A/N: I hope you guys all enjoy this chapter and Thank you so much for the amazing reviews!
Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of Shield or any of their characters. But, I do own Katlyn, Kiki, and this story.
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After May had told Coulson about the lead she had found on retired agent Richard Lumley, Coulson had immediately asked Tony to borrow a small jet, one that they would be able to put Lola on. After getting to Mexico too late the last time they had a lead, Coulson was determined to not let it happen again and to get the answers he needed. Once Lola was secured in the cargo hold, Melinda set a direct course to London where Agent Lumley had been seen.
"Do you think we'll get the answers we need this time?" Melinda asked hopefully.
"God, I hope so. Every time Skye asks me if we have a lead, she has a glint of hope in her eyes. And every time I tell her that we haven't found anything it feels as if I had just crushed her world. Yet, she always asks again later on, always with the same amount of hope. It's like no matter what you tell her, she always knows that you tried your best and gives you a look of appreciation. I need to be able to tell her something this time. Anything at all," Coulson replied with sadness laced in his tone.
"That's why I love you so much. No matter what, you always want to help others. And don't think I haven't noticed the way you look at Skye. You look at her the way you look at Kate, that no matter what, you will always protect her. And no matter what she says or does, you will always be there supporting her. Even if she doesn't want you to be. It's what makes you who you are," Melinda confided to her husband, looking at him with a sparkle in her eyes.
For the rest of the flight, neither of them talked. They just sat in the silence, reflecting on their thoughts. As soon as they landed, they drove Lola to Central London where Lumley was supposed to be getting off of a bus at that time.
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Bus Stop- Central Downtown London
As Agent Lumley stepped off the red London double decker bus in the center of London, he felt as if he was being watched. He turned and looked over his shoulder and then turned back. He had immediately noticed the black haired woman that every good SHIELD agent knew as 'The Cavalry'. He slowly started walking in the opposite direction with a feeling that she wasn't in London just for vacation. He knew that if he was right, if it was indeed SHIELD, it meant trouble.
Melinda immediately noticed when Lumley started moving in the opposite direction and followed suit, but discreetly. She was secretly hoping that things would go as planned and that he would head in the direction of Coulson. Luckily, he did. Lumley turned around and saw that he was indeed being followed by an agent. He knew that it probably wasn't a good idea but he started running away, in hopes to shake them off his tail.
"Coulson, we've been seen! He's heading your way," May said over coms as she began pursuing Lumley.
As Melinda chased after Lumley, he headed directly in the direction they had hoped he would go. He ran through the on-going farmer's market and down the alley between two abandoned buildings. Down the alley, he noticed a red 1962 Chevrolet Corvette blocking his path. Lumley looked around, short on his breath, and immediately climbed up the fire escape ladder, thinking that he would be able to get away. Coulson turned on Lola's hovercraft capability and flew up to Lumley's level.
Lumley looked at Coulson straight in the eyes and said, "This is about the baby girl isn't it?"
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Agent Richard Lumley's Apartment- Central Downtown London
"Agent Lumley, can you please tell us about the mission in which you encountered the baby girl?" Coulson asked with hope masked within the tone of his voice.
Agent Lumley took a deep breath and began to speak, "My partner, Agent Linda Avery, and I were called in to be part of a five man team to investigate an 0-8-4 in a China village in the Hunan Province. When we got to the village, everyone there had been killed. Everyone except for a baby girl, whom we had found in the arms of a dead agent. Tucked in his arms along with the baby girl, we found a folder of notes on experimentations and practically the only trace of history on where the girl had come from."
Coulson and May both had looks of shock and anger on their faces of what they had heard so far. They couldn't believe that even after everything they had heard of Skye's time at the orphanage that it could get much worse. They couldn't believe that someone could have the nerve and be so heartless as to do that to an innocent baby.
"It turned out that the baby had been kidnapped by a couple whom had gone by the names of Cal and Jiaying Johnson when she was about 1 month old. One of the notes said that Cal would have been a normal guy, if it weren't for him being so misled by his wife. Jiaying was an Inhuman and did not age like a normal human would. Due to Jiaying's Inhuman capabilities, she was not able to conceive children. So the couple instead, kidnapped a child and attempted to raise it as their own."
Lumley looked up to see the two agents staring at him with pure shock written on their faces. He knew they were probably thinking about how much of a sinister thing that was, especially since he could barely believe the story himself.
He continued, "The couple then became set on trying to make the child have Inhuman capabilities. They started a lab. SHIELD had become aware of the unauthorized lab and sent an agent in, undercover. Unfortunately, by time the agent was able to find out what was going on and try to get the baby out, Jiaying had already injected the serum into the baby's bloodstream."
Lumley took a deep breath as it was getting harder and harder to talk about.
"They never did find out whether or not the serum worked and if so, what it did. Everyone in the village that the agent had taken her to was killed trying to protect the baby. Jiaying and Cal had torn through the village, killing anyone who didn't give them answers. The agent found dead with the baby in her arms had been able to hide before the couple could find the child. Unfortunately, she had already been shot and bled to death. The couple had fled the village by time we got there. After we found the baby, we were assigned to protect her until the case had been closed. Slowly, each person of our team got crossed of while trying to protect the child. Avery and I were the last two alive when she was assigned to watch the child."
Talking about his partner had gotten more difficult and painful as Lumley spoke. He excused himself to pull himself together, and didn't come back until he knew that he had found the strengths to finished the story.
"Linda had ignored orders and took the child to Saint Agnes orphanage. She set up a ghost protocol for the child to move foster homes every few months. She was never allowed to be adopted. She was pretty much stuck living in a damn orphanage her whole life," Lumley told the couple angrily.
"The day after Linda had dropped the girl at the orphanage, she was killed. I handed in my resignation the day after and fell off the grid. Managed to flee the country without suspicions. I've been on the move ever since then. Until now," Lumley finished the story and waited for the two agents to respond.
"Is there anything else that you know about the girl or the mission?" Coulson finally asked, finding his voice again.
"No. But why the sudden interest? It's been 25 years. Why has no one come looking for me until now?" Lumley replied.
Melinda and Phil both looked to each other, both with pained looks when Lumley asked, "You haven't encountered her, have you? Because if you have, I would suggest staying the hell away from that girl. Wherever she goes, death follows. Now, please," he got up and walked to the door, opening it for them.
At that moment, all Melinda wanted to do was beat Lumley up for saying such things about Skye. Phil grabbed her hand and offered her a soft smile, leading her to the door. After leaving Lumley's apartment, both agents drove back to the air field in silence. Both were thinking about how they'd break the recently learned news to Skye. They also felt deep sorrow as they realized the strange similarity between Skye and their baby girl; they both had been kidnapped at around the same age.
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A/N: This chapter was one that took a while to write. I did get a few of the quotes from Lumley from the show. So, I do not own any of those. This was the hardest chapter I have written so far and I mostly recorded myself saying my thoughts out loud as I paced around my room. And then later typed it out. Please review what you think and any questions or suggestions you might have! Thanks for reading!