They're good at silence. She's only known Agent Melinda May for four weeks, definitely not long enough to lose the urge to call her Agent Melinda May every time in her head, but long enough to know that silence was kind of her thing. It wasn't uncomfortable, she didn't feel like she was supposed to say anything.

And she could definitely work with that. Especially right now, when their flight had been pushed from 0700 to 0500 and she had spent most of the night packing. And emptying her bag and packing again. And doing it for a third time because she was unsure if her thermal underwear should be more easily accessible than her night vision goggles or not. In the end she wrapped the goggles into the thermal shirt and left it on top.

The gentle sound of the car's engine only adds to her urge to close her eyes and sleep. Instead she watched the city outside pass, intrigued by the people, the architecture and the feel of it.

"You ever been to Paris?"

Silence was definitely not Coulson's thing though. At all. He had been talking since their transport picked them up, continued to do so on the way to the airstrip and had tried to make a few bad jokes about flying during the plane's departure. May had just rolled her eyes, taken her bag and holed herself up in the seat furthest away from them while Coulson had dropped down across the aisle from herself. And he had talked. And talked. Until Maria had picked up a random mission file and pretended to read that.

She shook her head no. Sadly, she hadn't been and she didn't suppose there was enough time to visit the Louvre. She had always wanted to go.

"It's very romantic." Coulson added with a dreamy look.

In the rearview mirror Maria could see May rolling her eyes in the front seat. She turned around and lowered her sunglasses. "It's just a city. Too much traffic, too polluted, too many tourists running around and residents thinking they're above the rest of their corner of the world."

Coulson just smiled undeterred. "Yes. It's beautiful."

Maria smirked and kept looking out the window instead. They drove for another hour, weaving in and out of traffic until they turned into an underground garage and from there made their way to the briefing.

The mission was clear-cut. May would infiltrate the Orlov Institut de Science et Technologie and retrieve a "package" from an Agent Baillet working inside. Meanwhile Coulson and herself would make a tour of the facilities as part of a delegation from the United States and would be able to help from the inside if necessary.

Now there was just the matter of Agent May actually getting into the heavily guarded building. Two agents who had introduced themselves as Hale and Coates were pondering over the building's blueprints with them.

"What about the roof?" May suggested.

"Absolutely not." Coulson argued from across the table. He had lost his jacket an hour earlier and had rolled up his sleeves.

"Why not?" May asked sharply. Maria reminded herself that she had to be as tired as the rest of them.

"Because of the four guards patrolling up there."

May 's defensive eyes met Coulson's. "It worked well in Pretoria."

"You got shot in Pretoria!" Coulson threw at her, daring her to argue that point.

"So?" May shrugged.

Maria's eyes widened. Seriously?

"That's not how I plan my missions." Coulson said with finality.

"It's not your mission, it's mine." May said calmly.

Coulson just shook his head. "The roof is not an option."

Agent Coates nervously cleared his throat. "Maybe we should call it a day and leave the rest for tomorrow. The mission isn't for another day." Maria thought he was either stupid or very brave but it seemed to work. Coulson and May both nodded and Coulson threw a smile at them before he stepped away from the table.

"Maria." May called her over.

Her eyes flicked to May's. "Yes?"

"I want you to find the Agent in Charge of Requisitions and fill out form 2.21b for us." May said evenly as she slipped into her leather jacket. "Come find me when you're done."

Maria nodded. She had no idea what form 2.21b was but she would not disappoint Agent May again. Once had been enough. And it was an easy enough request, she was sure she could handle it.

She watched after May as she walked out through the glass doors and witnessed her being hugged by an older agent in the hallway just outside. Another specialist by the looks of him. Maria estimated he had to be over 6 feet tall as he towered over May like a giant. Maria had always wondered if all the glass walls in S.H.I.E.L.D. facilities was supposed to give you the illusion of transparency while in reality everything was shrouded in secrets. They weren't even allowed to know what kind of "package" they were picking up in 48 hours.

Form 2.21b.

Right.

::

Definitely not right.

She had been looking for an hour now and she was starting to think she was one big fool. Either that or she should seriously consider quitting S.H.I.E.L.D. and becoming an accountant instead. Or a librarian.

