Chapter 16: Eye SpyNotes:
All rights go to Marvel
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Coulson's POV
The mission at Malta didn't go as well as expected and I was not a big fan of the way that it turned out. But there was nothing I could do other than what happened at the end. The choice between the life of one person who would die not too long after and the lives of the people on the island and most importantly my team, though not desired, was not a hard one.
The paperwork that had to be filled to explain everything that went down was a huge pain. But since we stored the Gravitonium in the Fridge and the registry was destroyed, something good came out of the whole ordeal. Though we sent the Gravitonium over at the Fridge, we landed in Rome again to refuel and visit our base. It was only a day later that information about some happenings in Stockholm came through and it caught my eye. What the thief managed to do was something almost unheard of. I could imagine less than a handful of people who would be able to achieve something like that and since one of them was in the Bus with the team and the other was an Avenger… I had to find out for myself.
So, I gathered everyone and soon we were on the air with Sweden as the destination.
I had just finished with the required documents that I would need for the mission, to show to the local police and military that gathered in the area, and decided to head to the cockpit. More often than not I would notice that Skye would either go in there with May and stay with her as she flew, or she would disappear someplace else, for a few hours every time and then she would reappear out of thin air. I still didn't know what to make of her exactly. And what she said to me right before infiltrating Quinn's villa… made me think that maybe I have been too hard on her.
I knocked before opening the door to the cockpit, where May was by herself, her focus on the various panels in the room and the clean sky ahead of us. "Maybe I should learn to fly. It's not too late, right?" I turned to look at May who still looked out of the front windows, pretending I wasn't even there. I wouldn't admit it to her, but I missed the way we used to talk to each other before that mission went wrong all those years ago. "I could learn" I concluded when I didn't get any reply from her, nodding my head to no one in particular. "What do you like best… the freedom? The view?"
"The solitude" my attempt for small talk was destroyed by May's blunt reply and I had to suppress a giggle.
"Got it. See you in Sweden" I told her and headed towards the door. I don't know what possessed me to say so, but right before I left the room I spoke to her "But you still let Skye come in here". There was no anger or resentment in my voice, I was just stating a fact after all.
I could swear I heard her reply "Exactly" but I wouldn't be sure, given that I was already in the corridor and walking toward the lab where I knew everyone else was.
FitzSimmons were working on the new dendrotoxin .45-caliber cartridges, semi-automatic guns. I arrived just as Ward was about to ascend the stairs and leave the science twins to keep working on their project. "Has any of you seen Skye?", I asked them.
"Not really" Ward didn't bother looking back as he left. I shook my head. Though the two of them had made some progress, there was still a long way to go until they actually got along. But I couldn't complain really, it wasn't like they made a big fuss every time they were together in the room, so I guessed they just needed some more time to work things out.
"Sir" my attention was redirected to Simmons who was looking at me. She cleared her throat and her eyes flew to one of the vans parked at the cargo hold before going back to continue her work.
My right eyebrow almost reached my hairline at that as I started walking towards the said vehicle. It wasn't that hard to not miss the connection that the two girls had, always making sure the other is okay, knowing what the other is about to say or is thinking about. I knocked on the window and it rolled down to reveal Skye in the backseat, with her laptop on her lap.
"Hey, Coulson. What's up?" She asked.
"What are you doing in here Skye?", I couldn't help but ask in return. She could be anywhere on the Bus, working with the system's computers and she chose such a small and closed space?
"I'm just taking a little me time. It can get pretty loud in the Bus and I like my solitude every now and then" she replied with an easy smile on her face.
I scoffed at that. Her words sounding so similar to what May had just said moments ago that I could see why she actually allowed Skye in her sacred space. "Whatever works best for you I guess. Anyhow, I need your help with something"
Just as she did a couple of days ago with the e-Vite that she got for Quinn's gala, Skye just logged into her phone and she dropped the idea that we could find the person behind the heist through the online platforms. "It's amazing. Every year this part of our job gets easier. Between Facebook, Instagram and Flickr, people are surveilling themselves".
I could see Skye nodding along to my words as her eyes travelled through the screen where we had the tag and search program running. "And with many filters to choose from," she added making a small smile appear on my face. Her ability to say something so irrelevant to the case since the day she walked on the Bus would help ease the atmosphere at intense moments. "You know that I helped design the system you are using right?" She asked and I could hear the pride in her voice. When I turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow she actually giggled. "What? My hacking abilities aren't just limited to getting into places through the backdoors of the dark web. I have helped close holes in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s security systems for years now, and upgrading many of their existing softwares and applications" she declared as her gaze shifted back to the screen. "Ha!" She exclaimed and pointed as a picture came up with a woman fitting the profile that we were looking for.
"I can run facial-recognition software on the photos, cross-reference them with our criminal database" May quickly added, always ready to get down to business and not beat around the bush.
"You don't have to" I answered just as quickly, as I laid my eyes on my rookie that I hadn't seen for years. "That's the thief. Her name's Akela Amador"
I transferred the image of Amador to my tablet and moved towards the briefing area to bring in the rest of the team who was waiting for the three of us. "You're certain?" May questioned as we walked.
"I should be" I paused and turned to look at the two women behind me. "I trained her" and with that, I walked in. The briefing went as expected, mostly that is. May wanted to alert the HQ of our findings but I told her to not do so for the time being. I wanted to bring her in myself, I couldn't believe that she would cross the agency like that, despite all her flaws. May, of course, was not too excited with what she was ordered, but followed through anyway and set course to Belarus.
I was still looking at Akela's picture on the screen, thinking that everyone had already left, only for someone to clear their throat. I lifted my head only to find Skye looking at me. "Look, I know it's not my place, but don't blame yourself because this chick went to the dark side. Whatever… path, whatever weird stuff she got into, it's on her. Not on you. So, please try not to beat yourself too hard about it, okay?" She offered a small smile and left me alone in the room.
I didn't know why, but I could have sworn that she was speaking from experience.
From there on the mission started going from bad to worse. True, we knew that Akela was in Belarus but when we went in to locate her, she attacked the van that FitzSimmons and Skye were in. If it weren't for Skye being a trained agent I wouldn't want to think what might have happened. But she was there and, despite not chasing after Akela, staying with the other two to make sure that they stayed safe and waited for Ward and me to arrive, she did manage to get a license plate which she was running in the lab. She was also trying to hack back into the feed that Akela was watching them from and so we had a sort of solid lead.
