Alex shoved open the door to the room where a powerfully built twenty-something sat, tipping the chair back slightly and looking completely at ease. Her artificial arm slammed into the steel table hard enough to dent it, but he was nonplussed by the show of force.
"What exactly happened out there?" She demanded.
He smirked. "My report not thorough enough?"
"You are exactly six seconds from breathing through a tube for the rest of your life."
"It's all in the report. Every detail. Corroborated by the logs from my armor and comm. We found the targets in the woods, peppered him at a distance, he came at us. Killed three uniforms before we had an opening, then our armor locked and he got away. You knew that before you entered the room, so I don't know what else you want from me." He said, spreading his hands before resting them back behind his head.
"I want what wasn't there."
Tristan raised his eyebrow. "I've given you everything, Alex."
"No. You haven't." She said, leaning over him and grabbing his shirt. "But you will."
~
Veronica stood behind two agents and watched as the woman from the Vanguard brutally beat the man she'd hijacked the transport from. The assault lasted for nearly five minutes and he was unrecognizable when she backed off him.
"She just killed him. There's no way he recovers from that." Clint muttered. "And they just let her."
Veronica made a noise but didn't respond to his comment directly. "Bring up Corporal Tristan's report and logs."
"Comin' right up." He said, and the screen changed.
"I don't get it, everything's here. Even what he was doing when his armor was disabled. The transport's cam confirms it, too. What was she looking for?" The young woman asked, looking from the large display to her screen.
"She's scared, Rebecca." Veronica said. "And what you're seeing is the manifestation of that fear. It'll only get worse from here."
Clint nodded. "I've seen this before. After the war. Tristan won't be the last."
Rebecca shook her head. "They better reign her in soon."
"Anything they do will only contribute to the problem." Veronica said bluntly. "What's going on with Fuse?"
Clint leaned back in his chair. "Bex is hogging that one."
"Because you spent nearly an hour ogling the nurse." She snapped, turning red.
"I can only tell you I wasn't so many times."
Her eyes rolled. "They pulled him out of the recovery pod this morning, but he's still unconscious. They're worried about possible brain damage."
"He did lose a lot of blood. More than they initially thought." Clint added.
"And Lin?" Veronica asked.
"Refuses to move any further than six feet from him unless it's to use the restroom. There was real talk about sedating her early on, but the doctor shut that down so hard I thought he was going to start hitting people." Clint answered.
"He's always been like that." Veronica muttered dully. "James was the right call, Rebecca."
The younger woman nodded. "Thanks mo-ma'am."
Clint raised an eyebrow to tease his partner, but smiled warmly when she glared at him.
"Keep monitoring things. Let me know if something happens." Veronica said, retreating back to her office.
Once the door was shut, silence descended upon the area as the pair worked.
"'Thanks mom'." Clint muttered with a grin.
A pen hit him in the face as Rebecca glared at her screen, her face bright red. "Such a jerk."
"Just hazing the rookie. That's all." He said, tossing the pen back onto her desk. "But while we're on the topic; Fuse lived with you for a little over a year before HQ pulled him into the program. What was he like?"
"He was three. He acted like a three year old." She snapped. "Besides, he didn't live with me. He was mom's little project."
"That's right, your father divorced her just a few months after Fuse left her custody and you went with him." He said thoughtfully. "Why'd you choose him, then get a job working under your mom eight years later?"
"Is this personal curiosity or professional?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Bit of both." He answered honestly. "Trying to get to know my partner a little better while figuring out why Fuse is so important to your mother."
"Is that important to our assignments?" She picked up the pen and dropped it back in the cup. "Or to get along with me?"
Clint leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds. "No, I guess not."
"Then ask me about anything else if you want to know more about me." She snapped.
He nodded. "I might do that. How about over dinner?"
She sighed in disgust. "Now you're making a pass at me."
"Yeah, kinda." He replied lightly, grinning at her.
She glared at her partner. He was a simple, homely man only four years older than her. Most of what she knew about him, she read in a file when she was assigned to him. So she really didn't know anything about his personal life. But he was friendly, which was something foreign to her given her competitive nature and the conflicts it tended to create. Especially given how cold she acted toward him. But he took his job seriously, which is why he was Veronica's top agent. And if she ever wanted to take that position from him, it'd help to know more about what got him there.
"After work. No changing outfits, seperate cars, public place, no alcohol. Dinner and conversation only." She said curtly.
"Square deal." He said quickly, holding his hand out.
She gave him a withering look and put her attention back on the monitor. He held the hand out for a few more seconds and she saw his grin widen slightly before withdrawing, chuckling to himself.
~
"Alright, Roberts. Wow me." She grumbled as they sat down.