There was no Agent in Charge of Requisitions. Or if there was, no one knew. She had asked almost everyone she had met and they had all met her with blank stares. Blank stares which had turned doubtful of her sanity when she had asked about form 2.21b.

By now she wandered the hallways, unsure of what to do.

"Agent Hill?"

She turned around to see Agent Coulson coming her way.

"What are you still doing here?"

She glanced at her watch. 22:43. Yes. She had spent more than an hour chasing through the field office. Well, she might as well admit her defeat now, perhaps it would prepare her for the disappointment she would surely see in May's eyes.

"Agent May asked me to track down the Agent in Charge of Requisitions and fill out form 2.21b for us."

And then it dawned on her. She didn't know if it was saying these exact words for maybe the hundredth time tonight or the widening smirk on Coulson's face that clued her in.

"Damn it." She closed her eyes and muttered. "There is no Agent of Charge and no form 2.21b."

Coulson just laughed and shook his head. "No."

Ah fuck.

"How long have you been looking for?" Coulson asked.

Maria looked at him suspiciously but could not detect any malice in his face. "Long enough to know I'm not cut out for this."

"That's not true."He said gently.

"Sir, Agent May probably thinks I'm an idiot. Hell, she didn't even want to be my S.O. in the first place." And she almost certainly shouldn't mention this to him but she couldn't help it. The last four weeks of playing specialist had been nice but the meeting today and the mention of guards and weapons and bullet wounds had definitely shown her that this was no game. And she felt in no way prepared for this.

"Do you know why you're here?" Coulson asked and elaborated when he saw her confused gaze. "Do you know why Fury chose this for you?"

Maria reached deep inside herself and tried to see past all her self doubt and insecurities. She was a trained analyst. She was good at was she was doing. But no, she didn't know.

Coulson shuffled a little closer, his voice an encouraging hum. "Fury saw something in you. He believes in you. You are here to learn what it's like working on missions. Being sent into a situation you may not have all the information about. Because one day soon it will be you sending agents into this. Good agents and good people. You will hold the reigns and it will be your decisions that control their lives. And you should always remember what that feels like."

She forced herself to hold his gaze as he nodded with finality and took a step back.

"Now where's May?" He changed the subject.

Maria just shrugged and tried to get rid of the tightness in her chest in the same process. "She just told me to come find her."

Coulson nodded in understanding and grabbed pen and paper out of his pocket. He scribbled down an address and handed it to her.

"What is it?"

Coulson just smirked in response. "You'll see."

::

You'll see turned out to be S.H.I.E.L.D.'s favourite hang out from what Maria could tell. A bar just like the one her and her friends frequented at the Hub. Actually it was creepy just how alike the two places were. This one was packed with guys in suits and even sturdier guys in cargo pants and black t-shirts. She saw May sitting at the bar with a few of the second kind and as she made her way through the crowd she caught snippets in French, English, German and what she supposed was even Mandarin.

Maria felt uneasy walking up to her. May had obviously met her friends, the guy who had hugged her earlier was basically drooling over her. She wondered if she shouldn't just turn around and leave, allow them to have their time together. But May looked up at her at that moment and smiled.

"Took you long enough."

Maria returned her smile and rolled her eyes. And as she came nearer and joined their little group Maria saw the empty seat next to May and the beer sitting on the bar. May batted an Asian looking guy's hand away when he jokingly reached for it and the guys moved out of the way so she could sit down.

After May had introduced her to everyone Maria took a swig of the beer and enjoyed the cool liquid running down her throat.

"That's the second one sitting here waiting for you. The first one went stale. I was afraid I had to order a third." May nudged her side.

Maria just smirked in return. "Was that my punishment for the rifles?"

May's eyes twinkled mischievously. "No. That will be getting up tomorrow at five for our training."

:::

She was nervous. She was nervous and she knew it had to be showing because Coulson kept sending her a look supposed to tell her to keep it together. They were trailing behind a group of maybe twenty people, listening to a presentation in a horrible French accent about gene sequencing and mass spectrometer something. She didn't get a word of it but the French guy sold it like he was looking to sell vegetables at a bazaar. They weren't looking to buy the place for God's sake. Or maybe the others were, she wasn't really sure. So while they made their way trough the building, oohing and ahaing at the right moments, May worked her way past the security to meet with Agent Baillet.

