She caught it with her foot before it hit the ground, picking it up and putting it back in her pocket. "I'm someone who has ideas and goes through with it. I didn't get where I am today by just ignoring my ideas. And I don't like working with others because they get in my way. Just like you did on this mission."
"I got in your way?" TK reached in to her pocket, whirling around and waving a device. "I may not be super intelligent, but the guards had this. It can break through whatever is on your door. I saw them try. But I took them out, even though you paralysed me and didn't explain."
"I know my tech, and they can't get through. Even if they did, I know how to defend myself. I'm not just a techie. I'm a gymnast. I specialise in martial arts. I know how to take you down before you even blink. So don't try and outsmart me. It's not gonna work."
"Try it then," TK said as they reached the sidewalk. "No tech. No weapons. Try and take me down. You couldn't take down half as many guards as I can. I read everything that wasn't classified in your file. You're not strong, you're not a great fighter. You hide behind your tech like it's going to save you. You're nothing without your tech."
"Unlike you, I know how to strategise. I walk into a situation and I already have a plan to get out. I know my tech inside and out, and I know my skills. I know what I can do, and I know what I can't. I know when to jump into a fight and I know when to back out."
"You also know when to lie and when to tell the truth. Oh wait, no you don't. You also know how to keep dozens of guards out while you complete your mission. Oh wait, no, you don't. You also know how to communicate to your partner so that the mission goes smoothly. Oh wait, you fucking don't. You may act like you know everything, but you're actually still young and you suck at communication." TK was still ready to fight.
"Who's the one with 7 years of experience under their belt? Whose brother owns the company who supplies all the tech to the agency? Who's the one who supplies basically every gadget to the whole agency? I wonder who it could be. I know who it isn't. It's fucking not you. You're just a newbie spy who thinks she's better than the experienced spy and whose only skill is rushing into a situation without assessing it first."
"I never even said I was better than you," TK snarled with a harsh laugh. "That's just your insecurity showing. Just because you and your brother are smart doesn't mean you're God's greatest gift to TIDAL. You have serious communication issues. You are possibly a sociopath. Honestly, you're backstabbing and you're short tempered. Maybe I'm not better than you now, but if you can't take your head out your ass, I will be. Soon."
Carter pressed a few buttons on her gauntlet and a motorbike drove up to her. She put the helmet on, resting the seat. "Good luck getting far. I do really detailed mission reports. And who are they going to believe? The newbie? Or the experienced elite?" She drove off, leaving TK in the dust.
TK rolled her eyes. "So fucking extra," she mumbled, returning to the spot where she'd stashed her own, more discrete vehicle. Getting into her car, she let herself relax. Her eyes burned. God, she hated being an angry crier. At least she didn't do it in front of the other girl –that would have been unbearable. She reached into her glove box, retrieving some gauze, and wrapped it around her bullet wound. That'd do until after she'd had a few drinks. Revving her engine, she headed to the nearest bar.
Unlike TK, Carter knew that she was still on the mission. Sure, the main part was over, but the mission never finished until the spy had returned to headquarters. Carter smirked, knowing that TK had either forgotten or hadn't listened during training.
TK climbed back into her car. She'd spent at most fifteen minutes in the bar. Hopefully TIDAL would think she'd gotten stuck in traffic or something. It's why she never brought a motorcycle. She could be as slow as she pleased, and no one usually questioned her. Now, was she too drunk to drive? "Depends on your definition of drunk," she giggled to her own reflection, revving up her engine again. She took off at high speeds, knowing the faster she drove, the less time she'd waste. At least she could hardly feel the pain of her gunshot wound any longer.
Carter sat in her lab, either designing new gadgets or going over the designs for previous ones. She'd already closed off her half of the mission, and she knew that TK hadn't finished their half. She smirked, knowing that she'd proven herself better by her actions.
(Quick question, do they live at headquarters? Or is it just a base of operations?)