But then, when we were able to watch back to what she was seeing, May had to put her input again. "We have to take her out. She's a weapon. I'll call HQ, see if we can bring a task force to help us"
I looked at her, my eyes narrowing. Ever since she found out it was one of my old trainee's she was dead set on calling the big guns and not letting us deal with it. "Our team can handle it," I said with confidence.
May let out a sigh and the rest of the team parted for her to walk forwards and stand right opposite me. "I get it. You feel responsible… maybe you pushed her too hard. But she tried to kill three members of our team"
"If she wanted us dead, we would be dead" I instantly said back. "And Skye was with them, nothing happened".
"We got lucky" she emphasised the last word. "You wanna risk our lives again?"
I couldn't believe this. I could understand this coming from Ward, it was like he was born and bred out of a textbook for crying out loud. But never from May. "You told me you were ready for combat. You told me that you had my back"
"Don't ever doubt it" she cut in, not letting me form another sentence. "But you are defending this girl at the expense of the team"
"Because we protect our own" I took a step towards the woman that I knew for so many years.
"With all due respect, sir. She is not one of our own" Ward had to say his part and I clenched my jaw. Thankfully Skye cut in, pointing at the screen where Akela was asked permission to sleep on a piece of paper.
And when a 'Stand by_' appeared at the edge of the screen I knew what this was. "She's not being watched. She's been controlled. We have to find her. Take shifts watching the feeds. Sooner or later she'll look at something that will clue us in her location"
"I'll take the first watch," May said and I pointedly looked at her.
This was not an argument that I wanted to have at the moment and so I retreated to my office. It was going to be a long night… I couldn't really sleep and I was going over and over the information that we had gathered ever since we landed in Stockholm, trying to memorise anything and everything that I deemed relative. The trance-like state that I was in was interrupted by a knock on the door which opened slowly to reveal Skye.
"I just wanted to give you a quick update," she said and I put my paper on the desk, my attention fully on her. "She's still at the hotel, so… and that's the update" she finished and a slightly awkward silence filled the room. I could tell that there was something else she wanted to say, and she just didn't know how to breach the subject. "It was a pretty weird day, huh? It was like we were trapped in a van-shaped piñata for a minute there"
I let out a sigh. "That should never have happened," I said, knowing it wasn't going to offer any sort of reassurance.
"That's okay," she said in return as if trying to reassure me. "I have been in many bad situations, I just wouldn't want to think what would have happened had I not been there. And anyway, it wasn't nearly as bad as watching you and May fight downstairs"
"That shouldn't have happened either. You regret having Maria assign you here?"
She opened her mouth as if to speak, but then closed it again thinking over the words she was about to form. "The Deputy Director might have suggested that I am added to this team, but you were the one to give the okay. And I know that you are not extremely excited with the idea, but I feel like we are getting somewhere. Or I least I think that we do. That's speaking on my part, I don't know about you. And I know you might not know a lot about me and this is throwing you off, but I value you. And if you think this woman deserves a second chance, we should give it to her. Even though she tried to kill us and I kinda hate her guts" she smiled at the last sentence. Then her expression sobered up. "You gave me one after the rough start we had and I appreciate that. I am sure she will too when we get to her" she nodded so slightly and left the room, closing the door behind her.
That girl… I didn't know what to make of her. She would often joke about things, but then she would find the solution to whatever problem I throw her way. And from time to time she would take this expression where she would speak so sincerely and deeply that it was a complete turn from the personality traits that she wears most of the day.
She was an interesting person indeed. And as I had concluded a few hours ago, I might have been too hard on her.
Notes:
I didn't really want to get as much into E04 as I did with some of the others. But I thought that having a chapter from Coulson's POV might be interesting, just to see what he's thinking about.
Chapter 17: Making AmendsNotes:
All rights go to Marvel
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Skye's POV
Finally, the mission had finished. It was a handful, that one. True, the end result could have been a lot better, but at least we had secured Amador and her handler was no more. On the other hand, we knew that both of them were just pawns to a greater game and we still didn't know who the chess master was, we didn't know who we were playing against.
But, as we handed Amador to the S.H.I.E.L.D. representatives in Minsk, we were finally flying back towards the US, where I was hoping to get some time off. This mission being straight after Malta, the team didn't have any time to really recharge their batteries, myself included. Plus, there were a few things that happened during the span of those last few days that had me thinking and I wanted to do some questioning and digging on my own.
Despite most of the team being at their respective bunks and areas, instead of going to my room, I decided to hide in one of the vans again. It was something about the small and fully enclosed space that gave me a sense of security and privacy. True, I had secured my bunk and no one but me could enter, but it was still bigger than that place. Plus the darkness that engulfed the interior of the vehicle was something that my room, in the middle of the day, didn't have.
Never really shutting off my powers, I could sense Coulson walking towards my location and turned to look at the door when he opened it. "Are you still needing your you time?", he asked with an easy smile on his face.
He seemed almost relaxed. No, relaxed isn't the right word. I don't think I've seen him properly relaxed since I met him again a few weeks back. I would say that he gave out more of a weight-finally-lifted-off-my-shoulders kind of vibe. "Nah, I think I'm quite good for now. Unless you are here to give me a lecture" I half-heartedly challenged. When he shook his head I let out a sigh. "Good, then there's room for you. Slide in," I prompted and moved to the other seat, providing him with more space.
"Why would you think I would give you a lecture? What did you do?" He asked as he closed the door behind him and settled on the backseat.
"I don't know" I tried, shrugging my shoulder and playing it cool but he wouldn't have it. A pointed look was all it took for the truth to come out. "Look, I've been with this team for a bit more than a month now, and I don't want to repeat myself over and over again, we already went through my thoughts right before each of us left for our parts of the mission in Malta. I just feel that even if I do something right you're gonna be there, finding a flaw or something to complain about in my work and I guess I was just expecting to hear something similar now" I trailed off. Normally I would avert my eyes but I wanted to see his reaction, which is why my gaze was locked on his, taking in every small move or micro-expression he did.
He, just as I did, had his whole focus on me. After a bit he let out a heavy breath, his shoulders slumping ever so slightly as his expression softened. "When we first met, you said you knew me. But you didn't know I was alive. When we talked with Maria, she said that your operation in the Rising Tide was only accessed by herself and the Director. That means, and you have proven so during the time you've been under my command, that you are a very capable agent. And must be quite high up in the hierarchy as well for such a mission to be assigned to you. Which means that during my time as Deputy Director I would have worked with you. At least that's what my logic tells me, and yet I cannot recall you no matter how hard I try, no matter how much I search in the agency's database.
