CHAPTER 22

THE FBI WANTS ME TO JOIN IT

Angie and Bryan spent the last hours of Monday evening, in the shooting range - the actual shooting range, where actual FBI Agents shot actual guns. Earlier that evening, at training, they had dealt with mock guns, a mock scenario and cardboard villains. Now, where Dan took them, there were real guns, real Agents all around, training and perfecting their shooting skills. Angie tried so hard to tone her enthusiasm down, but she failed miserably. She was practically floating on a cloud of happiness. Guns were Bryan's thing, obviously, but Angela had a weird connection with weapons. She just seemed ecstatic to be around them and whenever she would hold one up, she held it with the precision and tenderness that she would hold a newborn baby with. That was how she felt about weapons. She was borderline obsessed.

Dan appreciated the fact that those two trainees wanted to do more in class, rather than sit around and wait, so it really didn't cost him much to grab them and bring them to the shooting range. He started off with the usual safety speech, before he let them choose a gun to try out.

Bryan grabbed a sniper. He felt comfortable with big weapons, he had the muscles to carry the weight of a weapon and to hold it in place and not feel too much of the bounce back when he'd fire.

Angie grabbed the typical handgun, used by FBI Agents. She wanted to feel it in her hands and she took her time to enjoy that moment.

"Good grip." Dan commented, standing behind Angie.

"You should have seen her hold the gun against her stomach earlier." Bryan laughed.

"No, that's actually a damn good grip right now." Dan's eyebrow rose a bit.

He had seen Trainees who were gifted, when it came to handling weapons, but Angie seemed like she was born with a gun in her hand.

"Now, you charge it, you pull the safety and you-…" Dan started to narrate and Angie sighed.

When would people stop treating her like an idiot?

She ignored Dan completely, adjusting her noise-cancelling head piece to her ears, picking up the gun that she had already loaded when Dan was busy talking to Bryan about the sniper…and she took a shot, without much thinking and hassling. It was a clean shot, a quick one, very much uncalculated and so damn spontaneous.

"Oh…" Dan exclaimed when he pushed a button and the target moved closer to them, revealing a perfect 9-point shot.

"Yeah, I know. I'm only just warming up." Angie rolled her eyes in disappointment. Nine was not a ten, hence nine was not good enough.

She fired one more time, once again, without giving it much thought and preparation.

"Hot damn, girl!" Bryan's jaw dropped. "How did you do that?"

It was a perfect ten, right in the middle of the target.

"Beginner's luck." Angie smirked, putting the gun down contently.

Dan was confused.

At first, when he had seen everyone report to the gym on day one, he saw a girl who looked way too young to even be there, wearing a white sparkly dress and a bow in her hair. Her nails were painted pale pink and they matched her lipstick color. She looked like her GPS had gone mad and she had randomly just popped by, without a clue where she had ended up at.

Then, Dan started seeing her passion for the Academy. Every time he saw the kid, she was in the middle of the first row, in class, or on the training field. She finished first in the race and she helped drag Bryan through the finish line, along with her, sharing the victory.

After that, she swiped her AT badge at all possible places around campus - which Dan knew about because he had access to this kind of information; until she was able to get access to things, people and places. And then she would pour millions of questions, to whoever she saw. She had made friends in the library, taking more books than her course expected her to read.

Dan also knew a few more things about Angie, but he would play dumb, for the time being, and only ever bring them up when the time was right.

And there she was now – shooting a perfect ten from the second time she fired a gun, making it seem like she just got lucky.

"Why do you want to join the FBI, Trainee Hunter?" Dan asked casually.

"Because I belong here." She replied, sure of herself. "Plus, I don't want to join the FBI." She smirked. "The FBI wants me to join it!"

Dan nodded and excused himself for a while, letting them practice on their own.

He walked to the office of his superior and sat down.

"Have you chosen one yet, Dan?" His boss asked.

"No." Dan smirked. "I've chosen two." He added contently. "And they're perfect."

"Good. Now proceed as planned. And remember - no mercy!" The other man said, before dismissing Dan.

As he walked out of the office, he sighed. Things were about to get a bit complicated, now that two people were on the list.


