Not just another dude with a bow

When Clint got the phone call telling him to take the next portal home, he was more amused than concerned. He'd assumed that Fury would get tired of his poorly-spelled emails after a few months and would have made him start checking in in person long before now.

Then Clint saw Hill in the conference room, and he knew this wasn't something routine.

"The tape got out, Clint. It's out there, the videotaped record of Operation: Eucritta."

A small part of Clint had known that he might hear those words someday, but he'd really been hoping it wouldn't happen. Sometimes he had to wonder why he even bothered with hope anymore. "I thought you said that couldn't happen, Agent Hill."

"We said it probably wouldn't happen, but it did, and we're on it," Hill said. "In the meantime, your safety--"

"Isn't the first priority, I know," Clint said quickly. "How many tapes are there? Are there copies? Do I need to go deeper into hiding? I mean, I think I'm pretty far off the radar in Fandom."

"You are, but that's not what we need," Fury said. "Now as far as we know, there's only the one copy of the tape out there."

"Sir, can I say that 'as far as we know' isn't very reassuring right now?" Clint asked.

"No, you may not," Fury said, fixing Clint with a glare that he'd almost come to miss in the last year. "That's the good news. The bad news is that we have less than 48 hours before the tape goes up for auction in Madripoor. After that it's out in the wild."

"And you're out. The whole operation is out," Hill continued. "Any goon with a nine-figure bank account or an AMEX Black will be there, so we're giving you ours and hoping for the best." She reached into a folder and pulled out a credit card, sliding it across the table. "Agent Barton, whatever you do, do not lose this card."

Clint took the card and held onto it tightly, like that was going to be any kind of reassuring to a woman who knew his entire life history. "Okay, you said 'auction' right? What exactly is it you want me to do?"

"Your flight to Madripoor leaves at noon tomorrow," Fury said. "Get your things in order and do not be late. If this tape gets out, it's bad for you, SHIELD, the Avengers, the military, and the President of the United States."

Oh yeah, Clint thought, letting the card dig into his fingers a little more, that was no pressure at all.

[NFB due to distance, OOC okay. Adapted from Hawkeye #4. :D :D :D]