"It's like you don't exist and that doesn't bond with me well. And when Fury came in and asked you in his office, you had that serious expression on your face and you talked with him for a while. I understand that you have secrets and there must be things that Fury, you and Maria know that I am unaware of and not classified to know. I trust the system, I trust Fury with my life…" he said and my instant thought was 'you shouldn't' but it remained just a thought. "And I might have taken my frustrations about the whole situation out on you. And this was wrong of me. I will try to be more open-minded from here on out and I hope that one day you can forgive me". He finished and silence engulfed the van.
His words were going through my head once more, just to make sure that I had absorbed all of what was said just seconds ago.
I understood him, I really did. And how could I ever hold a grudge against Coulson? He was like, one of the nicest people on planet Earth, well that was when he wanted to be apparently. Because, boy, that man could hold a grudge if he wanted to.
"I get it" I eventually said. "And don't worry about my forgiveness, there is nothing to forgive, it was just you adjusting to some new variables that you hadn't taken into account before. Plus, you are a cool guy. Not many people would have made that call, give Amador a second chance. I know you told me that you got yours and so you extend the same opportunity to others, but no one would have judged if you decided not to"
I finally took my eyes off him and trailed them at the back of the seat in front of me.
"I can understand why you like it in here" his voice ringed through the small space not long after I finished talking.
One corner of my lips lifted at that. "It's more peaceful here. More so than the rest of the Bus that is, maybe with the exception of the cockpit. It's also nice knowing that someone has my back. No matter what" I decided to add the last two sentences just to register his reaction.
But even without looking at him, his heartbeat remained the same, not spiking at any point, as he took in my words. "Yeah… peaceful is good," he said and I felt him actually relax next to me.
It was in the middle of the night when, after sleep escaped my grasp for a few consecutive hours, I decided to head to the cockpit to be with the only other person who I thought would be awake at this ungodly hour.
After gently knocking with our prearranged pattern to know that it was me walking in, I gently slide the door open only to find that my speculation was indeed correct and the pilot was still on her feet. "I know you are probably going to decline, but I could take over for a few hours for you to lay back a bit. I have had the proper training, Clint's courtesy" I said.
The sideways look that I got from her was all I needed to know. I raised my arms, palms facing her in a surrendering manner. "Didn't mean to offend you" I joked. "What's our ETA?"
"9 more hours until we reach New York" she simply replied.
"Nice. Do you mind if I sit with you?" The small shake of her head was all the confirmation I needed to make myself home at the shotgun seat.
It was a silent agreement that we had. She didn't mind me joining her during her piloting as long as I either kept quiet or actually had something that we needed to discuss, usually mission or Fury related. And the truth was that there was a topic that had just stuck to my mind and was what was keeping me up at night, but I really didn't know how to approach this issue.
I knew that May wouldn't hold it against me if I asked and that she would reply, but I just… I don't know. I felt like it was like an old wound that had healed and didn't want to dig into it again, but my curiosity had sparked again after my talk with Ian Quinn and I couldn't shut it off. True, with my Level Clearance I should be able to have access to the files, but I couldn't be sure, and I sure as hell was not going to ask the Pirate for any favours. Maybe I could—
"Skye" May's voice shook me off my train of thoughts and I actually had to blink a couple of times before turning to face her.
"Was I thinking too loudly again?" I asked, having had a similar conversation another night when she was at the stick and I had woken up by one of my not-so-pleasant dreams and came to join her in this room.
"No, there is actually something I need to talk to you about"
I had to do a double-take, not really believing my ears. May never initiated any sort of dialogue. Like… ever. Not unless she had some questions that she needed answered. Ah, so that must be it, I mentally noted and nodded my head. "What can I help you with?"
I saw her grip at the wheel tighten ever so slightly as she prepared herself to speak. Nothing much, nothing close to her knuckles turning white from the pressure (this was May we are talking about here, her composure levels are skyrocketed). "We haven't talked about it at all ever since you told me about your abilities…" the mention of my powers is enough to explain her lack of comfort "…but I need to ask you something. Something about Phil"
I had a feeling that I knew where this is going, but I couldn't be sure. "What about him?"
"When we had that conversation, you had some other information that you didn't disclose. And though the Director specifically said that you can bring me in on anything or nothing you want, I have been meaning to ask. I want to know what happened to Phil, why he doesn't remember you". Of course, she said that she has been meaning to ask but there was no trace of an actual question in her speech, making it sound more like a command. But I knew that that was her way of actually asking.
"Why the sudden interest?" I asked as I stood and walked to the door to lock it. I was guessing that the microphones were already turned off, she wasn't stupid to leave them on. "Don't get me wrong, but we haven't even remotely talked about anything similar to that matter. Something must have triggered this. You are not the patient kind when you want answers" I said bluntly. No point in sugarcoating my words.
Just as blunt was May's reply. "When I handed Amador to the other agents, she said something that intrigued me. She asked what happened to him, claiming that he is different. And when I told her that he's just loosened up a little bit she shook her head. 'Yeah, but what did they do to him?', she questioned and when I couldn't answer she just told me to forget about it"
At this new information, my mind started racing a million miles per second. "It sounded like she knew something, or that she was asking for something in particular" May continued. "And since him forgetting you is the only missing element, I am guessing that it's related to that".
I was still trying to piece together the pieces in my head. I guessed I must have remained quiet for way too long because May turned on the autopilot and stood to come next to me, "Skye?"
"Where did your orders to land to New York come from?" I whispered but I knew she heard me just fine.
"Coulson" she answered, and though she tried to mask her voice I could direct the confusion behind her words clear as day.
"You have new orders" I turned to face her. "Set course to Washington, we need to go to the Triskelion as soon as possible". When May looked at me like I had grown a second head, I suppressed my annoyance and looked at her pointedly. "I don't have time for you to question me, okay? I need to get to the HQ asap"
"I am sorry Skye, but you don't have the Clearance to—"
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I asked as I run out of the door, to my bunk and back as fast as possible. "Foxtrot-20 Uniform-13. I do have the Clearance and your orders have been over-ridden, May. Now, will you change our destination or will I have to?" I asked exacerbated, showing her my Level card.
