(A/N) Hey guys, sorry again about the delay with this update, but here we are at last, with another Minnesota chapter written by our very own XxXshadowkitsuXxX, finishing up our first round of chapters, and propelling us on to round two! Just a little notice for you all, before you start reading, is that we're looking for nominations for particularly noteworthy fics for both Red vs Blue and RWBY, so if you'd be interested in nominating something then add this to the Fanfiction site URL - topic/125781/105282123/1/The-Freelancer-Collaboration-Fanfiction-Awards-Nominations - or just go to our forum, also titled The Freelancer Collaboration!
Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-Six – Attracting Attention
Agent Minnesota
Written by XxXshadowkitsuXxX
"Kites rise highest against the wind, not with it." ― Winston Churchill
I fought harder than I ever had before. I had been waiting for this, for Project Freelancer to bring all of us back to hunt down those traitors. Even though I may not have liked the Director, I needed him to find Ark and Penn, which is why I hadn't even hesitated to sign back on when the Counselor had come for me, trying to bring me back into the fold. While I had been away, I trained longer and harder every day, and it was already paying off.
To anyone outside our fight it might actually look like Cal and I were trying to kill each other. In a sense, we were. We agreed to not hold anything back as if we were fighting Penn and Ark themselves. F.I.L.S.S. had already warned us once about something but I had tuned her out. In my mind, this fight was to the death. If I didn't win, I was dead. That's how life worked so that's how I was going to treat it. Of course, Cal wasn't actually trying to kill me, or at least, I hope he wasn't.
Cal hadn't gotten faster or stronger as far as I could tell, but he'd definitely gotten smarter. Almost every punch or grab was successfully blocked or countered. I had lost track of how long we'd been training but neither of us had yet been able to get a decisive advantage over the other. Neither of us backed down as we were struck relentlessly by the other. His fist slammed into my helmet, my knee crashed into his ribs, and our bodies ached but I knew neither of us would stop. Nothing else mattered to us except which one of us would win.
I was so absorbed in our fight that I didn't notice the other two Freelancers until they pulled us apart, breaking up our fight despite our protests.
"Whoa! Whoa! What's going on here?" York asked as he tried to restrain me, pinning my arms behind my back.
North had attempted to hold Cal but only received an elbow to the stomach before my roommate was free once more. York moved out of the way as Cal barrelled straight towards me. His body crashed into mine and we were back to fighting once again. I kicked him off of me and we were both back on feet in seconds. I had tuned out the others just as I had done with F.I.L.S.S. previously, so I was surprised when two sets of arms pulled us apart. Maine tried to keep a hold of Cal while Utah had me trapped in a bear hug, York and North evidently having called in reinforcements to help them out.
"Now what's going on?" York asked again, shaking his head in exasperation. "I've never seen you two like this."
"Exactly," I panted, the adrenaline of our fight wearing off. "We were training."
"I think you two need to bring it down a notch, before someone gets hurt." York told us, frowning, clearly unable to understand the motive behind our actions.
"I don't see you complaining when Carolina trains like this. Maybe you're trying to help her keep her spot on the leaderboard," Cal said, and there was an edge to his voice.
It wasn't noticeable but I could tell he was slowly losing it, and I decided to step in before he did something he'd later regret, most likely because Maine would probably be more than willing to send him into the Medical Bay. "Utah, please let me go. We're done for the day."
He gave me a suspicious look, and then slowly, albeit grudgingly, nodded. "Okay, but only because you said please."
He released me, patted me on the shoulder in apology and I made my way over to Maine, nodding measuredly to the giant. "We're done, you can let him go now."
The big guy looked to York for confirmation, only releasing Cal when he received a short nod from the tan Freelancer and Cal and I walked out, Cal muttering under his breath about "interfering assholes". I wasn't feeling too people friendly right now either, so I let his comments slide without reproach. We decided to head to the cafeteria to cool down and take a breather, before heading back to the training floor for another round, if York and the others had left by that stage.
Cal sat across from me as I removed my helmet, setting it down next to me. Neither of us said anything as we just sat there in silence, eating quietly, not even looking up at one another, alone but for few others in the room, though they were nowhere near us.
"I'm sorry," I said, eventually, breaking the silence.
"For what?" Dull, uninterested, despondent.
"I disappeared when you needed a friend the most. I didn't know how to handle things so I ran…I'm sorry." I don't know exactly what I was hoping for, but the words needed to be said.
