SHIELD
Maria Hill did not fidget, not as a child, not as an adult, never. And yet, the brunette found herself picking at the cuffs of her new uniform and readjusting the zipper so it wasn’t so high up. She looked to see if her boots were still unscuffed as she stood and waited in the lobby of a very large building.
“Maria Hill,” a man slightly shorter than her with brown hair and a broad smile approached her.
She stopped fiddling with the cuff immediately and watched as he stuck out his hand.
“Phil Coulson,” the smile never faltered.
“Pleasure to meet you in person,” she noticed first how cold her hands were compared to Agent Coulson.
“Likewise. So, this is SHIELD,” he held his hands wide to the glass lobby, “or at least, headquarters that we refer to as the Triskellion. If you’ll follow me.”
He turned and walked back the way he came, swiping his badge before entering an elevator and selecting the third to the highest button.
“You and I are on level 17,” he tapped his badge, “you’ll need to swipe every time you enter an elevator. Depending on what you’re trying to access, you'll either be approved and the machine starts moving, or denied because your clearance isn’t high enough.”
Maria nodded once, making a mental note of that as she glanced down at her own badge that had been issued to her that morning.
“Each floor has between 20 to 50 offices, that is for floors 10 and up,” he motioned to the upper half of the elevator buttons, “the single digits are for anything from labs to holding cells and mock control rooms.”
He paused as the elevator slowed and Maria took that time to flip to an empty page of a small notebook she carried with her. Quickly, she jotted down the information he had given her so far.
“This is a pretty common setup of what each floor looks like,” he used his hand to gesture to the large lobby they stood in, “every floor has a receptionist or two, ours only has one because we have less than 20 offices on this level.”
“Plus, Jasmine is a rockstar so we only need one!” he walked up to the massive reception desk, “this is Maria Hill.”
“Office 1713,” the woman smiled, “welcome to SHIELD.”
“See, like I said, Rockstar,” Coulson smiled and they took a left, “always keep the receptionists on your good side.”
The man stopped and looked her in the eye, “Always.”
“Got it,” she was a little unnerved by just how intense he became.
“Alright so like Jasmine said, you’re right here in 1713,” he stopped in front of the door, “I’m down at 1703 on the other side with the other handlers and level 8’s.”
Maria glanced down at her badge, a black LEVEL 8, inscribed into the bottom right corner.
“Go ahead, give it a whirl,” Coulson pointed to the card swipe by her door.
She did as she was told and took a step into the small but bright office. A large desk and two chairs that sat across from it took up a majority of the space. The window overlooking the Potomac had the blinds half-drawn and was bracketed by two large filing drawers.
“Welcome to SHIELD,” the other agent smiled, “I’ll let you get comfortable, everything should be in that file to get you started.”
There was one thick file in the center of the desk right in front of the computer monitor.
“Great, thank you,” she nodded and faced the man.
“I’ll swing by for lunch and then we can go meet your rookie team after,” he didn't leave any room for questions or arguments as he nodded once and left, closing the door behind him.
Maria took a breath, looked at the office once more, and sat down behind the computer. She opened the file and found the login information along with a stack of forms she needed to fill out for everything from HR to Medical.
There was also a single page with a list of 15 names, all with a (1) next to their name, except for her own which stated Maria Hill (8). Clearly, this was the list of individuals who would be reporting to her for the foreseeable future.
Her email was the first thing she dove into, the inbox was full of required training and information that Coulson had deemed helpful and sent her way in the last few days. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of mint gum, tossing the rest of the pack into the drawer on her right.
It was time to work.
By the time Agent Coulson had come to retrieve her for lunch, she had finished 3 onboarding modules, filled out all financial HR information, and felt like her eyelids were made out of lead.
“So this is the cafeteria,” the man stepped into a massive space on the first floor, the floor-to-ceiling windows flooding the space with light.
“And it has coffee?” she glanced over to him.