Richard kept on driving as he chatted away with Emily. Or rather – Lauren.

"Vallée de la Loire!" Emily exclaimed, having read one of the road signs, when she saw him exit the highway, to take the road he needed.

"Oui." He nodded.

"Don't tell me were going to Château de la Barre! Oh, mon Dieu, vraiment? I mean, really?" She almost freaked out, in a good way.

By now, she had picked up on his habit of speaking half-English and half-French, so she had subconsciously started doing the same, throwing in a few words when she spoke.

"Oui." He nodded one more time.

"Oh, I've always wanted to go there!" She was radiant, smiling, full of enthusiasm. If JJ could see her at that moment, she would hate her a little more and also love her a whole lot more, at the same time.

"And now you are." He smiled and they soon reached the gates of the premises.

When they drove to the main building, Emily was in awe. She had seen luxury, but this specific palace was something she had always wanted to visit. Ever since her days as a spy in Europe, she had this strong desire to see the beauty that was now standing in front of her.

"Wow, this is gorgeous." She exclaimed, getting out of the car.

It was starting to get dark now and she could not believe that it was still just Monday. It felt like a whole month had gone by, with everything she managed to do and see since her plane landed in Paris.

They were greeted by the hosts and introduced to a few secluded parts of the palace. It was open for viewing, however, not everyone could get in. You surely needed to be someone or to know someone, if you wanted to get buzzed in from the gate. And Richard didn't seem to have any problem with his access to lavish things. Not that Emily cared if he was rich, anyway.

The hosts let them wander around the gardens a bit and Emily's eyes got drawn by the fountain. It was quite big, surrounded by lights and, as Richard had promised, there were loudspeakers everywhere, even outside.

"Oh, I love this song!" She said dreamily, as a very old French chanson came up.

"You seem to know a lot about France and French culture. And you also speak French fluently. How come?" Richard sat by her side, on a bench that had the best view of the fountain.

"French culture is something I've always been passionate about. Italian one, a bit less, I shall say." She tried not to roll her eyes, as she was referring to her time as a spy, in Italy, with an internationally known criminal who had managed to ruin her life twice – once in Italy and once back home when he went after her team.

"I have a confession…" Richard blurted out quickly, as if there was something that was bothering him and he had to say it to get it off his chest.

"Shh." Emily put a finger against Richard's lips, without even hearing the words he said. She only heard mumbles that were preventing her from enjoying her favorite song. "Oh, this feels so good."

Richard looked away unhappily, as if something was bothering him and it was not her.

By the end of the song, his phone started buzzing and he excused himself, walking a bit further, so he could speak without disturbing her.

"Oui." He replied to whoever was on the other side of the line. "Yes, that's done." He added. "I know. I took care of that, too."

He paced a little nervously, but Emily was oblivious. She refused to pay attention to the reality. This was her escape and she would soak in every moment of happiness, while it lasted, whether it was real or pretense.

"No, this is too risky. Are you crazy?" Richard tried to keep his voice down, but he was getting a bit upset with his conversation partner. "No, I'm not going to do that. And I won't let you do that, either. We are going to proceed as planned. If you want to be my partner, then damn it, you have to trust me!"

With those words, he hung up and switched his phone off before joining Emily back on that bench.

"Work?" She assumed, because only a work call could put a frown on someone's face when they were surrounded by such beauty.

"Unfortunately." He held his hand out for her and urged her to stand up.

"May I have this dance?" He added, just as a slow song came up.

"Oui." She smiled and let him hold her as they swayed to the rhythm.

As a child, Emily had been forced to perfect ballroom dancing. She hated it, but she was quite good at it. Her mother had dragged her to numerous charity balls and functions, where Emily had to act prim and proper, before she turned teen and spiraled out of control for the first time in her life.

Her chin rested on his firm, manly shoulder, as they moved in perfect sync. She had an excuse to know how to waltz, but what about him?

"My ex-wife was a dancer, back in the days. She taught dance and she was quite passionate about it. So, if I didn't want to sleep on the couch, I had to comply with her every wish to drag me to the dance studio." He forced a smile.

This was the second time he had mentioned his ex-wife, followed by him being overwhelmed by sudden sadness.

