Sarah's POV
When my alarm went off at 5 am, I laid there for a minute gathering my thoughts. I was supposed to meet Kate in a half hour for our run so I threw off the covers and got out of bed, the wooden floor cold beneath my feet. I went to the bathroom to pull my long, curly auburn hair back into a tight ponytail and found a headband to help keep the fuzzies from popping out everywhere.
After quickly brushing my teeth, I changed into running clothes, keeping it simple - shorts and a tank top. It was quite warm already this morning, which meant it was going to be a miserably hot day. I laced up my favorite running shoes and glanced out the peephole to see if Kate was outside already; she seemed like a morning person.
I could hear Steve moving around already on the other side of my bedroom wall; I guess he was an early riser, too. I'd found myself wondering about him at odd times yesterday and regretted that I hadn't the courage to ask him to go get coffee together sometime. I was sure that I'd have another chance eventually, though, so I looked forward to our next meeting.
I checked my phone; I still had 10 minutes so I scrolled through Instagram to catch up on what my friends had been up to recently until I heard a quiet knock on my door. I jumped up to see Kate in track shorts and a formfitting racer back tank top.
"Hey, do I need pepper spray or is it pretty safe around here?" I asked as I tucked my phone and keys into my flip belt; I hated things weighing down my pockets and hitting me when I ran. The blond didn't look like she had anything other than her phone or keys in her wrist bag.
"No, the route I take is pretty well traveled and there are always officers in the park."
"Good to know."
As we headed out the door, I made sure to look before I went past Steve's door. We kept quiet as we went down the stairs since it was so early and I didn't want to wake anyone up with our chatter.
I made sure to keep to Kate's pace when we got outside, a quick jog that still allowed for conversation. While she was in fairly good shape, not everyone ran like I preferred to - all out for a minimum of 10 miles - and as a Shield agent, I was trained to blend in, so no showing off - at least, not yet.
"So did you get all your stuff moved in?"
"Yeah, didn't take very long. It's nice that all of the big furniture was provided in my lease. Made things a lot easier. I think it took longer to convince my folks that I'll be fine than anything else!"
Kate laughed. "Must be your first place, then?"
"Yeah. Just graduated last week, so I figured it was time. This place is pretty close to work, though, so that's a plus. Where do you work at?"
"I'm a nurse at the VA hospital, so I usually work 12 hour shifts and rotate through the different wards."
"Sounds rewarding."
"Yeah, it is."
"Oh, did I tell you I met my other neighbor yesterday?" I said as we turned onto another road.
"No." She glanced at me, with a grin. "Jake or Steve?"
"Steve."
"Handsome, isn't he? I could look at him all day."
"Uh-huh. Definitely. Who's Jake?"
"No changing the subject! So what did you think of Steve and where'd you meet him?"
"Well, I tripped over him in the hall - like actually tripped over him."
"Oh no! Were you okay?"
"Yeah, I was fine, just a little embarrassed. I can't believe I was sooo clumsy! He showed me where the exercise room in the basement was; I didn't even know we had one in the building."
"Huh - Mr. Jones forgot to tell you about it, I guess. Steve is really nice; I hardly ever see him. I don't think he's seeing anyone. Come to think of it, I never see him have friends over or anything. You should invite him to do something with you. He hasn't been living here very long, so he might not know anyone in town outside work."
"I might do that then, once I get settled in and get used to my schedule."
We turned another corner and came up the path to the park. It was well laid out and the paths were wide and well lit even though there were a lot of trees. As Kate had said, it was a pretty busy park, even at 5:45 in the morning.
"Do you know where he works?"
"No, I don't think I've ever asked. I think you've talked to him more than I have already."
"Oh." I thought about that. He didn't seem like an antisocial person, maybe he just worked a lot...and worked out a lot, based on his build. "So who's Jake? He must be in the other apartment on our floor?"
"Yeah. He's pretty cute, too. He's got a girlfriend already and she does not like me!" Her eyes rolled and she grimaced.
"What's he look like?"
"Blond, green eyes, tall – like 6'5 at least, ripped. We definitely have all the pretty people on our floor."
