It's been a week since Tom joined the group of agents. Alice hasn't had time to observe the group again herself, but according to the training reports, the American had been coming along nicely.
She's walking down the hall late one afternoon when she catches sight of movement in the field, and she pauses to glance out the window. She watches as Aurora, Neil, Harry, Rene and Tom practice hand-to-hand, her eyes immediately drawn to the tall American. It's her first time seeing him train physically, and she's surprised to find him holding his own. He's only been at the camp itself a few weeks - and he's only been training with this group for one - and he can already take down Harry. Though that's not saying a whole lot, it's a start, especially for someone with no prior experience in combat. As she watches, she remembers overhearing Sinclair talking about Tom's progress to Mayhew that morning.
He's proven to be a bit gun shy, as expected, Duncan had said. But he's got an incredible way with words - as we already know. The kid can apparently talk his way out of anything, even a fight. We can't let him rely just on that, though, and once we've worked on his actual combat training, I'm confident he'll be a solid, well-rounded agent. A great addition to the team.
Alice can't help but smile a bit to herself as she watches Aurora take the much bigger man down without a hitch. Despite how pleased she is that Aurora was able to take Tom down so quickly, she's surprisingly impressed by the man yet again as he stands back up almost immediately and squares off with the blonde woman again.
As she continues to watch out the window, her gaze wanders across the field to where others are training. There are half a dozen other agents scattered here and there, both in groups and alone, and she knows even more are training inside. They all look tough and ready to fight, but Alice can't help but feel a small sense of dread creep in.
Who knows where they'll all go? And who knows if they'll make it home?
She breathes in deep, closing her eyes and counting to three, before setting back off down the hall.
Chin up, Alice. Do your job, let them do theirs, and hope that together, you can make something of a difference in this war.
Alice is sitting at her desk later that afternoon when she sees Aurora, Neil, Harry, Rene and Tom walk down the hall. They push through the doors across the hall and enter the lounge, and Alice nods as Duncan leaves his office and motions for her to follow. She stands up and cuts across the hall, opening the doors to the lounge and following Duncan in.
As Duncan debriefs the team, Alice stands by and listens. When he's finished, she stands by as all the agents walk out the door, her head snapping up as she hears Duncan stop Tom. She's been trying to think of a subtle way to compliment Tom on his training, but it seems Duncan has had the same thought.
"Great job out there, Tom," Duncan says proudly, extending his hand for a handshake. Tom's mouth spreads into a smile as he reaches for Duncan's hand.
"Thank you, sir."
Duncan nods, and Tom takes a step back to let him pass. As Tom continues to hold the door for her, Alice passes him and is about to turn to him with a quick 'good job' when he speaks.
"What do you think, Scarlett?" He's smirking over at her, and she raises her eyebrows.
"What do I think about what?"
"Do you think I'm doing a great job?" He looks so smug that she immediately takes back any compliment she was going to give him. Her guard immediately flies back up, and she crosses her arms.
"I think you're full of yourself," she retorts, "and I've seen you - you're a bit gun shy, too. Why don't you talk to the barrel of a gun and see how well it listens?"
He's startled, she can tell, but he recovers quickly. "So you've been watching?" he asks with a smirk.
Now it's her turn to be taken aback. She curses the blush that rises on her cheeks as she shoots back, "Yes. Because it's my job."
Tom nods, holding up his hands in defeat, but the smirk is still on his face, as if he knows something she doesn't. Alice's mouth forms in a straight line, biting back any other remark as he turns to walk away. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath through her nose.
A few days later, Duncan approaches Alice in the radio room as she's just finished a round of interceptions. She's just set her headphones down with a sigh when he walks over.
"Alice," he nods. "Do you mind giving me a run through of the agents' weapon concealment? I heard you and some of the others had a few suggestions."
Alice is flattered. She knows Duncan values her opinion, but hearing that he wants to actively put some of her ideas into place sends a feeling of overwhelming pride through her.
"Of course. Some of the girls and I came up with a new design that would enable more weapons and better concealment. If you give me a moment, I can fetch the blueprints."
She grabs the papers from the drawer in the back room, and she looks them over as she heads back to the area where they keep all the undercover clothing and materials. She meets Duncan at the door and he shows her around the back of the racks, where Alice is unpleasantly surprised to see Tom standing there - with a grey pinstripe suit on.
Of course he's the person they have wearing the suit. She should have known this would be her luck.
"Hey, Tom," Duncan greets. Tom nods in response, then turns to Alice with a grin.
"Scarlett," he offers as a greeting. She sees Duncan look briefly between the two of them at the name, but he doesn't say anything, and she's never been more grateful. She ignores Tom's remark and gets to work.
"Can you hold your arms up, please, Private Cummings?" He does as he's told, and she can feel him watching her, but she tries her best not to pay it any mind as she touches the end of his sleeve. "So we'd keep the knife inside the sleeve, obviously," she says to Sinclair. "We thought about adding a little flap inside to help keep it concealed, but still easy to pull out and grab."
She lifts up the side of the jacket, and gestures to Tom's belt. "Gun in here," she says. Without thinking, her fingers brush just above the belt on his side. She realizes quickly what she's done when she feels him flinch at the sudden contact, even through his undershirt, and she immediately pulls her hand away. She can only pray that she's not blushing. She tries to quickly gather her thoughts, turning back to Sinclair, who thankfully doesn't look phased as he waits for her to continue.
"Um," she starts again. "Then we thought about adding another small pocket for a knife here," she points to the inside of the jacket on the opposite side. "The material is thick enough that it won't show through."
They continue like this for another ten minutes, Duncan nodding and Alice explaining. He seems pleased at the changes, patting her on the shoulder before excusing himself as Krystina calls him into the radio room. Alice tries to quickly gather up her blueprints and leave the room, but she's just turned on her heel when she hears Tom speak.
"Jack of all trades, huh?"
"Something like that," she says, pausing in her step. She throws him a look over her shoulder.
He nods, looking at her with a smirk that she tries her best to ignore. "You know a lot about weapons for a girl who doesn't seem to be carrying any on her," he quips, eyebrow raised.
She stands up straighter, turning back towards him, and raises an eyebrow. "I've got three on me as we speak."
He smirks, holding his hands up. "Alright. You got me."
"Goodbye, Agent Cummings."
"You know, you can call me Tom," he calls after her, but she's already pushed through the doors forcefully, her heels clipping against the floor as she walks brusquely back to her desk.
A/N: I'm SO sorry for the lack of updates. I just got a new job and I'm trying to balance a million things at once. Thank you guys so much for your patience.
Leslie