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The metallic click! of the locking mechanism was permission enough for mint frost to enter. Inside, he'd find Admin Bee sitting behind his desk, hands folded over the wooden surface, with a veiled expression that gave nothing away.[break][break]

Was he angry at the Beast's outburst? Disappointed? Amused? It was difficult to say one way or the other.[break][break]

Once he'd made himself comfortable — assuming that the other man would sit in the chair across from him — Barnaby posed a question to his guest.[break][break]

"Tell me, Mint," The admin's voice was equally unrevealing, sounding even and conversational.[break][break]

"What is Rocket's purpose?"

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The admin doesn't call for him, but he knows to enter all the same. He stands, spine straight eyes on Barnaby before moving away to the chair and then walking over in quiet understanding. Barnaby doesn't move, but after another second to think on it he figured it made the most sense. Sit. And if his Admin did not like that, then he would stand once more. [break][break]

Mint doesn't relax, he stays watching the Admin. Heels touching, hands on his lap, still to avoid fidgeting. The question is easy, and he need only remember what jayden cross had told him before. "Rocket's purpose is to bring liberation through it's own strength." Or something like that. [break][break]

"All pokemon are for Rocket to further their cause." Or something to that effect. Jayden had said a lot of things like that that all sounded quite similar over the years he'd known him.

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Though the Beast's answers were sufficient enough, they didn't quite grasp at the bigger picture. There was more to ROCKET than strength; to be exemplary, they needed...[break][break]

"Control."[break][break]

Barnaby let the word fester in the otherwise silent room. It hung, heavy, over mint frost's head.[break][break]

"Control over Hoenn, control over the rest of the regions in the world," Here the admin leaned back in his chair, cobalt eyes studying the man across from him.[break][break]

"But we'll never achieve that if we don't have control over ourselves, Mint." And his outburst toward Tempest Quinn had shown anything but.[break][break]

"Your lack of restraint just now was disgraceful."

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He doesn't argue. That's a more concise answer, yes. He doesn't disagree Rocket is all about control. The Admin is lax so far and Mint doesn't twitch under his scrutiny. He listens, waits for the silence. Lets it sit. He didn't regret his actions, his irritation still raw and real. But perhaps saying it in front of all his coworkers was a bad move, especially so new to his position. [break][break]

Overprotection of his own work could possibly seem as more arrogance than indignation. And that's the last thing he needed right now. As the silence stretched on he spoke up. "If I may," which is fluff because he'd can and he would. Until Barnaby told him to shut up and punished him accordingly for it. [break][break]

"I agree that my criticisms of Executive Tempest Quinn could've been more tactful." he said, remember how Cillian Quinn had warned him not to drag him into it. But was he really supposed to believe out of all the other promising executives they had lying around only ONE was chosen to evaluate? If anything why wasn't he in the trials as a participant? Then again, he was rationalizing. [break][break]

"However, I found it necessary to correct Executive Quinn on my position and chain of command." he asked, unable to keep the frustration out of his voice. He had more to say. Like how anybody would assume someone talking to freely to a superior officer would invite the doubts that came with favoritism. After all, he and Cillian couldn't keep their hands off each other. "Would you have preferred I stayed silent and tried to knock his teeth out instead, sir?" he asked. He doesn't expect much from this interaction and he tries hard to reign in what he really wants to say, cutting and removing pieces before he spoke and relaxing his tone to something close to mildly irritated. [break][break]

But he also hates that he has to have this conversation with BARNABY FINCH , of all people. He understood, jayden cross shouldn't administer it. They were too close. Same with fern delaney . To add to that Felix Gallagher as well. And of course, this matter was beneath all the Underbosses. So Bee was it. The self absorbed prick. But that's personal. This is business. [break][break]

"On another note," he said, adding to the conversation, since he was already here and already about to be punished. He stands, cutting the distance between the two of them despite deferring to him so easily just before. With Bee leaning back, Mint sits on the edge of the desk leaning forward. "Control also includes information. What the League knows of us, what they can find on weapons' used against us." he's a little more passionate for his field, a mix of irritated and genuinely concerned for his organization. jayden cross would be proud! Partly. [break][break]

"I deeply disagree with allowing in someone who betrayed their own side out of petty contempt and disappeared doing Gods' knows what for over 2 years." He was, of course, talking about Selena Desmaris, and her prodigal return to Hoenn. He needed to observe her more closely, they all did. Rocket was inherently selfish they all knew that, but a defector like her? Not running out of fear but spite? Something was off. "It feels like she's getting more than we are in this deal."

