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

Chapter Twenty: Nothing Personal

Maria Hill walked down the steps of the United States Department of Justice, talking on her phone as she walked down the largely deserted dark street. "Yeah, it went as expected," she was saying. "S.H.I.E.L.D. implodes and everyone wants answers. The CIA, NSA, NRO—them, I can handle. But Congress? Congress is like kindergarten. 'Where is this Fridge?', 'Who was in there?', 'Who or what is a man-thing?'" She sighed exasperatedly, noticing the covert glances she was receiving from the three other people on the street. "I swear I need a cocktail and a lobotomy.

"But apparently my every move continues to fascinate them. Tonight's standard-issue surveillance package includes: fake yuppie not checking her texts at the bus stop; imposter homeless man, mildly offensive; and the hipster following me looks familiar. I think he's Russian, or..." She glanced over her shoulder at him, only to find he'd disappeared. "Gone." Across the street, the woman at the bus stop and the homeless man were both unconscious on the ground. "Pepper, I'll call you back in ten." She put her phone away, swapping it for a loaded gun, and moved quickly into an alleyway. A noise behind her made her turn, gasping slightly as she recognised the woman standing before her.

"We need to talk, Agent Hill."

"May." Hill sighed, lowering her gun. "A phone call would've done it. But I appreciate the discretion."

"Thought you'd like the night off," May said, shrugging. "They must hate that you're going to work for Stark."

"Most of the intelligence community would like to drop me in a dark hole," Hill admitted, "but even they can't mess with Tony's army of lawyers. So for now, we're privatising global security. Want to join?"

"Coulson and Genevieve need help," May told her bluntly. "And they won't take it from me anymore."

Hill nodded. "Where are they?"

"Providence base. And they've got enough to worry about without obsessing over T.A.H.I.T.I. and who covered it up."

"You mean besides us? How much do they know?"

May tilted her head. "Enough. That they used alien biology, rewrote his memories, and that Fury did it under someone else's direction. I want to know who that was."

"You're afraid it was Alexander Pierce," Hill assumed.

"Secretary Pierce was the man in charge," May reasoned, "the only person Fury took orders from, and he was Hydra. Having a man like that design your brain? You can understand my concern."

Hill sighed. "Fury took his cues from pretty high up. That much I know. But when I asked him who it was, Fury said that he buried that intel when he decided not to bury Coulson."

May scoffed. "Maria, this is not the time to wax poetic."

"Those are his words, not mine. You knew the man. Sometimes he spoke in riddles."

"Guess I'll have to solve it then." May shot Hill a look. "Unless you want to ask Fury for me."

"Fury's dead," Hill told her flatly.

"I'll believe it when I see it."

Two police cars pulled in at the end of the alleyway, and as May disappeared from sight, Hill sighed, walking towards them. "Drop your weapon!"

"Three minutes and twenty seconds, really?" she asked, checking her watch as they took her gun. "If you were my agents, it wouldn't be for long."

***

Meanwhile in Canada, what remained of the team were in Koenig's office, watching the security footage on the big screen. "Play it again," Coulson ordered.