Skye ignored the question. "How did you find me? Did you follow me?"
James almost laughed. "You didn't think we'd let you operate solo, did you? Either I tail you, or May does. Someone is always watching."
He paused, holding up a sealed black envelope.
"This involves Tide Rising, and you're a part of it. S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't trust anyone blindly."
A knock came at the door. James went straight to open it and Phil Coulson came in with his men.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Phil Coulson led his people into the apartment.
His gaze moved from Miles Lydon, restrained on the floor, to Skye, sitting rigid on the sofa—then finally to James.
He didn't ask why James had done this.
He already knew the answer: because it was faster.
James, meanwhile, was finished amusing himself. Whatever amusement he'd taken from the moment was over. He stepped forward, grasped Lydon by the arm, and hauled him up before handing him off to Melinda May.
Skye's expression darkened the moment she saw Coulson.
Being invited into S.H.I.E.L.D. as a consultant had meant trust—real trust. And now she stood on the wrong side of it.
James guided her gently back onto the sofa, said nothing, before turning away.
Melinda took Lydon for preliminary questioning. James joined Fitz and Simmons, quietly helping them search for corroborating evidence. The black envelope remained tucked among a stack of documents—yet to be found.
James wasn't interested in forcing a confession.
He wanted Lydon to keep lying until the truth destroyed him.
Some might call him petty for wanting to destroy a girl's boyfriend for his own agenda of getting a chance for a fling, but this is also for her own good to stay away from bad boys like him.
"Phil," James said after a moment of straightening up from all their searching. "Let's take everything back to the BUS and take our time analyzing, reaching Hong Kong would take us a while."
Coulson nodded once. "Melinda, we'll talk en route."
He didn't look at Skye as he just walked out.
Fitz and Simmons exchanged confused glances. They were still too new to understand why some moments weren't explained.
James sometimes envied Coulson's ability to bring civilians into this world and expect them to survive it.
Onboard — Interrogation Level
James secured Miles Lydon and Skye in restraints inside the interrogation room, then went straight to Coulson.
"Chan Ho Yin shouldn't have left Hong Kong yet. This is our window to get to him."
Coulson agreed. "May and I will head there first. You can stay with Fitz and Simmons to sift through for evidence."
James accepted without hesitation.
In the conference room, he spoke to Fitz and Simmons "You two keep looking and see what evidence you can find. I'll keep surveillance on the two in case they slip up during their conversations." he brought up the surveillance feed from the interrogation room.
Lydon leaned back, studying the room. "So," he said casually, "I suppose S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't bother with regular interrogation procedures?"
Skye stared at him. "They don't have time for that."
Lydon scoffed. "You're defending them now? These people are everything we oppose. Surveillance, Censorship, and Control."
"Stop it," Skye snapped. "You're leaking people's private lives."
James muted the feed.
That was enough.
The argument had crossed the point of no return.
One of them still believed he was righteous.
The other had finally chosen a side.
James turned back to Fitz and Simmons. They were still searching for evidence—close, but not there yet.
He stepped in.
Seconds later, he found it.
The black envelope.
Inside carries bank receipts.
"I've got it," James said calmly. "Multiple offshore accounts. Opened the day after the leak. Total deposits are just over one million dollars."
Simmons exhaled sharply.
Fitz stared at the documents, stunned.
"I'll handle the rest," James said.
As he turned away, Fitz hesitated. "Don't you think… James is acting strange today?"
Simmons nudged him. "He always tries to ask Skye out to go with him to dinner. She always said no though. Now that he has seen the real boyfriend."
She paused, searching for the word. "He… might be going through something."
Interrogation Room
The room fell silent when James entered.
He placed the envelope on the table and sat.
"Mr. Miles Lydon," James said evenly. "Anything you want to say?"
Lydon sneered. "This is illegal. I'll expose all of this."
James nodded. "Good. Then expose this too."
He opened the envelope and laid the bank records out—one by one.
"Champion of free information," James continued calmly. "Selling private data for profit. One million dollars deposited across multiple banks the day after the breach."
Skye's face hardened. "A million?"
Lydon's voice softened. "I can explain—"
"I don't want an explanation," Skye cut in. "I want to know if it's true."
Silence.
"…Yes," Lydon admitted. "But that money could've changed everything."
Skye laughed bitterly. "You sold people for cash." Her words were full of disappointment. Even just now, she still wanted to defend her boyfriend, but now she feels the deception and betrayal and her faith in him has collapsed.
"It's true, but..."
"I don't care!" Skye shouted angrily.
"This is a million dollars... A million dollars can change my life, can change our lives... I also investigated that woman, she has no malice."
"People who buy information with money are never good people. Have you thought about that?" Skye continued to question.
"Of course I know, but that woman doesn't seem like a bad person. She said that I was very talented and deserves far more. I traced the source of the funds. It's just from a biological research institute."
James chuckled softly. "A biological institute hacking S.H.I.E.L.D. to locate enhanced individuals?"
Lydon hesitated. "They said they were studying centipedes."