"So I'm the only brunette? Nice. I'll have to watch for him then. What's he do?"
"Security for some bigwig. He's usually wearing a suit when I see him." I considered that. Sounds like he was an active agent then. I still wasn't sure where Kate fit in, unless her parents were Shield or she really was a nurse at the Triskelion.
We reached the end of the park path and turned to take the other path back. We picked up the pace a bit and just enjoyed the morning for a while as we followed the winding path.
"What time do you have to work today?" I asked as we reached the end of the park and headed back to our building.
"Eight this week. You?"
I checked my watch – 6:30 already.
"Eight. I have orientation this week."
"So where do you work? I'm guessing you just started."
"I'm doing IT for a big tech company. I love computers." My cover was pretty close to the truth, but I knew I wasn't supposed to mention Shield unless I knew they were also Shield.
"I'll keep that in mind for the next time my laptop acts up. I usually have to call one of my coworkers to fix it when it crashes."
"Sure. I should get your number anyways so I don't have to stalk the halls to see if you wanted to go running with me." I giggled at the thought.
"Yeah. I don't have yours either." Kate grinned as we slowed down to walk the last block. We traded phones to put in our contact info. Kate laughed at the selfie I added for my profile picture. I handed back her phone and snapped a head shot of her for her profile.
We made our way back up to our floor and we heard more people up and moving around. I let myself in and put the coffee on while I went to get in the shower. It wasn't a bad run, but I'd hardly worked up a sweat. Kate, on the other hand, was dripping by the time we finished.
I got ready for work, ate breakfast, checked my email, and put on jeans and a t-shirt. I was supposed to have uniforms waiting for me at work today; Maria Hill, my supervisor, said they should be ready. Ops had forwarded on my measurements and I just had to try them on to make sure they would work. I gave myself plenty of time to get there since I wasn't sure how bad the traffic would be and I had only been at the Triskelion one other time to do the normal start-a-job paperwork, meet my supervisor, and to get my badge and key-cards made.
I pulled up to the security checkpoint for the guard to scan my badge. He waved me through and I drove over the parking garage and found a spot. Following the signs to the elevator, I got in and told it where I wanted to go. It was a smart elevator that bio-metrically scanned everyone who entered. If someone didn't have clearance for a floor, the elevator wouldn't stop there. I made my way through the halls to my new work space on the 41st floor.
I found Maria in her office and she took me to the locker room I was assigned to on our floor. My locker was bio-metrically locked, so I touched my finger to the keypad and it popped open. My clothes were mostly normal agent suits as well as a couple of navy blue catsuits for missions. Maria told me to try them all on and she would be back in 15 minutes.
I put on the catsuits first since they were more fitted than my other suits would be. They fit like a glove and I checked myself out in the long mirror. I grinned at my reflection. This was going to be awesome!
Finally, I finished trying things on and was just putting on my jacket when Maria came back. I was to be her personal assistant since her duties had increased exponentially with the initiation of the Avengers. Kevin had personally recommended me for the position, and I had to admit my talents were a good fit. A lot of the agents I went to Ops Academy with started out at the Triskelion before being assigned elsewhere, so I was looking forward to seeing everyone...and meeting the Avengers.
Maria looked me over and smiled. She was a beautiful woman with dark brown hair and gray-blue eyes. Her suit was the same as mine: tailored white shirt, navy slacks and jacket.
"Looks like you're set, Agent Evans. I can't promise that I'll remember to tell you what's going on when you're with me, but I'll try. For the next two weeks you're mostly going to be getting all of your paperwork squared away and meeting various people who you will need to work with sporadically. When you're with me, you'll be observing and figuring out how you will fit in with my duties. Agent Gregg said you know your stuff, and all of your background checks add up. Do you have your earpiece and handgun?"
I nodded and turned my head so she could see it in my left ear. I pulled my M&P 9mm Shield standard issue gun out of its side holster and handed it over to her to inspect it.
"Good." She handed it back to me. I shut my locker and followed her out the door.
