Future Meets the Past
Chapter 2: New Faces
"...are you up yet?" The faint voice of a woman could be heard, followed by wood being knocked on as a young woman in her 20s was sleeping alone in her bedroom, only to be woken up from her slumber from the knocking at her door, groggily opening her eyes as an answer to it.
It took some time for her to wake up from her drunken state, dealing with a headache being no easy task for her as she sat up, letting out a yawn upon doing while looking around her bedroom, her blinds thankfully covering the sun's rays from coming in and invading her partially crust-laden eyes, a bit of light from the sun coming from underneath the shutters.
"Ugh... my head hurts so bad..." her thoughts trail off after her groan, squeezing her eyelids as she rubbed them, exhaling deeply and stretching herself while doing so. "...Knew I shouldn't have drank so much last night, mio Dio. How long was I asleep for...?" She rubbed the side of her head, emitting a groan while doing so as she stretched her arm as high as possible, finally stretching her head at all angles until she eventually locked her eyes to the nightstand next to her bed, proceeding to reach out, unplug and grab her phone as the time on it shows up on the screen.
It was 11:23 AM. As if on cue, her eyes instantly woke up from their tired state and into a state of shock.
"MERDIA! Stupid alarm clock!" She growls as she looked at her phone, realizing that she forgot to turn on her phone's ringing volume, rushing to stand up from her bed, albeit almost falling back onto it clumsily from her little hangover as she headed for her wardrobe, opening one of its drawers before hearing another set of knocks on her door.
"Bethany?" She turned to face the door, about to grab a pair of trousers from within the drawer. "It's almost 12, sweetie! I'm coming in, if that's alright with you!" The voice on the other end said, with Bethany realizing the lack of clothes on her, outside of her underwear.
"Wait, I'm not even-!" The young woman is interrupted before the door swings open. "MAMMA!" She lets out a yelp in response as she instantly grasps her hands on her bed's blanket, covering her half-naked body from her mother who had just unknowingly stepped into her getting out of bed.
A woman similar to her in appearance walked into her room, though, older, sporting a pair of hair buns behind her of similar color to her daughter's black hair, alongside sporting a pair of glasses on her to go along with her yellow-colored blouse, white skirt with stockings underneath them with high heels.
"Oh, sorry, Bethany! I-I didn't know you were, uh..." The woman, that being her mother reacted in recoil as she closed the door, embarrassed at the situation she found herself in at the expense of her daughter, immediately steering her eyes away in respect for her daughter's privacy, though, keeping a crack ajar on the door for her to talk with her. "Um... how are you feeling this morning, sweetie?" She asks, an awkward laugh following suit from her, despite having walked in on her daughter like this. Bethany's cheeks were a bright tomato red in embarrassment as they both remained in an awkward silence.
Eventually, they both looked at each other as Bethany's mother opened the door a little, a sigh escaping from the younger woman's lips as Bethany removed her cover and revealing her top, still sitting on her bed with her mother outside the room, the daughter of the two proceeding to put on a pair of black trousers from the drawer after standing up with her blanket covering her lower body.
"Apparently, I was stupid enough to forget setting up my alarm clock for the morning, but other than that..." She paused, thinking of the night she had spent with her friends after receiving her acceptance letter from Fitten Co. recently, wanting to celebrate the occasion with her friends. "...I'm... doing fine for the most part, you know." Her irritation goes away upon having put on her trousers, now only missing a t-shirt as the young woman tried to force a smile on her lips as she turned toward her mother.
"I still feel the effects of all that alcohol I drank from when I was with my friends last night. Heh, how stupid of me, ugh..." Bethany grasped her head, feeling a ringing headache from her hangover that made her want to vomit as her mother walked over, sitting next to her child while she was putting on her piece of clothing, the parent seemingly sucking away all of the morning annoyance and grogginess from her daughter with her presence.
"Yeah, well..." Her mother paused, also seemingly lost in thought and reminiscing about something. "...that also happened to me often when I was expected to work the daily shift when I was your age. Pretty rough job I had back then, you know, can't go into too many details about it." Her mother patted her daughter on the back, before standing back up and walking towards the window, carefully pulling the blinds apart from one another, much to Bethany's annoyance at the bright rays of light assaulting her eyes, placing a hand to partially cover her eyes.
"I suppose that you're ready to start working for this company of yours that you've been talking nonstop about yesterday?" Her mother inquired, a hint of worry and tensity in her voice.
Her daughter, in contrast, beamed at this question, looking at her mother with both excitement, and a hint of nervousness. "Yes, I... still can't quite believe that I was picked over every other Agent that signed up for the job! I'm surprised, to be honest!" She pulls off her blanket completely, now that she was wearing serviceable clothing that covered everything except for her feet, now only needing to do a few more things before getting ready for her new job.
"I just need to get properly dressed and groomed before the bus arrives. Heard that I will be meeting all of my colleagues that I'll be working with inside when it gets here..." She turns away from her mother, pouting her lips as she folded her arms, shaking her head. "...and I was the last one to get picked up out of all of them! Fortunati idioti..." She mumbles under her breath at the thought of everyone else having pretty much gotten a free bus trip around the world, while she herself got the short end of the stick and was only allowed to see her country and America.
Meanwhile, her mother was staring out the window, listening to the sounds of the birds outside chirping, watching the neighboring families enjoying themselves while their children were out playing, the sun shining brightly and peering its light into her daughter's room, alongside the rest of the world that met its golden rays.
