"Romanoff. Take a seat." Hill said, gesturing to the comfier chairs in the corner of her office.
Natasha sat, a small feeling of relief bouncing through her. Usually whenever she was summoned to the Deputy Director's office it was for a stern reprimand and receipt of several hours worth of laps. The privilege of being offered a seat, and in the best chairs no less strongly indicated she was not in trouble. For once.
"How are you doing?" Hill asked, joining her in the corner, placing a tablet on the table between them.
"I'm good, thank you ma'am." Natasha answered politely.
"You all ready for Christmas?"
"I, er, I don't know. It's all a bit new. But I like the lights in the Mess."
She saw Hill smile, evidently pleased at her honest response.
"Good. Well, we finish on the 23rd and there's a formal Christmas Dinner on the 24th. 28th to the 31st you can be in work, but there are no missions, and we start back up again on the 2nd. We operate a skeleton crew in case of any emergencies, although we hope even the bad guys get into the festive spirit and give us a few days peace. Is that okay?"
"Yes ma'am."
Days off, was what was actually running through her head. She'd never had multiple days off before. The KGB had never let her be idle even for a minute. They'd barely let her sleep. She brought her focus back towards her superior.
"The current intake of recruits have one day left before we send them home for the holiday. I thought I would let you take them for the day, to put them through their paces. A big way to end the year for them."
Natasha shuffled uneasily in her seat. She'd spent the entirety of her own eight week recruitment programme under constant punishment from both her Instructor and Commander Hill, and that was after receiving a stay of execution from Director Fury following several treasonous acts inflicted on other recruits and SHIELD itself. And now Hill was letting her near a load more. Maria saw her hesitation.
"Just don't kill them." She said pointedly, a wry smile on her face.
Natasha pursed her lips.
"I'll try. What would you have me do with them?"
"Whatever you fancy. They are half way through so they should have some decent enough skills by now that you can put to the test. Rough them up a little. Make sure they know what's coming when they return after the break."
"Understood ma'am."
"This is the class," said Hill, picking up her tablet and holding it out for Natasha "there's twelve of them this time. Mix of backgrounds, mix of aims."
Natasha skimmed through the files, memorising the twelve eager faces looking back at her, eyeing a couple of cocky looking military cadets who she just knew would underestimate her abilities. The final candidate was built like a twig and she scrunched her face up a bit – she'd snap them if they tried to spar. She handed the tablet back, all the information she needed stored away.
"They'll be in Training Room 4 at 0800 tomorrow. Report back to me at the end of the day."
"Yes ma'am."
She stood, gave a short bow and left, quietly shutting the door behind her.
Hill shook her head slightly at Natasha's quirky little habit of bowing and smiled to herself, watching her agent walk out with almost a spring in her step, a slight pang of sympathy for the recruits running through her chest.
At 7:30 the next morning she was waiting in the training room, laying out white tactical suits and accessories across the benches. She had already donned her personal winter camouflage suit and white boots, leaving her Bites locked away in her armoury – she wasn't expecting to have to go that roughly on them. They all filed in just before 8am wearing thermal gear and formed a loose semi-circle around where she stood. She ran her gaze down the line, eyeing them all individually – the Buzzcuts, the Twig, a few athletic looking ones, one overwhelmed looking soul, but on the whole they appeared attentive.
"Good morning recruits." She called out.
"Good morning ma'am." They chorused back.
"My name is Agent Romanoff. I will be taking you for your final sessions before the break."
She noticed a couple of them pale slightly when they heard her name. The recruits hadn't come across many agents yet but she was still new enough to SHIELD, and her entry to the organisation infamous enough that her exploits and reputation were well known throughout the base.
"We will be spending the morning outside. You all need to wear a tac suit and you should each have a mask, goggles and a pair of gloves."
They obediently filed forwards to collect their gear and whilst they got changed she took the time to study them properly. They all seemed to be in their late teens or maybe early twenties. Around the same age as her, she thought, and with two decades less experience she added, before swiftly pushing the comparison from her mind. She saw them share up the equipment evenly and easily between them. Good, she thought. That meant over the past four weeks they had learnt to work as a unit and hadn't fallen into separate cliques. A couple of them slipped into the suits gracefully, their balance suggesting a gymnastic background.
Once equipped she grabbed her own mask and led them outside to one of the training ranges. Scattered around the base were a number of fake landscapes used for exercises – a factory, a village, a pseudo-military base, an airfield. She walked them through the snow towards the Village, bringing them to a stop at the fenced perimeter.