Coulson caught her attention as his eyes flicked over to their tour guide. His hand, his manicured hand Maria hadn't failed to notice, had shot to his ear before suddenly dropping down. He looked around, hoping no one had noticed.

"Something's going on." Coulson murmured. His words were amplified by her own ear piece.

"Ladies and Gentlemen." Their guide addressed the group. "If you would excuse me for just one moment please. Feel free to look around." He gestured towards the lab they were currently standing in. Most of the group followed his invitation as if they had been waiting for an opportunity like that. Coulson discreetly took Maria's arm and steered her into a quiet corner where they could observe the scene.

A security guard came down from the railing above, a machine gun slung across his shoulder. He quickly talked to their guide, gesturing to his ear piece frequently.

"May, we have a problem." Coulson whispered as he drew Maria further away from any unwanted attention.

"I'm busy." May snapped in response. Her voice sounded strained and out of breath.

Coulson caught her gaze and she could see the tension building inside him. "What's going on?"

Maria winced as she just heard a grunt in response and what sounded suspiciously like gun fire.

"May!"

They got no answer.

Maria looked over towards the guard and their tour guide and noticed a few more guards taking up posts on the railing above. She grabbed Coulson's jacket to get his attention. "We should leave." She whispered.

"Mesdames et Messieurs." Their guide opened his palms in a peaceful gesture. Maria could see the sweat on his forehead. "We have… how would you say? Uh, a little bit of a situation."

Maria snorted. A leetle beet might be an understatement if she thought about the machine guns currently aimed at them.

"These guards are here for your protection, until we know what is happening. This is just uh… a precaution."

"The facility just went into lockdown." They heard Agent Hale over the comms. "What the hell is going on in there?"

Her and Coulson shared a quick look. They had to get out of here.

Her eyes darted over to the way they came. The blast doors were still open but heavily guarded. Coulson heaved a deep breath and looked around as well. He seemed to have an idea because he gestured her closer with a determined look on his face. She had no idea what his plan was, but she just had to trust him.

"You got your back up?" He checked.

She barely had time to nod before he suddenly hit a big red button on the wall over her shoulder. The biohazard alarm. A siren started wailing and the sprinkler system started drenching them all in water and what smelled like disinfectant. The whole room erupted into chaos as visitors as well as guards started screaming, trying to make sense of the situation. Coulson grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her with him towards the closing blast doors. The guards had raised their guns and tried to communicate over the deafening sounds of the alarm.

Coulson just walked up to them, his hands raised, pretending to be oblivious about the whole situation as they shouted in French at them to stay back. When he was within reach Coulson made a grab for the barrel of the nearest guard's MP-16 and butting him in the face with it before he had the chance to flick off the safety. Maria took care of the second guard by slamming him into the wall and elbowing him in the face in the process.

"Hill!" Coulson called and she had to hurry to make it out before the blast doors fully closed.

They stood in the hallway, both of them almost completely drenched. Coulson gave her a once over and as the blast door sealed the sirens from inside the lab were almost muted.

"May, what's your status?" He asked frantically.

Maria turned around as she heard heavy footsteps down the hall.

"Agent Baillet is dead." May whispered into their ears.

Coulson grabbed her arm once more as the sound of gunfire erupted around them. Maria didn't know if it came over the ear piece or if it was actually behind them, but she followed Coulson around the corner and down the hall.

"Where are you?" Coulson asked at the same time that Agent Hale demanded to know if May had retrieved the package.

"Negative."

Maria opened the door to a dimly lit stairwell and they both entered. Maria immediately checked up and down the stairs but she couldn't hear anything except for her heavy breathing.

"Abort mission. I repeat, abort." Agent Haleinstructed.

"Negative." Agent May's voice was clear over the comms but Maria thought she must have misheard her. "I can still get to the package."

"May! The cavalry is 40 minutes out! I order you-"

"I only need 25 minutes." May interrupted him calmly.

She squinted her eyes at Coulson. She couldn't be serious. Coulson just shrugged.

"May, where are you?"

"Third Level, southwest corner. By the offices."

