salute [h.s]

only a masters degree but whatever

He scanned the room, looking at the faces of the few agents that were still kicking around and the one that was working night shift tonight. "Please don't be looking for me," Piper groaned under her breath. But of course, the man's face lit up the moment he laid eyes on Piper. "Fuck," she muttered under her breath, forcing herself to sit up straight and smile as the agent approached.

She shouldn't have been surprised that he greeted Harry first with a degree of surprise that she found offensive, as if he couldn't fathom what Harry would be doing in T branch. "Agent Styles," he called brightly, giving Harry a strange little bow.

"Agent Christoff," Harry said with a respectful nod.

Having gotten the important pleasantries out of the way, C's assistant turned to Piper with a sort of haggard expression. "Agent Stone, so glad you're still here." Nope, this seemed all wrong. This seemed like she was about to be asked to do something she didn't want to do. "You have a degree in engineering, don't you?"

"Um, yes."

"Does that happen to include any training in electrical engineering?"

Only a Masters degree but whatever. "Sure."

C's assistant sagged down a bit, relieved by this news. That only set Piper on edge more. "Good, good," he said as his frown turned up into a grin. A sly grin. Nope, she definitely didn't like this. "Then I have a job for you. It is of utmost importance," he added when he saw the rejection primed on her face, "and is essential to national security."

Great. How the fuck was she supposed to say no to that? "Alright, what is it that I have to do?"

*

"This was not what I was picturing when they said they needed a minor electrical problem fixed."

Piper was currently hanging by a harness from the side of Buckingham Palace — you heard that right, fucking Buckingham Palace — attempting to fix the Christmas light display on the building. The image was of snowflakes on a pink background and it was projected onto the front of the building. The problem, it seemed judging by Piper's cursory examination, was an error in the fuse box that was shorting the whole demonstration. Somehow she'd found herself hanging off the side of the building, her thighs aching from the stupid harness keeping her airborne.

"It'll make a great story," Harry called down to her. When she sent a withering glare in his direction, he gave her an innocent shrug. "How many people can say that they repelled down the face of Buckingham Palace to save Christmas?"

That actually made Piper smile and even though she was sort of petrified that she was hanging from a building by a glorified piece of string, she had to admit that this was a once in a lifetime experience. As in, she never wanted to do this again so this was going to be a once in a lifetime event. She certainly wasn't tired anymore.

She flipped open the fuse box on the wall and surveyed what she was working with. She flipped some switches back and forth to see if anything on the box was still working. When all the surveillance lights around the building went out, she figured that it was just the Christmas display not working. She flipped the switch back on before someone from the Queen's personal guard took her out for fucking with the lights.

"Shit," she muttered to herself, "I'm going to have to take this whole fucking thing apart."

"What was that, petal?" Harry called from above, his body hovering over the top of the building, his hands curving around the edge of the roof. He didn't seem phased at all by the fact that one slip and he would be tumbling right off the edge. Of course, he was harnessed in as well, his rope attached to a heavy metal loop on the roof just like hers was but he'd probably crack his skull hitting the side of the building if he did fall. She thought he could afford to look a little more concerned. As usual, he looked completely unruffled. Mr. Suave.