"Guess you could say that this Fitten Co. company wanted to get some really tough men to look out for you before coming to pick you up, if you think about it." Her mother answered to her daughter's grumblings, placing a hand under her chin and tapping her fingers on the booth of the window.
"Ugh, they can't ALL be men though, mother." Bethany rolled her eyes, crossing her arms together. "That'd be ridiculous! There's no way that I will be the only woman in the group."
"You don't even know that, Bethany." Her mother responds, turning her head to look at her. "I remember the last time I worked for a similar company to yours, all of the people working there were men, except for me!" She shook her head, almost as in disbelief at what she said before turning to look at her daughter. "Also, look at yourself and the role you're assigning yourself too compared to everyone else!" She sprays her arms out toward her daughter, looking at her from top to bottom. "You chose that Agent role for your company, because you've always wanted to be a secret agent or spy, especially with all of those spy movies you and your friends have been watching since you were a teenager, right?"
"Sí, mamma, I know that, but-"
"And you've been taking all of these acting and theatre courses these past few years or so, even successfully passing most of them despite, uh... your bad impression of trying to sound like a man, heh..." Bethany blushes slightly at this, recalling when she attended a test once in her acting classes and she had to play the role of a man with a deep pitch as one of the objectives, which she flopped miserably at in front of an audience, though, she did get some chuckles out of her classmates and spectators watching her at the time, including her mother that came to support her.
Sure, there were worse moments during her time there, but those memories ended up being fun for everyone else in her friend circle. "Mamma, I know that, but-"
"I can't say that I'm surprised, really." Bethany's once more interrupted by her parent, now starting to get a bit annoyed at her mother not allowing her to finish her sentence. "You did really well at everything else and have such a natural talent as an actress, and... now you're just, leaving all of a sudden to go to America to be with this company that you just signed up for out of nowhere that could be extremely dangerous! Without telling me, on top of that!" She exclaims as her mother began sounding upset, letting out a dejected sigh following that as Bethany in response walked over to her, placing a hand on her mother's side, pulling her in to herself.
"Mamma, I..." She paused for a moment, her lips quivering for a second as she looks down, tensely. "...this might be my only way of finding Stephanie when papà died." Upon Bethany saying this, she felt her mother's body go stiff, her parent now glancing at her slightly with a twinge of regret and confusion.
"Bethany, as much as I understand-"
"No, mother!" She interrupts her parent this time, retracting her hand off her mother. "You don't understand!" She exclaims, placing both of her hands on the window's edge and looking out the same window her mother was looking through earlier. "I know that my sister is still out there somewhere, waiting to be found and saved from... whoever, whatever or where ever she is! It's the reason why I signed up for this job, not for profit, meeting new friends or, or pursuing my dreams, I just..." She paused, looking over at her family photo when she and her sister were still children, and her father was still alive at the time the photo was taken. "...I want us as a family to be back together again, I knew that if I were to tell you where I was going, you'd... stop me." She says, her mother clearly noticing her daughter's attempts at preventing herself from breaking down on the spot as her body was shaking intensely. She tried to say something, but...
"Think, mamma! RED will have all of this technology, vehicles, tracking devices and tools that could help me track down my sister! They...!"
"Bethany..." Her mother said, calmly trying to interject into her daugter's ramblings, but to no effect.
"...can help us! I know they can, I just need to find out what to do when I-"
"Bethany!" Bethany suddenly felt her mother grabbing her hands, pulling her in for a hug as she's stopped mid-sentence.
Her mother eventually let out a sigh after a moment of silence between the two.
"Sweetie, listen..." Her mother locked eyes with her daughter, appearing as though she was trying to find the words she wanted to say to her. "...I know you want Stephanie back, especially with everything you've done in trying to find her. I've tried the best I can in helping you, including getting the authorities involved in looking for any trace of her!" She stops, softly placing a hand on one of Bethany's cheeks, a sad grimace making itself apparent on her lips. "Believe me! I want my daughter that I've missed all these years back just as much as you do! I... just don't know how this... Reginald, his company or your team that you'll be part of will help you in finding her." She steps back, inspecting her daughter once more before locking with Bethany's eyes once more. "Regardless, they want you to do as you're told as a company that expects you to do something for them in return for your service and payment you'll receive from working there, and you need to listen to them, whether it helps you in finding your sister or not." She pauses, the atmosphere in the room growing somewhat tense as the two women stood and looked at each other, until the mother let her arms slump onto her sides.
"Bethany. Isn't it better to just... move on from the past, instead of always focusing on it?" The question resonated with her daughter, who once more looked at the picture encased in a framed glass of herself and her sister playing together when they were children, longing for her to come back as she can't do anything else, other than sigh at her parent's request as she grabs the picture from the window booth.
"I don't know, mother... I just... can't leave Stephanie behind." She whispers as she put the picture into her luggage she had packed last night before going out with her friends, carrying some clothes with her and walking out of her room, heading to the direction of her family house's bathroom.
She turned to look behind her as she took several steps away from her room, noticing her mother's shadow on the door leading into her bedroom, a faint exhale, followed by a subtle hint of a sob emanating from it as she sympathized for her mother before locking the door to the bathroom.
Having just put on a new set of clothes, and grooming her hair and applying enough makeup that she deemed acceptable enough to present herself to her company, Bethany headed downstairs to the kitchen to get herself a quick meal, before noticing a feline creature walking out of the corner, it noticing her locking her eyes with theirs.
