27Aug22 - Where In The World Was Clint Barton - Option 41: Answering An Exclusive Invitation
Title: Where In The World Was Clint Barton - Option 41: Answering An Exclusive Invitation
Author: Beriaearwen
Crossover: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Avengers
Rating: Suitable for people over 13
Word Count: 1876
Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Mutant Enemy, etc. The characters of _ belong to _, etc. All are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Note: So… Not sure why this came to mind today, but at least I wasn’t struggling for an idea, so I’ll count it a win.
Summary: “Sounds a little like ‘Ten Little Indians’ to me.”
Where In The World Was Clint Barton - Option 41: Answering An Exclusive Invitation
By Beriaearwen
“Invitation for you on the table, honey!” Laura called out from the laundry room as Clint came through the back door.
“Do you know for what?” he queried, picking up the envelope with his name and address in careful calligraphy on the front. He flipped it over, but there was no return address. Looking at the front once more, the postmark was from Athens, Greece. His brow furrowed as he tried to recall who he might know in the Mediterranean, but no names came to mind. Grabbing a plastic letter opener, he slit the envelope and tipped the contents onto the table.
There was only a card with an engraved invitation on it. Apparently, he was invited to a weekend at an island, not near Greece, but in the Orkney Island group. The invitation explained that there would be a ferry to bring all guests to the island at a given time and date.
Clint glanced up as Laura came in, a laundry basket tucked on her hip. “What is it?” she asked, curious.
“Take a look,” Clint offered, moving the invitation so she could more easily read it.
She took a moment to review the card and then shook her head. “It sounds a little like ‘Ten Little Indians’ to me,” she admitted. At Clint’s blank look, she added, “Agatha Christie? Also known as ‘And Then There Were None’? Never mind, we’ll watch it tonight.”
“Movie night with the wife, something to look forward to. I’ll bring the wandering hands,” he teased.
“You may not be the only one with wandering hands,” Laura teased back, giving him a quick peck.
“I do like the way you think, Mrs. Barton,” Clint called as Laura’s laughter trailed behind her.
Looking back at the invitation, he debated what to do before determining to call Fury in the morning.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Clint was leaning against the wall of the shelter waiting for the others to arrive for their ferry ride to the island. He wasn’t sure who all would be coming and had gotten there early so he could watch. Knowing who else was on their way would give him a better idea of what to expect and maybe help him figure out who was behind this.
He wasn’t worried about a reenactment of a murder mystery novel. Sure, he had blood on his hands, or red in his ledger as Nat put it, but he also came prepared with a sat phone and several other communicators.
He hadn’t waited too long when another car drove up and a couple stepped out. They weren’t familiar to him, but he supposed there must be some connection. He watched them interact and listened to their speech. They were definitely from England, given the accent. Probably London.
Slowly others began to arrive. There were nine of them total for the boat and Clint had only recognized one and that had been from a news report, not from work. Just as the ferry pulled up, a taxi appeared and a tenth person exited, along with a satchel and a suitcase. His first that was that she was over-packed, the second was a swear he would never say in front of his kids.
Buffy Summers.
Here he was, at the far reaches of the world and one of the people SHIELD had been hunting and tracking for years wanders right up to him. It was SHIELD who had her and her organization declared terrorists, though it only was effective within the US. They had repealed that shortly after, once several other countries started applying pressure and demanded their proof.
When it turned out they didn’t have anything but rumor and conjecture, they had no choice but to withdraw the label. That didn’t mean they stopped looking, though.
As she turned, he noticed her scan each person in front of her before locking gazes with him.
He saw something in her eyes before a mask slid into place. He just wasn’t sure what he’d seen. He had no doubt about how she recognized him. He wasn’t exactly low profile during the Battle of New York.
Before she could approach, the captain of the ferry called out for them to board.
Moving forward, he made sure he had a tight grip on his bag and allowed the others to board first. He’d wait for Summers to approach him. He doubted it would take long. He just needed to find a quiet spot and wait.
They were halfway into their 40-minute trip when she stopped beside him and leaned on the rail, hands cupping a mug of coffee.
“So, did you get anything more than an invitation?” she asked.
His eyebrows rose. That was not where he thought she would begin. “No. Mine was postmarked Athens, Greece.”
“Hmm,” she replied thoughtfully. “Mine was from Berlin, Germany.”
“Ever been to Berlin?” he asked.
Buffy took a sip of her coffee, obviously debating how much to share. “Changed planes there once. You spend more time that in Athens?”
“I don’t recall spending even that much time in Athens,” he replied honestly. He’d spent time outside of Athens and in the environs, but never in the city itself.
