9202/Can Yelena Be Trusted

Can Yelena Be Trusted
Date of Scene:	21 December 2021
Location:	SHIELD Safe House, NYC
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Yelena Belova, Clint Barton

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Yelena Belova has posed:
Ever since the incident at Operation Iceworms, and the decision made to have Yelena become a special agent under direct handling of Agent Romanoff, she has more or less been left to her own devices. Sure, Yelena had no doubt there was constant surveillance over her person all the time, at least within the boundaries of the Triskellion, but for the most part the promise was kept. She was given orders by Romanoff, and those who needed her, usually got that agreed up through Romanoff as well.

Nothing was a surprise, everything was presented by a familiar face, and when it came to field work, well, she exhibited the very lethal efficacy expected of a Black Widow.

But now, after having helped rescue SHIELD from the Framework, and the framejob, and having gotten some missions under her belt. She felt more ready to spread her wings as it were.

One quesiton always stayed with her, what in the actual fuck happened when Hawkeye took down the Black Widow, and how she showed up years later as an agent of SHIELD.

Yelena already knew that Natalia would never tell the truth, it came with the territory, but the other part of the equation...Clint Barton, was much within reach now that she was part of SHIELD herself.

She began casually collecting information about him, tracking him from afar here and there, gathering some routines. Eventually she set the trap at a NYC Safe House he has been known to use when wanting to be left to his own devices.

Her equipment was a mix of SHIELD and Red Room accessories, so she may not have been as predictable as some agents may be. Her trap was a simple motion sensor activated sleep agent dispensor. With Clint not expecting a SHIELD Safe House to be compromised, it allowed her to catch him off guard and get to work.

When he wakes from the unexpected slumber, he'll find himself tied to a chair, hands ziplocked together at the wrists, classical music playing in the background (Air in G to be precise). Infront of him is a blonde Black Widow, though it likely won't take him long to recall Yelena, one of the recent 'recruits' as it were.

"Wakey, wakey, Mr. Barton...hope you're in the mood to answer questions..."

Clint Barton has posed:
You got to love a good monday.

A good mission, some arrows spent, no targets missed...still an Avengers-worthy fighter for you right there! Of course, Clint had stopped by SHIELD briefly, and eventually went to one of his safehouses when he got the sneaky suspicion he was being followed. There's only one type of person in the entire world that walks like that, that sneaks like that, that -observes- like that.

Shit.

He blacked out for a moment, and when he woke up, he was squinting his eyes shut and he seems to turn his attention around him to see his environment. Things looked like it was being pretty much the same. Didn't think his safehouse would be compromised....note to self, invest in some basic security for the safehouses, otherwise they're not very 'safe'.

He tests the movement of his hand. Zipties.

Rookie.

Clint's eyes rest on Yelena Belova. Sister of Natasha Romanoff and current SHIELD investigee. "I see you're already getting into the swing of things. Though we could'veh ad this talk over coffee." Clint replies with all the casual grace of a skilled ambassador.

Yelena Belova has posed:
"Mmmmm....not with the kind of question I want to ask," Yelena apparently disagrees about the cup of coffee being the proper route. "I'm really sorry to do this, by the way, I understand it doesn't really build trust..." she notes but as she spots the minute shifting that comes from Clint testing the zipties, she scoffs, "I would let it rest...not like you're in danger, I just want a question answered....you try and break free, I may think you're up for some violence."

Waving her arms briefly, to draw attention to the slimmer take on the Widow's Gauntlet since he may have first seen it, she quips, "you know all it takes is one hit, and I will do it, and then it'll make me look more suspicious...a lot of progress down the drain, a real pity. So...let's just talk?" She offers, pulling a chair with the back facing Clint, as she settles against it, leaning her hands on top of the back support.

"You're a smart man, you know what I want to ask, Natasha...talk to me."

Clint Barton has posed:
Yeah, 101.

She's a Black Widow alright. Reminds Clint of Natasha when he first met her. Of course, it doesn't exactly help that he was sent to kill Natasha Romanoff by Nick Fury, and was later her recruiter. But she doesn't really -know- that. He makes a good show of testing the restraints. Good. She thinks she's in control. Hell, she just might be, but Clint's not going to let her have that satisfaction.

