Chapter 15
A bland-faced agent greeted Fury at the entrance of the main building.
"Ladies," Fury beckoned them forward. "This is agent Reynolds. He will show you to your quarters and get you settled in. He will also give you a tour of the facilities when you are ready."
"Wait," Ruby stopped him before he could leave. "I haven't thanked you for everything you've done to keep me safe. I am grateful, I really am."
"Oh, don't thank me yet," he said without a smile. "I plan to get as much out of you as I can to help us beat Hydra."
She swallowed and nodded slowly, "thanks for the warning."
Fury shrugged, "who knows? You might actually like it here."
With that, he turned and, with Bruce in tow, entered the building, leaving them alone with agent Reynolds.
"Ms. Beaumont, Ms. Ashford, if you would follow me? I have a cart for us."
"Oh, just call us Ruby and Izzy. We don't stand on formality," Izzy smiled brightly.
"Okay, Izzy. I'm Robbie," the agent smiled back.
Resistance is futile, Ruby thought, hiding her grin. She couldn't wait to see her friend's charm turned on Fury. That would be interesting to watch.
Turning the golf cart around, Reynolds drove towards a cluster of buildings and wove through the construction to one that looked almost complete.
"This building didn't sustain as much damage as some of the others, so we converted it into a barracks for trainees. It looks a little rough on the outside, but inside it has all the comforts of home."
Stopping adjacent to it, he directed them to a wooden walkway across the bare ground and into the foyer. The walls were still unpainted and electrical wires hung from open holes in the ceiling overhead. Directly across from the entrance were two elevators. Reynolds ignored the state of the foyer and crossed to the elevators.
"This building has two stories above ground and three underground. The underground sections were the best preserved," he told them as he ushered them into the elevator. "Your rooms will be on the second level down."
The elevator deposited them in another open area, this one vastly different than the other. The walls were painted a cool gray and adorned with a variety of well-executed landscapes. Comfortable couches and chairs were scattered around the area along with a few tables surrounded by chairs. The carpet was a slightly darker shade of gray with area rugs used to bring subtle pops of color. There were a handful of people in the room, who turned to observe the newcomers as they exited the elevator.
"This is the common area on this level." Reynolds pointed to an open doorway across the room from where they stood, "that's the kitchen. It's well stocked, but if there are any specific items you want, there's a page on our intranet where you can put in requests. Within reason, of course," he chuckled.
"So, no lobster every night?" Izzy asked with a smile.
"You got it," he grinned back.
He introduced them to the trainees, not going into detail about why they were there, just stating that they were working on a short-term project with SHIELD. Then he led them down the corridor to the right of the common area to their rooms.
The rooms were adjacent and decorated in the same cool shades of gray as the common area. The pops of color came from the fabric on the loveseat, chairs, and pillows on the bed. Ruby's room had aqua and peach and Izzy's had royal blue and lilac.
"This is lovely," Ruby told Reynolds.
"Well, I'll leave you to settle in. Ruby, your father had his housekeeper pack a few things for you, but if you need anything else," he handed her a card, "there's the link for our intranet and my number."
"Thank you, agent Reynolds."
"Ms. Ashford, Izzy," he held out a card to her also. "We weren't given enough notice to contact your family about your belongings, but there are some standard issue clothes for you to use until you can make other arrangements."
"I'm sure I will survive, Robby. Will we be seeing you again?" Izzy almost purred and batter her eyes in an exaggerated fashion. Ruby had to cough to cover her snort of amusement.
"As a matter of fact, yes," he cleared his throat to hide is discomfort. "I will meet you upstairs in the main foyer in two hours and give you a tour of the rest of the campus."
"Sounds like fun," Izzy winked at him.
"Until then, Ladies, uh, Ms. Izzy." Agent Reynolds almost ran down the corridor to get away.
Ruby turned to her friend, "was that necessary?"
"I've got to find ways to entertain myself while I'm here," Izzy looked at her with wide eyes.
"I thought you were here to support me?"
"I am, but you're not that needy. I'm sure I'll have plenty of spare time. Especially when you are working 'closely'," she used her fingers to do the air quotes, "with your doctor Banner."
"Stop it," Ruby swatted at her hands. "He's not 'my' doctor Banner."
"Are you sure? I saw the way he was watching you on the flight. He looked like he wanted to jump your bones on that jet. If you weren't so oblivious, you could have joined the mile-high club."
"Will you shut up?" Ruby tried to scowl but couldn't through laughter her friend elicited.
"Come on," Izzy pushed her through the door into her room. "Let's get settled and see what lovely attire I've been provided."
