The next morning, when I wake up, things feel different. Although General Sanders arrives to wake us at 6 AM sharp as always, and we all complete our usual 5K run, the mood feels odd. The recruits all seem jumpy and jittery. I can't figure out for the life of me what it could be. That is until we all proceed down to the mess hall for breakfast.
As soon as Sarah and I have sat down, breakfast trays in hand, I spot it across the room. A white piece of paper tacked to a usually empty cork board. As I see the rest of the recruits gathering around it and gasping, I know exactly what it is: Our pairings. The people we're going to be working with for the remainder of our time training and at MI6.
As soon as I spot the paper my insides fill with dread. Whatever the outcome is, no matter who I'm paired with, I'll still be screwed. I can't envision myself working with any of the people here. Not one. However, since I don't have a choice, I hope beyond all hope that it's Sarah. We get along well enough, and I guess over time we could even learn to work together. Over a long time, but nonetheless, still possible.
I watch as each and every recruit rises to see, including Sarah, but I maintain my spot at the plastic bench where I eat breakfast. Every time I even try to get up to check the bulletin, a good amount of bile rises in my throat. This pairing- it could mean that I don't even become an agent. That would be unthinkable.
So, once everyone else is out of the mess hall and I'm the only one left, I finally work up the courage to assess the paper. I take a deep breath and walk towards the bulletin in the corner of the room. I wait until the last second to look up at it, and then scan the printed letters carefully.
Sarah & Mac
Victoria & Adam
Liam & Niall
Harry & Rosy
No.
I can't be reading this right.
This can't be right.
There's no way in hell that Harry and I are partners.
But I find no matter how many times I blink or shake my head or rub my eyes, the words on the paper don't change. Harry and I have been paired together. Harry and I are to work together for the remainder of training. Harry and I are supposed to be partners while working for MI6...
This has to be the beginning of the end. Although we completed our mission together last night with surprising ease, the fact that Harry felt the need to start a fight afterwards tells me everything I need to know about whether we're compatible or not: we're definitely not.
And yet, General Sanders believes we are. Of course he does. He's never seen the way that Harry and I argue. He doesn't understand the simple fact that we just don't get along. We don't. And we never will. I despise Harry with all my being, and it's obvious he hates me, too.
I stand still, shocked, only staring at the bulletin for a while with my eyes glazed over. Every scenario I can imagine in my head where Harry and I work together does not end well. So, with a heavy heart I leave the mess hall and proceed to the dorm where I know I'll find Sarah. I need to talk to her.
Maybe if I convince her to switch with me I could take the suggestion to General Sanders and be with Mac instead. Or maybe Mac could be Harry's partner and Sarah and I could be together. I now realize anything would be better than working with Harry, day in and day out, no other choice but to try and get along. It won't work. It won't. I know it won't.
I rush into the dorm and locate Sarah sitting on her own bed, chatting with Mac. They seem to be getting along just fine. I wish it were possible for Harry and I to get along like that. I try to bolt straight for her, but find that a large body darts directly into my path.
I'm faced with a black shirt, and when I look up to match the person's gaze, I'm face to face with Harry.
"Did ya' hear the news?" He questions jubilantly, obviously amused we've been paired together. Is he not worried? Doesn't he understand the disastrous consequences of us being made to be partners? Of course he doesn't. He's never taken training as seriously as I have.
"Go away." I murmur, eager to talk to Sarah and Mac.
"Oh, come on. You can't be mean to me now. We're partners." Harry continues to taunt me. I have no idea why he doesn't feel the all-consuming dread that I do.
Without a word I shove past him, ignoring his teasing. I don't need to feel worse than I already do.
I quickly stride to Sarah's bed and take a seat next to her.
"Hey, guys." I greet both her and Mac, trying to make nice.
"Hey, Rosy. Did ya' see your partner?" Mac questions kindly enough. I huff in frustration.
"Yeah... that's why I'm here. Harry and I don't exactly get along and I was wondering if maybe... well, if maybe one of you'd like to switch?" I nervously question. Both Mac and Sarah seem surprised, and then they're shaking their heads.
