In the Shadows of Legends - A Winter Widow Story

Chapter Two

"Rogers, Stark, Barton, Thorsdottir, Barnes."

One by one we each stepped foreword acknowledging Agent Hill as she called our names. James stood tall, shoulders back at attention, Morgan stood with arms crossed in front of her, while Torrun took a step beside her hands resting on her sword. I followed behind her, hands deep in the pockets of my jacket.

Honestly I wasn't sure why Hill was calling us out, we were the only other people in the conference room. It wasn't like she was calling us out of a line up of the rest of our peers or another assortment of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. At least in those cases it would have made sense but here I felt like we could just skip to the rundown. But sure, why not waste time before getting to the real reason we were meeting?

"You've all read your files I presume?" Hill didn't look up from her tablet as she continued addressing us. Her dark hair was pulled into a tight bun, her uniform neat and perfectly pressed. With just a glance at her it was obvious she took her position seriously. And who could blame her? She had worked hard to get there, she deserved it. "You'll report here tomorrow morning at 0500, we will leave at 0530 with or with out you. If you plan to move up the ranks you will be there. This is a simple mission in and out. No need for overnight bags. This will be your first chance to truly prove yourselves. You won't be in a controlled training sequence. If something goes wrong there will not be an override code to bail you out. You'll need to work together and figure things out if they go wrong. Rogers, you will take the lead this time around."

James was a good choice, rule follower or not he was a nature leader. He could wrangle even the most chaotic of situations. If this whole 'Next Avengers' thing actually worked out he would be a good fit to take charge of the group, whoever they may end up being. Trained and raised to take our parents places or not, if we weren't a good fit for the team it wouldn't make sense to force it.

Torrun, leaned deeper on to her sword, letting it rotate under her weight and swing her from side to side. She was never one to enjoy sitting for a long time. Or a short time. She always wanted jump into action, and wasn't the best when it came to following a plan. But she was on the assignment. I would have to hope she would follow along just this once. If not I had a plan prepared for that too. Couldn't be too prepared. Granted I hadn't shared that plan with anyone else on the team, should I need to I would. But if Torrun found out she would loose trust in me.

"The exchange is set to take place just outside of D.C. in Alexandria. Precise location details can be found in your files. The asset is to be taken in before the exchange occurs. Allowing Hydra to walk away with it could cause many large issues in the near future. Best for all that you do not fail."

Wasn't it best for everyone that we didn't fail any mission? I chuckled slightly but quickly covered it with a sough. Agent Hill narrowed her eyes as she glanced over at me. I got in trouble enough, the last thing I needed was to get in trouble right before my first real mission.

"I'll leave the five of you to discuss further plans. You know where to find me if you need advice." She closed her tablet and held it against her chest as she left the room, her eyes still shooting daggers at me.

Morgan turned to face us, or rather James and Torrun. She let her arms drop to her side and shrugged. "So you think we are actually ready for this?"

James nodded and stepped up to the table, puling back one of the rolling chairs and sinking into it. He tapped on the wood in front of him. He watched the four of us as we each took a seat around the table. Morgan moved her chair closer to James, uncomfortably close. But my opinions didn't matter when it came to the two of them. That was one area I had to hand to Morgan. She wasn't afraid to talk about or act on her feelings. Try as I might. It wasn't something I could do. Maybe it was because I wasn't used to feeling physically so emotionally I wasn't sure the best way to show it. Hugging, kissing, hand holding, the typically stuff couples did? It didn't exactly work for me. Why would some one want to be with one who couldn't actually feel it when they touched?