Line of Fire

2x14; love in the time of hydra

This wasn't going to be easy. Dealing with situations like these, situations with teammates, never was. Add to that the fact that it was Skye he was going to have to-

The ringing of his office phone stopped Coulson in his tracks. Here he was, trying to send away one of his best agents and someone was trying to call him. Wonderful.

Resigning himself by the third ring, Coulson shrugged on the second sleeve of his jacket and picked up the phone. "Hello?" He asked, annoyed tone bleeding into his voice.

"Oh, good, someone picked up," The person on the other end said. "This is SHIELD, right?"

A shot of adrenaline raced through him. Coulson frowned, "Yes. Who is this and how did you get this number?"

"You gave it to me, remember?" The caller certainly was chipper. And, no, Coulson did not remember. "I was actually worried you gave me a fake one, though. Oh, and this is Hydra, by the way." Coulson froze, a million scenarios running through his head until the person spoke again. "Your Hydra informant, I mean. The one who tipped you off about the weapons drop in Japan and the tail on Raina in Canada?"

"My Hydra informant...Is a teenager?" Coulson had a hard time not being incredulous. But how else would this person know classified information like that?

"Is that really what I sound like?" The person asked. "Guess that's what I get for picking out a voice modulating program at random. This is embarrassing."

Less than a minute into this call and Coulson was already rolling his eyes. It was hard to tell from just coordinates and one-sentence mission briefs in shorthand, but this guy certainly had an...interesting personality. "I'm going to make this brief because I have places to be," Coulson said. "Why the phone call? You've only ever sent written messages before. What changed?"

"Caught wind of something Hydra's been working on a week back. It's pretty big," The guy replied. "I managed to get myself involved in it by chance. I'm supposed to be in Tennessee right now chasing down a lead, but I'm in Middle-Of-Nowhere, Maryland instead sitting on several hundred pages worth of classified information on known powered humans. I'd like to drop them off in person."

"And you didn't send them electronically, because...?" Coulson trailed off. Was having this classified intel really worth it? Even if he was talking about enhanced individuals, this was probably going to be a mess.

The guy was laughing when Coulson tuned back in. "When I figure out a way to discretely mail almost a terabyte of data, in a short enough period of time to stop this mission, you'll be the first to know," He explained. "Please tell me you're close to Maryland. This intel's burning a hole in my passenger seat."

Coulson heaved a sigh. He really had to be going, not trying to to coordinate a drop with a man who, chances were, was going to cross them. "Alright, since this is on such short notice, it's happening on my terms," Coulson demanded. He didn't give the man a chance to reply, continuing immediately, "After you hang up, I'll send you an address. There, you'll find several SHIELD agents awaiting your arrival. Once they verify that you won't double-cross us, they'll be taking you back to one of our bases. Blindfolded. You will show up unarmed and without any communication devices. If you do-"

"Aye, aye, captain," The guy cut him off. "I'll be there as soon as I can. Go have fun on your mission. Or don't, it's up to you I guess. Bye for now!"

"Wait!" Coulson called before the man could hang up. "One last thing. I need your name."

~x~

Work had become pretty boring for Mara ever since Puerto Rico. Sure, life had thrown them all plenty of curveballs recently - what with Skye developing powers and memory-wiping alien to name a few - but work was dull. Ever since the revelation of the true meaning behind Coulson's writings, the Director had lost the compulsion to scratch them onto every available surface.