'A.'

After five years in the military, his name had been altered in a number of ways. For quite some time, he had gone by either his last name only or by the last digits of his service number. During the two years he had served as a drill sergeant, the new enlists under his watch had come up with a number of nicknames for him. He had been called "Sergeant" often enough, and even "sir" by the greener men. But in all the years of his military service, he had never been referred to solely by a letter.

This is going to take some getting used to... he decided as he made his way through the building's first security checkpoint.

The thin file he had received from the division colonel was tucked under one arm as he followed the instructions the guard had given him to find his new post up on the fifth floor. The building was a maze of offices, but the young blond man was certain a bit of searching during coffee breaks would help him become more accustomed to its layout.

The colonel had been a nice, elderly gentleman with a broad smile and a cheerful temperament. It was certainly a pleasant change from the yelling and cursing of his last position. Twenty-four months of that had been more than enough. But he had done his time helping to train "the youth of tomorrow"; now it was time to settle into something less stressful.

A's face broke into a large smile. Maybe it wouldn't be less stressful, per se. There would certainly be enough action in Intel, what with the tumultuous state of the world, but he would finally be in a position where he could be a friend to his coworkers. He had had enough with breaking people in order to build them up stronger. Using his brain to help solve problems and catch bad guys - that was more the direction in which he wanted to be taking his career.

Engrossed in his thoughts, A had to take a small hop to the side to avoid being hit by a door swinging open. A curly-headed brunet was exiting the restroom, and he gave a small cry of surprise when he nearly ran into the other man on his way out.

"Sorry about that!" he apologized, an embarrassed grin on his face. "Didn't think anyone else was here this early, so I wasn't paying attention."

A waved him off, still all smiles. "No harm done. Better me than the colonel, right?"

The other man's eyes became large and round for a moment before he nodded in complete agreement. "I don't think I've seen you around here before," he stated as he took in the sergeant's uniform the blond NCO was wearing. No one in their division ever wore their uniforms unless there was an inspection or a particular mission called for a visible presence of rank. "You're the new guy, right?"

"Guilty as charged." It was hard to guess the proper response. If this man were an officer, A assumed that he would quickly be corrected for any lapse in protocol. But as not even the colonel had been wearing any indication of his rank, trying to figure out the chain of command was going to be an interesting experience. However, since this man had such a laid-back attitude, he most likely wasn't an officer.

"We were told someone would be arriving today, but I didn't think it was until after lunch." The curly-haired agent held out one plump hand towards him. "I'm B. Nice to meet you - A, right?"

"Yeah." He clasped B's hand and gave it a firm shake. After too many months in training, he had to constantly remind himself not to bark out responses to casual question. "I reported in to the colonel yesterday evening, but he said that our CO wouldn't be in until sometime today. He was busy, so I didn't get much else from him. Do you know who I need to report in to this morning?"

The other agent's face lit up. "That's great! The major and most of the Alphabet are gone, following up a lead on a long-time 'friend' who feels the need to leave the cold of Moscow and come pester us from time to time. Your welcome party has been pushed back until they finish with him." Leaning in to whisper confidentially, B added, "Between you and me, I don't mind all that much. I hate having to come to work in my Class As."

"So do I," A whispered back. He wasn't at all eager to be the center of attention during formation. During his official welcome, he would be paraded around in front of the men, which was always embarrassing. "How long do you think that might be?"

Tossing off a shrug, B started leading them off down the hall in the direction A had originally been going. "One can never tell with the major. He's... Well, you'll meet him. Today, it's just me and Agent Tset manning the desks. He's the only one around here who gets any work done. Ruins it for the rest of us, let me tell you. I think I got left here so he could 'rub off' on me."

"Is that so?" Despite himself, A couldn't help but find the agent's forthright attitude a little endearing. B wasn't a kiss-up, and he was good at making himself likable. "What's your position here, B?"

"I'm in supply. I got your desk mostly sorted out, too, by the way. Takes forever to get anything in, so I started ordering the moment A - our last A, that is - found out he was being transferred." B opened the door to one of the offices and stepped aside to usher A through. "But if I missed anything, or if you need something special, let me know so I can try to get it for you."

A's eager blue eyes swept over the office. There were some two dozen desks in the room, all the model of organized chaos. Papers, binders, and all manner of report files littered every surface. Some were even kept in haphazard stacks on the floor lining the walls and alongside desks. A row of lockers stood at the back of the room, while the front was dominated by the CO's large desk. A smoker, A noted, if the bucket of cigarette stubs was any indication. Only one other man was in the large office, as B had said. An older man whose short-cropped black hair had turned mostly grey was busying himself with a coffee maker that was tucked in a small nook by windows along the far wall.

"Hey, Tset! Grab another one of those for the new guy, too, would ya?" B waved at the other agent as he shuffled in and shut the door behind him. "If you don't mind my asking, A, what did you do before getting moved to our neck of the woods?"

"I was a drill sergeant at the base near Frankfurt." A couldn't help a small grin as B's face fell, which wasn't entirely unexpected. Drill sergeants - not wholly without reason - often had the reputation of being hard-nosed bastards. B had probably been hoping for someone to help combat the forces of Hard Work.

Coming over with a mug of coffee in one hand and a styrofoam cup in the other, the agent B had referred to as 'Z' offered him the drink. "Glad to hear that they got someone who can help keep these pups in line," he stated, giving A a nod of greeting.

"Har-har." B rolled his eyes at the older man.

Once again, A found himself wondering what rank the slightly overweight agent was. Either he was at the top of the food chain, or the office was very tight-knit and didn't mind a bit of sass.

