CHAPTER ONE

( RUNNING IN CIRCLES )

THE MORNING SUNS dull warm rays have barely begun to make an appearance over the Washington monument, giving the nation's capital a sense of awakening with its light. She had been up long before sunrise, the rhythmic sounds of her shoes hitting the pavement beneath her have engulfed most of her senses, leaving her trapped within the group of runners that she was clustered in. Her lungs burn with each biting breath she takes, as she tries to push herself to the front of the group. Her legs begin to tremble with each body she passes, her calves are left straining up until she reaches the front, where she takes in a deep (deeper than her panting) breath of relief.

A sense of accomplishment washes over her, a smile makes itself at home on her lips. She was first and that's all that mattered to her at that moment. She didn't expect competition when her roommate, Jo, insisted her in joining their running troop - The Joggernauts; and she was surprised to see that there was some. It gave her the extra push she needed to keep on her toes. If she wasn't so competitive she'd be in the back of the pack with Jo. She couldn't blame Jo for being a slow runner, in fact, Jo wasn't particularly slow she just had the advantage of going through law enforcement school to keep her in the rungs. Jo didn't.

Another padding of feet alerted her that someone was coming up from behind her - and fast. Her cheeks burned, her heart thumped wildly in her chest as she tried to pump her legs fast but nothing seemed to push her faster than the set of feet that was now next to her. She was determined to get ahead of the person, no matter who it was. Although she could probably take a guess at who it was. She threw a side glance at the body next to her briefly before focusing back on the pavement ahead of her. A soft chuckle from him drifted over to her, forcing her to roll her eyes.

Maddox Henson - the founder of the group and the self-proclaimed fastest man in Washington D.C. Otherwise known as the reason most of the female individuals in the troop are still here. No doubt that's why Jo accepted his invitation to the group. He was lean and muscular, he heavily depended on running as his means to stay fit.

They always went head to head with each other. Some days Maddox would come in first - other days it'd be her. Today has been up in the air between the two of them, although she was straining to keep pace with him at the moment, slightly lagging behind. That's when she was blinded by the suns ray finally making their first appearance from behind the monument. She glanced down at her watch that doubled as a heart-rate monitor to look at the time. Seven hundred. It was about time that she head home to get ready for work.

Regrettably, Quinn begins to slow her pace down to a light jog, listening to Maddox's triumphant chuckle as she pulled back. The further from the front she, the closer she was to Jo, whose face looked as red as a tomato from the amount of strain she was putting into keeping up with the group. Her chest was heaving rapidly, causing Quinn to grow concerned that she may pass out from exhaustion at any given moment. Jo glances over to her roommate and opens her mouth to speak but nothing seems to come out except heaving gasps for air. She, in turn, groans in exasperation - she was tired. Quinn places a hand on her shoulder for a moment to encourage her that the run should only last for a little longer and she can push through it. Jo's excruciating pace to her was seemingly pleasant for Quinn. It gave her a moment for her calves to relieve the tension that had been building up.

"Let's go lovelies!" Maddox's voice wavered out to the troop. "The next stop is only a couple of minutes away!" His pace begins to accelerate, and as with it, the group begins to move with him at a faster pace. Jo lets out a small squeak in protest as her legs cannot keep up with the rest of the group. She tries her hardest to move as fast as the rest but, she can only move a hair faster before her legs begin throbbing in protest. "This group," she huffs out, catching Quinn's attention. "Is going to kill me."

Quinn lets out a breathless chuckle at her friend's remark. She reaches out and gives her a small pat on the shoulder for encouragement as she watches some of the group members - including their fearless leader Maddox - come to a stop at a corner or grass. Jo lets out one more groan in agony before picking up the pace to reach the end. Quinn wastes no time in keeping up with her, she's thankful that she's at least trying to run a little faster. She glances at Jo's cherry red face one more time before looking up ahead at the rest of the straggling members of the group. Most of them are daily runners like she was, some are runners whenever they feel like it, like Jo. Jo only decides to run after having a rough date which coincidentally seemed to be at least once maybe even twice a month. Last night, Jo was on the couch watching Disney movies and eating chocolate frosting out of the container with graham crackers - today she's running and drinking her green smoothies. Wash, rinse, repeat.

"Sweet land!" Jo exclaimed as she threw herself onto the neatly cut green grass of the park that the group was running in. Quinn couldn't help but chuckle at her antics. She wiped the sweat from the back of her neck with the sleeve of her steel blue jacket before crouching down beside Jo. She rubbed her back as she asked, "Are you okay?" Jo was too busy catching her breath to respond, her eyes fell shut as she felt all her muscles ache simultaneously.

Quinn rolled her eyes. She was always dramatic. "I'm going to get you some water." She informs her friend before standing back up, knees popping and cracking in the process. The group was supposed to take a ten-minute break to stretch and hydrate before starting back up. Quinn has never officially made it to the end since most of the time work beckoned her to be there at eight hundred on the dot. She could usually get away with being at least ten minutes late.

She paced over to Maddox who was talking with a couple of women from the group. She rolled her eyes as she saw their flirtatious smiles and their forced giggles. She wouldn't talk to him if she didn't have to but unfortunately he held the backpack that held all the water bottles in them. He was chivalrous in that way, asking everyone to give him their water bottles so he could carry it and they could enjoy their time. Besides their constant competition of who's faster, and his constant flirting with other members of the group Maddox was at least bearable.

