Garrison & Clint | Monday Afternoon

[x-hawkeye.livejournal.com]

Clint stops by to ask Garrison a question.


Clint approached the office slowly, a frown on his face as he thought through what he was going to do, what he was going to say - to ask. Reaching the door, he knocked. It was slightly ajar, so he could see a sliver of the room inside, nothing more. He wasn't even sure why he was doing this now, it just felt like something he should do - that maybe he should've done a while ago.

"Come on in." Kane said, looking through the files on his desk. He normally wasn't in an office at the mansion, but he'd been asked to cover a class and needed to catch up on the lesson. It had been months since he'd been tasked as a substitute teacher, but when asked, he agreed to take over.

Pushing the door open, Clint stuck his head through the gap. "Hi, Mr. Kane. I'm Clint." He shifted the rest of the way into the office, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Can I ask you a question? Other than the one I just asked?"

"No. First you must answer me three questions. Who was the first President to establish a national park?"

"Shit - one of the Roosevelts?" Clint asked, eyes wide. "I suck at history, ask me a math question."

"Nope. Which one? You don't get to always trade on your strengths, Clint."

"Theodore?" There was absolutely no sense of surety in Clint's voice. In fact, he was pretty sure he was wrong. "Does this have something to do with you being in the FBI?"

"It has to do with me having to be a teacher. And you're right, by the way. Teddy Roosevelt established the national park system. You owe me a thousand words about the founding by Friday." Kane set down the file. "So, what did you want to ask?"

"That was only two questions," Clint pointed out, then could've smacked his forehead. "You can also provide a profile of the first ten parks created under the Act." Kane smiled.

"Okay," Clint said, blinking again. "Um, can you help me find my brother?" "I wasn't aware you had a brother, Clint." Kane paused and put down his pen. "You might need to give me more information."

Clint stepped a little farther into the room, his hands tucked into his pockets. "His name's Barney. He's ten years older than me. I haven't seen him since I was five," he said. "Y'know, when we were put in fostercare for the first time?"

"I have to say, Clint, I knew you were in foster care, but I didn't know most of the details." Kane said slowly. He couldn't imagine what it was like, even with his own occasionally odd upbringing. "If that's the case, Barney would be in his mid-twenties. Have you tried Google or Facebook?"

"Yeah, I tried Facebook first but didn't find him. Google turned up some... um. Arrest records? I think? But there were no pictures so I don't know if that was really him or not," Clint said. "They were for theft."

"So you want me to take a look and see if that Barney Barton is the same one as your brother? I can take a look. If they're normal records, it shouldn't be a problem seeing them. But-" Kane shrugged. "It's been over ten years. What if he's turned into someone very different? And he hasn't tried to contact you. You might be happier not knowing the answers."

"I haven't known the answers for years," Clint said. "I tried figuring out where his last family was and if he'd kept in touch, but he hadn't. So... I want to know. Even if he is the one who got arrested..."

"Well, I'll make a couple of calls. See what the file is like and whether or not they have a current contact numbers. It may take awhile. I don't actually have a good reason to ask, so I can't push for the information." Kane sat back. "Why now, Clint? You've been here for some time now."

Pushing his hands farther into his pockets, his shoulders a little hunched, Clint said, "I don't know. It's just - everything's changing? I didn't really know how things would be here, I guess, but next year I have to apply for college and... dude, I don't even know if Barney went to college. I barely remember him. I mean. I don't know him at all and he's my own brother. But since I'm here and nobody's decided to kick me out... I figure I can trust people to not sugar coat things or outright lie."

"That's fair. I'll take a look and see what I can find out. I can't promise anything. I'm not going to break the law to get at the files." Kane said, and then paused. "Just remember, kid. Because he's family doesn't mean he necessarily wants to be family, eh? You might not like what this turns up."

"Everybody keeps telling me that - or basically that. But even if he doesn't want to have anything to do with me, I've gotta at least try." Clint shrugged, figuring whatever else happened, he'd have an answer. Maybe. "Thanks, Mister Kane."

"Alright, give me a week or so to see what I can run down, and I'll let you know." After all, who was Kane to get in the way of family.