"Ehilà, Harry!" Bethany says, her tone becoming slightly more positive and a bit childlike as her family cat that she and her mother had owned for a decade now walked up to her, purring beside her leg as she returned the gesture by kneeling down to them, stroking the head of the animal she had always went over for comfort during her years as a young teenager.
A smile forms on the italian upon seeing the feline looking over at the stash of canned cat food underneath the fridge in the kitchen, meowing at its owner.
"Hai fame, Harry?" She asks, the cat meowing again with an answer in return to her question as it followed his owner to where they usually stored the food, excitedly scurrying along the floor as Bethany took out a can of cat food from one of the cupboards connecting the kitchen and living room, opening it and proceeding to give her pet what it wanted, placing the food in the tray for Harry to eat from.
She stared as the feline ate the contents, stroking the back of it while doing so.
"You and that cat always had a close bond, you know." Her mother's voice, calm and collected now compared to before spoke to her as Bethany looked at the stairs she came from, her mother watching Bethany and their cat while she kept stroking its fur, the cat purring in response to his owner's affection.
"Yes, he's... always been near me when I've been in a bad mood..." A mixed expression forms on her, the young woman still stroking and petting the cat that she had lived with and gotten to interact with for over 10 years now since it was a kitten, a hint of a frown eventually appearing on her lips. "I'll miss him when I'm gone from here for... who knows how long. You know that, right, mother?" She asked, the room going quiet outside of the sound of a car passing by, the refrigerator in the kitchen, and the cat's purrs and sound of cat food being chewed on.
"I know, Bethany." Her mother responds, now sitting on one of the chairs surrounding the kitchen table. "You know that you're always welcome back here whenever you want to. Harry and I will always be here for you whenever you want to come back to us." The cat had stopped eating its meal, Bethany noticing this as she looked at her companion.
The cat, almost as if understanding his owner's words and feelings about what was going to happen, meows as it jumped onto Bethany's arms, the young woman hugging him close to her as it continued purring, cuddling and stroking its soft fur.
"You really don't want me to go, do you, Harry?" She remarks with a tone of forlornity, continuing to hold her cat close to herself as she peered out the window for a moment, expecting to see a vehicle parked outside her front porch.
The bus hadn't arrived yet, thankfully. A little more time for her to spend with her family before heading out to where ever this new job was going to take her. She glances up at the clock hanging above the stove, feeling her nervousness building up even more from before at the sight of where its minute and hour hands were located.
11:56 AM. "Won't be long now..."
After finishing her breakfast that her mother had made for her, the clock struck 12PM, midday.
Sure enough, as the second hand passed the VI mark on the clock, Bethany and her mother could hear the sound of an engine in the distance nearing itself closer to her family's house, eventually hearing the sound of dirt being driven on, the sound of a bus finally stopping in its tracks as it lets out a honk a while after.
"Ah, there it is, dear." Her mother says as she walked out of the kitchen, her daughter knowing what's about to come as she lets out a sigh, stands up and hugs her mother one last time after exiting the room following her mother.
"I love you, mamma..." She says, tightening her embrace with her parent as her mother does the same in return.
"I love you too, Bethany... do make a good first impression for your new company, won't you?"
"Of course, I'll... do my best, mother." She responds, a half-smile forming on her as she steps towards the front door entrance, suitcase and everything packed next to her while she puts on a pair of black high-heels and a straw hat with a band on it, the young woman taking a moment to look at herself one last time on the mirror.
"Just like in those spy films. Bellissima." She unclasped her hand underneath her chin after stroking herself there, forcing a smug expression on herself akin to the women she had seen in those movies she took inspiration from, such as those found in James Bond or Mission Impossible, masking her nervousness underneath it all before placing her hand on the front door's handle. She could feel her hand trembling as she held the handle of both the door, alongside holding her luggage's handle containing her belongings that she had secretly packed with her last night, including the picture of herself and her sister.
"Good bye, mamma. Do take good care of Harry while I'm away, won't you?" She said, waving goodbye to her mother and cat as they both stared back at her.
"I'll always look after him for you, Bethany." She answers in return as she waved at her daughter, Harry letting out a loud, sad meow once more as it jumped off from Bethany's mother's arms, running over to Bethany and placing its paws on her legs.
"One more hug, Harry?" She asks as she crouches down, the cat jumping onto her arms as Bethany buries her face into her feline's soft, tufty skin, feeling the slightest urge of her wanting to cry on it until the bus' honking could be heard once more, now sounding somewhat impatient as it kept honking for her to come out of the house.
With that, Bethany drops her pet onto the floor, it jumping off her hands, the feline turning to look at her with gloom in its eyes as Bethany's mother came over to pick it up from the floor, holding him close to herself.
"Goodbye, you two." Bethany smiles as pulls her luggage with her, opening the door behind her that led to the house's front yard, the sound of the bus engine now making itself prominent compared to it being muffled behind the house walls. "I'll see you two whenever I come back. Stay safe, alright?" She steps outside while her mother waved and said to her goodbye, followed by Bethany closing the door behind her as another sad meow from Harry was heard following the door's closing.
The moment she stood outside her porch, she instantly took notice of the red and white-colored bus standing by the sidewalk of her home, a "RED" logo with a diamond shape behind the letters, alongside a pickaxe behind the diamond plastered on it that marked it as her means of transport. She wasn't able to see who, or what was inside past the dark windows, despite some of them being open slightly. A curious, yet unsure expression formed on her as she walked over to take a better look at the vehicle parked next to the sidewalk.
"Agent Bethany?" She froze in place as a man's voice emanated from the bus, no doubt a speaker that was built into the vehicle as she was taken aback.
