[The Pentagon, Meeting Room 5J084. 19:00 Debriefing.]
"Director Coulson, I'm glad you were able to find the time to meet with us today," the man speaking was built like a linebacker. Everything that could be large on a person was larger on this man and not in a way that suggested a diet of too many cheeseburgers with fries. He was a solid wall of muscle.
"The pleasure is all mine. General Morris, is it?" Phil Coulson replied politely, extending his hand to shake the other man's.
The General nodded. "Hank Morris, Army." He pointed to the svelte woman standing next to him, "This is General Lydia Perez, Marine Corps." Morris continued the introductions as a courtesy though they were hardly necessary. Coulson was standing in a room with the US military's top brass. He already knew their names, their favorite color, their preferred weapons, and, more importantly, their known weaknesses. "General William DuBois, Air Force. Admiral Alexis Bell, Navy. And Commandant Christopher Fox of the Coast Guard. We're all eager to hear about the new group of hostiles your organization encountered last month in Jersey."
Coulson grimaced. "I wouldn't exactly identify them as 'hostiles'. They're more of an unknown entity. Our interrogations have shown they don't hold a lot of ill will toward the American populace." He took a seat at the head of the boardroom table while the array of military elites settled into their own respective places. "That's, in part, what I'm here to discuss. They've been settled in S.H.I.E.L.D. containment for a month now and we've found no reason to continue detaining them." Coulson delivered his lie without any facial ticks, without any change in cadence.
General Perez spoke up, "We understand that they took one of your own?" Her dark eyes reflected her concern but she was the only member of the military panel that seemed inclined to care.
"That cannot be confirmed. Our missing agent was not found at their storage facility. We believed that she would be present when we arrived but it is entirely plausible that her phone and laptop had been stolen. The story presented and maintained by those in containment is likely valid. If they purchased the equipment at a cut-rate price, they've already paid for their crime; buying stolen goods may be illegal but the time they've been in S.H.I.E.L.D. lockup far exceeds the standard penalty doled out for such an indiscretion."
When his teams cleaned out the storage facility, they'd found evidence of Skye being there, of course. Her phone and its GPS were what brought S.H.I.E.L.D. tearing into New Jersey in the first place. But it was her blood splashed across the floor of the warehouse that really had Coulson concerned. There was not enough of it for Simmons to suggest that there was any need for a great deal of concern but that didn't stop Coulson from wanting to know she was safe. Keeping the particular selection of ...Inhumans... in containment, however, wasn't aiding anyone in the quest to recover Skye. If the Inhumans knew her whereabouts, tracking them after their release from the Playground would give S.H.I.E.L.D. a far better lead than they now had. The military's black and white handling of this matter, of all matters, was something Coulson was trying to avoid. He knew going in he'd have to keep his truth-telling in check.
General Morris tapped the table with his beefy hands. Coulson wondered, briefly, if he had to get custom order clothing to contain all his mass. The General made a wide gesture to the others at the table. "It is our belief that these Inhumans pose a real and significant threat to the American public. Since S.H.I.E.L.D. has brought them in, the United States government would prefer that S.H.I.E.L.D. continue to lead the efforts to minimize this threat. Keeping the Inhumans away from civilians until it is indisputably clear that they are no longer a threat and can offer no further intelligence value is our first priority."
"Intelligence value?" Coulson asked maintaining his neutral expression. He could guess where this was going but needed the General to spell it out. Making assumptions never played out well during negotiations and would only serve to tip his hand.
General DuBois took point on this question. He didn't speak loudly but his low, gravelly voice filled the room with little effort. "Director Coulson, I'm sure you've seen the reports on the Evolutus Guard?" Coulson nodded and the general continued, "The string of gruesome murders that has been reported across the country suggests a larger, more organized effort on the part of these creatures to not just live amongst us. If Evolutus is any indication, they seem inclined to eradicate humanity. Your detainees may play off that they were only gathering medicine and supplies – stockpiling such things, too, doesn't strike me as entirely benign – but the mutilated bodies of hundreds of Americans suggests there's something far worse going on. Your captives can provide insight on the terrorist Inhumans: how they work, how they think, and what weaknesses they possess. Their value cannot be overstated."