"Right. You're the boss, it looks like. What do you want to know?"

Then she asks the obvious question. Natasha Romanoff. "Gonna need a little bit more than that. We both know I can talk about Natasha all day. She makes a -killer- mac and cheese, absolutely amazing sense of humor, really likes leather." Clint replies with humor and joking, perhaps seeing if he can rattle her. How desperate is she that she came to his safehouse to try and get information?

Who's in control?

"But seriously, what do you want to know? I need specifics."

Yelena Belova has posed:
Yelena rolls her eyes as Clint tells her she's the boss, "please, try to be serious...? I know I look young, but I'm not like, one of your interns...yes? You telling me I'm boss is first sign you have absolutely zero respect, so, no patronizing, da?" She intentionally slips the Russian word there in the end, as if as a reminder of the vast differences in training methods that SHIELD has compared to what she's gone through with the Red Room.

Normally she would assume nobody truly knows much if anything about the Red Room, but Hawkeye 'killed' Romanoff and later somehow she became a SHIELD agent. He has to know, and if he knows, he should know better than to antagonize her. At least that's her perspective.

"I go on fast track to become next Black Widow, because certain SHIELD super agent goes by Hawkeye kill my sister..." Yelena speaks the word with not at all a subtle amount of venom injected to them. Perhaps playing the angle of the sister out for vengeance, or just that of a ruthless Black Widow looking for the excuse to kill.

The real principle at hand, is that she wants to drive at the answer as fast as possible, so she can move own and still retain the possibility of staying with SHIELD. She has to admit it is the safest path for the time being.

"How you make it look like you kill her...? Why you not really kill her...? Did you brainwash her?"

Yes, a tried and true method, particularly in Red Room training. Why bother with convincing when a touch of mind manipulation works so much faster. She needs to reassure herself Romanova isn't here because she was made to believe it's what she wanted.

Clint Barton has posed:
Clint seems to frown a little bit when she suggests patronizing. "If I wanted to patronize you, I would embarass you, and since I'm not intending to embarass you right now, that must mean I'm not patronizing you. Just saying, there's easier ways to go about this." Clint seems to continue, and just to kick it off, he starts to sniff the air, then transitions seemlessly to Russian.

<<Did you at least make food? I'm starving.>>

Though he looks her in the eyes when she starts to spin her tale of woe, namley that she was put on the fast track to become the next Black Widow after Natasha's 'death' by his hand. He continues to listen, not interrupting or denying her what she's been waiting for a long time now. She wants that answer, and Clint becomes aware very quickly that his answer will determine just -how- Yelena's road will look.

"The best shot I ever took was the one I didn't take. Your sister is different. Saw the cogs in the machine, knew she was just a tool in an indifferent system. So...I invited her to the states after a pretty nasty fight, and she agreed. I had a mission, I made a different call."

he shrugs, as if it were nothing. "Hah! I didn't brainwash her. I think she thinks I'm too dumb to brainwash, and the science in it would be irritating."

Yelena Belova has posed:
"You think you can embarrass me...?" Yelena looks mildly bored as she sets her gaze directly at Clint, still not having budged since sliding into the chair, leaning on the back support. "Either way, patronize and embarrass, not same thing." She taps her temple and quips, "what they say about American school system may be true, very disappointing."

She does laugh when he shifts to Russian <<you were sent after Romanova, of course you are fluent, but...silly expectation, why should I cook for you? If I would it would be for me...I'm sure there's some rations in this safe house though, it's protocol, no?>>

She sighs as Clint finally answers after his delays, not looking satisfied in the least, "yes, I hear how we are tool, Red Room, SHIELD, different finger pointing the same weapon."

She gets up from her seat with a sudden jerking motion, letting it drop to the floor, if only for the sake of alarming. Just measuring Clint's level of cool, checking if he flinches even a little or goes as far as to free himself from the ziplocks.

