Life on the Edge
Chapter One
"Mas! Keep your arms tucked in tighter when you turn," Agent van Houtem shouted across the training pads.
The dark brunette haired woman winced inwardly as she did as she was told, quickly swivelling around her opponent with her arms tucked in even closer to her body. She stopped, keeping a good inch between her chest and his back before raised her arm and jabbing her open hand down on his neck. The man, Edwin Aller, collapsed into a heap on the floor, knocked unconscious with her hit.
"Better. Agent Spijker, bring the medic over."
Elisabeth Mas stood at her full height, accepting a wet towel from one of the help. She looked back at her mentor and father figure. Ludo Van Houtem was a senior soldier for the Belgium government, assigned to live out the rest of his days training a group of children, now adults, as a new batch of agents. There were sixteen of them, Elisabeth included. Each of them were children who had been abandoned, orphaned or just caught the governments eye.
Houtem was an older gentleman, somewhere in his late sixties. His previously dark brown hair had lightened, tuning to a mixture of grey and brown. His eyes were a piercing shade of blue that stood out in the house. He was still a strong fellow even at his age, his body lined with muscle. He stood at six foot four and had just recently started a collection of wrinkles on his face and hands. But if you had asked any of his 'children', Van Houtem looked tired. His many scars stood out on tanned skin and his eyes held the same look that Elizabeth had seen in victims of war.
The older man beckoned her over with a jerk of his head. Elisabeth jogged over, the towel still clutched in her hand. Once she stopped Van Houtem looked over her with calculating blue eyes. He gave an approving nod before placing a hand on her pale shoulder.
"You should go meet with your next class. I'm sure that Agent Coeman won't be too pleased if her top student was late."
He gave the woman a tired smile before turning his head back to the mat.
"I want Zeeger and Richard on the mat next!"
Elizabeth ignored the sound of feet hitting the padded floor mats and continued out of gym one.
Twenty-two years old and she was still taking 'classes'. Although Machteld Coeman's gymnastics class was her favourite by far Elisabeth had grown bored of doing the same routines over and over again. They'd be doing floor exercises, just like the week before. And three weeks before that was the same thing. The dark haired woman gnawed at her bottom lip as gym two came into her line of sight. The doors were open, letting her view the three other trainees as they stretched their limbs.
Elisabeth bit down harder, causing her pink lips to darken. At the last moment she turned, heading down the next hall into the East wing. The sixteen trainees had lived in the Van Houtem mansion their entire lives. It was outside the small town of Gesves on the southern side of Belgium. They had been living there for seventeen years. The eight men and eight women had been collected at the age of five and brought to the Van Houtem mansion. The other agents lived there as well, only leaving when called out on missions. Elisabeth and the others were meant to replace them one day and join the Bureau. Perhaps some of them would even become higher up agents, working on hard cases that would ultimately save people's lives.
She sighed when she finally reached the small stair case at the end of the East hall. She took each step with easy grace, moving up to the small hide away that had been created specifically for this need. At the top of the stairs was a small platform and on the other side was a sliding glass door. Elisabeth took a deep breath and crossed over to the door. She pulled the clear glass back by the handle and relished in the cool breeze that filtered through the opening. She stepped out onto a small balcony. There were only two on the mansion, both on either sides of the structure. She closed the door behind her and walked out to the railing.
There was always something calming about being out here. Elisabeth breathed deeply and smiled. She loved to be outside, enjoying the cool autumn breeze as it tangled her dark brown hair. She folded her arms on the metal rail and leaned over slightly, looking down at the almost black water of the pond below the balcony. There were still signs of life under the surface and Elisabeth made a mental note to talk to the mansion's caretaker that the fishes needed to be taken out from the pond before it got any colder. The woman leaned her head down and rested her chin on her folded arms.
"I thought I might you up here," the rough voice of Houtem sounded from behind her.
Elisabeth had heard the soft sliding of the glass door and the repetitive 'clack' of the old man's cane. She stood up straight and turned to face the man. Houtem was smiling the same tired smile he had used for the last five years. She felt a similar smile slide onto her face as she moved over to make room for the man on the rail.
He took the offered place and set his cane against the metal.
"It's not that hard to find me," Elisabeth replied, returning to looking over the east half of the yard.
She could feel Houtem chuckle before he replied.
"Yes, you're right. There aren't many places one can find you. I guess here was a good first guess."
"What would you like, sir?" She turned her head slightly, observing Houtem out of the corner of her eye.
He looked more tired now, his face relaxing a bit more.
"It's not what I'd like, Elisabeth, it's what you'd like."
His response startled her, blue-green eyes widening. Houtem rarely called them by their first names.
