I love this chapter so much.
Chapter 219: Nine to Five
SHIELD Headquarters - 9:01 AM
Angela did as James wanted when he went into surgery. She went back to their place, saw it messed up from when Apollo and Blake were here (mostly cause Imanu would never) so she fixed the living room, and took a power nap. Then, she awoke an hour later, showered, got dressed in a pantsuit and button-up she hasn't worn in months, and headed into the office.
Just in time for her shift to start and right when she sits at her desk, Janet calls her. She holds her phone to her ear as she swipes the dust off her desk and sits back in her office chair. Like the professional agent she is, she spins in slow circles, seeing all the clerical agents take important work calls.
And like her, they were shocked to see her being in the office today.
Janet: They're prolonging starting surgery since they decided to change the game plan last minute. Stark and Stark-Banner are arguing and Hank's… I don't know whose side he's on, actually. Daniel's also still here.
"I'll drop by later," Angela tells her. "Or in a few hours depending on how it is over there. I hate being in the office."
Janet: Angela, it will be fine. Besides, I'm hiding on top of a dusty vending machine since all the nerds are at each other's throats.
"Yeah, I'll handle James' business at SHIELD. Go make sure both Starks and Hank don't kill each other."
They laugh for a moment before hanging up. Angela fiddles with her phone before spinning her chair to face the window. She smiles at the sight of snow starting to fall since it's the first snowfall of the year. God, she wishes she could go on a mission in the snow. With her white suit, she'd nearly blend in. It's perfect. She should ask for a mission in the mountains or the arctic. Angela grins as she pushes her chair back in and leaves her desk, grabbing her jacket on the way out.
-o-
9:18 AM
Xavier hates being here.
He told Sigyn he would finally get through two years worth of paperwork. Thankfully, SHIELD never got on his case about it because of the usual backlog in processing paperwork about missions. However, he knows that SHIELD would start pestering him due to James' resignation and hospitalization, and they'll catch onto him not reviewing and signing off on all the mission reports, debriefings, redactions, clearances, and revocations. All the details and nuances require his seal of approval. Why does half of that crap need his approval anyways? It's administrative work, not fieldwork.
He ends school just to get more homework.
No wonder nobody else wanted to be the team leader. Forget the strategizing and making tough calls in the blink of an eye. It's this.
"I recommend working backwards," Angela says as she takes a seat across from his desk. She grins as she swipes a finger across some dust that formed over the top of the manila folder pile. "James' knee surgery, hacked helicarriers, James' resignation, Apollo and Freya's engagement, and eventually get to that year of Camp where-"
"Yes, that one," Xavier responds, smiling for a moment. "I just have to file paperwork about having my wedding on SHIELD property since James filed my marriage license."
"Not that one, idiot. We're working backwards and ending on another year." Angela pokes around the files to find it, bending corners at the bottom of the pile. She peeks over the top of the pile and narrows her eyes at him before sliding the pile to the side. "I still can't believe you went from nearly sacrificing yourself on Ohio turf to marrying Sigyn on it the year after."
"Same spot too."
"I know. I read the reports that you still have to approve."
"Why do I have to approve it when I wrote it because I lived it? How did you read it?"
"I opened the file like this," Angela picks up the one on top and opens it, "and then I used my literacy skills to read the words across the page. I know that's hard for you since you're two years behind."
"Ha, ha," Xavier says, rolling his eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"I work here," she grins.
"Seriously."
"Janet told me I should freshen up and not stay cooped up in the hospital. They're changing their surgical plan now that Tony's here. I think Daniel's also calling Bruce. Whatever's going on, the nerds are going at it. Anyways, I'll be handling James' stuff here. I'm sure you won't mind."
Xavier lights up. "Really? Take it." Xavier slides over a stack of folders. "That's about his injury, sick leave, and resignation. Just give it back to me when you're done."
"Will do. You owe me." Angela bunches all the files in her crossed arms. She peeks at another one. "I also wanna read this one."
"What is it?"
"Apollo and Sigyn dealing with Ivory in prison."
He laughs. "I like that one."
"I just want to picture us in federal prison because we were supposed to be there. We could've caught up with Ashton. You know we would've gotten in and out in a day max."
