5224/Changeling: Twenty Questions

Changeling: Twenty Questions
Date of Scene:	22 August 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Skye meets the last surviving agent who rescued her as a baby. Infortmation is shared and a new person joins the team.
Cast of Characters:	Arnim Zola, Quake
Tinyplot:	Changeling

---

Arnim Zola has posed:
After his trip back from Markovia, Lumley had been stashed in an old SHIELD safehouse in Brooklyn and told he had a tracker implanted in him. And just to make things difficult he'd been hit five times with the injector in various hard to reach places on his body. He wasn't sure if he had five trackers in him, one or none. Either way, given the heat that had decided on his Markovian hideaway, he hadn't made any moves to run.

At least not yet.

The recordings from inside the safe house (accessible by phone with the right log ins) show him living a regular routine, sleeping, eating, exercising and reading like clockwork. All the while waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Quake has posed:
Of course Skye doesn't know what measures have been taken with Lumley. Reaching out to Fury on this one really came down to resources, and the fact that the man was a (former) SHIELD agent - she felt they owed him. She miiiight have had a few issues with the tracker and the semi-prisoner mode of the man, but then again, too many people wanted him, and in many respects this was absolutely for his own safety.

She'd been given two separate sets of co-ordinates in two equally untraceable texts - Oracle had helped there - that led Skye to the safehouse. She wasn't sure yet if she was going in as an Agent, or as a lone wolf. She suspected they might be the same thing in this case.

Making sure (or hoping) that she wasn't tailed, Skye made her way to the co-ordinates and knocked.

Arnim Zola has posed:
For Skye's part the trip to the three floor red brick walk up goes smoothly and with no signs of tails.

Lumley is making coffee when there's a knock on his door.. Leaving the kitchen he makes his way through the small and dingy apartment to the front door. He he taps the panel by the door that looks out of place in its surroudings, the slick silver hued touch screen panel responds quickly to his touches and brings up an image of Skye waiting at the door.

He taps a button. "Password?" asking password. His voice relayed to Skye by a speaker by the door.

That had come with the texts. The day's word was aardvark, yay for randomized passwords.

Quake has posed:
"Why's it always a walkup" Skye complains to herself on the trudge up the stairs. She's brought a bag of creamcheese bagels with her from the deli around the block. All part of appearances. Always make a stop along the way. Make it look domestic. Casual. Like it isn't what it is.

"Aardvark," Skye bites out in bored tones. At least the randomizer had picked something rather less nonsensical than say.. No. She couldn't think of anything. It really was stupid, and if people ever overheard in the hallway, they'd be making a wide circle around the young woman as they passed on by.

Thankfully the hallway was empty. Still. Aardvark?

Arnim Zola has posed:
Lumley presses a button on the panel and the door locks click open and he pulls back the door, seemingly made of something heavier than the wood it appeared to be.

He steps back, letting Skye in eyeing the bag of bagels. There's a flash of confusion on his face.

"Interrogation protocols, must have changed while I was away, food and a kind face usually came after the rough stuff."

He offers that with a tight smile and a wary look.

"Anyhow come on in, I was just making coffee."

He turns and leads the way inside.

Quake has posed:
Skye shrugs, and moves into the room. "Best lock up behind me. Not sure everything has changed. Besides," she walks through to where the kitchen area is, and sets the bag down on the counter, "Who says this is an interrogation. I take mine with cream, by the way."

She's hoping there's cream.

Arnim Zola has posed:
The locks on the door snap closed.

"Self locking,," Lumely reports as he moves into the kitchen and makes a b-line for the coffee pot. He gets another mug down from a cupboard and pours two cups then goes to the fridge for cream.

"Debriefing then, I figured what with being AWOL from SHIELD for twenty plus years, someone would be by to ask some questions."

He digs into the fridge and comes back with a small carton of creamer. He opens it up and gives it a sniff. "Still good," he says, then adds some to both cups.

"Safehouse provisioning has changed too, back in the old days we had to bring our own."