He sat there watching me for a while, motionless, and I had no way of telling what he was thinking before a smirk suddenly appeared on his face. "Don't get mushy with me, or I'll have to kick your ass to toughen you back up," he warned, with a slight laugh, shaking his head in mock-exasperation.
"Please, as if you could. I was winning before we were interrupted," I shot back, happy to see him smiling, suddenly realising that this was the first time I had seen him do so since Mich's death.
He shrugged in response, smile fading slightly. "Whatever, so how was your vacation?"
"Is that what you're calling it?" I replied, leaning back into my seat with a groan. "Didn't get up to much, just spent some time at home."
"And how was it?"
I shrugged. "Sis was happy to see me, Dad not as much. He's still an asshole, but I think I did earn a little of his respect. I don't think he expected me to come back alive."
Cal scoffed. "Sounds like him. Anything out of the norm happen?"
"He offered me a beer."
"That is unusual."
"Out of the six pack he wanted me to get for him," I finished.
"Never mind." We both laughed.
"I thought sharing personal information was against the rules here?" Another agent noted as she sat down next to Cal, earning a slight frown from us both, though she ignored this.
"Breaking the rules is the reason why most of us are here in the first place. Don't tell me you've never broken a rule while in the UNSC," Cal finally replied, his voice a little irritated.
"Fair point," she laughed, smiling widely. "I'm Nevada, by the way."
"I'm California and this is Minnesota, or just Cal and Sota," my roommate answered for me, tiredly, with every word telling the newbie to get lost.
I gave a small nod of acknowledgement. These rookies could do whatever they wanted for all I cared, as long as they stayed out of my way. They were new blood brought in to replace the ones we had lost. We were disposable to…to him and it infuriated me, just knowing this. I couldn't help but feel like there was something I was missing. Why would someone like the Director start a project like this just to hunt down a bunch of Insurrectionists? Sure, we were supposed to be prepping for being ultimately utilised against the Covenant, but the way in which he appeared to enjoy every one of our successes, made me sense that there was something more personal at stake here.
My train of thought was interrupted as the Counselor before us, data-pad tucked under his shoulder, his features as unreadable as ever. "California, you're needed in the briefing room," he informed us, in that ridiculous tone of his.
"What about me?" I asked, a tiny part of me suddenly lighting up with hope, only to be dashed by the Counselor's sudden shake of his head.
"I'm sorry, Minnesota. You're not needed for this mission."
Pushing my envy and irritation aside, I sat back down, and just as they started to walk away, I had an idea. It was risky, but it might work. "Might" being the important word in that sentence.
"Counselor," I called out, standing back up again.
"Yes?" he asked, stopping but not turning around to face me.
"Can I talk with you after you're done with the briefing?"
"Of course," he said with a small smile. "You can wait in my office if you like. I shouldn't be too long."
I gave him a nod of thanks as he walked off with Cal, sitting back down in my seat and scowling at his back as he walked off, an action which clearly attracted the attention of the Freelancer across from me.
"Need to vent some feelings or something?" Nevada asked, laughing slightly as I simply snorted and looked away.
"Or something."
She continued to bombard me with questions, idle chit-chat that I didn't pay much attention to, answering her questions at most with a head movement or a shrug, sometimes with nothing at all. It was almost amusing to watching her try and get something out of me, but mainly it was just really fucking irritating. Couldn't she tell that I just wanted her to leave?
"Why don't you talk much?" she asked, and I just sighed, looking at her for a moment before replying.
"Because actions speak louder than words."
She smiled, and I knew that my not-so-subtle hint has failed to throw her off. "I guess that's true enough. What do you do around here?"
"Sniper," I answered simply, determined just to get through lunch and then never go near her again. She just never let up.
I answered a few more questions that she had, but I was getting anxious about my meeting, and seized the opportunity to use it as an excuse to leave. With a small nod to Nevada, I put on my helmet and made my way to the Counselor's office. As I got closer, I noticed two soldiers standing by the door, on guard. When I tried to enter, one of them blocked my way.
"I'm sorry, sir. The Counselor isn't here at the moment," he said, looking somewhat nervous yet determined at the same time.
"He's expecting me. I was told I could wait in his office," I shot back, blood pressure beginning to rise at this latest irritation.
