The Tales of a New S.H.I.E.L.D. | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. [BOOK 1]

Chapter 7: What We Bury

"I'm unclear on how I'm stuck running the base and you're off to Hawaii," May's voice from The Playground came through the monitor in The Bus's command area where Coulson stood.

"Don't get too jealous. I doubt I'll even see the tarmac. There's plenty of work to be done. Ward's still out there," Coulson replied, glancing at the feed from Vault D, showing Bobbi and Bakshi seated together. "Have you gotten a response from his brother?"

"He has his own men on the manhunt. We're politically toxic, and he demanded that we stay away from the case," May informed.

"They'll never find him. I'll signal a few assets to be on alert. How's Agent Morse handling Bakshi?"

"He wouldn't speak for the first eight hours, but she's working him." May replied. "I'll send you any developments," she promised, touching the tablet on the desk and gave Coulson a wry look. "Aloha."

As May ended the call, the screen now displayed multiple views of Vault D. Skye entered the room, glancing at the monitor. "Didn't want to crack him yourself?"

"Bobbi's as good as they come. My job now is to keep an eye on the big picture," Coulson explained.

"And you found something to chase."

"Fury. I've been thinking a lot about what made him such a good director. His communication skills, flawed. But he could always see five steps ahead, which, for a one-eyed man, is impressive," Coulson reflected.

"He knew his enemies."

"And for better or worse, he could think like them. Whitehall has a weapon that's unpredictable, but he's not. I don't want to be in a foot race to stop him. I want to be waiting at the finish line," Coulson explained his strategy.

"Which is the city," Skye deduced as Coulson swiped his hand over the Holotable, replacing the feed from the vault with the image of the city made up of the alien symbols.

"That's where I believe the Obelisk will lead HYDRA."

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Inside The Bus, Trip, and Skye geared up while Monica and Coulson entered the cargo area, holding a briefcase. Trip's eyes wandered towards his girlfriend, much to Skye's amusement at the couple.

"What are we gonna do, storm Oahu?" Monica questioned Coulson as he set down the case, turning to them. Meanwhile, Fitz worked in the background in the lab.

"Take this," Coulson instructed, handing Skye a watch.

"What is it?" she asked, giving him a quizzical look.

"It's a watch," Coulson deadpanned, then handed her a piece of paper. "Deliver it to Cam, the owner of the Kahananui Repair Shop. Here."

He gestured toward the paper she'd just received. "It'll need the following inscription. 'Dearest Darren, I count the seconds we're apart. Love, your Island Flower'. You got that?"

"Island Flower, got it. Anything else?"

"If it starts to leak any fluids, drop it, run," Monica warned, causing Skye to hold the watch more cautiously. Meanwhile, Trip leaned over to inspect it.

"This does not sound like a watch," Skye remarked, puzzled.

Coulson then handed something to Trip. "Take this to the Ka Pua dry cleaners on Makamoimo Street," Coulson instructed, dropping a few coins into Trip's hand.

"The Maka-what now?"

"Not the one on Hookelewaa," Monica instructed,

"Am I good with this in my pocket?" Trip questioned, sliding the coins into his front pocket.