"No, I'll do it" May recovered quickly from her initial shock. "You know that he's not gonna be really happy about it, right?"
"Well, he's just gonna have to live with it I guess". I reached into my pocket and took my phone out, getting into a specific locked program and bringing the microphone close to my mouth but before I spoke to the device I turned to look at May, "This doesn't leave this room, I will know if it does. Remember what I told you before when I told you about my powers? This is even larger"
"You can trust me," May said from the pilot seat, her voice confident.
I nodded in thanks, sure she would be able to see it and turned back to my phone. "Voice activation, Skye Q 2000"
"Hello Skye, how can I help you" came an instant reply from my phone.
"Hey, T.A.D.A.S.H.I., I need a favour. I need you to log into the Bus' systems and block all the files from our latest mission. Start from whenever we got word about what happened to Stockholm. After that, I'm gonna open a back door for you and you're gonna go into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s security system and do the same for any documents related to it. Only the people in my Grudge List are allowed access. Got all that?" I asked as I put my phone down and opened the laptop which I had brought back with me when I went into my bunk to grab my Level card.
"Of course" answered the American accented U.I. voice. "I'll be done in about half an hour with both of requests. Is that time frame satisfactory?"
"Yes, man. Just do it as fast as possible please"
"Will do"
After that, the cockpit was filled with the noise of my keyboard. Not long after, my phone rang and I checked the caller I.D. making sure that it was the person that I was expecting a call from. I plugged my earphones, making sure that May wouldn't be able to listen to my conversation when I answered.
"Is this line secure?" The voice came from my phone.
"It is J. May's in the room but I'm gonna bring her up to speed when we land. You're not on speaker" I replied, never slowing down my typing.
I could hear a heavy sigh from the other end of the line. "I guess that you using just the initial and not the full name is progress? Now, why did I get an alert that your system is in my system?"
"We are coming to Triskelion. There have been some new developments regarding the holes in your clothes and those files that T is securing are for that purpose" I explained as best as I could without giving too much information. The reason why I was doing this in the cockpit instead of my own bunk was that this room was soundproof, but still, you could never be too sure.
"Motherfucker" I heard him curse. "You sure about May?"
"You started it when she became your rat. But yeah, she is the only person here who I trust that can actually keep a secret" I admitted.
"Can't argue with your logic" he concluded. "I will let Maria know to expect you, though I have a feeling she already knows. Want me to do anything?"
I was about to say no to that, but then I thought I might as well use him for something not too significant. "I over-rode Coulson's orders since we were headed to New York. Could you send him an order from the HQ for the change in the destination? I don't want him asking questions"
"Fair enough. I will arrange everything" and with that, the line went dead.
After that, it mustn't have been 10 minutes before T.A.D.A.S.H.I. said that he finished with his work. "You are amazing T. Thank you. Deactivation Hamada 2010".
After securing all the files, I shut my computer down and put it to the side. This new development was not something I wanted to deal with at the moment, but I didn't have any choice. I looked outside the window only to be met by the dark sky. I should try to get some sleep if I could… the next day was going to be a very long one.
Notes:
So... stuff happened I guess? Remember the plot that I was referring to a few chapters back? This is just the beginning of it. Tomorrow there will be more about what is going on, you'll get some questions answered then :)
Chapter 18: Heart To HeartNotes:
All rights go to Marvel
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
May's POV
After Skye changed the Bus' course to the Triskelion and after she talked on the phone with someone, my best guest was Director Fury, she finished up on her computer and then went back to her quarters to try and get some sleep. So I was left, once again, alone in the cockpit with my thoughts running wild.
I would have never guessed that my simple question about the lack of Phil's memories would trigger something like that. We landed in our new destination, still not understanding what had happened hours ago. Based on what her badge said, she was Level 9. But that couldn't possibly be, could it? From what I knew only Maria, who was Deputy Director, had just as high a Clearance. But still, the badge and the code that she used to over-ride Phil's orders were solid for me to change the route of the plane.
Thankfully the Director called and Phil was let known that orders came from up high and he didn't question me first thing in the morning about why we were not heading to New York. After all, he "trusted the system" as he himself would say more often than not.
We were out of the Bus at a moment's notice, Maria meeting us when we touched down to take Skye and myself… somewhere in the Triskelion.
"Where are you taking them?" Phil asked as soon as he saw Maria motion the two of us to join her.
Never slowing down she replied, "I need to bring Skye and May up to speed for a mission. It was a last-minute thing, which is why we rushed you here. Don't worry, we will not steal them from you, I just need them for the day and they will be back with you before you say 'S.H.I.E.L.D.'" She didn't even slow down as she spoke and Phil was soon left far behind.
We walked into an elevator, scanning our Clearance cards. When I scanned mine the system turned red, displaying that I had not Clearance high enough for where we were going. Maria had to vocally grant me access for this one trip by using her Deputy Director status. "I'm gonna guess that neither of you managed to get any sleep last night, but unfortunately we need to get this over with as soon as possible for you to get back to your team" Maria started again as she led us to a room with a table, two chairs at each side of it and a double-sided mirror. On the table, there was a warm cup of tea and coffee. "When you are done, come and find me" she directed this last part at Skye who just nodded and went to sit at one of the metal chairs. Maria left the room and the click of the door closing echoed as we were left alone in the room.
I watched as Skye typed quickly on her laptop and soon after the mirror was deactivated and we could see the empty recording room next door. "How did you—?"
"I'm the head of cybersecurity in the organisation" she cut in, knowing what I was about to ask. "I have access everywhere security-wise. Cameras, microphones…" she trailed off and pointed at the mirror "…mirrors. Every surveillance equipment within these walls is already shut down. What we discuss is not going to be heard by anyone" she reassured as I took my seat. "The story is long and I'm gonna have to ask you not to interrupt me until I have finished. It might take some time, and I might need a small break at some points but after today you will know the whole story". I could see how serious she was about this, any sign of joking around had disappeared from both her face and tone. "Is there any question you have to ask before we start?"
Based on what she had said so far we had a long day ahead of us. So I really thought if there was anything specific I wanted to be answered, that it might not be included in the story that she was about to tell me. "Why were you so tense when Maria came to pick us up?" I had noticed that there was something between the two women, I just didn't know what that was.