“Of course,” he chuckled and looked back towards her, “we’re not monsters.”
The two made their way into the inner workings of the cafeteria and picked out their respective lunches and hot beverages, meeting back at a small table in the far corner of the room. Coulson said hi to nearly every person he passed, the man apparently knew everyone.
“Hand, this is Maria Hill, new handler,” Coulson stopped a woman as she passed, “Maria this is-”
“Victoria Hand,” the woman was tall and brisk as she jutted her hand out, “where are you coming from?”
“Fort-” she started.
“Fort? Oh so you’re brand new,” the woman looked through her glasses, scrutinizing every aspect of the new Agent.
Maria didn’t flinch, didn’t say a word, she only stared right back.
“Nice to meet you, Hill,” Hand gave the smallest smirk before she went to walk away, “Bye Phil.”
“Sorry,” the man winced as they sat down, “she’s a little- well a lot really. But she’s one of the other handlers so you’re bound to cross paths, probably pretty soon.”
“Thanks,” Maria nodded as she sipped her coffee, “so she’s a handler, so are you and I, and there's 4 others?”
She tried to remember the exact breakdown of the organizational chart she had looked at during one of the onboarding modules.
“Give or take, some people come in and out of the roles, but there’s only 4 of us who are constantly in this position,” he took a bite of the sandwich in front of him.
“And then each handler has between 2 and 8 assets they oversee?” she followed suit and ate the salad in front of her.
“That’s right, during busy times you may have more than that, but with more assets comes less complication in the mission,” he sipped his drink, “or at least that’s how it's supposed to be. I currently have 6 assets who are all on pretty intense directives.”
“So I have this team of rookies because?” Maria pulled the list from her pocket and unfolded it.
“Sometimes higher level agents oversee a group of promising rookies,” Coulson squinted, “But in all honesty, I’ve never seen anyone over a level 6 in that situation.”
The brunette furrowed her brows and looked again at the list.
“But that group was hand-selected by Fury, maybe he thinks they need someone like you to lead them for a while,” he took another bite, “or maybe he knows you’re coming straight from a team setting and doesn’t want to just throw you to an agent or two just yet.”
The man slid the paper over to his side of the table and glanced at the names, “you could look them up before you meet them. Every SHIELD employee has a personnel file, level 8 means you shouldn’t get too many redactions.”
“I’m good,” she took another bite of her salad.
The two continued to eat and talk for the next 30 minutes, Coulson doing the majority of the talking as he explained more of the ins and outs of the company. She listened to his every word, Agent Coulson was clearly the man who knew everything at SHIELD. Everything, other than the reason that they were on their way to a conference room where 15 rookies were waiting for her.
“Guess I’ll leave you to it then,” the man stood in front of the door to the room with a smile, “good luck.”
“Thanks,” she schooled her features and slowed her breathing, this was something she had done more times than she could count.
There was almost no noise as she opened the door, uncommon but not completely unheard of for a new team. Members still needed time to learn who they would and would not become friends with. It was one of the biggest mistakes Maria saw others make, trying to force everyone to be friends when in reality the only thing they needed to do was respect each other and cover their backs.
“Afternoon Romeo team,” she strode in quickly, taking command of the room as she placed herself at the head of the table.
Most members straightened up, but not all, that would have to change. She narrowed her gaze and raised an eyebrow, the rest followed suit.
“I’m Major Hill,” the Commander scanned the room, “You can call me Commander Hill, you can call me Major Hill, you can just call me Hill if you really feel compelled. You might know my first name.”
Maria paused, “you do not get to call me by my first name.”
She checked each face around her to see if there was going to be any pushback from a bull-headed rookie. One girl in the back looked like she was going to roll her eyes but then corrected herself as soon as Maria’s gaze reached her.
“Do I make myself clear Romeo Team?”
“Yes-” there was an answer as all 15 members seemed to call her everything from “Hill” to what she thought might have been a “ma’am”. It was all part of the plan.
