14314/A herd of Trojan Horses

A herd of Trojan Horses
Date of Scene:	14 April 2022
Location:	Skye's Brownstone, Greenwich Village
Synopsis:	Clint shares his concerns with Skye.
Cast of Characters:	Hawkeye (Barton), Quake

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Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
It's early in the evening. At Skye's Brownstone house, the cats are sleeping on a couch, while the other large couch is occupied by Clint Barton and Skye. On the coffee table in front of them is the empty pizza box and cans of soda. Once they finished eating, they remained seated, relaxing. Although the constant frown on the archer's face indicated that something is bothering him.

"I need to talk to Fury," he finally states. Like most men with a more than significant one in their lives, he likes to get her feedback on things or situations that are weighing on his mind.

Quake has posed:
Skye was just about to boot up her laptop (of course!), when she heard the word 'Fury'. Never a good word coming from Clint.

While her laptop was finishing booting up on the coffee table, she made herself more comfy with her feet up on the couch. "What's the matter?"

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
The archer remains silent for a moment, then sighs, shaking his head slowly.

"Something is bothering me," he starts, stating the obvious. He wouldn't want to talk to Fury about something trivial.

"This whole Nick affair," he says, turning to look at Skye as he explains what's on his mind. "I read the damn reports, all of them. Even Bucky's presentation slides." Which really shows how there's something he doesn't like in this story. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not certain of anything. Actually, /that/ is the problem."

Quake has posed:
No. Clint never talked to Fury. Like.. ever.. unless it was extremely important. And oftentimes didn't bother then! Unlike Skye who brought her theories to him all the time - just to get someone else's opinion on them. To listen to Clint say he was voluntarily seeking him out was a big deal.

"Wow. So many ways to take that and run with it." Lips are chewed while she thinks. "You know, it probably would be best if you explained your theory."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
There are about 2.5 people in the world that Clint Barton trusts, and Skye is one of them. His sharing his concerns with her speaks volume of the bond he has with her. "OK, here it is," he starts, in such a way that might indicate that what follows might be a long story.

"I didn't see any report on assertions made by Nick, especially about his younger years. I didn't see any investigation related to his recent activities. Not what Hydra or else did, but what were /his/ activities, his relations, acquaintances." He pauses, sighing, "Again, I /do/ tend to believe Nick's side, heck, I've been on a mission with him before. Does it mean I know him? Not at all. I asked him for how long he knew Bucky, and he didn't answer."

At that, the archer rubs the back of his head, thinking. "I don't have a theory. All I have is lack of background investigation before bringing a stranger within SHIELD. It looks like everyone jumped on Bucky's wagon without asking a single question." He pauses again, narrowing his eyes as he adds, "If they can infiltrate the DHS, what tells you they aren't trying with SHIELD?"

Quake has posed:
"Sooo.. " Skye was trying to pinpoint the real problem. "Let me see. You are having trouble with two things, right?"

She looked at him, trying to read him.

Hydra had been her, infiltrating SHIELD to the upper ranks before. That had been a pain in the ass to get all of them out, including a rewrite of their computer systems. With Tony, and Oracle's help, the systems were as tight as they ever were - and more so.

Hell, Skye's home was a result of the mess they had to go through, making her home its own little node, away from SHIELD so that they were able to get 'Kyle' out of SHIELD for good.

"Where does it end, and something doesn't feel right about Nick. Which bothers you the most? We'll tackle that one first."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Frowning, Clint thinks for a moment. What bothers him most? Really?

"Almost everything I've read so far is from outside sources. A lot of unchecked facts. I trust that Bucky is certain about all the facts. Heck, like I said, I even trust Nick to a point."

Despite this statement, the archer still shakes his head, "When I talked with Nick a few hours ago, he wasn't forthcoming at all. Yeah, I know, he might not trust me more than I do him. Fine. But still. On a bunch of one-sided stories and outside sources, SHIELD will host an element that had - and who knows, still have? - links to Hydra. And even plan to take on the DHS, on such intel sources?"

Clint pauses, still frowning, "It might also be that I'm lacking some background intel." Right, so he's leaving the door open and is willing to hear whatever intel Skye might have that he hasn't seen.

Quake has posed:
Skye settles back on the couch.

"I trust Bucky." As far as she trusted anyone. "He probably has a good reason to keep things hidden.." But she agrees, even if there weren't any definite stories - even that should be a warning. SHIELD had a whole team who tracked everything down to be certain that the people were really who they were, and gossip was just gossip.

"Maybe we should talk with Fury."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"I trust Bucky as well," Clint concurs. "It's the fact checking and sources that bother me."

Stretching his legs, the archer rests his feet on the coffee table. And again, he's silent for a moment. A lot of talking and a lot of silence, in Clint's case, usually demonstrates how seriously concerned he is.

"We might have to first debrief Fury, then see what he thinks. You'd have to do some deep search, like only you know how to do, and have a full fact-checking and chase loose ends. I'm more interested on Nick's past, but I'm sure you'll check everything." Then he grins, adding, "And we keep it off Bucky for now. I'm afraid he'll have a fit if he hears we're double-checking his intel."