When the lift doors slid open, the team knew immediately that this was going to be serious.
The head of MI9, Stark and Frank were all standing in a line, looking at them with almost grave looks on their faces. Frank rarely ever wore any serious expression on his face, so this immediately made Rose start to worry.
She felt a hand brush hers. It was a very light brush, and probably looked almost accidental, but when Rose stole a glance in Oscar's direction, he gave an almost imperceptible nod, lips twitching at the sides. It had been to reassure her, she supposed.
Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she wondered if he'd done the same to Carrie.
"Agents," Frank said, as the three finally exited the lift and walked towards him. He opened his mouth to speak again, but was rudely cut off by Stark.
"We have a mission for you." The man announced, as though it weren't already obvious.
"Yeah, we figured as much." Carrie said, casually. "We don't usually get called down here for a cup of tea and a chat."
Rose's lips twitched, but she held back a giggle. The irritated look on Stark's face, and the amusement on Frank's and the head of MI9's made it very hard to do so, but she managed it.
"A very serious mission, Miss Stewart." The head of MI9 said. "A deep cover mission, in fact. But not just for Agent Cole. It's for all of you."
Rose's eyes widened slightly at the irony of this.
Lately, she'd been thinking about how she was only really good at being a tech agent, or at least, that's what it looked like. She longed to prove that she could be good in the field too. She knew Oscar, Carrie and Frank believed in her, but perhaps it wasn't enough.
"I know it isn't ideal," the head said. "And I apologize. But it is necessary."
"What's going on?" Oscar finally asked. "Where are we going to be going?"
Frank turned to the monitors and switched one on. A picture of a boarding school came up. "You'll all be going here. This is the Eichen Institute."
"Sounds like a mental asylum more than a boarding school." Rose muttered, and Oscar nodded.
"We have reason to believe that SKUL are taking students from Eichen and turning them into SKUL agents, as long as they qualify for the job." Stark said loudly, crossing his arms. Rose assumed he was trying to make himself look important.
"What makes you think it's SKUL?" Carrie asked. "I mean, kids do go missing all the time…"
"Correct, Carrie. That's what we thought it was at first," the head of MI9 explained. "But, a few months ago, a mole began leaking information to us – top secret SKUL information. They also revealed that SKUL has been increasing in numbers, and taking on children from a boarding school. We narrowed it down to Eichen, as most evidence points there."
Frank picked up three folders, handing them to the three agents. "These are your secret identities. You'll need to spend the next few weeks reading up on them – after all, we can't have any of you making mistakes on your history. You can't be found out."
Rose opened the folder, eyes scanning what was written there. Rosie Edwards, she read, aged 16. Parents were divorced shortly after her birth, and she lived on with her father. Her mother is deceased. Rose continued reading on, curiosity sparking inside her like wildfire. This character seemed very exciting, she admitted. She closed the file and glanced up at Frank, who smiled encouragingly.
"Off you go then, agents. When we next call you down, it will be to send you to Eichen." Stark said.
The three turned to walk back to the lift.
"Rose," Frank called out. "Can I have a word?"
Slightly alarmed, Rose stopped and turned around, only to find that Oscar had stopped too.
"Privately." Frank added, giving Stark a pointed look.
Rose glanced over at Oscar, who was looking at her questioningly, eyes scanning her face. She gave a little nod, and he frowned, but nodded, placing a gentle hand on her arm for a moment, squeezing, before walking to the lift with Stark, Carrie, and the head of MI9.
"Rose," Frank said, as soon as the doors shut. "I understand that you've been wanting to do more fieldwork."
Rose's eyebrows raised in surprise. "How do you know about that?"
"I'm a very perceptive person. Maybe not as perceptive as you, but I pick up on emotions easily. You think we see you as the tech agent, and nothing else. You're wrong." Frank told her gently. "You're far more important than a mere tech agent. You were trained in all areas of spying, and you passed your tests with flying colors."
She shrugged her shoulders, although a smile was pulling onto her lips. "Yeah, I suppose." She agreed.
"Don't worry, Rosie." Frank said, grinning. "You'll do fine at boarding school."
"Thanks, Frank." Rose replied, quietly. "I appreciate it."
"Anytime. You know you can talk to me whenever you need to, Rose. You'll get your gadgets just before we send you to Eichen, by the way, I forgot to mention that." He smiled. "Off you go."
Rose turned towards the lift and walked towards it, a grin on her face. Her confidence had definitely skyrocketed.
"What happened?" Oscar asked, as soon as Rose stepped out of the storeroom. She was surprised – he was alone. No Carrie, no Stark, no head of MI9.
"Oh, nothing." Rose said nonchalantly.
Oscar gave her a look, the intensity of which sent Rose's heart racing, stomach fluttering with butterflies that she tried desperately to ignore.
She quietly explained what she'd talked about with Frank.
Oscar looked astonished. "Wait, wait. You thought you were just a tech agent?" he asked.
"It felt like that's all everyone saw me as." Rose admitted.
"Rose, you're not just anything. You're Rose Gupta, a genius, one of the best agents around." Oscar murmured, his voice low as he took a step closer. "Don't think we'll ever see you as anything else. Okay?"
Rose's heart was pounding so hard in her chest, she wondered if he could hear it. She nodded.
"Okay." She whispered.