Agent Raven of S.H.I.E.L.D. (COMPLETE)

Know Thy Place, Part 2

Drake, one of the new agents on 6-11, slumped down in his seat before buckling in. "Just our luck to get a night mission. I was hoping to sleep in a little bit."

"Not a chance," Kyle informed him. "Not unless you plan on getting shot out there."

He groaned as Smith sat down next to him. Drake had taken Raven's seat on the jet, so he and Smith were next to each other on the seating chart. "Any idea what's so important that we're being deployed at three in the morning?"

Smith's first instinct was to answer yes, he did have a vague idea of what was happening, but he thought better of it. Maybe it was a consequence of hanging out with Raven for too long, but he decided to keep his mouth shut and wait. He just shrugged. "Guess we'll find out in a minute."

"Yeah, right," Drake muttered. "They never tell us about these things."

He made eye contact with Grace, who watched the two of them and seemed to have caught part of the conversation. It hadn't been as bad last week when everyone was too nervous about the White House situation to focus on anything else, but now Smith would have traded him for Raven in a heartbeat, but that wasn't an option right now. Smith was just hoping that she'd put him in his place once she showed up.

Doug climbed up the ramp and looked around at his agents. "Everyone here?"

"Yep," Bryan answered from the front of the jet. "Just waiting for you."

"We got another agent tagging along with us, actually," he announced, and Smith caught a look in his eyes. "This is a bigger mission. We're heading out with two other units, Level 5. That means we're here to set an example. Clear?"

"Yes, sir," the agents responded, and Doug took his seat near the front. As he settled down, Elizabeth, the other sub, asked, "Who's the other agent?"

"You'll see once she gets here."

Smith hid a smirk. He exchanged glances with a few others, and they all seemed to be on the same page. Despite any tension from last week, everyone was looking forward to this particular mission.

Less than a minute later, Smith caught a glimpse of a teenage girl in a black and purple suit jogging toward their jet. "Rise and shine, folks," Raven announced, drawing everyone's attention. "We got work to do."

Blake and Elizabeth stared as Raven settled into the seat opposite Doug, near the front. She held her wrist up and spoke into her communicator. "This is Agent Raven. All units, check in."

"Unit 5-3, standing by."

"Unit 5-7, standing by."

"Unit 6-11, standing by," Doug said, and the jet ramp began to shut.

"All agents on board," Raven announced. "Pilots, we're ready when you are."

"Copy that," one of the pilots acknowledged. "Beginning takeoff procedure."

Drake elbowed Smith in the side. "She's an agent?" he whispered.

"Duh."

"She's a kid!"

"Yeah, and?"

That was clearly not the response he was expecting. Satisfied by his shock, Smith looked forward again. He was starting to get why Raven had enjoyed insulting him so much when they met. It was fun.

A moment later, the engines fired up, and everyone waited for takeoff. The ETA countdown started as soon as the jet was in the air. It was going to take about fifteen minutes to reach the mission site.

"Okay, is no one else going to address the mouse in the room?"

All eyes turned to Drake, and Smith wanted to smack him. Dude, bad idea, he wanted to say. You keep running your mouth, and Raven's going to destroy you. Trust me, I've been there. You're digging yourself a hole.