14422/Sometimes unofficially is the best.

Sometimes unofficially is the best.
Date of Scene:	02 June 2022
Location:	Joe's Bar, Kingsbridge, The Bronx
Synopsis:	SHIELD agents have a meeting with Punished.
Cast of Characters:	Hawkeye (Barton), Quake, Punisher

---

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Everyone has their special bar or restaurant, and Joe's isn't on Hawkeye's list. Nonetheless, an impromptu and informal meeting was called with a man named Frank Castle. A bar seemed a good meeting point for the man, aka by some as Punisher. Maybe a dark back alley would have been best, but Clint Barton didn't feel like attracting trouble tonight.

It seems to be a relatively quiet night at Joe's, which suits the archer just fine. Hopefully, it will remain that way. Right now, he's sitting at a table, in a corner with his line of sight directly to the door, his spotbag placed on the floor by his chair. A full bottle of beer is placed on the table in front of him.

"Have you ever met him before?" Clint asks his companion, Skye Johnson.

Quake has posed:
Skye frowns as they sit down. Sure Joe's is as good as anywhere else was.

"Frank Castle, aka the Punisher. I've met him. Though he might not remember me. We had a deal between us, organized by May. This was long before I became Quake." Heck, would he even know that about her?

She also had a beer, which she drank a little bit of to make their story make sense. "Why?"

Punisher has posed:
Relatively quiet... or so most people would think.

Frank never takes the chance. He's been staked out on a rooftop out of sight nearby an hour before the meeting, quietly observing with the mark 1 eyeball and with drones from Microchip. He has many enemies, and ambushes are an 'occupational' hazard.

With his sheer number of enemies, it's really a testament to his precautions he can go anywhere, really.

"I'm not seein' any real issues here. No tails, no goons waiting in ambush... I'm gonna head in." Frank tells Microchip over his commlink before he starts to head to the fire escape, shedding his traditional garb for something that blends in.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
The archer nods as Skye replies, which brings back memories. Being stuck in an apartment while May and Skye met with the man.

"Right, now I kind of met him before," Clint replies, "At leat this time, I won't miss having snacks." Indeed, for there is also a bowl of peanuts on the table, essential side-kick to beer.

"No reason," Clint finally answers her question, "Was just curious." The Avenger/SHIELD agent doesn't look nervous at all, maybe slighlty annoyed as he waits for the contact to show up.

Quake has posed:
"Well," Skye almost grins. "This time we're on the same team if I'm not incorrect." For some value of the same team. "Gosh, it's been a long time that I have been working for SHIELD."

She played around with her bottle. "You know? I've gotten so good I can spin just one bottle around, or just the fluid around without the bottle. It's not good for my job, but I guess it could be useful as a party trick."

As she talks, she looks around. So far, so good. No Frank yet, but no bruisers or nefarious bad guys either.

Punisher has posed:
Inside the bar come a man wearing sunglasses and a baseball case, wearing a bikers getup and leather jeans. With the timing and knowing that he'd be in disguise, both Skye and Clint immediately know this is Frank, even with the way his demeanor and gait are nothing like his usual; He's clearly an expert in disguising his clothing and his mannerisms... a useful infiltration skill.

Stopping just inside with hands in jacket pockets, Frank glances around for the two... then he moves to a back-of-the-bar table without acknowledging the two: a clear indication of meeting place.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
And yup, that's their man. Impossible to miss, when you know who and what to look for. With his direct sight to the door, the archer spots him right away as he steps into the bar.

"Here's our bird," Clint announces.

And then Frank walks to the back, which elicits a frown on the archer's face.

"For crissake, why is everyone so paranoid?" Then he slowly starts to stand, "Let's go meet him." The archer grabs his bag and the full bottle of beer, waiting for Skye.

Quake has posed:
Skye puts on a 'do you really expect to answer that?' look on her face. Then again Skye was that paranoid; Clint wasn't.

Picking up her bottle she follows him.

Punisher has posed:
Sitting down, Frank has his hands on the table with hands folded against each other. A casual gesture... but also one that keeps his hands where they can see them, with no weapons. A subtle gesture of respect.

Of course, there's no telling if he /is/ armed.... and this being the Punisher, he probably is under that jacket.

"I hear you've all been busy with various projects." Frank begins, "What's your stance on HYDRA?"

To the point and gruff. But then, Frank Castle is infamous among those who know of him for being pure asshole, if not malicious.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
The archer takes a seat at Frank's table, taking the time to place his bag on the floor. It doesn't take a genius to know that his bow and arrows are right there by his side, at the ready.

Placing the full bottle of beer in front of him on the table, Clint waits for Skye to sit down before answering.

"And it's nice seeing you too," he says, matter-of-factly. "Care to define /your/, here? If you mean, me myself and personally, I'd say I don't like them." He pauses, then resumes, "If you mean, the /organization/," obviously meaning SHIELD, "Then I can tell you that they are a Top Priority." But how many such top priorities SHIELD has is another story.

Quake has posed:
Oh, Skye has sooooo many reasons to hate HYDRA. Instead, once she has found her seat, she turns the question over. Sort of.

"Do you mean personal, or professional?" They aren't even the same to her. Although there were some overlaps.

For the most part, Skye lets Clint, the senior ranking agent, do the speaking (right now).