Revamped!


Chapter 60: Caught in the Act

SHIELD Training Centre - 9:57 AM

It took Emily about twenty minutes to put on the SHIELD training uniform which also involved in her changing her makeup and heels to match. Emily wanted to wear her brand new nude heels that matched the uniform and everyone just went along with it so she would stop complaining and they would start with the training. They tried to get her in sneakers but she claimed her heels were durable.

"Now," Xavier instructs, "just put on this bulletproof vest."

Emily cringes at the vest. "It doesn't match my outfit."

"I honestly don't care about your outfit. You're in a training uniform so it does match. It's a set."

"Good clothes are like armour - blow the enemy away with an awesome fashion sense."

"I believe that," James says, giving support to Emily.

"How does that-" Xavier starts before realizing that the questions will never end.

"What's your problem?" Emily asks. "You've been on my case all day."

"I've suffered four years in the Academy for this."

"Sounds like a personal problem."

Xavier glares at her. "I give up. Daniel, help me."

"Emily, you'll look beautiful in the vest," Daniel tries.

"Liar!" She yells back. "Xavier looks awful in it!"

Daniel and Xavier groan in annoyance as James stifles laughter. If Merida was here, they would either already be in training or she would've killed Emily after agreeing with her. But Merida skipped out on the opportunity to avoid breaking Emily in half so SHIELD sent her across the country. Everyone else now thinks about how Merida was the smart one in this situation.

Angela steps in. "What if you were faced in a conflict where you didn't have your armour and someone did this to you?"

Angela quickly fires her gun. Emily flinches as she watches the bullet bounce off the armour in Xavier's hands. Everyone else hopes that this will convince her to put it on.

Emily lifts an eyebrow. "What if, in said conflict, I didn't even have the ugly vest?"

Angela is speechless since she doesn't have an answer for that. She looks at Xavier and Daniel for help but they got nothing to counteract that argument.

"She has a point," James says.

"Don't take her side!" Angela yells at him.

-o-

Somewhere in San Francisco - 7:02 AM

While driving, Merida continues to examine Blake Wilde from underneath her sunglasses through her peripheral vision. It doesn't help that he's now wearing sunglasses. She doesn't know why she keeps on looking at him but her eyes can't just look away without looking back. He's handsome, yes, but she doesn't think of that as a reason to stare.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" Blake asks her casually.

Merida's silence answers his question.

"Do you keep on looking at me because you find me attractive?" He asks her again. "I'm just curious."

Merida keeps silent as she rolls her eyes. She taps her fingers on the steering wheel in annoyance which he notices.

"If I'm not mistaken," Blake continues, "SHIELD is cleaning up and doing a further investigation on what happened in Nairobi with the Hulk while working on clearance for their new consultant, Dr. Emily Stark … and yet, you're here."

Merida furrows her brows at him. "If I'm not mistaken, the local FBI branch is tracking and analyzing drug cartels which have been rumoured to be associated with fishing companies to use their water ports for a means of transportation … and yet, you're here."

Blake narrows his eyes at her. "What are you implying?"

"What were you implying?"

At a red light, Merida and Blake narrow their eyes at each other through their sunglasses. They stop looking at each other when the light turns green and Merida steps on the gas to continue driving. The tension, however, is still present.

"What kind of SHIELD agent are you?" Blake finally asks. "One on crap duty for pissing off your superiors?"

"One who just got off of probationary leave and recovery time, has no interest in researching Hulk crap due to said recovery time, and doesn't want to train Stark."

"Interesting. So a personal crap duty."

"So tell me, what kind of FBI agent are you?"

"I'm not."

That shocking statement causes Merida to slam on the brakes. The cars behind her honk erratically before she turns on her blinkers and lets them pass her. Merida lowers her shades and stares at Blake with her blue eyes open extremely wide.

"What?" Merida questions although she heard him perfectly the first time.

"I'm not an FBI agent," Blake admits, taking off his sunglasses to look at her. "I'm a journalist. The one who was supposed to cover that story didn't show up to work this morning so my editor made me head over to report it. You get more details when you're in disguise. They trust anyone with a badge."

Merida stares at him, stunned about his confession. "What do you really write about?"

Blake sighs with a smirk on his face. "Before I tell you, please take note of this: I have a Masters in Communications and Media Studies, I speak five languages fluently, and have had internships all over the world. You'd think that with all that education and experience I would have a great position but no. My jackass of an editor put me in charge of writing advice for people and their shitty love lives when mine is ironically not that credible."

Unexpected for them, Merida bursts out laughing. Blake joins in, watching Merida as she wraps an arm around her sides not because they're cramping but because her freshly healed ribs still hurt when laughing. Merida leans on the steering wheel, finally calming down from all the laughing.

"You have a cute laugh," Blake tells her. "You should do it more often."

Merida sits up again. "What makes you think that I'm not a habitual laugher?"

"I'm a journalist, I know how to read people. I got that from when you stomped onto the crime scene."

"Really?"

"After I noted how hot you are, yes."

"Well, I broke some ribs."

"Damn, how so?"

"Hulk crap."

"Interesting."

Merida nods slowly. "So, did reading letters about infidelity teach you how to analyze a dead body perfectly?"

Blake laughs a little. "No, but that would be quite the letter. Actually, one of my older sisters is a forensic scientist and would watch those kinds of documentaries all the time. I honestly thought that would've blown my cover but you were nodding."

Merida stares at him a bit longer. Blake looks back at her. They both remain silent in each other's eyes before another car startles them.

"You'd better be careful where you masquerade as an agent," Merida tells him as she begins to drive again. "And what you write in that article."

"Are you going to arrest me for collusion?" Blake asks her.

Merida glances at him and he seems much more excited at the idea of being arrested by her than frightened of being arrested generally. It takes Merida longer than usual to catch up in this situation since this has never happened to her before.

"Are you flirting with me?" Merida asks him. She's never had to ask that before because she was never unsure of it.

"Kind of," he replies bluntly.

"Well, stop."

"Why?"

"Because I'm on the job."

"So am I." He smiles, quickly running a hand through his hair as he leans back in his seat. "But face it, if we were being serious about our jobs and not distracted by one another, I would've walked and you would've noticed my fake FBI badge the moment I showed you. Come on, it's a costume prop I hide in my desk."

Merida, defeated, doesn't respond. Blake grins as he notices.

"Admit it, Agent Mer," he says, "I impressed you."

Merida slides her sunglasses back on, keeping silent. She rethinks about what Blake has done in the little time that she's known him: he successfully duped her, made her laugh, and developed some infatuation on her (to which she has no idea what to say back). She hasn't even made a snide comment about being called Agent Mer.

Merida denies being impressed and won't admit that her cheeks get hot when she looks at him.


[I love writing Merida and Blake].