"Mr. Pierce?" The assistant knocks lightly at the door.
Director Pierce, not bothering to look up from the files spread across his desk, makes his annoyance clear with a short sigh. "Yes? What is it Lauren, I'm very busy."
"Your 2 o'clock has arrived early, sir." Lauren had been working for Pierce for 3 years, but she was still very nervous around the stern businessman. After a short pause, she dares to speak again. "What should I tell them?"
Pierce flips closed the file in his hand, lies it flat on the desk, and glances down at his watch. 1:45 in the afternoon. 15 minutes early. Pierce thinks to himself. Not so early as to disrupt, just early enough to impress. Pierce finally looks up and nods at the very nervous Lauren, letting her know she is to show the appointment to his office. Looking back down at his desk, Pierce hears the soft click of his door closing. Pursing his lips, he neatly stacks the files that are currently strewn across his desk, leaving the one he had most recently looked through on the top of the pile.
He doesn't look up when the door opened again, he simple re-opens the top file and folds the cover back as he speaks. "I see you arrived early today, our appointment was not until 2, correct?"
"Yes, sir. I was always told 'if you aren't early you're late', sir." You enter the room just enough to close the door behind you, and stand with your hands behind your back awaiting acknowledgement from the Director. You could almost see a twitch at the corner of his mouth, as though the comment secretly amused him.
"Please." He motions towards the empty chair in front of his desk, still not looking up from the file. "Have a seat."
You make your way to the seat, although a very uncomfortable one, you manage to sit up straight and look professional.
Pierce flips up through several pages in the file before finally looking up at you to speak. "You may have guessed that this is your file." It wasn't a question, so you simply nod in agreement. He stares at you for a few seconds, though they seem to drag on for an eternity, before he continues. "It's impressive, very impressive in fact. I see you have extensive combat training, you know several languages, and I believe you were a pilot for several years? I expect you'll be able to start immediately following a physical assessment?"
It takes you a moment to fully comprehend what he just said. Well...That was much easier than expected. "Yes, sir. Although, I've already had my physical with your physicians. The documentation should be in the file."
He smiles at you almost humorously, a slight chuckle escaping him as your brows slightly furrow in confusion. "No, I'm afraid you misunderstood me." He holds up his finger to ask, or rather demand your momentary silence as he pushes a button on his phone. "Lauren? Send him in now." He looks back towards you, a smile returning to his features as the door opens. You don't look until he motions proudly towards whomever is now closing the door behind them. "This," Pierce stands to meet the man in the middle of the room, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Is Brock Rumlow. Leader of Shield's most elite Strike team."
You stand and face the two men, offering your hand out to the man you now know as Rumlow. In the time it takes for him to give you a quick one over, firmly shake your hand, and give you a slight nod, you size him up discretely. He is the same height as you, 5'10". A bit short for a man. You comment to yourself, although he seems to make up for it in strength. He is very muscular, decked out in black combat gear, and has handguns holstered to each of his thighs as well as a blade hidden in his left boot, the latter of which would have gone unnoticed by a lesser trained individual. He had a strong, sculpted jaw, and stubble that suggested he didn't have time for upkeep, but his hair told you otherwise. Short on the sides, longer on the top and styled in a sort of up-do that almost reminded you of David Beckham's, you could tell he took care of himself as well as his appearance. He's actually sort of...handsome. You manage to look at Pierce in an attempt to dismiss any such thoughts.
"What do you think?" Pierce asks Rumlow, both looking at you.
"Her file seemed good. But paper doesn't mean shit out there on the field." Pierce was nodding in agreement as Rumlow talks, both still looking at you, as though you can't hear what they're saying. You clench your jaw, on the verge of getting irritated when Rumlow speaks up again. "Let's see what she's got. Follow me." He motions for you as he strides out of the room.
You steal a quick glance at Pierce, who nods, before following after Rumlow.
You walk in silence to the elevator. When the doors close, you are the only two in. He presses and holds the button for the basement, it briefly flashes blue before returning to its usual white, and the elevator begins its descent.
You look up from the button to Rumlow, who answers your questioning glance only with a slight chuckle and a smirk.
Damn, they've got the works down here. You think to yourself as the elevator finally comes to a stop, two floors below what's supposed to be the basement floor.
As the doors open and Rumlow steps out, pauses, and glances back at you. "Coming?"
You cautiously step out of the safety of the elevator, trying to make a mental note of any exits or threats. Just in case...
