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

Chapter Eleven: The Magical Place

Over a day later, a man named Vanchat was meeting with a woman named Emily Deville in an office building. He placed a briefcase on the table between them, opening it to reveal a metal device. "One hundred per cent premium-grade Chitauri metal," he told her. "As rare as it gets."

Deville looked up, glancing around at the multiple guards before returning her gaze to the Chitauri artefact. "How did you get your hands on this, Vanchat?"

He shrugged. "It's what I do. Find any scrap that no one else can, then offer it to people who fully appreciate my efforts."

"Mmm." Deville smiled. "I appreciate the hell out of them." She closed the case. "You can name your price." Before Vanchat could say a word, a small black disc slid under the door and into the room, beeping incessantly. Deville looked at it, confused. "Is that a Roomba?"

Suddenly, the device released a blinding flash of white light, making all of them recoil. May and Ward rushed into the room, taking down the guards with ease. Vanchat ran from the room and May gave chase. He shot at her, missing, then headed down the stairs. May raised a hand to her earpiece. "FitzSimmons, he's heading your way."

***

Inside a S.H.I.E.L.D. van, FitzSimmons and Skye shared a nervous look. "We've never done anything like this before," Simmons said. "Are you sure?"

"It's time, Simmons," Fitz decided. "Embrace the change." He pressed enter.

***

In the corridor, Vanchat stopped short as his way was blocked by FitzSimmons' drones. Suddenly, all their lights turned on, blinding him. He lifted his gun, firing off a few shots until he ran out of bullets, then turned and ran in the opposite direction into the elevator. The doors closed just before Ward could reach him.

He sighed. "Skye, you're up."

***

Skye watched the elevator feed as Vanchat impatiently pushed the button for the ground floor. "Here. Let me get that for you." She sent him up to the roof, where he ran out and into the firing line of a whole team of tactical S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. He stopped in his tracks, defeated, and as May confiscated his gun, Genevieve stepped out from behind the strike team.

"Good morning, Mr Vanchat. Someone kidnapped a friend of mine." She gave him an empty smile. "And you're gonna help me find him."

***

"Impressive," Simmons commented, inspecting the bullet wound on Ward's shoulder in the lab. "You actually managed to reopen all your stitches."

Ward winced as she cleaned it. "Let's just hope Vanchat can lead us to Centipede."

"Well, the Chitauri metal he was selling is an exact match to what Centipede used for their device," Simmons reasoned.

"We find Centipede, we find Coulson," Ward nodded.

Behind them, Fitz raised his voice, talking to an agent. "Don't ask questions, Agent Kob, just get me the five-millimetre injector. That's an order."

"Yes, sir." Agent Kob left, and Fitz sighed, walking over to Simmons and Ward.

"Honestly, how many agents do they think they can cram on this plane?"

"It's only gonna get more crowded," Ward warned him. "We're set to pick up more men when Agent Hand dumps Vanchat off at the Fridge."

Simmons sighed. "Honestly, I think it's good they're here. We need fresh eyes. It's been thirty-six hours since Agent Coulson was taken and none of us have gotten any rest."