"Well, that is connected to what I'm about to tell you, so how about we let that question answer itself later on?" I just nodded. "Good," she said more to herself. "That's good. Anything else you want?" Her attention was turned back to me and this time I shook my head. "Alright then, I guess it's my turn to speak" she took a deep breath as she laid back in her chair, hands crossed over her chest.
"When Fury sent me in the undercover mission to infiltrate the Rising Tide, I was not just in there to make sure that whatever video they uploaded didn't really harm the organisation" she started. "Ever since I started working on fixing many of the problems that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s firewalls have, I found way too many holes in the systems and knew that something had to be going on. I confined in the Pirate and we started looking more into it. Long story short, turns out that many of the holes were made from the Rising Tide, but not only them. There was something more in the story and this is what I went in to investigate. I collected all the intel I could on the hackers working there, but I could tell that there was something deeper there. It wasn't possible for the whole of Rising Tide to just upload information and not get anything in return. There were way too many people involved for the Rising Tide to be just another hacktivist group. They had to be funded by someone. That's when I stumbled into Centipede.
"It was not those who funded them, I am still looking into that. But Centipede's money came from the same place, the same people. I was looking into that organisation when Mike Peterson happened and I had to blow my cover in order to save him" she bent down and took a file out of the backpack she had brought in with her. She slid it towards me and when I caught it she pointed at it. "This is everything we know about the Rising Tide, Centipede and whoever might be behind them. It's not much but it's something".
I opened the file and started going through the information inside. "You might question why we have several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in there are marked as 'Unknown'. That is because our main suspicion at the moment is that we have a leak from inside the organisation. And unfortunately, almost everyone we have a question-mark on is in a pretty high Clearance Level"
My eyes darted from face to face, reading every name in the file fast as I took in everything she was saying. I knew those people, I had worked with most of them when I was still in the field before 2008. There were people I trusted, people I knew had my back back in the day.
If what Skye was implying, or outright saying, was true then it meant that we were in deep.
But still, that doesn't explain what that had anything to do with her reaction yesterday or how she connected the fact that Amador asked for what happened to Phil with what she was showing to me now. Or why she sealed the files from our latest mission.
She must have read it in my face or waited long enough for me to put the pieces together because her resuming was just answering the questions that were arising in my mind. "I suspect that the same people who controlled Amador, are the same or are at least connected to the people that we are looking for. And what you told me that she asked you… that unfortunately only makes me think that there are, indeed, people within S.H.I.E.L.D. that are working against us" she let out a sigh and once again she bent to take another file off her backpack.
At that moment I analysed her movement, noticing her posture become tenser, her grip on the file she just took out so tight that her knuckles had turned white. I raised an eyebrow at that, pointedly looking at her hands. She looked down and relaxed her grip at the paper, as she placed the new file on the table, but didn't throw it my way.
"The reason…" she started again and my gaze travelled from her fingers to her face, as she took a deep breath. "The reason why I reacted like that yesterday, or at least earlier today, is entirely because of what Amador told you. There are only four, now five…" she said her eyes locking with mine, "…people who know what happened to Phil. All of whom were sworn to secrecy and have the highest of Clearance. This document…" her finger tapped on the file in front of her, "…is a Level 9 Classified document of what really happened. Not even the Secretary has access to this file, because of how important and delicate the information within it is"
After taking another deep breath, she threw the file my way. I tentatively took it and started reading the information. Information about a drug, GH-325, which originated from the blood of a blue alien that was secured in a secret location. Documents of all the tests, the experiments, the craziness that the people who took that drug succumbed in.
The more I read the more I understood what happened. As if struck by lightning I lifted my head to look at Skye. She, in her turn, was analysing me so as to see my reaction. "He really died" I concluded and the nod that I received was enough for a crashing feeling to fill my chest. No… it couldn't be, I thought.
I noticed how, when Skye nodded, her jaw clenched.
Her steel mask was on, trying to hide what feelings were crushing through her veins. She was looking straight at me as if she could create a hole in my head just by staring. The same thing Natasha used to do when she had something to hide, she was still doing that only in a lessen manner. "What are you not telling me?" I actually asked, and did not demand for the first time in a long time.
I instantly noticed how Skye's hands started to tremble ever so slightly and she quickly hid them away, under the desk. I could tell that she felt like she had a lump in her throat from the way she was swallowing.
After what seemed like minutes from my part but couldn't have been more than a few seconds, she opened her mouth. "When that Alien Nazi attacked, he had a sceptre. When he touched people with that, he could control them" she said. I could tell that was the something she was really struggling to talk about. Her breathing coming, ever so slightly, faster. "I was one of those people"
Please tell me that this is not going where I think this is going, I mentally begged to no one in particular, hoping that what I had just assumed was wrong. Memories of a young girl who touched people and controlled them flashed in the back of my mind.
"I was ordered to protect Loki, make sure the plan he had came to fruition" she paused. Her eyes glazed over, as her mind was a million miles away, to events that happened years ago. I knew that look. I saw it in the mirror so many times after what happened in Bahrain. "Phil tried to stop him". I could feel the punch that was about to land in my stomach, but could do nothing to stop it. "I killed him"
The air left my lungs in a whoosh and I felt the time stop for a while. The degrading feeling that was creeping up my spine finally taking hold. She didn't stop though, she continued speaking and I had a feeling that she was trying to get the words out before she lost her nerve. "That's the reason why he doesn't remember me. The Avengers don't know he is alive. Natasha and Clint don't know. And when they used the Memory Overwriting Machine to make him forget the operation used to bring him back, they used it to erase me from his memories as well" She scoffed at that, her mask breaking ever so slightly to show her irritation. "Because, apparently, 'He would look for me, knowing I would blame myself and the whole operation would have been blown up'".
I could tell that those words came from another and I was 90 per cent sure who those words might have come from. "Who—?"
"Fury" she answered and my speculations were verified. "Maria was in the know as well, but she was just following orders. It was the Pirate's doing"
Suddenly all the pieces that I was missing, all the questions that I couldn't answer, everything made sense. The reason why Skye was so uptight when Fury came in the Bus after the 0-8-4 operation, why when we walked in the Triskelion she was practically looking anywhere but at Maria's direction. The tiredness that I had noticed the first time I saw her after all those years, that look in her eyes that I had only managed to get a glimpse of when she exited Phil's office after the first mission. I could see myself, years ago, in her. After what happened in Bahrain, I was a mess and I guess that this is what she felt as well, but she probably had it way worse than I did. Being the one being controlled, remembering everything that happened at that time and having to… kill Phil.
