No-One But You (The Mystic Consultant) - Part 2
Chapter 13: Wide-Eyed, Wrapped in Love (Part 3)
Clint Barton had a couple things on his mind.
The first thing was the immediate "mission" he was on, which required him to be on the lookout and keep Tony Stark safe. The archer glanced down in Tony's direction occasionally, but his focus was pretty locked onto the surrounding area. He increased his focus a few times on some movement he could see amongst the crowd.
Lack of movement became more of a focus for him after a while.
The people there really seemed to enjoy what Tony was doing. "Agent" Barton assumed it was some sort of power play. The Stark family always had a quarrel with someone out there in the wild, so...
Clint's focus also migrated toward the center of the crowd as well. His internal and ongoing thoughts about Victor Strange were confirmed for him multiple times during the start of the show.
Natasha warned the archer a couple months ago, but the baby bird failed to listen. The archer looked away from the middle of the group after a while. An idea sprung to his mind, so he slowly looked over toward his right.
Ezekiel seemed focused. He always seemed that way...
The archer cleared his throat and he stood up from his post. Clint secured his bow against his side, then he started maneuvering his way over the long catwalk. He started making his way over toward Ezekiel, but the crowd couldn't see him. Tony had them all very distracted.
The archer altered his own mission, and the first step was discussing it with their fearless new "leader". That meant making his way over toward Ezekiel Stane, and the expression on his face barely changed.
The "White Jackal" saw the archer leave his post. He didn't say anything to him as he migrated over..
Ezekiel was very surprised, but his face didn't show it. He was approached by Victor's "friendly roommate boyfriend", so Ezekiel held a small smile. The two of them had barely said a word to one another. Clint Barton called him out on taking over his body several times.
Several times was an understatement, but...
That was the only "conversation" the two of them had ever had. Ezekiel thought about that briefly, because the person that was inhabiting space in Victor's new home suddenly secured a space beside him. The "White Jackal" became a little confused. He ignored the field agent at first.
He directed his attention toward his white armor. The suit even looked back in his direction, because Ezekiel's mind was linked up to what he considered to be an exo-skeleton of his soul.
"Zephyr" was its name, and Ezekiel stared at it as the field agent spoke. He said something about altering his own mission. He told Ezekiel he wanted to do something, but he had to run it by him first.
Barton said he "had" to run it by him, because that's how things operated within S.H.I.E.L.D. Ezekiel listened to him, but at the same time he gave Zephyr an inner command to split itself in two. He sent part of his armor over toward the archer's abandoned post.
Once Zephyr reached the post, Ezekiel turned his focus in Barton's direction. He finally looked at the archer, and it felt like it was the first time he actually saw his face.
The Jackal processed what he heard, then he looked over the crowd before he gave a response. Tony was mixing up a song that had moments with his voice, then obviously it became a voice from his suit.
Ezekiel was a bit puzzled over that, but Victor's friendly roommate boyfriend put a pause on his observation.
...
"Can't this wait?"
...
"No. It can't. I plan to leave after this, and I'd rather go once this is over."
...
Agent Barton felt like he was actually looking at Ezekiel for the first time as well. He wasn't hiding behind his armor for once, and he seemed a bit different. The archer didn't care to know the reason.
He had his own plan to get to, with things that he wanted to do and accomplish. He planned to remain with their "team", but give them support when needed.
Ezekiel simply pondered. He wondered if Barton's behavior had something to do with Steve Rogers. He felt like it was another leadership test. Barton's behavior seemed a bit out of character, so..
Ezekiel watched him bring out his cellphone. He could see an image of someone on the screen. Barton brought it closer to him and he said something about heading out to locate his brother. He asked Ezekiel if he looked familiar.
"Trick shot."
Yes. Ezekiel correctly identified the codename that the archer wanted to hear. That meant Ezekiel was familiar with his older brother, and his dark past.
The archer put his cellphone back in his side pocket. He kept looking at Ezekiel for a moment longer than he should, then he let out an exhausted sigh.
He told Ezekiel that he needed to find him, but he unfortunately had to ask him for permission. Barton was following a certain protocol, and the notion became a bit amusing to the one that was deemed team "leader".
Clint Barton even told Ezekiel that because of S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol, he'd even have to check in with him while he was out hunting for his brother. Ezekiel listened to what was being said. He checked in on Zephyr before he gave the archer an answer.
The Jackal took his time responding, because he understood that it irritated people when he made them wait.
"You can go. I can send you intel on your brother if you need it."
Ezekiel had information to give, but it wasn't the right time. The archer got the response that he needed, so he stood up and he started making his way back to his post.
Before he got too far, the archer briefly turned around and he gave Ezekiel a small notion of acknowledgement.
"Thanks."
That was it. The archer kept going and he didn't wait for any sort of response. He didn't want their conversation to head in any direction toward Victor Strange either, so off he went.
Ezekiel watched him leave the space. He could tell it injured the archer's pride and ego in some way, but Barton got what he wanted, so...
Obviously, the archer's mind was focused on something else, so Ezekiel decided to keep a portion of Zephyr on Barton's side of the stage.
Chapter: END
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