Solomon was the last to walk out of the teleportation array. Compared to the androids who were merely covered in a thin layer of sand, his condition was much worse—high temperatures, fire, and radiation had left numerous marks on his armor. The girls standing outside the airtight glass chamber noticed that his eyes were glowing with a golden light. He refused help from others and instead tore off the damaged armor and the melted, twisted electronic muscle fibers underneath by himself, throwing unusable armor plates and electronic devices to the ground.
He had lost contact with all android squads after the hydrogen bomb explosion. Anticipating that he wouldn't be able to reach them while fighting the Hive, he had instructed Katherine to lead the girls out beforehand. Even as he was being decontaminated under the sterilizing shower, he continued listening to the reports. Stephanie's report indicated that Katherine had perfectly completed her mission.
Stephanie took a deep breath and subtly touched her arm. She really couldn't handle the sight of Solomon stripping off his armor and exposing his muscles—it was just too hot. The girls blinked and secretly used the helmet's electronic eye equipment to snap a few photos. As the comm system beeped intermittently, the girls agreed to exchange photos after the mission and privately make them into a calendar or posters to hang on their room walls.
Stephanie intercepted part of the communication and declared that unless they gave her a copy, she would go to the Sovereign right then and tell him what they had done. "And Lady Katherine," one girl whispered, "she'll definitely want a copy too."
"Then give her one!" Stephanie gritted her teeth. "Why should she be the only one who gets to face the Sovereign when he's not wearing a single piece of clothing!"
At the end of the decontamination corridor, Katherine stood with her hands on her hips and her chin proudly raised, waiting for her reward.
Solomon patted her head, finally prompting the lively android to wrap herself in a bath towel instead of walking out completely naked. In fact, Katherine stood 180 cm tall, but in front of a magus, that only made her seem small. Every android had a stunning figure, all modeled after Solomon's favorite LOVE DOLL, Dyna. Because of this, Katherine often flaunted her athletic body. The newer girls were usually very envious of the androids' defined abs and muscle lines; a large part of why they trained so hard was because of that envy.
Solomon spread his arms to let the medical team examine him, and at the same time swatted away Katherine's hand, as she was trying to rub oil on his chest and abs. If Tita saw this, she would definitely give her a beating. But since Tita was still on the sky carrier, Katherine tried every means to get closer to Solomon. He was quite fond of this mischievous android, so he didn't really scold her for her antics.
"Where are Jemma Simmons and Leopold Fitz?"
"Ahem." Stephanie gestured for Katherine to put the olive oil away. "Team Gamma brought back Fitz, and Team Tau brought back Simmons. But Simmons brought someone else, so Team Tau had to bring them both back." She asked a nearby assault team member through the comms system and, after confirming the information, handed Solomon an earpiece.
"She brought back a NASA astronaut," her voice came through the earpiece. "That project was funded by the Malick family. We're using infection screening as an excuse to isolate them, but we can't keep that up for long. I'm sorry, my lord, we didn't expect anyone to have survived on that planet for so long."
The magus nodded and swallowed the anti-radiation medication provided by the medical team. "Understood. Use that excuse to stall S.H.I.E.L.D. for now. Make sure the astronaut is quarantined. Assign a heavy weapons team with flamethrowers to guard him. Once it's confirmed he's not infected, bring him aboard the sky carrier. Do not let him come into contact with anyone from S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Yes, my lord! Also…"
"What else?"
"Agent Coulson was injured," Stephanie said, a little embarrassed. "It was an accident, my lord. He's no longer in danger and is in the recovery phase. I believe the biochemical heart implant we provided will solve many of his problems."
"So how did all this happen?"
Stephanie gave an awkward smile. "Well… I think there's another matter you should be more concerned about, my lord."
"What is it?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. agents have gone to Tangier."
Tangier, Morocco, is one of the world's oldest cities, built by the Phoenicians in the sixth century BC as a crucial trading post among their city-states. Daisy Johnson's destination was the old city of Tangier. Here, labyrinthine alleys twisted through the town, with shops and stalls randomly set up between buildings. Mosaic decorations at street corners sparkled under the warm Mediterranean sun like ocean waves. Under open parasols, the scents of mint and coffee, spices and pastries swirled together, making tourists dizzy.
Daisy decided to toss her travel guide—she had just been left covered in dust on the dirt-filled streets. Everything here was coated in a fine layer of dust; all public facilities within sight were peeling and rusted. But the part about the coffee was true. The city sat next to an ancient free port, where many goods arrived—leather, cork, citrus fruits, vegetables, and especially large quantities of coffee.
"Fitz said the last lead was here?" She couldn't help but press down on the lower part of her headscarf to avoid inhaling dust. The move also let her press the earpiece to communicate with her teammates on the Quinjet. "Why does he think there's a clue here? Is there some kind of high tech?"
"Fitz believes that the monolith is incredibly ancient, so there must be historical records about it in human history. He found out that a gang leader here owns a highly valuable historical document and is currently looking for a buyer."
Melinda May's voice was as calm as ever, though Daisy found it amusing to listen to. "I thought I'd be handling this mission solo," she said. "Didn't expect Barbara to tell you about Coulson being hurt and you rushing back…"
"I can take a vacation anytime, but now clearly isn't the time to leave S.H.I.E.L.D.," Melinda May replied sensibly. There were hardly any capable leaders left in S.H.I.E.L.D. right now. Agent Coulson was still recovering, Barbara had just undergone knee surgery, and Mike couldn't possibly handle everything alone—and as for Barbara's ex-husband, Hunter, everyone had silently agreed he was useless at logistics.
"Won't Andrew be upset?" Daisy asked about her ex-husband, but Melinda May refused to answer.
"He's a psychologist," was all Melinda May said, then she urged Daisy Johnson to focus on the mission. "You have to understand—we absolutely cannot sell weapons to gang members," she said. "So after obtaining the mission target, you must retreat immediately. The Quinjet will provide cover fire. In and out—got it?"
"Just like my first mission," Daisy Johnson murmured, peeking toward the end of the alley at the old, local-style building. Her target was inside. The question now was how to obtain it.
"Don't waste time," Melinda May said calmly. "They won't let us speak to Simmons or the astronaut. We need to find the clue before they take the astronaut away—otherwise, they'll bury the secrets forever."
(End of Chapter)
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