Budapest

Chapter 14

"Fancy seeing you here, brother."
Clint tenses.
"You were dead."
"Come now, Clint, do I look dead to you?"
"No but you should be. You're a traitor."
"Wow are still angry about me leaving? You need to let that go."
"Not to the extent that you did." Says Clint.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"You know damn well what I mean Barney. You let her die. She trusted you...I trusted you. But I guess money means more to you than family. You let us all go."
The smirk leaves Barney's face.

"How'd you know about the money? And why do you think I was the killer?"
Clint locks eyes with Barney. Anger burns in Clint's eyes while Barney's hold a different emotion.
'Sadness? Regret? Pity? No....none of those.'
Barney was filled with emptiness.
•
"How'd I know?"
Barney nodded.
"I was there!" Clint spat on the ground. His saliva had mixed with blood.
"I saw everything. You taking the money, the bullet ending her life. Yes Barney, I saw you abandon me right after you blamed everything on me. You are no longer my brother. You are my target. And I never miss."

The smirk was back on Barney's face.

"I'm not your target. We share a target. The Black Widow. And I promised my leaders I'd make her death long and painful. Just like yours is about to be."
•
Clint hears the knife being unsheathed before he sees it. He blocks Barney's arm with his own.
"Since when could you hear so well? Last time I checked, you were half-deaf!"
Barney flips backward, tossing his knife to his other hand. Just as quickly as Barney lands, Clint is holding him in a headlock.
Barney uses his elbow to attempt an escape, aiming it at Clint's nose. There's a crack and grunt. Clint wipes the blood onto his sleeve. His nose is definitely broken. After being released from the headlock, Barney had armed himself with a gun.
"Check mate." Hisses Barney.
Clint throws his knife at his opponents hand. It finds its mark.
Barney mutters something unintelligible as he pulls the knife out of his skin. He is greeted with blood splattering on his face.
•
The knife clangs as it hits the ground, drops of blood land on the black gun that had been dropped moments before.
"There's a lot of things you don't know about me Barney."
Clint blocks the kick thrown his way with his hands.
"For example, I know how to block your attacks now."
The impact of Barney's fist to his leg makes him buckle briefly.
"Not all of them Clint. Not all of them."
Clint grabs at Barney's fist and twists it until Barney is forced to turn. Clint holds Barney's arm against his back before quickly jerking it and pushing it against the nearby wall.
The popping sound is drowned out by Barney's muffled scream. He has his uniform collar in his mouth to stop himself from blacking out.
•
Clint steps back as Barney falls to the ground, clutching at his shoulder.
'That's dislocated for sure.'
"Shoulder for a nose." Spits Clint.
He turns his back and walks towards the fallen gun.
"I didn't kill her." Says Barney.
Clint's body stays planted to the ground but his head turns slightly. He can see his so-called older brother slumped against the wall. Blood runs from his hand and down the arm that is supporting his dislocated shoulder.
Barney's eyes are dazed as he repeats his words.
"I...didn't...kill her."
Clint turns his whole body around with his gun raised to end this man's lies permanently
"Who did then?" Asks Clint.
One word is all it takes to unhinge him.

"You"