Line of Fire

2x05; a hen in the wolf house

Finally! Mara thought as she raced through the halls of the Playground, nearly tripping several people as she practically ran for Coulson's office. Finally, this is the breakthrough I've been waiting for. She made it to the office in record time, knocking vigorously on the door.

"Who's there?" Coulson's voice called back. Mara was quick to note the melancholy in his voice, but that didn't stop her good mood from disappearing.

"Agent Arany, Sir!" Mara replied.

"Mara? Come in."

The aforementioned agent threw the door open in a split second, almost bouncing on her heels. "Oh, afternoon, Agent May," Mara nodded to her senior agent. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you two would be in a meeting-"

May only glowered back. "I was just leaving," She said, brushing past Mara without another word. Okay, that might have hurt Mara's good mood a little.

"She still doesn't like me, does she?" Mara asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Give her time," Coulson said. His voice was reassuring, but that didn't help Mara any.

"I've been here a month," She sighed. "I actually think I might be lower on her list than Hunter. And he shot her."

Coulson chuckled, shaking his head. "But I have the distinct feeling you didn't come here to talk to me about the way May feels about you." There was that knowing look again. Coulson always seemed to be able to see right through his agents. "You figured out something about the writings?"

Mara nodded enthusiastically holding her tablet out to Coulson. On it were the drawings, but overlaid on top of one another to create one large picture. There were still several pieces missing, but most fit together almost perfectly. "I've been working on this for nearly a week now, but I've finally gotten everything sorted," She explained. "The pieces aren't all separate. They fit together like a puzzle. That has to mean something, right? I mean, these writings come from all over the world, but they're all from one-"

"Thank you, Agent Arany," Coulson said suddenly, cutting her off. Mara nearly flinched at the sharp change in his voice. That, and he'd called her by her last name. He almost never did that. "Is that all?"

"So far, yes," Mara responded after a moment's pause. "I'm going to start re-running the algorithms now that I have the completed model, so I should have a response for you shortly."

"Then that's good news," Coulson's eyes never once left the picture on the tablet. "Good work, Mara."

The brunette took that as her cue to leave and nodded, even though Coulson probably couldn't see her. "Thank you, sir."

~x~

She may not have been mad when she walked out of Coulson's office, but Mara certainly was now. It was like a tiny itch that she just couldn't help but scratch. And the more she scratched, the worse it became. Mara /had/ to know what Coulson was keeping from her. Not only would it help her figure out the mystery behind the markings, but it would also be more than enough to satisfy her curiosity.

And she knew exactly where to look.

Skye's bedroom was still on the Bus. Despite the Playground having more than enough rooms for everyone who lived on the base, Skye still preferred her old bedroom. Mara understood why. After a big sea change like the one SHIELD had gone through during its downfall, she couldn't blame Skye for clinging to every piece of the good days she had left.

As Mara approached the younger agent's room, she almost immediately turned in the opposite direction. Just outside the room, Hunter was leaning against the doorframe. This wasn't something Mara was sure he should be hearing. However, once she got close enough, she realized that maybe she was wrong. In fact, it looked like they were already talking about-