Coulson POV
"You know your kid is running around unsupervised?" Garrett asked as he walked into my office without knocking.
"He is supervised. Agent May is keeping tabs on him for me."
"Why her?"
"I gave him a choice between Sitwell or me, and he chose Agent May to supervise him."
"That's a big leap of faith, Phil."
"I know."
Garrett gave me an odd look before starting back for the door.
"Why are you trusting him? I don't even trust Ward yet, and he's been here for three months."
"He'll only trust me if I show him some faith as well, Garrett."
"But is it worth it?"
"At this point, John, I think it is. He's going to be a great asset and I want to save that kid from himself. You're doing it for Grant Ward," I pointed.
"Yeah, but at least he doesn't mouth off or get into fights everyday."
"I'm working on that."
"I'm telling you, Phil, it's better if you just drop it already."
"He's been here for three weeks, John. It's going to take time for that kid to adjust."
"Phil-"
"I'm done talking about my asset, John."
"He's not an asset yet. Not until he passes all of the tests," Garrett responded as he moved over to the door.
"He'll pass," I replied.
"Whatever you say," Garrett responded, shutting the door after him.
I pinched my nose and sighed. Spinning the chair around, I grabbed the notebook I had on Barton and spun back around to face my desk. I pulled the file on him out of my desk drawer and spread it across my desk.
Where was he for the year that's still missing? There's got to be something in all of this that can at least give a general idea.
Up until age five, he lived with his parents, Harold and Edith, in Iowa. When they died, he and his brother were shipped off to an orphanage. There were several occasions where Clint was going to be adopted, but then the couple would change their mind. Must've been his brother's doing.
At some point they must have realized they weren't going to get adopted together, so they left and joined the circus. Clint couldn't have been more than ten around that time. They stayed with the circus until he was around fourteen. The circus fell apart and then he vanished, just to show up in the army a year later.
Nothing, absolutely nothing.
I turned to the notebook and flicked through the notes I'd taken on him based on behavior and conversations.
I frowned at one of the things he had said.
"The last person who said that kind of stabbed me in an alley."
Hospital records. He'd have gone to a hospital if he had been stabbed. I turned to my computer and powered it on. Chicago was the last place the circus had been before it fell apart.
I glanced up sharply at the knock on my door. I closed the file and placed it and the notebook in my desk drawer.
"Come in," I called.
The door opened and Clint stumbled in, shooting a glare over his shoulder at May. She pushed him forward again and he rolled his eyes. I say forward slightly at the bruise forming around his eye.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Nothing," he muttered.
May started to explain but I shook my head. She nodded and I stood up to move around my desk. Clint backed away the second I stood up.
"What happened?" I pressed.
"Nothing happened, okay?"
"Your black eye begs to differ, Clint. May, you can go," I replied.
May nodded and I waited until she shut the door after her before sitting on the edge of my desk. Clint eyed me for a long moment before sinking down on the couch. I stayed where I was, waiting for him to speak.
"Can I go to the barracks?"
"After you tell me what happened. Clint, you can trust me with this."
He laughed and shook his head.
"Actually, I can't."
"Why not?"
"It's none of your business," he replied.
"I'm in charge of your wellbeing. That black eye tells me I'm not doing a very good job. So, what happened?"
He clenched his jaw for a moment and looked away, crossing his arms. Clint remained silent.
"It's not a big deal. I handled it."
"If it's not a big deal, you should be able to tell me."
"It was just fucking Napier-"
"Language."
"And the other fucking guys who think it's funny to call me a carny and challenge me to stupid things, just to get pissed if I do show them up," Clint continued.
"Stay put," I said, pushing off the desk and starting for the door.
"Where're you going?"
"To get you an ice pack for your eye."
"It's fine," he protested.
"Clint-"
"It's fine! Okay? Can I go now?" He snapped, shooting to his feet.
"No, you can't. Sit down," I ordered.
"No! It's fine. I don't need a fucking bag of ice. I've had worse than this," Clint huffed.
"Can't you just accept my help for once?"
"No."
"Fine, go to the barracks then. Be here in the morning at four."
"Fine."
I moved aside to let him storm out. The door banged shut after the kid and I waited a moment before peering out. He was already disappearing out of sight.
