Chapter Text
When your phone starts to ring five minutes before closing time, you get an uneasy feeling in your chest. One of the ones that makes it hard to breathe, that makes your fingers tingly. That feeling only got worse when you see that the one who was calling was your boss, Kate Laswell. She never called this late, except when it was an emergency. Your’re jumping to get the phone, your voice shaking. “Yes, Boss?”
“Get into my office. You have five minutes.”
That was all before she hung up. You spent two of those five minutes staring at your now darkened display, sweating and paralysed, unable to move even your fingers. What was this about? Your thoughts went rampant, immediately giving you the worst outcomes of whatever this meeting could be about.
She will fire me.
She will punish me.
She will drag me to the backside of this building and shoot me behind the trash cans.
You have been working for Kate Laswell for more than four years at this point and she never, ever sounded like that. She did not sound mean or angry, but she definitely wasn’t happy, either. Could it be possible that she was disappointed? Did you do something wrong?
You are her right hand, not a soldier or a fighter, but not less important for her. As her personal assistant you managed everything from behind the scenes. You were responsible for archiving all kinds of files, especially of the ones that were top secret. You’re recording every single meeting of her, administering blueprints of military bases and operation sites and help wherever you can. She often told you that she would be lost, if you wouldn’t be carrying her head behind her at all times. After some time you finally noticed that this was the highest form of praise you could expect from this woman. Which made it even more weird that she wanted to see you in her office. Nothing important happened today, yet she still sounded tense.
You grab your notepad with shaking hands and go to Laswells office with wavering steps. You’d rather be anywhere else right now. You knock only once before you hear her voice asking you to step inside. When you step through the door, the room is dimly lit. It is already dark outside and you can barely see the last strings of sunlight shining through the big windows. Laswell is sitting behind her desk, her face being illuminated by the laptop sitting in front of her. When she notices you, she smiles. Your fear simmers down to a low rumbling, even though you notice that her smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes.
“You wanted to see me, Ma’am?”
“Yes. Sit down.”
You slowly approach her desk. It feels like stepping up to a scaffold. After you carefully sit down in front of her you reach for your pen but pull your fingers back when you see her shaking her head.
“You won’t be needing that.”
The pen goes back where it originally was sitting and you instead busy your fingers by drumming on the paper.
Laswell is leaning back in her chair, studying her laptop and then you. Her mouth is set in a slight frown. “Do you know what the 141 is, dear?”
That question surprises you. You didn’t have any business with the 141, only met Captain Price at a meeting once. He was nice, even called you sweetheart, which you liked a lot. It made you have a deep blush and a spring in your step for the rest of the week.
“Yes, Ma’am”, you answer. “The Taskforce 141 was founded by Captain John Price. It’s a multi-national special operations task force and counter terrorism military unit.”
Laswell smiles, she seems proud. Proud is good, one doesn’t fire people that one is proud of, right?
“Very good, kid. I didn’t expect anything else from you.” There is a small pause in which you smile at her and wait for more explanations. Kate Laswell was famous for not evading uncomfortable topics, she always got straight to the point. However, now she seemed to be unsure and almost unwilling to talk. She was sorting the few papers on her table for the third time in a row by now. You know that she prefers them to be sorted in alphabetical order and area of responsibility, yet she just put them together chaotically. One of them even had a light tear in it. What was wrong?
“I’m promoting you”, she finally said after giving up on sorting the crumpled pages and putting them aside.
“You’re promoting- Excuse me, what?!”, you stutter, watching her out of big eyes. You expected a lot, but not that.
Laswell sighs, seemingly annoyed, and throws her arms above her head. “I’m promoting you. You’ll be the personal assistant of John Price and you help with organizing the taskforce 141. What do you say?”
You're staring at her with an open mouth. Cold, deep fear settles in the pit of your stomach, making you sick. You’re starting to sweat.The taskforce was stationed on a military base, far off from any town or city. And even if there are a few people that do not earn their money killing, most of them do. A lot of huge, loud and chaotic soldiers. And in the middle of all of them, there was you, small, quiet and- “Forgive me, Ma’am. But why a promotion? Aren’t you ranked higher than Captain Price?”, you ask carefully. This had to be a punishment for something you did wrong.
