LISTEN BEFORE I GO
i. OH, THE PLACES WE WILL GO
❝I'M MAKING YOU CAPTAIN.❞

THE RUN-DOWN BAR ON THE CORNER of Ludlow and Rivington Street was in full swing as people danced to the lively Irish music thundering from the live band. Graffiti marred every inch of the wooden walls, but the true colors of the paint were washed out due to the artifical red lighting that illuimnated the room. If one searched for it, her name could be found etched in the far east wall. But, it had been years since the drunken night with her ex-boyfriend from Hell and, thankfully, Mason Browne had long forgotten about it.

Her hands gripped the half-empty glass of the vodka lemonade she had ordered a couple of minutes ago ━━ the drink had been her third that night. Her senses had slowly started to leave her, but Mason knew her limits. It took two drinks to give her a buzz, four to push her into a state of euphoria, and six to make her call her ex-boyfriend on a random bathroom floor. She wasn't prepared to go overboard, but it was still a night to relax and celebrate. The STRIKE team had gotten back from another successful mission, allowing them a chance to recuperate and be normal people ━━ even if it was only for a night. Mason was grateful to have a drink in her hands instead of a lethal weapon. Yet, the woman still had one mission that night. Mason's eyes scanned the wave of people, ignoring the bodies that grinded on each other as she tried to find the perfect woman amongst the crowd.

"What about her?" Mason asked, gesturing toward a curly-haired female that sat in a booth with two other girls. She was was beautiful with sharp features and high cheekbones. Her rosy lips were set in a pout as she stirred around the olive in her martini. Her companion did not answer, causing the young woman to roll her eyes as she whacked his arm. "Brock, we don't have all night. I don't think you're in any position to be picky."

"Says the one who hasn't been on a date since 2004," her work companion and closest friend, Brock Rumlow, retorted as he took another sip of his whiskey.

Mason rolled her eyes again. "It has not been ten years since my last date, asshole."

Brock laughed. If there was one thing he enjoyed, it was messing with her ━━ the man's favorite pastime. "Well, maybe if you got laid, you'd be nicer and happier."

"I hate you," Mason muttered, gulping down the rest of her drink. She did not need to get laid to be happier ━━ a half-decent TV show and takeout from her favorite restaurant was more than enough to put a smile on her face. Perhaps, she was someone who enjoyed the smaller things in life.

He scoffed, sparing her a glance as he flicked her curly hair to take a closer look at her face. She did not miss the small grin on his face as he watched her. "I think," the man started, licking his lips, "you're in love with me."

"Fuck off, dumbass," Mason snapped, setting the empty cup on the stick bar table as she scanned the crowd of people again. There was plenty of people in the bar, but they seemed to be in groups ━━ it was the smarter choice to pair up rather than being alone when you considered the dangerous climate of New York City. Finally, her eyes landed on a woman that sat by her lonesome. She had long black hair cascading down her back, reaching the wooden seat. Her brown eyes were set on her phone as she scrolled through it. She looked bored, but it gave her partner an easier chance to talk to her ━━ if he didn't mess it up (and if the woman was interested). "What about her? The one in the corner booth, sitting by herself?"

Brock glanced in the woman's direction. He froze, staring at the sun-kissed woman with a dazed expression. For a moment, his cheeks turned a dusty pink but he quickly snapped out of it as he cleared his throat. "Oh, wow, she's..."

Mason smirked, elbowing the man. "She's perfect, right?"

He set his drink down, returning Mason's playful smile as he straightened out his clothing. "Okay, I'm going to go talk to her."

"Don't be creepy," Mason replied, waving goodbye as he walked off. At least, he was out of her hair for a little while. She looked at her empty glass, wishing she had more of her drink but the woman didn't want to wander into dangerous territory since the possibility that Rumlow may ditch her for the night was high.

She sighed. Perhaps, he had been right. It had been a long time since she had been on date since her life revolved around her. In the morning, assignments were the first thing she checked and the night was spent reliving the horrors of her old ones. It was a cycle that she seemed to be trapped in, but she had no intentions of leaving it any time soon.

Her eyes flickered to Brock. He sat in front of the woman, laughing about something she had said as the both of them seemed engaged in a decent conversation. His words from before began to swirl in her mind again, forcing the curly-haired woman to huff. But, she had to remind herself that finding a date wouldn't fix the struggles of her life.

But, it wasn't as if Mason had an abundance of time. She was a busy woman. Her life was dedicated to S.H.I.E.L.D. and she was proud of what she did. With each day, Mason moved up the career ladder as her skills and expertise expanded. Still, the woman realized it was a fairly lonely life. And, at the end of the day, she would return to an empty cold apartment with no one waiting for her. She had considered adopting a pet at one point, but it wouldn't be fair to the animal when she was away for days at a time. So, she continued to be alone.

Her phone buzzed, causing the woman to flinch before she reached into her back pocket to see the encrypted message ━━ S.H.I.E.L.D. It mentioned a set of coordinates and a time, but nothing else for the sale of privacy. Mason sighed, pulling out a discarded twenty-dollar-bill from her coat pocket before she put it underneath her empty cup. She flashed the barman a quick smile before she walked off, heading in Brock's direction. He was engrossed in his conversation, smiling at everything the woman said. Mason tapped him on the shoulder.

He looked back at her, sighing. "What?"

She smiled sweetly. "Duty calls."

