clint barton sees better from a distance (tobeunmade) wrote in colligo_threads, @ 2012-06-01 03:18:00 |
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Most people couldn’t even begin to understand, but there was something Clint found calming about being given a target and orders. All the insanity and uncertainty of his life lately just melted away, leaving behind only focus and a purpose. For the first time since the battle, he felt at ease. He’d worried that he might choke, the memories of his time in Loki’s thrall holding him back from doing what was necessary, but in the end it had been all too easy. Nock. Draw. Aim. Release. As natural as breathing. Maybe there was something wrong with him, that this was so much easier than small talk or job hunting or any of the hundreds of other things that came so easily to people who weren’t him. But he couldn’t find it in himself to worry too much about it when he was filled with the warm satisfaction of a perfect hit.
He gathered his proof, and made his way into Mycroft’s office, bypassing security for fun. The security was good but he was better, and that too left him feeling all too pleased. He left the proof on the desk and texted Mycroft with the information. Done and done. Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to fit in here after all. He left a quick message on the network, with a note for Tasha, then made his way out of the office. There was no reason not to use the front door when he was as good as employed here now. Besides, it would frankly be embarrassing if security didn’t notice the guy with the bow and arrow walking out of the mayor’s office in the middle of the night.
Security detail at City Hall was one of the easier tasks that Canton had to fulfill. At least, so far it had been. There hadn’t been any random bombers, and the worst that they had to make sure kept out were the occasional group of protesters and people with rather volatile complaints. It was very rare that anyone ever made it past him without him noticing, but when someone did, Canton kicked immediately into overdrive. At least, it seemed that that was what he did since this was the first time it had ever happened. The figure that he spotted leaving the Mayor’s office wouldn’t have been nearly as concerning if it wasn’t for the fact that he was armed. Bow and arrow or not, it was still a weapon, a weapon that would not have been allowed into the City Hall if the man had traveled through security in a proper fashion, so it hadn’t taken Canton much to determine from that that this individual had gotten in some other way.
Unfortunately, from the looks of it, if he had come here to kill Mycroft, it was likely the mayor was already dead. The least Canton could do to make up for the oversight, though, was apprehend the assassin. At least, then, whenever Mycroft came back to life, he wouldn’t be nearly as likely to fire him.
Rounding a corner and heading up a small set of stairs, Canton followed directions from his eyes on the monitor to head off the retreating figure, rounding another corner directly into the man’s path, gun drawn and aimed at the guy, the word, "Bow on the ground, cupid," before Canton had the time to realize exactly who he was aiming at.
Clint froze at the sight of the man a few feet in front of him, gun pointed directly at him. Good. Security wasn’t entirely inept. Still, he was hardly going to stand there and let someone hold him at gunpoint. That hadn’t happened successfully, on the city government level at least, in almost a decade. Moving as if to lay his bow on the ground, he quickly drew and arrow and fired it, knocking the gun from the man’s hand without actually causing him any injury. He was protecting himself, just in case the guy was trigger happy or had something to prove, but he certainly wasn’t trying to hurt anyone.
It was then that he realized exactly who was on the other end of that gun, and he couldn’t help but grin. His night, and the job he’d just accepted, had just got infinitely more fun. Well...until Tasha saw his message and murdered him for being a dumbass. But he figured he had at least a little longer before that happened. Fondness would hold her back, at least for a little while.
"Sorry, cowboy," he drawled, stepping closer to Canton. "I’m kind of attached to this old thing." He grinned. "And I prefer hotshot to cupid, if we’re still doing pet names."
It had occurred to Canton just who he was holding a gun on about three seconds before it was knocked out of his hand. Exactly how he’d managed that without setting the weapon of, Canton had absolutely no idea, but he wasn’t about to question technique that he wouldn’t even understand if it was explained to him. Besides, the way he understood it, magicians never revealed their secrets even when pressed. "I certainly hope you didn’t sneak in with a weapon just because you’re not keen on putting it down," Canton said, turning and moving to retrieve his gun, putting it back in its holster before turning his attention back to Clint, a curious gaze sweeping over the man in front of him. There wasn’t any blood that Canton could see, so that boded well, at least. If there had been a murder, it hadn’t been from close range. And really, exactly why would he break into the building if he could just snipe Mycroft through the window in his office?
"And all right, then, hotshot. Care to tell me what you’re doing here before I detain you for trespassing on government property carrying a lethal weapon?" Canton asked, raising an eyebrow at him before sparing a glance back towards the offices. "Or is this something I’m going to have to talk to the boss about?"
Clint grinned. This was more fun than he’d expected when he’d decided to provoke security. After all, he hadn’t exactly expected to run into someone he knew on the job. He’d expected a non-local, of course, because Mycroft wasn’t an idiot, but certainly not one of the few he had befriended in his short time in the city. "Jolene and I have a codependent relationship," he said with a flash of a cocky smile. "You just can’t keep us apart." He had every intention of telling Canton the truth, of course, but where was the fun in giving up all the information right away. He had to make it at least something of a challenge. Besides, it was just way too much fun pushing the guy’s buttons. He knew he was playing a potentially awkward game here, given Canton had made it no secret that while Clint hadn’t been flirting, he had been, but he liked the guy and he was fun to talk to.
