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

Chapter Twelve: Seeds

In his office, Coulson sat alone and silent, reading through the file on his death. He sat motionless, staring at photographs of his own corpse.

***

Down in the living area of the Bus, the younger part of the team were discussing the latest case they'd been assigned.

"There is nothing more unsettling, being a part of something so horrible, completely unaware," Simmons sighed, shaking her head. "A cadet could have died."

"We drew up those concepts years ago," Fitz reminded her, pouring two cups of tea. "We didn't know they'd be applied in that way."

"Is this the device they found in the frozen pool?" Skye asked. "Correction: the instantly frozen indoor pool."

Ward nodded. "Seems like it was planted in the filter days before. Like someone was waiting for those specific cadets."

"Well, as far as they can tell, the device uses a crystalline nucleation process she designed," Fitz explained.

"And a delivery mechanism he invented," Simmons finished. "That's why we're being asked to consult on the investigation."

Skye raised her eyebrows. "So we're going to the Academy?"

"Science and technology division," Genevieve told her, walking in with a tablet in hand. "Cadets are pretty shaken up over what happened. Agent Weaver asked if you two could speak to the student body about potentiality to calm them down."

Simmons nodded. "Of course, the talk. We've all heard the talk."

They all nodded, except Skye, who hesitated. "I haven't."

Ward shrugged. "I guess you will."

"Well, I've heard a lot about the Academy," she said, smiling. "I'm excited to finally see it."

"Me too," Ward admitted. "Never been to Sci-Tech before."

Skye blinked. "Never?" He shook his head. "Huh. The different S.H.I.E.L.D. academies don't interact?"

"Not much," Genevieve explained. "Academy of Communications does, but they're the biggest and focused on data analysis."

"Boring," Fitz said.

"It's the easiest to get into," Simmons added.

Fitz nodded. "That's where you'd be, Skye."

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks."

"Operations is the most aggressive program," Ward told her. "More people wash out of operations than the other academies."

"So which one's the hardest to get into?" Skye asked. She raised her eyebrows as FitzSimmons smiled pointedly at Ward and Genevieve, both of whom rolled their eyes. "I'm picking up on the rivalry between sciences and operations!"

"Which is exactly why I'm leading this one," Genevieve said. "Technically speaking, I'm neutral ground. I did all my schooling at Sci-Tech before I joined operations, so I kind of got the best of both worlds. Which makes me the ideal solution when operations and sciences are being petty, which is always."

"Mmm, I see," Skye nodded. She looked up as May walked through. "Are you and Coulson past all that or you gonna help Ward steal their mascot?"

May stopped, turning back to them. "We're not going. After we drop you off, Coulson and I have other matters to attend to." She walked away.

Skye hesitated, lowering her voice. "Coulson hasn't come out of his office in a while. Do you think he's alright?"

They all turned to Genevieve, who took a deep breath, nodding. "He'll be fine," she assured them. "He's been through it recently, but he's tough. Just give him time. And while he takes that time, it's on us to figure out what's going on at the Academy."