Birds of a Feather | | Leo Fitz Book One

Chapter 9

It appeared much of the conversation was already finished when Asia entered the room, not that she was entirely too disappointed over this. Coulson stood across from a stern looking woman with thick black glasses. Her hair was long and dark brown, with two streaks of red dyed in.

"Agent Monroe," Coulson turned, acknowledging her, glad you could join us. "Agent Hand, this is our newest member, Agent Monroe. She is the Strike Team Delta protege, on line for the Fortification Project."

Fortification Project? That was news to her. Agent Monroe tucked the name into the back of her mind, making note to research it later if she had the opportunity. Stepping forward, she shook Agent Hand's hand before stepping back behind Coulson once more.

"Agent Monroe," Hand said, "It is a pleasure to meet you. I have heard much about you thus far. It's a shame you missed out on the debriefing, we had quite the conversation about you."

"About me...?" Asia questioned, crossing her arms over her chest. She glanced over at her three teammates for answers.

"Asia..." Coulson began, but May stepped forward, cutting him off.

"I'll take this one, Sir, if you don't mind," May offered, her gaze flicking over to Asia for a moment. That would be about the exact second when Asia knew she was not going to like whatever it was that she was about to hear.

May stepped forward and placed a hand on Asia's shoulder, steering her away from the group to a back corner. "Asia...I need you to know that this isn't a bad thing. It's not going to be as bad as it looks, ok?"

"Just spit it out," Asia muttered, glancing back at Coulson, Ward, and Hand. "I know I'm not going to like it, no matter what you say."

May sighed. "You're probably right. Agent Coulson and Agent Hand have decided we want you to have limited intel on this Op. You won't be going in, it will be two other agents...and because of your close nature to both of the agents involved...that perhaps it would be best to have you take a step back."

"Close nature?? Is that not what this team is built on?" Asia questioned, attempting to keep her cool. She had earned her clearance level, she had worked hard for it, to gain the trust of SHIELD as a whole.

"You're probably right," May replied, "And the decision wasn't entirely mine. I won't say I'm altogether a fan of this mission to begin with. Not that I will let you live if you tell anyone that." The elder agent glanced back at Hand, then to Monroe. "But we have our orders. And, this time, we won't fight them. We have to pick our battles."

"What agents are going in?" Asia asked, her brow furrowing slightly. It was nice to know May didn't agree with these restrictions, at least. What had initially felt like alienation didn't feel quite so lonely anymore. "And what exactly do you mean by limited intel?"

May sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Limited intel means you get to know the status of the agents in the field. Whether they are alive. Whether they have been captured. You won't know location or any further info." She paused, glancing back at Ward, who gave her a quick nod, as if to give a go-ahead. "The two agents on this mission," May continued, "Will be Ward and Fitz. Due to your close friendship to the both of them, and the danger of this mission, we decided that unless otherwise needed, we need you to take a step back from this one."

Asia could feel the blood ringing in her ears. Ward, he would be fine. Probably. He was capable. But Leo? Leo had never once been in the field. He hadn't even officially passed the physical examination. "Oh," she said, flatly, simply. She wasn't entirely sure what else she could say. "Well, while I disagree with the decision, I understand the orders." She muttered, her hands subconsciously balling into fists. She sure as hell did not agree with the decision. Not even a little bit. There had to be a way around this. And she knew just the people to talk to about it.

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Leo Fitz sat in his room, with Jemma pacing about, running over a checklist of items he was to bring with him. "The Caucasus have a plethora of highly endemic spider species," She reminded him, shaking her head in disgust. "So it's best you bring some sort of antidotes with you. Or at least a field guide so you know what you're looking at. Last thing you need is to die on a mission of a spider bote."

Leo sighed, "Stop, Jemma. Stop worrying about me. I'm an agent, just like Ward." The poor Scott was clearly frustrated. Not a single person on the team had expressed their confidence in him yet, and it wasn't something he entirely appreciated.

Jemma stopped pacing and looked down at him, crossing her arms over her chest and smiling softly. "You'll be careful."

"Yea," Leo shrugged, "I've been through worse."

Suddenly a thin figure popped into the doorway, ponytail swinging, a forced smile on her face, "Hey Leo--oh, sorry, Jemma, didn't know you were here," Asia said as she entered, stopping in her tracks. "I can go, yea, I'll just-"

Leo cut her off. "No, no, Asia stay. We were, erm, just packing up my things." He offered the agent a small smile. She had been on even more pins and needles after the news had been given that he was going on a mission, a ridiculously dangerous mission at that. He found it a little cute, honestly, that she was so concerned. A little disappointing, that no one believed in him, but on her it was also very sweet, in a protective sense.

"I can leave," Jemma offered, smiling once more at Fitz, "I'll be back to see you off." Asia smiled a thin smile at Jemma as the redhead turned and left the room.

Asia sheepishly kicked the ground in front of her, "So, you all ready for this big event?"

Leo smiled, standing up and grabbing each of her arms, right above the wrist. "I am, and I'm going to be fine," he said softly.

"I know," she said, glancing down at his hands. "It's just...you're my best friend. I don't want anything to go wrong...and they...SHIELD..they aren't allowing me to have too much information on what will be happening, because I'm so close to the both of you," she frowned, upset at her own weakness.

Sighing, Leo pulled her into a tight hug, wresting his chin on top of her head. "I'm going to be fine, Asia. I am a bloody SHIELD agent for a reason."

"I know, I know," she whispered back. "Will you at least let me show you some moves before you go?"

"Of course," Leo replied, rubbing slow circles on her back. "If you teach me a thing or too, I might even be the one saving Ward out there."

Asia smiled slightly into his chest. He was going to be ok, she had to believe it. "Alright. To the training room?"

Leo stepped back, releasing her from the hug. "Yea, yea, let's head down there. I've still got some time before I've got to go." They smiled at each other, before looping arms and heading through the Bus towards the training room.