LISTEN BEFORE I GO
ii. THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM
❝GOOD LUCK, MASON.❞

"HARDER."

Mason narrowed her eyes, sending a glare in the direction of the blond that held onto her punching bag. He only gave her a shrug in return, hiding his amused smile behind the brown punching bag as he urged Mason to keep hitting. Steve Rogers, Captain America, was someone Mason had never expected to befriend, considering she had heard stories of the war hero from her father all throughout her childhood. If he could see her now, training with Captain America, he would have surely died from a heart attack. Mason considered Steve to be her friend, even if she still found it hard to believe the man was from a whole different era. However, since his return, Steve Rogers worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. and had gone on many missions with the STRIKE. It was where Mason had met the man for the first time, being one of the members of the team. Since then, the two had bonded over the missions and their occasional cups of coffee they shared.

Steve tilted his head. "Are you even trying?"

"I'm about to hit you," Mason threatened. Her words held no real malice, having nothing but respect and love for Steve. After all, he was one of the few people she considered a friend.

"Try it." His words made Mason pause, but he only smirked in response as he let go of the punching bag. Most would think Steve Rogers would never hit a woman. They were right, of course. But, he never gave up the chance for some friendly competition and neither did Mason. He took a few steps back, holding up his fists as he motioned for Mason to come closer. "Hit me if you can, Mas."

"Alright," Mason shrugged, getting into position. She knew she wouldn't be able to overpower Steve, as long as he had the Super Soldier serum running through his veins. But, she would be able to outsmart him. "Don't hit me too hard," she warned, grinning as the two began to circle one another. "I won't be your friend anymore if you do."

Steve chuckled, shaking his head. "I promise, I won't."

Mason swung first, not expecting to get a hit in as it was the first swing of the fight. Steve was able to avoid her punch, returning with one of his own. And, like he had done to her, Mason had stepped to the side to avoid his hit. He chuckled at her, continuing to circle around as she did the same.

"Heard you got a promotion?" Steve said, waiting for Mason to hit first. But, Mason knew better than to try first again. She would let Steve go on the offense this time.

"I suppose," Mason shrugged, blocking Steve's attack. With her left hand, she grabbed his arm and pushed it upward to distract him before she used her right to land a punch at his abdomen. She grinned, moving backward. "One point for me, Rogers. I think your old age is starting to get to you."

"Oh, we've resorted to trash talk now?" He grinned, moving forward to hit again. This time, he had managed to hit Mason in the shoulder as she was in the midst of celebrating her victory. It earned an oof from her lips as she narrowed her eyes in annoyance. Steve shrugged, noticing her sour expression. "Oh, come on. You didn't see that one coming?"

"No fair, I wasn't ready yet," Mason huffed, holding out her fists again. It didn't hurt, of course. Steve never hit hard enough to leave an injury. But, the same couldn't be said about other people Mason had sparred with. She remembered the training sessions she had with either Natasha Romanoff or Clint Barton, having shadowed them for a few years during the beginning of her time with STRIKE. She would always leave tired, bruised, and bloody after those sessions, but they always made it up to her by taking her out to eat afterward. Though Mason had to admit, their harsh training was what turned her into the agent she was today. "Well, you did hear right," Mason continued the conversation from before, smiling to herself. "Fury made me the captain of my very own STRIKE team."

"I think he did right," Steve said, trying to land another punch at Mason but she moved too quickly for the man. He never stopped smiling, keeping his eyes trained on the woman. "I always saw the potential you had, Mason. You are exactly the kind of agent that S.H.I.E.L.D. needs."

"You flatter me, Rogers," Mason laughed, shaking her head. It was reassuring to hear the words come from the lips of Captain America, but it didn't brush away the nerves she still felt. Leadership had never been her thing, but it was something her father had always excelled in. She feared that Fury had only chosen her to lead because he assumed she would accomplish the same things as her father. But, Mason knew she could never live up to the legacy her father had left behind. "I don't know if it's permanent or if Fury is testing the waters, but I'm leading the STRIKE missions. For now, at least."

"Well, you're one of his top agents," Steve reminded, causing some pride to manifest in Mason's chest. "I think it's about time your efforts have been recognized."

It wasn't sheer luck that had caused Mason to reach the top, knowing it had literally taken blood, sweat, and tears to become the best. Despite training with Romanoff and Barton, she had started with S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy of Operations after she had decided to follow in her father's footsteps. From there, she had been scouted by an older S.H.I.E.L.D. agent by the name of Melinda May. Since then, she had worked with many S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and eventually caught the eye of Fury when he had put her into the STRIKE team underneath Romanoff and Barton. And, now, she was leading her own STRIKE team.

Perhaps, Mason was overthinking it. But, she could not stop thinking about it as it overwhelmed every moment she had on her own. Even now, she could barely hear Steve talking as she thought about everything that could go wrong. She felt a punch against her stomach, knocking the air out of her as she stumbled back a few steps. "Ow," she muttered, staring up at Steve as she shook her head. "Really?"

