Chapter 1

"Again, faster," my S.O. commanded. The older woman motioned angrily, and several burly men stepped back into the room carrying fake weapons. "Do you even understand your job? If you're not effective, the whole agency is in danger."

"Yes Ma'am," I responded, rolling my shoulders and cracking my neck.

"Don't waste my time," she ordered.

Taking a deep breath, I launched into action, sliding under the table, kicking out one man. With a handspring, I grabbed his fallen knife and threw it at the man trying to shoot me. The remaining three converged, one trying to shoot as I rolled over a couch. I had no weapons, so i kicked out a leg of the end table and used that to bludgeon the first man brave or stupid enough to come around the side. Holding him against me as a shield, i took out the shooter, and a few good hits were enough for the last guy, sadly armed with only a bat, which was too heavy to move as fast as I did. Shaking the blood off my hand, i looked to Agent Crosby, knowing only the opinion of my supervising officer mattered. And unluckily for me, my old one had gone undercover and left me with this crusty jerk.

"You're all dismissed." Crosby commanded the men, who all still lay on the ground. A second team of workers stepped in, also bruised and bloodied, and dragged them out of sight, grief slashing across their faces when there wasn't a pulse to be found. I couldn't help but feel a little bad that two of them were dead, but I hid that as best I could. "For years we've trained you, yes? personally , I still wouldn't have you in the field, with the amount of money we've spent on you we can't risk you dying before you've paid your dues." She glared down at me, forcing me to draw myself up to my full height, which wasn't much.

"I was under the impression I'd already proved myself and advanced to a full rank field agent after Dakar last year." I stood still, avoiding her eyes. Any sign of insolence and she'd have me back in boot camp. Crosby stared hard, trying to bore into my head. Seconds passed in silence, and i couldn't help but feel victorious. If there's one thing my old S.O. taught me, it's being whoever I need to be, only letting what I choose show on my face. He was the expert in espionage.

"Why are you here?" she finally asked, making my head swim with relief.

"I want to make the world a better place. To do that i need to eliminate those who are making the problems. I don't matter, but this organization does. I'll give my life to protect it and help it stay strong, so it can do all the good it does for the world." Crosby looked dissatisfied with my answer, and I wondered if i should have said part of the science side's manifesto as well.

"You'll receive orders soon enough, until then you will carry on your schedule as usual. Do not mistake me, Agent Frederick, this is no promotion, you're simply being allowed to remain on field duty." My heart leapt, despite the bitter taste of her calling me Frederick. My old S.O. had called me Jamie, my first name, because he was my friend. Crosby and I were nothing more than associates, which made me miss him, but maybe on field duty i could actually see him again. "You're espionage division primarily, but as usual the command of any higher officer holds, and any can take you on missions if you're not specifically assigned to one at that time."

"Yes Ma'am. Hail Hydra."

"Hail Hydra."

"Remember, cover your six. SHIELD is still out there, no matter how fragmented, and we're not the only ones with sources," Agent Crosby reminded me needlessly through the coms. "We need this one to continue our work on the obelisk."

I ducked into the stairwell so i could respond without the cameras seeing. "So he's recovered it?" i asked, hushed with reverence. The Obelisk was something we'd dreamed about for years, and searched for since long before I was born, but I'd always thought it was a myth. Until it turned up again a few months ago, and this time we had a shot at it. Its incredible power still seemed unreal to me.

"Get moving Agent Frederick. And yes, we've sent Creel after it," she responded, knowing closure was the best way to draw my focus back to the mission. Not that it was difficult, but the Girl Scout uniform and cart of cookies was one of my least favorite outfit, since it made concealing any weapons damn near impossible to be reached quickly. I usually looked older than I probably was, but not with the makeup they'd done. I stepped quickly down the hall, arranging my face to be the picture of innocence, with just a twinge of teenage awkwardness.

A quick knock revealed a messy man in his late twenties or early thirties, disheveled but holding himself like he was ready for a fight. He was decently in shape, but that wasn't what worried me. Everything about him screamed powers, from the way he stood down to the look in his eyes.

"Good morning sir, I was just wondering if you wanted to buy some cookies. They changed the brand, but they're still delicious, and of course the Thin Mints haven't changed." I gave my most convincing giggle and he relaxed, opening the door wider and letting me in.

"It's just me and my daughter, so we don't need many, but I could never say no to Girl Scout cookies. How about two boxes of tagalongs and a Thin Mint?" He reached for his wallet, rummaging in his pockets.

"Get the daughter too," Agent Crosby whispered in my ear. "Radar alert a mile from your location, do it now Agent Frederick."

I pulled the gun from my waistband, aiming at his leg as i scanned for the kid.

"Ah, here it-" He stopped in his tracks, seeing the gun. Slowly putting his hands in the air, he threw a desperate glance down the hall, probably for the girl. "What's going on?" His voice trembled. "Here, if you want the money just take it and leave us alone!"

"I've heard a little rumor about you, and I want it confirmed." I stepped forward, steering him so I would be closer to his daughter.

