[RP Log] You're Filled with Determination

It worked. He couldn't believe it worked. Though the registration recruits were a little skeptical, his fake ID and papers had worked, and Daxton Jaeger was ushered in with the rest of the recruits. The boy was starry-eyed, despite trying his best to play it cool. Thankfully, he was mashed in with recruits that were similar in age to him, because some of the people on the latter end of the spectrum were... intimidating, to say the least. Like that stopped him, though. He was going to be a STaR agent, no matter what.

As they were gathered in a group, a door opened, revealing two people Daxton didn't recognize, and a third woman who seemed... somehow familiar. Her face looked like stone, the braids woven into her hair reminded the boy of a viking warrior of sorts. She certainly looked the part- she looked like she could bench press half the recruits with no problem. It wasn't until she stood closer that he recognized her, and if anyone had thought it wasn't possible for him to become more amazed, he did. Was that- Winona Ness? The Winona Ness- that one boxing lady on TV?! Oh my god, he couldn't believe his eyes.

--

There weren't that many today- 20 or so? Winona knew off the bat only a few would last, maybe 5 or 6 would decide not to give up, and give her proof that they were capable of being there. Only three or so would make it through their first two weeks or so, which is why they wouldn't be doing any real work for STaR for another month or two- it was like a trial period. Her eyes had no hints of emotion as she looked over the group- mostly young men, what a surprise. Maybe that was because women naturally knew when something was a bad idea.

The promise of a nice paycheck every two weeks was enough to bring people in to go job-hunting: and security and patrol were the easiest jobs to get in the company, besides maintenance. But then again, who wants to be a janitor? Not young people like these. She continued analyzing as the two men began their spiel about responsibilities, requirements, blah, blah, blah. No one wants to listen to that. There was a small girl in the front- such a tiny thing. Winn bet that she would be the toughest of the group. Your usual, guys who skip leg day, people probably taking illegal steroids, blonde hair, black hair, red hair, yeah yeah, same old, same old.

But today Winn saw something she hadn't seen in a while- was he.... genuinely excited? About THIS? He'd be gone in no time. But something about that determination, that enthusiasm had her hoping he would fail and would walk away and keep going as far from STaR as possible. She realized that they had been waiting for her to talk for a moment or two, and so she did, lines sounding rehearsed, the pause seeming intentional.

"Today, we're going to be testing you on your combat skills and abilities to place you. We don't have time to sit here and train everyone who comes off the street looking for a job. If you have no experience with a gun, or hand to hand combat, please don't waste my time. Go home."

She gestured to the door, and one person left. She was hoping more would have. "Ok, that was your opportunity. Follow me," she said, sounding so extremely bored as she led them through some wide hallways into... what was this, a shooting range? Line them up, give 'em the guns, move the target farther and farther away, repeat. One, two, three, four... it was the green eyes that caught her attention. She hadn't seen them from farther away, but it was definitely the picture of enthusiasm standing before her. She shoved a pistol at him for starters, wordlessly gesturing towards the close-range target and waiting to see what he had.

--

Daxton froze in place, the words cutting through his enthusiasm briefly. He'd never used a real gun before... b-but that didn't mean he couldn't use one! How hard could it be, right? You just point and shoot, boom, done. The hand to hand combat he was a little more experienced with, having gotten into a fair share of scraps throughout school. Kind of hard not to, when you were the older brother to a snot-nosed kid who thought he could take on the world. Maybe that would finally come in handy. Still, he stayed put- he'd put so much work into just getting here- he wasn't about to let a few words be what decimated all that progress... even if those words came from someone like Winona. He would prove himself. To her, to everybody, that he was capable of being a STaR agent.

Before he was even handed a gun, he felt a presence behind him. It was Winona... shit. Oh shit. What should he do!?

She answered that for him. He scrabbled to grab the new pistol from her, analyzing it for a moment before rearranging the grip of his hands. He had spent two days studying up on a bunch of guns- the most studying the boy had ever done in his life- so, luckily for him, he managed to get a... basically correct grip of the pistol- his hands were a little too far up, but still. He got past the safety, got past the hammer, and was able to pull the trigger, but the kick had caught him by surprise. Sure, he knew it was there, but he hadn't expected such a strong rebound from such a little gun- the first time he pulled the trigger, it almost shot right back into his eye. Grumbling curses quietly, he looked up at the target and found nothing... but, he noticed, on the target next to him was a bullseye and a hole in the red. Welp, he probably did one of these, so he just needed to hit his own target this time.

Still, he had messed up in front of probably the most famous person he'd ever met. That wasn't something your ego recovered from quickly. Face going beet red, he pulled back and tried again. This time, squeezing the trigger did technically result in him hitting his own target... on the white. That wasn't even part of the target. Shit. This was harder than it looked. Still, his determination remained. He began setting up the gun for a third shot, ignoring whatever critical look he was sure Winona was giving him.

