Out Of Time

hundred fifteen

Needing to get back to Talbot, Coulson took Fitz-Simmons with him, leaving Y/N in the hands of Mack and Yo-Yo, while May started searching for a place where they could keep Y/N safe. Simmons had given Y/N something to help her sleep before she left, allowing Y/N to get some rest.

Talbot wasn't happy that Coulson had left him but willingly listened as Coulson and Fitz-Simmons fully explained the situation with Hive and Daisy. As they did so, Talbot's phone buzzed. He glanced down at the message, unhappy with what he was reading.

"I need you to cut the shit now, Coulson," Talbot interrupted. "I've just been informed that Y/N Rogers is missing. And having not signed the Accords and being enhanced that means she's a fugitive, like her brother. Where is she?"

"We don't know," Coulson quickly lied, holding a steady poker face. "She hasn't reach out. And if she's smart, like I believe she is, then she won't."

Talbot stepped up into Coulson's face. "If I find out Rogers here, SHIELD's done for."

"She's not. All cards on the table. Besides, our focus should be on stopping Hive, not searching for Y/N. She wasn't even apart of the fight in Germany. I saw the footage myself."

"Okay then, what do you have for stopping him?"

"We're exploring some options."

"Options? That's what you've got? You told me this thing could take out an entire planet. I got an option for ya, a preemptive strike. This isn't a job for SHIELD. This a job for the United States military."

"You want to make that call? Go ahead. But you'll probably lose them at 'devil'."

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Talbot signaled for Coulson to not answer that before turning around and sighing. "Wouldn't tell them the truth."

"Even if they could be convinced, by the time we dealt with all their second guessing and red tape, whatever Hive's planning would already be done."

"We shouldn't act without knowing the last piece of the puzzle," Fitz said. "Hive and his hole-in-the-wall gang recently stole something from an ATCU facility in Indiana. Till we find out where that is..."

"Acting without all the information could make things worse," Simmons added. "It could be what Hive wants. He was the only thing to survive on that planet, and he survived for a reason."

"So what do you want me to do?" Talbot asked.

"Trust us," Coulson replied.

Fitz's tablet beeped, causing all of them to come around and look at it.

"Oh, Daisy's back in the system," Fitz stated. "She circumnavigated the anti-subversion code and gained access to Lincoln."

Fitz quickly pulled up the feed to Lincoln's cell. He was seemingly asleep.

"That boy sure sleeps a lot," Talbot commented.

"Unless..." Fitz muttered, playing with the video.

"It's a pre-recorded loop," Simmons stated.

~~~

"I didn't know we had an Avenger on the team," Yo-Yo commented as Mack watched over Y/N.

"Yeah..." Mack sighed. "Coulson likes to keep that on the down low. For her safety and ours."

"When was the last time any of you saw her?"

"It's been months with no contact. Honestly, I thought she was doing better than this. Guess I was wrong... no one should know how it feels to lose a child. No one."