“That’s true. But if you agree, I’ll pay you triple the amount of what you get now. And an extra bit as a form of hazard bonus. It’ll also look very good on your CV.”
“Triple the amount? Hazard bonus? Ma’am, you know I can’t do that.”
“I know what you’re able to do, kid. And that is by far more than you think. You also thought you wouldn’t be able to work for me, right?”
“Well, yes, but Ma’am, that is a military base. It’s loud, chaotic and all the people… The soldiers. The violence .”
“Kid, you said the exact same things before working for me. And now look at you. You’re one of the best assistants I ever had!”
And there it was, your last straw. “Ma’am, with all respect. If you like me and my work so much, why are you sending me off to Captain Price? I can work even better and faster. I’ll be better. I’ll even work overtime!”
Laswell sighs, deep and long. “Honey, I’m not punishing you with this. On the contrary, I think this will be a great chance for you, for your personal development. I’ll give you to Price because he needs you. The man is lost without you. 141 is sinking into chaos. Those boys know how to fight the most dangerous people on this planet, but they don’t know shit about administration or office work. They need help. And because I cherish you and think you are an amazing addition to the team, I’ll give them your help.”
Now it was your turn to sigh. “Can I think about it?”
“You have one night. I need your decision tomorrow morning.”
-
After you left the office, Laswell takes her telephone and quickly dials a mobile number. It rings two times before she hears Price’s voice.
“What can I do for you?”
“I’ve asked my assistant. She’ll think about it. However, if she says yes, I need you to promise me something.”
Price sounds relieved at the other end of the line. “That is great. What do I have to know?”
Laswell takes a deep breath. “The girl is highly sensitive.”
There was silence, only breathing.
“You hear me, John? She’ll have a rough start, but she’s worth the effort. She works like a madwoman. I’ve never seen such focus, she remembers details from months ago. The kid has got huge potential. All she needs is a bit of understanding.”
Laswell hears a clinking sound on the other end. Ice cubes in a glas. Followed by the sound of running liquid, probably scotch.
“What do you mean by highly sensitive?”, asks Price.
“She’s got problems with crowds of people and high volume. Violence scares and unsettles her, even if she is not directly part of it. She cries easily. She falls deeply after experiencing an intense situation and she needs help and time getting out of that state.”
“Laswell, this is a military base-”
“I wasn’t done”, interrupts Laswell. “She perceives sounds, scents and emotional fluctuations more quickly and intensely than others. Positive emotions are also perceived more strongly. She has got an enormously high emotional intelligence and it’s easy for her to find friends. When there is a critical situation or stress she reacts clear headed and solution-oriented.”
Again nothing but silence. Then: “How can we help her?”
Laswell smiles, she's got him now. “Give her some time to settle in, be there for her. And keep an eye on your boys. I don’t want them to scare her away, especially Ghost and Soap.”
“We can do that.”
-
“Don’t do that, darling. You won’t be able to keep up.”
“That’s what you told me last time. Look where I am now”, you echo Laswells words and hear your mother snort over the phone. There is a tinkling sound. She’s probably drinking tea out of her favourite fine china. It’s a pale rose color, with beautiful detailed flowers and colorful hummingbirds. It always reminds you of Bridgerton, your favourite show.
“Darling, that is a military base. You will go under. And me too, out of sorrow.”
“But what if I can do it, mum? What if I keep up? Laswell said the Captain needs me. I can’t let him down.”
“You’ll let him down once you hear the first weapon being fired, darling”, was all she answered before she hung up.
You stare at your phone, tears falling from your eyes. It hurt knowing that your mother did not have one ounce of trust in your abilities. Not that she ever had that, but still… Your flat suddenly feels smaller, darker and colder. You look around and let yourself fall onto your bed heavily. Laswell wanted you to go. Price needs you. He called you sweetheart that one time. And you’re way too proud to show your mother that you did not even try.
With a determined look in your eyes you grab your phone and search for Laswells contact on Whatsapp. You only type two words.
“I’m in.”