--

Winona stood behind Daxton, waiting for his third shot impatiently. His grip was almost right, which was better than at least two others before him, and while the first was clearly sheer dumb luck, he at least hit the paper on the second try... "What are you waiting for?" Her voice was harsh. There were still another four or five to go, she didn't have time to watch some kid fumble with a pistol.

--

Daxton didn't want to say he was nervous, but if it was difficult to focus on his own shots, it was even more so with Winona breathing down his back. "I-I was just warming up! That's all!" He said defensively, pulling back the hammer once more. Miss. Paper. Why wasn't he hitting it!? He wanted to scream, but that wouldn't do any good here. He had to hit the target. He had to. So this time, he focused; really, really focused, tried to align the muzzle as best he could- he remembered reading something about exhaling as you shot. He took a deep breath, hoped his hands wouldn't shake, and fired on his exhale. The bullet shot through the paper- Daxton was afraid to look...

He hit it. Not the bullseye- he would have whooped with joy if he had- but he was in the next ring over, to the left. He grinned. "I hit it." He whispered, incredulous. "Didja see that!?" He beamed, turning around to see Winona's reaction.

--

Winona was taken by surprise when he turned around and asked her that. "You hit your target on one out of six shots. That's all I needed to see," she said, moving on. She managed to keep her surprised look to a minimum, but he went from completely missing the target to actually hitting it in six shots, and his nerves, the hold, everything about it suggested he had never shot a gun before. So when Winona dismissed those who had done worse (and yes, there were quite a few) the number dwindled down to about 14 recruits- Daxton being one of them. He may have sucked, but he had the enthusiasm and potential to learn, that was for sure.

--

Daxton wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but he decided to take it as a compliment- something that was only confirmed when he had made it past the initial round. He subtly puffed out his chest when he noticed he was standing next to a particularly brutish man, probably in his early thirties.

Honestly, the man could probably eat Daxton for breakfast, but he still tried to measure up to everyone who was left- every one of them looked tough as nails. Silently, he couldn't help but wonder what they were going to do next. He could whatever they threw at him, he was sure of it!

--

Winona led them to the next room, where there was a wrestling mat laid out. Winona cracked her shoulders and neck before beginning to explain that she would be asking them to fight each other, so the could get a good look at their strengths and weaknesses. Winona leaned against the wall as her male counterpart explained the rules, regulations, and what to do and what not to. No crotch shots, no hair pulling, no weapons, the basics. They paired them off and watched from the sidelines.

--

Daxton listened to the rules, figuring as much. If only all those rules had applied in real life- he'd have been a lot better off as a kid. He watched the first couple spars with interest, legs jittering in anticipation of what was to come. Then it was his turn to step up to the mat.

The giant bear of a man followed, eyeing him with a look of disappointment. Daxton blanched. "What, I gotta fight against this runt?" He jerked a meaty finger to Daxton, rolling his shoulders. "Whatever, easy win. Come on kid, I won't beat you up too bad. First hit will even be free." He grinned.

Daxton took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, put his hands up, and approached the beast of a man. He'd taken on kids larger than himself, and knew how to throw his weight around, but this guy!? He was dead, but he wasn't going down without a fight. With a sudden cry, he raced forward, body slamming the guy with all his might. The man wiggled a tiny bit, but he held his ground. His grin widened. "My turn."

With a whoosh, Daxton was hurled into the air, hitting the mat hard. He felt the air rush out of his lungs, but got up, determination glinting in his green eyes. "Stay down, kid, it's easier that way!" Daxton shook his head.

"Come on, is that all you got!?" the man bellowed. This time, Daxton waited for the man to come to him, and when the man charged, it might as well have been a freight train rushing at him. And what do you do when a train comes towards you?

You step out of the way.

Daxton dodged at the last second, whooping loudly and aiming a kick as the man's back as he began to tumble. But that was his mistake. The man grabbed his leg as he fell, and again Daxton felt his back slam into the mat, followed by a fist to the gut. Daxton struggled to get the weight off of him, but the guy was huge. So he went limp instead, taking a page from earlier days. Kids tended to get bored if they thought you were out cold.

But that was the man's mistake. Getting up, he figured just that- that Daxton was out cold. Turning his back to the boy, he spun around to Winona and demanded a real challenge- a demand that was cut short as Daxton literally leapt up and wrapped his arms around the man's tree trunk of a neck. This time, he managed to get a couple punches in, one to the side, two to the face, before the man recovered and went berserk. One, two, three decisive punches and Daxton was down for the count, the man looming over him.

"Don't get up." The man warned, his one eye already starting to bruise as he kicked Dax in the side before turning back to Winona. "I win."