"Sì sì, t-that would be me!" She quickly responds, quickly rummaging through her belongings and showing the certificate she had gotten from Joseph Fitten that had hired her, along with her boss' seal of approval on it. The doors of the bus opened up as soon as she showed the contract paper with the print on it, the smell of sweat immediately emanating from it as she was taken aback by the stench.
"Augh, what is that smell!?" She reacts in disgust, before noticing the lack of a driver inside of the bus.
She was, to say the least, confused by the sight of this anomaly. "How were the doors able to be opened with no one manning the driver's seat?" Her thoughts raced through her head, feeling a tad bit suspicious of what she was shown before her.
Though, her curiosity got the better of her as she stepped inside with her luggage to check the driver's seat as to how the bus' functions worked, until she heard the doors behind her suddenly closing, quickly turning around.
"H-Hey, wait a minute!" She raised her voice, but it was already too late as the vehicle began moving on its own, much to her confusion. "Let me out, please! What's going on here?! Mamma!" She saw her mother at the window, holding Harry in her arms as she waved goodbye to her, seemingly oblivious to the situation that Bethany found herself trapped in. The young woman banged on the window, calling for help.
"YEAH, HAHA! AN ACTUAL GIRL ON OUR TEAM, GUYS!" She stopped what she was doing, hearing a young man's voice making itself apparent to her inside the vehicle that the italian found herself in.
Bethany's attempts at forcing herself out of the vehicle were halted as she soon realized the situation she in. She realized, that she was about to meet her colleagues for the first time ever inside of this very vehicle.
Fearing that she was going to be stuck with contracted killers that showed no emotion or would treat her badly, she turned to face the passenger seats behind her, a group full of men sitting and looking at her with no woman in sight inside of the bus, one of her fears having come true.
Some of the men were confused and quietly talked amongst themselves at her presence, some were curious at her arrival, while some looked to be happy, particularly the young man wearing a baseball cap and headset that had announced her presence on the vehicle.
She just stared at them from the driver's seat, observing these grown-up men that were watching her, most of which definitely seemed older than her, with some nodding at her and commenting on the fact that she was the only girl to be on the team, one man in particular looking to be excited at her being on the team.
"YO! COME SIT WITH ME, GIRL! Promise I'll take good care of ya on the way over, heh heh!" The young, healthy-looking man with a baseball cap and red t-shirt with stripes stood up and offered a hand to her, celebrating at the sight of Bethany showing herself to everyone in front of her, but soon showed disappointment at her simply walking past him outside of an awkward glance at his direction, a humph following suit as he sat back down onto his seat, cursing her under his breath.
"Did this company really hire a sissy like her to be part with us? Damn, what were these people thinking?!" A man wearing a helmet and medals on his jacket looked at her, raising his helmet in confusion at what he saw was going to be a woman participating in a war of his. The stench coming from this man was horrible, almost as though he hadn't showered in weeks before the bus arrived here.
"The thought of this man...!" Bethany thought to herself at the man's comment, wanting to yell at him before stopping herself and keeping her cool, a sigh escaping her as she walked past him. "...stay focused, Bethany. Have to make my first impression good..."
"..." What looked to be a robot with a head akin to a gas-mask sat there silently, just staring blankly at the ground beneath it and its seat as Bethany walked past the machine. She raised an eyebrow in its direction, showing interest in the thing, but felt somewhat uneasy around it, expecting the machine to suddenly activate out of nowhere and greet her.
"''ey there, lass!" An irish accent caught her off guard while she was examining the robot, facing the man that greeted her. "Welcome aboard the convoy! Must feel a wee lil' awkward bein' around only men, eh?" A man of Irish descent greeted himself to her as Bethany took a few steps backward, the man in question sporting a red-colored beard and ginger hair, some goggles, alongside a confident smile on him as she nervously waved back at the man, taken aback by his somewhat loud voice.
"Heck yeah, fellas! A sister among brothers!" A jovial, thick, midwestern American accent broke through the ranks as a large, brown and decently long, golden-haired, well-built man appearing as though they were capable of lifting her with one finger stood up as she walked next to his seat. "Welcome to the team! I'm Anthony, though, you can call me Big Tony, sister!" He said, welcoming her on board by extending a hand of his out to her, almost as though a wrestler wanted to greet a fan of theirs.
A half-smile formed on the italian's face, knowing that this man's happy attitude, yet, strong, muscular build was simultaneously going to be one cuddly, protective bear of a man to work with while she was on this team. For the first time since she stepped on the bus, she spoke. "Heh... hi there, "Big Tony"... N-nice to meet you..." She murmurs loud enough for him to hear, glancing away from him for a moment as she extends her arm out to grab the bearded man's hand and shake it, the man keeping a respectful smile on his face after noticing her shyness.
"Nice to meet ya here too, sister." His voice was a little lower now, which made Bethany feel a little more welcome around his presence and the vehicle she, and her colleagues were in. "Make yourself comfortable 'round us, we've got a lotta things to tell you on our way to the airport." He says as the woman let go of his hand, nodding in approval with a hum as she walked past him over to her designated seat.
"Don't mind them, pal. I... am just as nervous as you are, heh..." She turned towards the quiet voice among her newfound piers, looking at what appeared to be a mechanic sitting in their seat, arms folded as he briefly looked at her before looking out the window showcasing the neighborhood that Bethany was about to leave and head straight to the capital.
