1963-12-05 - Another One Bites the Dust
Summary: Clint tenders his resignation to SHIELD. Peggy doesn't take it well.
Related: None
Theme Song: None
clint peggy 


It's hard to tell when Clint Barton technically comes in for work and when he leaves since his schedule tends to overlap there. There've been times when people have come out of the evidence room or storage facilities back into the Bull Pen to find him still there wearing the same thing he… technically wore a few days ago. Oh sure it's clean and all, and sure he makes use of the facilities to shower… sometimes here sometimes not. But he doesn't keep any sort of regular schedule. Which is probably good for an intel agent.

But it does at times make it difficult to track him down. So oftentimes the meetings he seeks come at his desire when he ends up hanging around somewhere with his mug of coffee and whatever he's working on.

For example now, he most likely wants a meeting with Peggy as his chair's rolled over a bit more in that direction and he's settled in it as he works on photo examination for firing angles. Something about the way he perceives even two dimensional depictions of three dimensional space. It lets him create clean lines of attack vectors despite… not being a computer. Such as right now with the assassination and all.

Yet he mainly waits for the director.

*

Peggy *was* at the office for almost 72 hours straight after the fight with Daniel, living in office, sleeping on the couch, but May has talked her into taking the guest room there, so at least the director isn't constantly here. It makes her a bit harder to find. Having just come back from a check in on the prison, she arches a brow at the set of Clint's body and the way his chair is tilted just so in the direction of her office. She knows what that means.

"Barton. My office. Let's talk." She clips out, making her way across the bullpen as quick as slightly swollen feet would take her. She isn't exactly waddling, but she's close. She's still trying NOT to let being that pregnant slower her down, so she walks a bit faster as she leads the way into her private office. She tugs her suit jacket off once inside, it too damn hot for the thing with the radiators going. SHe's only slightly breathless as she steps around to behind her desk. "You have that *look*. Something on your mind?"

*

"Yeah," Clint closes the door behind him as he walks in and moves towards the seats. It's only once she's settled down that he'll consider taking one himself, but when he does it'll be to slouch forward and rest his forearms on his knees, fingers interlacing. "With Barney fillin' in, and things gettin' set I figured I should maybe give him some room."

He looks to the side and gestures with an uncurling of fingers. "Thought this ACT F thing might be a good spot for a guy like me. Few different reasons." No he's not a guy who has complete command of the language, he's not eloquent, but she's known him long enough that the results that tend to come out of his mouth tend to be from a good chunk of thought and maybe even some brooding. "Put more of the Human into the Humanity part of it I guess."

He looks back to her, "Where you at on Barney being here?"

*

As Clint mentions he's thinking of getting out of here, Peggy's shoulders stiffen just a bit. She stares at him, eyes going just a touch harder. "…It's not just Act-F and Barney. Why are you truly quitting? After all this time. You are one of my best. If I have to choose between you and Barney, I'll choose you. Every time. So tell me what the bloody hell is going on, Clint, and stop dancing around it." Peggy's words are rough, a touch on the edge of anger, but she's managing to keep it under wraps for now. She's giving him time to give his explanation about it all, but it's clear the director isn't happy. SHe hasn't even sat down yet.

*

Scratching his chin, that eternal stubble there making a small scrit-scrit-scrit of sound as he looks at her. She can almost see the wheels turning in his mind, the thoughts grinding away. Yah she knows how his mind works. Can probably imagine the different pathways it takes for him to run. With her it usually follows a path along various 'flavors' of the truth that while all technically are true, might have various shades of meaning.

But where the roulette ball lands might surprise her. "Things have changed for me. I need something more. Could be the fucked up circumstances around Barn. Could be that I'm realizing I am one completely messed up piece of work."

He spreads a hand to the side, "Went to my apartment two weeks ago, land lady thought I was a burglar breaking in. She'd forgotten who I was." He spreads both his hands now, "Looked at my bank account, haven't made a withdrawal in three years."

Then he gives a small shrug and looks to the side, head shaking slightly. "Barn will do what's needed, better in some ways. And yeah not the same rapport, but if I tell him I expect him to do right by you, then he will."

*

The woman stares coldly over to him, impatient, disappointed, trying to hold back temper and not really succeeding. She forces a breath in through her nose and then slowly out before she makes herself sit down. At least she's not trying to tower above him in her high heels even as she tries to cool her temper. She shakes her head slowly, "… Something more. We could give you your own team here… Agents to do with, as you please. Call the mission. Take command. You're good, Clint. We can't afford to lose you, not with all the messes going down."

The commentary about Barney makes her roll her eyes, clearly not thrilled with the man. She shakes her head quietly, "His information is out of date and he's mouthy. If he wasn't your brother I'd have had him killed already, but he is and I recognize that he will have a use. But he's not worth losing you."

*

"This ain't exactly… negotiable." Clint looks at her and despite the anger that might be growing he gives a small smile as if trying to at least steady the waters. "And with how things are going… there's always gonna be something about to blow up the world." But he does accede to a nod about Barney, since yeah… he's mouthy.

He shakes his head, "You've got the people, and yeah it might take some changes. But you'll be fine." He looks to the side slightly, "If we aren't taken over by aliens or whatever." For some reason he seems to be a little more at ease with the decision. "Sure we could dance around, make noises about slow transition, handing off of work. But if I don't do it, I'll never do it and will just float on doing what I've always done. So yeah. Doin' this instead."

*

The woman's jaw sets tightly as he says it's not negotiable. Peggy just shakes her head slowly, eyes cold and hard. "Fine. Go. Clean out your desk. Go. Talk to Act-F, go show off for the world, enjoy the fucking press conferences and lime light. SHIELD will be over here saving everyone else's asses in the shadows while you all parade around. It's nothing new." Yes, those words were cold and she might not even mean them all in the morning, but right now that's what she sees. She then looks down and away from him, dragging open whatever file is open on the top of her desk.

*

Getting to his feet, Clint gives a nod at her and he says nothing more. He turns away, moving to the door and holds it open for a time since their usual routine is he does leave it open… just to signal availability. But then he moves over to his desk and all he does is unclip his badge and tosses it on top of it. Either it's already cleaned out… or he's just leaving it all behind.

Not too much longer and then there's the sound of the Bull Pen's door shutting behind him. A handful of moments pass and then the secure entrance signals its opening and closing.

The last thing Clint does is get an order of beef fried rice from Wing Sing, and then he's gone.

*

As he goes like that, Peggy doesn't dare let herself look up until the door is shut. Then she's staring off after him, her jaw tightening just a bit more. She shakes her head quietly, swallowing back a few choice curses. But it's done. She doesn't scream after him. She doesn't run. She lets him go. And SHIELD is down one more agent.

*

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