"Are you with SHIELD? My caseworker was supposed to check in months ago." He waited in silence for a few moments as I tried not to pistol whip him for even suggesting such a thing. "Please, I'm not dangerous. I cleaned up for my daughter, I don't fight anymore!"

He panicked, launching himself by me down the hallway. Sighing, I squeezed the trigger, shooting him in the leg at point blank range. He fell, but no hole or blood appeared. Standing, he ran down the hall, throwing open a door and making a child scream. Unfortunately for him i was right on his heels, slipping into the room after him and shutting the door behind us.

"Kid, get in the closet. I don't want her to see this." i waited for her to obey before circling him, guard up. "Impervious to gunfire, huh? I bet I can still find a way to make you bleed."

"You're on." He launched, but I ducked sideways, using his forward momentum to shove him headlong into a wall. He rebounded fast, faking and snapping a kick to my stomach. I laughed a little. He was such a boxer. I ducked in close, kneeing him and grabbing his arm, using the wall to send me behind and over him, cracking his elbow the wrong way and making him bellow. His daughter's cries became audible through the door, and I knew we'd have police in a few minutes. I flipped him, knocking all the wind out of his lungs. He jumped up as fast as he could, but leaned back on the bedroom door. I roundhoused him squarely in the chest, putting him through the door. We didn't get up from that one. The little girl came out of the closet, wailing loud enough I knew the neighbors were definitely calling the police.

"Hey kiddo, what's your name?" I asked her, but she slid away. A glance at her wall showed me her name was Anna.

"Anna if you don't get quiet right now I'm going to kill your father. Hush. Now come with me." She obliged, following me through the empty frame to where her father lay. He looked pretty intact, but the impact seemed to have really affected him. "Don't say a word. Move or she dies."

"She's five years old, Goddammit! Please!" he cried out, but he stood and followed me. I held his daughter's hand and she shook with fear.

"Crosby, how close are you?" I asked my earpiece, knowing that the aircraft had probably arrived. Just as I finished my sentence the door was kicked down, and SHIELD agents burst in. Pushing the other two back, I returned their fire, seeing the first two fall and narrowly missing getting killed.

"Have a car waiting at the fire escape!" I yelled to my earpiece, shoving both father and daughter out the window. Even one handed the man climbed fast, and the girl kept pace. We reached the bottom quickly, screeching into the van as bullets pinged off the doors and windows.

"It's going to be okay, Annie, daddy's here, I won't let anything happen to you." He cradled her to his chest, but she pushed away. He turned to me, watching as I scrubbed the makeup off, tucking my hair into its usual knotted braid. I yanked off the sash and shirt, revealing my bulletproof vest and weapons beneath. "Who are you? Why is SHIELD still after me? I thought you were gone."

I leaned forward a bit, tapping my gun casually, hoping to scare him into a confession. He put an arm around Anna, and this time she let him.

"SHIELD?" she asked in her little voice. "Are you a superhero?"

She leaned in, now unafraid.

"This is about the other night isn't it? I swear, I didn't mean to kill him. I thought SHIELD was gone! We were desperate, so I thought it would be okay to do this one fight." He looked miserable, and his daughter pulled away from him fast. She bounced over, coming to rest right beside me.

"Daddy no!" she cried. I reached out instinctively, squeezing her little shoulders. She turned to me, crying, but not trusting me so much either. "You're a superhero?"

"Nope. I'm no more than you could be Anna. I'm a normal girl who trained hard, every day, so I can stop bad people from hurting good people." I gave her a quick flash of smile as she dried her eyes.

"Annie, don't believe her. You know your daddy is a good guy. The guy I hurt wasn't good baby, he was a mean, bad man." He was desperate, and we could both see it. Anna looked between us, afraid and confused. Luckily the car stopped before her father could say more. The door opened and the man was dragged out, bag over his head and handcuffed. Two brutes reached for Anna but I motioned for them to leave her alone. I stepped out, and she followed, more awed than afraid. She looked around the base, mouth hanging open, struggling to comprehend the beehive-like structure, with people swarming all throughout.

Crosby marched up, giving me a warning look as Doctor Whitehall joined her in the approach.

"Agent Frederick." He said seriously, and I wondered how he knew my name.

"Hail Hydra!" I saluted, and he nodded for me to continue. "Father and daughter recovered sir."

I knelt beside Anna, turning her to look me in the eye.

"You're going to go with this Agent, alright? I have to report to these people, but I'll come check on you." She nodded, following the woman away until she was out of earshot. "Father appears to be surface invincible, but not immune to pressure. A heavy hit will hurt him, but not break his skin. Daughter thinks we're SHIELD, but she trusts me enough I'm starting to convince her her dad is a bad guy."

"Good work. I hear you have a background in biology and anatomy?" He peered at me through his round little glasses.

"Yes sir, and some chemistry. I was trained in both science and field work so I would be guaranteed acceptance to at least one of the SHIELD academies," I responded, standing stock still. I hated lab work, but I knew this wasn't the kind of man you said no too.

"That won't be necessary. You're assigned to me, effective now. Tomorrow we'll be in the lab, but we're still missing one piece of the genetic puzzle. Bring me the mother."