“Let's try that again,” the brunette didn’t shy away, “Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes Comm-Major Hill,” it was more in unison as some of the rookies glanced around between themselves.
“Last try,” she enunciated her words, “Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Commander Hill.” They all spoke back the same answer at the same time, most of the rookies looking at one man in particular.
Bingo.
Maria looked at the young man that most of the team seemed to look to for guidance. Whether they knew it or not, this was the current leader of Romeo Team.
“Fantastic,” she crossed her arms in front of her and leaned back against the desk behind her, “10 words or less let me know who you are.”
They all shifted for a moment, some agents using their fingers to count out words.
The Commander glanced at the woman next to her who blinked a few times, “when you’re ready.”
“Lisa Tipping, SHIELD Academy Graduate,” she sat ramrod straight, “on data and intel path.”
Maria nodded, “Agent Tipping. Next.”
“Samual Lacksley,” a thin man with glasses stammered, “Um- I- Um, recruited from industry forensics program.”
Once again Maria nodded, “Agent Lacksley. Next.”
Over and over they went through the room until all 15 agents gave her a brief synopsis of who they were. There was a mixture of SHIELD Academy graduates, university and industry students, and people who either came from the military or some other form of executive branch personnel.
One thing became abundantly clear, none of these people knew each other, let alone trusted each other. Some offered little more than their name while others pushed all 10 words and got looks of annoyance from their peers.
“I appreciate it,” the brunette concluded the exercise, “I want you to all understand something. Right here, right now, this is what I will base my judgment of your character on. I understand some of you come from generations of SHIELD or other prestigious backgrounds. I also understand that some of you may come from nothing but a shoddy roof over your head and an intimate relationship with government assistance programs.”
Maria paused and looked at the young faces in front of her, none of them knew her, none of them could judge her on her background, so why wouldn’t she give them the same grace?
“That means nothing to me, nothing,” she shook her head, “how you conduct yourself to me and to this team is what I will be using as my understanding of who you are as a person.”
“Got it?” The Commander asked as she pushed off the desk and stood at a whiteboard towards the front of the room.
“Yes, Commander Hill,” all 15 voices called out.
“This is going to be the breakdown of your time with me,” she opened the cap on the marker and began writing down the general format of their days.
“Every morning, 7 am, you will meet me at the gym for PT,” she wrote at the top, “Rain, snow or shine, we will exercise. Heads up now, I’m a runner.”
Hill pretended not to hear the huffs and groans behind her, “After that, we will attend daily breakdown where we go over any and all events that are occurring.”
She wrote this next to the 9:30-11am slot and could hear a handful of rookies scramble to write it down.
“After lunch, you will have mission education with me or another member of the SHIELD team,” Maria filled in the 11:30am-1pm box on the board, “you are then free from me for the rest of the day to fulfill your SHIELD responsibilities. Any questions?”
Maria turned around, the first girl who had offered her name raised her hand.
“Go ahead.”
“What if our other responsibilities start at 1pm? I’m starting in intelligence and our first meeting of the day is at 1pm-” she bristled slightly as Maria cut her off.
“Then it’s a good thing I’m going to teach you how to run fast,” she left no room for debate, “any other questions?”
No one was brave, or stupid, enough to ask another question.
“Fantastic, you’re dismissed. See you all at 7am.”
Maria cleaned up her papers and wiped down the board, making sure all of the rookies were gone before she finally exited the room and made her way back to her office. The office that she stayed in completed onboarding documents and trainings until she was pretty sure she was the only member left on her side of the office. Maybe even the entire floor.
She stood up and stretched, her hands cold from too much use, and her neck sore from lack of movement. Still, she had completed all of the important paperwork, and gotten a good outline for what she would discuss the next morning with Romeo team during daily breakdown. Maria Hill was satisfied with her first day at SHIELD.
