Who is my father?
Chapter Twenty Nine
ALISA'S POV
"BARTON! On your left!" We're two weeks in to training and apparently I've done the equivalent of three months and two weeks. My S.O. says that it takes the average agent nine or so months to complete the average field agent course but he has also made it very clear that I am not the average agent.
My S.O. That's another thing in itself. After the initial fight with Fury about home letting me become an agent, there was the S.O. fight. Luckily, it didn't last too long as Fury had a suggestion from Coulson about who it could be and Fury took the idea in to consideration. Of course dad couldn't be my S.O, him being a close family member and so over protective that it's unlikely that he would ever clear me for active duty. No, my S.O. couldn't be him. But he said that he had to trust them completely, as they would be going on missions with me, the first few anyway.
My S.O. is Agent Grant Ward.
Not such a bad idea on Coulson's part anyway, he didn't want to go on active duty while Hope was so young, leaving both her and Skye completely vulnerable, but he didn't want to lose his job at SHIELD either. Being my S.O, he has to come in to fill out some things sometimes but most of my training takes place at home, yes home. The Tower. Where my whole family is. Anyway, back to the training.
It's hard, really hard. Harder than I thought but not too hard. I'm good at the combat, the guns and the escapes but the strength, that's hard. But only the physical strength, the mental comes easily, and I guess I'm not too good at concentration either. The strength to keep going, never stop, I can do, but when Ward or Steve (sometimes he helps out with my training) hold me down, I can never push myself back out. Luckily, it is not too often that they ever pin me down and it is getting rarer. Usually when it happens it's at the end of the day, when I'm tired that either of them pin me.
Ward has been training me to concentrate, something I never thought would actually be hard. More than once I have shot dummy's that have been on my 'team'. Though I have told him that I am going to be working on my own, he says that I might become part of a team one day, and I need to make sure that when, and if, that day comes, I will not shoot them. I try to concentrate but when he just says, "Alisa, take down the 'members' of this 'gang', your 'team' will help you," I go in to killing mode (is it bad to have a killing mode?) and no one else matters. It's always been me on my own, I've watched my own back, stayed on my own six. Now the change is not feeling right and I'm not too sure I'll ever get used to that. Luckily when the training over I have to go on three missions with him and then I'm on my own, unless I change my mind, which I doubt will ever happen.
Dad threw a hissy fit about that too, until he was reminded by Coulson that he himself had been doing that from the age of 20, until he met my mother. He then told me that I'd better save my own ass because he'd get the blame if I died. Him being Coulson.
Another thing Ward has got me to do is that he has put me on a diet. No, this is not your average diet to make you skinnier, it is one to make you fatter. This is apparently because it puts meat on your bones which is then able to be turned in to muscle, which can then be used in combat and also if you are captured, turned in to body heat and extra calories, though with the muscle I will probably never get captured again. Famous last words.
Back to today's training. We're doing some kind of hologram thing that I really like. Ward is shouting at me through the comms but I'm on my own. So far I've 'killed' ten guards and am in the building, closing in on some guy who has probably done something bad. That's another one of my faults, I don't listen during the briefs. I don't think Ward has got that yet though, I listen to who I need to kill, whether to kill or capture them and go and do it. Simple. Now we're down to the final showdown. The guy has no idea I'm here, not just yet. He's turned away, typing. Slowly he turns around but he sees no one. Ward has started to call me invisible too. No one can ever see me until I make my move. He turns back to face the computer again and begins to type once more. I jump from behind, grasping his neck so he is gasping for air. I don't expect the hard kick in my side, forcing me to loosen my grip a little. A little too much. He kicks, harder this time, and I let go. I don't stand up, wait until he has a leg planted either side of my knees about to put an arm across my neck and push my knee up, in to his groin. He groans in pain and I quickly stand up, Grappbing his neck so much so he dies of restricted air, my plan all along. I slink back along the corridors, knowing that a gunshot would have alerted anyone else in the building and wondering how a hologram could be so hard and good at fighting. Tech these days, eh?
Ward meets me outside the door, where the hologram has worn off. He has a slightly worried, slightly proud look on his face which makes me mirror it. "Alisa..." He says, almost like he's delivering bad news. "That was set at level nine. You did in ten minutes with minimum damage. It might not sound much but my best is level eleven in twelve minutes with minimum damage. As soon as you get the strength thing sorted out, I'm going to get your dad down here to clear you for the next stage. That's tactics and then you're cleared." I can't make a sound. I'm almost there? I can't believe it. My face must say a lot because I can't breathe, let alone speak. "Alisa... I know it's a lot to take in. I'm going to speak to your dad today." Wow things are moving fast. I am then dismissed and go up to have a shower.
Once I am redressed, I make my way to the living area, where I expect Skye and Hope to be. Instead, when I pause outside the door, Ward and Dad seem to be having an argument. "She's too young, almost no training at all. No, no way." Dad tells Ward. They must be arguing about me. Sugar, about me becoming an agent.
"Come tomorrow, see her train. Agents get put in when they can do the level three stuff in ten minutes, not the level nine!" Now I can tell that dad is most likely going to have a fit about me doing level nine. Instead of the raise in his voice, it goes quieter.
"You let her do level nine?" He asks, almost in shock. Ward must nod because dad continues, "She's growing up. One day you'll face this. With your little girl. It may be boys, moving out, agents, anything... But you'll have to let her go. I'll be there tomorrow morning Grant." And with that, he leaves, giving me barely enough time to slip in to the shadows.