"Supermax, you mean."
Angela groans, rolling her eyes as Xavier laughs. "I would've left you in prison if you said anything like that. And for the record, Vander let me read your heroic attempt at Camp. You only survived for the paperwork."
-o-
10:19 AM
"I'm an hour late, at least," Merida says. "I'm blaming James because he would understand."
"We woke up 20 minutes ago," Blake says.
Merida shrugs.
After they spent the night with her parents, she decided to bring Blake to work with her. Merida didn't want to leave Blake alone with her parents at their house again since the last time that happened, her dad showed him every photo he has of her from her life from birth to the present day. She would rather have Blake sit at her boring desk job. If she has to be here doing clerical work and answering emails she's barely going to read, then he can sit here with her instead of looking at her prom pictures with her mom.
Although Blake said he wants to help Clint make arrows in the garage since he offered.
He still smells like James' cologne, much to her distaste. Even after a quick morning shower and throwing his clothes in the wash since he didn't pack anything when flying over here on a whim so he was in the same clothes (James' coat included although it was definitely supposed to be dry-cleaned and pressed), James' cologne was more powerful than laundry detergent and softener. It smells as if Blake and his clothes were never washed at all.
If it was up to Merida, she would fumigate her house now.
But now he's here at her workplace, kind of. It's not like she's here a lot of the time since she actively tries to avoid the office and is usually flung out somewhere on a mission with her friends. If she could work from home, she could but she definitely wouldn't.
Blake had to get a "special" tracking bracelet since he was a visitor with no clearance on SHIELD grounds. Emily always has to wear one whenever she visits, despite having hacked into it to the point where it's gaudy jewelry she hides up her sleeve. All Merida told him about it was that he can't go on a computer or connect to the wifi around here.
"This looks like my workplace," Blake says, looking around at the agents sitting at desks. A lot of talking on headsets and configuring holographics. All of them, including Merida, have at least one gun on their hip. "Minus the hostility."
"Here's my desk," Merida says as she takes a seat.
Blake looks at it and nods approvingly. "Nice. It looks like mine except I don't have guns or arrow stuff on it."
"Arrow stuff," Merida mocks as Blake snags a chair from an empty desk. She pushes the quiver and stray/likely faulty arrowheads to the side as he rolls up next to her.
She keeps her computer off as she looks at the files that (likely) Xavier threw on her desk due to the lack of dust on said file and a sticky note in his handwriting that says 'I wasn't there and Banner's revoked since then, so at least pretend to look it over just cause I don't really want to'. Merida scoffs as she peels off Xavier's excuse. She knows it's MojoWorld's file and she opens it to see the paperwork and pictures taken from the archived footage that James handed in for Communications to transcribe.
She knows that agent had a field day watching that comedic gold.
Blake leans over since nothing can stop him from reading along. "I don't have my glasses but my vision isn't that bad."
"What?" Merida asks. He left his glasses at her parents' place since, as mentioned earlier, they awoke 20 minutes before they arrived.
Blake points at the bars on the file. "Blacked out lines."
"It's a redacted file about my time on an intergalactic wrestling match that I clearly won."
Blake scoots in closer, his chin resting on her shoulder. He's looking at the file but knows that he can't read it since he isn't wearing his glasses. For once, she doesn't mind the scent of James' cologne.
"Do you know how much money I can make reporting this?" Blake whispers in her ear.
"Not as much as I would get for the bounty my employers put on your head," Merida responds.
"Pay my debt, will you?"
Merida grins but she turns around and Blake pulls back when another agent approaches her desk. Merida closes the file and puts it on her desk, folding her hands in her lap. She hopes that Blake got the message that this man is a superior officer to her.
"Agent Barton, who's this?" He asks, referring to Blake.
Merida glances at Blake who smiles at her. "Agent Lee, this is"-
Blake clears his throat, cutting her off. "It's classified."
Merida's eyes widen as she turns around. Her cheeks burn and she grins, biting down on her lips. Blake winks at her before she turns back to face Agent Lee who isn't amused.
"Agent Barton, if I may allege," he continues, "do you bring all your gentleman callers to work?"