A small smirk found its way to his lips as he caught sight of her approaching, he excuses himself from his conversation to meet Quinn halfway. There's no exchange between them at first, just eye contact. Maddox has a spiteful look in his eyes, he bites down on his bottom lip as if he's rubbing in his win to her face. Quinn glares in irritation before letting out a huff. She sticks out her hand for her water bottle. "Not that much competition today." Maddox instigates as he scans Quinn's figure. His hand digs inside the black pouch and pulls out a teal metal water bottle. "Finally realize you can't beat the fastest man in D.C.?" Quinn snatches the bottle out of his hand, all the while glaring at the snarky man with a proud smirk.

She opens her mouth to protest but as she does she sees his eyes narrow as they trail off towards the trail they were just on. She turns to see what he's gawking at only to be surprised herself. It happens in a matter of seconds. There's a man running, he passes them, and then he's gone - a faint figure in the distance. There's small talk within the group, all wondering who that man could be. She smiles to herself, knowing exactly who that man was.

"Fastest man in D.C., huh?" She teases as he continues to look at the figure in the distance. She uses this time to sneak away from him. She returns to see her friend sprawled out across the grass like a starfish, her eyes still closed but her breathing has returned to its normal pace. Quinn smiles as she lightly taps Jo with her foot. Jo groans as she opens her eyes for the first time to see Quinn standing above her with a water bottle in hand. She reaches up and takes it out of her hands before gulping down most of the water.

Quinn places herself next to her in the grass. "Did you see Captain America running?" she asks. Jo makes a grunt as she stops drinking the water. "So that's what that breeze was." she jokes, handing the bottle back to Quinn. Captain America has officially become a new resident of the D.C. area. Rightfully so. It's been a good two since his arrival to D.C., almost three years since he came out of the ice and made his debut as an Avenger. She, along with everyone else in D.C., was surprised to see him actually end up residing here instead of New York City - his last place of residence.

He's been the local heartthrob to many women although he's had to make his presence known to the public eye besides his morning jogs. If that's what you would call jogging. Jo places a hand over her chest. "Oh, be still my heart, Captain America is in the same vicinity as me." She mocks the women in the group who are still trying to catch a glimpse of him although he's long gone by now. Quinn lets out a chuckle. She nudges Jo's knee with hers to get her attention.

"I know you're going to hate me, but I think we should head home. I have to get ready for work." Quinn's voice drips with sarcasm.

"You're twisting my arm here, Cruise. Don't you see? I woke up at the crack of dawn because I wanted to die today." Jo retorts with a sly smirk.

Quinn snorts as she stands up, wiping the grass clear from her body, she holds out a hand for Jo to take - which she is shakily able to do. "I don't get how you can do this every morning." Jo grunts as she grabs a hold of Quinn's shoulder for balance so stretch her left leg. "I like it," Quinn mumbles out from under her breath, crossing her arms across her chest. She stares out at the mirror pool of the monument. Its stillness seemed to calm her, it's what she needed before going into work. After Jo announces she's ready to go, they begin their trudge over to Maddox. Quinn once again braces herself for her conversation with him. Jo stops halfway, complaining about her foot cramping and tells Quinn to go on without her for the moment.

She turns back around to meet up with Maddox who had been recently surrounded by the women in the group. Overall, and as much as she hated to admit it, she couldn't blame the women of the group for wanting to flirt with the insufferable founder. Maddox was well built with a famously handsome face. He could've easily been confused as a superhero with his stature. She had to shake the thought of finding Maddox attractive away before stepping up to speak with him.

"Maddox," Quinn greets just as the instructor had stops flirting with a girl. He turns around to face her yet again, flashing a devilishly cocky grin that would make any girls heart explode. She suppressed the need to blush. "Missed me already? How can I help you?" He asks.

"Just letting you know that I'm leaving for the day with Jo. Some of us have jobs." Quinn states as his eyes narrowed in question.

"Oh yeah?" He challenges. She didn't like this. She knew where this was going.

"Yeah, you know," Quinn fumbles with her words as she pointed back towards Jo who was struggling with walking without a limp. "Starbucks."

Maddox let out a chuckle from under his breath as he watches Jo stagger towards them, before resting his eyes back on Quinn. "What about you?" He questions. Quinn sucks in a breath. She wasn't allowed to tell him per her contract that she signed. She wasn't even allowed to tell Jo or anyone close to her. "Me?" She nervously questions, she felt herself sweating more than she did running. "Yeah, what do you do?"

"I uh..." She stammers, racking her brain for the excuse she used for Jo. Before she could say anything Maddox blurted out his assumption, "Let me guess. You're a cop?" She still felt tense, but she relaxed a little bit. A cop.

"What makes you say that? Doing anything illegal, Maddox?"

"No, I just have a gift for these kinds of things."

"Hate to break it to you but your gift is wrong."

"Well then what do you do?"

"I'm an I.T."

Maddox's brows raise in surprise at her answer. She felt a little better about herself, the tight feeling in her chest seemed to fade away at the moment. She hasn't lied about her job but she hadn't straight up told him what she had done for a living. She'd throw that up in her bosses face if she was ever questioned. "So you're like smart," he blurts out. She furrows her brows at the statement and watches him regroup himself from his outburst. "I didn't mean it like that-"

"No, yeah I'm smart. I get what you're trying to say. Don't strain yourself, hotshot." She winks. "Anyways, I have an update I need to install in the companies system so I had to head off. See you tomorrow." She clasps his shoulder and leaves before he even gets a chance to recuperate from his verbal vomit. "Let's go Kapplin," She urges her friend as they begin to make their way out of the park towards a bus stop.

Her job was amazing. Incredible to say the least. She was surprised when they had even approached her and offered her a job. But that was the downside of working for them. You couldn't let anyone know where you work or who you work for.