"I'm having one of my trusted Agents show you around today. You'll be meeting her in the lobby by the Shield statue. I would take you there, but I need to get a couple things done before this next meeting."
"It's fine, Agent Hill. I saw it on my way in this morning. When should I check in with you?"
"At the end of the day around 1600 is fine. I don't anticipate you being done before then."
"Okay. See you this afternoon."
I turned and walked back to the elevator. Taking it down to the lobby, I made my way to the statue. I didn't have long to wait before a familiar blond came up to me.
"Sarah? I didn't know you were Shield!"
"Kate!" I gave her a huge smile, happy to know someone here already. "I didn't know you were either. I hadn't had time to check up on anyone on our floor yet, so I gave you my cover story instead."
"Completely fine with me – I hadn't put two and two together yet. I knew Maria's PA was supposed to start this week but I wasn't expecting it to be you."
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Good. We are definitely outnumbered around here." She gestured at the sea of people around us and it was predominantly male, just like Academy. "Shall we get started? It's going to be a long day."
"Lead on. I still can't believe how huge this place is."
Our first real stop was at IT. I needed to do a skills assessment, spend some time getting my clearances taken care of, and finishing any paperwork they had. Kate took me right to the IT director, apparently at Maria's direction. He told her to come back in two hours and I tapped my phone pocket to indicate I would text her if we finished sooner.
Agent Thurston was prepared for me and had a good idea of what I could do per my Ops files, so he gave me a tablet with a Bluetooth keyboard that was linked into the display screen in his office and had me run through several programs, all ones I was already familiar with from Academy. He knew his stuff, though, and we progressed through more complicated programs and scenarios until we exhausted his repertoire. I then showed off a little by hacking into Stark Industries' private server.
I laughed when he told me he was glad I was on Shield's side. All of our playing had taken a little over two hours, so Kate was waiting for me in the main office, chatting with one of the techs. Agent Thurston shook my hand and sent us to a specific office to get my clearances taken care of.
I was issued Level 7 across the board, the same as Kate. Given who I was supposed to be working with, 7 was the bare minimum, although it was higher than Tony Stark and Thor.
By the time we got that all finished it was almost noon, so we took a lunch break in the cafeteria where Kate introduced me to some of the people I was going to be working with around the Triskelion when we were there. Part of my job meant that I would be going wherever Maria went or sent me, and I knew she wasn't always in DC.
After lunch, we went down to get my weapons all squared away. The man in charge, Agent Tripp, greeted Kate brusquely and looked me over. He looked like an ex-Seal, like most of the STRIKE teams. A no nonsense kind of guy, he knew my M&P 9mm was compliant, having already checked it out. My other personal weapons, such as my various knives and short swords had all been scanned and registered in the system so if they were lost they could be routed back to me. He insisted on a skills demonstration, probably because of my youthful, nonthreatening appearance and the eclectic nature of my personal weapons.
I passed his shooting test with flying colors, earning a raised eyebrow from him. I then took off my jacket for the knife throwing demonstration he then had me do. I might have showed off just a little, because he set me a harder test with my short swords against him. I toed off my shoes and socks, choosing to go barefoot for this one. I checked my range of motion in my suit and was pleased at how well it allowed for fighting. It wasn't as good as my catsuit, but it would do for today.
We had a pleasant match, with him winning only because I tore a couple seams maneuvering. Agent Tripp gruffly approved of me and invited me back anytime for a workout. I told him I would take him up on that and come properly attired next time, which made him laugh.
We had to go back up to 41st after I put my shoes and socks back on so I could change my suit, much to Kate's amusement.
"I haven't ever heard Tripp laugh, Sarah. Ever!"
"What can I say? People tend to like me when they get to know me...or work out with me."
After I changed, we spent the next hour going around the floors below mine and Kate pointed out the various departments, taking me to meet their supervisors whenever they were free. Most of the time, we didn't have to wait very long after giving our names to the gatekeepers and secretaries, which was nice. A lot of people were quite curious about who Maria Hill would allow to work with her teams and I think I left good impressions with most of them. As I figured, my relative lack of age was an anomaly. Most of the people in positions of power at the Triskelion, with the exception of Communications and IT, were old enough to be my parents, at the very least.
