Skyfall [s. r]

One: Operation Valkyrie

Victoria

3rd of July, 2011.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, Triskelion.
Washington, D.C.

  I poured myself some coffee from a pot that's on a coffee station to the left side of the room before I sat back down on my desk. I sighed as my left hand found the area where one of the bullets hit me in Budapest on my abdomen.

  That's why I'm here, listening to foreign conversations of civilians through intervened devices worldwide —which is a fancy way to say you're spying on people— that might find themselves near a zone of interest, from a comfortable chair at headquarters and should be ready to answer if any operative that's been dispatched on a mission calls. It's hell being chained to a desk when you're used to be on the field, veins full of adrenaline, but orders are orders. Unfortunately.

  After taking a sip of my disgustingly bitter black coffee and leaving a red lipstick stain on the mug, I placed the diadem that's connected to the phone over my head as I reclined on the back of the chair to fix the blue blazer of the suit I'm wearing. It was odd to wear these elegant pant suits instead of a tactical suit.

"Hey." Said Sharon's familiar voice. We didn't grow up together, but I ended up moving in with her five years ago until I moved out to my own apartment a couple months back.

"You're late." I said to her as I took a sip of my coffee again, almost spitting it back into the mug.

"Yeah, well, I was busy attending a meeting." I nodded, knowing her schedule because it's stuck to the cork that's on the wall of her station, to which I had a direct view of to my right.

"Ugh, that's fucking disgusting." I said under my breath as I placed the mug on my desk and Sharon chuckled.

"That's a childish mug." She said narrowing her eyes at the white mug with a small blue and orange dinosaur that said 'fuck'.

"You gifted it to me." I said as I scoffed and she chuckled.

"Yeah, as a secret Santa joke."

"Well, it's my favourite mug, alongside the 'my house, my rules, my coffee' mug." I shrugged as I took another mouthful of coffee that I gulped with difficulty.

"Stop drinking it if it's so disgusting."

"Oddly enough, I can't. My need for caffeine is stronger than the urge to stop drinking the coffee Jefferson made for this shift." I sighed. "I've been struggling not to fall asleep for the past hour and a half, so..."

"You shouldn't have coffee with your medication." I waved her off as I took a sip again, Sharon rolled her eyes. "Anyways, how have things been over here?" She asked as she took off her blazer and placed it over the back of the chair.

"Quiet, which is surprising because tomorrow's 4th of July." She sighed as she sat down on the desk beside me and I took off the diadem. "How'd the meeting go?" I asked as I saw Fury arrive with Coulson and Hill to his office through the wall of windows of the room itself.

  He looked my way as he stepped near the window and I placed my mug up to cheers at him, saying hi. He nodded his head, tapped the glass twice and it became opaque, granting him the privacy he needed for his meeting with Phill and Maria.

"Good, turns out my undercover mission was a success."

"Oh, that's great." She nodded.

"Yeah, I'm staying here until further notice."

"Why?"

"Fury's heading to New York's H.Q and he's taking Coulson and Hill with him, so he's asked me to stay here and cover for them."