"As it's snowing we are going to be completing this training with paintballs. Any well aimed shots will be easily visible on your suits and," she lowered her voice, becoming stern "your misses will be equally visible in the snow. I do not expect to see many misses."
The recruits nodded and ducked their heads.
"For the first exercise you will be in two opposing teams. This will give you a chance to get to know the terrain. I want to see you using the snow to your advantage – you never know what conditions you will be sent out in and you need to be prepared for inclement weather. Use the ditches and banks for cover, use the reflecting light and your own camouflage to put your opponent at a disadvantage. Also remember that your footsteps will be visible and easy to follow unless you cover your tracks."
She looked around the group to check they were taking her advice onboard.
"Those with a red stripe on your masks, you form one team. Blue stripes, you form the other. You will have forty five minutes in the zone. Red team you will enter now, blue team in ten minutes. No face shots allowed, is that clear?"
"Yes ma'am."
"I will stop you when the time is up and you will make your way back to the gate. The team with the most paint on them at the end will get a forfeit with me this evening. Does anyone have any questions?"
No-one raised their hand and she nodded.
"Good. Red team off you go."
With that she opened the gate and let the first six in to scope out their starting position. The snow was deep and the streets zigzagged near the start, and the group quickly disappeared from view.
She turned to address the rest. "I suggest you use this time to strategise."
They acknowledged her and huddled down, heads together.
Forty minutes in and she was perched on the roof of one of the taller buildings surveying the scene below her. She was impressed with their performances. Both sides were fairly even and had been covering each other effectively. She also noticed that the blue team in particular were able to make advances and retreats as a unit, with no signs of any one member going on their own glory hunt. When the time was up she sounded out a klaxon and watched all twelve emerge from the various buildings and begin making their way to the gate. Rising from her perch she nimbly danced her way across the rooftops, neatly flipping her way to the ground and joining the group.
"Well done. I saw some good teamwork and decent use of the space. When you're out in the field your ability to manoeuvre across the terrain whilst remaining alert is an essential skill." She sized up both teams. "Red Team. You have more paint on you than the Blue Team, well done Blues. Red Team I will meet you in the gym at 8pm".
A groan went up from one half of the group. She raised an eyebrow.
"Alright. 7:30pm it is."
She smiled as she was met with silence.
"In ten minutes we will start the second exercise. This time you will be working as one group. Against me." She let that sink in as she watched them whisper to each other.
"My ammo is green. When I land a hit on you, you will drop your weapon and start running laps of the perimeter. You will keep running until the last member of the team joins you on your jog. I therefore suggest that you avoid me for as long as possible. Any questions?"
"Yeah," one of the red team cockily called out "what happens when we land a hit on you?"
"If you manage to hit me," she responded confidently, staring them down "I will personally recommend your acceptance to SHIELD to Director Fury."
They nodded, taking the challenge.
She gave them a wild, almost feral smile and a couple of them retreated slightly.
"You have a ten minute head start. Go."
She watched as they all rushed off, scattering in different directions through the set. She smiled to herself, already enjoying the adrenaline coursing through her body at the thrill of a chase. This is what she was made for. After ten minutes she pulled on her own white mask, slipped around to the opposite side of the perimeter and entered through a second gate, instantly shifting on to high alert. A predator hunting their prey.
Maria was walking through the SHIELD base when she crossed the end of a corridor, paused, then took a few steps backwards to take a second look. There, striding down the hall was Natasha Romanoff leading a line of exhausted looking recruits, each shuffling along with a mask in their hands.
"Agent Romanoff!" She called out.
Natasha stilled, turned and got her recruits to form a line against the wall.
"Yes ma'am?" Her agent answered, looking uncharacteristically bright.
Maria looked along the line. The group looked worn out but uninjured, and they all appeared to be in fairly high spirits in spite of their tiredness, which she took to be an encouraging sign. Not to mention that all twelve of them were present and in one piece which allayed some of her earlier fears about letting Romanoff loose with them. She observed that whilst only half the group were covered in red paint and the other half blue, every one of them had a single green mark over their hearts. She also noted that Natasha's suit was pristine, without a single mark anywhere about her body.
"What have you been doing?" She asked slowly, part of her unsure as to whether she wanted to hear the answer.
"Target practice ma'am." Natasha answered cheerfully.