As Coulson exited the car, May said nothing further and took an alternate route to flank their target.
Trailing the man, Coulson observed his direction and communicated through his earpiece:
"He's heading your way."
May immediately followed close behind, but the target soon noticed her and darted into a narrow alleyway.
"He's moving into an alley," May reported as she pursued him.
She quickly caught up, and a fight ensued between the two. Although Lumley was once a S.H.I.E.L.D. field agent specialized in combat, he was no match for May and found himself outmatched.
With a powerful roundhouse kick, May sent Lumley flying into some stacked crates in the alley.
Lumley got back on his feet, taking a fighting stance as he launched another attack.
However, his strikes were slow, easily dodged by May.
Seizing the opportunity, May grabbed his outstretched arm and threw him over her shoulder.
Thud!
Lumley hit the ground hard, and as he struggled to stand, he realized he was outmatched.
Resolving to avoid capture, he discreetly retrieved a cyanide capsule from his watch, but May quickly kicked it out of his hand.
Moments later, May had Lumley pinned to the ground and restrained.
Just then, Coulson drove into the alley and announced, "I'm Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D."
With his face pressed against the ground, Lumley sighed and said, "This is about the girl, isn't it?"
Coulson's expression grew somber. It was clear Lumley knew something important.
…
Soon after, Lumley was brought aboard the plane, which took off en route to New York.
Coulson handed him the file on his former partner, Agent Linda.
Coulson examined Lumley's watch and remarked, "Cyanide? Did you think we were going to do something to you?"
Lumley put down the file and responded, "Like what they did to her."
"Agent Linda?" Coulson asked, puzzled.
Lumley looked at Coulson, "She wasn't the first to die. We were on our way to Hunan, China, after receiving an 084 mission from a senior agent."
Coulson nodded, "An unknown object mission. We've done those before."
Lumley continued, "The entire village died to protect this 084 from being taken."
"Linda and I had just graduated from the academy. There were five of us sent as backup, tasked with connecting with the first team."
"We searched everywhere until we found the senior agent beneath a bridge."
"He'd been shot in the neck and barely managed to escape."
"But he eventually bled out, still clutching the 084 tightly."
Lumley sighed, shaking his head, "That poor little one was covered in blood. We thought she was dead too."
"But she was just asleep in the arms of that fallen agent."
Coulson, surprised, asked, "The baby?"
"She was the 084?"
Initially, Coulson had assumed Lumley's story was about an 084 object mission, not realizing it involved Skye as the 084.
Piecing together the information he'd gathered from Charles, Coulson began to suspect that the villagers had been slaughtered by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
He glanced over at May, who appeared deep in thought but remained silent.
Lumley nodded, "Even if she has powers, we never saw any sign of it."
"The five of us took her by helicopter and returned after dropping her off."
"After we landed, they started purging us."
Coulson hesitated, "Execution?"
Lumley began recounting what happened, "Interrogations, one by one they were executed. When it came to Linda and me, we realized that the only way to protect ourselves and that child…"
Coulson completed his thought, "Was to erase her existence."
Lumley nodded, "Linda was clever. She used the lead agent's credentials to create a forged Level Eight authorization and built an almost undetectable system—a foster care rotation."
"The foster care system was programmed to move the child every few months."
Coulson voiced his concern, "But they still found Linda."
Lumley nodded grimly, "She died to protect that secret."
"And I chose to leave—I left it all behind."
"The ones who killed that child's family and those agents were not good people. And the worst part is, they were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents…"
At that moment, May spoke up, "That girl…"
Before she could finish, Lumley interrupted, waving his hand dismissively, "Don't tell me anything."
"I don't want to know. Do you understand?"
"Just tell me—is she okay?"
Coulson looked at Lumley, "She's safe."
In Coulson's view, there was no place safer than with Charles Doyle. Even the security level in S.H.I.E.L.D., including his team, couldn't match the protection Charles offered.
Relief spread across Lumley's face as he smiled faintly, "Then maybe it was all worth it."
He then asked, "Are you going to arrest me?"
May nodded, "Yes."
But Coulson disagreed, "No."
Surprised, May glanced at him.
Coulson explained, "I can't be sure that S.H.I.E.L.D. is the safest place for you."
"We'll drop you somewhere along our flight path."
Lumley looked at Coulson, grateful, "Thank you."
As Coulson and May began to leave, Lumley hesitated before offering, "A word of advice—stop investigating."
"And stay as far from that girl as possible. Death follows her wherever she goes."
May and Coulson paused, absorbing his words, before continuing on their way out.
May then suggested, "It might be best if no one finds out, for Skye's safety and ours."
Coulson looked at her thoughtfully, "Charles's place is completely secure. If we want to uncover exactly what happened back then, maybe we should go public with Skye's situation."
"Anyone bold enough to break into the Leaf Ninja Base would be exposed, and none of them would walk away alive."
He thought back to the S.H.I.E.L.D. spies who had been beheaded and sent back, and how the headquarters was nearly destroyed after an attack on the Sound Ninja Base.
Coulson believed that if anyone tried to pursue Skye, Charles Doyle would surely eliminate them.
After pondering his words, May responded, "That could work. But we'd need to plan it carefully."
"If Charles finds out you're using him, there won't be any escape."
Coulson nodded, then asked a lingering question, "What do you think Skye's powers might be?"
May shook her head, "I don't know. She never showed any signs during her time with the team."