"Again, classified," Merida responds, "but if you must allege, my parents and Director Fury cleared him."
-o-
12:32 PM
"Rogers," Agent Kitchener, another one of their leading officers in this branch says as she approaches her, "you don't plan on leaving town for the New Year, do you?"
Angela shrugs, closing the folder on James' resignation that she's been reading for an hour. Forget what she told Xavier about taking forever to read these because she can't blame him anymore. Its dense bureaucracy that she didn't graduate from the Academy to do.
"Dr. Pym would be recovering from knee surgery so I don't intend on going anywhere," Angela responds. "Why?"
"I thought you should see this."
Agent Kitchener passes Angela a tablet that has a briefing about two familiar faces to her: Katherine Harding and Carlton Brewster. Mugshots of them fill her screen above the memo notes, more recent ones after their little run-in with Angela and Xavier. The ones below are from before their little stunt of stealing their faces. Angela skims through the reading. Harding and Brewster were first apprehended for illegal handling and dispersing of military-grade weaponry to third parties. Once they were released, they disguised themselves as Angela and Xavier to ship a whole warehouse full of SHIELD-grade weapons to Wakanda for some vibranium enhancements.
Those weapons never left New York. Looking back, it's funny that they were hidden in what's basically Merida's backyard.
Angela scrolls down the memo and sees that Harding and Brewster are planning to be transferred from a SHIELD prison in North Dakota to-
"The Cube…" Angela shivers as she reads those words.
Her eyes gloss over the rest of the memo. Agent Kitchener catches her eye since her expression is neutral as she takes back the tablet.
"A tough subject for you," she says.
"Why are you telling me this?" Angela asks.
"Rumour has it that my colleagues at my level were going to ask you and your brother to supervise the prison transfer. You're Bonnie's kid and she's on a mission out east. I know she would've taken this off your hands if she could. Hell, your own mother would've if she was in the loop. Look, nothing's written in stone but I thought you should know. I sent you a copy of the memo."
"Thank you," Angela says. "I'm assuming it'll be after the holidays. New Year, New Prison."
They share a small laugh as Angela returns to her files on James' resignation as if she was reading them. She wasn't. She can't focus on the words without reading Cube within the text. So she went to get her copy of the memo.
This is why she doesn't go to the office. Not like The Cube was any better.
They were excited to go the first time, naively so. It was one of their first missions as a group. A prison transfer, funny enough. She doesn't even remember who they were transferring because that was only for an hour. Then they were trapped in a set-up where all the guards were compromised by the prisoners and they lost contact.
The group had to split up. She forgets where Merida and James were for most of it while Daniel was locked up with The Leader and she and Xavier were running the halls trying to find each other and a way out. Then, well, to put things lightly, she made things bloody when she got desperate.
Angela glances down at her knuckles, making her hand into a fist and opening it.
She didn't think Daniel knew how to use a gun since he skirted all his field classes but, like her, he got desperate.
"Oh, fascinating," Sigyn says, appearing behind Angela and peering over her shoulder to read The Cube's memo.
Angela doesn't even react to seeing Sigyn, even as her magic fades from manifesting her presence. "What have you been up to?"
Sigyn shrugs as she sits on the edge of Angela's desk. "One of my neighbours wanted help moving out and then I had to renew my lease. Don't pretend you didn't know that from Xavier but I won't pretend I don't know about The Cube because he told me. "
Angela closes the memo. "Told you how much?"
"All that he knew. So, you heading back there?"
Angela sighs. "I think so. I might have to by the looks of it."
"Maybe they'll send Xavier with you."
"I don't think they told him because he would've brought it up by now. Why tell me and not him? Agent Kitchener didn't even say if she would inform him. First James, now this. I'm having a great day."
Sigyn crosses her arms, looking around the quiet office floor. "Wanna go for a drink?"
"It's noon and we can't get drunk."
"On Midgard crap, we can drink to our heart's content."
Angela groans. "I mean, do you know what it's like to be in a contained space with people who were locked up by your parents and want you dead."
Sigyn looks around SHIELD again. "Actually from the other end." She grins when Angela's eyes widen in realization. Same feeling on Midgard and Asgard. "This is why we're friends. That and the constant sober state among many other things. Look, we'll cross that bridge if we get there. Let's get Merida."