That didn’t make coming home to a barely furnished apartment any better. The building was SHIELD-owned and therefore, SHIELD furnished which was to say she had a bed, small couch, coffee table, and two stools at a bar that overlooked the kitchen. It had taken the woman all of an hour to unpack everything she owned and get settled into the space.
The Commander sighed as she walked into the apartment, unzipping her uniform and letting it hang limply around her waist as she went into the kitchen and scrounged around for food. A quesadilla and bowl of mini carrots later, she declared dinner over and went into her bedroom to call it a night. She passed the second bedroom on her way and thought again about what she would convert it into.
The week before she had thought maybe it would make for a good guest room, but she couldn’t think of any guests she would invite. Then she thought about turning it into a workout room, but SHIELD had a great gym and she really was more of a runner anyway. It was almost like a game she was playing with herself, try and find as many other uses as possible before resorting to what it really would be. An office.
Maria thought about this a little more as she took a shower in the small bathroom, brushed her teeth, and set her alarm for the next morning. She had half a mind to check her phone but decided against it after the thought of it being empty crossed her mind. Instead, she emptied her mind and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.
It was a little after 6:15 the next morning when she strode into the parking garage below the building, the winter air hanging on for just a little longer before spring would take over. She tried not to shiver as she made her way over to her car, pausing when her name was called.
“Hill,” Coulson’s voice was chipper from where he stood next to what was presumably his car.
It was a nice car, really nice, nice enough for Maria to want to wince slightly at her own vehicle which was… old. She moved her coffee mug into her other hand and waved, noting the man was not alone.
“Early bird and the worm huh?” the man smiled, his raven-haired companion gave Maria a one over from where she stood, clearly not wanting to start a conversation.
Maria nodded and came to a stop next to her own car, watching as Coulson waved to her once more.
“See ya there,” he climbed into his car.
She got into her own and turned the engine over, thinking about how apparently it wasn’t just low-level or new SHIELD agents that lived in the building, but people higher up as well. She wondered for a second if Fury lived in the building before shaking her head, there was no way a man like that would let his work and personal life coincide.
It was almost laughable how short the drive from the building to the front gates was. Within a few minutes, she had arrived and handed the gate guard her badge before driving over to the parking lot, contemplating if she should just walk to work in the future. Coulson’s car was parked up front in a designated spot, the red paint shimmering in the morning sun.
The rest of the time before PT flew by and before she could really take it in, Maria was in her SHIELD-issued gear, waiting in the gym for the rest of Romeo team to show up. The academy graduates all showed up first, most of them coming in small groups together, the next was the mixed bags, each arriving at the gym one at a time, and finally, the ex-military personnel came in all as one group.
She made a mental note of this, seeing where allegiances already formed before she got to the organization. It was quiet from where she stood, a few agents working out on the other side of the gym as she cleared her throat.
“We’re going to go on a tempo run today so I can see where your endurance levels are,” she looked over the group, “40-minute run, increasing speed every 10 minutes, decreasing at the end. You will all try your best to stay in pace but if you fall back, don’t stop, keep running at the pace closest to mine, as we slow back down you should be able to catch up at the end. Got it?”
“Yes, Commander Hill,” they all spoke in unison, a little groggy around the edges.
Maria led them through a quick stretch and warm-up before they all got started on the track right outside of the double doors to the gym. The last of cold winter air still hung around as they approached the paved area around a massive obstacle course. She thought about ways to use it in the future as she took off in a jog. It was almost immediately apparent from the heavy footsteps behind her, that a majority of the rookie agents were not runners. A fact that became more and more apparent as they continued to run.
By the time they were on their cool down, Romeo Team had lost 75% of its members to slower paces. Those who kept up with Maria were unsurprising, a lithe blonde who had just graduated college, a tall soldier, and a pair of academy graduates who seemed to always be together.