"You know," he said, slipping his bow into place at his back and crossing his arms over his chest, "I’m pretty sure I’m allowed to bring my weapon to work with me. Not to say I couldn’t manage well enough without it, but it does make things a lot simpler." He smirked. "Of course, you could always check with our boss and see what he thinks. You were right, by the way. There are people interested in more than just how pretty I am."
It didn’t take Canton long to put together what Clint was saying to him. He was here on official business, business that involved him having to be fully equipped, and while Canton hadn’t really expected that Mycroft would put a personal assassin on the payroll, he couldn’t say he was entirely surprised. The man always did have rather unique needs. "I did say that the job market was a lot more versatile than you assumed," He said with a bit of a grin as he swept his gaze over Clint. This wasn’t really the look that Canton expected the other man to be sporting when they first encountered each other, but he really was not complaining at all.
"We should probably add you to the security lists if you’re going to be coming and going very often," Canton said after a moment. "The restricted one, of course. With special provisions. I’m certain the boss wouldn’t care for us making this sort of thing publicly available to the locals on staff."
Clint shrugged. "I guess it’s taking some getting used to," he admitted. It was a lot of change, and very soon after a huge upheaval in his life. He was still adjusting to his mind being his own again, after the time he’d spent bent to Loki’s will, and all of this was a lot on top of that. "You don’t exactly expect to be contacted by a guy you were pretty sure was fictional to take out another guy you were pretty sure was fictional, because that second guy happens to be a psychopath and the first guy has some control issues. But I’m not going to complain. Feels good to be working again." He wondered briefly if that was an inappropriate sentiment, given his work tended to lead to dead bodies. Oh well. Better for Canton to know what he was getting into.
"That would probably be a good idea," he said with a shrug. "I mean, hopefully I won’t need to be around too much, in a working capacity, but I’ll probably be around anyway. My cover’s a security consultant, after all. It would be weird if I was never here. And...yeah. Don’t imagine the bossman’s gonna want me shouting from the rooftops that he’s got himself a sniper to take out his enemies."
"This place is the epitome of bizarre sometimes," Canton said, clapping Clint on the shoulder as he lead the man back down to the entrance, raising his free hand to his ear to call in an all clear to the other boys on security. "But you get used to it after awhile. It’ll start seeming like the every day when Gandalf the Grey suddenly appears on the network, declaring that they’ve apparently gotten very off course," Canton said with a crook of a smile before pausing in front of the security desk at the front and nodding to the two boys behind it. They vacated the spot rather quickly, allowing Canton to slide into place and pull up the things he needed to adjust in order to put Clint down under employment access.
"And if you shouted it from the rooftops, I expect you would be rather quickly replaced," Canton said with a bit of a grin as he glanced up at Clint. "Which would be a real shame. You’ve got such a pretty face, and I would hate to have to mess it up."
"Bizarre doesn’t quite cut it," Clint said, holding himself still and not responding to the touch of Canton’s hand on his shoulder. Anyone else probably would have gotten a hand broken for touching him without warning, but he kind of liked Canton, and he figured that breaking bones wasn’t how people went about making friends. "Then again, I came here straight off fighting aliens, snake monsters and a god with a daddy complex, and I’m apparently fictional for most folks...so I might just have to adjust my definition of bizarre accordingly." There was definitely a lot to adjust to here, that was for sure, but Clint got the feeling he was going to end up liking it here. Of course, that could change at the drop of a hat, but for now he was thinking positive.
"Which is why I’m not shouting it from any rooftops," he said with a grin. "I did go to spy school, you know. Didn’t exactly skip out on the ‘don’t blow your damn cover’ lessons." He grinned. "Though I’d dearly like to see you try to mess up my face." His lips quirked in a grin. "I could do with a good laugh. Pretty though...are you telling me you like what you see?" What? A guy couldn’t fish for a compliment now and then?
"Spy school, huh? I suppose that’s what us little guys in the FBI always seem to miss out on," Canton said with a hint of amusement as he spared a glance away from the computer screen in front of him to smirk up at Clint. "And just because you disarmed me once does not mean that I could not easily get off a shot should the situation require it. Even if I really would hate to do it," Canton said, chuckling as his eyes moved back down to the screen as he finished off a few of the details before closing it all out and standing to let the local guards back in their position. "You are rather nice to look at. And you know, your personality is pretty good, too."
"Nobody told you about spy school?" Clint said with an easy grin. "Shame. You could have done well there. You really do remind me of my old boss. He..." Clint almost said is but caught himself in time, "was a very competent man." At the idea of Canton getting a shot off against him, Clint couldn’t help but goad the other man a little more. It was just fun to push his buttons. "We might just have to test that out sometime." He wasn’t worried about Canton actually hitting him, but it would be fun to give it a go.
He laughed as Canton got to his feet, marvelling at the idea of someone, or at least someone other than Tasha, liking his personality. It wasn’t something he came across very often. "As long as I’m not just a pretty face," he said with a grin that mostly hid the slight insecurity that that was all he really was...well, a very deadly pretty face.
