11963/THE RESCUE OF CLINT BARTON!

THE RESCUE OF CLINT BARTON!
Date of Scene:	10 August 2020
Location:	Middle of No Where
Synopsis:	Captain America and Black Widow catch wind of Clint's beacon and rescues him.
Cast of Characters:	Hawkeye (Barton), Captain America, Black Widow (Romanoff)

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Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Over the years, Clint's done some really dumb things. Slammed ATVs into trees, which is why Nat drives those now, shot at a power box and it unexpectedly exploded which wasn't his fault because of bad wiring!... he could keep going on. But this?

Out in the middle of nowhere, on the side of a mountain, having gotten away from a pitched battle with more than a few bumps, bruises and scrapes, well... this might actually take the cake. Extraction might be a little later than sooner, assuming, of course, he can actually get some sort of signal.

Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, aka 'Ass' (as nicknamed by the women in his life) is dressed in something vaguely resembling clothes that might give a little protection from the rough mountain terrain, but for the harsher elements that he knows will be coming if that sky is any indication? He's got more than a couple of day's facial growth, giving some indication that he's been away from anything even resembling 'civilization' for a little while.

As for the chance of a beacon to bounce off the mountain range? He's got to climb at least another 1,000 feet. A weary glance up the seemingly sheer cliff gives him pause, and after a couple of heartbeats in order to get himself psyched up for the continued climb, he mutters, "C'mon.. this is nothing. Goats can do this. You gonna let yourself get beat by a goat?"

****

Having made that extra 1500' up what had initially looked like a sheer cliff, Clint's found an outcropping and with the storm that had come and gone in the days, he's a little more beat up, a little more of a victim of the weather. Survival tricks have kept the archer going, and now, with a fire to keep him vaguely warm, if not completely dry, he's curled up next to it to try and get as much heat out of it as he can, blowing on his hands to give them a little extra something. Near him, there is the carcass of a, yes, dead young mountain goat that had given his life so Clint might continue his.

The sun is rising on the mountain range; he's been gone a few months, and lives another day.

On board the carrier, it's just a beacon that sounds. A ping that could mean anything or nothing in that it's simply a locator device. But, each of them is keyed to an individual, to be activated by said individual.

And that ping happens to belong to one Clinton Barton.

Captain America has posed:
    It wasn't long ago that the question of Clint Barton was brought up once again. The people that knew the man knew he could take care of himself, handle himself, and if he needed help... he'd call. Usually. But with operatives in that deep and that long, there's no telling for sure how well they'll be able to get word out.
    Which is why several weeks ago SHIELD had stepped up its efforts to ping Hawkeye, to get some feedback. Passive efforts, nothing active. Just more people listening and being available in the areas needed where he was last reported to be operating. But nobody would have known he had somehow gotten him that far off course to be somewhere a good sherpa and a llama might be needed.
    In the SHIELD command center, Nat and Cap had been there looking over the latest data on an upcoming op. They were there when the first ping went through and revealed that tell-tale beacon that was coded to... Clint Barton.
    Looks were likely exchanged, then with no words needing shared they broke into a run to the quinjet that was standing on ready in that assisted launch rack that rose out of the water behind the Triskelion. Enough of a maglev boost to get the ship going into the air at a rush, so that when its engines kicked in it was almost already hitting a low earth orbit.
    It was a roar of motion, a rush of speed. And in the bowels of that jet were two Avengers, and a team of agents going in blind.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
There had been strict orders from Agent Romanoff. If anything was related to one Clint Barton, she was to be told first. Didn't matter when or where. His disappearance had her worried. She had thought maybe he'd been captured but she had used her sources and failed to find even a whisper. Perhaps he went on a walkabout. Then the idea of a deep op. But as the time passed, she was getting more concerned about his continued absence.

Just recently, there had been talk among certain agents about trying again to find him.

"I think we should go in through..." The interrupting ping. A narrowing of her eyes and a sharp look at her teammate. A moment later, the mad run for a quinjet. She actually beat him there. A first.

She had taken the stick personally. The flight would be a shot up into the edge of the atmosphere then skipping over for reentry above the location of the beacon. Total travel time should be 30 minutes.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint had managed to start the fire before the storm, but with everything wet, it takes a great deal more tending in order to keep it lit. There are remnants of wooden debris, some soaked 'tinder' that isn't much use as tinder, but if he adds it sparingly, it's fuel. Which means he's got heat. The added benefit of the wet fuel, however, is that it gives off something of a steam into the air.

At this point? If his beacon still works, longshot, and if someone is in the back woods of Tajikistan and feeling like a trip closer to Russia, longshot, then there is a chance that the 'good guys' will find him. If not, well, he's pretty sure the elements'll do that to him before revenge jockeys can begin to figure out where he went. And even then, if he's got an ounce of energy in his body, he'd take them out until his quiver was completely emptied.

Thirty minutes actually means that the man manages to sit up, tend the fire and search the skies again. Upon first glance, the vaunted Hawkeye doesn't actually see anything.

"I bet it's Dinkens on the con," Clint mutters, "Guy owes me forty bucks.."

On the second run, though, movement catches his eye, and while he can't hear any sounds of an engine's whine, he can certainly begin to make the silhouette out. Leaning back against the rock, he closes his eyes for a moment, exhales deeply and opens his eyes again, hoping it wasn't some mirage. Mountains play tricks!