The rest of the team ranged from struggling, to downright pitiful as they heaved great breaths around the track. She came to a slow stop as they crossed the finished line and watched the rest of Romeo team, Cecilio, the man people had glanced to the day before, came in close behind them at the head of his own group, however, it took another 5 minutes before the last agent crossed the finish line and Maria had to keep from shaking her head at the poor running quality most members possessed.
“Alright, shower, grab breakfast, and meet me in conference room J,” she dismissed the group and waited a few more minutes before she took off running once more.
Lap after lap she thought about what she would do with the group and how she would work to get them into better shape, it was easy to let her thoughts slip into those of past teams, of people no longer alive. She ran faster and worked to get her mind back to this team, to those still alive. By the end of her run, she had barely enough time to shower and change before the group would show up to the conference room.
Their first Daily Breakdown wasn’t terrible, it was actually better than she had expected, most of the agents were chopping at the bit to get more information about what was going on in the world and how SHIELD played a part in it. This enthusiasm, however, dwindled when she changed topics and began teaching them about geography.
It was an important skill, one that could save you or get you killed depending on your ability and what part of the world the agent was in. She used it as the opening point when giving them a previous mission for them to study. Maria drilled them on how the outcome could have changed if the SHIELD agents had been placed in another location, or if they had been unable to contact mission control during evacuation. The team had been able to answer most of the questions she asked, trying their best to understand a mission they had been given that day. However, by the time she released them of the day, most were struggling to keep their eyes open.
“Hold back for a second,” Maria looked up from her papers to an agent who had just walked by.
His eyebrows furrowed for a second but he nodded and waited until the rest of the rookies left.
“Cecilio,” she was 97% sure that was his name.
“Deren Cecilio ma’am,” he nodded, “Marine from Chicago.”
He gave the same facts he had given the day before and Maria nodded, remembering each piece due to the similarity to her own life. However, she wasn't here to tell him that she too had left Chicago to enlist in a military branch, she was here to get a read on the man.
“How’d you feel about the run this morning?” she looked him in the eye.
“Wasn’t my best work, ma’am,” he gave a soft smile and there was a hit of blush in his dark skin.
“No, I can assume it wasn’t,” she nodded, “but the group you lead didn’t fall too far behind. Do you often find yourself in those types of roles?”
“Sometimes, but I wasn’t an officer so more often than not I just kept my head down and worked.”
“And that’s working for you at SHIELD?” she wiped down the board they had used that day.
“So far,” he shrugged, “I think it’s what I’m good at.”
“I think you could be good at a lot more than that,” she looked the man in the eye, “and if you ever want to explore that side, try it out, you let me know.”
“Yes ma’am,” he nodded.
“Have a good rest of your day, Cecilio,” Maria dismissed the man that she knew had more in him. He was a natural leader, he just needed to realize that.
There were a lot of naturals in Romeo Team, a lot of people who Maria could already tell were cut out for things other than grunt work. It became more and more apparent the more time she spent with them. But it also became blatantly obvious that they were a group of individuals for the most part, and that anything remotely team-related was a complete and utter failure.
It had been three weeks since she started, when she was really starting to get in the groove of things when Coulson emailed her, requesting a meeting later that afternoon. It took her less than 3 minutes to reply and confirm that she would meet him in his office on the other side of the floor later that day.
It was a little after 2pm when she knocked twice and waited for Agent Coulson to invite her in. His office was the complete opposite of Maria’s, it was full of sights and sounds not often found in the workplace, plants, pictures, and a small bubbling fountain in one corner. The man himself was leaning forward in his chair, eyes focused on the screen in front of him.
“Hey,” he glanced up and then seemingly noticed how close he really was to the monitor and leaned back into his chair, “just looking at- actually this is why I called you in. You might get a better read on this than me.”
Maria sat down fully in the chair opposite the Agent and waited as he pushed the screen back and then swiveled it so it was placed between the two of them. She took a look at what she knew was a rap sheet, the criminal activities listed by date, the list wasn’t small.
