Blood of the Covenant |1| The Dark Waters Series (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

Chapter One: Pilot

The secret is out.

For decades your organisation stayed in the shadows, hiding the truth. But now we know—they're among us. Heroes... and monsters... The world is full of wonders. We can't explain everything we see, but our eyes are open. So what now?

There are no more shadows for you to hide in. Something impossible just happened. What are you going to do about it?

***

Maria Hill's office was lined with shadows. With no windows to let in any natural light, the room relied on bright white ceiling lights, of which only one was currently working. It wasn't so surprising—after all, her main office was at the Triskelion, not the Hub where she was currently visiting—but the rumour among the level six agents was that it was intentional. An aura of mystery surrounded Commander Hill just as it did Director Fury, and many chose to believe that any shadows available to increase that mystery were planted there for that very purpose.

In situations such as this, that seemed ever more likely. Hill was not alone in the room. At the opposite side of her desk sat Grant Ward, a level six S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who'd recently completed a mission in Paris. Behind him, waiting patiently with a thick briefcase, was a young female agent in a tactical suit. With the hood pulled up over her hair, her identity was unclear, which Ward was inclined to believe was on Hill's orders. What said mystery and intimidation more than a heavily armed young woman standing in the shadows behind you, motionless and watching your every move?

"So," Hill said, folding her arms as she took a seat at her desk. "What does S.H.I.E.L.D. stand for, Agent Ward?"

Ward sighed, bored. "Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"And what does that mean to you?"

"It means someone really wanted our initials to spell out 'shield'." Hill raised an unimpressed eyebrow, and Ward sighed, relenting from his jokes. "It means we're the line between the world and the much weirder world. We protect people from the news they aren't ready to hear. And, when we can't do that, we keep them safe." He unbuttoned his jacket and reached into his inside left pocket, pulling out a small metal device. "Something turns up like this Chitauri neural link, we get to it before someone bad does."

Hill picked up the artefact carefully, turning it over in her hands. "Any idea who Vanchat was planning to sell it to?" She held it out towards the female agent, who took it, slotting it into place inside the briefcase she carried.

"I'm more interested in how this Rising Tide group found out about it," Ward admitted. "I thought they were just hackers. What changed?"

To his surprise, it wasn't Hill who answered. "Everything's changing." The female agent put the briefcase on the table, took a seat next to Hill, and pulled down her hood to reveal her face, her warm, tawny complexion, her deep brown eyes.

Ward blinked in surprise. "Genevieve James?"

She inclined her head politely, remaining impassive. "A little while ago, most people went to bed thinking that the craziest thing in the world was a billionaire in a flying metal suit. Then aliens invaded New York and were beaten back by, among others, a giant green monster, a costumed hero from the forties, and a god."

"I don't think Thor's technically a god," Ward pointed out.

"Well, you haven't been near his arms," Hill said, shrugging. "Look, the battle of New York was the end of the world. This, now, is the new world. People are different. They have access to tech, to formulas, to secrets they're not ready for."

Ward narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to glean something, anything from the agents' carefully constructed blank expressions. "Why was I pulled out of Paris?"