As Michael was leaving the room, Arya leapt from her bed and tackled him. She struck the back of his neck with a carefully aimed blow, effectively knocking him out. Arya quickly fumbled through his clothing for his gun and strode briskly down the hallway, tucking the gun into her sweatpants that Division must have given her.
She reached a large exercise room where a dozen young men and women were engaged in some kind of combat training. Two men with guns stood watch over the room. Pretending like she belonged, Arya walked past the guards and went down another corridor.
An attractive, well-dressed woman stood at the other end of the hall. Her heels clicked sharply on the tile floor as she came towards Arya who raised her gun in response.
"Get me out of here." demanded Arya.
"I'm afraid I can't do that." replied the woman in a low, calm voice. "You see, Arya, there is no leaving Division."
She fixed her hypnotic gaze on Arya who stood rooted to the spot. Arya's grip loosened slightly on the gun as she heard the truth in the woman's words.
"I won't be a prisoner anymore." she declared unconvincingly.
"You don't have a choice, my dear; you belong at Division now. Since I know your name, it's only fair that you should know mine. My name is Amanda."
While Amanda spoke, Michael had been steadily creeping towards Arya from behind. He grabbed her and threw away the gun. She crumpled in his arms, surrendering to Michael and to Division. Her body shook with silent sobs as she struggled to accept her new reality.
"What happens to me now?" she asked fearfully.
"Michael and I are going to decide to forgive this little incident provided that you behave yourself." said Amanda firmly. "Can I trust you to cooperate?"
Arya nodded.
"Good. Then Michael will take you back to your room."
Amanda was the only one who ever entered Percy's office without knocking. For the most part, she did tap on the door out of courtesy, but this time she strode into the office unannounced just because she could. Amanda was continuously calculating her power and her standing with Percy. It was simply her nature to know what those around her were thinking, especially about her.
"Have you reached a conclusion on the latest recruit?" asked Percy.
"I have." answered Amanda. "I've been reviewing her files and observing her in her room for quite some time."
"Remind me of her background." Percy interrupted.
"Arya was left at an orphanage in Spain by an American woman who was presumed to be her mother. She lived at the orphanage until it was burned down by a local gang because the leaders of the institution refused allow the gang to extort money from them. Arya somehow escaped and ran to France where she met Carlos Mañoso. He took a fancy to her and had her live with him for the next seven years. Arya managed to run away, but she came after him a week ago and killed him."
Arya had been working for a few months to provide the clues that would lead Division to the story that she wanted them to believe about her. Arya figured that she could use everything that happened with her and Carlos to her advantage. She would not be able to hide completely from the watchful eyes of Division that she had been somewhat trained and saying that Carlos instructed her was the best excuse for her skills.
However, Arya could not be too flawless. She needed a weakness that was believable. Arya drew from her own experiences and relied on her true feelings about Carlos to serve as her shortcoming in the eyes of Division. Now, after her attempted escape, there would be no reason to doubt Arya's legitimacy.
"She has incredible potential," said Amanda, "but her background with Carlos will either make her one of the greatest agents we have ever had, or it will destroy her. Arya has come into Division already knowing multiple languages, how to handle weapons, how to fight, to withstand pain, and how to read body language quickly and accurately. All of this she learned from Carlos whether she is aware of it or not."
"She sounds like the perfect operative." said Percy. "What's the catch?"
"The years of abuse have had a profound effect on Arya, as could be expected. She suffers from nightmares, flashbacks, other Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms. She has a general fear and mistrust of men, which I expect she can overcome with some time. However, her personal battle with Carlos will not be over any time soon. The only way Arya can serve Division is if she can put the past behind her. I don't know yet if that is possible."
"Well, keep her under extra observation for the time being. I trust you to decide whether she can operate or if she will need to be cancelled."
"I'll keep you informed." replied Amanda.
As promised, Michael came to wake up Arya at five thirty on the dot. Her heart raced as he opened the door, but Arya was able to stay in control. Her life at Division would depend on her ability to keep it together. The thing that scared Arya the most was that her fear was not an act. Even though Arya made the decision to project those feelings instead of hiding them altogether, they were painfully real.
All of the progress that Arya had made in regaining her personality since she had run away from Carlos seemed to have vanished. For every step forward, she seemed to travel two steps back.
Michael sensed Arya's discomfort and stepped out of the room while she brushed her teeth in the bathroom attached to her living quarters. When Arya was ready, she left the room and followed Michael to the training area.
"Here is where you will learn hand-to-hand combat and where you will come to stay in shape. I am going to be your mentor for the next few weeks and teach you everything you will need to know in order to survive. You will be pushed past your limits and then further still. You will be expected to remember every lesson that we teach you. If you survive the next year, you will be made an agent. Most recruits don't make it."
Michael's bright blue eyes met Arya's gray-green ones.
"But I know that you are different from most recruits. Good luck."
With his little speech out of the way, Michael got down to business. He evaluated Arya's fitness levels by testing her strength and endurance. She ran, lifted weights, and did all types of calisthenics but made sure to hold back a bit. Division did not need to know everything that she was capable of just yet.
Unbeknownst to Arya, Amanda stood above the training room watching her and Michael. She could see that Arya was not exerting herself fully. That would have to change in order to get an accurate understanding of her physical abilities.
After a seemingly endless regime of exercise, Michael decided that he was finished with Arya and she gratefully stepped into the shower. Arya let out a sigh of relief as she relaxed under the water letting it sooth her sore muscles. The bathroom had a communal shower with many showerheads, but Arya was glad it was empty.
With the water still dripping from her long, dark waves, Arya opened the door to the shower and went in search of a towel. She had decided to darken her locks from her natural chestnut color to jet black in honor of her emancipation from Carlos and the start of her new life.