"Please, say something" she whispered and there was a vulnerability in her voice that I had years to hear.
At that moment I made a decision that I was not going to get back from, but I knew was the right one. "I am guessing you have been wondering why I don't like being called 'The Calvary'" I started and watched as her eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly before relaxing once again. "I can tell that you have been wanting to ask and yet you haven't. Thank you for that" I said genuinely and even let the corners of my lips tilt upwards, catching Skye by surprise.
I took a deep breath as I let the memories rise ever so briefly. "It was six years ago, two years after you disappeared. We were called in with Phil, to be the welcome wagon and try to bring a powered person in before the Russians did. Her name was Eva Belyakov. We believed she had hand strength, but we couldn't be sure. It went bad really quickly. Phil was trying to talk her down, but a street gang came, she was part of that gang, and they took her and a girl" I took a deep breath at the memory of Katya. "She must have been, what… eight, nine? She was younger than you when we found you" I breathed out and looked at Skye. Her eyes were trained on me, focus never breaking. I could see the gears running behind those smart eyes of hers, connecting the dots. The reason why I was tense when she first mentioned her powers. I knew she knew, but she never questioned and that made it ever so easier for me to explain to her what happened. She never pushed and I was really grateful for that.
"Our agents went in, we didn't know what happened. Their comms were turned off, we had no idea what was going on. I wanted to go in, I was a Specialist after all. Go in, take our guys out and rescue the girl as well. When I went in, I tried to contact Phil, but his comms were offline. I was alone in there" I had mentally relived the scenes that unfolded in that building that it was easier than I expected to say the words. It was not easy at all, but I could at least form them. And even if not for my sake, I knew that I had to do this for Skye and that extra push was enough. "I found our guys but they seemed out of it, 'I need your pain' they kept repeating again and again," I said that sentence with more hate than I intended to put in my tone. My jaw momentarily locking and I had to stop before I managed to resume.
"That's when I knew they were controlled. Only I thought it was because of Eva. So I locked the agents in the room and went to put an end to this, I could see no other way other than taking her out. So I went in and neutralised the threat. I took a shot right under my knee and a pretty heavy beating but I thought I could save the girl, save our guys". Suddenly I could relate to Skye swallowing hard when she was saying her story. I felt my throat close and I brought a hand to my neck to rub the area, hoping that the comb that had formed there would disappear.
"May," Skye said attentively. "You don't have to". I could tell that she meant it wholeheartedly.
"I do" I replied without even thinking about it. She had done nothing but trust me since we met again on the Bus, never lie to me and opening up about both her powers and now this.
She must have picked up on my thoughts because she shook her head. "I don't want you to feel like you have to tell me anything just because I confined you. Honestly, if the situation was any different, I would probably take a lot longer—"
"I know I don't have to" I cut her off. "I want to" and I made sure she could see that I meant it. Only when she nodded I continued. "It turned out that Katya, the girl, was the one who was controlling everyone. They compelled to her, with one raise of her hand she could make them come to her, she could kill them. I tried to talk her down, I really did, but she wasn't listening. She said she liked the pain" I could imagine my eyes, in turn, being glazed over as I momentarily went back to that warehouse.
"I was on the floor, heavily beaten from before, I couldn't even stand on my own. I looked around and she had all the agents brought in and I knew she was about to kill them all. She asked me to take her hand, closing in on me. As I backed away my hand brushed a gun that must have fallen there from when I was fighting Eva".
As I was reaching the end of the events, I took the memories and placed them back on the tiny boxes that I had them stored in. I had come to terms with what had happened, there was nothing I could do to change what had happened. The events of that day had changed me, though, and there was nothing wrong with that. "She was so young, but I could do nothing to help. The other agents didn't remember anything from when Katya started controlling them, they had no idea what happened. They started calling me 'Cavalry' ever since"
I pushed my chair back and stood up. Skye was quick to mimic my move. I rounded the table and went to stand next to her. I could see her tense up a bit, not knowing what I was about to do.
"I don't blame you, or hate you, for what happened. For what you told me. I understand" I said. Skye was like I was right after Bahrain. And despite not seeing her for years, at that moment, I could see the Skye that I remembered. So I did what Phil did for me. I closed the distance between us and hugged her. Not tightly, just enough and I could tell that the move took her by surprise as she froze in place. "You have to let what happened go" I whispered to her ear, just as Phil had once told me. "You did good since then. Don't let this define you. Let it go"
When I felt her hands slowly wrap around my body, I relaxed into the embrace just as she did. Her grip on my shirt was so firm that I could feel the material wrinkle under her fist's pressure. "I missed you, Mel"
I closed my eyes and smiled. "I missed you too Skye"
Notes:
May and Skye feels... that's all this chapter is really about (with a heavy dose of exposition on the side just for plot reasons)
Hope you guys liked it! Thanks for the support :)
Chapter 19: Meetings And SuspicionsNotes:
All rights go to Marvel
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Skye's POV
May told me the origin story of the nickname she absolutely hates. I was so not expecting that to be what would follow my confession of all the events during the Battle of New York. And after that intimate moment, I could feel the relationship that we had before I left the Academy to come back to the surface.
I had a contentment-filled smile plastered on my face as I led May to Nick's office, or more like floor, where I knew he and Maria were waiting for us. I didn't let it disappear from my face as I opened the double doors, nor did it disappear when we walked and stood close to the two already mentioned people. Maria came close to me, not too close, and nodded her head. Had it been before the whole Phil situation she would have hugged me but she was still keeping her distance. I returned the nod and turned to look at the Pirate.
He simply turned to look at me, from where he was standing in front of some huge screens on the wall, and then his gaze went to May. As he was standing on the other side of the room, he made a move to go towards the senior agent, only for May to get to him before he even made a second step. "I apologise in advance, sir," she said and without waiting for a reply from the Director she punched him straight in the jaw.
The moment May's first made contact with Fury's face, my jaw hung open. Even though I wasn't facing her, I was almost certain that Maria's reaction to what just happened was similar, if not the same, to mine.
By the time I managed to shake myself from the trance that I was in, May had returned to her spot next to me as Fury was still rubbing the sensitive spot, which no doubt would soon be soon graced with a bruise. His eyes never left May's form as she moved into the room. "Can't say I didn't deserve that" he confessed. "Which is why I'm gonna let it slide, but let's not make a habit out of it" he finished and returned back to his desk, his hand moving to take a panel at the side of it.
