Chosen

Chapter Twenty-Two

 The underground bunker is lit up by white lanterns. The metal walls and flooring gives it an industrious feel. It feels as if we are in a steel catacomb. A large table sits in the middle of the metal room with a hanging ceiling light above its middle. A television that bears the S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem flashing on the screen hangs on the western wall. A row of filing cabinets line the adjacent wall.

 "No," Director shrugs, "But it is the safest we have. We evacuated after the bombings and ordered for everyone to lay low and stay away. I even had to order my own team to hide at another location. I only have a few agents here. We were bombed once but we were able to keep it contained to only the top three floors. This shelter was designed to withstand any bomb and be hidden from any radar. We can continue our operations from down here just as well as we could from the entire building.

 "You said over the phone that you had a jump on the Black Order's location. Do you still have all of your data?" Director Coulson asks.

 "Yes, if you just have a place for me to work..." I look around the unfamiliar bunker.

 "Agent Bly, if you would show Agent Potts to the tech room," A familiar agent steps out from in the shadows.

 "Right this way," He motions to one of the two doors in the room.

 I crank the handle to the side to unlock the door. Agent Bly walks behind me as we enter the room. "This place was added when the old headquarters was built in the '60s. It was built to withstand pretty much any type of bomb or nuclear fallout. It hasn't been used since New York, "Agent Bly casually informs me, "Nice to see you again, Potts."

 "Likewise, Bly," I respond with the corner of my lip twitching upwards.

 "You're off chasing the big leagues now. Tired of boring usual agent missions?"

 "Trust me, what I'd do for a simple catch-and-arrest mission now during these days."

 "Ha, at least you don't have to wear ridiculous outfits now. Except, you know..." Bly motions to my bright violet coat. As we pass through another room.

 "Oh, this wasn't my choice," I unzip the coat and shrug it off of me.

 "Whatever you say, Potts. I always thought you had an eccentric side."

 "I was trying to get the neon pink one..."

 "I don't doubt it," Agent Bly chuckles, "I'll let you do your thing. I'm not good with all this tech stuff. I'll go see what the boss man wants."

 I take a seat in front of the multi-monitor setup. I plug in my flash-drive and wait patiently for the program to open up. I hear footsteps behind me. "So, who's Agent Bly?"

 "You do realize that 70% of the people I work with and interact with are male, right?" I retort as I begin to upload the files.

 "I'm not implying anything! I'm genuinely asking!" Alex raises his hands in offense.

 "Okay, good, because I was going to say I had to trust you for a whole year..." I chuckle.

 "And you can trust me for infinite more," Alex puts a hand on his chair as he leans over to look at the computer screen.

 I try to keep the blushing in my cheeks hidden as I hum, "Well, he's been on my team for multiple missions. He is like my right-hand-man in the field. Probably one of the agents I trust not just because I have to."

 Alex makes a noise in acknowledgement. I get everything up and downloading on the computer screen. All of the relevant data I had saved on my hard drive in my garage is now being uploaded to the S.H.I.E.L.D. devices. The progress bar shows that it will take eight hours since the home programs are different, Lucis isn't assisting, and my programs are outdated. Not being around in Oakley for the past two years has allowed me to let my equipment go outmoded. I became used to Tony's programs that are always way ahead of the technological curve.