-o-
13:47 PM
"Go sit with Xavier," Merida says as they walk down the corridor into another wing of the building.
"He scares me," Blake whispers. "Look at him."
They look over at Xavier who's sitting at his desk behind piles of paperwork, not happy at all - not even close to being happy. Merida smiles a little at the memory of Xavier being miserable in The Academy from being a cadet to an RA to a field agent without permission to be on the field. What a time. At least he has a cute picture from his wedding framed on his desk to liven up the area.
"He's just a bitch," Merida says. "He likes you."
"My sisters said the same about my brothers-in-law," Blake says. "That changes nothing."
Merida rolls her eyes as she drags him over to Xavier's desk. She pulls over a chair and puts it right next to Xavier whose eyes only flicker up to look at them.
"What's he doing here?" Xavier asks, referring to Blake.
Blake says something to Merida in German and Merida responds in French. Even if Xavier was listening, he wouldn't have caught onto it. The Academy only gave the basics on the major languages of the world. Basic and militaristic methods of teaching. Statements and verbs would be yelled at them and then they would repeat them as a class.
"He was bored and has a tracking bracelet on," Merida says. "Keep him company while I go spar with Angela and Sigyn. Bye."
Merida leaves. The two men watch her bright red curls vanish in the wave of administration.
"When did Sigyn…?" Xavier starts. "Nevermind. They're getting drinks. What are you doing?"
He turns to see Blake sitting next to him with an open file close to his face.
"Reading without my glasses," Blake responds. "This bracelet can't stop me from paper."
"But I can," Xavier yanks the file back, "at least read an interesting one and not the boring high society gala. Do you want aliens, SHIELD's tropical prison, or any Camp SHIELD file?"
"What about another realm?" Blake asks.
Xavier smiles. "Smart. Which one?"
-o-
14:25 PM
After a "lunch break," which was more of a brunch break of getting mimosas at a bistro down the street, Angela, Merida, and Sigyn were in a training room to "spar." It was an excuse to get out of work but looking like they were training which could also be classified as work, but also to debrief and fill each other in on info. A gossip session over firing at targets while Sigyn holds a six-pack of beer she conjured herself between them was the refresher session they needed.
"See if I can come with you to The Cube instead of Xavier," Merida says as she tinkers with her quiver.
"You don't have to," Angela says. "I don't even know if I'll be going."
"You know it'll be you."
Angela whines a little. "I know."
Sigyn nods. "If you hear nothing from Xavier, then you're going alone. But after last time, I don't think they'll send you in alone. I mean; actually, they might."
Merida points her bow at Sigyn. "She gets it. Going to The Cube is like Sigyn going to visit Hela again."
Sigyn points with her beer bottle. "She gets it. Or if Merida visits MojoWorld again."
Merida gags. "Exactly. I hate that motherfucker."
"My sentiments with Hela. Don't say that shit about Mojo because he's a legend on Asgard."
Merida pauses. "Did I tell you about MojoWorld or did Xavier?"
Sigyn shakes her head. "Please. MojoWorld is a popular program in Asgard. Always played in the bars and all that. I didn't know about your episode when it first aired since it was delayed here due to Apollo's fall into madness. I watched it a while back when I visited Asgard. But it was extremely entertaining, especially all your KOs."
"I'm a fucking spectacle."
"I'm waiting for a new episode since he's on hiatus. I've been chatting around for info but nobody has anything."
"Yeah, that was a freaky mission," Angela mutters.
"If it helps," Merida says to her, "MojoWorld and The Cube. You and I both have moments where we wanted Daniel's hulk out."
Angela can't help but laugh. "Different tactics, though."
Merida shrugs. "Tomato potato."
"That's now how it goes."
"Potato tomato."
Sigyn throws her beer bottle at a target but swipes away the shattered glass with her magic. "Hey, both of your methods beat Iqadi's tactics."
Angela points a gun at Sigyn. "Tomato potato."