"Tset, this is A, formerly of Frankfurt. A, this is Tset, our resident stickler-for-the-rules." He grinned up at the older man smugly as if to say that he knew he was toeing the line and didn't particularly care. Unfortunately for B, his remark won him an unwanted mussing of his fluffy hair as Z chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"It's a pleasure, Sergeant," Z stated, turning his attention away from the young agent.

A accepted the man's handshake, getting the distinct impression that he was going to enjoy working in this office. "Likewise, Sergeant." Again, A found himself hoping that he wasn't wrong, but this agent held himself with a demeanor that suggested he was used to giving orders.

Z turned to the younger agent next to him. "B, why don't you give our new friend a tour of the office. Have you seen the rest of the building yet, Sergeant?"

"No, I haven't had time yet. And 'A' is fine."

"Just covering my ass," the elder agent replied with a wry grin. "You're now the highest ranking NCO in the unit, and it has been my experience that some people are touchy about that sort of thing."

B's eyes went wide, and his gaze slipped over from the half-eaten cookie on his desk back to the blond. "Really? You look pretty young to have earned that many stripes already."

A faint blush tickled at A's cheeks. "I worked hard and got a couple of lucky breaks."

"I'm sorry to say that you won't be getting any more of those here." Z clapped A's shoulder in a sympathetic gesture. "I've been in this division almost twenty years, and I've only seen one promotion. Once they have you where they want you, they don't like letting you leave."

"My girlfriend will be very smug about that," A groused, staring dejectedly into his cup. "She said that NATO would be a dead-end job before I left Frankfurt."

"Your girl not happy about moving here with you, then?" With a slight shrug of his shoulders, B added, "My wife enjoys it well enough. City life keeps her busy."

"Ex-girlfriend, I suppose I should have said." A raised his coffee in a mock salute. "She said 'work or me,' and I decided that the sort of lady who asks you to make a choice like that isn't the best companion for a person with a job like mine."

After downing the last of his coffee, Z started back to the pot for a refill. "Don't worry," he stated with authority. "You're what, an OR-7?"

"OR-6."

"You've still got room for advancement. Everything will be fine if you take care of your major, keep him out of trouble, and play nice with the baby seal of a colonel we have."

A snorted. "Baby seal, you say?"

"Yup." B nodded readily in agreement. "The colonel's great. Kiss up to him while you can, though; word is that he's moving up the food chain, and the walrus is taking over as chief of the department."

"Would that be the Lieutenant Colonel, by any chance?" A could already tell that times were going to be quite interesting in his new office.

Z tried to say that he wasn't that bad of an officer, but his words were cut off by the younger agent. "He's terrible! Whenever we need anything, everyone always skips over him in the chain of command and goes straight to the chief, cause the lieutenant colonel won't let us get away with anything. He's such a sourpuss."

In a reprimanding tone, Z stated, "Which is the very reason that he gets mad and isn't lenient with our office."

"I always thought that was because of our new major..."

"He doesn't seem to help the situation." Z's mouth formed a thoughtful-looking pout. "Rather like throwing gasoline on a flame... But don't you worry any, A. Just keep in mind what they taught you about babysitting your CO and who's in your chain of command, and it'll be smooth sailing."

"I haven't had a chance to meet the major yet." A sat down at what he presumed was his desk, as it was the only one not covered in reports and forms. Giving the chair and testing bounce for comfort, he asked, "What's he like?"

When B gave a small whimper of terror, Z moved to cut him off before he could make a bad first impression on their new sergeant. "He's good at what he does; a very dedicated soldier."

"He's a sadist," B added softly, still cringing at the thought of their commanding officer.

It wasn't difficult to deduce from watching the two that B was overreacting while Z was purposefully withholding information. Their new major, then, probably fell in the middle somewhere between dictating overlord and adept professional. He addressed his next question solely to Z. "What's wrong with him?"

"There isn't anything wrong with him. He's just... zealous. The major is young; he just isn't broken in well yet. Give him time, and I'm sure he'll calm down."

A gave an understanding nod. It wasn't at all uncommon for people new in rank to want to do more than necessary until they had proven themselves and learned the ropes, but even still, a major was pretty far along the chain of command to still be having those tendencies. "Is he new to the division? Transfer in from somewhere else?"

"Not exactly... I think that most of the problem comes from the fact that he's only twenty."

"Twenty?!" A nearly choked on the last of his coffee, and he set aside the cup lest he spill any more of it. "That's barely older than the boys I was running through basic training! How could he be a major?!"

"His daddy bought him his commission."

"B!" Z stared down at the other agent in mortification.

"What?" Not seeming at all repentant for his remark, B elaborated for the benefit of their new staff sergeant. "It's the most popular theory in the office betting pool."

A shot the other agent a quizzical look. "You promote gambling here?"

"Uhh... No?"

"I'm fine with a few unconventional methods of keeping unit morale up, so long as it doesn't interfere with day-to-day activities." B's face instantly brightened at his words, and A couldn't help but find himself liking the other agent. From the way he acted, though, A got the distinct impression that B was going to be a fun but problematic coworker. He would simply have to keep a closer eye on him than the others to keep him out of trouble. "So, back to our major: If that's the most popular theory, what's the more probable explanation?"

"My understanding of it is that his family has a long history of involvement with the military. The Graf von dem Eberbach is with the tank corp. and has probably raised his son since diapers to follow in the family footsteps." Z gestured to the desk at the front of the room to indicate the major in his absence. "Our boy will learn the ropes soon enough and will cool down. Until then, we just have to do our best to guide him."

On the inside, A let out a long and disappointed groan. Not only was their CO a fanatic, he was aristocracy, which meant that he would probably be a pompous ass as well as a stickler for rules. While A himself had no problems with that, as the ranking NCO in the office, it would become his duty to make sure that none of the other twenty-five agents under him had a problem with it. That was going to be infinitely more difficult.

If nothing else, his stay in Bonn would prove to be an interesting one.