"Seems like this person doesn't want to talk much." She thought, wanting to respect the man's privacy as she kept walking towards her seat.
"Well now, isn't this a peculiar situation you've found yourself in, huh, miss?" A man with glasses said as Bethany walked past his seat, a smile on their face as they stood up, bowed and extended their hand out to her, wanting to greet her.
"Y-yeah, I'd... say so, for sure." She answered, looking unsure of the situation she found herself stuck in.
"On the bright side, though, I'd say that your country's pretty, as well, including your house! I particularly found myself loving the meals we had along the way here that your people made!" A chuckle escaped Bethany upon her hearing this compliment from the man, this one slightly more flattered at the brit's comment.
"Grazie, i-it's an honor, really..." She said as she shook his hand, letting go after a few seconds as she continued walking towards her seat, hearing the britishman talking to the mechanic next to him about her and the culture of the land they found themselves in.
"Well, shut me inside an asylum and call me a nutjob for saying women aren't real these past few days! Seems like we finally got a guardian angel 'ere now, hm?" A southern-sounding man with a graying beard with brown skin exclaimed as she stopped next to him, a chuckle escaping the italian despite it being brief, mainly because of his accent, but also because of the comment that he made as she sat at the pair of seats next to him after placing her luggage alongside the other mercenaries' baggages in the back, her spot designated with an icon that resembled her role's icon that she was going to bear while working under the company: What looked to be an incognito sign wearing a jacket, sunglasses and a hat on top.
"And I, um..." She paused, trying to make a comment herself as an answer. "...thought you guys weren't the real... whackjobs, yes..." She responded both awkwardly and timidly to the man's comment, a hearty laugh escaping the southerner.
"Har har! Yer a shy one, aren't ya?!" He looked at her, placing his arms behind his head in a relaxed position. "Livin' in the countryside here like me when this bus stopped an' picked me up from mah house that me an' my family crafted from scratch!" He continued, a polite smile on his face as the bus was passing by various buildings that Bethany began getting unfamiliar with.
She heard the mercenaries in front of her and the southerner next to her talking, in particular some of the boys on board the bus talking about her being the only woman on the team, which caught them all off guard.
"Oh, buon Dio, what have I gotten myself into..." She buries her face into her hands, wondering how she was the only woman that got hired alongside all of these men.
"...and that's how I managed to score a lady that... immediately dumped me after her boyfriend began beating the hell outta me for gettin' her to kiss me." The young male said as some of the other men inside the bus were looking at the Flanker with tired faces, while others were just ignoring him and chatting with others in the bus, others like the Mechanic were just looking at their phones doing whatever it was on them.
"Yeah, yeah, listen 'ere, lad..." The Irishman said, yawning as he stared at the New Yorker from his seat. "...we've been hearin' nonstop about yer sad wee little stories about not bein' able to score a lass for yerself before gettin' on board here! Don't expect that dame in the back there to fall for yer sorry lil' behind any time soon, alright?" This was followed by most of the mercenaries in the bus laughing at the Flanker being made fun of, including a quiet and shy laugh from Bethany as she peered out the window to take in the view of the city and buildings passing by her on the way to the airport.
While she was unsure and initially nervous of how the men in the bus were going to treat her when she first stepped inside, she quickly found out that they weren't so bad in terms of contract killers and mercenaries upon listening to them socializing with each other, learning some details about them, such as small chunks of their backstories and where they all came from.
Some were more humble than others, ranging from the Doctor wanting to get enough cash and profit to find a way of getting his wheelchair-bound father standing up once more, to the Trooper wanting revenge for what one of his comrades did to him during a war he took part in, though, the rest were more or less too quiet and didn't speak clearly enough for her to hear what they were discussing about, especially since she was sitting in the back of the bus.
Most of the mercenaries on her team that she was going to be part of seemed like decent people, while others, she found too awkward and uncomfortable to be around, especially with the Flanker trying every possible moment to constantly flirt with her from across the bus, even when she wasn't looking at him, he kept winking at her that only made her look away from him in response. The Trooper's general distaste for women partaking in wars of any kind also rubbed her off, and the Arsonist, while not awkward to be around, she found a bit unnerving in its design, though, it did pique her interest in what it would be like once it was activated.
"Alright boys, and lady." A voice suddenly came through the intercomms again near the bus door, the same one that asked Bethany of her certificate when she first walked over to the bus she was now inside. "You're all closing in on the airport, where the nine of y'all will be taking a private jet from your location to the destination of New Mexico in America that you, and only the nine of you are able to board on as part of your agreement with Reginald's Earthly Discoveries. Be discreet when you enter the terminal area, follow the red carpet and don't draw too much attention to yourself, got it?" Everyone responded with a "Yes sir." of some variant to the question, only for the Flanker to stand up and walk over to the speaker.
"Yeah, hey, so, are there any ladies on board that jet? 'cus if so, I'll def-"
"What do you think, squirt?" The voice asked, the Flanker raising a finger, about to say something. "I don't wanna hear a word from you! Sit down, and don't even think of trying to score any ladies outside the airport, including your Agent!" The voice ordered as the Flanker sat down, a grunt escaping him as he looks out the window in annoyance at being told what to do. Bethany, meanwhile, was busy continuing to study her teammates and what they were talking about, what their favorite topics and interests are, and so forth, who seemed interested in the African-skinned southerner next to her.
