The last time Coulson had to give 'the shovel talk', it was to the man who had now made two attempts on the life of the man in front of him. He knew in his position at the current time, he wasn't able to do it again. Because Coulson wasn't going to make this personal. Despite knowing that Daisy and Lincoln had been spending the night together when Lincoln wasn't confined to the cocoon. Daisy had vouched for him, May believed he showed promise, and FitzSimmons were ecstatic about his presence on base to run at with all of their (mostly Jemma's) questions. But with his evaluations back, Coulson needed to address the elephant in the room, particularly the largest where the two men both knew that Lincoln Campbell was not 100% loyal to SHIELD.
"Your results from the evaluation came back. Your powers are honed, but your control is lacking under pressure. Not surprising giving your psychological evaluta-" Coulson raised his real hand to stop the protest. "- tions . A compiled list from everyone you have ever seen, Mr. Campbell. Self-destructive at times, addictive personality, desperation for affection, unable to put personal feelings to the side. Mix that with a few rounds of depression, suicidal tendencies and the alcoholism... I'm almost not surprised to see a questionable diagnosis of being a sociopath from Dr. Garner, despite his own inability to put personal feelings to the side. Your evaluations are above standard for what I accept, and despite the psych evaluation summary, I believe you are a good man and would be a valuable agent of SHIELD. However," His finger lifted in the air, pointing at him, "I want you to tell me why you're here, and I think it's best that we agree not to lie to each other."
Lincoln seemed to be frozen in complete shock, and Coulson wondered if that was the first time the young man had heard all of those terms put together, or if he was just floored that Andrew called him a sociopath of all things.
Coulson took the time to reflect that, hey , at least he was three minutes early for their meeting. Lincoln had been standing at ease in the hallway, looking barely nervous.
It was a comparison to Joey's talk the other week before sending him with Daisy to Colombia. The man had twitched for a solid 34 minutes in the hallway, pacing and talking to himself. But Joey wanted to work with SHIELD, as an asset, an agent, whatever they would let him be, he would be thrilled. He wanted to help other Inhumans. While, yes, Joey was incredibly loyal to Daisy, Joey had been able to be honest that he would be able to complete a mission if something were to happen to Daisy, because it would be what she wanted. And it helped that Joey's only negative remark was that he had gotten Coulson (and apparently 4 agents at the cocoon) addicted to Gallo Pinto with chorizo and refused to share the recipe, because ' I fear my mother more than a bunch of spies '.
Finally, Lincoln seemed to recover from his shock, biting the inside of his lip and deciding carefully what his next words were going to be. "I want to be here because of Daisy… She makes me want to be a better person. And she wants me to be here, so, I didn't want to take advantage of be another mouth to feed without something in exchange. So, I figured the best way for me to help out was to become an agent. That way I could start being a better person."
Coulson leaned back in his chair at that answer. "Your loyalty to Daisy is appreciated, but I need agents who would be loyal to SHIELD until the very end. I lost two of my best agents last week because they refused to give in. I need to know that if something were to happen to Daisy, you'd finish a mission." Lincoln gave it a few moments of thought, and Coulson allowed it, wanting to hear the most put together answer he had. For him to think cautiously was a sign to Coulson that he stood behind his words of wanting to be better.
"I know we're supposed to be the SHIELD that protects earth. We're supposed to be willing to do whatever we have to prevent loss of life, even if that means protecting SHIELD itself so they can keep going. Bobbi and Hunter… They had to make a hard decision. And they did it because they believed in SHIELD, and believed in their team. If it came down to me…" Lincoln momentarily closed his eyes and stretched his neck to the side as if to soothe a kink- Coulson read it as a sign of him being uncomfortable- "... I know I haven't always been on the same side as SHIELD, even before the fight on the Iliad, but I would do what is right. No matter what or who it cost me."
Taking his words into consideration, Coulson glanced down at the notes on his lap before back up at Lincoln. "I'm glad to hear that. I really am. Because we could use a doctor on the team with an MD who is also been cleared for combat. While I have been assured that Simmons is capable of handling herself and have seen it first hand, two PhDs and an interest in medicine doesn't equate to the real thing. You're a doctor, Mr. Campbell. As well as our only true expert on Inhumans and their biology. And, according to Simmons, you see the idea that there may be a vaccine as a positive thing."
Shifting uncomfortably, Lincoln glanced down at the desk. "It's an option , sir. I'm sure people if they were offered the choice, most would take it. But only by choice. Not as a systematic plan." Coulson raised an eyebrow. "If you were given the choice, would you have taken the cure?" Lincoln shrugged, an honest expression on his face. "It was different for me, it is different for me, as you can see from my evaluations. I think the jury is still out on that one. Despite how crazy Jiaying was, she was always right about who she offered the transition to. If she had been listened to… Well, maybe Agent May wouldn't be called 'The Calvary.'"
Coulson froze, glancing at Lincoln with a newly sparked interest. "You mean the situation with Eva Belyakov in Bahrain?" Daisy had referenced it once, and Coulson had forced the thought from mind until then. Was Bahrain caused by an Inhuman? Nodding, Lincoln swallowed. "Sort of… Her daughter, Katya. Eva was offered the mists by Jiaying, and she wouldn't let her pass her birth right onto her daughter because Jiaying thought she was too young, and that her powers would be out of anyone's control. Eva stole a crystal and fled with Katya. Jiaying ended up being right. The little girl could control people with her touch, and the power drove her insane. By the time Jiaying had been able to get there, she said that both were dead and SHIELD had taken them out."
Coulson let out a breath, fully realizing that Melinda hadn't just mourned the loss of the child, but she had to take out Katya so people, their other agents, could survive. It made everything spectacularly clearer to Coulson. Lost in his musings, he nodded absently before coming back to himself. "Well, do you believe you would be able to make the decisions that Jiaying made?" The blond shook his head immediately. "No, sir, I don't. Jiaying could read people, and she made a study of them. Countless notes on their personalities and history. With the spread of the terrigen in the ecosystem, I don't believe we have that luxury. Inhuman descendants are everywhere, despite being a small percent of the population. Jiaying knew about maybe half of them." A silence fell between them, neither man uncomfortable with it as Coulson jotted himself a quick note and tucked it away.
"Well, Lincoln. I've decided to put you on a probationary status as agent. You'll need a little more experience before you become a fully fledged agent. So, suit up." Lincoln looked floored yet again as he blinked in question. "What's the mission, sir?"
"You and I are going on an assignment, details as a need to know basis." Coulson did get a small pleasure out of seeing Lincoln pale. Perhaps out on the road, he'd be able to get that shovel talk in.