Brock Rumlow stared at Su Ying for three seconds, then nodded and turned toward the edge of the training ground. He picked up the evaluation board and wrote something on it, the scratch of his pen across paper unusually clear in the cold wind. Su Ying remained where she was, slowly relaxing her tensed muscles. The sharp pain in her ribs reminded her of the force behind that palm strike. Lin Xiao walked over and handed her coat to her. Their eyes met again—without a word, yet both understood the vigilance in the other's gaze. Brock Rumlow closed the evaluation board and looked up at them. "Today's evaluation is over. Tomorrow morning, Captain Lin, come to my office. There are some matters we need to discuss alone."
It did not snow the next morning.
The sky was a sickly grayish white, like diluted milk spilled across an enormous glass dome. The base's heating system had finally been repaired, and the corridors had warmed enough to take off one's coat. Yet Lin Xiao still wore his neatly pressed winter uniform, the metal insignia on his epaulets reflecting a hard, cold gleam beneath the lights.
Brock Rumlow's temporary office was on the third floor of the base's main building, originally a storage room Fletcher had used to pile up miscellaneous items. Before knocking, Lin Xiao could hear papers being turned inside, steady and unhurried.
"Come in."
When he pushed the door open, the air inside was drier than in the corridor. Brock Rumlow sat behind a temporarily moved desk, several stacks of documents piled before him. The topmost one was yesterday's combat test evaluation report. The window stood open a crack, and cold air slipped through the gap, making the corner of a page on the desk tremble slightly.
"Sit." Brock Rumlow