Yelena stands outside on the corner of 72nd and Riverside Park, the cold air weighing down on her exposed skin. A dark town car pulls up on the street in front of her. She slides into the car to find Ana sitting in the seat beside her. The blonde lackey signals for the driver to return to the road, and they start down the street. She makes a point not to exude any enjoyment while in Yelena's presence, but still passes along a folder in a formal fashion.
"This one is not going to be easy or quick," Ana says, "the target is heavily guarded and only peeks his head out once a day, sometimes not even that much."
"Fine," Yelena says, without glancing at the dossier.
"Hey..." Ana says; making sure to make eye contact, "this is serious, you need to get this done."
"I know how to do my job," Yelena responds. She pulls the picture from the file folder. "This is all I need, and a location." The car comes to a stop and she hops out.
"Yelena, I'm serious," Ana says, with a serious expression on her face. "If you mess this one up, Valentina will burn you."
"Let her try," Yelena retorts. She attempts to shut the car door but Ana holds it open.
"It's not just you Yelena. Anyone you may have left will be a target. Do you understand me?" the handler says.
A dry expression comes across the assassin's face. "Are you telling me this as a friend, or as the right hand?" Yelena asks.
"Does it matter, a warning is a warning," Ana says.
Yelena nods, "I'm your weapon, just point and shoot," she says.
Kate gazes at her phone as she rushes through the firehouse into the back room. She notices there's no one out front, and that makes her widen her strides. Grills and the others are standing around the lunch table when she enters the common area. The rookie tries to enter unnoticed, but all of a sudden the entire team turns their attention toward her. Grills steps from in front of a table to reveal a large cake. "Surprise!" the collective shouts.
The squad soon goes into a tonally challenged rendition of Happy Birthday. Grills throws his arm around his protege and drags her toward the two tier cake. She blows out the singular candle, then bows graciously at her colleagues. There's a wide variety of fried food, appetizers, and soft drinks laid out before them; and the hefty men waste no time in digging into the feast.
"Wow, thanks Grills, this is awesome," Kate says, "for a second I thought I was late for a meeting."
"Need I remind you again, this is not school," Grills says, "you're not even late, you're just not as early as you usually are."
"Right, I forget," Kate replies.
"Oh yeah, come with me to the front," he says. They get to the front of the station and he runs into the storage room. He reappears a few seconds later with a huge smile on his face and a slender metal pole in his hand. As he presents the gift, he gives it a quick jerk and it converts into a full-sized bow. "How's about that!" he exclaims.
"Dude, where did you get this?!" Kate says.
"Well I'm not gonna lie, this wasn't all my idea," Grills says, "Your girl Yelena suggested the party, and this is her gift with a little help from Hawkeye Prime," he admits. "She asked me to store it here just in case she had to be away. She text me last night and told me to make sure you got it."
Kate deflates at the mention of Yelena's name, "I don't get her," she sighs.
"Says every man that ever lived," Grills says, "what's up, you guys having another disagreement?" He hands her the bow and she immediately begins to fiddle with it.
"She told me she 'will never be with me,' but then she does these things that make it hard for me to see myself with anyone else. And I know it's not her fault but-
"You're in love with her," Grills interjects.
Kate scoffs, "I've been falling for her since she kicked me off that zip-line," she admits.
"Wow, that's tough. It must have been a hell of a kick," he says.
"Oh yeah, no doubt, it was really sexy, like wow," she says.
"I don't get it, you guys are practically a married couple minus the bow chicka wow wow, or is that the issue?" he asks.
"No... well, I don't know. It's not for me," Kate says, - Grills gives her a doubtful look - "okay, yeah I like to partake, but it's secondary to having her in my life."
"Look, I'm a mere mortal, but from what I can tell she loves you a lot. Maybe she's trying to tell you this is the best she can give you," he says, " Maybe you have to decide for yourself if this is enough."
"You're right, she's made herself clear," she says, "we were friends before anything, so maybe I can focus on that and let the rest go."
"And if you can't?" he asks.
"I'll jump off that bridge when I come to it," she replies.
Grills attention is suddenly drawn elsewhere. "Well maybe you could use a little push," he says. He gestures for her to turn around then grabs the bow from her hand.
Kate turns to see Kerry, the firefighter enthusiast, headed in their direction. Her smile reaches the rookie before the rest of her body. "Hello Kate, do you remember me?" she says.
"Of course Kerry, right?"
"Yes, I came by the other day but you weren't working," she says, "your friend here told me to come by today and I could catch you."
"Did he?" Kate asks - Grills skulks away, leaving the two women alone - "so how can I help you, need another picture?"
"Actually no, the last picture has afforded me a lot of nights of pleasure," Kerry replies.
The rookie blushes, "Wow, you are more forward than I am accustomed?"
"I apologize, I just haven't been able to get you out of my mind since we met," she says. The blushing blonde pulls out a piece of paper from her pocket and hands it to Kate. "I know you're involved, but I wanted you to have my number in case you ever become uninvolved."
Grills makes a squeaking sound from his hiding spot behind one of the trucks. Kate glares over at him and he disappears from the scene. "Actually, I'd love to have dinner with you sometime," Kate says, "but I gotta be honest, the scars are still a bit fresh."
"All scars heal in time, and I have plenty of it. Call me," Kerry says.