“Haven’t gotten much more than names from everyone else,” she admitted. “Do you know, or would you like an overview?”
Clint looked at her. “Why are you being so helpful? You know who I work for and that you’re considered a person of interest.”
She looked out at the water for several seconds before sighing and turning toward him. “My little sister made a joke about the invitation and the book ‘Ten Little Indians’ by Agatha Christie. While I don’t think there’s someone behind the scenes planning our deaths for crimes we won’t admit to, I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
“And?”
“And, knowing who you work for and what your record says, I’m hoping that there’s at least one person willing to trust me, at least to get us both off the island.”
Clint studied her face. From everything he could tell, she was being honest. “I have a wife and children.”
“I’ll make sure you see them again,” Buffy stated, completely confident.
Clint released a slow breath. This felt sort of like when he first recruited Nat - dangerous. “OK. Give me the breakdown.”
Buffy nodded and turned to lean back against the railing. Clint followed her lead and listened as she began to explain what she’d found out about their fellow travelers.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
The entire group had met in the lounge for before dinner cocktails when rain started coming down in heavy sheets. Lighting, thunder and strong wind followed.
All of them looked out the windows, but none of them were overly worried. They had all checked the weather before leaving and knew that there was a storm in the area heading toward the island. They had been assured by the help that there was no need to worry. The generator was in good condition, and they had plenty of fuel for it as well as clean water and food. Communication may be in and out, but it was pretty normal for the area.
They had all just settled back into their chit-chat when a stranger walked in.
Clint didn’t recognize him and he could see that most of the others didn’t either. Buffy’s hand tightened on her glass, but that was the only tell that she either knew him or knew of him.
“Good evening. You may call me Mr. Brown. I am aware that the invitation and the setting seems a little dramatic and has probably brought to mind a certain novel which spawned many similar stories. But I assure you, I have not brought you here to murder you one by one. In fact, I have no nefarious purpose at all. But there is a purpose. If you can’t figure it out yourselves before the end of the weekend, I’ll reveal it to you and hope for the best. But really, it would be better for you to figure it out yourselves.”
“Don’t we at least get a hint?” a man who had introduced himself simply as Hank asked.
“That hadn’t been my intention,” Mr. Brown replied. “Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes. And as for a clue? Kevin Bacon.” With that said, he turned and left the room.
“Kevin Bacon?” Clint murmured.
Buffy’s eyes scanned from person to person and it was obvious she was reviewing what he had said. “Six Degrees Of Kevin Bacon,” she said with a sigh.
“What?” Clint asked, baffled.
“There was a movie, ‘Six Degrees Of Separation’, based on the theory that if you took two completely random people from anywhere in the world, you could connect them through others by no more than six social connections. So, I know you but I don’t know your wife. You do know your wife, so I’m two degrees removed from her. The reference to Kevin Bacon is about a game that came out. He originally joked that he’s been in so many movies with so many people that you could connect him to anyone who worked in Hollywood within six degrees.”
“So, not people we know, but sort of a friend of a friend type thing,” he stated, looking at the others again.
“Yeah,” Buffy agreed, also viewing the people and reviewing what she knew of them.
“So, wait. I know you now, but how we were connected before?” he asked.
Buffy’s nose wrinkled. “You ran into an ex of mine on a missing in Argentina. After the Battle of New York, he actually bragged about it.”
“So, we were two degrees to begin with,” he stated.
“Yep, but now we just have to figure out everyone else.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
As weather does in the North Atlantic as certain times of year, it decided to be unpredictable, and they ended up spending a week and a half on the island. They did have brief periods where their phones would work so they could call out, but the waters were too rough for the trip back.
Overall, it had been a productive weekend. Not everyone who was there were the decision makers in their organizations, but everyone was well respected enough that they were listened to by their superiors.
Most of the people agreed they wanted to connect with Clint not because of his ties to SHIELD, but because of his ties to the Avengers. He was just the most approachable one for those who needed to stay out of the spotlight.
As they were waiting on the dock for the ferry to return, Buffy’s expression turned to surprise and her eyes darted to Clint at the same time as several others.
“What?” he demanded.
“Um…” Buffy began. “So, apparently our being wary of SHIELD was more justified than we thought.”
He was just about to demand more information when she continued.
“Apparently Hydra had worked their way deep within SHIELD and Captain America and Black Widow had to burn it to the ground,” she rushed out.
Clint blinked at her as he processed the words. He then let out a long breath and rubbed his face. He really didn’t want to deal with that. “At least life’s never boring,” he responded with a shake of his head.