He looked to his friend for help but only got a shrug, and turned back to me with a look of reproach. "I'm sorry, but until the Counselor gets back I can't-"
I moved closer and got up in his face, fists clenching as I stared him down. "Move, or I'll make you."
They looked to each before the first guard turned back to me to me and shrugged himself. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you in until the Counselor-!"
I grabbed him by his neck, cutting off his reply, and lifted him off his feet. His friend raised his rifle and pointed it at me, yelling at me to drop his colleague. I didn't care about him though; I was focused on the soldier squirming in front of me. He was in my way and I intended to remove him from it.
"Agent Minnesota."
The voice was calm and steady and was full of authority, and I resisted the temptation to stand to attention, still infuriated by the soldier in front of me.
"Please put him down," the Counselor ordered, walking closer, his voice betraying his anger, breaking his usual composed image.
It was taking all my willpower not to crush this man's windpipe in my hands, so I set him down before I did, with some reluctance. He gasped for air as his knees hit the floor and coughed. I shoved him out of the way as I entered the office, the Counselor following right behind me. He sat in his chair and frowned at me over steepled fingers, an eyebrow inclined in disapproval.
"What was that all about?" Dull, despondent, emotionless once more.
I stood before his desk, looking down at him, jaw clenched in suppressed anger. "He wouldn't let me in."
"So you tried to kill him?" Again, the monotonous tone, completely devoid of emotion.
"Well what else am I supposed to fight?! You won't send me out on missions and I'm tired of fighting holograms and shooting targets!" I yelled, gesturing wildly in the direction of the training rooms with disdain.
"I'm sorry Minnesota, but there are others are better suited for-"
"Better suited?! You mean they were higher on that stupid leaderboard don't you!" I yelled, spittle flying from my lips, causing the Counselor to wince. He hesitated for a moment, and I knew that I was right.
"That board doesn't prove anything. The reason I'm so far down is the same reason I'm in here, because you won't send me on any real missions."
The Counselor frowned again and shook his head slightly. "Your time will come, Minnesota, but your skill set is limited. We have other snipers, agent, and others with a far more versatile range of skills, which is why they are chosen more frequently."
"You obviously need to look over my profile again, perhaps you haven't noticed that my close-quarter firearm scores exceed those of North, Wyoming and Virginia, I've have a rudimentary grasp of hacking and infiltration, as well. So don't you dare tell me that I lack versatility," I snarled.
I pulled out my data-pad, heading straight for what I wanted. Finding my own file, at least, what I was allowed access to; I opened it and laid it in front of him. It felt good watching him stare at it in confusion, until he realised that I had bolded my rankings in various different combat simulators and my sparring matches with the other Freelancers.
"What is the point you're trying to make, Minnesota?" he asked after a moment, glancing up from the screen.
"Sniping may be my best skill, but it's not my only one. I can other things; you know that, it's all there in my file. They're there, it's just they aren't as high as my sniping."
He looked up at me, tapping on my data-pad. "You realise that we review all of this when deciding on the most-suited personnel for a specific mission, Minnesota. Perhaps I was being too subtle, the specific skill you lack, which the others possess, is patience and self-restraint. You're unpredictable, Minnesota."
"Isn't that why most of us are here?" I said, taking the words straight from Cal. "For bending the rules too far?"
He gave me back my device, shrugging slightly. "I will talk with the Director. Perhaps I can drop a few recommendations in the future toward your participation. We'll see."
After everything that I had said and done, and all I get is a 'maybe'? No, I refuse to sit back and wait any longer. Not until I get what I want.
"Listen," I said as I slammed my hands down on his desk. "I've sat back and done my job like a good soldier, and now I want more. I want to go out there and give those three assholes what they deserve. Send me by myself or with the whole team, I don't care. All I want is to put a bullet through each of their skulls for what they have done. Now, are you going to help me, or do I need to make my point a little clearer?"
The Counselor stared back at me, watching me, studying me with those dead eyes. It was up to him what to do next and we both knew that I wasn't backing down. I could see every thought pass through his mind as he calculated his decision.
"Minnesota, I will try and help you, but I can't guarantee anything. You know how the Director is. Just give him more time to notice you."
Notice me? I can make the Director notice me, just maybe not the ways he's thinking of. Without saying another word, I left his office. I would do as he asked and give him more time. He wanted me to get the Director's attention, then that's what I'll do.
Be careful what you wish for.