-o-
15:39 PM
Xavier thought Iqadi visiting him to do her sections of the paperwork would've been a delight. He was wrong. She came with a debate, a discussion, a sharp outfit, and her own pen to sign her name. If only she brought Imanu with her, but he went sightseeing to bring Kili back some souvenirs.
And he didn't want to come to SHIELD for desk work. Nobody could blame him.
Blake can't help but watch Xavier and Iqadi's bitch faces stare at each other. They're already been going at each other for nearly 40 minutes and they've just finished talking about SHIELD's tropical prison island. It reminds him so much of his own job.
He's so happy to be involved. And he brought his own pen since Xavier's making him help out if he's going to sit here and read files.
"Off the record-" Iqadi starts.
"There's no off the record," Xavier responds.
Blake smiles. "There is in my job."
"You're doing my job which excludes being off the record."
"Aren't redacted files considered off the record?"
Xavier looks at him. "Or are they on the record but classified?"
Blake nods. "Fair play. You know, I did this kind of note-taking work all the time in my internships. Just FYI, Princess, I don't have my glasses on me. I left them at Casa Barton."
"Doesn't bother me," Iqadi says with a plastered smile that's hiding a grin.
Xavier shrugs. "Are you Daniel-level blind without them?"
"I can still drive … but I don't own a car so that's debatable."
"Good enough. Okay, Iqadi, let's go over your availability and what information you're allowed to tell us within the parameters of Wakanda."
Iqadi crosses one leg over the other. "That is a tricky situation. I have my loyalties as do you. I can only provide information when necessary for the mission. Like my Contingency Plans. I will only tell you the ones you've seen."
"Yeah, fair, I'm really following a script here. Blake, did Merida tell you about those plans?"
Blake nods. "She said she was asleep for nearly all of them."
"Yeah, she was lucky."
"She really was," Iqadi adds. "It could've been so much worse for her."
Blake glances down at his notes of their conversation. "Are your reports always supposed to be this dry?"
"Yes," Xavier states, "that's why I never do them."
Blake laughs a little. "No wonder you hate doing them. I say that you need to draw people in and intrigue them. People like sensationalism because then they'll listen. It's not about creating a story, finding the right lead or the right research … it's quality. Good reporting is willing to take on the hard and risky leads, and being meticulous about covering your tracks."
Iqadi smiles. "He has a point."
"Merida can technically be fired for telling classified information to the press," Xavier tells him.
Blake fiddles with his pen. She told him the same thing earlier. "I didn't expose anything. And besides, you won't snitch or fire her yourself if you have that authority. You're a softie."
"You really are," Iqadi adds, much to Xavier's chagrin. "Besides, I tell Imanu everything. Imanu always tried to avoid royal protocol like you and your paperwork. Actually, he enjoyed the paper aspect, not the training."
"Yeah, I told Sigyn everything at Camp," Xavier admits, "and I'm not going near Asgard for Royal Protocol bullshit."
Blake leans in closer. "Is there, like, spousal privilege here? Is that a benefit?"
Iqadi shrugs. "I do whatever I please. This place needs me."
"The only benefit this job has is keeping it if you don't fuck it up," Xavier tells him. "And the dental isn't bad either. Sigyn's on my plan if that tells you anything about spousal privilege, not that she needs it. She just goes to Asgard for some magical elixir or whips up a spell herself. I barely use it."
"Do you think James planned on proposing right after he resigned so he could still reap Angela's employee benefits?" Iqadi questions. "As if he needed them, but still."
Blake nods, turning to a new page in the notebook Xavier gave him to use. "Okay, now we're talking. You know he planned this to a tee."
Xavier leans back in his seat as Iqadi moves her chair closer to Blake, turning back a page in his notes to read what he wrote, even adding in some of her own words in the margins. Her penmanship is so much nicer than his will ever be.
"You might be onto something," Xavier says. "Okay, let's get through the Plans onwards and then we'll talk about that."
"You have a cool job," Blake tells him.
"This isn't the cool part."
"I know. I read the report I'm in."
-o-
16:30 PM
They found an empty box that used to hold grenade keys and brought it up to James' desk to start packing it up. They don't have to worry about any paperwork to hand over because James never had any to begin with. For all they know, James forgot he has a desk.
"I'm taking this," Merida says about James' comfier desk chair, "and this."
