countin' me out

“ do you see anything reflective, ” she replied dryly. she had thought she had hidden her surprise better than that and being called out on it left a bad taste in her mouth, especially when it was maddox pointing it out. schooling her features to a more aloof expression, she didn’t miss his shoulders tensing at his name, providing her with some sense of relief. at least she wasn’t the only one whose tells had become noticeable over their years of knowing each other. “ anything worth noting or the usual paperwork? ”

“shoes,” he muttered softly. there was just enough of a click as she walked that gave her up to him. he knew her typical cadence of her steps. after years and years of knowing her, he had learned her well. he had studied her. maddox tried to study all of his cadets and instructors, but there was no one he knew better than beverly richetti. “the same paperwork. however, i did get a call that they want to field test a few cadets. they just said i could pick three of our most promising for a low stakes mission.”

@zerciisms

“ guess what i found out today, ” she started, popping up out of nowhere to stroll besides him. “ apparently the coding class was behind shutting down the lights in the facility. all by misspelling a singular word. ” hiding her question behind the mask of a statement, she watched for his reactions, curious to see if he had known that was possible. still trailing alongside him, she nodded to a few cadets, itching to call him the nickname she treasured so dearly. but that would have to wait, she didn’t want to run away from him just yet. “ anyways maddox, where have you been? it feels like you’ve been avoiding me ever since i asked you to ride along with me. ”

“what did you find out today?” he asked, not even missing a beat. over the years with beverly he had gotten used to her appearing at inopportune moments. “do you see the look of surprise on my face,” he spoke, his face remained unchanged. maddox was used to things going wrong around his academy. his job was to put out whatever fire appeared on any given day (and sometimes, they were literal fires). his shoulders tensed at that name, one would think he’d be used to it by now, but he still had a disdain for it. “i’ve been a little busy, if you hadn’t noticed i do run an academy.”

Standing in the room by herself, her arms stretching above her head before she tied her raven curls into a loose bun, letting out a breath as she stretched out her body. Turning around when she heard the door open and smiled brightly at the person. “Wanna spar?” She asked with a hint of teasing in her voice.

he had tried to make it his mission to check in on all of the cadets during this transition period, but due to other constraints out of his control he had fallen behind. today he had found himself with a free hour for the first time in weeks, so he decided to continue on his quest of checking in. he knocked lightly on a slightly open door and walked in slowly. maddox chuckled at her question, “i think i’ll pass this time.” 

    “   fifty bucks,   ”   a grin shaped his mouth, ice clinking his glass while he raised the cup to his lips — an aged bourbon, his choice sipping drink. head tilts toward the dart board several feet away from them, using his free hand to retrieve the wallet tucked into his back pocket.   “   but only if you get a bulls-eye. might even throw in a free drink because i’m feeling generous,   ”    throwing his money around for absolutely no reason at all wasn’t unlike the male, especially after a few drinks ( though he did have his limits and morals ). it was a friday night — sue him.   “   i haven’t been able to hit it all night. so i suppose i’ll have to live vicariously through someone else.  ”

“sixty,” he spoke plainly as he took another sip from his own glass. he had opted for just a beer this time. normally he’d chose something a little stronger, but tonight he wanted to actually remember what had happened. and he didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of any of his instructors, or god forbid in front of any cadets. “no problem,” he spoke with confidence as he took a few steps back. “would you like for me to close my eyes?” 

[ CHRIS HEMSWORTH ] — MADDOX ROURKE is a THIRTY EIGHT year-old CISMALE HEADMASTER from AUSTRALIA and the EURASIAN unit, also known as agent ZERO. Intel tells me that HE is STEADFAST & OBSERVANT, if not a little ABRASIVE & DEMANDING.