Chapter Two: Intensity

"Who are you? What is your name? Tell me who you're working with!" The booming voice woke Elise up with a jerk. She sprung upright in bed. Where was she? The only thing she could see in the otherwise pitch-black room was the blinding light of a hand-torch.

"I said – tell me who you're working with. Now!" The voice was demanding – persistent.

"I – I…"

"I'll shoot!" A cold hard fun pushed against her neck threateningly.

"Air Force – no! What do you want from me?" Elise was so scared, so confused.

"American Air Force? They wouldn't send you. Not like this. I'll give you one more chance. Who are you with?"

"Elise – my name is Elise Windham. Is that what you want?" She pleaded desperately.

"No!" The light turned away from her eyes and Jason flipped the light switch, revealing the small room with light – revealing the single cot.

Elise was sitting up – holding the sheet around her body – dressed in a camisole. Her face was flushed, her eyes still darting about in confusion. As she searched his angry face the truth dawned on her.

"Never – ever give you name. Never who you're working with – what you're doing and why. Make something up if you have to. If you don't, you die." His tone was harsh – his voice controlled. He felt some sympathy for her, but he couldn't drop the act. This was how she would learn. The fear still hadn't left her eyes. She was not as concrete as she had let on after all.

"Get dressed. We're going to go now." He told her.

Elise glanced groggily at the clock – head pounding. It was 3:00 AM. She didn't argue, but waited for him to turn around so she could scramble into her pants, t-shirt and sweatshirt. She could do this. She would persist.

Jason led her to the street.

"How far can you run?" He asked.

"Ten miles." She responded. Her air force training had built her up.

"That's decent. Go." Jason ran alongside her. He knew that the cold early morning air would take away from her ability to run as far as she said. He also knew that their current altitude worked against her favor.

At seven miles she was gasping for air – gulping it in unsteadily. He let her struggle another mile – and then stopped. "You need to realize the climate you're in. If you're being chased – think of a back-up plan; somewhere to hide – or a way to turn on them before you run out of energy."

She leaned her hands on her knees – letting her breath steady for a moment. They walked back to the headquarters. The sun had still not lightened the sky. Elise's hair clung to the back of her neck with sweat. She was wide awake now – but unsure of what this Bourne would throw at her next.

He brewed a cup of coffee in the lobby. The offices were quiet – though a few of the staff were on night shift. Jason studied Elise as she drank from the Styrofoam cup. He wondered what she had been like back in her own environment. Her hobbies – her passions – they'd all be left behind- thrown away until she reached a point when Treadstone no longer had a use for her.

He also wondered about her friends. Armed Forces acquaintances changed frequently. She would be used to that. They had chosen her for lack of connections. Boyfriend? Obviously not anymore. Surprising, he would have thought anyone might have snatched up a catch like this. Perhaps she had a cold personality. No – not if she had such a desire to help people; maybe another personality flaw. Difficult – ornery? Maybe.

Jason stood – they were both done with their coffee. He led her to a room filled with filing cabinets. He pulled a drawer out and put it in front of her.

"Tell me the main content of these files." He requested. She looked at him a moment- then began to quickly leaf through them – memorizing key information, analyzing it all.

"Stop." Bourne told her two minutes later. "What's their purpose?"

"They're profiles on leading men in the MI -5." She told him.

"Why would we need them?" He wanted her to think fast.

"In case they got in our way – or if we needed them." She explained quickly.

"Pretty close." He smiled and pulled out another drawer – but did not reveal the contents to her. Instead he led her down a few flights of steps into the basement. A well stocked gym met them there.

"Look in this box." Jason held the file drawer under her nose for twenty seconds, then whipped it away.

"Ok – it's me against you – take me down." He took on a wrestling stance. She hesitated.

"Go ahead – don't be afraid to hurt me. Give me everything you've got." He encouraged.

She dealt a blow to the stomach – easily blocked.

"Tell me what you saw in that box." Jason instructed as they battled.

Her concentration was off- as he intended.

"A gun – some papers – bullets." He pinned her down without effort.

"Again." They repeated the fight three times. He was always able to bring her to the floor in seconds.

Elise's cheeks were flushed scarlet. Jason showed her how to block a few moves and played out the fight again. For two hours they kept the tournament up – he never let her win. He did not want to give her a false feeling of strength of accomplishment. Not today. She needed to struggle – to earn it, to learn how tough this was going to be.

"Time for a break." He announced, and tossed her a towel to mop up some of the sweat. She probably wanted a shower – but it wasn't' time for that long of a break yet.

They ate a small breakfast with lots of grains and protein – and were off again.

Elise was used to more team- style training; trust building and such. Here it was not so. She had to learn how to work on her own – fend for herself. No one else would care. She wouldn't always have Jason watching her back – and the simulated experiences he put her through would soon be real. It scared the living daylights out of her.

He continued the intense training until 4:00 – at which point she was beginning to show signs of fatigue. He allowed half an hour to have another meal and reenergize – then started some less physically demanded work.

By 10 PM Elise was fairly confident she would be able to take apart almost any bomb – with almost any tools – but Jason seemed to think that she could use a few more hours practice before checking it off the list altogether.

"Meet me in the lobby at 5:30 tomorrow." Jason told her – and dismissed her. She was beat tired – but would not fall into bed until she had a nice hot shower.

As she walked down the corridor, another woman, tall with light brown hair, strode toward her – passing Elise – intent on Jason.

"Meet me in my office at 11:00." Elise heard the woman say. Jason must not have made a verbal response – because Elsie could not hear anything else transpire between the two as she headed for the bathroom.