"I see the way you look longingly outside the gates. You and every one of the other children."
"It's hard not to long for a world you've never known," she replied quietly, turning her head fully. He didn't turn, just kept looking out over the yard.
"You're right, very right. It's not fair to you or the others that we keep you cooped up in here. But you know our orders, mine especially."
He sighed and straightened out, turning to the woman he had raised like a daughter.
"So, I have made a suggestion to the Bureau. They have accepted and you, along with the other children, will be starting the next chapter of your lives."
Elisabeth stared at Houtem for a long time, trying to comprehend his words. It took a few more moments before she stood as well.
"You mean we're leaving here?"
He nodded his head and a large grin lit up across the woman's face.
"We're going to be going to the Bureau?" She asked, an excited note to her voice.
The grey haired man nodded his head and a laugh bubbled out from him. It wasn't often that she sounded so happy.
"Yes already! You and the others will be leaving tomorrow. An agent will be here to pick you all up. It'll take a little over an hour to get to Brussels and the Agent will take you straight to Headquarters, no detours, no sightseeing." Houtem explained slowly, raising an eyebrow at her.
Not like he needed to warn Elisabeth about this but she need to know so to keep the others in line.
"Of course," Elisabeth answered quickly.
She let her grin fade, putting her head into what Houtem was telling her. There would be time to celebrate with the others later, but now she needed to lighten. This would, after all, be his last orders for her.
"After dinner I will be making the official announcement and I will give my last orders then," the man told her.
He gave her once more tired smile before heading back towards the glass door.
"Oh, and Mas? I wouldn't suggest not skipping out on the training you will receive at Headquarters."
Elisabeth wandered back down to her bedroom in the West hall. It was where all the bedrooms were for both the trainees and the older agents. Her room was on the left side of the hall, third from the beginning. She walked in and hastily dropped onto her mattress. The room was rather plain, a mandatory thing in the mansion. The only furniture was her single bed, dresser and a desk. There was a mirror pinned to the wall beside the dresser and a pin board nailed into the wall beside her bed.
She stood slowly and stretched her arms above her head. The next twenty-four hours were going to be long. Elisabeth wasn't expecting to get much sleep that night, but then again when did she get enough sleep? Every day she ran on four or five hours of rest before she had to get up at five to begin her day. After dinner she would probably spend some time with the other trainees before coming back to her room and packing away the small trinkets on her desk and her clothing.
Elisabeth went over to the mirror and sighed at the reflection staring back at her. The eight women trainees had all been groomed and raised the same way; beauty and training come first and foremost. In their line of work, or soon to be work, a woman had the upper hand if she was attractive. It meant getting information from their targets easier. Each of the women took their appearances seriously, even herself. None of them had easily seen scars or blemishes. They were all hidden under their clothing.
She looked into the mirror as the reflection inside stared back. Her hair was anything but straight. Her loose spiral curls hung around her face, falling just a bit lower than her shoulders and shining in the dim lighting. Blue-green eyes stared back at her, framed with heavily darkened eyelashes. Elisabeth had full lips that were almost always red from her biting at them. She had a natural frame, almost five foot six with graceful curves. But there was no denying the lean muscles that hid under her pale flesh. And all of these traits just made her job that much easier.
Elisabeth gave the woman in the mirror a nasty glare before she turned off the lights and left the room. Dinner would be soon and if she didn't make it there soon there would be nowhere for her to sit. The mess hall was already starting to fill once she got there. There were a few more seats but Elisabeth found the perfect one beside her long-time friend, Sofie Daelmans. The brunette quickly made her way to the table in the middle of the room, dropping into her seat. Sofie looked up at the other woman with a smile before turning back to the table.
Once the last of the agents and trainees filed in Houtem stood. The group of young and old hushed quickly and Elisabeth sucked in a breath. After this night there was never going to be a way back. There would be no chances to find their families, if they had them. It would only be a straight shoot into the life of spying, hand-to-hand combat, stealing, killing. Elisabeth was planning on making that shot.
Hey there all you Hawkeye fans!
I decided to write this fanfiction a few nights ago after watching the Avengers for probably the hundrith time. Hawkeye has to be one of my favourite Avengers, Loki being my top favourite character in the whole movie. But after looking for some fanfictions for him I was extremely dissatisfied with the amount of good fanfictions for him.
So, this will be my attempt at my own Clint/OC fanfiction. Hope you like it!
I should also specify that the way I spelt Elisabeth's name was for a reason. Instead of her name being pronounced as 'ee-liz-a-beth'. I'd rather it be pronounced 'el-lisa-beth'. See the difference?
LOVE YA!