what's in it for me?
Author: Nathalia
Rating: PG
Challenge:
Quince #03 - what’s in it for me?
Tropical Punch #08 - uncharted waters
Extras / Toppings: blueberries (I am not a critic; to me criticism is so often nothing more than the eye garrulously denouncing the shape of the peephole that gives access to hidden treasure. - Djuna Barnes), gummy bunnies (origfic_bingo: criminal intent), malt (Summer Challenge #262: One sometimes finds what one is not looking for. - Alexander Fleming), pocky chain, whipped cream
Word Count: 1,582
Story: Misfits
Summary: Stella is recruited into Cerberus.
Notes: Stella is 17 in this which is more like borderline whipped cream. pocky dance party: moonwalk. Cerberus and by extension CIA health insurance is totally German.
“I don’t see why not,” Stella decided, giving Salazar her best smile. “I mean, you’re saying I’ll never get another opportunity and your pitch made this sound like the best thing ever. Who would pass up on that?”
“Not the people we look to recruit,” Salazar winked and Stella nodded.
“Sounds good. So, where do we go from here? Do I get a secret spy phone or something?”
“I told you, you sign a contract and then you go to college.”
“Where do I sign then?”
“Don’t you want to think about it again? Read the contract?”
“Not really, no.”
***
“It promises that we will pay for your education and living expenses as long as you hold a specific GPA and take the classes we expect you to take while still leaving room for you to expand your horizons however you wish to. In exchange, we expect you to work for Cerberus for a minimum of fifteen years during which you will be paid accordingly. The details can be found in the contract. You will get retirement money once you choose to stop working for us and you get health insurance until the day you die. All expenses covered.”
***
Salazar sat down across from her again and Stella started to leaf through the contract, knowing that it would take her ages to read this.
“Were you recruited like this?”
“Not in the interrogation room of a police department after the stunt you pulled, but if you ignore those details, it was pretty similar.”
“They tied you up?” Stella teased.
“That’s another one of the details unique to your situation, Miss West.”
“I figured. So, do you want to give me a short run-down of this?” She pointed at the contract.
***
She didn’t immediately look at the thick contract, fiddling with the key instead, discovering that this was harder than she had thought.
“Mind helping?”
Salazar stood up and came to stand next to her chair. He took the key from her fingers and expertly slid it into the lock on her left wrist, releasing one of her hands from the cuff. He then repeated the process and set the handcuffs on the table next to Stella once he was done.
She rubbed her wrists. “Much better.”
***
“I brought a contract for you to look over. I’m assuming you’re interested?”
“Mr. Salazar, interested doesn’t even begin to describe how much I want this,” Stella smiled.
Salazar pulled a thick folder out of his briefcase and put it on the table just like he had with his badge before. On top of it, he put a little key Stella recognized immediately.
This time, she wasn’t as hesitant to grab what was on the table.
***
Stella’s heart was racing. She had never put much thought about what she wanted to do after high school but this sure was a good option, perfect even, and something she wouldn’t have found by herself. This was a chance she couldn’t let slip away.
She had always craved attention, otherwise why do those stunts, but never had she expected anything on this level.
***
“I’ll major in espionage?” Stella grinned. “I like that. I guess I lie to my parents when it comes to that, right?”
“Of course.”
“Why me?”
“You are infamous in this precinct and I’m a headhunter. I happened to come across you, started to gather intel on who you were and believe me, there are many potential candidates, I just recruited two young men your age who are starting college next term with you but we try not to have criminals in our ranks. If you had a criminal record other than several cases of public nudity, I wouldn’t have considered you.”
in Maine who are
***
“And then, what happens? Do I go to some secret underground training base and disappear from the surface of the earth forever without ever being allowed to contact my family and friends again?”
“You have watched too many movies, Miss West. You will go to college here in Boston with others, mostly regular people. You will take classes, things you are interested in as well as things that we insist on you taking. In addition to that, there is training, combat, weapons, all sorts of things. Once you graduate, you are a real spy.”
