Take Flight ↬ L. Fitz [1]

Chapter Five

Aurora's eyes bore into the small burner phone that rested on her bedside table as she mindlessly watered her potted Devil's Ivy. For what felt like the hundredth time, she ran her tongue along her teeth. Less than 24 hours. She told herself that it was the anticipation of doing something forbidden right under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s nose that caused nervous energy to collect in her bones. Feet away, behind her closed door, she could hear the voices of Skye and Ward as they played yet another round of Battleship. It made the hair on the back of her neck rise. Ward, a loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. dog, only steps away from something that could get her thrown into a cell to rot the rest of her life away. Unknowingly, her hand migrated to the leaves of her plant, stroking them lightly. 

Suddenly, an alarm sounded throughout the bus signaling a new assignment for the team and snapping Aurora out of her reverie. Moving quickly and silently, she shoved the phone back into the hidden pocket of her bag. Opening her door, she joined Ward, Skye, May, and Coulson in the debriefing room. Seconds later, Simmons and Fitz emerged from the door to the lab, meeting them at the table. 

"Chan Ho Yin--" Coulson said, as a picture of the man rotated on the screen. "Just a struggling street performer until a few years ago, when Mr. Chan began to exhibit moderate pyrokinetic abilities."

"So what gave him powers?" Fitz asked.

"It's still under investigation, but Chan did live near the decommissioned Wan Tai plant when it caught fire. To our knowledge, no other nearby residents have exhibited similar traits."

"So how did we find out about him?" Simmons asked.

"Informant saw him lighting torches in a street show," May said, "with his pinkie."

"Brought it to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention," Coulson added, "we told him to keep his abilities under wraps. He's been on the Index ever since." Aurora schooled her expression as anger, disgust, and bitterness swelled inside her. The fucking Index.

"The index?" Skye asked.

"It's a list S.H.I.E.L.D. keeps of people and objects with powers," Simmons said. No, Aurora corrected, it's a fucking tracking system. Like a chip in a pet. Or a tag on a fish. People monitored like cattle because they're different.

"Wait. What?" The excitement in the hacker's voice would have usually amused Aurora, but instead, it only increased her disgust. "How many are there? Are you saying there are more people--"

"Not many," May interrupted.

 "Well, enough to keep a list," Skye countered.

"A short list, meant to protect them." Bullshit. It's meant to control them.

"Though, in rare cases, S.H.I.E.L.D. has had to take action," Ward said.

"Action against objects or people?" Skye asked, looking around at them. The hacker saw the uncomfortable looks on the other agents' faces, and given how quickly Skye looked away from Aurora, she also saw anger. "Well, that's drastic with a side of creepy. How are they monitored-- tapped phones, satellite surveillance, body probes in dark, unpleasant places?"

"Body probes?" Fitz repeated, chuckling slightly. "Now, that's ridiculous. S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't do that. We don't do that. Do we?" 

"The methods vary," Coulson said, avoiding the question. "Mr. Chan was low-risk. He was assigned a case agent who checked in with him every few days. That's how we discovered him missing." May tapped the screen, and the monitor behind Coulson changed. 

"Hello, Agent Kwan. How are you?" May asked in Cantonese as men appeared in the video.

"Not as good as I could be," the agent responded.