Emily knew better than to ask what had happened to that woman, or better yet – what she had done to him after they separated.

She just leaned in and let him take the lead. The song finished and she tilted her face sideways, so she could face him.

"God, you are so beautiful." He whispered, a tone above a whisper.

"Yeah, and this time the make-up is actually mine." She chuckled, in typical Emily Prentiss dorky fashion.

He did not get it. He had no idea that she had done her make-up in a store earlier and that now she had bought herself a few items. He knew nothing about girly stuff like that. All he knew was that this woman was making him feel things he had never felt before in his life and that was slowly driving him insane.

"Lauren, I-…" He said after a moment of thoughts.

She did not let him speak. Her lips pressed against his and he was more than happy to shut up and let her take the lead now.

His hands traveled down her frame and rested at the small of her back, almost teasingly.

She could feel his grip on her was tightening, as if he wanted to protect her.

For a moment, she let herself be happy. A second later, however, she realized that all of this had an expiry date and, if she allowed herself to enjoy these moments, it would make it this much harder to go back to her real life and adjust to being SSA Emily Prentiss again, the one who had to deal with the consequences of her decisions from three weeks ago.

"I'm sorry…" She pulled away, against her own will.

"There is something you need to know about me…" She started off, but he was clever, he already knew it.

"That you are going to leave?" He suggested and she nodded.

She had already shared that with him, but somehow, he held some sort of hope that she was not going to disappear. And there she was, confirming it.

"Doesn't it suck?" He asked silently.

"Huh?" Emily looked at him, confused.

"I mean, it must suck, always having to hit the Reset button on yourself. If you really leave as often as you claim to, then isn't it hard to re-adjust and to re-build a whole new life for yourself so often? I don't mean to judge you, I'm just curious what your point of view is." His voice was so calm that she didn't even take his words as judgmental.

In any other case, though, Emily would have bit the head off someone who dared lecture her about her life choices.

"I guess it sucks. But the more you do it, the better you become at it. Until that is all you ever know in life – hitting the Reset button." Sadness oozed from her voice and he could feel it.

"But, wouldn't you rather settle down, find someone to love, surround yourself with loyal friends and let yourself be happy? Maybe even start a family? Everyone has crappy moments, but that is why we have friends. You just have to find the right ones and I'm sure you are never going to leave them." He smiled and she barely saw his face in the dark, but she knew he was smiling.

She reflected on his words for a moment.

"I already have those friends. I have wonderful people back home, ready to help me, people who worry about me and who, I'm sure, miss me so much right now." Her left hand slid down her dress, pushing it a bit lower, seeing as it had ridden a bit too far up during the dance. It was dark, but still, flashing someone was not appropriate protocol for date one. Or rather – date four, on day one.

"Well, you're here right now. So that means you left them." His words hit her like a sword – right in the heart. Bam!

"And, if they care about you as much as you claim they do, don't you think they are hurt by the fact that you left?" He pushed it a bit further and then twisted the sword a little more, so that Emily could bleed out in her imagination.

She did not reply. Instead, images of a worried Garcia, pacing around with a mug with now icy cold tea in her hand, ran through her mind. She was the one who worried the most, and who was the most obvious about it.

Reid, on the other hand, tended to close off and shut everyone out, when he was upset.

JJ was somewhat like Reid, but sadness usually took over her twice as hard, since she had a family to take care of, a job that was insanely hard and then a friend like Emily, who'd always bail.

She licked her bottom lip before biting on a chunk of it, realizing that she was probably a horrible human being. A selfish bitch.

Richard kissed her cheek, trying to calm her down, when he felt like she was quivering in his hands.

"For the record, I really like you, Lauren. I think you are the most amazing woman I've ever met. You are so smart and beautiful and you are not afraid to say the most random things. You are nothing like anyone I've ever met in my life. And if you had to leave, I'd understand it, but it would suck nonetheless." He said openly.

Those words left her torn. She now felt this crazy urge to go back home and try to be a good friend to her team, but she also didn't want to break Richard's heart by making him like her and then leaving him without a notice. Because she knew herself and, if she decided to leave, she would not even write him a note. She would just disappear. Forever. Like she had done a million times before.

