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Fitz was, as always, diligent poking around the lab like an industrious bee. On the rare occasion he went home but today was another day of long hours. Schematics hung around the lab depicting part of the turbines on their jet working on a promised project: Making something weighing several tons run silent. That was a tall order and one he'd not given up on. Today though? Today was a new style side arm. The radio played blythly as he built a weapon for a new type of silent war that Shield may be called for. The big brain never powered down. When Fury came in it looked like the wily Scot was eyeing a block of plastic for variation.
The door swings open and in steps Nick. The black coat swinging open and displaying his side arm as he stomps in. Beligerently puffing on his cigar a cloud of smoke precedes him as he stops and looks over a chalk board. He peruses a few other items here and there with the occasional grunt before approaching. "Agent Fitz. How's things?" He removes his smoke and peers at him with his one eye. "Had a question possibly a request if the Director doesn't have you too busy."
Fitz lifted his eyebrow up not taking his eye off those lines on the block. The smile was effortless when Fury walked in. "You know I was hoping you'd pay a visit. I'm working on something I think… you are going to really enjoy. It's a type of high velocity medium range threading flichette pistol. Effectivly, high powered armour evading shrapnel gun. But," Satisfied with his creation he lined the block of solid lucite on the work table next to something that looked like it was a pistol that was also a hair dryer maybe? Setting everything down he looked to their #2 and offered, "My itinerary is clear right now. What can I help with?"
Nick listens intently as he explains the pistol. "Interesting." His wander to the funny looking weapon. "Sure looks bulky enough. But'll give it a whirl." A cloud of smoke escapes his nostrils and he continues. "What do you know of mutants? Some are easy enough toa' spot. Others not so much. The director is…well, let's say they make her uncomfortable. And with good reason. The danger is obvious. But tracking them, spotting them. All very grey area. IDeas?"
Fitz picked up the weapon that was maybe a slight bit bigger than a pistol grip taser of modern times, but the clip went top loaded. "Careful . It'll go off like a salad shooter. As for Mutants?" He thought about that, "Hmmm well I have known a few. Have at least two that I am directly aware of. Couple Inhumans too. Any reason why Mutants are concerning in particular over other powered persons or is this a community sort of effort? Or are awe talking tracking in a genetic marker sort of sense?"
"The latter." Fury confirms. "Some you can see a mile away. But, I've recently been made aware of some that are hidden in plain sight. Being able to identify threats and have plans in place to check them is our job." He keeps puffing away as he continues. "I don't like surprises. I got a good eye for stuff but we need to be able to track and assess these individuals."
Fitz hrmmmed and thought critically on that. Ethics he could argue but for now they were talking the science. "Were Jemma here we could likely have a much quicker answer for you, Sir. In the end while the genetic anomaly expresses differently, similarly in other families, the Storms for example, Not all factors respond the same way consistently, but I think we keep finding the catalyst that causes the chain of events to be fairly consistent." The back of his knuckles traced the edge of his jaw thoughtfully. "May I ask, is this about word on that registration act that was in the newspaper few days ago?All the same, I agree it's an imperative to be able to properly assess threat going into the field regardless of genetic markers."
Fury grunts. "No. This is my cause. I've been looking into this for some time. You wouldn't believe some of tha' folks that are mutants." His lone eye squints, "so far the only public figures that I have identified are low level, no-threatening. And no ill intent I can see. But again, don't like secrets. That registration act won't do a dman bit of good if we don't know who to register anyhow." Placing his arms behind his back he straightens up and adds, "Now. Tell me about that funny looking firearm."
"All right," Clint appears by way of troublemaking magic, bravado in place, shouting before he actually sees who is about. Shoulders back, chest up, and for some reason he's in his sleeveless underarmor and pants, which is actually much better than how he normally walks in here. Douchebag mirrored sunglasses in place. "Who's having fun in here without me? Who cleared that? Did you file the proper paperwork Agent Mitt—" Noting Fury, the wind immediately comes out of the archer's sales, slowing his roll slightly with visible hesitation in his cocky stride. "-Ahem. Sir."
Fitz considered and offered, "Well I think SHIELD may have a couple in employ working Division so I mean I can look to them for things they know. We have assets, though, I think tact in pursuit of that knowledge will likewise aid us as much."
Turning with a nod to follow him towards the ballistics testing chamber. "Sooo We got a ballistics dummy with lightweight body armour. I want you to take this and stand," He found the mark some 30 yards and squint one eye before heading down range to prop up the dummy, Milo, in the prop stand.
"Just promise me whatever you do don't let Stark get his hands on this one. This is not the sort of thing I really want to see mass marketed.but… just… yeah. This'll bring down resistance in riot gear and partial plate by shredding the block of plastic like a tiny heated wood chipper and hurl about ten thousand splinters through heavy fabric and lathe any soft and connective tissue they pass into. Non metallic. It will…stop someone in armour by targeting all of their joins by cloud of effect." For a non-violent man he just effectively said the pistol will flay joints apart. Stellar.
"Stark? don't worry." He takes the thing now and measures it for balance. Gives a few aims. "PAckin' a bit of pucnh then?" He half grins and puts it inside his coat. "I'll be in touch. See what you can do." He turns on his boot and stalks out of the lab now, the scientist left to his own devices.