Arya groaned. She should have thought to find a towel before she got into the shower. Hoping that no one would come in, Arya scanned the bathroom. It was the area where recruits cleaned up after their training, so they must have already finished their showers and used up the towels.
One small blue towel was left in the basket. Arya wrapped it around herself, but she was barely covered. A gust of cool air made Arya shiver as the bathroom door opened. A girl walked in and was surprised to see Arya standing there.
"Oh, I'm so sorry for walking in on you." she apologized, fingering her long, brown ponytail.
"Don't worry about it." replied Arya.
"Are you new here?" asked the girl.
Arya nodded. "Today was my first day."
"How'd it go?"
Arya shrugged. "With Michael, it's hard to tell where you stand."
The girl smiled. "I'm Alex, by the way."
"I'm Arya. Nice to meet you."
Alex extended her hand. When Arya shook it, her towel slipped lower and Alex noticed faint signs of bruising and scars. From the look of it, they were the result of a beating from a few months earlier. Arya caught Alex's stare and Alex quickly looked away.
"I'd better get dressed and finish my training." said Arya.
"See you around." was the friendly reply.
Michael was summoned to Percy's office, so Arya went to her next training session unaccompanied. She was directed to the weapons room. An older man stood at the front of the room teaching the recruits about handguns.
"You must be Arya." he grinned, his brown eyes twinkling. "Michael told me you were coming but didn't say how pretty you were going to be."
Arya gave him a thin smile response, and the instructor turned away from Arya to a girl sitting in front of him.
"Jaden," he said, "why don't you show Arya how to assemble a gun?"
"Sure Derrick." said the girl, tossing her head back confidently.
"This is a gun." she said slowly as though Arya was too stupid to understand her. "This is how you assemble the gun. First, put the recoil spring into the barrel of the gun. Then, insert the barrel into the bottom of the slide. Attach the slide to the bottom part of the gun and pull the slide all the way back, release the slide, and pull the trigger."
"And this," smirked Arya, "is what happens when you forget to load the magazine."
Arya pointed the gun at Jaden and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened since the gun was not loaded.
"I think I'll take my lessons from someone who knows what they're doing from now on."
Derrick was trying hard not to laugh. He put on a stern face and said, "If you're such an expert, why don't you show the class how to strip and reassemble the gun. You have thirty seconds. Go."
Arya navigated the weapon skillfully and had the task accomplished in twenty five seconds.
"Show off." muttered Jaden.
Arya mentally berated herself for showing up Jaden. Even though the girl was obnoxious, Arya had to keep her temper in check. When she got angry was when she started making mistakes; in a game with such high stakes, mistakes would not be tolerated.
A hand on her shoulder made Arya jump. A tall, attractive black man stood next to her.
"Good for you for putting Jaden in her place." he said, amused. "It's about time someone deflated her ego a bit. You just get here?"
"Yeah." said Arya. "It's been an unusual day."
He laughed.
"There's no such thing as usual in Division."
The guy spoke with an intriguing Caribbean accent. Arya could practically hear the rhythm of beating drums in his voice.
"Can I walk you to lunch?" he asked.
"Sure. I'm Arya, by the way."
"Roger."
Arya's head barely came up to Roger's shoulder providing her with an excellent view of his well-muscled torso as they walked. She decided that she would use Roger as a test for herself to see how well she could handle interacting with a man.
Arya had never really had a genuine relationship with a guy before. In the past she either used them or was used by them. Until she met Carlos. They did have something real at first, but look how well that turned out, she thought bitterly.
As Arya and Roger entered the cafeteria, they caught the eye of a male recruit who winked at them. He had shaggy blond hair and began walking across the room with a confident swagger.
"Merde." he swore under his breath in French. "Ce fils de pute." (Shit. That son of a bitch.)
"Where did you learn such delicate language?" she said with a smile.
"I was born in a French speaking part of the Caribbean." he answered, but still looked upset.
"What's wrong?" asked Arya.
"See that guy over there? That's Chad. He's a complete ass, and you should avoid him if you can. He's gotten a lot of people in trouble."
"Don't worry about me." she said nonchalantly. "I can take care of myself. Let's find a table."
They sat down with their lunch trays, and Arya became hyperaware of Roger's thigh touching her own.
"So you also speak French?" Roger asked pleasantly.
She nodded.
"I lived in France for a while before I came here."
"Why were you brought here, if you don't mind my asking?"
"Well," Arya began, "I . . ."
"Hullo there." interjected Chad in a charming British accent. "I just wanted to introduce myself. Chad, Chad Simon, at your service."
"Arya." she said, offering her hand.
Chad kissed her fingers.
"Charmed." he said, looking at her with electric blue eyes.
"Chad," called Jaden, "stop flirting with her. Come back over here."
"Duty calls." said Chad. "See you around."
Arya caught Roger's look.
"I won't get caught up in his little web, I promise. I can spot a douchebag a mile away. Jaden can have him; they deserve each other."
Arya recognized Alex, the girl from the bathroom. She sat down next to a ginger headed guy and began talking to him, ignoring Jaden and Chad who were making out at the table.
"I just lost my appetite." said Alex, loud enough for both Arya and Jaden to hear.
Arya giggled despite herself.
When she looked up, Michael was standing at the top of the stairs. He beckoned to Arya.
"Bye." she said to Roger, as she got up from the table.
"Amanda wants to see you." said Michael.
Arya swallowed nervously. She could feel it in her bones that Amanda was a force to be reckoned with.
"And about the other day," said Michael, "I'm not mad at you. I understand what you're going through, and if I were in your place I would have done the same thing."
"Thanks." said Arya. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."
"Good luck with Amanda."
Arya nodded in response. She was going to need it.
Author's Note: Please read and review!