He chuckled, picking up the tablet menu. "You sure?"
"You always seem to know better than everyone else, so let me have it. Show me you're just as good as you act like you are."
"You resent that your mother checked out of your life and you're trying to prove that you matter, mistakenly attributing that sense of worthlessness to her because it makes it easier to have someone to blame. So while your father drank himself to death, you pushed yourself to excel at everything that would ensure you a position within Echelon so that you'd have a chance to confront her about it. But the reason you haven't yet is because you don't feel like she's acknowledged you as someone worth listening to. And if she won't do that, then the validation you're seeking means nothing." Clint said as he scrolled through the menu. "How'd I do?"
She scowled at him, her cheeks burning with embarrassment and anger. "Fuck you."
"Figured that'd be the response." He muttered, then set the tablet down and looked up at her with a sigh. "Look, if the only reason you're at this company is because of some childish bullshit like 'mommy didn't love me enough', then you need to quit right this second. I can't watch your back if I can't trust you, and right now, I don't trust you. Neither does Veronica. The only reason you've made it to the position you're in is because you're an exceptional agent. But the work we handle this close to the top isn't classroom objectivity, it's real, it's heavy, and it'll crush you if you have any weakness at the moment you need to be strong."
"I know that." She spat.
"No, you don't." Clint said coldly. "You're aware of it. But you don't know. And you've been crumbling under the weight of working directly under Veronica since you started. Now we're getting deeper into this business with Fuse and I don't think you can handle it."
"Because she's the picture of objectivity when it comes to him."
"She knows she isn't. But she's at least aware of herself enough to know that. It's why she's only been coordinating this assignment, only getting involved when there's no other choice." He leaned forward. "But Fuse isn't the assignment. The girl is. Keeping her safe is the only objective. Fuse is just the tool that ensures that safety. And not because of his connection to Veronica, but because of his profile."
She glared at the table, but didn't say anything. Clint studied her for nearly a minute before leaning back in his chair and picking up the tablet once more, reading through the menu.
"This dinner is a test." She said quietly. "And to pass, I have to prove that you can trust me."
"That's one way to look at it." He quipped.
"I don't know how to do that."
He nodded absently. "You'll figure it out. Burger?"
She glared at him, then nodded, feeling a burning in her eyes. The training to become an agent was hell. It was their job to break potential agents and the longer you lasted, the higher your chances of becoming one. She was the only one in a class of two hundred that didn't break no matter how hard they pushed. But Clint had done it in less than five minutes armed with nothing but the words written in a file. She sniffed and stared into her lap as he placed their order and slid the tablet back into its dock.
"Tell me about Fuse." He said, his tone softer, but still clinical.
"Mom..." She took a shuddering breath and wiped her face. "Mom wasn't exactly a warm person. But when she brought him home, it was like she'd finally come alive. She didn't live at the office, she cooked dinners... laughed..."
Their waiter arrived with the plates and Clint thanked him, but didn't touch his food, resting his elbows on the table and giving his full attention to Rebecca. "Go on."
"Whatever light she had went out when HQ came by and forced her to surrender custody of him over to them. He'd been earmarked for something called 'the Program'."
"I'm familiar with it. But the details are under lock and key. The only thing we've been able to confirm is that there had been twelve children selected for it and Fuse was the only survivor after Keystone."
Rebecca nodded. "Yeah. Well, when they took him, she shut down for about a month. Barely left her room. Cried constantly. I'd never seen her cry before. Dad tried, but he told me that their marriage had been over since shortly after I was born. They were just too busy to make it official." She sniffed and stared at the burger in front of her. "Then, one day, just like that... She was gone. The paperwork signed and sealed. Dad packed us up and moved us into this small apartment and mom moved up the corporate ladder at Echelon. I visited once, but spent the entire time alone. She hadn't forgotten, she was just too busy. After that, I changed. I wanted to prove to her that I was... worth it."
"And your father?"
She smiled bitterly. "It's as you said. He drank himself to death. But it wasn't because of mom. He had his own demons. Addiction runs in his family. It's why I don't drink or smoke or do much of anything, actually. Just work, then home."
He nodded. "No boyfriends, social groups, anything like that?"
She shook her head. "I know most people find me intolerable. And I never really had the time for it, even if I wanted to. And work is... well, you know how it is."
"I do." He said, picking up his burger and taking a bite.
She picked up a knife, cutting hers in half before picking one of them up and taking a bit. Clint filed this idiosyncrasy in the back of his mind and continued to eat at a leisurely pace while he watched the people around them.
"Can I ask you a question?" She said after a few minutes.
"Of course."