End
Author: Beriaearwen
Crossover: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Avengers
Rating: Suitable for people over 13
Word Count: 1876
Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Mutant Enemy, etc. The characters of _ belong to _, etc. All are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Note: So… Not sure why this came to mind today, but at least I wasn’t struggling for an idea, so I’ll count it a win.
Summary: “Sounds a little like ‘Ten Little Indians’ to me.”
Where In The World Was Clint Barton - Option 41: Answering An Exclusive Invitation
By Beriaearwen
“Invitation for you on the table, honey!” Laura called out from the laundry room as Clint came through the back door.
“Do you know for what?” he queried, picking up the envelope with his name and address in careful calligraphy on the front. He flipped it over, but there was no return address. Looking at the front once more, the postmark was from Athens, Greece. His brow furrowed as he tried to recall who he might know in the Mediterranean, but no names came to mind. Grabbing a plastic letter opener, he slit the envelope and tipped the contents onto the table.
There was only a card with an engraved invitation on it. Apparently, he was invited to a weekend at an island, not near Greece, but in the Orkney Island group. The invitation explained that there would be a ferry to bring all guests to the island at a given time and date.
Clint glanced up as Laura came in, a laundry basket tucked on her hip. “What is it?” she asked, curious.
“Take a look,” Clint offered, moving the invitation so she could more easily read it.
She took a moment to review the card and then shook her head. “It sounds a little like ‘Ten Little Indians’ to me,” she admitted. At Clint’s blank look, she added, “Agatha Christie? Also known as ‘And Then There Were None’? Never mind, we’ll watch it tonight.”
“Movie night with the wife, something to look forward to. I’ll bring the wandering hands,” he teased.
“You may not be the only one with wandering hands,” Laura teased back, giving him a quick peck.
“I do like the way you think, Mrs. Barton,” Clint called as Laura’s laughter trailed behind her.
Looking back at the invitation, he debated what to do before determining to call Fury in the morning.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Clint was leaning against the wall of the shelter waiting for the others to arrive for their ferry ride to the island. He wasn’t sure who all would be coming and had gotten there early so he could watch. Knowing who else was on their way would give him a better idea of what to expect and maybe help him figure out who was behind this.
He wasn’t worried about a reenactment of a murder mystery novel. Sure, he had blood on his hands, or red in his ledger as Nat put it, but he also came prepared with a sat phone and several other communicators.
He hadn’t waited too long when another car drove up and a couple stepped out. They weren’t familiar to him, but he supposed there must be some connection. He watched them interact and listened to their speech. They were definitely from England, given the accent. Probably London.
Slowly others began to arrive. There were nine of them total for the boat and Clint had only recognized one and that had been from a news report, not from work. Just as the ferry pulled up, a taxi appeared and a tenth person exited, along with a satchel and a suitcase. His first that was that she was over-packed, the second was a swear he would never say in front of his kids.
Buffy Summers.
Here he was, at the far reaches of the world and one of the people SHIELD had been hunting and tracking for years wanders right up to him. It was SHIELD who had her and her organization declared terrorists, though it only was effective within the US. They had repealed that shortly after, once several other countries started applying pressure and demanded their proof.
When it turned out they didn’t have anything but rumor and conjecture, they had no choice but to withdraw the label. That didn’t mean they stopped looking, though.
As she turned, he noticed her scan each person in front of her before locking gazes with him.
He saw something in her eyes before a mask slid into place. He just wasn’t sure what he’d seen. He had no doubt about how she recognized him. He wasn’t exactly low profile during the Battle of New York.
Before she could approach, the captain of the ferry called out for them to board.
Moving forward, he made sure he had a tight grip on his bag and allowed the others to board first. He’d wait for Summers to approach him. He doubted it would take long. He just needed to find a quiet spot and wait.
They were halfway into their 40-minute trip when she stopped beside him and leaned on the rail, hands cupping a mug of coffee.
“So, did you get anything more than an invitation?” she asked.
His eyebrows rose. That was not where he thought she would begin. “No. Mine was postmarked Athens, Greece.”
“Hmm,” she replied thoughtfully. “Mine was from Berlin, Germany.”
“Ever been to Berlin?” he asked.
Buffy took a sip of her coffee, obviously debating how much to share. “Changed planes there once. You spend more time that in Athens?”
“I don’t recall spending even that much time in Athens,” he replied honestly. He’d spent time outside of Athens and in the environs, but never in the city itself.
“Haven’t gotten much more than names from everyone else,” she admitted. “Do you know, or would you like an overview?”
