Dad's girl

part 1

I was snatched from my daydream as my body bounced while going over a pothole in the road, my head meeting the window with a loud thump that echoed throughout the car.
A grimace formed on my face as I rubbed the side of my head, willing away the dull pain.

"Alright back there, miss America?"

The young man in the front asked as he glanced back at me in the rearview mirror, stifling a smirk at my pain.

Little shit had done that on purpose.

"Fine."

I answered curtly.
I wasn't even American but I kept that to myself.

I swallowed back my discontent for the man.
New recruits- which he obviously was, were always so cocky.

"No bother." He grinned.
"We're here now anyway."

I glanced out of the car window to see a large, imposing and standard military base.
I watched soldiers running around a grassy field in the gloomy and overcast day, covered in mud and soaking wet with miserable expression on their faces.

Of course the moment I had stepped foot out of the plane into Heathrow airport, rain had begun to pour down on the tarmac like a relentless drumbeat of the weather's misery.

The rookie pulled up to the garage of the base, parking the car in one of the spaces and we jumped out.

"Cap'n Price's office is just straight till you get to the cafeteria, then to the left."
He informed me, pointing to a door to my right.

"In a bit, darlin'."
He winked and began to walk away.

I bit my tongue and held back a snide remark and began to walk through the repetitive hallways.
The dim hum of the ventilation system and my echoing footsteps were the only sounds as I made my way to the captains office.

I quickly found the office, and knocked on the door.
A few moments later, a voice called out to me, granting permission to enter.

I took a deep breath, steading myself.
Meeting new people always made me anxious, but I swallowed the lump in my throat and walked in with as much of a confident expression as I could.

Inside the office, the man I assumed to be captain Price looked at me, paperwork strewn over the desk he was sat behind.
He was clean shaven, maybe mid thirties and was wearing a bucket hat.

An ounce of stress washed away as he smiled at me, easing my anxiety.

Sure, I was a special agent in the American Special forces, but meeting new people was always nerve wracking.

"Ah, Sargeant!" He called out.
"I hope your trip here was straightforward, eh?"

"Yes, captain, easy flight. Happy to be here." I answered with a polite smile.

"Fantastic..." Price mumbled, scanning the mountain of paper on his desk.
"Hazel Cruz... hm."

I noticed he had raised my personal file, anxiety peeking.
He glanced up at me with an eyebrow raised before looking back down at the file.
I was smart enough to tell that this was a subtle intimidation tactic to gauge my personality and he had most definitely already memorized my whole file.

This knowledge did nothing to ease me as he continued to read.

"26 years old... youngest female sergeant in American special forces... Very impressive." He stated.

"Thank you, sir." I answered calmly, making an incredibly conscious effort not to fidget with the hem of my clothes.

"Both Laswell and General Shepard have told me you're a good soldier. Hope they're right, hm?" He chucked.

I gave him a polite smile in response.

"Well, think you should meet the rest of 141 now."