"Nah. Us domestic boys don’t get anything fancy like that," Clint said with a hint of a chuckle as he remembered his FBI training. It had been extensive, sure, but it hadn’t been any more complex or fancy than the regular police academy might have been. The CIA training, he’d heard, was much more elaborate, and he could only figure that a super secret organization training program would only be that much more so. "Well, I say us," Canton said after a moment before grinning with a bit of a shrug as he glanced over at Clint. "And it’s flattering that you say I seem competent, even just by association. You haven’t known me that long, hotshot," He said with a bit of a laugh. "For all you know, I could be a horrid screw-up. God knows that’s probably what most people assume," He said before moving to lead Clint back out of city hall.
"And you’re definitely more than just a pretty face. The boss hardly needs someone to just stand around and look good," Canton said with a bit of a laugh. "Even if you’d probably make that look easy as well," He said, sparing a bit of a glance over at Clint.
"That’s a real shame," Clint said with a shrug. "You probably could have done well as a spook. You just have this vibe to you. Unflappable and whatnot. Most people would have freaked out, thinking I’d just murdered their boss right under their nose. They definitely wouldn’t have got close enough to pull a gun on me." It was a real compliment, considering that Clint didn’t think very highly of...anyone really, outside the Avengers and a few people at S.H.I.E.L.D. - mostly just Fury and Coulson. Not Hill, she was evil. He certainly didn’t go around praising people’s abilities. "It’s not flattery if it’s true, cowboy. Keep that in mind. I don’t need to know you very long to know you’re capable. I see things. Hawkeye isn’t just a codename in my case. Anyone who assumes you’re a screw up is blind. And an idiot to boot."
He followed along after Canton, grinning at the acknowledgement that he had more going for him than just his looks. "Well that’s really sweet of you to say," he said cheerfully. "And I don’t know about easy, but I would definitely make it look good. And...okay, yeah...easy too."
"You can’t be kicked out of the FBI without most people assuming that it was because you made a massive mistake," Canton said with a bit of a smile and a shrug. There were only a few people that knew the real reason that he’d been dismissed. Even for someone like Canton, who was relatively secure in the individual he was, he knew well enough not to blatantly flaunt something which would not only earn him the disdain of people that he had called colleagues, but may have very well put his life in danger as well. Or, more frighteningly, that of his partner as a middle-aged black man dying in DC was less likely to raise flags than a former FBI agent, at least, within the communities that would be doing any investigation.
"All the same," Canton said with a bit of a chuckle as he glanced sideways up at Clint with a searching gaze. "Don’t sell yourself short, hotshot. I doubt there’s another person in this place that could have managed getting me disarmed like you did without setting the weapon off at the same time. I’m no more just saying it than you are. We might not have known each other long, but I’ve got a good instinct for people. And you’re one of the goods one."
"Maybe that’s what people assume," Clint said with a shrug, "but most people are idiots, so I don’t put too much stock in assumptions, to be honest. I wasn’t joking. You just about got the drop on me, and nobody gets the drop on me. Hell, you’re heading up security for Mycroft Goddamn Holmes. That’s not a guy who hires anyone but the best." He grinned. "Case in point. He picked me, didn’t he?" He was mostly joking, but there was also a bit of professional pride there. He looked at Canton for a moment, tilting his head to the side. He saw things. It was what he was good at, and it was what made him a valuable operative. When he spoke again, he actually sounded serious for once. "And if I had to guess, I’d say you being fired had nothing to do with your skills and everything to do with things that really shouldn’t matter."
The serious intensity was gone as soon as it had popped up and he grinned at the compliment. "That?" he said cheerfully. "That was nothing. Stick around cowboy. I’ll show you some moves that are really impressive." He paused, going back over what he’d just said. "Jesus Christ. No wonder Tash says I’m always flirting with people. I swear...this honestly isn’t intentional. It really isn’t."
"Shouldn’t matter in the least," Canton said with a bit of a smile and a shrug. "But that’s one thing that should be said about the sixties. As progressive as something may seem, there’s always limits to how far you can push it before people succeed in pushing back," He said with a bit of a smirk as Clint continued to talk. He wasn’t going to say anything about the words that the man had just uttered. He was determined to wait until the other man had picked up on it, and was more than a little impressed when Clint seemed to realize what had come out of his mouth about a split second after it did.
"It’s amusing all the same. More so since you don’t even seem to realize it’s happening," Canton said with a bit of a laugh before smiling and shaking his head as they reached the front entrance. "At the very least, things are never going to be boring from here on out," He said with a smile, extending a hand towards Clint. "Welcome to the team, Agent Barton. I hope this is the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership."
Clint shook his head. He really was going to have to get that whole accidental flirting thing under control. It was just weird, flirting with a guy who reminded him so much of Coulson. Because no. Just no. That was like flirting with your dad. And that was wrong. And now his mind was in a distinctly weird place. "Boring’s definitely one thing I’ve never been accused of being," he agreed, reaching out to shake Canton’s hand. "And I still prefer hotshot."