There is a smile at that as he offers Skye her cup. "And if this isn't interrogation, what do I call you? You can call me Richard."

Quake has posed:
"Huh," Skye grins. "And fancy that, someone did wander on by."

Again, she shrugs, and pulls the bagels out of the bag, using the bag as a makeshift plate for the moment. "And yeah, well, you're kind of a special case. I pulled favours in for you."

There. She'd let a piece drop. Now to see what he made of it.

Arnim Zola has posed:
Lumley cocks his head but when the bagels come out he sets down his coffee and goes and gets them a couple of plates and serrated knife for cutting the bagels.

"Favours, huh? Why do I rate the special treatment? SHIELD hide-and-seek champion?" he asks.

Quake has posed:
Skye gestures that he should help himself first, but she gladly takes her coffee, setting it in front of her, watching him. Trying to figure him out. Maybe, just a little memorizing his face. His mannerisms. Trying to see if she can place any memories to this man, and so far coming up broke.

"Why does anyone rate favours? I don't know. Seemed a good idea at the time. Figured I do this for you, you owe me."

Okay, in the most technical of senses, he could argue she owed him, but she was willing to throw a lifetime of moving from group home to group home against the debt of him saving her, and call that one even.

Arnim Zola has posed:
Lumley nods taking one of the chocolate chip bagels and then carefully picking up the knife, watching Skye as he does, if there's no sign of protest, he cuts it in two.

"You know how hard it is to find a chocolate chip bagel in Europe? Bagels no problem, but never chocolate chip," he says as he sticks it in the toaster. "Get yours?" he asks.

"And by do this, I assume you mean more than the creamer in the fridge," he says with a careful glance Skye's way, his grey-green eyes taking in her measure as she took in his.

As for Lumley, he carried himself like an agent even twenty-years gone from SHIELD. It would be easy to imagine him in a suit like Coulson flashing a badge or shooting the shit with other agents around the Trisk.

Quake has posed:
Skye juts her chin at the pile of bagels. "The everything bagel. But I'm not really hungry." He gets a knowing grin and a nod for his 'and by this..' comment. "Got it in one. Opening salvo. By this, I mean getting your ass out of that mess we saved you from. Got any idea who might have wanted you that bad to blow those kind of resources to get you?"

Of course she knows who. And why. But she isn't sure what he knows yet, and that's really more important to her. "I ate one on the way over, if you're really worried about the bagels. Make it look normal, right? What agent stops for bagels along the way, eats half, and feeds the squirrels in the nearby park before heading to the safehouse?"

Arnim Zola has posed:
Lumley nods, but cuts the everything bagel anyhow. "Ah, so you're one of those people who can't make up their minds," he teases gently at her choice.

The smile gets one in return. "Thanks for that," he says of the save. "I figured the guys were SHIELD at first until they gassed the neighbourhood. Fury's always been a hard ass but he's not reckless with lives, but when the Monster showed up and the whole thing turned into a flashback to Yingtan village, I pegged figured it was too much of coincidence for them not to be Hydra."

He gives Skye an appraising look to see if she was close to the mark.

"The Monster has been after me for awhile, but not sure what I have Hydra wants unless they have a yen for twenty-year old SHIELD secrets," Lumley says.

Quake has posed:
"Food's food. I don't get the sweet shit for breakfast thing." Even if she is all the candy bars and a mug of stone cold coffee while coding girl.

"I don't get it, why would you think they were SHIELD?" Then again, there were the running vans. The whole appearance of things. The ICERS.. damn.. how'd they get those anyway? She thought they'd all been accounted for in Tidepool. She'd have to pick Fury's brain on that one.

"Monster? Monster got a name? Or are you playing me to see if I'm for real."

Arnim Zola has posed:
"It's an acquired taste," Lumley replies as he pops down the toaster.

"Well, I've been AWOL for twenty-years, figured SHIELD might have pegged me as a defector and not just a runaway," he says. "And are ICERs those stun guns they had on them? If so, those are handy. Back in my day, if you wanted someone alive you either had to wrestle them or shoot them somewhere that wasn't going to kill them."

"That's what we all called him, the Monster. The meta that we think wrecked up the town and went after my team."

He goes back to studying Skye. "Why? Do you know his name?"

Quake has posed:
"The Monster.. that was the one who walked through the walls?"

She's sure he didn't see that, but perhaps it wasn't the first time her father had done that. Though why that hadn't made it into her files, she wasn't sure.

"Yeah, the stun guns are ICERs. Take people down with minimal damage in the least amount of time. Saves a lot in damage control, and innocent lives. At least that's the spiel I got."

Her coffee is sipped, and set down again, hands cupping the mug. "I thought you'd have a name for him. And meta?"

Arnim Zola has posed:
"Yeah, that's him and that's a new trick, and he wasn't as big either," Lumely says.

"Makes sense. Probably saves agent lives too, not having to worry as much about if it's safe to draw and fire."

"Metahuman, general term for people with powers whether it's through the X-Gene, or some experiement. Anyhow, no name for him, he started coming after me when my partner Linda did some digging on Yintang. Figured he'd be looking for any more searches after that, kept my focus on staying ahead of him."

He sips his coffee.

"How much do you know about the Yintang op?"

Quake has posed:
"Metahuman," Skye voices and savours the word, nodding to herself. "Haven't been briefed on the Yintang op yet. There wasn't time." Her words are a lie, of course. Wasn't time really came down to she wasn't sure what things were still being kept from her (if any), and there was just so much in her Index file, that even with reading it, and deciphering the redacted portions through the lvl 10 access she'd been given by Fury, there was just so much.

That, and she wanted to hear it all from him. Not read the prettied up files that had been blackened out and hidden away.

Arnim Zola has posed:
Lumley frowns, considering Skye for a moment.

"Then it's probably best you do. There are secrets I am hesitant to reveal to someone without access to the file. There are lives at stake."

He leans against the counter. Watching and waiting.

Quake has posed:
"Oh, for fuck's sake. Quit the bullshit."

She calmly reaches down and pulls her laptop out of her bag, and after a series of keystrokes meant to both scramble and retrieve, she pulls up windows from both her Index File, and the one Fury had given her, and turns her laptop about to show him.

"These files? Does this count as enough access?"

Arnim Zola has posed:
Lumley waits patiently while the laptop is dragged out activated. When the it's turned his way he leans forward to look, tension fading from his shoulders.

He raises his hands, "Sorry, I needed to be sure you knew about the girl before I said anything about her. Clearly you do."

Reaching for his cup of coffee, he says, "A lot of lives were lost protecting her. Lost to the Monster," he says. "And given how long he's been hunting me, I may not have a name but I have a theory about him and that he doesn't just want us dead, but he wants the girl."

Quake has posed:
Skye had tensed when she turned the laptop. Not significantly, but some. Inwardly as she feared he.. what? That he would recognize her? Wouldn't? She wasn't sure which of the two she most hoped for. Except that when he didn't see her, know her, there was a small feeling of deflation within.

All those years. All those lives. And ultimately, he didn't even know who he'd been protecting.

"So what can you tell me about what happened. Why he wants the girl." She does nod, though. "I'm sorry about your partner. You're right. A lot of lives were lost."

Arnim Zola has posed:
"Linda was a good agent but a better person," Lumely says with regret about his partner. "And what happened..."

He pushes his hand through his grey touched brown hair.

"It was an 084 op. There was some intercepted Hydra chatter about an op in a village called Yintang in China's Hunan province, a raid to look for someone they called Subject HM-221. They'd been tracking old stories about a woman who lived forever and could heal people, as well as some strange chemical purchases. So, Agent Zhang led a team to go in and get these people out before Hydra showed up. He was too late."

"We lost radio contact not too long after they landed. We gave then 30 mins, then my team, their backup went in after them. It was a slaughter. Everyone was dead, the villagers, the Hydra team, Zhang and his team, all dead. Everyone but the girl. We took her out of there and then left before the Chinese authorties arrived."

He takes a sip of his coffee.

"Back at base, when we had a chance to look at the bodies we recovered, we found most of them were killed by pure strength, and so we figured Hydra had let some sort of metahuman loose. After that, we moved on and another team took up the hunt.," he says. "Linda though, she'd fallen in love with the baby, she headed up the search for her parents and when we came up blank, she was looking at adopting her. That's when we lost agent March. Died the same way as the Hydra agents did, killed by pure strength. Agent Thomas was next, then Agent Wade and that's when Avery put the girl in the system, to keep her moving and keep her safe. The monster got her next, and that's when I ran."

His eyes grow distant with the retelling, like he's reliving it.

"Though, that wasn't enough, the Monster kept coming. The first time I saw him, he had a woman with him, after that alone, then nothing. For years, I figured maybe it was over but then he showed up again. After that I just assumed he wasn't going to stop and put everything into running, until you guys found me right in the middle of that fight. How'd I slip up by the way? Never did find out."

Quake has posed:
Skye listens quietly, fingers fidgetting over her coffee mug. So far, it was everything in the files, only with a lot of the gaps filled in. The metahuman. How the villagers died - she'd always assumed fire, or being shot, or something of the sort. But ripped apart? Crushed?

For a brief moment, her lips purse over a regret. That someone had loved her enough to want her. She wasn't sure how she felt about the thoughts of loving her enough to hide her in plain sight, in the system, where she wouldn't even find a home. Skye just didn't know how that felt like love - but then again, she was the one who had lived it. The rejection of her childhood ran too deep still to consider other emotions.

"You didn't slip up. Not really. Just a random blip on a video camera." Not even SHIELD's. That was the kicker. But the fact that Karl had that same info really did say a lot about the fact that Hydra - or at least Karl - were doing a lot better than SHIELD had expected.

"Tell me more?"

There was something almost plaintive in the way she asks.

Arnim Zola has posed:
Lumley frowns at the almost plaintive way the question is delivered.

"This is personal to you, isn't it?" he asks, the gears turning.

"And more, I am not sure what more there is to tell.," he pauses his fingers massaging the bridge of his nose. "When we looked for the parent's records, they're weren't any, which wasn't terribly odd for that part of China, but the girl's DNA came back suggesting that she wasn't all Chinese, so we figured there had to be a passport or something to find on the father, but nothing, the only thing we did find was a birth registered from the village a few weeks before the fight," he frowns, thinking. "Actually for some time around now, for someone named Daisy Johnson, we figured it was the girl."

"Anyhow, that's what I've got for facts. If you're in the market for wild-assed theories. I think the Monster and the girl are related. The going theory after the fight was it was Hydra, but for it to keep coming this long? No chance. Hydra doesn't forgive repeated failures, and to be honest, besides a couple of odd markers in her DNA the girl didn't seem too far from normal, didn't make sense in cost benefit analysis to keep looking. Now, family though that's the sort of thing someone never stops looking for."

Quake has posed:
Skye doesn't answer immediately, but again bends to her backpack, and pulls out two cloth wrapped bundles. The first she unwraps and sets on the table. "Is this them? The woman you were after? The man you say was there, and has been hunting you?"

She's pretty sure it will be an affirmative, but it doesn't stop her what she does next. First she sets the second bundle down, and fidgets with a lighter in her hands, looking for all the world like she's waiting for him to say yes about the photo. And when he does, because she's certain he will, she sets the lighter down, and undoes the other small bundle, pouring the crystals within into her palm - she didn't tell Clint or Fury she was going to be doing that. But she had to know. They were the only thing connecting her to that village, and the assault, and Hydra's looking for.. well, if not her, then her parents. She had to know what he knew of them.

Arnim Zola has posed:
Lumley doesn't even have to open his mouth. The way his eyes widen tells the tale. It's them.

He steps forward to get a closer look at the picture.

"That's the Monster," he says looking at Cal's picture. "And we never had a picture of the woman we were investigating, but I am sure this the woman who was with the Monster the night they found me in Mexico."

He frowns, thinking, "Except there were scars," he draws lines across his face, long lines from the top of of his for head down her right cheek.

"She wasn't with him the other times but she was there that night."

The crystals cause a furrowing of his brow, though between the way Skye had asked for more, the picture and now this.

"...You're her aren't you? You're Daisy Johnson."

Quake has posed:
Skye's lips press together and she gives a slight gesture of her shoulders. "Surprise."

Not that she's surprised he's figured it out at this point. "Skye, now. SHIELD Agent lvl 4, Skye Johnson. Nabbed me just over a year ago and gave me some hard choices and a new life direction. Fury pegged me for the baby from the start. Had my intake work coded so it never flagged with the bloodwork or anything else. Created a whole file just for me. And him. Level 10, even."

She gives Lumley a weak smile.

"Lucky me, huh? This whole time I've been strung along,, except by the time I wasn't being strung along anymore thigns were different. I liked what I was doing. And I could see that maybe then it was the safest place for me. Turns out Fury isn't the only person who knows who I am."

"Karl," she tells him. "He's sorta working for Hydra. Heard about the Rising Tide stuff? He was behind that. Got ahold of my Index File and now he's hell bent on taking me. I'm not just a pretty face behind a keyboard anymore. Only I am. I Have no idea what it is he thinks I can do, but I can't."

She looks at the stones within her palm. "Unless this is all he's after. These. But yeah. That's me. Daisy Johnson. Happy Birthday to me. Think there's irony there or something."

Arnim Zola has posed:
"Jesus," Lumely says taking a step back to lean against the counter.

The story is taken in stoically. "Well, that much hasn't changed, Fury kept things close to his chest in my day too," he says, wryly, before there's a frown about Karl. "So you figure this Karl is the one who sent the squad, he could use me to get to you?" he asks.

There's a scowl at that like the thought offends him.

He looks at the crystals. "Never seen them before, but it seems like the sort of crap Hydra gets out of bed for. What are they?"

The birthday thing, that earns a blink. "Really? Today? Yeah, that's just a little bit ironic."

Quake has posed:
Skye puts the crystals back into the bag, securing it, and tucking that inside her jacket. "Don't think. Know. Karl wants me something bad. He's been trying to leverage me since Tidepool - the op I was undercover on. WE took them down before he could close his deal and move us all to Hydra. Not sure how he escaped, but he's been making it a mission to change my mind ever since then."

"Probably pissed I got away. But the fact that his people were there means they've cracked my Index File. So the ante has been upped. And you're likely to be in more danger than you were. So helping us find out why everyone is so interested in my or my parents might help."

Karl, she knew, was a problem aside from all that.

Arnim Zola has posed:
Lumley rolls his shoulders, as he considers what he's been told.

"So this Karl wants you for whatever reason, maybe those crystals. maybe because of who your parents are and was willing to send an ops team all the way to Markovia to get it done?" he asks with a shake of his head.

"These Hydra types need a hobby."

He lets out a breath, thinking, "The way I'd do it, is go at Hydra. I mean that Karl guy isn't going to tell you what he's really after, but there has to be files, Hydra had that designation for the woman, HM-221, likely there's a file attached. Might be worth looking into. The other way is to find out what the crystals are, either confirming their value or eliminating them as a potential target."

Quake has posed:
"Easy for you to say. Short of dropping them in the lap of R&D, I can't figure out why they're important. I think they're what everyone was after."

It doesn't really explain *her*, but then again, bits of the story haven't made sense from the beginning.

"Karl wants me. The fact taht I'm not human is just a bonus. That I'm a SHIELD agent is another. I'm not convinced he's totally bought into Hydra. He might have?" She shrugs, and wraps the picture of her parents up, putting it back into her backpack.

"Either way, Karl is holed up with Hydra, so there's that if that's the route. Part of me thinks it might be easiest to just hand myself over to him in exchange for the information. But I don't get it, what's an O84? I'm guessing that HM-221 is the same thing? That Metahuman thing? I mean, is that what it is?"

She can't quite bring herself to ask 'is that what I am'. Not yet.

Arnim Zola has posed:
"Why haven't you dropped them in R&D's lap?" Lumley asks then it clicks. "Ah, nevermind they don't know you have them. Dangerous momentos to keep if they are what this Karl guy or Hydra is after. Better make sure they're kept safe."

Lumley frowns at the idea of Skye turning herself over to Karl for the intel. "No chance," he says like he has a say. "Too many people have died to keep you out of the wrong hands. No info is worth that, even with an extraction plan."

He lets out a breath and says, "Sorry."

"Maybe HM-221 is the Hydra version of 084, I don't know, I'd have to go find a Squiddy and ask them, but 084 is an old SSR term, the agency that turned into SHIELD, it means objects of unknown origins."

Quake has posed:
A lopsided grin from Skye. "Bing. And to be frank, it's not the sort of thing I want to drop in just anyone's lap." That, and she's kind of been holding onto them a bit, as though she could figure out more about herself or her parents by having them near.

Fine. Some really warped part of herself who should be too grown up for fairy tales also kind of hoped that maybe if she held onto them, that her parents would find her via them. It was stupid. And childish. And wasn't going to get her answers that R&D could, and should. Besides, she trusted Fitz and Simmons. Just.. that whole other thing.

"Object of unknown origin, huh? That's not really a wonderful way to describe another human bei- ah. Right. I'm not."

Another of those wry grins she's so good at giving.

"Wasn't really asking your permission to hand myself over. Really, that's mine." Not that Fury, and May, and Clint wouldn't kick her ass for suggesting such a thing. Darcy too, she supposed. Not to mention they'd likely hunt her down and drag her back making the whole thing moot. Unless she could convince them it was an op..

"I don't know what to do anymore. I suppose I could ask if you're interested in helping. I mean, not like you haven't invested 20 odd years in not revealing who I was or where. They're not goinng to stop hunting you now that they know I'm alive and who I am. Everyone I know just became a liability depending on how badly Karl wants me, and whatever those stones do. For all I know it's just the stones they want, but I never had them before. It would have been wasted effort."

Arnim Zola has posed:
"Fair point, but if I were you I'd make learning what the are a priority, and if they're something Hydra wants and if they can be destroyed, I'd destroy them. If you take them off the board you deny Hydra and Karl their win," he offers bluntly, but there is sympathy in his tone. "I know that's probably not something you want to hear, but it's true."

Lumley offers a smile of his own, "Close enough to human as not to matter in my book," he says. "But yeah, it's harsh to apply to a person, haven't really seen it used like that before."

"Yeah, sorry, talking to another Agent reminded me of my days at Level Six. I know it's not my call to make, but-" he leaves off. "Anyhow, I disagree on my value to Karl right now. He must figure I've been debriefed right now and any intel I might have has been extracted, and if he's the type to hang with Hydra then he probably figures that means I don't have any value to you. So, I figure he's done with me," he says letting that all sink in before he says. "Regardless, I'm still in, I owe it to Linda and my team, and I owe it to you for helping steal your childhood. Besides, I am sort of pissed at the Squiddies for kicking this whole damn thing off to begin with."

Quake has posed:
"Squiddies." Skye snorts the word, pausing to ask, "What were you going to say. The bit about your Level Six days."

There's an almost half smile from the young woman. "And no worries I'll give myself up. Have my own little team of ass kickers who'd take great pleasure in impressing upon me what a bad idea that was. Not sure the stones are what they want, or what the stones mean."

She reaches over and picks up her lighter, but doesn't turn the scrambler off yet. "They mean something. Like that O84 thing. The HM-221. If the stones were the thing, Hydra would have been after them. They'd have been the designates, not me or y parents." She's figuring right now that both aren't fully human based on what she's seen or heard, even if that doesn't totally add up. "Follow? Stones are useless without someone who can use them. And Cal, I think he just wants me."

Arnim Zola has posed:
Lumley smiles a little "Yeah, that's an old SSR term too," he grins about Squiddies.

He frowns when pressed about what he'd been about to say.

"I was going to point out my team died for you and that I felt that did give me some say in the matter," he admits before saying. "Though if you're people have that covered, then forget I said anything."

He takes in what she says about the stones and gives a nod, "Hm, hadn't thought of that," he admits. "That they might be after the people and the stones. That they need both for whatever they're after."

Quake has posed:
Skye listens quietly.

"No. It's fair. Been trying to come to terms with it all for.. not long enough, I guess. When I first found out that SHIELD was responsible for my never having a home, and then they were the people who picked me up and basically manipulated me into giving a shit, I was really angry. Like wanted say fuck you all. You all deserved anything you got."

She's bluntly honest. Fingers playing over the lighter still. Not meeting his gaze.

"You know where they found me? On the streets. Was just chance. Well, maybe not quite. Fury might have had a better idea than he lets on. But what I mean is it's just chance I wasn't dead in a gutter or something. I ran soon as I could. Hardly more than a kid when I did. Couldn't take it anymore. Figured if that shit was going to be my life I couldn't do worse on the streets. Pretty stupid move, but as it turns out I was quick with a computer. Didn't have to earn my meals lying on my back. But I could have had to."

Now she looks over and at him, holding his gaze. Holding him accountable.

"I know you did what you did to save me. But I could have been a statistic. I worked my ass off to get to level 4. I'm a damn good agent. I put my life on the line for every one of my teammates. I asked because I figure you have skin in the game. Just don't ever think I'm not invested. I coulda walked from SHIELD too. I could be a Hydra agent right now if it didn't matter."

Her words are calmly and quietly given. May would be proud. Not a blip over 60, but for all that, there is no denying the emotion from her.

There are Agents of SHIELD and *Agents* of SHIELD. Somewhere along the line, Skye had become the second.

Arnim Zola has posed:
Lumley listens quietly in turn.

"I don't doubt your investment or your passion, Agent Johnson, or your skills, I don't think I've ever heard of anyone making level four in just over a year. I'd love to hear the stories some time," he says offering a smile as an olive branch.

"For what it's worth," he says becoming serious again. "I am sorry for the hell we put you through and I know it could have gone very differently. It would have killed Linda to think about it," he says with a wistful aspect to the frown.. "Anyhow, the point I was making bringing up their deaths were just to present some perspective not to question your dedication to the SHIELD and it's ideals. You're an agent, I take that on faith."

Quake has posed:
Skye closes her eyes and takes a long breath.

"I keep swinging in and out of perspective on this. Everything in my past is a question. Every answer I have is a minefield more of questions."

Her shoulders rise and fall, and she opens her eyes again, fiddling with the lighter, holding it in her hands. Somewhere the track of this conversation skips back to present and not some ambiguous loop.

"I don't need the guilt trip. I honestly thought you had something more to add to the conversation than remind me your team died along the way. I know they did. I read their files. I read ever last one of those files trying to get some sort of perspective on who I actually am. What I am. I had no control over any of that; you and yours did. All I can control is now, and if I were going to pull some crazy assed move like that, it would be to end this for everyone else."

"Doesn't matter. Isn't going to happen. Not sure Karl actually knows what he wants of me anyway. More worried about Hydra, and even if I did give myself up, the rest of you would still be fighting them, so not sure that's a forward move."

She does give a soft laugh, then, "Mostly, I broke rules. I looked at a situation and did what needed doing. If I were a smarter person I'd have kept my ass behind the desk I'm sure I was assigned at some point and never found. Turns out SHIELD has enough seat warmers. What they could use a few more of are rule breakers. And, this op is mine. I can call you in, but you might feel better about yourself and the fact that we're going to end it one way or another by getting yourself reinstated."

Arnim Zola has posed:
Lumley crosses his arms across his chest and leans back against the counter. He's quiet, with that same impassive face May wore like a second skin and Fury and Coulson put on when they needed, locking up his thoughts behind it.

"Fair enough, I can see how that reminder doesn't help things here," he admits. "And you're right we have to focus on our next moves, not ones made twenty years ago.

Lumley smiles, "Rulebreaking huh?" he asks when that comes up. "Linda sure can pick 'em, that was always her schtick," he says fondly. After all she did sort of keep Skye when she found her on the mission and then on her own initiative put Skye into the system.

"And yeah, SHIELD needs both kinds, the ones that follow the rules and the shit disturbers. It's that balance that makes us work."

The idea of reinstatement draws a blink out of Lumley.

"That's on the table?" he asks.

Quake has posed:
"Fucked if I know if it's on the table," Skye admits, but there's this twitch of a smirk to her lips. "Thing is, though, you got SHIELD's best computer person sitting right here, and there's probably not a system in SHIELD I can't hack or get my hands on if I want."

Still grinning, "Might take Fury less than 24 hours to figure out what I did, but I'm thinking more liks between 48 hours and a week. We can have you on a mission by then. And he did say anything I needed for this. That he owed me. I'm thinking I could need you."

She shrugs.

"If you're in, that is."

Arnim Zola has posed:
Lumley raises an eyebrow. They must teach it in the operations academy.

"You're going to hack me back into SHIELD?" he asks, amusement playing on his lips.

"That'll work for now, eventually I'd like it to be kosher, but there'll be time for that after this op," he says.

He goes quiet a monent considering.

"And yeah, I'm in."

Quake has posed:
"Mmmm, I imght have already done it, anticipating your answer," Skye says with a smirk. A few keystrokes later prove that is, indeed, the case. Like he'd never gone AWOL or dormant. "And no worries, once Fury finds it, you'll know if it's kosher or not."

"And don't worry. He expects this kind of shit from me. You should have seen my last trainee."

Arnim Zola has posed:
Lumley shakes his head slowly, taking a look at the screen.

"You made me a trainee?" he asks that eyebrow raising again. "Guess I shouldn't go looking to see if they've still got my Class of 95 sweat shirt in storage," he jokes wryly.

"But it works for now," he adds before asking. "Fury lets you get away with this stuff?"

Quake has posed:
"Mmm-hmm" Skye confirms of the leeway Fury gives her. "Within limits." Though her limits were very loose.

She begins to shut systems down.

"Trainee. You've been out 20 years. You're not cleared or ready for full duty. This op will make or break your return should you want it. This gives you some official status, but not so much Fury has to haul my ass into his office and be all official."

"We all get what we want, and in the end nobody's nose is out of joint. You need a place to stay, there are rooms at the Trisk. My old one is free. Or if you're feeling really frisky we have a guest room. There's here, too. But I'd recommend the Trisk. Will let you assimilate, and keep you safer than the other places."

"I'll make sure you get your trainee gear. And we'll figure out next steps later. For now, though, birthday barbecue. My partner is expecting me home. Anything else?"

Arnim Zola has posed:
"Huh," Lumley says to it all.

"I think the Trisk will work," he adds after a second or two of thought.

At the mention of the barbeque he nods. "I'm good, go, enjoy. I assume I move to the Trisk in the morning?"

Quake has posed:
"Yeah. A car will come."

Because all of this is pretty useless if he dies along the way. For now, though, Skye had a barbecue that Clint would kill her if she missed. She pauses with her gear, on the verge of leaving. "You're welcome to come if you want. Just burgers and stuff with our friends. Mostly SHIELD folks. A lot of them who have been helping me find answers. You'd fit in."

Arnim Zola has posed:
Lumley nods, moving back to collect his coffee.

He considers the offer then shakes his head. "Not really a party person anymore, but thank you. I'll see you tomorrow."

And with that, he goes back to his coffee and his last night at the safehouse.