James leaned back. "Studying centipedes, then invading S.H.I.E.L.D., now it's kidnapping, and a person's life is being threatened."
He stood.
"You've broken more laws than you can count. And if Chan Ho Yin doesn't survive, you'll add manslaughter to the list."
The room went quiet.
This time, for real.
James turned and left the interrogation room.
He had already achieved what he needed. Staying longer would only cheapen it. Whatever remained between the two people inside was finished; all that was left was time and distance.
James went straight to Phil Coulson. What came next required coordination.
They met in the third-floor office.
"Now for the real question on what we should do," James said evenly, "is whether we sweep everyone up now—or let one of them run."
Coulson frowned. "You're talking about John Garrett."
"Yes. If this project collapses too early, he won't surface. He hides behind the name Clairvoyant. People think he can predict outcomes. That myth protects him."
James had already seen Garrett's methods. Not something mystical like a prophecy, but careful pattern manipulation.
Phil Coulson frowned and said, "In that case, more people will suffer in the future. Is it wise for us to do this?"
"It's better to let familiar enemies run," James said evenly, "than to force them to change their patterns too early."
Coulson frowned slightly, but James continued.
"People like Garrett won't stop just because we interfere. His body is already failing — time is working against him. The more pressure we apply without closing the net, the more reckless he becomes. And when he rushes, he makes mistakes."
Knowing what happened in the show, James is choosing to let Rainer go.
She wasn't someone who could be turned or rescued. Rainer was skilled and talented— a woman who understood seduction and its many forms, able to use it for her own leverage. More importantly, she wasn't operating alone.
'She's connected to Skye's biological father,' James thought. 'That makes her untouchable — for now.'
If Rainer disappeared, Garrett would adapt. If she stayed free, she would unknowingly lead them straight to him. And Skye's future — the one James was already accounting for — required that this woman remain in play a little longer.
Hong Kong
The flight into Hong Kong took over eight hours. Most of the team rested.
The two detainees did not.
Agent Quan was waiting on the tarmac when they landed. Pleasantries were skipped.
"What about the person you were monitoring?" Coulson asked.
"She entered a biological research institute and hasn't come out," Quan reported. "Our people can't breach it without exposing themselves. We're observing from outside."
James nodded. "Then that's the site. Chan Ho Yin must be locked inside. They want to use him to achieve some kind of goal."
"To what end?" Coulson asked.
"They've learned that unstable emotional states would ruin the experiment," James replied. "Chan Ho Yin's ability might be weak. But he is the perfect test subject. If he stabilizes, then they succeed. If not, they'll just dispose of him and get a new one."
Coulson made the call. "Then it seems that we have to act as soon as possible. Use the stun gun to capture the people inside."
James nodded once. "I'll take the lead. The stun gun hasn't been mass-produced yet. Since the bullets are limited. You guys will follow behind me and kill when necessary."
Assault Preparation
In the command vehicle, a large amount of information about the institute was gathered through the S.H.I.E.L.D. Hong Kong branch office.
"The building has a total of five floors. The research institutions are all below the fourth floor. The fifth floor is being renovated, but half the power resources of the building are taken up by the fifth floor," Phil Coulson said as he looked at the information.
James scanned the layout. "Let's first attack from below. After all, the computer room is the first place to contain the data."
"Do we still have time? What do you think?" Coulson asked
"We came early," James added. "Their experiment won't be finished yet."
Coulson nodded. "Let's go."
Institute — 20:03
The vehicles rolled in and locked down the perimeter.
James led through the front entrance. It was about eight o'clock in the evening, and the normal staff of the institute had already gotten off work, so there was basically something off with the people who stayed here. James did not hesitate and fired shots at the guards who were guarding the doorway.
He slowed himself deliberately. This was the first time he was truly working with someone else. If he moved too fast, he could easily break away from the team later on.
Melinda May covered his flanks for any ambush. Their movements were mirrored— the two of them took turns covering each other.
The lower levels were left to the Hong Kong division to deal with. James and May pushed for the stairs.
Going up the stairs wasn't easy, either.
James leaned into the wall, weapon raised, clearing angles as he climbed. The stun gun's advantage was clear—no risk of collateral damage, giving him no hesitation.
Security looked heavier than normal.
Under normal circumstances, there was no need for so many people to be in charge of security in Hong Kong.
This was the mentality of a thief.
They would always have security concerns. Security guards in white short-sleeved shirts, black pants, and leather shoes appeared at the top of the stairs.
The surveillance system had already flagged the intruders.
The burly security guards began to move out. They did not have guns in their hands but were all stun guns. Although the effective range was very short, it was at least a little powerful. Then, they also had batons.
The first guard tried to raise his weapon.
Bang.
He collapsed mid-motion thanks to James' quick shooting, and they continued to advance.
Bang.
Another fell.
They kept moving, eyes scanning for enemies as Cortana helped by feeding positional cues of incoming enemies.
Melinda moved to cover behind him, catching blind spots he couldn't see.
The stairwell was cleared—one body at a time.