agentphilcoulson | Should have gone command track [Coulson/Barton/Rogers]

People would be daft if they thought Phil Coulson didn't have audio and video of what was going down on the ground in Dubai. Phil Coulson always knew what was going on. It was his job and he was damned good at it. Friday night had gone better than expected and he'd let Barton and Rogers know that when they'd gotten back to the hotel after dinner. He hadn't doubted Rogers' abilities, but he worried, like he did about all his agents. Saturday found him standing on the bridge of the Helicarrier, looking fairly imposing for a man who had been in a coma two weeks ago. He had briefly entertained the idea of borrowing one of Fury's coats to assume the "Officer on Deck" position of power on the bridge, but that wasn't him. Instead, Coulson stood on the bridge in his standard suit, comm over his ear and video and audio of Dubai playing on the big screens, multiple viewpoints. Most of the agents were wired with video and audio so Coulson would have as complete a picture as possible.

He saw the first rogue gunman shortly after Clint. A muscle in his jaw moved as he considered saying something to Barton, but thought better of it as Barton went into action. After more than a decade of working together, Barton usually didn't need a voice in his ear, he just needed someone watching his back. The were smooth in neutralizing the threat. They worked well together - Rogers staying in character and restraining his abilities and Barton deadly as ever with his aim. The corner of Coulson's lip went up a tick as he watched them in action. There was something inspiring about watching elegance in combat, watching people using their gifts to the best of their abilities.

The rogue gunmen. Coulson's fingers were flying over the screens, running facial recognition on the gunmen. There must have been a traitor among Malashenko's men. That was the most likely explanation. A few orders later and SHIELD's crew would be searching to ID and account for all of Malashenko's men. It didn't look like Malashenko had deliberately double crossed him, or if he had - he was an incredible actor and Coulson didn't think him capable of it. Once he saw that Barton and Rogers were safely in the car on the way to the airfield, Coulson muted his end of the comm - unless one of them needed him. Giving orders to the SHIELD agents, Coulson put everyone to work and made sure the jet would be waiting and ready when they arrived.

Once the jet was airborne, Coulson refrained from pacing and made his way to the entrance of the flight deck, grabbing a pair of headphone ear protectors from a flight mechanic to await the jet. The official debriefing could wait until after they'd both cleared medical, but Coulson wanted to be there to meet them when they landed. It was one of the little things he did. Even though he knew both Barton and Rogers were okay, he refrained from smiling until the jet landed and he saw Barton and Rogers walking towards him.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

There was something about seeing Phil right after a mission ended that made it feel complete and in the books, especially when it was successful, everyone back. Yeah, there was the debriefing to be had, medical to be cleared but Clint stepped off the jet and looked over to see Coulson standing there, waiting for them.

One quick look over at Steve, and he nodded at him before they stepped over toward Phil. "We're back, boss."

After the jet had landed, Steve followed Clint as they disembarked. When he turned, he saw Agent Coulson standing there waiting for them. Clint looked at him and nodded before walking towards Coulson. Steve squared his shoulders and went to face the music. Coulson hadn't seemed to believe he could do this mission, and now there were people dead, so Steve wondered if he'd confirmed Coulson's opinion of not being ready for the field.

"Sir," he said, saluting Coulson and remaining at attention as he waited to hear what was said. He was ready to step in and accept responsibility if there was any effort to blame Clint for what happened.

"At ease soldier. We're not much for saluting here," Coulson said as he gave them a smile and turning to lead the way towards medical.

"It's refreshing to see both of you in one piece. Any idea who double crossed Malashenko?" Coulson asked, glancing between the two men as they fell into step beside him.

"Good job, though, on containing the threat, responding to unknown variables and protecting Malashenko. I'm sure that will be beneficial to us in the future. Gold star for both of you."

They walked inside the helicarrier, and Clint looked around, remembering the last time he was here, under very different circumstances. Steve's seriousness strangely helped to keep Clint focused in the present moment.

Coulson's question kept him grounded as well, and it felt good to slip into his familiar role as Agent Barton. "It appears to be some greedy Russians, Sir, who weren't aware of the operation going on. They didn't get anything." While Clint had been fairly certain that Coulson wasn't going to bust anyone's balls over the way everything had gone down, he did feel himself relax when Phil praised them. "Thank you."