"Funny thing, you say she thinks you're too dumb to brainwash, suggesting you're aware that you're more than capable...and may have done so, no? Was that not your true mission...? How do you not take a shot if you are sent to eliminate target?" Yelena presses, and with a sudden whirl, she's at his side, a blade having popped into her hand, and is swiped inches from actually making a cut at Clint's throat.

Turns out she's not really suicidal, she didn't kill him, or rather...did she even get a chance? He may yet react, but she goes for asserting her capability to kill, along with her decision not to do so.

"What we do is complete missions successfully, efficiently, wetworks end in death...how do I really know your mission wasn't to turn my sister?" She posits, looking very intently at Clint. Almost as if she wants to believe he did not, but the way he went about it, is making her lean otherwise.

Clint Barton has posed:
Clint looks at Yelena, his eyes honestly look tired. He wishes he were back in bed right now, with Lucky (his dog) biting at his heels for 'snuggle time'. Honestly, Clint is half-in this conversation, likely as a way to agitate Yelena and make her do something stupid. Even as she talks, even as she tries to suggest that he can patronize and embarass her all she wants, it may not work..

Oh, but they all say that.

When she makes a comment about the school system, Clint shrugs. "Russia's ain't all that grand either. I think Finland or Sweden has the number one spot. Sure would save me from waking up at the asscrack of dawn to get to school as a kid, that's for sure." Clint quips with a measure of calm. Even as she jerks in movement, Clint doesn't move a muscle. He seems...almost relaxed.

"The best shot is the one you don't take. I simply didn't make a move. I made a different call than what you might expect." Clint suggests to her. "I guess that's the thing about Russian operatives: They forgot how to be human. Sometimes, you can see when someone wants to get out. My job is to help people, Yelena." Though he looks heri n the eyes, and in fluent Russian-

<<Besides, we're having a conversation. I can try and put on some coffee, but something tells me you'd try to pull the trigger, which would be...really mean, actually.>>

Yelena Belova has posed:
"Oh, you say that because you didn't go to my school..." Yelena remarks idlly, as if she was talking about any old boarding school. She does pay close attention to his practiced lack of response to pretty much anything. It takes quite a bit of training to reach a point where a knife held at your throat means nothing.

"That is my issue...your job getting her out of there, and into SHIELD, a job well done." At least she puts the knife away.

"American coffee isn't even any good," Yelena returns the diss for the education system, before eventually walking around Clint, only to cut him free from the ziplocks, "I don't entirely believe you, Clint Barton, but seeing as you gave me the courtesy of staying tied in your seat, I guess we'll see how it goes."

Clint Barton has posed:
Now that, CLint wasn't expecting.

He thoughth e would have to knock her down and pull an arrow on her - if only to certainly spare her life - to get her to understand the concepts of what he was intending to do. Clint isn't the villain she demonized him as. No, he was something far simpler.

Just a guy with good aim.

So, when her knife leaves his neck and strikes at his zipties to free him, he moves his hands back in front of him, rubbing his wrists. "Don't blaspheme in my coffee church." Clint tells Yelena with a bit ofa smirk, taking the returned-fire diss in stride. He probably gets worse from Nat.

"Heh, at least you're not as stubborn as Natasha was. We had to grapple a little bit before she started to believe my intentions were honorable. Hopefully you and I can avoid the grapple bit." He yawns. "Besides, I'm tired. You want that coffee or not? I brew 'em like none other."

Yelena Belova has posed:
Yelena, being a Black Widow, naturally doesn't ever make the mistake of assuming anyone to be less than they are, and always assumes everyone projects what they want people to see. It's how she's still alive, it's quite difficult catching her off guard with anything, because she expects everything. Red Room has a way of introducing one's mind to a whole plenthora of unimaginable 'worst case' scenarios.

"I was unaware coffee is its own religion in the United States, do you chew on coffee beans every sunday at mass?"

"I hope so for your sake, Sambo is only one of my many, many styles, I'm not sure you'll do as well as you think if we grapple." She pauses a moment, and then asks, "it's the blonde hair, right? Makes me look like barbie so you don't feel threatened? We can't all be redheads, people are afraid of redheads, even if they're not Red Room."

