Chapter 24: *C23 - Too close. . .
E/d note: Before you read, you need to pay the cookie tax! This chapter is the continuation of the simulated world! As such, no MTL chapters were used when I wrote this.
'Inner dialogue/thoughts'
"Normal dialogue"
[System]
[Diary entries]
(Word count: 1,957)
~ With Luke in the simulated world, 2 years later ~
"We're back!" Luke announced as he stepped into 'The Farm'. The Farm was a codename referring to the farmhouse that Clint's family resided in. Luke had been officially introduced to the Bartons a few months back. To say he was surprised that Clint had a family was an understatement. Luke had even refused to believe it when his mentor, Natasha, had confirmed Clint's words, instead stating that he would believe them when he saw the family.
"LUKE!" / "NAT!" Came the simultaneous cheerful voices of a young boy and girl, as both Luke and Natasha were being attacked by incoming projectiles aimed at their body. Standing their grounds, both of them met the projectiles with ease.
"Hey there Cooper!" / "There's my little angel!" Luke and Natasha greeted as they returned the hug from Cooper and Lila respectively. Since meeting Clint's family, Luke has become a brother figure to Cooper, who had not made it a secret that he had wanted to be like Luke when he grew up.
"Sometimes I think that both my children love the two of you more than they do me." Clint said amusedly with a sigh at the actions of his children. At his admission, both Cooper and Lila looked at each other before nodding. Suddenly, they got down from both Luke and Natasha before launching themselves at their father. "Daddy!"
Catching both his children, Clint could only forgive them. "Ahh my two sunshines! I knew you loved me more!" Clint said, earning giggles from Cooper and Lila, a chuckle from Natasha, and finally a grunt from Luke, who said, "Some day old man. Some day." This had gotten him a slap to the head by Laura, "Those are his kids, Luke. Behave yourself or else."
At this, Luke scoffed light-heartedly, "Some day ol-" before he could finish, he was met with the threatening glare of both Laura and Natasha, daring him to finish his sentence. Choosing wisely to remain not do so, Luke turned around and whistled as he walked away, pretending as if nothing happened.
However, before he could do so, a hand had grabbed his shoulder as he heard Natasha's cold voice, "Downstairs. Now." Natasha then walked to the basement, where there was a boxing ring and various equipment for training.
"Fuck. . ." Luke could only bemoan his situation as he resigned himself to what lay ahead and followed after Natasha.
Seeing their interaction, Laura walked up to Clint before asking him, "How close?"
"Too close." Clint sighed.
~ Flashback to the trios most recent mission ~
"Our mission is to locate the international arms dealer, only known as 'Chief'. We don't have the information on his real name, his background, his supplier nor how he managed to get to where he is today. Thankfully, one of our guys picked up a transmission about a deal going down tomorrow night by the docks." Clint briefed to the rest of his team, which only had Luke and Natasha. "This guy has evaded us since we first discovered him, and Fury wants this guy captured, so he's not taking any chances and will be sending us in."
"Enemy numbers?" Luke inquired to which Clint answered, "Unclear, but believed to be a few dozens and highly armed."
"Stealth or hard engage?" Came Natasha's question. "Stealth. But if that doesn't work," Clint started as he looked at Luke.
"Hey don't look at me man, I can do stealth." Luke said defensively, "I really can!"
"Then we can engage the enemy, weapons hot." Clint finished.
It had been a year and some months since Clint and Natasha had picked up Luke during their mission to survey the Ukranian scientist Dravkowski. Unknown to the trio at the time, Dravkowski had been meeting with Chief in order to get some components he needed to develop a new explosive. While Luke's mission was to monitor Dravkowski, Natasha and Clint's mission had been to gather intel on who Dravkowski had been working for. Unexpectedly, they came across Chief during this time and had tried to capture him, to which they failed. From that moment on, Chief had been placed onto SHIELD's radar, but had remained elusive ever since.
"Got it, we go in quiet, and when shit hits the fan, we go guns blazing." Luke said, only to receive the unimpressed stares from his two other teammates. "What?" Luke could only look on confused.
~ Fast forward to the night of the deal, at the docks ~
"'I can do stealth' he said. 'I really can' he said." Clint remarked as the trio were currently hiding behind cover, facing an onslaught of gunfire from the enemy.
"I said I'm sorry! Besides, it's not my fault the guy was standing at the far end of a hallway, and he just so happened to see me!" Luke replied with an apologetic tone.
"Can the two of you stop bickering and focus!" Natasha reprimanded before shooting down another enemy stupid enough to stand in the open. As if flipping a switch, Luke and Clint had both turned serious and began returning fire with precision.
The stealth approach had been going well until Luke had been spotted. The guard who saw him had taken a shot towards him, but thankfully he was merely a henchman of the buyer, thus his accuracy was close to non-existent, and missed his shot. However, this had sounded the alarm and now the entire enemy forces within the docks knew that there were uninvited guests in the area. When Chief, who had been negotiating the terms of the agreement at the time, had heard the gunshots, he knew that the organization that had been following him, had caught up to him.