The sound of a church bell brought her back to reality. It was now midnight, meaning that Monday was finally over and done with. It also meant that they had a two hour drive back to the city and she felt quite tired.

"If you don't mind, I've asked for the possibility of renting a suite for the night. There are two separate rooms, in case you want your privacy." He said nicely, not coming off as a creep who had taken her hostage in a random hotel room.

Random. There was nothing random about that place. It was gorgeous and, as much as Emily disliked the idea of spending the night with him so soon and giving off the wrong impression about herself, she caved in. There were, after all, two rooms available.

She nodded in agreement and they walked in the building, being shown to a lavish suite with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, three terraces and a huge living room. Everything was vintage and Emily appreciated the decor, wishing she had her phone with her so she could take pictures.

She walked further in and checked out the master bedroom. It was huge, the bed was gigantic and the windows were floor-to-ceiling. Usually, Emily would like her room dark, but this was a nice change.

She sensed that Richard felt a bit awkward and was waiting for her to come up with the sleeping arrangements.

"Look, I don't want this to come off wrong. I mean, I like you. Clearly…" She giggled. When has she ever met a guy and spent almost every moment with him, from the first second she saw him?

"But, you see, I'm not the kind of woman who would sleep with someone so soon." She added, hoping that it would sound believable.

"Or at least I'm trying not to be..." She thought to herself while looking anywhere and everywhere, but his face.

"I didn't peg you for one." He said, absolutely calmly. "That is why I booked this suite. We can both have our own room and bathroom."

Could he be any more sweet and understanding? Emily almost didn't believe he was real.

"In that case, I'd love the master bedroom." She smirked. If he was so chill about it, then she'd take advantage of the situation.

Once she walked in the other bedroom though, she regretted it.

"Wow, you have a built in Jacuzzi?" She exclaimed, seeing the marble structure between his bed and the terrace, overlooking the gardens.

"Want to swap?" He suggested.

"Nope." She wanted that huge bed, all for herself. "But, damn, you have a Jacuzzi!" She repeated, clearly a bit jealous.

"You can come over for a swim." He said innocently, but she knew what game he was playing.

"I don't even have clothes for tomorrow. Again. And that is after I've done some shopping. What makes you think I have a bathing suit just ready to go?" She laughed at the irony of it all. She had spent quite some cash on clothes and things earlier, and yet found herself having to re-use the same clothes again.

"Well, you're not naked under that dress…Are you?" He took a step forward, his right hand brushing against her thigh playfully.

"Uhm…" She mocked being shy. "I guess there's only one way to find out."

Damn, this woman was giving mixed signals and he was not sure if she was joking or not.

It was only after she tugged on her dress, that he realized that she was most definitely not joking.

Within seconds, she was stripped down to her underwear, the new one she had bought. She hated having to put it on without washing it first, but it beat having to use the undies from the previous day.

Somehow, the new things she bought were a little unlike Emily Prentiss. They were very much like Lauren Reynolds – bold, mysterious, some lace lining was involved and there were straps on the sides of her bikini bottoms, softly hugging her toned body.

Richard was mute. The only sign of life he gave off was when he gulped, as he eyed Emily up and down. He had never imagined her being so incredibly toned and in such great physical shape. If he didn't know any better, he'd assume that she was a personal trainer in some gym, because there was no other way that anyone her age had a body like that.

She started the hot tub and it quickly made bubbles. Steam came out of the water and she hopped in, smiling at him. He took that as an invite for him to join her and it took him eight seconds to do so.

"God, that feels good." She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

He tried not to move a muscle, because if he did, he was sure it would be to have his hands all over her. And that barely was gentleman code of conduct, especially after she had made it clear where her boundaries stood.

"Do you like red wine?" He asked, spotting a bottle of fine red wine on the table by the Jacuzzi, with two glasses near it.

"I usually prefer white, but red is fine, too." She replied honestly.

He then poured two glasses, hoping that would make him relax around her. She was too much for him to handle and the fact that she was half naked, right in front of him, was quite disturbing.

Emily took a sip and she knew this was good wine, one of those expensive ones that Rossi offered during his dinners. Oh, how much she missed him.