***
“We are always looking for talented young people like you. Most of the time, we go through more conventional channels, ask college teachers to have a test that includes logic and combination things, tactics that would be useful, or we recruit based on already developed skills. Hackers for example.”
“So you’re seriously here to recruit me for the CIA?”
“A daughter organization called Cerberus,” Salazar nodded. “We would like to train you, turn you into a top agent.”
“You know I still have a month to go before I graduate high school, right?”
“We’ll wait till then.”
***
“Why does a young woman like you do something like that?” Salazar asked, leaning forward to look at Stella. “You are obviously bored and this is not something most girls your age would do.”
“It’s a game. I like to see if I can outsmart people. It’s something I do for fun. It’s not about the act of nudity or anything. It’s not the only thing I’ve ever done but it is a nice way to provoke people without harming anyone. I might as well rob a store while the police is busy. Why does the CIA care?”
***
“There is nothing to worry about, Miss West, you aren’t in any kind of trouble. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. We have been watching you and we are very impressed with your work. You’ve repeatedly managed to distract the entire South Boston police by positioning people at the right spots, having them cause incidents, so that you could swim in the Mystic River naked without anyone being there to arrest you!”
“Repeatedly,” Stella confirmed. “Well, they caught me but it took a long time. Most of the time I wait for them to show up and time them.”
***
“Now the sunglasses make sense,” Stella wisecracked to downplay her nervousness.
She knew law enforcement, lawyers, policemen, but someone from the CIA? Looking for her? No matter at which angle she looked at it, it didn’t make any sense but it meant that she was in big trouble.
“Why would a CIA agent come looking for me? You said it yourself, I’m just a juvenile delinquent but I never do anything major and I never destroy anything and I’m not part of a gang or anything. I don’t understand.”
Se was sounding almost desperate but she couldn’t help herself. She was scared.
***
“You want me to become a superhero?”
“Very funny.” Salazar didn’t smile. Instead, he pulled out a badge and laid it on the table between the two of them.
Stella had to reach for it, the chains of her handcuffs hitting against the table as she did. The badge identified him as who he claimed to be and he wasn’t a psychologist or something like Stella had expected him to be.
According to his badge, this man was with the CIA.
It probably didn’t mean anything good that he had come here to see her.
***
“If you’re trying to scare me into changing my life, you’ve got the wrong address. My dad’s a lawyer, remember?” Stella smiled bitter-sweetly, her feeling a little stupid sitting here like this while the others were probably just in their cells till they were picked up by their parents.
“I would love for you to change your life, but scare tactics aren’t my thing. I have a job offer for you. Have you ever considered using your considerable talents for something good, something that might help the world instead of just getting into trouble for the rest of your life?”
***
“You’re too well-dressed to be one of those that do it because they think they can rehabilitate people and too poorly dressed for someone who is actually a good lawyer. And neither category ever wears sun glasses with a suit. That’s something only the Blues Brothers can pull off.”
Salazar laughed. “You are quite observant, Miss West. I am not a lawyer but I am interested in your future. In fact, I came here to make you an offer concerning your future.”
***
“Why would you come to see me? What are you anyway?” Stella asked, wrinkling her nose. “Public defendant?”
“I think you’ve met public defendants and lawyers before, Miss West, in fact, I seem to remember that your father is one and probably not very happy about your run-ins with the law. Now, as an expert on the subject, do I look like a lawyer to you?
She looked him over critically, the black suit that was a perfect fit, the black shoes, the tie and the sunglasses handing from his suit jacket.
Finally, she shook her head.
***
“Stella West, juvenile delinquent who sticks out among her compatriots for putting a lot of thought into what she does and not engaging into random destruction,” the man in the suit and the receding hairline said once Stella had been led into the sterile room, still handcuffed. She had been seated at the metal table and was alone with this strange man now.
“Brian Salazar,” the man with the suit said and reached out to shake Stella’s hand.
She was a little hesitant but took it.
“I came a long way just to see you, Miss West.”