Clint looked at her. “Why are you being so helpful? You know who I work for and that you’re considered a person of interest.”
She looked out at the water for several seconds before sighing and turning toward him. “My little sister made a joke about the invitation and the book ‘Ten Little Indians’ by Agatha Christie. While I don’t think there’s someone behind the scenes planning our deaths for crimes we won’t admit to, I don’t have a good feeling about this.”
“And?”
“And, knowing who you work for and what your record says, I’m hoping that there’s at least one person willing to trust me, at least to get us both off the island.”
Clint studied her face. From everything he could tell, she was being honest. “I have a wife and children.”
“I’ll make sure you see them again,” Buffy stated, completely confident.
Clint released a slow breath. This felt sort of like when he first recruited Nat - dangerous. “OK. Give me the breakdown.”
Buffy nodded and turned to lean back against the railing. Clint followed her lead and listened as she began to explain what she’d found out about their fellow travelers.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
The entire group had met in the lounge for before dinner cocktails when rain started coming down in heavy sheets. Lighting, thunder and strong wind followed.
All of them looked out the windows, but none of them were overly worried. They had all checked the weather before leaving and knew that there was a storm in the area heading toward the island. They had been assured by the help that there was no need to worry. The generator was in good condition, and they had plenty of fuel for it as well as clean water and food. Communication may be in and out, but it was pretty normal for the area.
They had all just settled back into their chit-chat when a stranger walked in.
Clint didn’t recognize him and he could see that most of the others didn’t either. Buffy’s hand tightened on her glass, but that was the only tell that she either knew him or knew of him.
“Good evening. You may call me Mr. Brown. I am aware that the invitation and the setting seems a little dramatic and has probably brought to mind a certain novel which spawned many similar stories. But I assure you, I have not brought you here to murder you one by one. In fact, I have no nefarious purpose at all. But there is a purpose. If you can’t figure it out yourselves before the end of the weekend, I’ll reveal it to you and hope for the best. But really, it would be better for you to figure it out yourselves.”
“Don’t we at least get a hint?” a man who had introduced himself simply as Hank asked.
“That hadn’t been my intention,” Mr. Brown replied. “Dinner will be ready in twenty minutes. And as for a clue? Kevin Bacon.” With that said, he turned and left the room.
“Kevin Bacon?” Clint murmured.
Buffy’s eyes scanned from person to person and it was obvious she was reviewing what he had said. “Six Degrees Of Kevin Bacon,” she said with a sigh.
“What?” Clint asked, baffled.
“There was a movie, ‘Six Degrees Of Separation’, based on the theory that if you took two completely random people from anywhere in the world, you could connect them through others by no more than six social connections. So, I know you but I don’t know your wife. You do know your wife, so I’m two degrees removed from her. The reference to Kevin Bacon is about a game that came out. He originally joked that he’s been in so many movies with so many people that you could connect him to anyone who worked in Hollywood within six degrees.”
“So, not people we know, but sort of a friend of a friend type thing,” he stated, looking at the others again.
“Yeah,” Buffy agreed, also viewing the people and reviewing what she knew of them.
“So, wait. I know you now, but how we were connected before?” he asked.
Buffy’s nose wrinkled. “You ran into an ex of mine on a missing in Argentina. After the Battle of New York, he actually bragged about it.”
“So, we were two degrees to begin with,” he stated.
“Yep, but now we just have to figure out everyone else.”
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
As weather does in the North Atlantic as certain times of year, it decided to be unpredictable, and they ended up spending a week and a half on the island. They did have brief periods where their phones would work so they could call out, but the waters were too rough for the trip back.
Overall, it had been a productive weekend. Not everyone who was there were the decision makers in their organizations, but everyone was well respected enough that they were listened to by their superiors.
Most of the people agreed they wanted to connect with Clint not because of his ties to SHIELD, but because of his ties to the Avengers. He was just the most approachable one for those who needed to stay out of the spotlight.
As they were waiting on the dock for the ferry to return, Buffy’s expression turned to surprise and her eyes darted to Clint at the same time as several others.
“What?” he demanded.
“Um…” Buffy began. “So, apparently our being wary of SHIELD was more justified than we thought.”
He was just about to demand more information when she continued.
“Apparently Hydra had worked their way deep within SHIELD and Captain America and Black Widow had to burn it to the ground,” she rushed out.
Clint blinked at her as he processed the words. He then let out a long breath and rubbed his face. He really didn’t want to deal with that. “At least life’s never boring,” he responded with a shake of his head.
End