“Potential mark?” she looked at the list, none of it was high caliber, in fact, most of it was petty theft.
If this was the first mission she was going to lead Romeo team into, SHIELD had even less faith in the team than she did.
“No, he’s actually fresh out of boot camp,” Coulson squinted at the screen, “He got a waiver to join.”
The man answered the next question on her lips. She took another look at the sheet, the petty theft started in the late 80s and lasted until the late 90s, presumably right before he joined.
“Alright,” Maria leaned back into her chair, having taken in all the information.
Coulson took one more look before he turned his gaze to the brunette, “I want him.”
“You,” she raised an eyebrow, “want him?”
“Well, I want to throw him into the academy,” finally he too leaned back into his chair.
“He’s got a rap sheet, no notable family ties, and I didn’t see anything about formal education,” Hill narrowed her gaze.
“I know,” the man nodded.
“Any complaints about him in Boot camp?”
“A few.”
“And you want him, for SHIELD academy?”
“I do,” Coulson nodded, “let’s say I’ve got a thing for wayward souls.”
This was followed by a pointed look to Maria who had to contain an eye-roll.
“And the boss man needs a sharpshooter, or at least he told me he will at some point,” the agent shook his head, “he’s so cryptic.”
“So cryptic,” Maria agreed, she had a feeling she would never get an accurate read on The Director, “alright so you want an ex-criminal with less than stellar marks, to go to SHIELD academy and become a sharpshooter?”
“Precisely,” Coulson swiveled the screen back to face him.
“And you’ve seen his abilities with a firearm?” Hill amused the man as if this was a good idea.
“Nope.”
“Agent Coulson-” she started.
“Phil,” he corrected.
“Agent Coulson,” the Commander started again, “I know I’ve only been here for a few weeks, but I don’t understand how you think this is a good idea.”
“I’ve just got a gut feeling,” he shrugged, “an old buddy I served with is an instructor at Fort Sill, told me about some kid who’s the best shot he’s ever seen.”
“And you’re just going to blindly take his word?”
“No, no, no,” the man shook his head and then looked at Maria, raising an eyebrow.
“We’re going to Oklahoma,” she sighed.
“Friday,” Coulson smiled, “9am.”
“You know, you could have just told me to show up to the hangar at 9am on Friday,” the brunette allowed herself to roll her eyes this time.
“And I told you, you’re my co-worker, I’m not your boss,” he gave a soft smile, “plus I really did want to get your honest opinion of him.”
“My honest opinion of him is that he’s some young shot with a temper and a rap sheet who isn’t going to want to go to more school considering he doesn’t even have a high school diploma,” Maria spoke exactly what she thought, there was no point in sugar coating it to a man who was clearly already in this kids corner.
“Guess we're going to find out,” Coulson laughed, “want to put a wager on it?”
“Yeah,” she nodded, not even having to think about it, “$10 says he laughs in your face and turns you down.”
“Deal,” the Agent shook her hand.
And for the first time in a while, Maria found herself smiling at someone out of genuine happiness. Slowly, she schooled her features and stood up, there was work to be done before Friday.
“See ya later Coulson,” The Commander saw herself out.
“Bye Maria,” she could still hear the smile on his face as she closed the door behind her.
“I have never encountered a dumber man in my life,” one of the rookies, Lacksley by the sound of it, scoffed at another rookie who towered over him.
“And I’ve never met someone over 6 who can’t do monkey bars,” Smith bellowed back.
“They’re wider than my wingspan!” Lacksley’s voice cracked as he tried to raise it.
“Gentleman,” Maria finally made it to the team where they all quieted immediately and fell into line.
“Happy Thursday Romeo team,” she walked down the line of the 15 rookies who ranged from tired to annoyed, “before we get started, I have one update for you all. After PT tomorrow you will join Quebec team for intel and mission analysis. They are working on a slightly different case than we are but I want you to attend and learn from them.”