Fitz looked from Clint suddenly very well behaved to Fury and back. Fitz enjoyed the leeway of being the reference material and not a military asset in a armed capacity sense. That was to say he was more one of the textbooks than he was a soldier. At being told he'd have his assignment checked in on there was a nod. He didn't speak of it though because these things in manila files weren't just bandied about in the open. He greeted his mate with the words he loved most, "Wanna see the new toy?" There was a too pleased look on Fitz's face. "Right now the pistol is actually sliiiightly too lethal I thiiiiink for release. There's more I want to do with it. A lot more but… it's a good start." A too lethal pistol?
Clint stays quiet and casually present while his bombastic entry is ignoredif people were already used to him, the world was going to become a lot more dangerous while he tried to up the anteit's honestly for the best, and he holds as generically peaceful as he can with a businesslike nod in Fury's direction as the man passes. Shoving his sunglasses up into his hair, there's a faint widening of his eyes in Fitz' direction while he closes the distance. "A too-lethal pistol? You mean you made it more lethal than a pistol already is?" Tracking that line of thought with a quick bounce back and forth of his fingers. "Huh. And you're one of the good guys, right?"
Fitz paused and that was a question he wrestled with regularly. Fitz… really thought about that and sighed looking to Clint, "God I hope I am. Soooo Bullet damage you have a through and through generally which is optimal. If the bullet breaks inside or hits bone you have fragments to worry about which… you know." Oh yeah Clint's been shot he's had no doubts. Quite possibly by people he didn't date too. It was entirely possible! "I was watching the breakdown on film of bullets vs. armour and thought whaaaaat if instead of using the front door we did something else. Not use the back door but strip teh siding and the sheet rock off the walls so the doors were superfluous." Yeaaaah let's hope he's still a good guy here. He paused and furrowed his brow, "Which… yeah that sounds absolutely horrible when in context of a person."
Clint's eyebrows pop upwards when Fitz acknowledges that he knows all about worrying about bullet fragments. It's not super fun, but hey, it's a risk of the job. Arms fold loosely over his chest, fingers drumming on his elbows lightly while he listens. Trying not to fiddle with anything. "Stripping down the sheet rock off a person does sound pretty damn unsettling, yeah." The blond's eyes narrow in wincing speculation, giving a shrug. "So how do you strip it down?"
Fitz pulled the plastic blockout of the pistol wnad started to field strip that thing with the efficiency of… well he built it and it was his baby. It was a bit more evident that Fitz may have more arms training than many give him assumption for. Taking it apart in the few pieces he needs to he pointed out, "Where in your firearm you're still reacting on catalyst coming from impact into the charge sitting inert inside the casing to fire the actual projectile forward to be carried to one point of impact, right? You can do similar with a shotgun now where it's less precise but you get better coverage. I was trying to think of what we could do to marry the two and I thought about the other night you, Ollie, and I went and played darts and thought theeeere we go."
In about as long as that took he had the piece reassembled. "So, instead of using percussive explosion this is more like throwing a solid block of plastic into a wood shipper. Similar to fiberglass meeting a table saw? It's built to flay apart but imbed. in anyhting soft. Nooooow say against armour? Well it won't so much as scratch solid metal or vibranium, ferracrete, or plastisteel. It will however go between fibers to canvas, heavy grade fibers, flak ablative armour to an extent. You walk into a shower of these and it's effectively like having a cactus thrown at you at high speeds. Close range though it'll shred all the soft tissue back to the joint soooo… if we are dealing with, I dunno, Skrull? They're going to have a harder time recombobulating without pulling the sharper plastic into that cell structure with them."
End of the day: never fuck with a scientist.
Clint seems unsurprised by Fitz' familiarity with the weapon. He's been down here long enough and hung out with the guy to know that he knows his stuff. You can't engineer your own stuff without being very intimate with how it comes together and comes apart again. He knows that from experience. Instead, he watches with the clear attention of someone who knows how things come apart and come together, and desperately wants something to play with. but doesn't. Sitting on his hands, so to speak. Nodding with a laxness while Fitz goes through the ABCs of a normal firearm. Then his eyes flick upward, following Fitz' lips intently while he explains the rest.
"You make a claymore bullet." He chuffs a short laugh and shakes his head, then shrugs and nods, following. "Right, right, not effective to plates but fibrous…yeah…yeah." He squints, thinking it through. "Fiberglass is a good ways of putting it, I mean…Fitz, if it's fine enough, the long-term damage you could do to lungs in a heavy field of this? This…could get ugly." He squints, in warning. Like don't get too mad scientisty with this stuff, man.
Fitz set the pistol down and folded his arms. There was a slow matter-of-fact nod and absently he said, "Well at close enough range it'd likely tear right through it but… yes. Effectively instant mesothelioma. It would be… painful and unfortunate. Still if the Kree attack and if Skrull are an issue? We're going to need some way to keep ourselves in the food chain. I hate to be that guy jsut…. I have mixed feelings. With all of the international and civil unrest? This is not tech I'd like to see on the market. SHIELD is one thing but changing the scale of global warfare where citizens are now involved? Not… something I care for my hand to be responsible for." His eyes went large, "Awwww shite." He turned and grabbed the solid block that would become ammo. "I need to find a way to make it biodegrade over time. This could be havoc on ecologically." Really!? he just started making a weapon that will flay a human at close range and he's worried about the long term impact on agriculture? "I was going to take a break around seven if you wanted to catch a bite. Something other than Chinese food. I've had enough dim sum to last me the week." Working under the Wing Sing had that effect.