You follow him into a large room where a 2 men are sparring, while the 3 others sit along a bench, drinking from water bottles and enjoying watching the others. That is, until they notice you walking in behind Rumlow. All sparring and goofing around ceases, and all eyes are now on you.
"Well guys," Rumlow speaks up, his voice deep and authoritative. "This is our new recruit." He starts to smile, and soon everyone else in the room is smiling and nudging one other. "Pierce wants us to see if she makes the cut for our team." Rumlow turns to you, and the edges of his mouth turn up into a cocky half grin once more. "My team is the best of the best, the elite, we make navy seals look like girl scouts. If you wanna join us, you better prove what you're worth." He steps closer to you until you're only inches apart, but you refuse to back down.
You look square into his eyes, for a moment you have a stand off, and his jaw clenches with irritation. You smirk and ask, "Who's first?"
He chuckles and puts his hands on your shoulders, spins you around, and gives you a light shove towards a door marked 'women'. "You'll find combats in there to change in to, come out ready to prove yourself."
...
Your breathing is hard, and your muscles are beginning to ache. You had managed to hold your own, and then some, against almost every single one of the men. You even impressed against a group of 3, a few of the men are nodding in approval at your skills and endurance. But you can see Rumlow as he stands on the sidelines, silently watching you the whole time, seemingly unimpressed. He would only speak up to bark out the name, or names, of your next opponent(s), but he has been silent for a few moments now.
You take advantage of the opportunity to catch your breath, and watch him as he paces slowly around the perimeter of the sparring floor.
"I've only got one more for you." He nods towards the only man other than Rumlow you have yet to go up against, Rollins. He's a very tall, large man.
Rollins removes his gloves and steps towards you slowly assessing your stance.
You gulp, and steady your feet, reading yourself.
He suddenly lunges towards you, but you slip down to the floor and kick up, catching him right in the stomach and launch him over you. He hits the floor and you flip to your feet, you turn in time to see him do the same. You move to kick him with your right foot, but he grabs it and chuckles softly. You take advantage of the leverage he has allowed you and flip your left leg up to kick him in the jaw. The shock of the kick forces him to release you, allowing you to land in a kneeling position. You allow no time for him to recover and tackle him to the floor. You get a few punches in until he grabs you by the hips and throws you over him, causing you to not only hit the floor but slide a few feet away. You cough slightly before recovering to your feet, but he's already on you, he lands a punch on your ribs making you lose your breath as well as your footing. You muster any strength you can to push him away from you, even if only for a few seconds. When he returns you quickly spin to face away, reach back to grip his neck, and hoist your body up with your legs tucked to your chest. You then kick all your weight out and down, bringing him along with you through your tight grip and momentum, sending him in one flip over your shoulder down to the floor. You straddle him before he can recover and attempt a punch, but he catches your hand, and flips over on top with your hands now pinned above your head. You attempt to kick him off, but he moves so that his knees now pin your legs. You struggle momentarily, but then he looks up towards the door, and nods as he gets up to step away from you.
Rumlow approaches and offers you a hand, which you hesitantly accept.
"I'm impressed." He says as he places his hands on his hips and takes a brief moment to catch his breath. "Welcome to the team." His wide grin is met with more applause as he claps his rather large hand on your shoulder. You manage not to flinch.
Several of the men approach you to give their approving clap on the back as well, soon you are surrounded by the previously skeptical men. Rollins looks rather irritated as he stands to the side. You glance over your shoulder to see Rumlow adjusting his ear piece, apparently talking to someone on the other end. He looks towards you, snaps his fingers twice, and points to the ground before him before returning to his conversation.
You excuse yourself from the group and half-jog to stand before Rumlow, where you wait patiently until he's done talking.
"Great. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Of course, sir. I'll see to it personally. Sir."
You look up to face him but he's already looking at you, his features turned up in that cocky half smirk of his. "Pierce was glad to hear you made it. Follow me and I'll show you around a bit, give you the tour myself so one of these knuckle heads don't fuck it up somehow. Can't have you getting lost around here can we?" He turns and motions for you to follow him.
Once you are in the elevator again, you can't help but reflect back on your sparring. The group of men, now your team-mates, were incredible fighters. You can only imagine what their leader must fight like, Rumlow must be incredibly badass. You're definitely glad you're on his team. Your mind starts to wander to Rollins, he definitely isn't happy you can hold your own against him. Although you didn't exactly win, you know he had a bad case of hurt pride. First day and already making enemies. You let out a soft chuckle to yourself.
Rumlow glances at you, as he turns back to face the doors you think you can see him bite back a small smile.