"Apologies for yelling, your Flanker's quite the nuisance here, as y'all may know. That aside, do gather your belongings when getting off the bus when we arrive to the airport. Won't be long now until y'all arrive there, so do get comfy and stay close together as your fellow Brute will be leading the way to the company's private jet." The seat where Tony sat highlighted, everyone looking at his direction as he stood up, looking at everyone in response and nodding at them. "In the meantime, do find a partner of yours that you can place your trust on. It'll definitely come in handy for when y'all are gonna be workin' together, and y'all really wouldn't wanna create any enemies, now, would ya?" The mercenaries all exchanged glances at each other, Bethany in particular briefly shifting eyes between the Annihilator, Brute, Doctor and Marksman as she saw some of her fellow mercenaries looking at her, as well, those including the Brute, Doctor, Marksman and, unfortunately for her, the Flanker that quickly looked away upon noticing her staring at him, whistling away with a tune.
"Of course that idiot's going to try to get me. Typical." She rolled her eyes at this, before locking her eyes at the southerner next to her, who he himself scanned the bus he was in for any partners to potentially pair himself up with.
It took her a bit before she stood up and mustered the courage to walk over to the Marksman next to her.
"'ey, Ah saw ye looking at mah direction, young miss." The southerner said as he stared at him.
"Yes, I was... May I, um... sit here, per favore?" She asked, trying to keep her composure in front of the man in front of her.
"Of course! C'mere, loads of space here for ya, lady." He moved closer to the window as the italian sat next to him, Bethany glancing over at him for a second before taking a breath.
"Sorry, I'm... not really that good at socializing with others outside of my mother, so... I apologize in advance if I sound stupid when I say something incorrect, alright?" She says, facing away from the man next to her.
"Nah, don't beat yourself up about it! Take yer sweet time, friend." He crosses his arms and legs, a smile of politeness constantly on his expression while the Italian mustered up her courage to ask one simple question.
"W... what's your name, if I might ask?"
"Name's Kyle! Kyle Chrisson, at yer service! What's yours?" He looked at her, awaiting her answer.
"...Bethany. I guess that I'm going to be this team's Agent, sí?" A shy look kept itself on her expression, her colleague seeming to have taken notice of this behavior from her as a hum buzzed out of Kyle, his grin fading and now replaced with a content smile.
"Yup," he said, his voice much softer now, which Bethany found a little more comfortable with. "yer definitely the ninth and last one this company picked up outta all of us. Feller on the comms told us about a lotta stuff before we got to ya, and what roles we all had when it came to workin' together. Plus," He paused for a moment, examining her as the woman next to him raised an eyebrow at him. "ya definitely got the looks an' that icon at yer seat to support that proof of your role to us, and yerself." She looked at herself and her outfit from her perspective, blushing a little bit at him complimenting her looks despite somewhat rushing it when getting dressed and ready for her first day as she attempted to keep her cool and not break down in a nervous fit.
"Well, yeah..." She said, voice shaking a little bit as the Flanker and Trooper began walking towards the two, a smug look on the former's face with their hands in their pockets. "...I still have to know what my actual job's gonna be. I assume you're going to be the long-ranged assassin of the bunch, looking at your icon?" She guessed as she stared up at the emblem of her colleague next to her, assuming the name of the ranger's role as the sound of the britishman and Brute could be heard laughing together.
"Marksman, yes." Kyle flashed a smirk as he said this, tipping his hat upward as he eyes more clearlythe Italian, a visible scar on one of his eyes that caught her interest. "My role in the team is specialized in single-target pickin' from a long distance and poppin' the heads off of anyone we'll be facin' together that I deem a sizeable threat. You, on the other hand..." The man narrows his eyes at the lady, humming at her while Bethany tilted her head at him in response. "...I can only assume that you're gonna have a similar role to mine where you pick off important targets for us, though, it's gonna be up close and personal to the enemy, as well as give us intel on the field."
This answer made Bethany go from being nervous, to being scared as she wondered what was going to happen to her if she were to be caught. The realization of her being caught and tortured hit her harder than she hadn't realized, in which, while she was expecting to become a mercenary protecting her company and doing her job in general, she didn't expect to have to potentially murder anyone while working there, as well as risk dying, possibly.
Though, then again, the people she was going to fight against with her team were eco-terrorists that caused damage across the globe where popular meat, mining and natural resource industries were ripe with supplies fit for her company to harvest from and sell to businesses and partners around the world. The protests from GRN on top of that that her mother had read several articles of and shown her that ended with more destruction than it did good, as well as the fact that she had read the paragraph about becoming a contract killer upon signing the deal with Fitten Co., though, murder would only be a requirement if absolutely necessary.
"What if they catch me, Kyle...?" She asks, feeling the bus slowing down as it began closing in on the airport, Kyle simply letting out a single "Heh." in response as he stares out the window leading to the airport entrance that the bus has just arrived to.
"Lord almighty knows what, sis'. They might as well just murder you the second you show your mug to them." He answers, clattering his fingers by the side of the window. "Same story for me, I guess." He shrugs, seemingly pondering on something the Agent doesn't know about. The Flanker and Trooper once more walk by the two, the former snickering at her as she ignored him.
"Greetings, you two." A voice cut in as Bethany and Kyle eyed up at the Doctor that stopped next to them, who was standing with the hulking Brute, both holding their luggages. "It seems as though we've reached the airport. I take it that you two are feeling well acquainted with one another?" He inquires, looking at the two.
"I guess so, yes..." Bethany responds to the brit somewhat quietly, remembering his optimistic and polite attitude of both him and the Brute as she felt comfortable with their presence.