"What are you thinking about?" Richard asked casually, while sipping on his wine.

"Honestly, I remembered how much I appreciate one of my close friends. He's also a colleague of mine and he is amazing, both at work and as a friend." She took a big gulp of her wine before she continued. "He's older than me and he is the wisest man I've ever known. He taught me so much and yet, he is so humble and he never takes credit for anything. And also, he always smiles. No matter what is going on, there is always a smile on his face. He knows how to make me smile, too. His sense of humor is something that only a fine bunch of us, lucky people, can understand and appreciate. But we do and he is awesome for that. I guess I just really miss seeing him by my side."

"He sounds like a wonderful man." Richard commented.

"He truly is." Emily smiled and drank one more time.

The conversation then took turn and Richard was telling her how he was born in Paris, but he also lived abroad for a while and then came back to Paris, for work. He never mentioned what his job was, but given the fact that Emily failed to mention it too, she guessed it wouldn't be fair of her to ask for anything more than what he was willing to share.

Half an hour later, she started to feel a little weird. The wine had messed her up, but she had only had one glass and she wasn't known to not be able to hold her alcohol. Quite the contrary, actually.

She started seeing everything blurry and she found it hard to breathe, in the middle of the boiling water.

"Hey, come on, let's get you out of here." Richard got up and helped her sit down on a chair after he wrapped her with two big towels.

"Are you feeling sick?" He asked, but Emily could barely hear him.

Something was blocking all of her senses. First, her vision became blurry. Then, her nose stopped sensing the sweet aroma of vanilla that was what made the bubbles in the Jacuzzi. Finally, her legs gave out as Richard picked her up and put her on the chair. Her muscles got really tense, before she lost any control over them. It felt like she was floating, unable to feel her body weight.

She shook her head, trying to calm down, but anxiety was starting to hit her.

"Should I call a doctor?" He asked.

"No. No. It's just the wine. I told you I barely drink red wine. I guess it messed me up a bit. Don't worry. I'll be fine in the morning." She forced a smile while trying to look like she was calm and collected on the outside.

"Are you sure? We can get a doctor here to help you." He offered once again.

If she had to be honest with herself, she wouldn't mind a doctor's assistance. She had just been poisoned by Garcia and she had overheard something about consequences and side effects, so maybe that was what was messing her up. Both times she felt sick were after she drank alcohol – first, by the fountain, as soon as she landed in Paris, and now in the Jacuzzi.

However, it would be impossible to hide her identity if a doctor came over and asked for her ID card. And that would mean the end of happy Lauren and the beginning of a screwed-up Emily. There was no way she would allow that.

"I'm fine. I need a shower and some sleep. That's all." She didn't want to use the jet lag card again, so she pretended to be tired.

After a quick shower, she got in her bed and he stayed by her side until he thought she was asleep. She really was not, though. She just needed him to go back to his own room, so she could freak out a little bit before she would try to fall asleep.

She failed. Each time she closed her eyes, she saw one specific scene from three weeks ago, repeating itself, over and over again. And when she opened her eyes, she was once again on her own. But then she closed them and she was back in that nightmare, one that had actually happened to her.

"No!" She didn't even realize how loudly that came out, in the middle of the night.

"Lauren, are you okay?" A very sleepy Richard poked his head from the door.

"No…" She whispered. "I'm not okay."

He didn't hesitate. He walked to her bed and his hand ran through her now sweaty hair, caressing her while he wondered what kind of a nightmare was haunting that woman.

She pulled the blankets aside, making space for him to come lay beside her. He was happy to oblige.

Then Emily did one more thing that was unlikely for her persona – she snuggled closer to him, letting him hold her while her mouth and nose rested on the side of his neck, a little above his shoulder where her chin was now resting.

"I wish this was my reality." She whispered quietly. "But it's not."

He didn't reply, he was unable to make any promises. Much like Emily, Richard was living in the moment, trying not to think more than five days ahead, since they only had five more days left until she would leave. If she didn't leave earlier. Anything was possible with her.


Angie's alarm went off at 6 am on Tuesday morning. She yawned and rubbed her eyes a few times and then she was fresh as a daisy and ready to go.

