14604/Hot-dogs and a chip

Hot-dogs and a chip
Date of Scene:	16 November 2022
Location:	Lower Manhattan, Manhattan
Synopsis:	Clint wants a chip taken from a Terminator, and Sarah is not so keen on doing so.
Cast of Characters:	Hawkeye (Barton), Sarah Connor

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Clint Barton has posed:
Lunch time is over at that time of day, so the little park is now relatively vacant. As he often does, Clint Barton preferred to eat at his usual food truck, paying extra for his hot-dogs. Not only does he like to help the vendor with the extra tip, eating in the park often also gives him a break from the Trisk, which can become stuffy at times.

Cardboard plate in hand, a bottle of water sitting with him on the bench, the archer is eating his crap-food in peace. For some reason - he will discover how - some agents at SHIELD had discovered that the Hawkster visited the jail cell following the little chase and dispatching of the Terminator that showed up at the Lunch in the Park event. While Sarah came out scott free, Clint had remained behind to give her a break while the cops stormed on him. Skye, who was the one to bring him his ID and have him freed, wasn't the one to rat on him. So, who did?

Sarah Connor has posed:
It had been a couple of weeks since the picnic at the park, and Clint. For some reason the whole thing was blown over on the news, saying it was a drugged out man who was angry at someone who wasn't even at the park. The crowd of people though gave him a pretty good place to vent his frustrations.

In other words, he was just a mass shooter who got away before the real shooting started. Something about the man (Clint) who stopped him. And who was jailed overnight. Figures.

Sarah hadn't seen him since then. Until a piece of paper, with her name scrawled upon it, with only a time and a date, with a scribbled 'C' showed up at her work. When she asked who had left it, it most certainly sounded like Clint. But his order with dropping the note off clinched it.

Today wasn't a beautiful day, but it wasn't too bad. She stopped at the hot dog vendor and ordered one while she looked around and located Clint. And once paid for, she sauntered aimlessly to the bench, sat down, and took a bite. "Pretty cold out today. I guess winter is here to stay."

Then.. "What did you want to talk about?" The shadow of the Trisk can't be missed, looming up in very near distance.

Clint Barton has posed:
"I'm doin' fine, thanks. And you?" comes Clint's reply, in an amused tone as he nods at Sarah.

It is, indeed, kind of cool today and winter is definitely coming soon. Lunches in the park will halt for the winter, for the most part.

The archer takes the time to finish the first of his two hot-dogs. Meanwhile, he knows exactly what he wants, but knowing /how/ to ask for it in the right way is something else. Although he doesn't know Sarah that much, Clint has already established that she is untrusting, paranoid (and probably right to be), and secretive. It is also an established fact in the archer's mind that she doesn't really like him - like a few thousand people he knows of.

Finally, the archer comes to the conclusion that asking directly would be best.

"I'd like a chip." Yup, direct and highly vague. Chip? British chip (fries), potato chip, electronic chip?

Sarah Connor has posed:
Sarah didn't look at Clint to begin with. She just keep on eating her lunch, watching the other patrons milling around.

Yes, she is all those things. Especially paranoid. With reason.

Clint was beginning to grow on her. A fact she needed to clamp down upon before she started to like him. Sarah wasn't a person who had friends. For her sanity, and to make certain no one was in danger because of her.

Sarah noticed the couple over there. And the man sitting on the bench feeding the squirrels. Nobody seemed to look over this way. Though that could be a trap even so.. Then Clint blurted out that he wanted a chip. WTF?

He could only mean one chip.

"What the..?" Sarah's head snapped to the right, and she stared at him. "What do you mean? Sorry, you're not a computer science geek, and your boss should know that he's not going to get one from me that way."

Paranoid. To the nth degree.

Clint Barton has posed:
Well, that went well. Not. But again, the archer wasn't expecting much. After a moment, eating his second hot-dog, Clint finally replies.

"Dunno about a boss?" he says, grinning, "Oh, you mean, the guy that put cash in my bank account, because I go out and do /errands/ for him? Naw, I don't consider him my boss." Pause, more thinking, "Actually, I don't think I ever had a boss. Anyway. No, not him."

Done with the meal, Clint grabs the bottle of water, gulping it down. In doing so, he also glances around, and finds no one that seems fishy.

"The Avengers are pretty advanced - but please, never tell Stark I said that. I'm just curious if, by studying it, we can't find a way to deactivate it, like, from a distance, or to detect it? Wouldn't that make your life easier and safer?"

Sarah Connor has posed:
Sarah grunts. "Uhm, SHIELD? You know that piece of paper in your pocket that let's you go into pretty much anywhere you want to go. Like a police badge? I'm pretty sure you've a boss."

Then he went on about the Avengers. "Wait a minute. You're talking about hauling in a new agency? Hold on." Now she looks around her squinting. Don't they have mutants in the Avengers? Fuck, someone could be right beside her, invisible, and she wouldn't even know it.

Forget about the hot dog.

"Sure, it would make it easier. And at the same time, make it more dangerous. There are terminators working around everywhere. You can't just ask anyone to figure it out. Anyone could be on the terminators side."

Clint Barton has posed:
And, of course, Sarah is right. And Clint Barton is one to know about impersonating creeps. A long, long time ago - so long ago that few remember it or dare mention it - Clint's own wife was replaced by a Skrull. Just the thought of it makes the archer sick to his stomach - or maybe the hot-dogs have something to do with it.

"The Avengers aren't an agency, really," Clint finally replies, "We can be quite delinquent, if need be - again, don't tell Methuselah I said that. Anyway, I'm just looking for a way to protect you and the future." Pause, "Or the future past."

Sarah Connor has posed:
Sarah rubs her forehead. "I know." Which might be the nicest thing she has said to him.

"At times I wonder if I am crazy. I mean, beyond the fact that I have killed them, and taken the chips out myself. Just.." She looks out over the park. "/Anyone/ could be one. That man feeding the squirrels could be listening to us, and will then change to someone you know to learn about you."

"That boy might be taking notes on you. And will then infiltrate your working place as you. Making the people who work change their minds in minute ways that will be beneficial for terminators to take over."

"Hell, I could leave you one, and you may be condemning all your friends - whether or not they have seen it.. I would have to think about this some more."

Clint Barton has posed:
Listening, the archer glances at the squirrels feeding man, then at the boy. Yup, she's right. They could be Terms.

"That is exactly why, we need a mean to detect them," Clint replies, almost matter-of-factly, not to make Sarah feel too much pressure. She's definitely not the kind of woman to be pushed on or pushed around. No siree.

"Stark can do wonders," the archer adds, "Think of it, he kind of was at the origin of Vision." Pause. "Oh bummer, and of Ultron. Disregard that last one. What I mean is, there must be something we could learn about /them/. Just think about it, no rush."

Sarah Connor has posed:
"And has Vision, or Ultron, suddenly become an enemy?" Sarah actually asks.

"And how will you keep the terminators from learning about you while you learn about them?" That was one of the things she is worried about in her own case. Keeping them in a box that they can't get any signals from.

Clint Barton has posed:
Sarah's first question makes Clint burst into laughter. Once he's done having a good time remembering some good stories, the archer feels like explain his reaction.

"Sarah," Clint says, "I could hardly name one Avenger that didn't turn against the others at some point. Seriously. But you know what? We're still alive and kicking, we always come on top. If there's a group that can - heck, and did survive everything, it's the Avengers."

On that, the archer stands, stretching his arms before picking up his empty plate to dispose of it.

"Just think about it," Clint says, "If there was a way to do it, it would be good for everyone. And if there's someone who can do it, it's Stark. God help me for saying this, but it's true."