"Sorry, Rosy, we're good like this... Anyway, I doubt Sanders will let you change." Sarah says. I feel betrayed, but know I have no one to blame but myself. Or Harry. Or Sanders. This is all because I chose to work with Harry last night to get to Romanoff's suite. But what other choice did I have? All the other recruits ruined themselves before I even had time to make contact.
"Are you sure?" I try one more time, desperate. I see sympathy clear in both their eyes, but no understanding.
"Sorry..." Mac repeats. I sigh in disappointment and retreat to my own bed. This cannot be happening.
Just as I'm about to get up and check the paper in the mess hall one more time, just to be sure, General Sanders is in the dorm with us.
"Recruits! Time for your first exercise with your partner. Get your track suit on and be up on the field in 5 minutes."
Everyone starts to get ready, and I take a deep breath as I prepare to follow the General out of the dorm. I need to talk to him.
Once I catch up and we're far enough away from the other recruits, I start.
"General Sanders, sir?" I begin. He spins around to acknowledge my presence, but doesn't look pleased to be talking to me.
"Yes, Frasier?" He questions briskly.
"Well, I wanted to talk about the pairings that have been made..." I begin. General Sanders stays silent and I take that as my cue to continue. "See, me and Styles really are not compatible and I was wondering if it was possible-"
"-There won't be any switches. You're paired with Styles. That's final." Sander cuts me off abruptly.
"But-"
"That's final! Now get ready." Sanders loses his temper before demanding I get back to the dorm. I suck in a deep breath to calm myself, and only issue a salute before turning around and walking away.
I can't believe this. I'm really stuck with Harry. What the hell am I going to do? I know we're not going to make it through training, not with the way we act towards each other- the way we feel about each other.
I sulk once I reach the dorm and pull on my track suit lazily. I find that for the first time ever, I'm the last out of the dorm. I just can't face Harry up on the field. It's going to be absolute hell working with him.
Once I retreat from the dorm, I find I don't even have time to prepare myself. Harry waits outside the room for me, leaning against the outside wall so I can't see him until I've stepped out.
"Ready to go, partner?" He asks with fake enthusiasm as he matches his stride with mine. I stomp past him, through the common area and gym, up the stairs, and onto the field.
"Cheer up! We're going to do great." He assures me, but his words don't calm me in the slightest. I suspect due to the sarcasm in his tone.
When we reach the field everyone else is already standing in a line before the General. I don't even bother feeling bad for being late. I'm so mad at Sanders right now I feel a little mutinous.
General Sanders doesn't say a word. Once we've all arrived, he begins to walk away from the track and around to the back of the training building. We've never been this way before. There's a gate which blocks off the back part of the garden that surrounds the building. Now, though, the General unlocks the gate and lets us through. As we walk a few feet and round a corner, I find a huge grass meadow before us. However, the ground is not the first thing I notice. Instead, before me stand huge green bushes. I realize upon closer inspection that these bushes twist and turn and form corners in a way that signifies a maze.
"The Queen had this made when she lived here in the late 60's. Since she moved, she hasn't been in need of it, so MI6 found a way to use it for training." The General explains. Everyone nods along and I survey my surroundings curiously. I even forget that Harry, my partner, is next to me for a time.
This maze reminds a little of the one from Harry Potter- from the triwizard tournament. Of course the maze in that movie didn't turn out to be too forgiving. I hope this one is a little easier to navigate.
"There is a prize in the exact middle of the maze. You and your partner will enter from different directions. Your objective is to both reach the middle of the maze first without being shot by an opposing team." Sanders begins to explain. I want to chuckle at the similarity between our objective and Harry Potter's objective in the movie, but contain myself.
I notice the same paintball guns we used at the abandoned building in a pile on the floor.
"You will not have helmets or protective gear this time, so don't shoot anybody in the head. It might knock them out." Sanders explains. I'm astonished at the fact that he actually cares if any of us get knocked out, but don't question it. I really don't want to be shot in the head by one of these guns. Judging from what the last one did to my leg, I can't even imagine what might happen to my skull.
Soon everybody has picked up a gun, and then we're given small in-ears that will allow us to communicate with our partner. I guess that'll be important to reach the middle of the maze at the same time, but I can't imagine Harry and I will have much luck with the whole 'communication' thing.