"Well, while everyone has been socializing with one another, I've gotten to know a little bit more about Anthony here and his interests and hobbies about motorcycle riding and whatnot. Quite an interesting sport despite his weight, I do have to admit!" He chuckles as he faces Anthony, before looking back at the Italian and southerner. "I presume that you two have done the same in getting acquainted with one another?" He asks, a smile still on his face as the other five mercenaries around the four began heading over to the back to grab their baggage, the sound of the bus doors opening alongside a beep.
"If it's any progress, Roger, me an' Bethany 'ere have just introduced our names to one another, and talked about our roles on the team." Kyle says as Roger hums at hearing the sound of his Agent's name.
"Bethany, hm? That's your name, miss?" He asks her, the woman nodding timidly in response.
"Well, it's nice to meet you proper this time, Bethany! I am Roger, your team's Doctor, and this is Anthony, our Brute!" The hulking man waved at the two, before the Doctor continued. "He prefers to call himself Big Tony, due to his sheer size and strength that made him our team's anchor, as the voice on the speakers told us. Big chap here almost yanked me into him when I went over to grab his hand for a simple handshake when I first met him on this bus in Hampshire! Strong man, I have to admit!" A hearty laugh escaped the medic, alongside a muffled laughter from the muscular man next to him, the Marksman smiling at the interaction between while the Agent simply gave a shy hum.
"Heh, indeed, doc'!" The bearded, long-haired blonde next to him said, folding his arms together. "I can already tell, that we two, along with the rest of y'all are gonna make a great team together if we're already able to make each other laugh like this!" A grin appears on the muscular man, moving his head to look at his doctor and nodding in approval at him as Bethany stood up from her seat to grab her luggage in the back.
"Well, I hope we will!" She says, trying to sound confident as she turned her head towards the men behind her. "I'm just really nervous being in a place like this, that's all..." A grunt came out of her as the luggage proved to be heavier than expected lifting from the seat onto the ground, the sound of the luggage's impact on the ground of the bus ringing on the floor that got her worried about her stuff inside.
The conversation between the three was going decently while the Agent was busy with getting her luggage off the ground. Though, this was soon interrupted by the sound of a microphone being tapped on from the speakers, grabbing their attention.
"You four, I get that it's pleasant to socialize and get to know one another, but that can wait until you've reached the jet and left the ground that y'all are standin' on. Please step out of the bus at once and stick close to each other, the jet's not gonna stay here forever, y'know." The voice on the other end asked, the Brute looking at the three mercenaries as a humph emitted from him, the motorcyclist's brows furrowing as he nodded at the three.
"Arright, brothers and sister!" The big one among the four said, unfolding his arms, sticking his thumb towards the direction of the bus door leading outside. "Let's get movin'! Can't keep 'em waiting for us, y'know!" As he said this, the Doctor and Marksman pulled their own luggage bags with them, heading towards the exit of the bus.
"Hey, ya comin', Beth?" Kyle turned to look at her after realizing her missing from his two colleagues, only to find her struggling in the back to move her luggage, the woman grunting in annoyance as she struggled to pull it with her.
"Good lord, what on Earth happened here!? It wasn't THIS heavy before!" A growl came from the Italian, trying to pull up her baggage out of the bus that now all of a sudden felt like trying to lift up a bunch of large rocks in her backpack from the seat.
Try as she might, it was of no use as she stared at it, dumbfounded with a confused expression.
That was, until she felt a big hand on her shoulder.
"You need any help with that, sister?" The Brute asked, standing next to her as she peered up at him.
"Y-yes, please! I'd like that very much. A-Anthony, was it?" She asked.
"Anthony, yes, but you can just call me Big Tony or just Tony, Beth." He smiled at her as he easily lifted the luggage up without so much as a sweat dropping from him, then placing it proper on the ground for the woman that watched at his strength with awe.
"Did he just... lift that with a single hand?!" A thought raced through her head as the Brute looked at her, a small laugh coming out of him upon noticing the Agent's expression.
"What, you never seen a strongman like me before, sister?" He raised an eyebrow, awaiting a response from her.
"N-no, not at all!" She said as she snapped out of her stance, still gobbsmacked at what she witnessed. "Holy hell, you're like that guy with those iron teeth I saw in a movie once! Being able to tear through steel doors and whatnot!" She exclaimed, getting yet another chuckle from the blonde as he offered the woman the handle of her luggage.
"Don't know what you're talkin' about, but thank you! I can help carry this for you if it's too heavy, y'know." He proposed to her, Bethany smiling at the big, cuddly bear before her as she grabbed the handle, then tried to move it with her hands.
Again, too heavy, though, she did get it to move very slowly behind her. She eventually gave up after pulling it a few more times.
"Yeah, I definitely need your help unloading my luggage once we get to the airport. Mind helping me out here?" She commented, a sigh escaping Anthony as he pulled it along with him with the Agent walking next to him.
"Dang, this is also a bit heavy for me, heh! What did ya even pack here, lady?! A fridge or microwave or somethin'?!" Despite the workload, the Brute kept a smile on him at all times, keeping himself optimistic while Bethany glanced away from him for a moment, until she looked back with a slight blush.
"Just clothes of all sorts, a photo album, my laptop, phone, charger, anything that I wanted with me. What else did I put in that could have made it so heavy? It wasn't like this before!" As they stepped away from the bus with Bethany's luggage behind her, the vehicle closed its doors as it drove off on its own, leaving the mercenaries by themselves at the airport, far away from where Bethany's family house was located.
