James was nothing if not subtle, sneaky, and, well, everything that needed to be part of an assassin’s skillset. It wasn’t necessarily surprising that he gave an obedient nod, salute, pretended to follow orders… And promptly did the exact opposite of what he was told.
This recruit had caught the General’s eye immediately. This man was older than the others, and the atmosphere around him was different. ‘This was no ordinary recruit.’
“I’ll have to keep my eye on this one…” Hux muttered to himself.
He was certainly careful enough - not too much sneaking around the base without perfectly good reason or an excuse at the very least; he wasn’t stupid enough to be obvious about it. It could be brushed off as curiosity the first time he supposedly got lost in the winding hallways. Maybe even the second time, too. But now it was late, he was lost in the damned maze of a base, and this wasn’t going to look good.
Though it was past curfew Hux still had a mountain of reports to fill out, but the cameras at the corner of his eye caught his attention. He saw this new cadet tiptoeing through the hallways and sighed to himself. “Theres always one…”
He stood from his desk and slipped his coat over his broad shoulders before leaving to find the recruit.
Once he caught sight of him he cleared his throat and called out to him. “You there, what do you think you’re doing?”
And, caught again. “I can explain,” He replied rapidly - after all, who knew what weapons could be pointed at his back. Turning to meet the General’s eyes, he raised his hands in halfhearted surrender. “Just got lost, is all.” His eyes were still alight with curiosity despite the late hour, and he gave a halfhearted attempt at a sheepish grin.
He cocked an eyebrow at the recruit and circled him, taking in his appearance. He certainly was older than the others. Hux stopped in front of him and stood straighter.
“Then by all means, allow me to escort you to your cot…What is your name, Cadet?”
For a moment, it was easy to see the moment of hesitation. Easy to see his mind racing, the thought in his eyes. But really, this would be better, he was sure. “Barnes. James Barnes.” Still looking quite sheepish, he bowed his head respectfully for a moment. “Hope I didn’t interrupt anything important, Sir,” He offered.
Hux nodded at him and hummed in thought. “Nothing at all, Cadet. Just some paperwork.” He motioned for James to follow him and began to lead him towards the cadet quarters, his heeled boots lightly clicking against the metal floors.
“So tell me, James. Why were you really out and about after curfew.”
“Like I said. Curious.” He gives a shrug. No reason to give the explanation behind that curiosity, at least not yet. “Never been anywhere like this before - bit of a culture shock, I guess.” It wasn’t entirely a lie - the way that his eyes still occasionally flashed about vouched for that.
