mission thirty nine ~ eggsy unwin

the new recruits

There are ten beds lined against the walls. At the end of the room is a small, shared bathroom area the recruits will use, and a few chairs.

I sit on the end of one of the beds as Merlin fills me in on what their training will involve.

"We want to rule out any weaklings pretty early on, so tonight we will instate the first of the tests, when they're at their most vulnerable. Those who don't do well will go home, those who pass get to stay."

"What's the test going to be?" I fiddle with a piece of loose thread on the sheets.

"You'll see tonight." And there's a twinkle of mystery in his eyes.

I grin. "When do I get to meet them? Is there any girls coming?"

Merlin sits on the bed opposite mine and gives me a stern look. "Y/N you know you can't befriend them, all but one of them will go home, if you become biased it could compromise this whole thing. You can get to know the 'winner' once he or she has been chosen."

"So there are girls coming then." I say triumphantly, glossing over his words.

"Are you hearing me? You can get to know them but don't get attached. If I see you favouring one over the other unfairly I'll have no choice but to take you off this task. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes." I mumble.

"I'm sorry?"

"Yes, you make yourself clear." I say loudly with a slight eye roll.

"Good. Now why don't you go practise shooting before they arrive?"

"Are you suggesting that my aim isn't good enough?" I say with a mock gasp.

"That was my polite way of saying get lost." He smirks. "See you back outside this room in four hours, okay?" 

"Yeah okay."

Merlin stands and walks out, leaving behind the faint aroma of the Kingsman aftershave. 

Butterflies fill my stomach, as they always do when I'm alone in a room. A thrill runs through my veins, at the thought of working with someone new, someone who isn't my father or a middle-aged man. I stand, and walk slowly around the room, taking in every inch. This is where they will all be thrust into danger, where they will learn how to be a Kingsman. The next few weeks are going to be hell for them, and I couldn't be more excited to be inflicting it on them. 

I shouldn't be lingering here. 

I know Merlin said I should go practise target shooting, but I don't need that practise. What I really want to do is fight. But there's no one here to spar with, and no missions to go on to fulfil my needs. I skip down the hallway, towards the training room. I can see before I even get inside that it is empty, which leaves the whole thing to me. Perfect.     

After getting changed into workout gear, I enter the training room again. There's no one in the hallway to look in at me, so I warm up with a few kicks to the punch bag. 

Any and all the emotions I had been feeling in the last few days I take out on the bag. My precision is flawless, every kick would be enough to knock an attacker off their feet. The punchbag swings wildly on its chain as I circle it, every few seconds lunging forward and attacking it. 

All sound other than my heavy breathing and the chain of the bag goes away. I focus on the rhythmic attacks, each kick harder than the last, every punch more ferocious. 

"Y/N!"

Merlin's voice echoes through the training room, shocking me out of my trance-like state. His head is peeping into the room, and through the glass wall, I can see about nine other people in the hallway my age watching me pant, covered in sweat. They must be the recruits.

"Yeah?" 

Merlin steps into the room, his face unreadable. "I have two things to say. Number one: what the fuck are you doing?"

"I'm kicking and punching this bag, what about you?" I say sarcastically. 

"Number two: the recruits are here. All of them except for one, your father's. Any idea where he might be?"

I shake my head, my hands on my hips. "Should I get dressed? You said I had four hours." 

He sighs heavily. "I know I said that but they all arrived an hour early. Get changed, no need to hurry. I'll show them to their room while we wait for Harry's recruit."

"'kay." And I walk back to the change rooms, ignoring the eyes on my back from the newcomers. 

---

I rush to the recruits new room, dashing around corners. I don't want to be late, I want to meet the new recruits before Merlin completely puts them off life. Another corner is just ahead, I use this rush of adrenaline and sprint towards it, like I'm in another mission, running for my life. 

And then I crash into someone and fall to the floor. 

I'm on my feet within seconds, looking down at the boy I knocked to the ground suspiciously. 

"Fuck." He says, rubbing his jaw as he gets back to his feet. 

"Sorry about that." I say stiffy, looking the boy up and down. 

My father stands just next to him, and gives me a stern look. "Why were you running Y/N? Shouldn't you be with Merlin and the other recruits?"

"They came early, I was training so I had to go get changed. Merlin said to take my time but I didn't want to be late. Speaking of late..." I glare at him. "What the fuck Harry? You promised you wouldn't do that again."

"I really don't think now is the time Y/N." He says, nodding his head in the direction of the boy who stares at us both curiously. I glare at him and he looks away, rocking on his feet. 

"Who is he?" 

"My recruit. Y/N, meet Eggsy, Eggsy, this is another Kingsman agent, she will be running your training and tests while you stay here." 

I hold my hand out for him to shake, recognising his name as the boy who rang the tailor shop, and he complies, his eyebrows raised as he grins. 

"Shall we get going then?" My father says before immediately walking away, his umbrella swinging. 

Eggsy shrugs at me, grinning, probably expecting me to laugh. I scoff, unsure why my father chose him as a recruit in the first place, and follow him. Eggsy scampers in my wake, making multiple attempts to gain my attention, all of which I ignore. 

I have far more important things to do than talk to the recruit that made my father late again and I'm not even allowed to befriend. 

I speed up, leaving him to walk alone behind me. 

I don't have time for distractions from my work. 

[1132 words]