By the time TK arrived at headquarters, she'd cooled off. She was glad she'd taken some time before she closed off her mission. She was sure Carter had finished her half, but honestly, she was probably still mad when she did it. TK anticipated if not mistakes, then at least a small inclination of emotion in the mission report. She sat down at her tiny desk to write her own. "Mission was successful. Even though there was a glitch in the system and I was not allowed to know the details of the mission, I was still able to adapt. Agent Byte willfully and deliberately misled me on the goals of the mission, and gave me no instruction or clear orders, although she was the primary on this mission. She used her weapons against me, a paralyzing agent that is primarily psychological, and locked me out in the hallway with over forty highly trained guards. I was able to guard the door, even though I had to take a few minutes to shake off the effects of the poison. Byte continued to berate me for the remainder of the mission, threatening to have me kicked from the organization. The mission was still successful, despite our many differences, and my not understanding the goals of the mission."
(its just a base)
Carter, buried in her tech, didn't realise when someone walked into her lab. She jumped when they placed their hand on her shoulder. When she looked to see who it was, she yelled at him. "Fuck Iniko! You scared me!"
Sighing, TK pushed away from her desk and headed down the hall. She was about to head out for the night, but decided to stop by the infirmary. She figured since it was so late, August would be there. She wasn't disappointed. She stepped inside, squinting at the sterile lighting. "Hey," she greeted.
He didn't turn around. "TK. Injured?"
"You know me," she responded blankly.
"Drunk?"
"Not your responsibility to know that, champ," she said, sitting on the edge of his desk. He still didn't look at her, gathering the items required to stitch her up.
"I just wanted to see how the mission went," Iniko said simply, leaning against the bench.
"It would've gone better if the system hadn't glitched. My partner was a newbie and she charged straight into the situation. If I hadn't locked her out of the room from where I had to be, I wouldn't have completed it."
"You wouldn't believe the night I had," TK continued, since August was not inclined to talk. "Remember Byte? The Agent I told you I'd been randomly paired with? She's a psycho bitch."
"You mean the girl you referred to as a 'brilliant, talented, and honestly sexy individual'?" August queried in the most monotone of voices.
TK stiffened. "God, did I say that? I was so excited to meet her and learn from her. Turns out she's got a massive superiority complex. Sis was bragging about her connections. 'My brother builds so much for this agency!' I wanted to beat the shit out of her. She paralyzed me. Almost sabotaged the mission by telling me our target was a hostage of all things."
"You don't want to make enemies with the Carter family," he said, suddenly serious as he looked at her. "Did she mention that her brother sells their weapons? That's where most of TIDAL's budget comes from. I'm not sure it's all over the table, so don't mention it. Just…be nice."
"I'd honestly rather shoot myself," she mumbled. "She called herself an elite. More like an elitist piece of shit."
"This is why I only work with you," Carter sighed.
"Sometimes you need to work with others," Iniko replied.
"At least the other people I end up being partnered with know what they're doing," She shot back.
"I'm sure that she thought she did," He said, trying to defend a little.
"Seriously. Carter is untouchable." August finished the last stitch, covering the wound with gauze and bandaging it. "Just fly under the radar and do what you do best."
"You just contradicted yourself," she drawled. "Flying under the radar is the opposite of what I do best."
He shook his head, tapping the side of her face lightly. "Don't be an idiot. Play nice until you rise in the ranks. That's your only play."
"Whatever," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm never going on a mission with that thing again."
"Oh, please don't," he agreed, "she'll definitely watch you die and not give a damn."
"Of course she did. She did when she held a gun to Natalia's head. She did when she knocked Natalia unconscious. She did when she thought that she knew everything. I hate working with newbies. Because they have no experience."
"Okay, you're good to go," he said, leaning back. "I'd tell you to take it easy for a while but I know you won't listen."
TK shrugged lightly. "Thanks, August. I'm going to go home and shoot myself with a stun gun. I'm going to keep doing that until I can recover from it in less than two minutes, just in case the psycho decides to really stun me next time."
"Do you wanna head out?" Iniko asked, and Carter nodded. She packed up her things and then turned off the lights in the lab. She and Iniko linked arms, skipping in time. They started to 'sing' the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and old hobby of theirs.
As TK walked down the hall, she heard… singing? Was someone singing the Wizard of Oz? She peered around the corner, shocked to find Carter arm-in-arm with some guy. She squinted at them, stepping into the hallway. She crossed her arms, unsure of what to say, but sure she didn't want to let them pass her by without talking.
After they finished the song, the two of them stopped skipping, but their arms remained linked. "Wanna go to a bar?" Iniko asked, blue hair sweeping his face.
"You mean do I wanna get drunk? Shit yeah. After the crappy mission I just had."