He pressed a button and the windows of the room turned black, hindering the light and anyone who would dare try to spy on our conversation, and the door was shut closed if the click that I heard was any indication. Soft light was turned on to illuminate the various screens on one end of the room. All the information that we had regarding the holes in the firewalls, as well as all the intel that the team gathered in the latest mission, were being displayed.
I walked up to the main screen and looked at Alexander Pierce's, a.k.a. the Secretary's, photograph.
He was actually one of the first people added to the suspect list as he had both the access and the money to back what was happening. What we still lacked was the motivation behind his actions. This was why Fury was keeping a close eye on him and his moves, and especially the S.T.R.I.K.E. team which he founded.
That was also the reason why despite his Level he didn't have access to Phil's resurrection files, anything to do with the T.A.H.I.T.I. project or the Avengers.
"Buckle in guys," I said as I was handed a table from Maria, my fingers already starting working without looking at what I was typing. "We are in for a really long ride"
Ward's POV
Ever since I joined Coulson's team there have been way too many changes in the variables, a major one being the newest addition of Skye. A person who I hadn't thought about or seen in years, appeared out of thin air and I was back at square one. Having no idea who she was, why she left the Academy or when she got back, I didn't know what to expect. I even asked Garrett but he was just as clueless. And so I was left to slowly learn more about her.
She still had the hand-on-hand combat skills that I remembered from our days at Operations. And she was still similarly secretive.
Despite me having studied about everyone in the team before Coulson even suggested I tagged along, the girl's case was not the same. On top of that, she seemed to have gained way more trust from the other agents than I had, in way less time. True, this wasn't hard when it came to FitzSimmons, I could still recall how tight she and Simmons were back in the day and if my memory didn't fail me they used to be roommates as well.
Coulson still had his reservations about her and it was clear. Probably because of how abruptly she showed up. But after the Amador case, even he had started warming up to her. But Coulson wasn't my main concern, after all, he trusted me enough.
No, my main concern was Melinda May. The Calvary.
Despite her and Coulson bumping heads at a few missions, the history they shared was clear as day to someone who knew about it. And no matter what facade May put up, she cared for the team as well. But the most surprising thing was neither of the above. It was how easily she had come to accept Skye and how they spent much of their time in the cockpit. A 'don't enter' area when it case came to anyone but Skye and sometimes Coulson. This was one of the things that, when Skye showed up, went against the research that I had made and it had completely not been accounted for. Because every evidence showed how closed off and alone May was, but this was not the case with the younger agent.
It's been more than a week since the mission which started in Sweden and finished in Belarus, and Skye seemed more on edge than she usually was. I just couldn't put my finger on it. It felt as if the slightest wrong move from my part would alert her and my cover would be blown.
The girl was a wild card. One that I would have to keep a close eye on. As the saying goes… 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer'.
I didn't have any friends really, for one of the first lessons Garrett taught me was not to trust anyone, especially him. And I feared that if I got close enough to her, I wouldn't be able to help it and I would get attached. And attachment was forbidden.
Notes:
I apologise for how short this one is. I remember struggling to get this one out there. We are getting back to more normal chapters (length-wise) from tomorrow.
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 20: Girl In The Flower DressNotes:
All rights go to Marvel
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Skye's POV
"You heard Coulson get up this morning?" I asked May in a hushed tone as we went through our Tai Chi sequence. At the silence that followed I continued, "I picked up his movements moments after I woke up. And I didn't get much sleep last night"
The ever so stoic May continued her forms as if she hadn't heard anything, but I knew better. She would breach the subject when she wanted and not a moment before. All I could do was give her information to think upon and she would come to me when she wanted. That was why I was surprised when I heard her voice, actually expecting a reply to follow. "It's been more than a dozen days than the meeting with the Director, and we've been doing Tai Chi together every morning since". I was actually a little surprised she didn't say anything about Coulson, but I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up in the first place. "What do you say we spar? Lay down the mats and go a few rounds?"
My whole attention was on her as I stopped my, otherwise, fluid movements abruptly and let my arms fall to my sides. "You want to spar?" I asked, wanting to verify that what I just heard was not a figment of my imagination.
"I want to see how much you have improved for myself. I have seen you spar sometimes with Ward, but you could say that I am curious to see how far you've come" she came to a stop next to me and turned to look at me. "Unless you are afraid" she raised an eyebrow in a challenging manner.
"I am not" I quickly supplied. "It's just… well, I don't want to push you. I don't want you to do something you are not comfortable with" I honestly phrased.
She scoffed at that. "When have I done anything I didn't want to do?", was all she said as she went to the side to start preparing the cargo for what was to follow. "But since we are doing this, we are doing it right. No protection equipment and I want to get a proper look at what you can do".
"Fair enough" I agreed as I went to help out. "I promise I will start easy on you," I said, a smirk on my face.
I could feel the eye roll even though I was not facing the woman. "I have seen you spar with Ward before you know. I told you as much. I know what to expect and your holding back will make it way easy for me to take you down" Even though I still had my back on her she threw my water bottle in my direction. I felt it coming before it even left her hand, and so I swiftly turned and grabbed it before it hit me. "And no vibrations," she said the last part quietly in case we had a third set of ears listening to our conversation.
I brought my free hand to my chest. "I would never," I said as if wounded she even suggested such a thing. "I wouldn't even do that to Ward during a sparring match, let alone you". After downing a gulp of water, I started stretching my muscles in preparation. "Plus, I'm even holding back with him. My brother was my S.O. while I trained with my sister a lot as well. Let alone Maria" I said without wanting to give out Clint's and Natasha's names. "Have you talked with them recently by the way? I am sure you want to know why they kept the secret," I said and walked on the mat, waiting for May to do the same.
"No. No, I have not" she said as she mimicked my movements. "We've got a lot on our plate right now, and I have no time to spare on something like this. You said it was classified and even though I'm sure they would have liked to inform me, I was not in a good place mentally either. I understand why they didn't"
And with that, she stood still facing me.
I took a deep breath and walked the remaining distance before copying her stance. I took a deep breath and pushed my powers down, silencing them.