She throws a stapler into a separate box she used to take things for herself. Merida also takes the stapler remover since she's been using arrowheads to get the job done. Merida opens a drawer and finds an expensive bottle of rum. Her jaw drops as she shows Angela who nods and Merida puts it in her box.
Angela looks at all the pictures taped to his desktop, smiling as Sigyn opens more drawers.
"How come none of your desks are near each other?" Sigyn asks.
"'cause we'd get no work done," Angela responds. She, Merida, and Xavier are housed in different Operations' wings while James and Daniel are in separate Sci-Tech sectors. "Even apart, we get nothing done here."
"Just like high school," Sigyn says. "Sometimes, I miss it."
Merida cringes. "Ew, seriously?"
"Hey, I was happy."
"Sure."
"But only for moments like this." Sigyn holds up a group picture of them all at prom. "We're little babies here."
"Okay, fair, but this was a great time." Merida points at a picture from Stark-Banner's wedding where Angela and James are dancing at the reception. "This one too." It's the Academy graduation where James and Daniel are hugging it out.
"I'd say this but I can't say since I wasn't there," Angela points to a picture of Sigyn's Camp wedding where James married them.
"I'll be honest, I'm surprised you guys even have desks here," Sigyn says. "I thought you'd just be kicking ass somewhere all day."
Merida scoffs. "That's what I signed up for."
"We were like this, desk work, for a good few months after we graduated," Angela says. "Every time I come to my desk, there's dust on it."
Angela takes her phone out of her blazer's pocket when it vibrates in her pocket. When she sees that it's Janet, she immediately steps to the side as Sigyn and Merida finish packing up his desk. They know that it's Janet, especially when she showed the caller ID and sprinted to the side.
It's a James update. It has to be. Surgery should definitely be done by now unless they delayed it again.
Or surgery failed.
And he's dead.
She has to pick up before her thoughts spiral and it goes to voicemail.
"Janet," Angela says. Her heart pounds so loud in her ear that she almost considers putting the call on speaker.
Janet: They completed surgery. Everything seemed to be going well. James is still asleep but -
"I'll be there soon," Angela says, sighing out of relief. She looks at Sigyn and Merida who are waiting for info and she gives a thumbs-up. "Janet, thank you. I'll see you in a bit."
Angela hangs up and wants to scream to the heavens and all the realms that it went well. God, this was stressing her out so much but it was better for her to be in the office, shockingly, than the hospital.
"He's out and okay," Angela tells them. "I don't know if he'll be going home tonight or whatever. Probably not. I still have to give Xavier his paperwork and his desk-"
"We'll handle his desk," Sigyn says. "Go. Xavier and I will drop off his stuff after."
Angela squeaks a little before sprinting off. Merida sighs happily, taking out a whisky bottle from James' desk to accompany her rum.
"This looks like it costs more than my monthly rent," Merida says.
Sigyn puts more of James' things in a box. "Is this a designer pencil holder?"
Merida snatches it.
-o-
17:05 PM
Sigyn pushes Merida in her newly acquired comfier desk chair as she carries the boxes full of James' stuff in her lap. They park at Xavier's desk where he, Blake, and Iqadi aren't surprised to see them. Merida isn't even shocked to see Blake doing Xavier's job for him. She would've done the same thing if she was burdened with Xavier's paperwork.
"I left him with you for a few hours and you made him a temp," Merida says as Sigyn pushes her chair next to his.
"You know that if we get married, I could have better dental," Blake says. "My dental plan now is don't fuck up your teeth."
Merida nods. "And a green card."
Blake's jaw drops a bit as he scribbles that down. "Shit, you're right. We'll talk schematics later."
"There you are," Xavier says to Sigyn as she wraps her arms around him from behind his chair and rests her chin on his head. "I heard you showed up."
Sigyn nods. "Renewed our lease and packed up James' desk. Angela went to the hospital since our boy is out and not about but out of surgery."
"Thank god."
Iqadi peeks into the box of James' stuff. "Shall we open his rum?"
Merida immediately unscrews it and flicks the cap away. "Only for James. It's five o'clock here!"
I can't wait to write the first round of The Cube in SA.