"For the record, it feels really good to not have someone complaining about the alarm every morning." She commented as she hopped out of bed. Amanda had always told Angie off for the alarm, even though they both had to wake up at the same time.

"Who the heck wakes up with Salt'n'Pepa?" Bryan rubbed his eyes as well, a little less eager to get out of bed. And also, curious about her choice of a wake-up song.

"Oh, I forgot you even crashed here." Angie laughed, hearing a male voice coming from Amanda's empty bed.

"Also, insult my taste in music again and I will make you look like a beginner at gun shoot training. You know I can!" She smirked, grabbing her trainee uniform and opening a little box, full of hair clips and bows to choose from.

"Alright. I love me some old school R'n'B anyway." He smirked, getting up before she would have the chance to pour a bucket of cold water on him.

"Do you freaking mind?" He nudged her, trying to get her away from the mirror, after she had been there for the past ten minutes.

"Are you serious? You're a dude! Go check yourself out in the reflection of a window or something. Ugh!" She said in annoyance.

To that, he replied with force. He picked her up, as if she were a feather, and he threw her on her bed, handing her a small mirror to continue doing her make-up with.

"I really miss Amanda." She said unhappily. The girls had never fought about the mirror, but that was probably because Amanda always woke up after Angie was done with the shower and mirror.

Half an hour later they were sweating on the field. It was kind of chilly that morning, but they were drenched. They had a new fitness trainer who was draining every last bit of their energy, making them do some new military fitness routine that was hard to remember as a sequence, and even harder to actually do without fainting from exhaustion.

"Ugh." Angie whined when she forgot one of the sequences. They were required to do them in a specific order, so now she had to start all over again, counting from one. And she had been all the way up to six, out of twenty. So, that kind of sucked.

"Come on, Trainee! This is not cheer camp! Give it your best shot!" The trainer yelled at her and she felt the urge to do two things. One – to shove his face in the dirt, for being so mean. And two – to ask him to do a cheer sequence perfectly, so he would maybe stop insulting that sport. Because yes, to Angie cheerleading was a sport.

"Keep it together, A!" Bryan yelled out for her. "Wait for me to finish this sequence and then start from the top, with me. Okay?"

She nodded and watched him suffer the remaining part of the sequence. When he had to start his eleventh one, she started her first, trying to keep up with his pace.

At some point, she was getting tired and started to slack in pace.

"Hey. Hey?" Bryan caught her attention. "Together, remember?"

She smiled, picking up her pace, as much as that hurt every muscle in her body. She was very used to training, but this was completely new to her.

The trainer had told them that if, at any point, they wanted to give up before completing the 20 rounds perfectly, they were free to do so by laying on the floor, with their hands above their heads.

With the side of her eye, she noticed quite a few trainees were already in that position. She was not going to be one of those.

The more people dropped to the floor in surrender, the more driven she was to finish her rounds.

"Eighteen." Bryan counted for her.

He had finished his 20, and he was now giving her the support she needed. Along with the six sequences she had done earlier, she was now doing more than him and she was clearly exhausted.

"Nineteen. Come on, A! You can do this. Come on, girl! Yes! Just like that. Do it with a smile! Show them how it's done. Come on, Angie!" He kept on encouraging her, mostly because he refused to sit and listen to her whine about failing the exercise, for the rest of the day…or the remaining weeks of the Academy.

"I…bloody…hate…this…crappy…exercise…and…ouch…it…hurts…ugh…damn…oh…ah!" She was panting, but that wouldn't prevent her from trying to be smart about it.

"Twenty! Yes, Hunter. YES!" Bryan cheered, clapping his hands.

"Yo, you're not at the stadium. What's with the yelling?" Another trainee tried to get him to calm down and stop yelling, but Bryan was not a push over.

"Shut up." He simply replied before he continued to cheer for Angie.

The trainer was looking at Angie with confusion. She seemed so tiny. Yes, she was tall, but her frame was slim and she looked cute. The girl came to training with a purple bow and mascara. He never expected her to even finish half the rounds, not to mention finishing six before having to start over and doing twenty more. And she did, indeed, finish it with a smile. No matter the pain, Angela would always put a smile on her face.

