Chapter Four

The next morning (at 6am sharp), I was standing in the main hall waiting to meet my guide. I had just woken up twenty minutes ago, thrown on my SHIELD uniform and put my hair in a ponytail before stumbling down to the main hall. The uniforms meant I didn't have to worry about picking out an outfit, which meant I got a little more sleep, but I was still exhausted. I felt like some kind of sleep deprived zombie as I tried to stay standing.

After waiting for another few minutes (apparently guides weren't expected to be here at 6am sharp), Grant Ward, the agent I'd run into yesterday, walked in.

You have got to be kidding me, I thought. Maybe I'd get lucky and he was just here for some meeting or something. This was the main hall, after all.

No such luck. He walked straight up to me.

"Samantha Slater?" he asked, like we hadn't just met yesterday.

"Yeah and Grant Ward?"

"Yes." He paused, going through his papers without looking at me. I felt confident he was doing it as a dramatic pause. "Have you memorized your map yet?"

"Yup." I grinned broadly, feeling proud at the surprised look on his face. It was only there for a second, but it was there.

"Well, you might be ahead of a few others, but it won't last past today. You're going to shadow me for the next week and then you'll officially be a student in the hardest SHIELD academy, Operations."

"Sounds good," I replied with a smile. Although Agent Ward seemed a little rough around the edges, I wanted to make friends with him. After all, I was going to be spending the next week with him. If we couldn't have friendly conversations it would just be awkward.

"Follow me," he ordered and began walking out of the main hall.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Training."

"What kind of training?"

"Physical training."

"Like running or lifting or what?"

"Running."

"How far?"

"Five miles."

"Five miles? Are you kidding me!"

"Look," started Ward, stopping and turning to face me. "Five miles is nothing. I normally go on fifteen mile runs to start my day because when you're running for your life? Endurance matters. And you're supposed to be shadowing me. Shadows can't talk."

"Woah, sorry for trying to be friendly."

"Specialists aren't supposed to be friendly. We get in, get the job done, and get out."

"Well then Mr. Lone Wolf, it's a good thing you got paired with me. Just because you're a specialist in your job doesn't mean you have to live your life that way. Friends make everything funner."

"Funner is not a word," he said, sparing a last glance at me before going back to his speed walking. I noticed he had hesitated before responding, if only briefly, and it gave me hope that this guy was not unbreakable. Besides, you know you've won an argument when the only thing the other person can do is criticize your grammar.

SHIELD uniforms consisted of black cargo pants, a short sleeved t-shirt with a SHIELD logo, and combat boots. That didn't seem like running clothes to me, but whenever I tried to catch up to Ward to ask him about it, he walked faster.

Finally, when I could see that we were heading straight for a trail on the perimeter of the campus, I decided it was now or never.

"Hey Ward!" I called, not bothering to try to catch up to him.

"What?" he barked back over his shoulder, barely even slowing down.

"Aren't we going to change into running clothes first?"

"What do you mean 'running clothes'?" Ward asked. We'd reached the trail now, so he stopped his speed walking and turned to look at me with his hands on his hips.

"You know, clothes people run in. Like tennis shoes. And shorts. And not all black clothes in June."

"Not here. If you want to be a spy, you have to be ready to run for your life, and in those situations you usually don't get time to change into 'running clothes'. Besides, it's early enough that the sun just came up. Wait until exercises in the middle of the day. That's when it gets really difficult."

"Looking forward to it," I said sarcastically. Ward ignored my comment.

"C'mon, sooner we start sooner we're done," he said. I sighed. Unfortunately, he had a point. I started jogging with him around the trail.

"How many laps do we have to do?" I asked.

"One and one-fourth."

"Woah. How big is this place?"

"One square mile area. And talking is only going to make this harder for you. Use your air to run, not ask endless questions."

I scowled at him but he was right. I would need to breath steadily, not sporadically as I spoke. I was a pretty fit person, but I was not prepared for a five mile run.

We made the run in 40 minutes, and I was pretty proud of myself considering that I didn't have much training. Ward kept reminding me that I'd need to be able to run it in at least half an hour in the near future, but I didn't let him rain on my parade. As far as I was concerned, my SHIELD academy training was off to a great start.

"So, what's next?" I asked once I'd cooled down a little. I was keeping my fingers crossed that the answer would be breakfast. I was so tired this morning that I hadn't been hungry, but now that I was more awake, I was starving.

"Breakfast." Yes! "And then tactical classes all morning, followed by physical training and obstacle courses after lunch. Then we part ways for dinner and start over tomorrow at six am sharp."

I decided not to remind him that he hadn't been there "sharp" this morning, in the interest of making peace and friends.

"Sounds good," I said instead. "So, where's the food around here?"

"This way."

I followed Ward to a big cafeteria full of people. It was barely seven in the morning, and yet the whole campus seemed to be buzzing.

"Everybody sure seems awake for seven am," I noted.

"We get an early start here. Everyone is working over time to do their jobs and do them well. You should get used to it."

"I'm getting there, I'm getting there. Remember though, I just came out of high school. Most kids there weren't even awake by second period."

Ward didn't respond. I didn't know else to say, so I just followed him silently through the line for food. I kept quiet for most of the class times and lunch, too. Since Ward was two years ahead of me, I was a little lost in the classes, and he was too busy brooding and taking his own notes to explain any of it to me.

Later a drill sergeant-type person lead a massive group of us in things like jumping jacks, weight lifting, and even more runs. I didn't do as much as everyone else because they'd been working out like this for years while I'd only just started. Still, even on my first day, none of them went easy on me.

Finally, right before dinner, everyone did timed runs through a massive obstacle course. There were ropes to climb, tires to run through, fences to crawl under, and about a dozen other challenges. I was in the last group, and I was the last one to finish, but I'm proud to say I did it, even if it took me a little longer than everyone else.

Afterwards, I was literally dripping with sweat as everyone started heading inside. I found Ward in the crowd and followed him, since that's what I'd been doing all day.

"What are you doing?" he sighed, slumping with exhaustion as he looked at me.

"Shadowing," I responded. Despite just wanting to curl up and take a nap, I mustered a bright tone and smile when I spoke.

"Not anymore. Go shower then go to dinner, we'll start again tomorrow morning."

"Alright, fine. Good night Agent Ward. See you in the morning."

"Yeah, sure." He waved me off and started walking in the opposite direction, trudging along with the rest of his classmates. I just sighed and started heading back to my own dorms.

I had no idea why he was so dead set on being cranky, but whatever his problem was, I was determined to break through it. We had an entire week to spend together, and I was going to use every tactic I could think of to get him to crack at least one smile.

Agent Grant Ward, prepare to meet your match.