Birds of a Feather | | Leo Fitz Book One

Chapter 39

After Coulson had handed Skye her new badge, Asia, Leo, and Jemma all rushed towards her, throwing their arms around her in a massive group hug. Asia looked up from the hug, meeting Ward's gaze. She gave him a small, knowing smile, and pulled back from Skye. "Come on guys, let's get back to the Lab," Asia said to Leo and Jemma, leading them out of the room. She knew Ward and Skye well enough by now. One of these days, they would talk about their mutual feelings for each other.

It wasn't long before they were all called back to the meeting room and the field agents were paired off. Asia waved goodbye to Jemma and Leo in the Lab before going to meet Skye, who handed her a small cell phone. Thing must have been a Nokia, it weighed like a brick in her hands. Coulson joined them in the room shortly after.

"Here's one for you too, you're all set," Skye said, unplugging an identical phone from her laptop and handing it to him.

"Hope you paired me with someone good, or interesting at least," Coulson said with a smirk.

"Hey, same goes for me," Asia agreed with a small chuckle. "God forbid I get stuck with Agent Sitwell. I'd almost rather get tortured by Nat."

Skye didn't seem to hear either of them as she typed away at her laptop, lips slightly pursed.

"Quit worrying," Coulson said in a knowing tone.

Skye jerked her head up away from her screen, looking at the both of them. "I'm not worrying..." she said slowly, but it was painfully obvious that she was. Asia just shook her head.

"You wear your heart on your sleeve," Coulson said in a calm, fatherly tone. "I trust your judgment. I'm sure Agent Monroe does as well." Asia nodded earnestly. "The way you see the world. It's different than the rest of us. That's why I want you to dig deeper into these." He set a stack of files down on her desk next to her.

"The psych evals?" Skye asked, perplexed.

"The Clairvoyant thinks he can read our minds. See if you can read his. We need some insight into who this person really is, a weakness. So, do what you do, find the exploit. And stop worrying. Agent Monroe, let's roll out." Coulson turned and headed for the door, and Asia had no choice but to follow. When they left, Skye turned back towards the small screen, her lips pursing once more. As easy as it was for them to say not to worry, it was much harder to actually ignore the nagging of her conscious.

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Asia had been paired with a woman slightly older than her, named Agent Romney. She was tall, almost 6'3, and had hair as black and shiny as the feathers of a raven. It was her eyes that really got Asia. Icy blue, with veins of black running outward. They were piercing, judging, and made her incredibly uncomfortable. They had been dropped off at an abandoned zoo, not far from Atlanta, Georgia, but in some small, rural, rundown town. And if Asia had any hope of carrying a sort of conversation, she was very wrong.

Agent Romney had no intentions of speaking whatsoever. All they could do was explore the area and hope for the best. And then wait, for their ride to arrive.

The zoo was desolate and empty, with dripping water still running through some of the artificial streams. The plants which had once been there had grown rampant and climbed up and down various walls and fences. Asia couldn't help but wonder what happened to all of the animals there. All in all, it was a bit sad. She would had been absolutely fine sitting there until Agent Hand's call came through their comms, ordering all back up teams to move.

Agent Romney and Agent Monroe exchanged a look, and before either could blink, they were sprinting back for their quinjet.