“Major Hill?” one of the blonde rookies, Leslie? Lexi? she couldn’t remember, launched her hand into the air.
“Yes Rookie?” the brunette stopped and turned on her heel.
“Are you going to grade us on how well we do with a case we’re unaware of?”
“Should I?” She raised an eyebrow and watched as a full 14 heads turned to face the young woman, the rookie next to her sending an elbow into her ribs.
“No, sorry,” the blonde stared at her feet.
“Great, now that we have that out of the way,” she continued walking down the line, “I would also like to inform you that I will not be present during Daily Breakdown, or the mission discussion.”
Various faces lit up.
“However,” she stopped and looked at one rookie who seemed especially excited to hear Maria would be absent, “I will get a full report back from their team leader, and should I hear anything about Romeo team other than excellence, you will be running bleachers. Every day. For the next month. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Commander Hill,” they all barked back in unison.
“Perfect,” she made her way to the outer doors of the gym, “you know the drill, let’s tier out those bodies.”
Maria threw the doors open and inhaled the crisp spring air that stretched over the morning sun. The obstacle course stood in its glory directly to the right of the track they were now approaching, she glanced over to it once while the team lined up in two perfect rows behind her.
“Cecilio, upfront,” she didn’t turn around as she ordered the agent to stand next to her.
It took less than 2 seconds for him to fill in the gap to her right.
“Let's head out,” Maria glanced at her watch once before her feet started off at a steady pace.
She waited until they hit a half mile before she finally spoke to the man.
“Watch over them tomorrow, make sure everyone gets a spot at the table,” Maria spoke at a comfortable conversational pace.
“Yes,” the same could not be said for Cecilio, “ma’am.”
“If you need anything, let their team leader know,” she had met the man a week prior, he seemed competent, “Mackenzie knows how to get in contact with me.”
“Got, it,” the man heaved.
“That’s it, enjoy the run,” Maria let him off the hook as she glanced at her watch and picked up the pace.
She knew she could threaten, she could ask for Cecilio to give her intel on who was and wasn’t behaving, but that wasn’t how a team was formed. Teams were formed on trust and respect, something she had to give to get back in return.
Something she reminded herself of as she walked into the hangar the next morning at 9am. She respected Coulson and was trying her best to trust him in a total gamble on some soldier in Oklahoma.
“It physically hurt my soul to get this,” the man held out a cup to Maria, “black coffee has got to be a sin.”
The Commander gave a sly smile but covered it with the cup as she took a sip, still hot.
“Thank you,” She took another sip as they approached the large plane in front of them.
“You’ve got your pick,” one of the pilots loaded into the vehicle before them, “just don't pick my seat.”
Agent Coulson gave a loud laugh, Maria rolled her eyes and looked around the plane. The pilot was right, there were only a handful of other agents sitting in seats, the majority of the space was taken up by cargo. She internally groaned, it probably wouldn’t be the most pleasant 6-hour flight, but she had been in much much worse situations.
The memory was like touching a hot iron, the tang of blood a phantom taste in her mouth as she looked around the empty plane. It had been so similar to the one she had been transported out on nearly one year ago. Different, she reminded herself once more, this was different.
“Here good?” Coulson pointed to two empty seats. She nodded, not trusting her voice.
Her vision tunneled slightly as she sat down and made the mistake of looking at the ceiling of the airplane. It was all so similar.
“I just have a good feeling about this one,” the man sighed and Maria did everything in her power to stay focused on what he was saying.
“Yeah?” she asked, trying to stay in the present.
“Yeah,” the Agent buckled himself in as the engine hummed around them, “I don't know what it is but I just do.”
Maria hummed and searched her pocket until she pulled out a piece of gum, offering one to the man next to her who shook his head. She popped a piece into her mouth and tried again to pull her mind from the memory and into the present.
“Did I tell you he was in the circus?” Coulson turned to her and asked.
That was the last thing she had expected, and suddenly she was interested, and very much in the moment.