Control (Avengers Fan Fiction)

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"Come on, Scarlett! You're holding back!"

Takahashi watched Scarlett's sparring session with a fellow agent from afar. Since she was brought back to the facility in Tokyo, Scarlett had been suspended from any and all field-related missions until she could prove she was ready to go back into the field. It was a punishment she knew wouldn't usually be given to her because she was always every superior's favorite. Takashi didn't like her attitude and wanted to teach her a lesson.

"You're holding the handle too close to the blade."

"I know how to hold a knife!" Scarlett spat. She was dodging and blocking attempted blows to her chest and torso. The agent working with her was wielding two knives while Scarlett had one.

"Only bad leaders are unable to control their agents, Reo."

Takahashi turned to the source the voice came from. Alexander Pierce was standing by the doorway of the training room with a dozen agents behind him.

"Mr. Pierce, sir." Takahashi straightened his posture at the sight of the elder leader of HYDRA. "I wasn't informed that you would be coming today."

"It was a last minute decision. I've heard from a handful of agents that Scarlett continues to give you difficulty and undermine you—even in your position of power." Pierce moved towards Takahashi with his hands stuffed into his pockets.

"I'm working on it, sir. She's been suspended and has training sessions every day for eleven hours."

"She will kill that agent with his own knife." Pierce stated matter-of-factly. "She's trained for knife fights since she was a child, long before Agent Morris ever thought of picking one up."

"Agent Morris is the best trainer we have, sir."

Pierce hummed, turning to face Scarlett. She was across the room, still sparring a seemingly never ending fight with Agent Morris.

"She is one of my most trusted and efficient agents, Reo. In the last three years, we've lost many good agents. Great leaders deserve the respect of their agents, but they have to earn it. You might have been given this position but you have to prove to her that you are a leader worth dying for."

Pierce took a second to watch Scarlett pin Agent Morris to the mat with one knee on the center of his back and his arm pulled back.

"She knows a good leader when she sees one."

"I have done all I can to reprimand her, sir, everything short of potentially killing her. Agent Rumlow—,"

"Agent Rumlow agrees that you aren't delivering to HYDRA." Pierce raised his brows as he looked back to the HYDRA leader. "You can beat her like a dog, Reo, and she will still be defiant because of your lack in leadership skills. More agents have died in the past three months under your control than I lost in two decades. We aren't multiplying fast enough for you to be wasting away valuable resources like that." He paused to look back to Scarlett. She was now on her feet and fighting Agent Morris again. "If it weren't for her background, she would be the best leader we've ever seen."

Takahashi was silent, his eyes glaring coldly at Scarlett. He envied the adoration everyone seemed to have for the monster of a woman.

"She is not loyal to HYDRA anymore, sir."

Pierce ignored Takahashi for a few seconds and instead, focused on the fight. Agent Morris was trying to get her riled up. She was losing her patience with him and growing angry. He continued to yell at her in an attempt to make her fight harder. Little did he know that she was purposefully holding back. She was trying not to kill him.