Maria heaved a sigh. Southwest corner. Their exit strategy was in the opposite direction. Coulson suddenly cocked his head and held a finger in front of his lips. She heard them too. People in the stairwell coming from below. Most likely guards by the way they were stamping. She nodded and ascended the stairs as silently as possible, Coulson on her heels.

When she reached the next floor her eyes flew to the stairwell door. Level six. They were too high. Coulson just shrugged, they didn't have much of a choice. She tried the door handle only to find it locked. She had to roll her eyes as Coulson tried it too. He just shrugged apologetically.

"Seems like we're going over the roof after all."

"Can't we just shoot the lock?" She whispered frantically.

"We could but this is a steel door and I'm not James Bond." He quipped and took the final staircase to the roof.

Coulson waited for her in front of the escape door towards the roof, his head ducked away from the little window.

"Four guards." He said calmly.

Maria nodded. "What's the plan?"

"Don't get shot." They heard gunfire over the comms once again and Maria wondered how the hell he could stay this composed.

"May, what's your status?" Or maybe he wasn't as cool he wanted to appear.

They heard a few grunts and another single gun shot. "Everything's under control. Now stop being such a mother hen."

Coulson smiled before checking the clip in his gun. They shared a quick, adrenaline-filled glance before he threw open the door and they charged outside, hoping to have the element of surprise on their side.

Two guards were on the immediate right, another two further down to the left. Coulson fired on the ones to the right while Maria hurried forward to seek cover behind a ventilation pit. Once she had reached it she covered Coulson. She only had one guard left to take out and she hit her mark perfectly. Coulson joined her behind the ventilation pit and changed the clip in his gun. They ducked as bullets went flying over their head.

"I go left, you go right?" He asked.

Maria nodded. Her hands were shaking.

"Agent Hill." Coulson looked at her intently, a slight alarm in his voice. "Maria."

"Coulson?" That was May.

Fuck. He went left, she went right. She knew the drill. Why the hell wouldn't her hands stop shaking?

"Everything's fine." Coulson said in a calming voice. She didn't know if he was talking to her or to May. "That's just the adrenaline."

She closed her eyes for a second and took a deep breath. Coulson held her gaze silently. She blinked and nodded. May was waiting for them.

"We're on our way." She said with conviction before giving Coulson the signal.

He went left and she went right. And somehow they made it across the roof without a scratch. She crashed through the door first and Coulson was right behind her. They were almost at May's position.

They quietly descended the stairs, trying to avoid making any noise. Either May was waiting somewhere down there , or-

"I hope that's you stomping down the stairwell." May's voice suddenly sounded in their ears.

Coulson sighed. "Yes. Fourth Level. Do you have the package?"

Her head suddenly appeared around the corner one flight down. "Yes. Hurry up."

::

May led them through a maze of corridors and Maria had long lost any orientation. She just followed blindly as Coulson brought up the rear.

As they rounded another corner gunfire suddenly met them and May dropped down to her hunches, pulling Maria down with her.

Coulson swore under his breath. "That would have been too easy."

May returned the fire from the relative safety of their cover until she ran out of bullets. When she crouched down again Coulson wordlessly came up next to her to take over firing at their opponents. Maria could only watch as May's hand glided down his calf and reached under the hem of his trousers to retrieve his spare weapon. Coulson hadn't even blinked.

"We need a new plan." Coulson said as he leant back behind the wall. "There are too many guards this way. We'll run out of ammo before we get them all."

"I have an idea." May said and soundlessly got up from where she had leaned against the wall. She went in the direction they had come from only minutes earlier and picked up speed once they reached the stairwell. When they had reached the basement Coulson frowned.

"May, there's no way out from the basement."

May just shot him an irritated look. "Trust me." She said tersely.

Coulson looked at Maria as if asking her to join his side but she just lifted her shoulders in a casual shrug. It's not as if they had a lot of choices. Hurried footsteps and voices coming from behind them made the decision for them.

They followed May through dimly lit service tunnels until they reached what she was apparently looking for.

"You can't be serious." Coulson sighed as he helped May stem the door open. The voices down the corridor grew louder.

May just shot him a quick smirk. Then she slipped through the opening in the doorway. Maria shot Coulson a questioning glance but followed May none the less.

Maria's eyes widened at what she saw and the implications of it.