--

Winona finally showed some emotion, plain on her face, stepping forward. "Alright, get him out of here." She demanded as someone pulled Daxton off to the side- but not before Winona saw him try to stand once more. "What is the job description of someone on patrol?" She asked the larger man, slipping off her shoes as a few people looked questioning.

The man seemed dumbfounded. 

"Oh, you're finished then? You are to neutralize any infected persons you may come across and return them safely to our team for treatment. You, however, couldn't keep a child down. You underestimated him, and then you kicked him while he was down. Instead of waiting for me to tell you that I had seen enough, you told me." She was a few feet in front of the man now. She looked small in comparison. "So if your strength is all you have going for you, then show me that. Go on. I don't bite." She taunted, and the man stepped forward and threw a punch- directly into Winona's waiting hand. With the momentum, Winona swung herself around and gripped the man in a headlock. She stood calmly as the man tried with all his might to get free. "Recruits, when an infected person or detainee attempts to fight back, it's always best to use their own momentum against them." It continued like this for a few more punches and swings, Winona demonstrating attacks that would effectively stop your opponent without severely injuring them.

After a few minutes of being made a fool of, the man angrily demanded she actually fight back, so she opened her arms and said sarcastically, "Okay, l'll even let you have the first hit." And he did what Daxton did- ran full force at the woman. But, of course, Winona had been expecting it. One second he was running, the next Winona had her arms around him as she bent backwards, slamming the man hard into the ground and falling herself, but recovering seconds later. The man was out cold, suplexed into submission. Winona stepped back and put her shoes back on as someone dragged her passed out opponent off the mat. "Next," she demanded, eyes darting to Daxton, who was sitting against a wall and had been watching the whole thing.

--

Daxton had seen the while thing- well, as best as he could through the swelling of one of his cheeks and a haze of pain. It was obvious, seeing as his jaw was basically hitting the floor. He had seen her fight, but that was in a boxing match- this was basically freestyle brawling, and this big brute of a man got his ass handed to him by a woman who was maybe half his size. Not only that, but the man was unconscious!

He liked to think he banged the man up a little bit- his eye had been swollen shut before Winona even laid a hand on him, after all- but even that had taken all his effort. The fact that this man was suplexed like he was a teddy bear was, well... absolutely insane. To say Daxton was amazed was a sheer understatement. He wanted to learn how to fight like that.

--

Winona finished up, deciding which recruits had a good balance of intelligence and fighting skills was easy, as usual. Those allowed to stay would be taken to another part of the building for other type of examinations. But Dax had yet to be addressed- after everyone else left, Winona approached him. Squatting down to his level, she said, "That was impressive, kid." She paused before continuing. "But I just don't think you're cut out for this."

--

Daxton felt his heart fall into his stomach, despite the initial compliment. That was it!? After all that... he was supposed to just write this off as a failure and move on? Just like that? No no no, he couldn't accept that, he'd come so far! "Wait, no, give me another chance! I know I messed up a couple times but I- I can do better!" He shifted around, struggling to get to his feet. Despite the vertigo, he stayed standing. "I'll fight someone else, I'll shoot a different gun! Just one more chance, please!"

--

Winona frowned. GOD that determination... guns could be taught. Fighting could be improved upon. But not everyone had a drive like that. She stood up, turning away as she took a deep breath. "You will report to me, Monday through Friday, 7 AM sharp and you will be done when I say we're done."

She didn't move or walk away yet. Truth be told, she kind of wanted to see that look he had given her when he finally hit his target. Maybe it was personal bias no, it definitely was. Had Winona not seen a ghost when she looked at Daxton, there was no way he would still be here. But luckily for him, Winona had been working today. It was almost as if fate had intervened and the stars lined up, just for him.

--

"Does... does that mean I'm in?" Slowly, Daxton's desperate visage turned to one of sheer elation- his whole face lit up as he realized just what she was saying. Unable to contain himself, he let out a whoop of joy, jumping up and immediately regretting the decision when the shock of the landing sent his muscles and bruises cramping in protest. But that didn't sour his enthusiasm. "Thank you very much, Ms. Winona- ma'am!" He wasn't entirely sure what to call her, but it was rare for Daxton to even attempt some form of respect in terms of an authority figure. "I'll work extra hard, and, and... I won't let you down, I promise!

--

Winona gave him a (what she perceived as) light punch to the shoulder, a lazy half-smile accompanying it. "Call me Winn. Be here tomorrow. We have to fill out paperwork. He'll show you the way out." And another agent did just that as Winona walked away. Well, shit. It had been a while since she was surprised like that.

--

The punch may have seemed light to Winona, but when it connected with his shoulder it still stung- but whether that was due to his current state or if she was just that strong was unclear. He nodded vigorously, looking to the other agent before calling out: "See you tomorrow, Winn!" And being escorted out. He couldn't believe it- he was going to be a STaR agent!!