular military, yeah," Noriko confirmed with a nod.

"Good," he flashed her a grin and slid his shooting glasses on. "Keep your head down and follow my lead."

With that, he slipped out from behind the tree and sprinted toward the ten foot tall concrete wall that bordered the compound. He didn't have to worry about whether Noriko could keep up, at least. All he had to do was make sure he timed his own movements between the patrols. As soon as they hit the base of the wall, he held up a hand for her to stop, then flicked his bow open, nocking a grappling arrow.

This was why it was good to keep working on regular running, too. You never knew when you'd need to be fast and discreet, something that couldn't exactly be said of her electrified superspeed. She followed a couple of yards after Clint, far enough to see things coming and give them both room to maneuver, close enough not to lose him. She stopped when he signaled her, putting her back to the wall and keeping an eye on their surroundings while he worked.

Clint aimed up at the building that loomed close to the wall, noting the balcony that worked its way around what looked like a series of offices or apartments. When he let the arrow fly, it hit high, leaving a line trailing over the wall, almost straight up three stories. Sliding the bow over his shoulder again, he took hold of the release at the end of the line and held his other arm out to her, nodding close to his body. He wasn't used to carrying people up with him, but hey, he was strong, she was small, and there was a first time for everything, right?

Noriko moved in close immediately, without thinking twice about it. She trusted him and his gear, and she wrapped her arms around him to hold on.

He hooked his arm around her, then took a deep breath. This would work. It had to work. Tony made these things heavy-duty. So it would work.

Then he released the trigger.

They shot up into the air, Clint's arm tightening bruisingly around Noriko's waist to keep from dropping her. Suddenly, he was really glad she was wearing a vest. He let go of the line as soon as they were over the balcony, but it was higher up than he thought and they dropped hard.

Noriko was just as happy about the vests, both on her and on him, given how hard she was gripping him. Better safe than sorry and all. She let go of him when they dropped - instinct, as it was way easier to pull off a good landing on your own, and if you screwed it up, you were less likely to injure anyone - and stumbled to catch her balance, reaching a hand out to the wall to steady herself. One of her ankles hadn't landed right, but moving it around a little assured her that it wasn't sprained, and she looked back at Clint and nodded.

The landing wasn't ideal. Clint hit the wall with his shoulder, but it at least kept him upright. He caught sight of Noriko working her foot around and he nodded to it in question. Was she hurt?

Noriko gave him a thumbs-up to assure him that she was good, taking in their surroundings as she did so. The windows beside them were dark, but once her eyes had acclimated, she could see empty bunk beds inside. She looked back at Clint and pointed upwards with raised eyebrows, assuming that getting on the roof was the plan.

He quirked a half-grin. He always went up, when it was an option. Besides, it would give them a bird's eye view of the compound and hopefully a general idea of how the team was doing. A quick lock-pick later, they were in the building and moving through a large room that had clearly been set aside as some kind of barracks. There weren't any chains on the beds, so Clint felt pretty that they were set aside for the guards.

Motioning her forward with him, he checked a nearby door, just a crack, then ducked inside, grabbing a couple of jackets off the hooks. He'd just ducked back out to hand one of the jackets to Nori when he caught a flash of movement down the row and grabbed her by the arm instead, tugging her silently into the closet along beside him.

Noriko had only just grabbed the jacket he held out to her when he suddenly jerked her into the closet, and she leaned against him to catch her balance, knowing better than to say a word. The lights came on, and a shadow moved in front of the closet twice, but then the footsteps vanished into the nearby hall, and there was darkness again.

She pushed the door open and peered out before giving Clint the all-clear. She grabbed a cap from the closet while she was at it, to try and hide her conspicuous hair, and pulled it on as well as the jacket, before they hit the hallway.

Clint fell into step beside her, keeping his stride even and calm. Running was a hell of a lot louder than walking. It also gave him a chance to get his bearings and check out the building's layout. It took them a couple of minutes, but he finally spotted the stairs, flicking a little hand motion to follow.

Just as they rounded the first flight of stairs, however, he nearly ran head on into another guard, who stared at them for a moment, then started to reach for his radio.

In retrospect, maybe Noriko should have chosen another course of action. But right then and there, with no time to think, she went with her instincts, which were both aggressive and physical. A burst of speed put her behind the guard and, before he could react, she'd brought her joined hands down on his nape, effectively knocking him out. He dropped to the floor, and she looked from his prone form up at Clint. "At least we get his radio," she wryly whispered.

But leaving an unconscious guard sprawling in the staircase didn't sound like a plan, and she wished her speed came electricity-free. She could've dropped him in the dorms in an instant.

Clint smirked, then leaned down to grab the guy and, after a couple of hefts, throw him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. "Guess he's coming with us," he murmured. "Grab my bow and the radio and keep going up."

Noriko did as she was told and followed after Clint and a little to his side, just in case they met any more bad surprises. He had his hands full, after all - literally.

But the rest of the way up the stairs went without a hitch, and they were soon stepping out onto the roof, keeping low just in case anybody was watching as they aimed for the ledge. Noriko cast a glance at the unconscious guard when Clint put him down; note to self, never go out again without some zip ties. You lived and learned, apparently.

Things had clearly started below. Kids were rushing out of the main building in what looked like a panicked mess, and Noriko held his bow out to Clint when a guard rushed out the door after them.

Despite the fact that it was the first time he'd ever shot at someone that wasn't wearing super-armor, Clint didn't hesitate. He took the bow from her hands, flicked it out, nocked, and fired an arrow into the guard's thigh, then another into the hand reaching for a gun. "Thanks. See any of our friends?"

"I think I saw a blur for a second," Noriko answered, but she honestly couldn't be sure - nor could she know which one it would have been. And it mostly looked like they were still inside.

Clint scanned the compound, noting a large building off to one side that seemed to be a group of offices. At least, the helicopter on the roof kind of indicated that. There was also a massive structure in the center that he didn't even want to know about. Noriko was right, though. No sign of any of the senior team members; not even Phil. And no sign of Abby, either. From the looks of things, most of the kids seemed to be streaming out of the large building in the center, so he supposed that everyone else must be inside. "I'm gonna cover the kids. Keep an ear on that radio and let me know their movements?"

"An ear on that radio, an eye on our friend," Noriko confirmed, moving back to crouch beside the unconscious guard. They had no way of knowing how long he'd be out.

"Good point," Clint agreed, nocking another arrow. "Next time, remind me to bring zip ties."

"Next time, I'll remind myself," Noriko replied with a humorless half smile.