"That was grea-…" The trainer started to talk to her before he saw a sign that Dan was giving him from the sidelines.

"That was pretty bad. Chicken legs don't cut it here in the Academy. You looked like a frog, suffering while jumping around in the draught. You have no strength in your arms, you have no discipline and if only you knew how to squat, as well as you know how to run your mouth and complain, that would only work in your favor. What's your name?" The trainer yelled at her, expecting her to start crying, like a baby.

Angie kept her cool and nodded at him, taking in all of his harsh criticism.

"Trainee Angela Hunter, Sir." She introduced herself. "Thank you for your feedback. I will surely work on, uhm, everything." She found the strength to scrape herself off the floor and to walk away, because there was something else she needed to do. Urgently.

She stopped by a trash can, on the side of the running track. She sat on the floor, pushed her legs apart and put the trash can between them. As soon as her face neared the little container, she was sick, trying not to get her clothes dirty.

Bryan took a step towards where Angie had wandered off to, after he saw her throwing up, but the trainer told him to stay, so he had to oblige.

Angie walked back to the trainees, thinking this was the end of fitness training for the day, but she was wrong.

The man divided them into two large groups. One group got sent away for the day, while the other one had to stay.

"Two mile hurdle run. On your marks, get set…" The trainer pointed at a Start line near them and heard a whole bunch of them sigh out of desperation.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I wearing you out? Or are you simply at the wrong place?" He said harshly, looking at the whole bunch of trainees.

"Go!" He yelled, pushing his chronometer and smirking. He knew exactly how hard this was, but the point was not to have them finish everything with excellent scores, but to see which ones would give up and which ones would push even harder.

"SWAT seems like a walk in the park, compared to this." Bryan commented when they started running.

"So does cheerleading. Although, I'm sure both of those could not be any more different from each other." Angie laughed, jumping over her first hurdle and feeling what was left in her stomach, starting to rise again.

They kept a slow pace, letting the other trainees sprint ahead, only to find them a mile later, dropped to the floor, in surrender. Each time Angie had to jump over a trainee's body, on her way to the finish line, it gave her a boost of energy. It felt like one of those stupid video games where the main character would jump over things and get points and rewards. Thinking of it as a game was much more fun. She started making a sound each time she jumped over something and, at some point, she forgot about the sickness she was feeling and she seemed to actually be enjoying herself.

"Okay, Super Mario. You are officially the weirdest chick I know." Bryan commented when he kept on hearing her make those adventure game-like sounds.

"Thanks, bro!" She called out, making another sound as she jumped over another trainee who had just dropped to the ground.

"I am going to eat a whole cow once I'm done with this crap! Raw, even. I'll have it with sriracha and I'll love every second of it!" She stated, feeling a hunger she had never felt before.

"And to think that when we met I thought you were vegan…" Bryan laughed whole heartedly.

"Eww, don't insult me! I eat everything." She laughed. Angie didn't judge anyone, but she was a huge fan of eggs and milk, cheese and all sorts of animal-based products. She did not like steak too much, but she loved burgers and chicken fillet, fish and chips dipped in cheese. Yum.

"I'm about to pass out, though." She added, feeling too tired to continue.

"Don't you freaking dare give up, Hunter, or I will destroy your bow collection! I will throw them one by one, in the fire, and let you watch them burn, while you're bound and gagged to the wall!" He threatened her. She was a weird girl, it took a weird threat in order to be able get to her.

"Oh, no!" She took a sharp breath and, if she wasn't sure she could finish this run for herself, she sure as Hell was sure she would do it for the bows!

An hour later, they were sitting on the ground, happy to have finished the race after all. They hadn't been quick, but they had not given up either. Only a bunch of Trainees had actually reached that Finish line and Angie and Bryan were two of them.

"Yo, Hunter, you look like you're about to vomit again!" Some dude joked with her and his words made other guys laugh out loud.

"Baby!" Someone called out, pointing at her.

"Yup, I'm a baby who vomits. But also, a baby who just finished her physical training assignment. Both of them, actually. So, I'm a cool baby, you see?" She smirked, turning their bullying into a joke and also insulting them passive-aggressively, since none of those guys had finished either of the assignments during class.