I watch as Harry trots around the corner of the maze and out of my sight. I'm lead to a separate entrance, and I survey the path in front of me. I have an option to turn left or right.
I switch on my microphone and speaker. I hear Harry's soft breathing in my ear, but try to ignore it.
3 minutes pass, and then a gunshot sounds from behind me- our cue to begin. I jog forward and decide to go left.
"Let me know if you get to the middle, alright?" I whisper, afraid someone from an opposing team will hear me.
"No, I was planning on letting you know when I find the exit, actually." Harry jokes, and I huff in annoyance. Already I feel as though I want to shoot him, and not the other recruits. I don't respond and continue forward.
"Are you in the middle yet?" Harry questions just 3 minutes later.
"What? No! I'm not in the middle." I respond, dumbfounded.
"I thought you would be by now." Harry says and I roll my eyes even though I know he can't see me.
"Why would you think that?"
"Well you're just so good at everything else." He begins to mock me and I want to turn my speaker off.
"Harry, would you please take this seriously."
"How the fuck am I supposed to take this seriously? I feel like I'm in the fucking Goblet of Fire for fuck's sakes." Harry responds, obviously annoyed, but this time not at me. I can't help the giggle that escapes.
"Stop laughing, Rosy. Would you please take this seriously?!" Harry mocks me over the speaker, repeating my own words back to me.
"Shut up!" I exclaim, still whispering, but I have to fight the smirk on my face. I have to admit, sometimes Harry can be amusing, but very rarely.
"It's like you're Hermione- nagging me and all." Harry goes on.
"Hermione's the smartest one out of the lot."
"And the most annoying."
"Who does that make you, then!?" I can't help but play along.
"Harry Potter, obviously."
"More like Voldemort." I scoff, trying to conceal my chuckle.
"With my rugged good looks? No way."
"Keep telling yourself that."
"I'm not even- shit!" I hear Harry curse loudly, and then there's a lot of rustling.
"What's wrong!?" I question frantically, alarmed at his sudden change of tone.
"Someone else is here." He whispers, and for the first time in my life I hear him sound serious. He usually treats everything as a joke.
"Harry, don't get fucking shot." I warn over the microphone. If he goes down my chances at winning this test are gone. I don't hear him respond. Instead, more rustling is transmitted through the speaker in my ear, and then after a few seconds I hear shots being fired. I don't dare talk, scared of distracting Harry. He can't be shot.
Once the bullets have stopped whirring I hear a long sigh in my ear.
"Harry? What happened?" I ask nervously.
"Got the fucker right in the ass." He chuckles. I try not to join him.
"Who?"
"Adam."
"Ok, good..." I attempt to praise Harry, but it comes out sounding a little half-hearted. We stay silent for another 5 minutes. I've moved further into the maze. I attempt to go in just one direction, but find it's difficult. This maze winds and turns in a way that I haven't seen before.
"Where are you?" I hear a voice.
"Um... not sure. I've been going left for a while."
"Ok. I've been going right." Harry tells me. I realize this may work in our favour. After all, his right is my left. We've been heading in the same direction.
"We should find each other and then head to the middle. It'll be better if we get there at the same time." I instruct over my microphone.
"No shit, Sherlock." He exclaims lowly. I sigh.
Instead of dwelling on Harry's incessant rudeness, I try to think of a way to find him in a short amount of time.
"I have a plan." I state.
"Enlighten me."
"Fire a shot into the air. Directly above you. Then I'll know where you are. We can't be that far from each other." I tell him. I hear a scoff.
"Are you crazy? The others will see, too." Harry tells me what I already know.
"Ok, so once you make the shot run as far right as you can. I'll go left. We're bound to run into each other." I tell him. Another sigh sounds out, but not another protest.
"Fuck... fine. Get ready." Harry caves and immediately I look up to the sky. Sure enough, after another 5 seconds I hear a shot come from nearby. A little ahead of me and to my left Harry's bullet rises into the air.
Immediately, I take off in the direction I saw and heard the shot from. A minute passes and I hear Harry breathing hard through the microphone. After another few seconds this breathing is not coming from the microphone, but rather I'm hearing it in real time through my free ear.