Maybe they should have looked for another way out.

Sewers.

Heavy industry sized sewers, probably five feet in diameter.

Coulson hurried over to May to help her with a hatch. "Let's just hope they carry water." He grumbled.

May looked at Maria expectantly. "How long can you hold your breath under water?"

"Uh." She had no idea. And she really didn't feel like finding out today.

Coulson grunted with effort as he had finally released the hatch. The water inside the sewer roared like a wild river. May pulled her over and shoved her onto the tube so she could jump into the water like kids did onto a water slide at an amusement park.

"Keep your chin pressed to your chest and make yourself as small as possible. Breath out slowly." She instructed her confidently.

Maria nodded once and Coulson shoved her into the water just as the guards opened the door to the sewage disposal facility.

It was a cold and dark and bumpy ride. She tried to keep her chin down and sling her arms around her knees but the stream made it impossible for her float in any kind. She turned around herself and bumped her head and her shoulders into something painful. Just as her lungs were screaming at her to take a breath, the flow slowed down and she opened her eyes to daylight surrounding her.

She was in a river.

The drift carried her a little further and as soon as she had control over her breathing back she heard a loud splash behind her. May. Coulson a few feet behind. She waved at them and they wordlessly made their way to the riverbank.

Maria sank down onto her knees as soon as she had solid ground under her and took a deep breath, coughing up some residual water.

May staggered out of the water just behind her and Coulson was the last to reach dry land. They all looked at each other, not saying a word. Their clothes clung to their bodies and Maria started shivering.

"That was fun." May said as she tried to wring out her hair. "Let's never do that again."

Coulson started laughing and although Maria couldn't find anything funny about their situation, she couldn't help but join in. "Yeah. Let's not."

:::

Maria didn't know what she had expected after a mission like this, but this certainly wasn't it. In all the admittedly short years she had worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. now, she didn't think she ever experienced someone being reprimanded for doing a good job. Yes, Agent Baillet had died. But according to May he had been dead hours before they were even in the building.

There was nothing they could have done.

Or so Coulson had tried to tell her before he had positioned himself a few feet apart from her and May and just endured Agent Carson's lecture.

"Your orders were to abort the mission, Agent May! With your reckless behavior you not only endangered yourself and your team but the integrity of this agency!" Carson took a step forward and leaned dangerously into her space. "And I don't know what Fury is doing, handing out rookies like girl scout cookies, but Hill is your responsibility. It's your job-"

"Agent Hill was doing just fine." It was the first time during the ten minute rant that May interrupted Carson. "She handled it."

Carson heaved a deep breath and Maria thought she could see the veins in his neck become more prominent. "See to it that she does." He hissed before he abruptly turned and sat down at his desk. Apparently they were dismissed.

Maria did a double take. That was it?

She looked surprisedly at May but the older agent just pulled on her sleeve and made Maria follow her out of the room. Coulson was right behind her. When they were well out of sight and earshot Maria could not restrain herself.

"What just happened?"

May and Coulson just shared a look and a quick smile. "The usual." Coulson supplied.

"So you mean it's normal to almost die in on a mission but get the job done none the less and in return get yelled at for it?"

"Yes." May just smirked before smiling at Coulson again. "Did you hear, we endangered the integrity of the agency."

Coulson snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yes. I think that was a new one."

"So what now?" Maria asked. They had showered, they had been debriefed, they had been debriefed by SAC Carson and now she was just hungry and tired. Not necessarily in that order.

May just arched an eyebrow. "Now comes the fun part."

::

Mission reports were not fun.

Coulson had insisted that she had to write down every detail. That was before he had excused himself to take a phone call. When he had come back, his mood had seemed sullen and Maria would even go so far as to say his eyes looked sad. She tried to steal a glance of him every so often, but May, sitting across from her, kicked her under the table every time, pointing at her unfinished report.

Right. The report.

She had no idea how many bullets she had fired at which point during their mission. But she knew that thanks to May's training they hadn't missed their target. Which made her shiver all over again, despite the hot shower she had had upon arriving here.

She looked up as a heavy footfall strode up to their desk, stopping right next to May. Tall guy, blonde but tanned, black shirt, cargo pants, military boots. May ignored him but Maria could see her giving him a once-over out of the corner of her eye.