He was confused as to how this organization had found out about him. Chief had always been low-key in his dealings. Ensuring that there wasn't any 'Loose ends'. One day, in a routine meeting with a buyer, he had been caught unprepared by a group of three people who were highly trained. However, Chief was not just an ordinary arms dealer.
Chief, whose given name was Casey Talon, had grown up in the military. He had been sent to the military academy as a young child by his parents and worked his way up to the rank of Captain in adulthood. Having joined as a normal marine, through his accomplishments he was then transferred to the Navy SEALS, where he had gained recognition of the commanders. That had earned him the rights to try out for the exclusive Delta Force, in which he was successful in joining.
After doing so, he showcased his leadership capabilities along with his own tactical abilities, allowing him to lead a unit himself – the unit known as Bravo Team. However, in a mission gone awry, Casey had lost his team to an ambush and had subsequently lost hope in the system. The intel he had received seemed solid, in fact, it was one of the most solid intel he had ever received.
The mission was a high-profile hostage rescue. A state governor had been kidnapped by a terrorist organisation, known as Cell, based in Afghanistan. Casey and his team had received the intel from a C.I.A operative and were personally briefed by Casey's commanding officer. They had informed his team that their success was vital, and that they had the element of surprise.
With all their preparations done, they had embarked on their mission. But unknown to the rest of them, their mission details had been leaked, and Cell had prepared an ambush to receive the unsuspecting team. During the ambush, Casey's team had been outnumbered and outgunned by 20 man to 1. This was a huge disparity, and Casey realized that his team had been duped and that there had been a mole between the higher ups. How else could Cell had known his team was coming and of the exact location and mission details that they had planned?
During the gunfight, Casey had issued a retreat to his brothers-in-arms. However, they were unable to as they were quickly surrounded and trapped in by the enemies. Putting up their stand fiercely, they dispatched the enemies one after the other. However, at the same time they were reducing the enemy numbers, Casey had to also watch his own brothers fall in battle one by one. With every death, something within Casey slowly broke apart.
By the time the fighting had ended, Bravo Team had emerged victorious. Casey, battered and riddled with injuries and bullet wounds, was holding the last remaining Bravo Team member alive in his arms. "I'm sorry Price, I'm so sorry! It wasn't supposed to have ended like this! Believe me Price, I tried! I tried to get us out!" Casey said, as he sobbed tiredly reflecting on the situation they had ended up in.
The now revealed Price could only look sadly at his captain. "There's nothing for you to be sorry for, Case. Compared to you, the rest of us only suffered momentarily. You on the other hand, will remain alive." Price said as he slowly reached his hand upwards.
Casey, looking at Price's actions, quickly grabbed his hand. "Promise me Case, make it out alive. You find that son of a b*tch who sold us out, and when you do, you tell him we'll see him in hell." Price said as the grip on his hands slowly gave out, his breaths gradually dwindled until they ceased altogether. Watching Price die in his arms, Casey had broken completely, swearing to avenge his team no matter the cost.
Afterwards, he had escaped from the scene and remained in hiding to gather information and to recover from his injuries. In this time, he had learned that the C.I.A operative who had fed the intelligence was the mole. When he went to confront the operative, Casey had slain him easily. Gathering the operative's belongings, Casey was shocked to find that there were many illegal documents in his possession as well as hidden weapon caches all around the world. With all these information, Casey had decided that he would abandon his old self and embrace a new identity. Casey Talon, team Captain of Brave Team, Delta Force, had died on the day the rest of his team had. And on that day, 'Chief' was born.
- End of Chapter 23 –
Next in C24 - Luke's final years in the simulation! Nothing changed?!
Looking straight into Natasha's eyes, Luke started. "I just wanted to. . ." before looking away, a little embarrassed. "I just wanted to prove myself to you and make you proud."
E/d note: When I started writing C22, I had planned out how I wanted the chapters to be written. In C22, it would be the interaction and introduction of Luke into the Simulated world. In C23, it would be Luke's promotion to an Avenger, some normal everyday interaction with Natasha, and then the blip.
However, unexpectedly I had gained another new 'Luke Sullivan' supporter, KATL-Chief! And so, I had written down this extended scene in C23 to introduce KATL-Chief as 'Chief', previously known as 'Casey Talon', as one of the first villains that Luke would face head on – which would take place in C24!
Next chapter should be the final chapter that touches on the simulated world before we head right back into the MTL chapters! I hope you've enjoyed your introduction here Chief! Can't wait to write out your action sequence in the next chapter! Oops, I said too much :3
You can support me on p@treon.com/The_Editor982 ! Advanced chapters are now live! Please check how many chapters are available before choosing which tier you want to join to support my work!
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