With the door between the two rooms opened, the friends chatted back and forth as Ruby unpacked the, get this, four suitcases Martha had packed for her. Did the woman think she was going to be gone a year?
"Black, black, and more black," Izzy complained with a sniff. "Oh, wait! There's gray too."
"Just look at it as a chance to shop for new clothes," Ruby told her, pulling out no less than five gauzy scarves. "I think Martha packed everything that I have never worn before." She tossed the scarves aside on the bed.
"Oh!" Izzy said from the door. "Can I borrow that green one?"
True to her complaints, she was dressed in black pants and a black tank. Still, Ruby thought, she looked terrific.
"Yeah, go ahead."
Izzy snatched the lime green scarf off the bed and threaded it through the beltloops of her pants, tying it off-center. It added a dash of vibrant color to the ensemble.
"What do you think?" her friend twirled around.
"I think you would look great no matter what you wore," she told her with a bit of envy. Being so short, it was hard to find clothes that fit properly and didn't make her look either a child or an old woman. It was as if designers assumed that if you were short, you were built like a ten-year old boy.
"Did Martha pack any green shoes?" Izzy asked.
Ruby gestured to a suitcase she had set off to the side, "that entire case if filled with shoes. Take a look."
As Izzy gleefully dug through the assortment of shoes, Ruby finished the suitcase she was working on and flopped down on the loveseat. Her nerves were beginning to kick in again. It was one thing to agree to help SHIELD, but now that she was here, she was having serious doubts about her decision. Years of being ignored or having her talents belittled had left thick scars on her psyche. Those scars weren't going to just vanish with a few kind words. Self-doubt was worming its way back in. Was she good enough to beat Hydra at their game?
As if sensing the dark cloud that had descended on her friend, Izzy turned from the suitcase.
"I know that look," she said with a frown. "You're starting to doubt yourself, aren't you?"
"Are you sure you aren't a mind-reader?" Ruby smiled weakly at her joke.
"I don't have to be." Izzy stood and came over to sit by her side. "I've been your friend long enough that I know how you think."
"What am I doing here, Izzy?"
"You are doing what you're meant to do," Izzy told her. "You have spent your entire life being pushed around and made to feel inadequate, yet you never gave up, despite it all. Most people would have been crushed by what you went through and would have quit. Or started drinking. Not you, girl! You knew what you were good at and you kept at it."
"Yeah, and look where it got me," Ruby rolled her eyes. "Two years in an office that was barely bigger than a closet, thinking I was working on nothing of consequence, only to find out that I was aiding the world's most evil organization." She buried her face in her hands. "Maybe I should stop while I'm behind."
"Stop that," Izzy gave her a playful shove. "First, you didn't do it on purpose…,"
"Does that even matter?"
"Second," she continued, ignoring Ruby's interruption, "Hydra only goes after the top minds in the world. The fact that they chose you and kidnapped you, that says it all. You are the best at what you do, geek girl! And now, you're here with SHIELD and being encouraged to do your thing."
"And third, have you been looking around you?" Izzy went on when Ruby didn't respond. "This place is packed with technology and hotties. If there was ever a place to get your geek on, this is it. You're beautiful and smart, so the men, and women – don't close that door before you try it," she winked, "are going to be throwing themselves at you. You're going to be catnip to them, girl!"
Ruby had to laugh at that, "is that all you think about?"
"Hell, yeah. We're young and beautiful. Let's go forth and leave a trail of broken hearts in our wake! Or at least a trail of satisfied customers."
By then, both women were laughing.
"That's better," Izzy sobered up and leveled a look at Ruby. "You need to stay out of your own head, okay."
"Easier said than done."
"And that's why you have me!"
Both women giggled.
While Ruby showered, Izzy fished a pair of heels out of the suitcase that matched the scarf.
"Thank you, Martha!"
Standing, she shot a look at the bathroom door then went over to the desk where Ruby had left her purse and backpack. Keeping an ear open for the shower to turn off, she opened the bag and pulled out the sad, little trophy that Ruby had carried around for years. It would be perfect.
Izzy darted back into her room to grab her purse and fished around until she felt a rough edge along the bottom of the liner. Giving it a good tug, she pulled it free and revealed a pocket hidden beneath it. From it, she pulled out a device the size of a large button and set it down on the desk next to the trophy. With her nail file, she pried off a decorative medallion and dropped it into her purse to dispose of later. She replaced it with the device that had been designed to look like the medallion. It had both audio and video recording abilities and could be easily downloaded to her phone remotely whenever it was within fifty feet.
Making sure it was securely attached, Izzy put the trophy back in the backpack and closed it. Humming to herself, she tossed her purse back into her room and started to dig through Ruby's clothes to find something presentable for her friend to wear.
