SHIELD Agent Eleanor Flint

Chapter 13

As soon as the debriefing had finished, Fury sent us out the door and to the locker rooms to gather our things. Two Quinjets had been prepped, one for the STRIKE unit, one for the agents, and we loaded on within a 10 minute timeframe. SHIELD had rooms booked for us at a hotel five miles from Richardson Manner. It was 7 pm when we arrived at the front desk, each of us were in civilian clothes and dragging suitcases behind us.

Coulson took care of the room keys while we sat in the lobby looking casual. Natasha and Clint indulged in a quiet fake conversation. I pretended to read a magazine and glanced around at the hotel guests. Most of them looked to be of high class, and I assumed that they were also Gala guests. The STRIKE team sat around a large table and pretended to be old classmates coming together for a reunion. I held in a few laughs at their made up stories. Sitwell stood at one of the lobby windows and took in the rolling hills that surrounded us.

Coulson approached each of us separately with our room keys and began distributing them. Many of the STRIKE team paired up in double rooms and I was taken by surprise when Henry approached me with his keycard. He held it up and nodded towards the elevators. I looked at the elevators, then back at him.

"Darling, let's go check out our room, then me and the guys are gonna sit at the bar for a bit," Henry said.

I instantly caught onto his play, stood up and pulled down the bottom of my blue, button-up shirt. Henry turned and nodded to the STRIKE unit as I grabbed my suitcases and we headed for the elevator. When we stepped inside, I opened my mouth to speak but stopped when an older couple stepped into the elevator as well. Henry and I gave them friendly smiles, which they returned and the older man turned to the floor buttons.

"Which floor?" He asked us.

Henry glanced at the keycard in his hands. "Three. Thank you."

The man pressed the floor button and we rode up in silence. Henry and I reached our floor first and we stepped off, said "goodbye" to the couple, then headed for our room. Henry took the lead and I followed him till he stopped at a door, scanned his card and entered the hotel room. Henry strolled in and set his keycard on the kitchenette counter. I closed the door behind me and set my suitcases by the closet.

"So, who'd you bribe to let us get a room together?" I asked.

Henry began lifting the couch cushions and checking around the furniture. "Uh, no one."

"Really?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Yeah, I think Coulson did that on his own," he said before looking under the lampshades. "Either he knows, or is trying to make us all look like one happy family on a reunion."

"What are you looking for?" I asked.

Henry walked into the small bathroom and disappeared from my sight. I walked over to the doorway and watched as he checked every nook and cranny. Henry turned to face me and placed his hands on my shoulders to move me aside. He walked past me and began to check the bed.

"I'm checking to see if the room is bugged," he answered. "It's a good habit to get into."

"I'm pretty sure it's not bugged," I said.

Henry stood up after he checked underneath the frame and looked at me. "Did you check?"

My expression dropped and I slowly crossed my arms over my chest. "No..."

Henry smiled and walked over to me. He placed both hands on my cheeks and lowered his head to press his lips to mine. I returned the kiss and Henry pulled away, planted a kiss on my forehead, and placed his hands on my waist.