Ten Years Ago

He wasn't happy with her plan.

He wasn't saying that, because he knew she hadn't said anything but just like he'd known she'd been upset she did too. And just like her it wasn't the plan itself that he had a problem with, not entirely anyway though he was definitely skeptical, it was the role he would have to play that bothered him. The lack of one. Because this time he'd be sitting in the car.

Except instead of waiting outside the museum he'd be waiting outside Triad headquarters.

It was a truly wild idea.

Either the best, or the worst she'd come up with but she'd spent nine hours thinking about it and this was the one she'd kept coming back to. Yes it was very likely the Seal was a fake but there was always a chance it wasn't, and maybe she was crazy but even if it was she saw this as opportunity to throw out an olive branch. And if they couldn't give the Seal to the Chinese government then they needed to give it to a Chinese organization and any legitimate one would present all the same risks. Which meant all they were left with were illegitimate ones. And that was something she was a lot more familiar with. Sure she might not know the outfit here but she did know the organization as a whole, had had a couple run-ins with them, not exactly bad ones but by virtue of their fields they'd been on opposite sides. They still were so maybe this was a bad idea, Jay clearly thought so, as did Mouse and even Coulson questioned whether there were other ways to go out about it, anonymous donations and the like but the more she thought about it the more right it felt. Plus it wasn't like she was going to give them her full name and mailing address. She was just going to drop it off and let them know that…

That as much as they may fight she wasn't inherently their enemy.

She didn't want to be anyway and even if she couldn't be their friend she was interested in being an ally.

More and more Tess was realizing how important it was to have people on her side.

"You sure about this?" Jay asked as she was putting the Seal in her purse, fuck it was heavy, the scrunch of his brows telling her his support was warring with his protective nature. "I won't be able to get close fast enough if things go wrong and if the camera goes down I won't even have a visual."

"I know. And I know this is dangerous and I know you think it's stupid-"

"I don't."

"Jay-"

"I don't think it's stupid. I just… I think it's more than they deserve." He said with a slow shake of his head, taking a deep breath when she took his hand.

"Maybe it is. This is just… it's the only thing that feels right to me."

That got him to smile, wider than she expected which settled almost all of the nerves in her stomach. "Then go make some friends."

That seemed unlikely but everyone else on her team had their list of unconventional allies, so it was time she started building her own.

It was just her way to go big.

With a quick but firm kiss she hoped showed him all her gratitude Tess left, deciding against sneaking into the building to walk right up to the front door, shooting an easy smile at the four men guarding it.

"This isn't a club sweetheart." One of them told her dryly, another snorting as he looked her over because she definitely wasn't dressed for nightlife.

Not the kind they were talking about anyway and it said a lot about them that they were more focused on her black shirt and pants instead of wondering about the muscles beneath them. Or scanning to see the knives in her boots, or the gun Jay had demanded she tuck into the back of her pants.

She just smiled and tilted her head, waiting until they straightened as they realized she wasn't as ditzy as they thought. "I'm not your sweetheart, I'm an operative with the CIA and I'm looking to chat with Ang Feng."

For a long minute there was silence as they all just stared at her, the two younger ones chuckling nervously but then the oldest one spoke into a radio. He was clearly the smartest because he spoke in a mix of Cantonese and Mandarin as he told whoever was on the other side what she'd said, his eyes narrowing as the others went wide when she responded in kind, thanking him for passing her message along. After that she was led inside pretty quickly, unimpressed at their lack of security measures, though she knew that even if they had finally spotted her weapons she was still vastly outnumbered. Part of the reason she memorized the layout as they led her up to Ang's office, likely just as intently as Jay was doing, following along thanks to the camera hidden in her glasses.

And he'd said she only used her toys for fucking with him and Greg.

The leader of Chicago's Triad Outfit was sitting behind his desk when they entered his office, his face amused but nothing could hide the hardness in his eyes. He'd been in power for a decade and a half, a position he had fought, and killed, to keep; he was smart and ruthless, two traits she admired. And hopefully two that would lead him not just to understanding but respecting why she'd come here.

"And who are you, little spy?"

