"Ok Guys! You know what day it is!" Coulson told them down the intercom system, waking his team up. They all awoke with a start.
As they congregated in the lounge for breakfast Coulson could see that Skye was excited, Fitz and Simmons were apprehensive and May looked like she wanted to punch someone. Amber and Kain were confused.
They landed at Phys Acc before dawn and crept in through the back doors. After all, the guards weren't to know who they were working against.
"Amber, Kain. You two need to wait in the atrium. You aren't part of this." Coulson told them.
They went to the atrium and waited, and waited, and waited. Eventually, they saw a very attractive male agent storm into the atrium. They knew who he was. His face was all over the Academy. He was shouting at someone. They recognised her too. Her face was also all over the Academy.
He turned to face her.
"He was my best friend. I can't believe you slept with my best friend!" He was shouting at her.
"It was an accident." She pleaded.
"An accident. You accidentally slipped and fell naked into my bed with him?"
Amber zoned out of their argument for a moment.
"So they were a couple. It sounds like this is it for them. Too bad. He's gorgeous! It might make getting him naked easier." She thought. She was brought out of her daydream by the male agent pulling a gun on the female one. He aimed it right between her eyes. Every security person working in the Atrium pointed their gun at him. He put his hands in the air, dropping the gun at the same time.
"You know what. It's not even worth it. We're done!" He said to her before stalking off out of a door. She huffed and stormed out of another one.
Amber stood smiling. She now stood a very good chance.
Coulson led Fitz, Simmons, May and Skye into the white room, and then into mission control. The first thing they saw was Ward, Romanov and Hawkeye laughing together near one of the computer panels with Director Fury stood to one side assessing his agents..
"Welcome to Open Day" Coulson told them.
"Everyone take a seat." Fury told them.
"They game is simple. You catch the flag, get it to the top of the Colosseum and hit the buzzer. There will be armed opposition, chinks in the system, and all of your clearances have been revoked as of five minutes ago.
I know it's a larger team than last year, but I want you to make it interesting for our potential recruits. So make it count."
"Assignments as follows: Ward, Hawkeye, Romanov, Skye and May. You guys are running tactical. Fitz and Simmons. You two are here guiding them to the finish. Gear up!" Coulson informed them.
Once they had changed into S.H.I.E.L.D tactical gear they were given half an hour to formulate a plan. They had decided that Ward and Romanov were going to provide a distraction and that May would be the one to grab the flag. Hawkeye and Skye were to provide back up.
"What sort of distraction do you think we should create?" Romanov asked the group at large.
"How fast can you both get into those suits?" Hawkeye asked.
"With a little help from friends? 60 seconds, give or take" Ward told him.
"Here's the plan. You both remove your suits, go into the lobby having a lovers tiff, scream at each other for a little bit, catch everyone's attention, then when May has the flag you go your separate ways. Me and Skye will be waiting with your TAC gear and help you into it. We hit the rendezvous and go from there together." Hawkeye suggested.
Ward and Romanov looked at each other before saying:
"Sounds like fun!"
The tour group entered the room to Ward/Skye and Hawkeye/Romanov practising their speed tactical gear-up. They removed it all and were dressed in 'normal' clothes. All five agents headed to the door.
"Once you leave this room the mission is a go" Fury announced.
One by one they left.
Skye headed straight for the door where she was to meet Ward and Hawkeye headed for the one he was to meet Romanov.
"In position" Skye whispered into her microphone,
"Me too" Hawkeye confirmed.
"May?"
"I'm in position. Go, go, go."
Ward burst through the door. He felt that the argument he and Romanov were having was convincing enough. It had peaked all of the guards' interest at least, but it still didn't distract them. So he grabbed a gun from the holster of the nearest guard and held it at Romanov's head.
"Target Acquired" May told them through their ear pieces. Ward threw the gun aside, shouted a finale and stormed off. Romanov waited a couple of seconds before doing the same.
Ward made it through the door where he saw Skye waiting patiently for him in the shadows. As he put on his S.H.I.E.L.D shirt, she was fastening his leg holsters on; while he was fastening his belt around his waist she was zipping his shirt up; as she connected one leg holster to his belt, he was doing the other. Just like they practised. It only took 45 seconds.
"Geared up, heading to rendezvous"
"Same here" he heard Romanov reply.
Ward and Skye ran down corridor, after corridor, after corridor. Suddenly they hit a dead end. Usually it wasn't but this must have been one of Fury's 'chinks in the system'.
"Not this way" Ward said as he turned around, turning Skye around with him.
"Ward, stop. Multiple bogies headed your way" He heard Simmons tell him.
"Where? How many?"
"Twelve. End of the corridor you're in"
"I see them." He replied peering around the corner.
One by one they entered the corridor that Ward and Skye were in. One by one Ward and Skye (mainly Ward) took them out, until the last one. He stood in the corridor junction with his gun trained on Ward. He suddenly hit the ground with a neuro-toxin arrow replacement sticking out of his hand. Hawkeye and Romanov had caught up with them.
As a group they made it to rendezvous point 'b' to meet May. When they got to her, she was being pinned into a gap in the wall by gunfire. Ward and Romanov had a quick game of 'rock, paper, scissors" to decide who was going to go in. They both chose rock, looked at each other and Ward threw three flash bang pellets towards their armed assailants.
Together they ran into the corridor to incapacitate the guards, while Hawkeye picked off the runners with arrows.
All five made it into the Arena. They were stood on a balcony thirty feet in the air, their target, the other side of the room.