At 1600, we headed upstairs to Maria's office by stairway so I could learn where those were. Kate left me at the 40th floor and said she'd meet me tomorrow in the same place. She said she had some things to finish by the end of the day. I thought it seemed like she was trying to avoid my floor whenever possible. I wasn't sure if that was protocol or for personal reasons. For the most part, only the Avengers and their support staff were on the 41st floor in this third of the building.
Maria was in her office when I got there and visited with me briefly before dismissing me for the day. Tomorrow would be more of the same, so I went to change and head home. The drive home took a little longer due to hitting some rush hour traffic before I turned off the main route.
I didn't see Kate or Steve when I got back to my apartment, so I made supper and spent some time unpacking a couple more of my boxes. I had about half of them done already, but it took a while to find places for everything. It wasn't like at home where I knew where everything went. My mom called while I was unpacking and I told her how my day went. I think she was a little disappointed I hadn't met the Avengers yet, but she was glad I had made a new friend in Kate. Mom put my dad on after that and I told him about my weapons test and made him feel better about leaving his little girl all alone in the big city.
The next couple days passed in a blur; I got in some good workouts at the huge gym at the Triskelion each morning before showering and tagging along behind Kate for more meet and greets. Kate dragged me everywhere until I was convinced I had met pretty much every high ranking person in the Triskillion. The way that they all talked to me was respectful and courteous. I got the impression that I would be working with some of them a lot more than I initially thought I would; it didn't sound like Maria enjoyed the tedious meetings a person in her position had to attend.
I had a couple more assessments with different departments, including a driving test, where I ran a simulation while driving a motorcycle, an automatic transmission, a manual transmission pickup, a semi-truck, a helicopter and a small fixed wing plane. I passed them all tolerably well considering I didn't have much experience with semi's or flying small aircraft. Maria said that eventually someone would be giving me lessons on how to fly the Quinjet, which had the capability of working as a hovercraft or fixed wing plane interchangeably, and had cloaking capabilities since my team preferred them for most missions.
My favorite assessment so far was the language one. I had spent about half of the day on Thursday at Communications going through verbal simulations with native language speakers for all 10 of the languages I spoke fairly fluently. According to my report, I passed them all with flying colors. Word-wise I could fit in as a native language speaker of French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, American Sign Language, and Russian. Temperament-wise, I wasn't quite as docile as a woman from the Mandarin and Arabic-speaking countries would be, but no one was perfect.
The Communications Supervisor, Agent Larson, I got along with quite well. He was an attractive black haired blue-eyed man in his thirties, slightly taller than me and well built. He spoke with a well modulated baritone with a light French accent, which was pleasant to listen to. He asked me on a date after we finished my assessment, which I hedged on, saying I wasn't sure what my duties were going to be yet, but agreed to meet him for coffee Friday morning at 7:30, before work.
I went in early for my morning workout so I would be done in time to meet Eric for coffee. He insisted on getting mine for me and we spent a little bit of time visiting and getting to know each other. I liked him fine, but I wasn't really interested in him - he was a little too old for me. I managed to work my age into the conversation and he was slightly dismayed at my youth, apparently thinking that I was older than I was. We parted amicably and I went up to my floor to meet with Maria to start the day.
"How was your date?" Maria asked with a grin when I came into her office.
I shrugged and smiled. "He was nice, but he's 34 - way too old for me!"
Maria laughed. "He's been trying to get me to agree to a date for as long as he's worked here."
"That explains a few things. You're in luck, though. I didn't make any plans for you, but if you want, I can arrange a date for you?"
"Good God, no! Kate's with you for today to go over a couple more things and you're free to go whenever you get done. I'm leaving for the helicarrier in a little bit, so text me if you need anything and I'll see you Monday, Sarah."
"Sounds good. You're sure you don't want me to come along with you?"
"I'm sure. This meeting is above your clearance level, so you couldn't attend anyways."
"All right. Have a good weekend, Maria."