"I think I win," Steve grinned, walking toward the benches where they had left their things. He picked up the water bottles, tossing Mason hers. "Where's your head, Mason?"

Mason shrugged, unscrewing the cap before she gulped down the cold water. It felt refreshing, causing a relieved sigh to leave the woman's lips as she closed her eyes for the briefest moment. "Honestly," she hummed, "I don't even know."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Steve said, patting her back before he took a seat on the bench. Mason took a seat next to him, taking off the boxing gloves to reveal her red hands covered in a thin layer of sweat. "Have you picked which agents you want on your team yet?"

"Fury had picked them out," Mason shrugged. She didn't mind, knowing she would have struggled to pick out who she wanted in such a short time. After all, the mission was closer than Mason would have liked. "Thankfully, it's people I have already worked with. I know how each of them works and I think it's a good team for this mission."

"It's a protection detail, right?" He asked.

"Yeah, it is," Mason hummed, reminding herself it was only a protection detail. They wouldn't have to do anything, but look menacing with their guns. After all, it was rare and incredibly stupid these days for someone to attack a heavily guarded politician surrounded by a group of armed soldiers. Though, Mason had done some research last night on the man and there had been assassination attempts on his life before. It did leave Mason unnerved, but STRIKE was sure to be more than prepared to handle situations such as assassins. "Did Fury tell you about the mission?"

"Yeah, bits and pieces," Steve nodded. "Protecting a Russian politician Victor Laskin, right? He has a meeting with the President?"

Mason nodded. "Apparently, he's some key witness in an ongoing trial," she mumbled, knowing better than to ask questions of the secret things the government did behind its citizens' backs. All Mason knew to do was follow orders, being trained to do so for many years by S.H.I.E.L.D. "It shouldn't be too difficult. After the meeting, we'll take him back to the base and he'll be on the first plane back to Russia."

"You'll be fine," Steve chuckled, noticing how the woman had tensed beside him. She couldn't help it, honestly. Mason was always tense before the missions started, thinking of all the things that could go wrong. But, once she was in the field, Mason left all those thoughts behind and operated like a machine with the single thought of accomplishing her mission in mind. "So, when is this mission?"

"What time is it?" Mason mumbled, meeting Steve's blue eyes. It was still early in the morning, considering the sun was barely peeking from over the horizon.

He reached for a pocket watch in his bag, flipping it open to see the time inside. A part of Mason wondered if the watch was from the 1940s, but it was hard to tell from the pristine condition it was in. She noticed a picture of a woman inside the watch, but she didn't question who it was. She had a bit of Hollywood glam to her, smiling brightly through black and white coloring. "It's half past six."

Mason sighed. "We leave in an hour."

"An hour?" Steve's eyes widened a crack, tilting his head to get a closer look at Mason's tired expression. She could tell what he was thinking. Mason should have gotten as much sleep as she could before the mission, but she had spent all night tossing and turning. But, she had gulped down enough coffee to keep her awake for the next couple of days straight. "You always know how to amaze me, Mason."

She laughed, standing to her feet as she stretched her aching limbs. "You got a lot to catch up on, old man. Here, in the 21st century, we can survive on three hours of sleep."

Steve clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "I think that's only you, Mason. It's still standard to get eight hours of sleep a night."

"Yeah, yeah," Mason muttered, picking up her bag as she gave Steve one last smile. Once she was on the mission, it was considered unprofessional to take any personal calls. "Wish me luck. I have a feeling I'm going to need it."

He snickered, nodding his head. "Good luck, Mason."

♡

IT HAS DEFINITELY BEEN A WHILE SINCE I UPDATED THIS BOOK, but a huge part of that played into the fact that I was absent from the Marvel fandom for a little bit. With all the new shows and movies, I am starting to fall back in love with the fandom. But, for a little while, my interests were elsewhere and I am going to be honest, I don't even remember what I was doing this past year or so. But, I'm finally cracking down on my books and I remember how excited I was to write this book. I still am! I love the plot (all thanks to kim!) and I adore writing for Mason! I haven't even developed the main plot into this book yet, but I know the next chapter will probably have more of the plot in it because Mason will finally be going on the mission!

I would say this chapter is bit of a filler, but I really wanted to show the friendship Mason has with Steve and her relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. and STRIKE, along with other members of the MCU! It was so strange researching characters like Melinda May and Bobbi Morse because I loved them so much when I watched AOS, but I kind of forgot about them when I abandoned the show. But, it was like a nice trip down memory lane! Also, I love Steve and Mason's friendship so much! I can't wait to write more of them as the book goes on!

We might see the Winter Soldier in the next chapter! But, I haven't decided yet because I'm still writing the chapter! But, I am heavily leaning toward it, hehe!

━━ AMARA
[ CHAPTER PUBLISHED ━━ 10.13.2021 ]