I return to the office while I wait for Pierce to finish, only to find Michael already there, waiting. He's leaning against my desk, arms crossed, and he doesn't look happy to see me.
"Why are you back? Thought you were enjoying yourself in there." He doesn't tried to hide his accusatory tone now.
"Why are you acting like this today? Why does it matter who I speak to or how I do my work?" I retort, my brows furrowing in irritation.
"Because you're interfering with my work and undermining my authority." He raises his voice as he moves towards me, closing the space between us in just two strides. I've rarely noticed how much he towers over me. I'm a respectable five foot seven; he's around six feet, and though he's not built like Rumlow, he's still strong enough to potentially hurt me.
"I wasn't aware that being civil to a subject counts as undermining your authority." I lower my voice.
"We don't operate like that here. Our job is to finish the job quickly and efficiently. We're not here to chit-chat with him." His frown grows into a scowl.
"So does that apply to Strike team members too?" I roll my eyes. "Or is talking with them also a violation of your authority?"
I must have hit a nerve, because he grabs me by the shoulder and pushes me up against the wall, slamming his other hand against the bulletin board beside me.
"You follow my rules here, Elise. This isn't Nikolav's lab. This is different. You need to get used to it or we're going to have a problem. And I might have to do something about that." Michael lowers his voice to a threatening tone.
Do what?
"I follow Pierce's rules. There's nothing you can do against him." I stare at him defiantly.
I begin to see hints of the growing fury that Michael is trying so hard to restrain. He turns away from me, kicks a chair out of the way and storms out. The chair crashes against a filing cabinet before rolling to a still.
I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding. My hands are shaking.
Michael's changed. I knew he harboured resentment for me, but I never thought he'd threaten me. I assumed he might do something administrative, maybe get me transferred to another lab. But then I remembered Pierce's words. The only way out of this team is death.
It might be too late for administrative fixes.
What if he really does try to hurt me?
I'm startled by a sudden knock at the door. I look up to see Rumlow standing in the threshold, and relief washes over me.
"You can go back." He says, turning to leave.
"Agent Rumlow, wait." I call, following him out of the room.
He turns to face me, eyebrow raised questioningly.
"I'm sorry. I know I turned down your offer yesterday, but I realized after the fact that I really do need to improve. It's embarrassing to ask but… "
He casts me a silent glance, a smile tugging at his lips, and then starts walking away.
So… is that a no?
"Find me when you get off work. I'll be here until 8." He calls back.