A/N: This was for LJ's be_compromised 2012 Secret Santa exchange. I had fun writing this since I love steampunk as well as westerns and jumped at the chance to combine the two. I tried to get everything historically correct and I set it up so steampunk wasn't so saturated in the outer territories, but they still used all that awesome stuff. Also thanks to jackwabbit and mackenziesmomma for letting me bounce ideas off of them. Don't own anything, I just have fun playing in the sandbox!

Clint Barton never missed, even from a distance.

Maybe that's why the Lakota tribe that had found him and brought him back from near death had named him 'Hawkeye;' they could see that his eyes never wavered from the target and shooting from a bow was as natural as breathing. Clint liked the name so much that when he took up bounty hunting went by the moniker, as well as making an arrow through the heart his trademark-something for those running to fear when they heard he was looking for them.

Of course he used his Colt Peacemakers when the occasion called for it, bullets tended to be less obvious than an arrow sticking out of a man's chest, but he preferred his bow and arrow. And with the gear revolution becoming more popular in the States and when he got enough cash, Clint asked his weapons supplier if they could rig up something for his bow. They managed to develop a new system for his arrows so that they were armed with all kinds of tricks; just activate the trigger on his bow and he could send a controlled dose of aether to subdue a target or a burst of gunpowder to create a diversion.

Phil said he needed a partner; someone who could watch his back and match his skill. Clint shot back that the last time he had a partner he was left for dead out in Dakota territory with a bullet in his back. After that Phil didn't bring it up again.

But sometimes when he was waiting for a target to show up, Clint couldn't help but wonder if there was someone like him that could match him in fighting and was just as good as he was. Someone who knew why he didn't sleep that much and always kept a knife hidden but within easy reach. Someone who understood why he needed to wipe his ledger clean.

Clint finished tying his horse to the post and walked into the office, knowing that Phil would be glad to see him. His most recent job had managed to bring in the full amount of the reward plus a little extra since Clint had found what had been taken before it was sold. Lord Stark was pleased that the man who had taken the plans for a new type of automaton had been returned alive for him to deal with. Or at least Clint was sure that Stark was pleased, since he'd only dealt with his associate Ms. Potts.

Taking off his hat as he entered, Clint handed it to the automaton stationed by the door-everyone had an automaton these days, didn't matter how much money you had-and walked towards the back of the office. He hoped that Phil didn't have a new assignment, the last three months had been nothing but going out and coming back; sometime's not even that, he'd get another bounty while still out in the field.

He didn't mind the busy schedule, but Clint was looking forwards to sleeping in a real bed instead of the ground or a hard airship seat. Walking towards the cable office, Clint slowed when he heard the wireless clacking away; knowing that Phil was either receiving or sending a message. Normally bounty hunters didn't have a boss, they just answered to whoever paid the bounty, but he had gained some notoriety in the profession when Phil approached him saying that he had a proposition to create an actual business out of it; all he had to worry about was catching the wanted.

So far things had worked out pretty good, Clint had actually gotten more business out of it; people seemed to take him more seriously when he had an actual office. And Clint had come to value Phil's friendship, he was the cooler head as well as the voice of reason and logic when the situation called for it. Plus he was a mean shot when the occasion arose.

"Hawk?"

Clint looked up and seeing that Phil was standing in the doorway with paper in his hands. "New bounty?" he asked, skipping past the small talk.

Phil nodded and held out the papers to his partner. "Just came in from Colonel Fury, said this is was important and needed to be taken care of right away."

Clint was surprised that Fury had contacted him since the last job hadn't ended well for either side. But it must have been serious enough for the Colonel (who wasn't even military as far as Clint knew) to reach out to him. "How much is he offering?" he asked while skimming the top page.

"Five times your last pay."

That made Clint pause and raise his eyebrows. "Fury must want him real bad."

"Her. Name's Natasha Romanov and apparently she's quite the Black Widow-nearly all of the men she been seen with end up dead and then she disappears." Phil responded as he walked towards the front, knowing that Clint would follow.

"Or she's just unlucky."

"Not from what Fury's told me. All the men she's been seen with have connections to industry or are vastly important one way or another. My guess is that she's a contract killer; no one would suspect the woman. Clint," Phil turned to look at Clint and he could see the concern in the man's eyes. "from what I heard from Fury she sounds dangerous. You don't have to take this one."

"You worry to much Phil." Clint scoffed, but he could tell that the man truly cared about his well being and not just what he was going to do if Clint got killed while on assignment. "If it'll ease your mind I'll take the rifle as well as all of my arrows. I just got a new shipment in, right?"

"You did. Figured you'd take the job and told Fury as much." Phil replied while letting a faint smile ghost across his face. "He has an airship waiting for you at the 'port, it'll take you to where the Black Widow's heading towards-Nevada Sparks. There'll be a packet waiting for you with a sketch of what she looks like."

"Nevada Sparks, guess I should pack light." Clint said, smiling a little since it seemed like all of his hunts had been in cold climates lately and was looking forwards to a warmer clime.

Nevada Sparks, despite it's name, wasn't even in Nevada. It was smack in the middle of Dakota Territory; it wouldn't have even existed if the Railroad had gone further south. The private airship Fury had booked for him set down two miles outside of town-while they were bustling they weren't busy enough to have a 'port for them to land-and as Clint disembarked saw that there was someone waiting for him.

Walking closer to the man, who was holding an extra horse, Clint saw that he wore a gold star on his vest. "Sheriff." Clint nodded when he was closer.

"Steve Rogers and I take it you're Barton." Steve said nodding his greeting as well. "Fury told my that you'd be coming and that I should help anyway I can."

"You know the Colonel?" Clint queried, wondering exactly the man did.

"Wouldn't be the man I am today if I didn't. But he didn't go into exactly why he sent a bounty hunter from Colorado out here, mind telling me what's going on in my town?" Steve asked as he handed the reins to the extra horse over to Clint.

"I'll let you know as soon as I do, Sheriff." Clint replied as he attached his saddle bags to the horse. As they rode into town Clint couldn't help but wonder what he'd gotten himself into this time.

Good things never happened to him in Dakota Territory.