Divided into Before and After

I

   "Agent Carter, Director Fury wants to see you." Amanda, one of Sofi's closest acquaintances, walked over to her desk with her computer. "Right now." she moved the keyboard a little closer to the monitor.

   Carter only rolled her eyes at this action and rose from her chair.

   "I wasn't going to sit here and wait for you to tell me that a few more times." smiling, the girl went to the exit of the small but cozily furnished office.

   Thanks to the large panoramic windows, it was always flooded with sunlight during the day. And in the evening, if she stayed up late, she had a beautiful view.

   After leaving, the girl walked down the corridor and turned left and pressed the button to call the elevator.

   Having waited just a minute, Sofi stepped into the elevator and told the computer that she needed to go to see Fury. The cabin moved off and traveled upward.

***

   "You wanted to see me, Director?" The girl walked confidently into the quite large office.

   In general, it was no different from hers, except for its size. The same large windows, Nick's desk opposite them, the director's leather chair, and another one in front of the desk. On the opposite wall was a large screen, just to the left of which was another desk, oblong and surrounded by padded chairs, where meetings were held.

   "Yes, Ms. Carter, I did. Take a seat." Fury pointed to the padded chair in front of his desk.

   Without saying anything, she sat down in the chair offered to her. The girl didn't know what Fury could possibly need from her. Hill always gave her mission plans, and it looked like he wanted to talk about something.

   "I saw in your file that you were in special program at the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, but you dropped out in the middle of your sophomore year and went into communications. May I ask why?"

   Sofi sighed, biting her lip. She didn't like to remember why she had to leave the faculty she loved, just as she didn't like to tell anyone about her life.

   "Injury. I was injured on one of my training missions. I got a minor scare and a bad stretch from a torn ligament. I limped on my left leg for two years."

   A bad landing after a jump. That's all. But that's what cost her her dream and her spot. The treatment and the long rehab. Carter would give anything to forget that time.

   "It's a shame. You had very good results."

   "Uh, thank you. Is that it?" she was about to get up and go back to her office, where she could put her thoughts in order and return the unnecessary memories to that dark corner of her memory, where they had been until now.

   "In fact," Nick finally sat down across from the girl. "I would like to propose you to move to the department of the same special program. I think that in six years everything has gotten better and you are ready to go back to where you were going at once."

   She listened attentively to what Fury was saying and she wanted to agree, but the answer was no.

   "I'm sorry, but I must decline. After all these years, it's very hard to get back in shape. The old injury may not be bothering me, but that doesn't mean I won't accidentally trip on one of my assignments and it won't bring back my old problems. Thank you, but no."

   At that moment, she wanted to scream that she agreed! That she wanted to go back! Rising from her chair, the brown-eyed girl headed for the exit, but at the very door she was called out:

   "Ms. Carter, if you ever change your mind..." With an expressive look in one eye, Nick pushed a black folder with an eagle emblem to the edge of the desk.

   "I'm not sure about that." She took the folder, but she wasn't about to change her mind.

   Of course, somewhere inside her ribs, the urge to go back was aching. Ever since she was a little girl, little Sofi had told her mom she was going to be a secret agent and save people, just like her father had done. Peter Carter died on one of the missions when she was fifteen. Two years later, the girl graduated from high school with honors and thanks to her father's remaining connections, she was able to contact Phillip Colson and was enrolled in the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy.

   She was a bright student. With good physical skills, a belief in what she was doing, and a desire to improve. Some of the teachers were very fond of her. And Fury told Phil on more than one occasion that the girl would outshine her father.

***

   Sofi didn't notice how late she'd stayed up until the first stars began to appear in the sky.

   Silently swearing under her breath, she put her phone in her purse and grabbed the folder she had taken from Fury today and left the S.H.I.E.L.D. building.

   Yet again this evening, she regretted that she'd forgotten her car keys this morning. After stumbling and nearly twisting her foot, Carter quickened her pace when she got the feeling she was being followed. It was normal in her field to feel unsafe, but it had never happened to her before.

   Her quick steps were echoed by the equally quick tapping of her heels against the pavement. Her pencil skirt was tending to ride up inappropriately high, so she had to keep pulling it down.

   Finally turning to her house, the girl quickly turned around, no one was there. The street was empty, but the unpleasant feeling didn't go away. Mentally promising herself to start carrying a gun, Carter entered the entrance of a high-rise building.

   Sofi lived on the tenth floor, so fate decided to mock her even more and it turned out that the elevator didn't work. Swearing a second time, Carter hurried up the stairs.

   Once inside the apartment, she immediately dropped her shoes by the shoe locker and locked the door and went to her room, leaving the folder on the dining room table on the way.

   A couple minutes later, the brown-eyed girl returned to the kitchen, which, being made in black and maroon colors, seemed even darker at night, and even the light of small ceiling lamps didn't help. Making herself a coffee, Sofi sat down in a chair, tucking one leg underneath her.

   "Let's see what we have here..." The girl opened the folder and the first thing that caught her eye was her picture in the bottom right corner and the common knowledge: first and second name, surname, position in the organization, etc.

   "Sofi Margaret Carter, huh..."

   After running her eyes over it, she put the first sheet aside and started reading the next one. There were some details of her personal file from the Academy and information about her training. The third sheet was even more interesting.

   "Why am I not surprised...?" Carter hummed, starting to read.

   The girl had expected to see a picture of this exact man. He was the one she supervised most of the time, and now they would have to see each other, because he would be in charge of her training.