Evolutus was troubling for more reasons than General DuBois had pointed out. They seemed organized; they moved fast; they seemed to delight in murder; and they liked to paint eerie messages with the blood of their victims. Messages like: 'only the strongest will survive' or 'out with the old, in with the new'. The group always made it clear they believed they were a new stage in human evolution and they weren't terribly fond of their predecessors. Except, maybe, as a vital ingredient in their stock of red paint. Coulson cursed the fact that S.H.I.E.L.D. was so far behind on their intel for this group. They were behind on a lot of things these days. Their failure to keep pace with finding, indexing, and keeping gifted individuals in check was another bit of fallout from the Hydra uprising and from the incident in San Juan. With regards to this conversation, however, that was neither here nor there. Coulson made his first fully true statement: "Our detainees have disavowed knowledge on Evolutus. They're not associated."
Morris looked a little too smug when he chimed in, "Are you so sure? I wouldn't want to cast aspersions on your organization, Director Coulson, but, if you release such a potential hazard on the American populace, are you sure S.H.I.E.L.D. can withstand the backlash? Perhaps releasing murderers on unsuspecting civilians isn't really the stand that a reformed S.H.I.E.L.D. should be trying to make."
Coulson's brow furrowed, his voice couldn't maintain its careful flatness any longer. An angry sharpness crept into his tone, "Every time I sit down at a meeting with some branch of the US government, I'm regaled with how my organization is one step removed from being the terrorist threat. You want our aid in this? Well, we can not provide it if you continue to hinder our action by dangling this sword of Damocles over us."
"Damocles, Coulson? I had no idea you were such a lover of the classics," Morris jeered, exposing his own ignorance.
"Yes. Well, one of my favorite classic documents is the US Constitution. Are you familiar with it General Morris?" It was not a very diplomatic question and the flash of ire in the General's eyes let Coulson know he was walking a fine line. Still, it had to be said, "I believe its Amendment 14 says 'No state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law'. We've indexed the Inhumans we found in Jersey. We will watch them but we do not have legal right..."
Morris cut him off. "Legal right? Well, this is the new turn for S.H.I.E.L.D. Since when did you become concerned about due process? I don't think you need to worry about the Constitution, Coulson. Even if S.H.I.E.L.D. has changed so much that it is now an avid supporter of America's founding documents, the Constitution simply doesn't apply here."
"And why not?"
"Well, for one, S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't acting as the state just a ...consulting organization. And, secondly, the Constitution makes it very clear that it protects 'all persons'. These creatures aren't human. Inhuman, isn't that their term? I don't see the problem..."
Coulson cut in, "The problem is how S.H.I.E.L.D. is being used to do your dirty work and we all know the US government will gleefully throw us under the bus if this situation becomes unpopular."
General Perez injected her calm voice to the discussion. "If we can offer further support to make sure that S.H.I.E.L.D. is fully reinstated with its prior privileges and access –and make sure the unfortunate altercation with Hydra is truly put to rest— removing the, how did you put it? 'Sword of Damocles' resting above you all? Would you, then, be more willing to assist the US government in this small matter? It would mean so much to us."
And there it was. Coulson had always known there would come a time when his moral code would come in direct conflict with the viability of S.H.I.E.L.D. as an organization that could serve and protect. The question would have to be settled by which option could do the most good, which option would protect the most people. There really was no contest but he gave one last try, "That's not good enough. We cannot warehouse these people forever. The cost alone..."
General DuBois' all-consuming voice killed the excuse before it even got out. "If funding is your only source of concern, we have some discretionary funds available. We will see that you get what you need."
As Coulson sat through another hour of hammering out the details of how the US military would use S.H.I.E.L.D. as a consultant on the Inhuman issue, he couldn't help but hope that Skye was doing alright on her own, that she wasn't caught up with some group of truly horrible people, that she was safe.
It would be awhile before S.H.I.E.L.D. could afford to further search for her and, now, when they did, he wasn't all that sure he could keep her out of their new, high tech containment cells: a real and significant threat indeed.
A/N: The exceptional ExellentlyEllen has kindly beta'd this. Remaining mistakes are my own folly but this piece wouldn't have managed to get out of its brainstorming ooze had she not kindly prodded me along.
Thank YOU for reading. Please feel free to leave your comments. This story is winding up to be a longer one and I'd love to hear what you're thinking about it!