The tension Steve had felt since seeing Coulson faded when he heard 'good job'. That meant he wouldn't be pulled from the field, and it also meant that Clint wouldn't be held accountable for the unforeseen element attacking them. "Thank you, Sir," he said, glancing at Clint and smiling slightly before focusing on Coulson.

"It appeared to be three men working together in an effort to kill Malashenko and take the weapons and money. One of the bodyguards remained loyal, but the other guards were goons." Now that he knew they were going to be okay with work, he was feeling the stress of the past few days and the injuries he'd been unable to avoid. "The relationship with Malashenko remains intact and strong, though, so the mission was a success in that regard."

Coulson wanted time to talk to his agents, but he sensed the weariness of them. He nodded as they reported.

"I gathered as much from the surveillance footage we had going," Coulson said as they entered medical and with a hand on each of their backs, gestured for them to take a seat and get looked over. For his part, he went to fetch them each some water. Coming back with an orange soda for Steve, trail mix and grape soda for Clint and brownies (which he'd baked in nervousness this morning), he smiled as he distributed post-mission refreshments, letting medical check over both of them. Getting a call from the Bridge that the rest of the agents had landed, Coulson gave the command for the Helicarrier to make a course for New York before turning his attention back to his agents.

"You couldn't have predicted that," Coulson reassured them. "No casualties on our side generally counts as a victory."

Coulson's mind was already forming plans for future missions - finding out who betrayed Malashenko, perhaps a longterm infiltration of his gang. He'd talk to Fury and Hill about it when he got back.

Clint's heart warmed at the sight of his post-mission snacks, knowing that Coulson had to have brought those with him. Reaching for his snack, he answered all the questions that the medics had, let them look over him while keeping his eyes on the table next to him, where the doctors were going over Steve's more serious injuries.

"He's got the bullet in his pocket," he grinned tiredly, winking at Steve. "Just pulled it out of his arm. That was the grossest thing I've ever seen."

The orange soda was a nice surprise. There wasn't much point in going to medical, but it seemed to be required, so Steve didn't protest. He let the medics do their job, even if it was pointless, while he sipped his soda and ate a brownie. Looking up at Clint, he rolled his eyes even as he smiled. "I think I'll be keeping the bullet as a memento. I also find it hard to believe that it was the grossest thing you've ever seen, but I won't make you try to prove it. I'm glad I was so impressive."

When he finished the brownie, he got his personal phone out of his bag and sent a quick text message to Tony, knowing that he'd tell Pepper, and another to Loki, knowing he'd tell Thor, to let them know the mission was a success and he and Clint were on their way home. He figured that Clint would text Darcy and Natasha, who would let Bruce know. Once that was done, he reached for another brownie. He winced when the medic poked at his arm, but it was more due to the pressure than the pain.

"Save the 'grossest thing I've ever seen' conversation for some team bonding night. Along with 'I never'. Preferably with alcohol. It helps," Phil deadpanned, remembering many of the the great conversations he'd had with various SHIELD agents after missions.

He smiled at Steve texting people. Well, it was certainly obvious who the den mother was going to be.

"And besides, there's nothing wrong with keeping bullets as momentos. I still have the ones I caught in my leg in Bosnia.

"I'm not playing that," Clint muttered, chewing on his trail mix. You couldn't play that game with people who knew all about you and your life - Clint had learned this the hard way. "A beer would be nice about now though."

It didn't take long for the medical staff to surmise that the men were okay and dismissed them. Clint shook his head at the two of them. "You're both nuts. And morbid." Stretching, he felt the adrenaline of the fight leaving his body now, a tired sort of ache replacing it.

"You still want to talk, Boss?"

"Certifiable in some cases," Phil said, his lips quirking as he leaned against the wall, dismissing medical with a nod of his head.

"I do. But both of you look like you're about to fall over with exhaustion. Let's go get this debriefing done and then you guys can crash. We have about ten to twelve hours until we dock in New York. After you get some sleep, we can talk if you're up for it."

Should have gone command track [Coulson/Barton/Rogers]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject