The sun set on the quiet cobbles of Coronation Street, as Gail made her way towards the local pub. The Rovers Return had been there ever since she arrived on the street in 1974. Prices had inevitably increased between now and then but she knew she would feel lost without it.
This trip to the Rover's somehow felt different; she felt as though she was being followed. Gail shook it off as paranoia: she was having a tough time lately. A body had been found under her house, her son Nick had been cheated on by his wife Carla…everything seemed to happen to the Platt household. It was inevitable that it would catch up with her eventually.
Gail gently pulled the green double-doors of the Rover's open and stepped inside as she heard the door click slowly behind her. She walked to the wooden oak counter to order her drink where she found the last person she expected behind the bar: Tina McIntyre.
"That girl's dead!" Gail exclaimed, pointing her finger dramatically towards Tina.
"Is everything alright, Gail?" Spoke a voice behind her.
It was Ken, who behind his mop of neat white hair was offering her a quizzical look.
"Well, it would be if my son's dead ex wasn't behind the bar!" Gail pointed out.
Tina looked rather taken aback.
"Blimey, Gail. How much have you had to drink before coming here?" She chuckled.
Many strange things had happened in the last few months but this topped them all for Gail right now. She decided she better play it cool for the time being than draw any more attention to herself.
"I'll have a gin and tonic, please, Tina," She smiled sweetly.
A few minutes' later, Tina passed her drink over and she made her way to one of the booths.
Once Gail was gone, Ken slipped through the Rover's double doors and headed back to 1 Coronation Street, where he could deliver his report to his boss in private. Ken knew nobody could know who he worked for; their operations were a secret. Technically the organisation didn't even exist. The last thing they needed was for some gossiper to leak its existence to the general public. He didn't fancy the chances of Sean Tully or Norris Cole overhearing in the pub.
Of course, Gail couldn't find out either.
As he reached the door to number one, he fumbled in his pockets and found the key to his home.
His house had a very old style to it. The walls were all a bright yellow, with a deeper shade of orange for the wallpaper leading up the stairs. In the corner of the stairs was an antiques chair, showing the clear lack of space in the Barlow living room. Ken hoped Tracy wouldn't hear his footsteps as he sneaked upstairs and placed a second key into the metal door to the left of the stairs. A small clack registered that the door was unlocked and Ken flicked the light switch on to reveal a large circular room akin more to a futuristic living space than something from the twenty first century.
The room was littered with metallic space guns and a mixture of quirky devices, as though Ken had managed to enter a number of science fiction movies and taken the weapons away with him. In the centre stood a large table projecting a holographic screen on the table's top; at the far end, another holographic screen. This time, seemingly existing on its own rather than being a projection.
Ken stood in front of the table and stared at the holographic screen.
"Open communications barrier with Phil Coulson,"