I round a corner, then bump into something firm and tall. I'm knocked to the ground, my gun raising instantly, but I find that only Harry stands over me, rubbing his shoulder.
"Ow." He huffs, before walking forward, not bothering to help me up. I scramble after him.
"Where are you going?" I whisper-shout as I run after him, ass sore from taking the brunt of my fall.
"To the middle of the maze." Harry states confidently. My face contorts in disbelief.
"How do you know where the middle of the maze is?"
"I used echolocation from the bullet- I don't fucking know, Rosy! I have a feeling it's this way." He proclaims sarcastically. I roll my eyes and the overwhelming urge to shoot him consumes me once again.
Although I want to protest, I have no better idea of where the middle might be than Harry. We may as well head in this direction for the time being.
So, we move along silently, Harry leading the way as we make turn after turn. I can't see above the tall bushes, and have no idea if we're making progress, but hope we're getting closer. Another 5 minutes we continue on like this, that is until I hear rustling coming from the other side of a bush to our left.
I reach out and grab Harry's sleeve. He turns back angrily, ready to push me off, but he see's the finger that's raised to my lips and instantly he's alert, ready to defend himself.
I point left, through the bush. Someone's on the other side of it. As I hear them walking, and realize that ahead of us lays a corner we can round, I realize maybe, if the other recruit doesn't know of our presence yet, we can pull off an ambush.
I walk very slowly towards the open corner and wave Harry along. I can barely hear the steps he takes against the dewy grass beneath our feet. When we reach the corner I stop and Harry freezes behind me. I hold a clenched fist in the air, signalling for Harry to wait for me, and then inch forward.
As silently as I can manage, I peer around the corner of the bush. Footsteps now louder than ever, I find Liam padding along the path before me. His head is turned away as he strides in the opposite direction. Since he hasn't seen me yet, I take my shot.
I step forward quietly, raise my gun, and pull the trigger. A paintball soars from the barrel of my rifle and connects with the square middle of Liam's back. He cries out in pain and buckles to the ground.
I race forward to keep him quiet and hear Harry follow. Once my hand is clasped over Liam's mouth I take the time to question him.
"Where's your partner?" I ask quietly. I allow Harry to stand and keep guard as my attention focuses on the victim before me. Liam grimaces and then shakes his head. He doesn't want to tell me. I respect his loyalty, but it's not what I need right now.
"Harry." I call. I don't need to say more. I hear the safety on Harry's gun switch off and soon he's pointing the end of his rifle at Liam's head.
"One more time... where's your partner?" I ask. Liam flinches as Harry takes a step forward, and judging from the fear in his eyes I assume he's scared of him. He definitely doesn't question Harry's willingness to shoot him.
So, after looking up at me for a couple seconds, he sighs in defeat and raises his hand. He points straight down the path, and then right. I smile and get up without another word, moving in the direction he told me to.
"Thanks, lad." I hear Harry speak quietly from behind me. I want to scold him for speaking out of turn- there's no point risking another person hearing us- but don't bother. I know I won't get anywhere.
Very carefully, I proceed forward. I reach the right turn I'm supposed to make and walk around it. Instead of finding an empty pathway, a bullet whizzes by my ear, missing my skin by only a few centimetres.
Immediately, I rush back to the cover that the corner of the large bush provides. I bump into Harry and push him back with me.
"What are you-"
"Someone's waiting for us- it was a trap." I explain hastily. Harry goes silent and I strain my ears to listen for Niall- Liam's partner. I can't hear any footsteps. It's impossible to tell if he's getting closer or running away. I need to act fast.
"Listen- he doesn't know that you're here yet. I'm going to run out and down the path, away from him. Wait a few seconds, then cover me." I tell Harry. I see the cogs turning in his head, then he nods. I'm sure he's grateful that he's not the one who has to risk getting hit.
I figure I'll zig zag so Niall can't get a clear shot, giving Harry enough time to take him out.
I take a deep breath, then dart out from behind my cover. I come to reside in the exact middle of the pathway. As I start to run from side to side I hear bullets whizzing around me, just past my head, my leg, my arm.