"Actually, I have to see what's inside. Something's wrong here..." The Brute steps aside as Bethany goes ahead to unzip her bag, taking a look inside, only to realize exactly what exactly was making it so much harder to lift and carry around. An angry frown appeared on her as she spun around, holding a rock in her hand that could barely fit in her pant's pockets in terms of size.
"Just why are there a bunch of rocks in my bag?! Who put them in here?!" She raised her voice enough to a point that the nearby tourists and people walking by the group looked at the four mercenaries in confusion, the Italian leering at everyone with a frustrated look on her face as she heard the laughter of two of the mercenaries somewhere at the airport entrance.
Not the Brute, not the Doctor, and certainly not the Marksman.
"Those two...!" Anger filled her eyes upon finding out who it was, gritting her teeth in frustration as she saw her team's Flanker and Trooper laughing at her from far away, realizing that she had been played with like a kindergartner whose sandcastle was kicked and curbed into nothing on their playground by a bunch of bullies as she stormed over to the two, ready to scream and yell at them for what they did, only for Tony next to her to pause her with a gentle touch on the shoulder as she started walking towards them.
"Leave those two to me, sister." The blonde towering over her reassured her with a nod, followed by him looking at the two that had needlessly pranked her with a stern look, proceeding to make a gesture of violence towards the duo, signifying that he was ready to beat them both up for messing with her on her first day.
The duo, upon seeing this, ran further into the airport as the three mercenaries around the Agent helped her unpack the luggage full of stones, the woman hoping that her equipment inside hadn't been damaged as she threw away the stones inside her baggage.
"Goodness, it's filthy in there... Sorry about those two, milady, they... are definitely more trouble than I had previously expected, pair of quacks, I must say..." Roger said as he placed a rock on the ground, making the most out of it by making a small cairn out of it on the sidewalk while the Brute and Marksman took part in what the Doctor was making with the rocks on the ground.
"Ugh, it's nothing to worry about. Just... annoying, that's all." She said bluntly, grunting as she continued throwing away all of the rocks to the ground she found inside her luggage, not wanting to waste time on creating meaningless sculptures on the ground that no one was going to pay too much attention to.
"I just hope my things in here are fine and can be washed when we get on board, or when we get to America." She dropped a few more stones on the ground while Tony was handing some of them towards the Doctor. The Marksman, meanwhile, was picking up a few for himself and carving them with a switchblade he kept in his pocket, looking interested at whatever he made out of them.
"Oh, thank goodness..." Bethany thought to herself as she eventually saw that her clothes and equipment were all in good condition after pulling out most of the rocks, outside of having a few stains, dust and particles on them thanks to the smudge and dirt from the stones that were unpacked from her luggage, a relieved smile forming on her. "Good thing my clothes got in the way of those things, otherwise I'd be-."
"Well, there we go, Bethany! No stone left unturned, they say!" Bethany's thoughts were interrupted as Roger exclaimed as he peeked inside his colleague's baggage, the Agent zipping up her bag to prevent them from seeing what was inside as she moved her luggage around a little after, finding it much lighter now and easier to drag along behind her.
"Thank you, guys." She smiled at them, the three men smiling back at her in response as she eyed the small cairn that Roger had made with help from Tony, briefly admiring the work put into it despite her annoyance with the Flanker and Trooper earlier.
"No problem, sister!" Tony gave her a thumbs up, before glancing over behind him. "I'll show those two there knuckleheads as to what happens when you mess with my team like that, but that can wait!" He flashes a determined smile, his intentions made clear as the Flanker and Trooper that were watching the four in the distance ran further away to a nearby cafeteria to hide away from the Brute's sights.
"Well, big guy," Kyle said as he walked past Tony, carrying his own luggage behind him. "let's worry about them rascals later. We all got a plane to catch, don't we?" He tips his hat upward, giving a toothy smile at the trio as they followed suit.
"Right then, brothers and uh... sister!" The blonde said as he lifted his suitcase with one of his hands. "Let's meet up with the others, then!" As they began walking towards the terminal, the Brute gently placed a hand on the Agent's shoulder once more as she was about to start walking along the red carpet, stopping them both in her tracks. "And you, Bethany," He said, a gentle tone in his voice.
"Hm?" She looks up at Tony, curious.
"Stay close to me. Don't want them both messin' with you on your first day now, do ya?" The Agent beams in delight at having a protector following her, knowing that her safety from being a target from the Flanker and Trooper has increased with this big teddy bear around her keeping watch over her.
"Yes, that... would actually be wonderful, Tony. Grazie!" She thanks him with a happy expression, the two walking through the doors leading into the terminal area, as they, alongside the rest of the RED team outside of the Flanker and Trooper began walking on the red carpet supposedly leading to their team's private jet.
Author's Note
Gonna be honest, I had some trouble finishing up this chapter, let alone editing it several times before publishing this chapter. Figured that it was going to be a bit hard coming back to writing stories, especially with writing interactions between characters and describing what's happening without being too flowery with my writing, but I am decently happy with how this chapter turned out in the end.
I wouldn't say it's my BEST work ever, but I'm doing my best at seeing what I can do to improve interactions between characters from my previous stories that I've made on this website.
Next chapter hopefully won't be so long to write out, thankfully. You should be able to see it come out sometime late this month or early next month, if I'm not too busy with real life stuff.
Thank you all once again for reading this chapter. If you wish to become a beta reader and help me out, feel free to shoot me a private message! I'd love to get feedback and help from people that are willing to teach me a thing or two about writing stories.
