𝐴𝐿𝐼𝐾𝐸 | Agents Of Shield

12. easy as pie

     Grant and I want upstairs where we found everyone else, they had worked out a plan for me.

"Lynn will walk in the front door. The only external access point to Quinn's underground facility is from a beach cove. A two-Man extraction team could slip in there, but it's not easy. Fitz-Simmons." Coulson says as he moves away from the screen letting them have the floor to talk

"The perimeter is surrounded by a 20-foot-high neodymium laser grid. Touch it and you're toast." Fitz tells us

"Dead toast." Coulson adds in "The only way to disable the grid is to crack the system and trigger a reboot. This would give the team three seconds to cross. Of course, Quinn's too smart to allow any wireless access on his property." Coulson tells all of us

"That's where I come in." I say nodding my head to show them I understood what they were saying to me

"Yes. Working compact. Holds up under X-ray." Jemma tells as she hands it off to Fitz

Fitz opens it and I look at it "Desert Rose, to match your complexion. But, oh, what's this?" I smile at him and I see five little red lights appear on the mirror "A readout, okay? It turns green if you're close enough proximity to a computer to gain wireless access" Fitz tells me as I watch it turn green

"And when it does, you use drop this nearby and walk out. We'll do the rest. Easy as pie." Simmons tells me and Fitz puts a little white pad in there

" Oh it will be, if you stick to the plan." Ward says as he messes around with a gun and cocks it, Fitz-Simmons look uncomfortable by it. I didn't understand Wards mood changes towards me and I didn't like them, it was like he was acting tough for everyone else to see.

"Easy as pie." I repeat what Simmons had just said and I nod, Fitz hands me the compact and I say thanks quietly. I stand there looking at it. Ward was in a case grabbing things, Fitz-Simmons were talking, Skye was in the corner and May pulls Coulson aside to talk to him, they conversation didn't last long "All right, team, suit up." Coulson says leaving the room

I find this black simple dress from my suitcase to wear, Jemma and Skye help me find some gold jewelry to go with it. Skye and I argue back and forth about wearing heels rather than flats. I finally give in because I didn't want to waste anymore time, The three of us walk out of the bunk into the main part of the bus, Grant and Fitz were on sitting on the white couch waiting for us, Coulson was in his office and May was flying us to Malta.

Fitz stands up when he sees us "This is for you." He hands me a little black purse, I smile at him and he sits back down 'Thank you, Fitz" I say as I start walking down to the cargo hold with Ward following close after me leaving Skye and Fitz-Simmons upstairs. I open the purse and the only thing in there was the compact I need, I close it again and I turn around to look at Ward

"You look good." He tells me as he was checking the pockets on his vest that he's wearing

"Thank you, It's different from my regular suit" I smile at him and again he just stares at me for a moment, it was silent. That's how it always was with him.

"Do you not trust me?" I couldn't help but ask.

"I trust you. I'm just worried for you, Dr.Hall and us. We're breaking all different types of laws" He tells me as he moves to sit off to the side of the cargo hold, I move to him

"Well do you want Skye going in there?" I ask him as I stand in right front of him and he starts laughing

"Definitely not, here." He puts his hand out and there was an earpiece in it. "May, Skye and Fitz-Simmons will be able to talk to you" He finishes and I grab it putting it in my ear

"I know how it works." I tell him as the plane starts to land and I sit down next to him

The ramp starts to open and a white taxi was waiting for me at the landing pad, I walk to it without turning back. I open the door and give the man the address to where Quinn's party was. It was a long drive, it was silent the whole time, it felt like silence was taking over my whole life but I liked it. The car pulls up to a beautiful house, I get out looking all around as I close the door and I exhale, fixing my hair. I walk to the entrance, there was jazz music playing and all types of people talking. A woman walks up to me offering champagne but I pass on it and walk off.

"Hors d'oeuvre, madame?" A man walks up to me this time and I nod my head no

"Who are you?" I hear a man's voice say behind me so I turn around, he was older with white hair

"Uh, apologies for his manners. He knows very little english." A younger man comes up after he's looking me up and down

"Oh. That's okay. Natalie." I go to shake the older man's hand and he does the same "Qasim Zaghlul." he says shaking my hand

"You built half of Dubai, including the Arabian Blade. Where's your wife?" I ask the older man "Nadrah. She's staying at home with the boys?" May told me the wife's name and that he had twin sons

"You know Nadrah? She's very well, Thank you." The man cross his arms to the front of his body

"The pleasure is mine." I touch his arm and smile as I walk off. I look around there's a bunch of tables all around the yard and people in groups talking, I look around trying to find Quinn and he was talking to a few people in a group

"I see Quinn. I'm going to talk to him." I say quietly over the earpiece and I start walking to him

"I mean, that, and its effect on the Industrial Average. That was good." Quinn says and everyone starts laughing so I do too, he looks over at me.

"Ian Quinn. I'm your last-minute party crasher. Natalie." I go to shake his hand and he accepts it

"Oh. wow. Great to meet you. Um This is Natalie, a member of the Rising Tide. They're a group of hackers that have gotten some pretty big secrets out to the public." Quinn tells the people he was talking to and I just smile at them

"I'm glad you've heard of our site." I say to him

"I read it. We think very much alike. More freedom of information, the less government infringing on everyone's rights. I'm a fan." He nods his head at me, I have no idea what Skye and the other people wrote on this site so I change subjects

"Thanks for the invite. This is a tough party to get into." I say sarcastically

"Not as hard to get into as the encrypted back channel you contacted us through to request the invite." He smiles at me and I let out a quiet laugh

"That's where my friends live." I tell him

"You gotta show me how they did that. I mean, if you sign on." He tells me and I was a little confused

"Sign on what?" I ask him moving closer to him, maybe I shouldn't have been the one to join the mission

"I've been known to turn a few black hats into white hats. Not just for vulnerability analysis, but for very creative thinking." He says in my ear

"Is this you offering me a job?" I ask again letting out a quiet laugh and I wonder what Skye would've done here

"Well, I didn't invite you here for your pretty face. I didn't know you had a pretty face. Yes, I wanna hire you, before someone else snatched you up." He says and then walks off fixing his suit to go on stage

"That seemed to go well." May says over the earpiece

I didn't say anything back to her, people started clapping and I turned my head to look at the stage.