"Why did you decide to work for Echelon? From what I understand, you turned down multiple offers until my mom came to speak with you. After that, you immediately accepted the job."
He nodded. "That's right."
"Why?"
"After the Liberation was over and being written about in the past tense, I was given the choice to stay with the GA or join law enforcement. I chose the latter, as you know. Wanted to be closer to home since my folks were getting up there in age. And, while I had the training and the experience, I knew I wasn't wired for soldiering. Being a cop seemed like a good middle ground. I could make use of what I knew and look out for people that the military usually saw as expendable. Four years ago, Echelon comes knocking on my door. Offers me a great salary, benefits, basically the world. All to sit at a desk and watch people from behind a monitor."
She frowned. "And you turned it down."
"Three times." He said. "See, they didn't want me. They wanted my experience. I was always 'Mister Roberts' or 'Captain Roberts' to them. Then I caught a case. Rough one. Some soldiers that'd been discharged from the GA got it in their heads that they could find a terrorist cell and somehow get back into the military if they took it down."
"Why'd they want back in?"
"People, as much as they deny it, need structure in their lives. That structure gives us purpose. We trick ourselves into thinking that not having structure gives us freedom, but the truth of it is, we just don't like being told what to do. We crave the structure, just not the orders that help maintain it." He said, then sighed. "Anyway, they think they've found the cell and infiltrate the compound, eliminating everyone there. Only the compound was a farm and the terrorists were just a family and their employees."
Rebecca lost her appetite and pushed the plate away from her. "How awful."
"They'd moved north, thinking they'd picked up the trail of the terrorist cell. The GA said that since they were civilians, they wouldn't get involved until an actual military target was hit." He picked up his cup and took a drink. "Six more families were murdered until they arrived in my jurisdiction. I tried to find out what terrorist cell they were after that necessitated the level of violence they were inflicting. It didn't exist. All eight of those men were operating under the same delusion that they were single-handedly dismantling an imaginary army of terrorists. And they were so convinced that when I confronted them, they decided that I was the head of it."
He shook his head and shrugged. "When all was said and done and the GA was done with their inquiries, the three I didn't manage to kill were returned to active duty with their full ranks and privileges. And I pissed and shit into a bag for three months and was summarily discharged from my position in law enforcement."
"Jesus, Clint." Rebecca murmured.
"Yeah, I was angry. Thought about reenlisting specifically to find those three and finish the job. But Veronica came to visit me. I knew she was from Echelon the instant she walked through the door and I told her to fuck off. I wasn't a desk jockey for any amount of money." He smirked. "'Clint, I have more people growing into their chairs than I can count. I want you to do what you were meant to do. Serve and protect.' And that was it. We discussed the particulars, found agreeable middle ground on things and six weeks later, I was working directly under the woman who recruited me. Then, six months ago she partners me with her daughter. We're the only two people in the entire corporation she hand picked."
"I didn't know that."
"She's always had an eye on you. You should talk to her about it sometime."
Rebecca looked down. "Maybe."
"I can't believe you've never been on a date. Even I've been on dates." He said suddenly, his tone changing completely.
She looked up at him, utterly lost. "I-"
"We need to correct this gross oversight. Tomorrow night, you and me, nicer place than this. Same car, no drinks, and dressing to impress is a must." He said, then rapped on the table. "That's that settled."
"I never agreed to that!" She sputtered.
"I'm pullin' rank, Chase. You own a dress, right?"
"N-No?"
His jaw hung open briefly, and he groaned. "Alright, we'll put the dress on my tab. I'll find you a good one. Trust me." He said with a wink.
~
Veronica clicked the monitor off when she heard the elevator door slide open. Clint stepped off and shook his head when he saw her. "When was the last time you left this building, boss?"
"How was your dinner?" She countered pointedly.
He slid his chair out and pressed a button, turning the large screen back on. "About how you predicted. Raw nerves all around. How's your boy?"
"Stable." She said shortly. "Which is more than I can say for the rest of us. HQ's pushing the GA to make a move on the hospital. Alex is on board, but they're hesitant since it's right on their doorstep."
He nodded, watching as Lin adjusted the blanket covering Fuse. "Gonna have a hard time separating those two if we can get them here in one piece."
"One battle at a time."
"I've got a proper date with Rebecca tomorrow evening." He said, tapping the control to pull up multiple camera feeds. "No off the clock work stuff."
"Careful, Roberts. She's still my daughter."
"You should really try telling her that sometime." He muttered, expanding one of the views and watching the corner of an alley intently. "Might do you both some good."
"I'll keep that in mind. What is it?" She asked, leaning over his shoulder.
"I think the feed's been looped. Within the last hour, at most."