"You cheated me out of my mission today." Tall, dark and handsome said with only the slightest hint of an accent. German? Scandinavian?

"Excuse me?" May did look up now, her voice firm.

"Tactical response team." He said instead of an introduction, a small smile playing around his lips. Maria could see Coulson shift in his seat. "We were your back up. Got all geared up just for you to make it out of there yourself."

May had a proud glint in her eyes.

"I figured the least you can do is come have a drink with me."

Maria had to suppress an eye roll. Over May's shoulder she could see Coulson sit up straighter, a grim look on his face.

"That the best you can come up with?" May challenged him.

Coulson averted his gaze back to his computer screen and his fingers hit the keyboard with renewed force.

"Let's go get that drink. I'm sure I'll figure something else out."

Now even May had to roll her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I already have plans with Agent Coulson."

Coulson's head shot up, clearly surprised.

Mr. Tactical Response Team shot Coulson a cursory glance, obviously not thinking much of him. "You sure?"

"Yes." May smiled dangerously. "I'm sure."

He just huffed, glanced at Maria and left without another word.

"We have plans?" It was the first time Coulson had said anything since coming back from his phone call.

"Yes." May said with finality before hitting a few keys and turning her computer off.

"I'm not really in the mood." Coulson said cautiously.

May wordlessly went over to the other side of the room and opened one of the cargo boxes. She didn't have to search long as she pulled out two climbing belts, walked over to Coulson and deposited them on the desk in front of him.

"Didn't you hear? The view from the Eiffel Tower is supposed to be wonderful at night."

Maria watched mesmerized as their eyes met in a silent battle. May wouldn't tell him anything else and Coulson wanted her to drop it.

"I don't want to talk about it." He finally told her.

"Good." May responded with only the hint of a smirk on her face. "Maybe you'll keep quiet for once."

Her attempt to rouse him apparently worked as Coulson shut off his computer and wordlessly got up. May grabbed the belts, the triumph clear on her face and led the way.

Maria followed them with her eyes and May shot her a conciliatory smile as they passed her.

"Next time." She murmured in passing, her hand grazing Maria's shoulder.

:::

The inside of her eyelids felt like sandpaper as she blinked and watched the early morning sun through the plane's window. If she was this tired, she could hardly imagine what Coulson and May had to feel like. Not that they looked anything but alert. Well, Coulson did. May hid her eyes behind her sunglasses and Maria suspected that she was asleep. She still couldn't believe they had climbed the Eiffel Tower last night. Without her.

But it seemed to have done the trick. Coulson was almost back to his chipper and talkative self that she had gotten to know in the last few weeks.

"Maria?"

Her eyes snapped open to meet his gaze. "Hm?"

"Do you remember the last mission we talked about back at the Hub? Operation Ajax?"

Maria shifted in her seat as she racked her brain. "Yes. The operation failed and one of the agents died." She also remembered that it had all looked so promising before.

"The reason they failed is the same one we succeeded yesterday."

Maria thought it was entirely possible that Coulson was making sense right now. But he had to act on the assumption that she operated on a higher brain function than she currently possessed.

"The two agents, Hendriks and Meyer, were perfect for the job. They brought every requirement necessary. But they hated each other. In fact they had been rivals since the Academy. While they were individually perfect for the op, they made a less than ideal team." Coulson patiently explained. "Do you know the story of Ajax?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Ajax was blinded by pride and anger. He was flawed."

"Of course he was, he was only human." She frowned.

Coulson nodded. "Yes. No matter how perfect an agent or a team of agents might look on paper, they are human. And they make mistakes. Your mission plan is only valid until it meets the unpredictable human factor. Hendriks and Meyer couldn't see past their personal differences and it cost one of them his life. If your agents don't fit the plan, you have to change the plan. Everything else is futile."

"And what about our mission?" Maria wanted to know.

Coulson smiled almost fondly. "The mission changed when May found Baillet's body. Another agent might have made a different call, but May was one of the few agents able to get the job done despite of the circumstances." His eyes drifted off. "You think you have control over your missions and that's a mistake you should never make. A plan is all well and good until it meets the human factor."

Or until it met Melinda May.