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BARNABY FINCH allowed the Beast before him to speak his piece without interruption. When there was a pause to respond, however, his tone remained collected and composed.[break][break]

No hint of resentment or frustration, as Mint's voice betrayed.[break][break]

"You talk in extremes, as if your only two options were between a verbal or physical assault." His gaze still sharply trained on mint frost, the admin rested an elbow on the arm of his chair and cradled his jaw between thumb and index finger.[break][break]

"Temper yourself. You're too intelligent to let Tempest Quinn goad you into looking like a fool."[break][break]

Thinking this reprimand would sink in was a foolhardy notion, however. Instead of taking his licks, mint frost literally rose to the challenge.[break][break]

And onto Admin Bee's desk.[break][break]

A step too far.[break][break]

"Your doubt is noted." Barnaby allowed a steep silence to fall between the two men. Moments passed in which he observed the Beast and his growing gall, so comfortable on his perch. [break][break]

Then he stood, unhurried by the deliberate skirting around insubordination. His chair rolled backwards, the leather creaking as it did so.[break][break]

Suddenly, a hand flashed across the desk, finding purchase on Mint's jutted chin. Using this momentum, Barnaby yanked the man closer, likely causing him to fumble onto the surface between them.[break][break]

His grip remained tight and unrelenting.[break][break]

"I shouldn't have to chastise you like a child." Here Barnaby's voice lowered to a hiss. Still cool, yet unmistakably menacing. "Yet you insist on acting like one."

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Despite his frustrations with Bee, which were petty, and the irritating confusion about the risk's they were taking as a whole, the seeming compliment surprised him. Enough to crack the stony face stare into something softer. The professional, almost snarky façade interrupted for a moment. He thinks over the situation with Tempest Quinn . Would if have been better to slap him once and call him to silence? He doubts it. [break][break]

Mint's concerns earn him a noncommittal note. He sighs through his nose, eyes dipping down before back up as he hears the Admin begin to get up. It's almost comical how he looks up and tries to flinch away as he sees the hand coming for him. His eyes shut protectively but flutter open again as he lets out an ungraceful yelp, and slams on the desk. His eyes are forced to meet with Bee's as he tries to look competent while laying over the man's desk. [break][break]

He's never quite seen the Admin like this. And he gathers that, perhaps, this was to be expected from someone who was working so closely with intelligence. But Mint doesn't know how deep those cold, blue eyes go. He doesn't want to find out either. Even if he could go to blows with them, they outrank him. And if he challenged that- well, he was no better than Tempest then. [break][break]

His heart thumps in his throat and he digs his nails on a smooth surface and tries to sit up to relieve the strain on his back. [break][break]

"I- I'm not-" he began, trying to swallowing as his Admin held onto his chin with a vice grip. It would've been a romantic position, had he not been keenly aware of how unbalanced he was, and how quiet Bee seemed to speak. He knows cold rage when he sees it, family with members in his family. [break][break]

"I'm not a child." he said back, firm in his words as his fingers rolled into tight fists.

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"...You're right." [break][break]

Though his fumbling way of speaking evoked otherwise, Barnaby observed the Beast before him with a critical eye, deciding within the span of a few seconds whether Mint truly carried himself like a child. [break][break]

"You're not. So I'm sure we won't need to have this conversation again in the future." There was a warning, thinly-veiled, behind his words.[break][break]

"Will we?" His grip tightened around the man's jaw, pressuring him both verbally and physically to comply.[break][break]

If he decided to obey, mint frost's submission would earn him a small, but pleasant smile from the admin, and a shift in tone to something more agreeable.[break][break]

"Now," He'd release Mint's chin and part with a few soft pats to the man's cheek.[break][break]

"Get off my desk."

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There's no need to think hard on how to decipher the admin's warning. Especially not with the way he put emphasis into it soon after. And its just so typical, that Mint only really got the message after people applied a bit of force to his head. Perhaps, that was why he promoted into beast, despite his affirmations of intelligence. [break][break]

Mint swallowed, not daring to open his mouth, lest Barnaby decided he needed to shove a thumb in there and yank out his cheek. So he simply nodded, as much as he could when the man held a vice grip on his jaw. [break][break]

He should be scared, but the little pats on his cheek almost make him growl. But he doesn't. Because as childish as he felt getting his cheek caressed by a man only a few years his senior, it was even more childish to bite. [break][break]

"Aww, but it's so comfortable up here..." he said, half heartedly so as to not earn the ire of his Admin. He doesn't smile, frowning after it all. He's more ashamed than anything else he had needed a warning like this before righting himself and sliding off the desk. He turns, quickly fixing whatever his ass may have moved before taking a step back and waiting.

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Compliance assuaged BARNABY FINCH's earlier venom. [break][break]

mint frost was a valued member of ROCKET, after all. His merits spoke for themselves. Though Barnaby did not voice it aloud, he appreciated the man's candid expression of opinion. [break][break]

He just needed to work on his delivery.[break][break]

"You're dismissed." Curt, perfunctory. [break][break]

"Oh, and Mint." He'd call out just before the Beast exited the office.[break][break]

"My door's always open if you ever need to discuss something again. Don't be a stranger."

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Obedience, or more likely, submission, seemed to be the move. The best move. Which, frankly, it had worked for him in the past. Skirting around difficult topics while reinforcing the hierarchy had kept him alive. He should be thankful no weapons were aimed at him today.
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He drops his hands from behind his back when Barnaby allows him leave. He dips his head in a silent acknowledgment before beginning to head back out, opening the door and stopping to turn to Bee when they call out one last time.
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Mint is silent, eyeing Barnaby. He's unsure of what exactly he detects in his tone, and he tries to read but can't get much of anything of his person at this distance. So, after a moment, he dips his head again in a nod and says, "Of course, sir." before slipping out the door and closing it behind him.

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