About 10 seconds pass, I don't know how much longer I can last, and then I hear a shout of pain. The oncoming bullets stop, and I know Harry has succeeded. I turn around and sure enough, Niall lays writhing in pain on the grassy ground.
As I walk forward I observe a colourful splatter of paint in the exact middle of his chest. Harry already stands over him. I don't waste time with Niall, knowing he won't be much use to us.
"Sorry, love." I murmur sarcastically before stepping over his incapacitated body and marching forward. I hear Harry chuckle from behind me.
After our run in with Liam and Niall, Harry and I remain silent. I know that by talking we may possibly give away our position, and I'm in no hurry to do that. Not only do I want to win the test, but I'm also not too keen to be shot with one of these bullets, especially without protection on.
Another 10 minutes pass, but I realize we have no idea where we're going. We could be getting closer to the centre of the maze, but we could also be getting farther. It's simply impossible to tell. So, Harry and I devise a system.
Every couple of minute he stops and gets down on one knee. I climb onto his shoulders, and silently he lifts me into the air. With the added height, I can just see over the tall hedges that enclose us within the maze. I find that the third time Harry lifts me, I see the centre of the maze only a few feet in front of us.
Once Harry has set me down I give him a thumbs up and continue in the direction that will take us to the centre. After a turn to the left, then to the right, then to the left again, the opening to the centre of the maze is before us, and just a few meters away lies a large trophy on a white, marble pedestal.
"Hold on... let's go slowly." I tell Harry, inching along the side of the bush to my right. I'm in no hurry to be surprise attacked. If someone's waiting to ambush us, it'll be easy to get shot by running into the open clearing to grab the trophy.
"What? Let's just go get it!" Harry exclaims, annoyed. Of course he wants to run out into the middle without a care in the world.
"Someone could be waiting."
"No one's waiting." He states before rushing forward. I try to reach out to grab his shirt and stop him, but find he's already too far away. I run after him, but freeze as soon as I get to the edge of the clearing.
I watch dejectedly as Harry runs into the middle, hand outstretched. When he's about 5 feet from the trophy, the worst happens. In the blink of an eye, I hear a shot fired, yellow splatters across the back of Harry's head, and then he's collapsed onto the grass below.
Someone shot him in the head. Someone fucking shot him in the head. They've knocked him out- it's clear he's unconscious as he lays limply on the ground, mere inches from the trophy.
"Shit!" I whisper to myself. What can I do now? If I grab the trophy and bring it to Harry will I still even win? Have Harry and I already been disqualified from the competition? I have no idea, but I have to try.
I look around and realize the shot came from the opening to the left. Without hesitating I inch along the corner of the bush all the way around the edge of the clearing until I come to the left entrance where the bullet which hit Harry was shot from.
I don't even take a second to prepare myself before I turn the corner, raise my gun, and fire. I find that a pink bullet splatters across Sarah's abdomen, sending her sprawling to the ground. There's no time for apologies as I turn and survey the rest of my surroundings.
Instead of being left alone in the middle, I watch as Victoria runs from the opposite entrance and tries to grab the trophy. She steps over Harry's lifeless body, but before she can swipe the prize, my bullet splatters across her neck.
She's knocked onto her back, gasping for air. I don't have time for sympathy as I check to make sure the coast is clear, then sprint for the trophy. I grab it from the pedestal upon which it sits, and then bring the cold metal down to Harry. I rest it on his back and hold it at the same time. Technically, both him and I have reached the centre and collected the prize. But can we win on a technicality?
I standby with bated breath, and after 15 seconds, General Sanders emerges into the centre of the maze.
"Good job, Frasier." He acknowledges, before looking down disapprovingly at Harry. "A team will come to take him to the hospital wing. I recommend you escort him." The General says before turning and firing another shot into the air. The game is over. Harry and I, unbelievably, won.
It only takes 5 minutes for a stretcher to reach us in the middle. They lift Harry, and I'm too afraid to disregard Sander's instructions, so I follow obediently as they remove my partner from the maze. My stupid, stupid partner.
We may have won this challenge, but by a thin margin. Another slip up like Harry's and we'll be done for.