SHIELD Agent Eleanor Flint

Chapter 26

Henry pushed my hand way from his lip for the third time. His focus was on the CPU, not his injury. The tech specialist hooked up the second wire to the System Unit that we had stolen from Bell's not-so-abandoned apartment building. Other scientists and tech specialists roamed the lab doing whatever work they had to do. 

"You said Bell had a Flash Bomb?" Coulson asked. 

"Yeah," Henry replied, glancing up from the box. 

Coulson leaned into the table as he thought. "He probably took some tech with him when he resigned." 

"It definitely wasn't a souvenir," I said. I held the damp cloth up to Henry's busted lip, only for him to push my hand away again. 

"So, can we get the information out of that thing?" Henry asked. "Or did I get beat up by Bell and lose him for nothing?" 

Fury turned away from a computer monitor. "We can, it may take awhile considering Bell's knack for technology." 

"Good, can we leave?" Henry responded. 

I held my breath when Fury gave him a stink-eye. I turned my attention back to the tech specialist as he hooked more wires to the CPU. Coulson frowned to himself and cleared his throat. 

"We can bet that a Flash Bomb isn't the only thing that Bell took," he spoke up. "Hopefully he didn't also take a Thunderstick." 

"That'd be awkward," I mumbled. 

Henry's jaw tensed and I watched his hands ball into fists. "Just notify me when you find something." He turned on his heel and marched out of the lab. I sighed and glanced up at Fury with a guilty expression. 

"He's tired from the trip," I explained. "And he's upset that Bell got away." 

"Clearly," Maria Hill finally said from where she stood. 

The tech specialist hooked the final wire to the CPU and the computer monitor that Fury was standing in front of turned on. The screen was covered in pop-up windows in a matter of seconds that blocked our access to the files. Fury hummed in amusement and looked at the tech specialist. 

"We'll be right on that, sir," he said. 

Fury stepped away from the monitor and allowed the specialist to sit down. I crossed my arms over my chest and wondered if I had to watch this whole process. I glanced at the door where Henry had made his exit and chewed on my inner lip. He could have gone to a number of places. His apartment, my apartment, the gym, locker room, anywhere. Coulson cleared his throat again and I turned to face him. 

"Hm?" I hummed. 

"You don't have to stay," he said. 

I nodded. "Thanks." 

"We'll notify you and a few other agents when we find information," Fury added. 

"Copy," I responded. 

Henry wasn't in the hallway when I stepped out of the lab, and I didn't think he would be. I placed my hands on my hips and turned my head left and right. I didn't have a clue where he could be. My feet began to move and I let them carry me without thought. They led me to the training room where Clint was practicing his archery. Each of his arrows met the bullseye without fail. A small smile tugged at the corner of my mouth, but it faltered when I remembered our last encounter. Following Natasha's advice, and my gut feeling, I walked into the training room and stood to the side. Clint loosened another arrow and glanced at me as it pierced the bullseye.