The constant radar that I had mentally created grew quiet and it was a very satisfying feeling. Having a buzzing 24/7 in my head could be tiring and annoying, but I had learned to live with it. But, every once in a while, and when I knew that nothing bad was going to happen in the near future, turning it down was like taking a deep breath of clean air after being underwater for a very long time. I let out a breath and opened my eyes, my gaze holding May's. This was going to be interesting.
Just as May was about to make a move, a beeping sequence echoed through the cargo hold letting us know that we had an alert for a new mission. "Saved by the bell" May said as we both made our way to the debriefing room.
We were the last ones to arrive as everyone else had been on the sofas right outside the meeting place. Coulson already had the picture of a person up on the screen and started talking as soon as we walked in. "Chan Ho Yin" he pointed at said person. "Just a struggling street performer until a few years ago when Mr. Chan began to exhibit moderate pyrokinetic abilities"
My head shifted from looking at Chan's picture to Coulson's face and back to the picture. This would be the first mission since I was added to this team that was related to another powered individual. That is if you don't count Mike Peterson whose added powers were clearly artificial. "So what gave him powers?" I faintly heard Fitz ask.
"Still under investigation, but Chan lived near the decommissioned Wan Ta nuclear plant when it caught fire. To our knowledge no other resident had exhibit similar trades". Coulson said. Well, that was reassuring.
I could see Jemma from across the room, her eyes sparkling as her mind was working. "So how did we find out about him?"
"An informer saw him lighting torches in a street show…" it was May's input, "…with his pinky"
Coulson nodded at that. "Brought it to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention. We told him to keep his abilities under wraps. He's been in the Index ever since"
Oh, yes. The Index. I remembered one time when my name and my abilities were in there, that was until Fury decided to scrape everything about me and the rest of the Avengers, all of whom but one were part of the Index as well. Yes, even Tony and Natasha. Tony, despite not having any superpowers, was in because of his suits. And Natasha, well… Natasha came into the organisation in an unconventional way. They needed to keep an eye on her for a while and then she just remained on the list until she wasn't anymore. Clint was actually the only one whose presence didn't grace the list. That lucky bastard.
My thoughts were interrupted by the team leader's voice continuing his narrative. "Mr. Chan was a low-risk individual, so he was assigned a case agent who checked in with him every few days. That's how we discovered him missing". He pressed something at the pad he was holding and a video call appeared on the screen, with various S.H.I.E.L.D. agents going through an apartment, probably Chan's.
May moved around the table, which was in the middle of the room, and stepped closer to the screen. "Hello, agent Kwan. How are you?" She started speaking in Mandarin. I had picked up the language from the time I stayed with her after she first found me, always finding it interesting. And then I studied it while in the Academy and later on when S.H.I.E.L.D. started training me again to become an agent with Clint. I wasn't fluid in it, but I was pretty good at them, both understanding and speaking the language.
Agent Kwan nodded his head in May's direction as a greeting. "Not as good as I could be".
"Everyone, this is agent Kwan, Chan Ho Yin's case agent". From the corner of my eye, I saw FitzSimmons wave at the man and I had to hide a smirk that rose on my face because of their antics. "What can you tell us?"
"Not much I'm afraid. Chan is a magician. So at first, I thought he made himself disappear" he said, clearly very satisfying with himself for coming up with that.
This time, instead of a smirk I had to try and suppress an eye roll. Thankfully, Coulson asked white quickly after agent Kwan had spoken and so I could focus on that. "The file says you caught him violating his Index agreement before". It was not a question.
"On two separate occasions, claiming we are 'hindering his artistic expression'. But late last night, he was taken by professionals. The only thing they left behind was this scrap of aluminised material" he said and lifted his hand, where he was holding said material, for us to see.
"Fireproof clothing," Jemma said, almost as if talking to herself.
Ward actually looked puzzled. "So, whoever took him knew about his power"
Agent Kwan smiled sadly at our inputs. "Yes, and we believe we know why. The last few days, the Tech division discovered a crack in our data stream. It's the same Cyber-Punks who hacked us before. Somehow, they got in again. It's the Rising Tide". Fuck, I mentally thought. For some reason everyone in the room turned to look at me, but at the same time no one spoke. "Hello? You got really quiet. You guys are still there?" Kwan asked.
"Give me a few minutes" I moved closer to the table and closed Chan's documents while I opened a program to start looking for whoever hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D. "Agent Kwan, we will chase this thing from our side, you keep working from Hong Kong and inform us if you have any news," Coulson said, and after a quick dismiss closed his window and turned around once again. Though my eyes were trained on the lines of coding I was typing, I knew he was watching me closely.
No one spoke as I kept typing away, my fingers flying over the digital keyboard. I was mentally beating myself up while I was still trying to find the digital print that the information had been leaked from.
"How close are we?" I could hear the restlessness in Coulson's voice.
"Almost there" I replied, without moving my eyes from my work.
Fitz and Jemma who had been watching closely as well and could sort of understand what I was doing provided some input for the rest of the team to have a general idea of what I was doing. "She's identifying the remote-access trojan and the infected endpoint—", Fitz started only for Jemma to finish his sentence for him.
"And is searching for a TCP to correlate the hypertext with signature information and then—"
"Bob is your uncle" Fitz added while I was closing in on my goal.
I faintly heard the rest of the team whispering at the back, but I didn't care about what they said. "We got an origin," I said but kept working on finding out the identity of the person. "Austin, Texas. Really close to getting a name as well. I'm in the system of the cafe that our hacker worked out of. Gonna check if any credit-card charges match with any known hacker and… we got a hit" I finished as I pulled Miles photo on the big screen. "That will be Miles Lydon"
Still looking at the picture, Coulson asked "You know him?"
But before I even have the chance to reply FitzSimmons spoke again, Jemma starting this time. "A lot of people do. He infiltrated the Kremlin"
"Yeah, the picture of, uh, Putin shirtless on horseback that was his hack" Fitz continued.
"It was also his hack that got Chan kidnapped" Ward silence the science twins.
"We need to bring him in. May, set course for Austin" and when May confirmed she had already done so through the tablet that she was holding, he continued. "Any ideas?" He looked around the table.
"If I may" I started without hesitating and Coulson nodded. "While I was undercover I worked with Miles a lot. If we bring him in he will refuse to cooperate and I doubt we will get anything out of him"
"What do you think we should do then?"
"Well…"
Notes:
Here we go with the start of E05! More on that tomorrow :)