As soon as Carter off of the phone, she felt the sweltering Maimi heat. It was almost unbearable compared to the chill airplane that she just stepped out of. She felt sweat start yo bubble down her face. She took off the overshirt that she kept solely for the plane ride. She quickly there before both the mass of bags and people arrived. She stood in a spot out of the way but close enough to see her bags when they came through. It was one of the last ones.
In her pocket, her phone buzzed. Looking at the notification, it was a text message from an unknown number. Looking at it, it read:
Come outside once you get your stuff. I'm standing outside with a sign with your name on it.
Carter stashed her phone away after texting her parents that she made it, grabbed her bags from the floor beside her, and dashed outside. The light was almost blinding compared to the artificial light of the airport. Carter looked around and over people looking from someone carrying a sign with her name on it while simultaneously ducking and dodging people from almost crashing into her. Far off to the corner, she found a sign reading "Carter" being held by a woman with weirdly dark brown hair and large black sunglasses covering her face. Carter left the crowd of people, making her way toward the strange woman. Once she was in viewing range, the woman grew a broad smile and waved wildly at Carter.
Once Carter got to her, the woman pulled some of the bags from Carter's hands and directed her another way.
"Sorry, this is going to be a bit of a walk. I didn't want us to get stuck in traffic on the way back."
"That's honestly no problem," Carter replied. "I absolutely hate traffic."
"By the way, I'm Nadia. On the job, you'll probably hear me being called Agent Rice. I prefer Nadia."
"Hi, Nadia. I guess you already know that my name is Carter, but I prefer Carter."
"At least you have a sense of humor," Nadia chuckled and then turned serious. "Promise me one thing, you'll keep that sense of humor. You'll need it."
"What do you mean by that?" Carter asked.
"I'll answer once we get to the car," Nadia replied.
The two women were silent the rest of the way to a small nondescript car. As the two walked up to it, Carter noticed two car seats in the back. She and Nadia put the bags into the trunk, but Nadia made sure that Carter kept her safe on hand. The two got into the front seat and got settled before slowly departing from the small parking lot.
"So..." Carter started slowly. "Why do I need to keep my sense of humor."
"I'm going to be completely honest with you. Women don't stay in our field for long. When I saw that you were supposed to be here, I was begging to be allowed to come to get you, so I could get to you first. We are the only two of a few women left on the tech side of SHIELD. Heck, there are few women outside of medicine and food at
SHIELD. It's a guys world, really. You're going to have to deal with a lot of crap, but don't just take it. Fight back when necessary, and keep your head up. Not many people get this far. It's always fun laughing in someone's face when they think you can't do something."
"What do you do?"
"I work in personal communications, but it's just a fancy way of saying that I'm a person that spies on everyone's social media pages. You, on the other hand, could be doing anything. I looked at your credentials, I have no clue where they are going to put you. You'll probably find out by the end of the week after some testing."
"Testing? Are we still in high school?"
"In some ways, yes. There is an unbelievable amount of drama. In others, no. The entire world sometimes is on your shoulders. But no, these tests are to see where you can be most useful. Where your talents can be best utilized. Based on your skillset, once again, you could be put anywhere. I can see there's another question on your mind. What is it?"
"The two car seats in the back?" Carter tentatively asked.
"This is my personal children. I have three children. I'm on carpooling duty today for my youngest."
"How do you balance work and family? I saw my parents do it, and I honestly have no clue how they did it. There were four of us for the most part."
"If they're the right people, it's worth working toward. It's a lot of hard work, especially when you come home tired some nights, most nights. But it is one hundred percent worth it. I wouldn't trade my kiddos and husband for anything in the world, even when they get on my last nerve.
"Now, enough of the mushy stuff. Let me tell you about all the stuff that was sent to you. I'm sure you have tons of questions about it."