━━ ━━ ━━

"I'M JUST SAYING," Brock started, huffing as he followed Mason through the quiet halls of the Triskelion. It hadn't taken them long to make the journey from New York to Washington D.C. since the quinjets were some of the fastest forms of transportation known to the modern world ━━ other than Einstein-Rosen Bridges and other science jumbo-mumbo. "Fury could have waited till morning. I really liked Allura."

"Oh, was that her name?" Mason asked, stealing a glance back at him as she tried to hide her amusement. "I'm sure you managed to snatch her number before we left."

"Of course, I did," Brock grinned, pulling out a napkin from his pocket that had the woman's number scribbled across it with a heart at the end. Cute.

"Don't break her heart," Mason said, stopping in front of the Director's office before she knocked a few times. The door opened to reveal Director Nick Fury and a few agents of the STRIKE team that Mason was familiarized with. She nodded at the man in charge, showing her respect. "Director."

"Agent Browne, Agent Rumlow," Director Fury greeted, closing the door behind them as he disapprovingly shook his head. "Good for the two of you to finally join us."

"Sorry," Mason started, clearing her throat as she fell in line with the others. Brock stood beside her, keeping a smile on his face. "We were in New York when we got the message. Came as soon as possible."

"Excuses," Director Fury muttered, but she didn't miss the ghost of a smile that appeared on his lips as he addressed the group. "Alright, how many of you have heard of Viktor Laskin?"

Crickets.

Fury sighed, turning on his monitor to show off the first slide of a PowerPoint. "Thankfully, one of our unpaid interns was able to create this slideshow ━━ poor kid works too hard."

It took half an hour to go over the details of the mission, leaving the team tired but well-informed as they learned of who Victor Laskin ━━ a Russian politician that was being brought to the States to have a meeting with the president (though, no one knew what their meeting was about) ━━ and why he needed the protection of S.H.I.E.L.D. It seemed to be a low-stress mission since it was only a protection detail, but Mason felt nervous. But, she pushed the feeling aside as jitters about a new assignment. It was a common feeling.

"Oh, before you're all dismissed," Fury began, turning off the monitor as he looked to the team and their exhausted expressions. "Browne, you're in charge. I'm making you Captain."

Wait, what?

Captain? He was making her Captain.

"Sir, I... Thank you," Mason started, unable to hide the smile growing upon her lips as she looked between the other agents that gave her respectful nods. The feeling was unimaginable as she felt the excitement vibrate her bones and the thought of leading her own mission made her nervous yet proud at the same time. "I won't let you down, I promise."

Fury nodded, returning her smile as he handed her a file ━━ the one that held all the details of the mission and one that Mason would spend all night reading. "I have no doubt, Captain Browne."

With that, the team began to disperse to get a good night's rest before the mission in the morning. Victor Laskin was a high-profile target and he needed to be protected. Mason looked down at the file trembling in her hands as she stole a glance at Fury, noticing as he wrote down a few notes in his own file.

"Sir," Mason started when the two were alone in the room, causing the woman to grow anxious as she stared at her superior's unwavering posture.

"What is it, Browne?" the man asked, sparing her a glance.

"I..." the woman bit her lip, staring down at the file in her hands. "Are you sure making me Captain is the right thing to do?"

"You don't want to be Captain?"

"No, of course, I do," Mason corrected, clearing her throat as her cheeks burned in embarrassment. It was rare to be alone in a room with the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. but there he was, standing with his one eye and scowl. "I've just started with the STRIKE team and perhaps, it's too soon to be leading it? I don't know if I am ready."

"Browne, you're more qualified than the rest of the agents in your division," the man sighed, meeting her gaze with a stern look of his own. "You're a hard worker and have always dedicated yourself to the job. You're a good match."

"But..."

"Stop doubting yourself and go," the man said, ushering her out of the office with a wave of his hand. Fury reminded Mason of her own father, remembering the way he used to behave. In fact, Fury and her father, Officer Mason Browne, had been close friends before he had passed. Mason, herself, had been named after him as well. Her father hadn't always been a vocal man, but the intentions were always there. It was the same with Fury. "You're going to do fine ━━ give yourself more credit."

If Director Fury believed she could do it, then Mason should believe in herself as well. She let out a shaky breath, nodding her head. "Okay, thank you, Director," she whispered, giving him a smile. "Won't let you down."

"Look at you, Mas," Brock said, ruffling her curly hair as she closed the door behind him. The rest of the team had disappeared down the hall, wanting to go back home as soon as possible. But, Brock had waited. He wore a proud grin as he looked down at her, crossing his arms over his chest. "At this rate, you'll be leading S.H.I.E.L.D."

Mason snickered. "Better get used to calling me Ma'am in that case."

"Oh, that's never going to happen."

♡

THE FIRST CHAPTER FOR THIS BOOK IS FINALLY OUT ━━ it only took me about five months to write it. Granted, my life changed a lot in these past couple of months and I went on hiatus for a little bit. But, it's time to get down to business! I am so excited for this book! The first chapter is very slow, I must admit, and nothing of interest happened. But, I wanted to set up who Mason is and her relationship to others and her job! The next chapter will be a lot better! I don't know why, but I really struggled with this chapter. I couldn't find a place to be happy with it and I am still not happy. But, I need to keep moving forward or else, I will get nothing done.

So, the next chapter will have a little more action than this one! I want to make it longer! I think chapters for this book will be mostly 2000 - 3000 words because it is mostly an AU and will have plenty of original scenes. I do hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter! There will be plenty more to come in the future! ✨

━━ AMARA
[ CHAPTER PUBLISHED ━━ 11.14.2020 ]