"'Though she be but little, she is fierce'. Shakespeare." She explained with a smile when it looked like they didn't get the reference, pleasantly surprised to see the youngest of his guards recognized it, though he was quick to hide that.

Deciding it was best to get straight to the point she reached into her bag, maintaining her composure when he and all the others instantly put their hands on their guns, the tense air quickly getting sucked out of the room when she put the jade piece on his desk.

"I intercepted this. It's almost definitely a fake, but regardless it doesn't belong to us."

"Us?" Ang asked after a moment, finally looking from the Seal to her though his face stayed blank.

"Americans. White people."

"And yet you work for a government that does so much plundering." He countered, his brows narrowing when she smiled.

"We both work for organizations that are known to cause damage. But the way I see it that means we have as much in common as in differences."

For a long moment the older man was silent and then he slowly, but not deeply, inclined his head. She took that as a sign that at the least he wasn't going to stop her from leaving so turned to go, pausing at the threshold when one of his men blocking the door straightened, following his eyes as they flicked behind her.

"What is your name?" Ang asked but this time he wasn't looking at her, his eyes back on the jade Seal.

"Tess."

His nod must have been a signal because his men stepped out of her way, though they followed after her, seeming annoyed that she knew her way out. They left her at the entrance but she soon felt two others tailing her so she had to shake them before she met back up with Jay, quickly hopping into the passenger seat. The second she was in he started driving, by instinct apparently because his eyes hardly left her.

"What?"

"I'm in awe of you, you know that?" He asked quietly, more like stated and even though she just rolled her eyes when she waved him off he took her hand, and held it in his the rest of the drive.

And that, his trust and his love settled all her fears that she had made the wrong decision.

Unfortunately just not the ones that whispered this was only the beginning.

Despite having texted both Mouse and Lydia to let them know they were on their way back there was still a lot of tension that melted off their faces when they finally walked inside the brownstone. The relief in their hugs was tangible and she gave them each an extra long squeeze, for them and for herself. This had come so close to going so wrong.

"Every time I think you're done surprising me." Mouse said with a grin when he finally stepped back, laughing when her aunt snorted.

"She won't ever stop."

"And we'd never want her to." Jay added, pressing a kiss to her head before he subtly motioned for Mouse to follow him upstairs, a silent understanding that they wanted to stay together tonight.

And an understanding that she needed some time with her aunt.

"This really freaked you out, huh kiddo?" Lydia asked quietly once they were gone, pulling her in for another tight hug when her shoulders immediately dropped.

"You have no idea."

"I get it." Her aunt murmured, stroking her hair before she led her into the kitchen. "This freaked me out too. I always knew things happened here, it's not like Chicago is a quiet city, but having it happen so close to home… I'm brave enough to say it scared me."

Of course it had. It had scared them both, in the same way.

But not for the same reason.

For the exact opposite ones in fact.

Lydia was worried about how this had and could have affected her and she was afraid for how this had and could have affected her aunt.

"Hey." Tess met her stare begrudgingly, mostly because with her finger under her chin she couldn't not but she knew she what she was going to say. She just didn't want to hear it. "The only person responsible for an action is the person who makes it. No one else. If someone ever hurts me-"

"Lydia-"

But she didn't let her cut her off and the desperate look in her eyes told her not to try again.

She may not want to hear this but Lydia needed to say it.

"If someone ever hurts me trying to get to you I need you to know that would not be your fault. And I would hope that I could face it as bravely as you have faced everything that has tried to put you down."

"You taught me how to be brave."

Lydia smiled but shook her head and she silently hoped she was worthy of all the pride in her gaze. "No, your parents did that. But I'll take a little credit."

She deserved more than that.

She wouldn't be the person she was without her aunt.

"I can't lose you." Tess said quietly, that fear burrowing deep when she just brushed off the tears gathering at the corner of her eyes.

"We all go sometime baby. I don't care when or how. I just care that you're taken care of after I'm gone. And that you always remember that I love you. And that my ghostly self will always have your back."

She couldn't speak anymore so just went in for another hug, squeezing tightly to try and drown out the thoughts gathering at the back of her head. The ones that said that she was the ghost and if she lost anymore ties to the land of the living…

She didn't know what she would turn into.

But she didn't think anyone wanted to find out.