"I will try that coffee of yours Clint Barton, but I will watch, no funny pills or drugs..."

Clint Barton has posed:
Clint actually -laughs-.

"Yeah, considering I'm surrounded by female badasses who could just as easily double-time it as models, I'm the last person to think your hair color will make you less threatening." Clint chuckles at her. Though he shrugs a little bit at her words. "Coffee is my religion." Clint tells her. "We are guided by the holiest of holy beans." Clint jokes with her, as if trying to get her to laugh.

Clint has a talent for making emotionless people laugh. Just as Nat or Agent May.

"Think I can't fight?" Clint suggests to her. Was Yelena in control of the situation? Or was Clint? "Great." The Avenging archer stands up out of his chair and moves over to start brewing up some coffee. "I ran out of pills yesterday, so you're safe."

Yelena Belova has posed:
Yelena snaps her fingers and points at Clint, "made you laugh, you broke character from," and there comes an intentional bad mimicry, inspired by a clear American Action Movie kind of archetype, as Yelena puts on her take on a macho voice, "I am Mr. Tough Guy, torture is what I eat for breakfast," which is honestly hilarious with her Russian accent sprinkled on top. "See...that coffee worshipping man I can believe, means you're very good agent."

Oh breaching the subject of emotions has to be a top conversaton topic with Yelena, but probably not a first 3 or 20 conversations one.

"Is that what you think I think...? Obviously you know 'Natasha', so you should have some idea of what it takes to be Black Widow and not dead cadet...maybe you do the math and not try to think what I think? I mean...we're killer robots, right? No thought."

"You make joke, but I promise Dr. Sims I kill him if anyone tries messing with my head. No joke."

Clint Barton has posed:
"I'm a normal person. I laugh." Clint retorts with a bit of a smirk as he starts putting on the coffee. "That's a really good Thor impression though, I think he'd get a big laugh out of that." Clint suggests to Yelena with a bit of a smile. "I am a pretty good agent though, and I did eat torture for breakfast in singapore. It tasted kinda metallic, actually." He teases her, though suggesting Clint has also been through some stuff in the past.

Though Clint seems to shake his head. "Nah, don't get it twisted. You guys might have a hard time showing your emotions, you've just been trained-as-hell to ignore them to avoid mission failure. I've been trying to get Natasha to get out of the system, so to speak, and let her guard down...but I understand that Widows have a hard time -because- of what they went through, the training you gals were forced to endure." Clint frowns a moment then, though he approaches her.

"Not killer robots." He offers her the coffee he brewed. "But killer badasses? Sure." He teases her. "Yeah, I don't have the skill or capability to mess with your head."

Yelena Belova has posed:
"Riiight," Yelena remarks, sounding quite dubious of Clint's claim. She knows agents, they're not supposed to laugh. "Thor...? The God...? I don't expect I'll be meeting him anytime soon. I'm a bit too...mortal?"

She shrugs at the Singapore story, "at least it didn't taste electric."

"I'm not sure how much or what Natasha told you and how much you implied, but it is demanding to be sure." Off handedly, she quips, "but at least I can front any ballet troupe if I cared for extra income."

Taking the cup of coffee she's offered, she gives a flat compliment of "it doesn't smell bad," smirking as he gives her his take of Red Room graduates. "We are...unique I suppose. Different. I didn't see anyone in SHIELD like us, even higher ups, thinking is different."

Clint Barton has posed:
"...of Thunder, yeah. You kinda sounded like him. Big guy, the hammer?" He smirks a little bit at her. "You know. 'By Odin's beard!' and all that?" Clint smirks at her. "And trust me, -everyone- feels a bit too mortal compared to the big guy. I think you two'd get along great." Though as she shrugs about the singapore story, Clint shrugs.

"I guess you have a point. Could've been worse. But, -anything- can be worse. I don't think there's a maximum on the 'oh shit'-o-meter."

"Thinking is very different, if anything I've heard from Nat is to be believed. But I -do- know that you gals are good gals. Won't be stabbing any of us in the face while we sleep. If you wnated to, we'd be missing some agents by now."