Take Flight ↬ L. Fitz [1]

Chapter One

The mat on the gymnasium floor was darkened with sweat from where her feet made contact. The fabric of her clothes clung tight to her body, and the blonde hair that had fallen out of her French braid stuck to her neck because of the substance. The muscles in her back and arms burned, and her chest heaved, but her motions didn't stop as she made contact with the punching bag again and again. Over the sound of her closed fists hitting the leather, she could vaguely hear the sound of some old nineties pop song playing throughout the room. Barton had left it on for the sole purpose of getting under Romanoff's skin. Aurora assumed that it had worked, given the huffing sound the spy had made before walking purposefully out of the room, barely sparing her a glance. She hoped Barton had chosen a good hiding spot. The last time he had purposely tried to annoy the spy, he had spent the rest of the day rubbing the lobe of his ear complaining about how 'that had been unnecessary.' The memory pulled a smile to her lips.

Her face dropped back to a neutral expression, however, when the sound of footsteps filled the room. Her eyes quickly darted to the wall-length mirror, and she made contact with the bag again. She swore to herself. The man who had entered the room was wearing a suit and tie. A man in a suit, in Aurora's experience, was never a good sign, and it always spelled bureaucracy. And red tape. Irritation filled her body, and she hit the bag a little harder. Neither of them spoke for a moment, and the song faded to silence.

"Hello Agent Auditore, I'm Agent Coulson." She blinked at him through the mirror in front of her, but her hits didn't slow. Coulson was supposed to be dead; she had read the report, all level 5's had. He had been killed in the Battle of New York, hailed as a hero. But she had also heard Barton rambling in drunken jealousy about Coulson's magical trip to Tahiti, and if dying was what got someone a vacation from S.H.I.E.L.D., then he would have speared himself with alien weaponry years ago. She had caught sight of the deadly look on Romanoff's face and figured it was in her, and Barton's, best interest to keep her mouth shut about this particular piece of information. Not that she had anyone to tell.

"I'll admit, I was hoping for a bigger reaction." His voice sounded friendly enough, and the humor in his voice was probably meant to make him seem less threatening. She hit the bag again. "Although, Romanoff didn't really react either, so I should've expected something similar from 'The Angel.'"

"Don't call me that," Aurora's voice was soft but sharp, and her words must have amused the agent because he smiled brightly.

"I'm pulling together a team. I, and the higher-ups, think you would be a beneficial member." She stopped mid-punch and let out a breath. Resting her open palms against the bag to slow its swaying, she pulled her eyes from the mirror and turned her body to face him. Her eyebrows raised in question.

"We need someone like you," he said. "Someone to make the hard choices."

"You need someone to pull the trigger." Agent Coulson winced slightly at the matter of fact tone that laced her voice.

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"No."

"Agent Auditore, I'm afraid you don't have a choice." She took a step forward in his direction and was pleasantly surprised when he didn't flinch. 

"I don't do teams."

"Yes, your history has made that clear. However, this decision comes from the Director himself. He believes that it would be in everybody's best interest for you to join." Her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides as she let out a breath. So, the Director wanted to give her a new babysitter? Fantastic. Running her tongue on the back of her teeth, she nodded.

"Awesome. I'll send the directions to your phone. Wheels up in three days." With that, Agent Coulson gave her a friendly smile, turned, and walked out of the room. Her eyes followed him, and it was only when she could no longer hear his footsteps against the cold linoleum floor of the hallway, that she pivoted on her heel and hit the leather bag with all her strength. Her fist ached as the thud reverberated through the empty room.