@avengerwitharrows from {x}
Place: Washington D.C., S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion, STRIKE Center Time: December 31st, 1997; post-mission debrief
“...That’s definitely one way to look at it.”
Agent Barton-- Clint-- does this a lot, framing things that should be taken as they are and putting a spin on them, a different outlook. In her experience, anyone she was sent after (or went after voluntarily) didn’t thank her for her services. They were only terrified, no pride in their deaths.
But she decides not to say as much.
“Rollins is....” Efficient enough for assignment, if lacking in communication skills and finesse-- is how she’d word it in a report. He’d been one of the STRIKE agents within the room during her initial ‘welcome wagon’ to S.H.I.E.L.D., lurking in the corner with a hand on his weapon holster, a silent shadow meant to intimidate. An unnecessary precaution; if she’d wanted she could have slipped her restraints and broken his neck within ten seconds. “Careless. And fool of himself.”
When Natalia Natasha began working with Clint, it was hard for her to understand why he was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. But she quickly learned that his humor was deceptive even if it was genuine, easily deceiving one into taking him for a fool. He was skilled and competent, capable of taking orders and giving them-- and quick to improvise, probably his most valuable trait in the field. Though if she’s honest with herself, those details began to matter less to her than his levity.
“I don’t know how you dealt with any of them before Director Fury reassigned you.”
( not that she considers herself a better person-- she just knows she’s better )