Captain America has posed:
    In the haze of the storm, the rush of white fog in the air, the howl of wind and snow, it's hard to see anything too terribly far, let alone something as simple as the horizon separating the sky from the ground. Then there's the way sound is muffled at times and then alternatively resonates with the distant crackle and crash of ice and snow sloughing down an decline. It is not a pleasant time to be trapped upon such a godforsaken place.
    There's that silhouette he makes out, no engine sound at first. Inside the Quinjet the beacon resonates to being in prominence within a thirty meter range. Cap tilts his head at Natasha, and in this air space... with no prior clearance. It could cause some unhappy phone calls across the world if they're spotted or verified being in position.
    Again no words between Cap and Nat as he stands there behind the pilot's chair, his hand through the supporting loop. He meets Nat's eyes, looks to the side, then nods again as if agreeing to what they both want to do.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
She came in fast and low, to try and stay under any equipment that might sense them. Yet, there is always that danger. Always a chance they have new toys and can spot things even closer to the ground than they were a month ago, or a week. More energy use could cause a spike.

Politics be damned. This is Clint.

The look between the pair then Natasha reached forward, flipping on the full lights to help with the search in the weather. The search beacons were next.

There! A reflection. She hit the camera feed as they zoomed closer. Only to find herself staring at a goat.

"If he put his beacon on a goat to mess up pursuers, I swear I'll kill him myself," she mutters.

Then she picks up that ping and the Quinjet moves closer. Enough to see that heat signature from the fire. The quinjet is put on intercept and a moment later is hovering in front of Agent Clint "Billy Goat" Barton.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint can tell anyone that firsthand experience on the side of the mountain is //not// pleasant. Not by any stretch of the imagination. If anyone even considers asking the archer if he wants to go skiing? There'd be an arrow where there probably shouldn't be.

As the lights come visible, Clint's eyes widen again, and pushing up and against the rock wall behind him, he struggles to his feet. He's wobbly and most definitely has lost weight over the time he'd been away, and is holding his right arm at something of an unnatural angle. And, he really, really doesn't look good with a beard and mustache.

When the Quin lowers itself, blue eyes are searching the cockpit for the pilot.. and he exhales in relief. Out of everyone?

He just might survive the ride back.

"I'm not jumping," is muttered before he calls a little louder, "Could use a hand!" Of course, it probably isn't too much louder than his earlier..

Captain America has posed:
    The dark silhouette in the depths of that jet might be hard to recognize at first. Tall and in uniform, the boots clanking on the opened loading deck as he emerges. Though Clint likely will know who it is by the way the shield on his back alters that profile of the man. And then he steps forth into the brilliant streaming light of one of those floods, extending a gauntlet as he holds onto one of the O-loops that are on the edge of the cargo bay door.
    "Hawkeye!" Cap's voice is muffled by the howl of the engines now and the rush of the wind about, the weight and might of Winter being thrown against them. "Take my hand!"
    He leeeeeans out, far out as he can, a heavy cabled belt around his waist holding him just in case. He strains to reach the archer and then calls out, "Great vacation spot!"

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
Natasha doesn't smile when she sees Clint. She keeps her expression neutral.

The quinjet turns, allowing for for the rear ramp to drop down and the good Captain to near that edge in order to reach for the stray agent.

Her job. Hold that Quinjet steady in the wind that sheers through the spaces in the mountains, against the weather that seems to want to slam it into the wall he is clinging to.

She will not let it budge and it holds rock steady for them.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint looks at the Quin, blinks and looks down over the ledge. It had been a hell of a climb, and if he missed this? It'd be a hell of a fall. It's not hard to see the thought process on his face, covered though it may be with blonde.. not kept beard, and he looks as if perhaps he's come to some decision.

He turns around, back to the Quin for a brief moment to pull his quiver and bow; he'd die before he lost those, and wincing as he sets them across his back, he takes a deep breath. This is going to hurt like hell.

Clint takes a couple of weak running steps and makes a jump in order to try and grab on to Cap's forearm. It's a better spot, and easier for leverage. "What, you didn't get the brochure for the place?" is breathed through gritted teeth. "Guess I had the best offer.."

Kicking his feet so he's makes it slightly easier to get dragged aboard, he's.. spent.

Done.

Captain America has posed:
    Steve heaves a laugh that could be stronger even as he shakes his head. "Don't worry about this, buddy. I got you." He claps his hands together and then lifts his voice for the comms, "Keep her steady, Widow!"
    With that warning he gives a nod to the archer. The archer focuses and then he takes those running steps...
    Cap closes the distance with a quick step as well, balancing on the edge of that ramp, the line snapping taut as he reeeaches...
    And there's that contact, the grasp of the kevlar and monoweave fabric as that gauntlet grabs hold of Clint's arm and with amazing strength he /pulls/ the archer in. Onto the ramp, then back several more feet as he _slams_ the button beside the ramp to cause it to begin closing.
    It's as the hydraulics hiss and the engine whirs to close the door that Cap calls out over his shoulder and on comms as well. "Got him, he's in!"
    So now Nat can get them the heck out of there.

Black Widow (Romanoff) has posed:
"Exit trajectory calculated. Buckle in. Now. We are going verticle on fifteen seconds." Natasha's voice can be heard from the pilot's seat. Calm, emotionless. It's just a job and she is going to get it done.

The search lights and beacons are shut down, taking them back to Dark levels as she kicks in the thrusters to race away from that mountain. A quick dance through the valleys for a moment, skimming low at almost treetop level.

Then a pull on the stick and the Quinjet does go verticle, shooting for that upper atmosphere again just as quickly as it had arrived.

Within 30 minutes, they would be back home.

Once at altitude, the Quinjet evened out on the path home.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
The pull into the Quin is almost enough to knock the archer out, between the elements and injuries sustained; at least he doesn't have to crawl across the deck in order to buckle in. Once he's in place and isn't in any danger of being tossed around the back, Clint closes his eyes, his head rolls back, and he takes a deep breath. It's the first warm, safe, secure spot he's been in months.

"I just want to sleep now.." A thirty minute nap? Well, that pretty much insures he's not going to be waking up after 30 minutes.