Chapter 30
"Is that a plane?" Skye looked out the window when she heard the noise. A plane? By some miracle could the director finally be sending them help? They were managing with Agent Hand just fine with just the two of them, of course, but poor AC and Agent May, having to look after 299 people by themselves, while Fitz and Ward worked on the building, she was surprised the both of them hadn't collapsed.
"It sounds like it." Jemma agreed. She adjusted the blankets around Agent Hand and smiled slightly. They had been able to coax a good bit of the oatmeal and the ice cream as well down her, before she drifted back to sleep, curled onto her side. The amount of pain she had been in hadn't been good, of course, but Jemma was very pleased to see how alert she had been in spite of it. Give her a bit more time, and she was sure she would be as good as new. Those doctors that the director had been consulting didn't have a clue.
Definitely a plane. Not Shield though. Skye could see the Stark logo on the side as the plane touched down outside, and…. "Jemma, you aren't going to believe this!" She called. "I think that's Tony Stark!"
"Tony Stark?" Fitz was going to be over the moon to have a chance to meet him. But…. "Wait, isn't Mister Stark one of the people who thinks Agent Coulson is dead?"
"Oh, boy. But he got that thing with his heart fixed, right? It probably won't kill him to find out about the little faked death thing, will it?" Skye said.
"I hope not. I'm not entirely sure it won't kill the director, though." Jemma said as she joined Skye at the window and watched boxes being unloaded from the plane. Was that Doctor Banner she saw, and…. "Is that Captain America?"
"Who also thinks that AC's dead." Skye said. "Looks like he's going to be getting his fondest dream and a giant nightmare rolled into one today."
Coulson hurried towards the door when he heard someone pounding on it. What did John want this time? They only had oatmeal if he was wanting breakfast, and he wasn't even going to try tossing a bowl of that out the window like he had thrown the sleeping bag. Victoria would have a fit over food being spread all over her nice lawn.
But it wasn't Garrett at the door, and Coulson paled when he saw who it was. "Stark?"
"Agent?" Tony blinked, thinking he was seeing things, but no, Coulson was still there, looking surprised and more frazzled than he had imagined possible. "I sent flowers to your funeral. Who do I have to talk to about getting a refund for those?"
"What are you doing here? Does Fury know you're here?" No, if Fury knew Stark was coming in person, to drop off those supplies to fix the building, surely he would have called and warned him.
"Pepper's been saying I need to get out more. People were starting to take the fact that we're on a first name basis with everyone at the fire department and the officers on the bomb squad the wrong way. I'm not sure why. Those guys on the bomb squad are nice. They didn't say a word when we had to call them four times last week. Why aren't you dead?" Stark demanded. And why hadn't Fury or someone called and let them know that Coulson wasn't dead, preferably before he had sent flowers to the funeral, and traumatized a mortuary worker into therapy? If Fury thought he was getting access to repulser technology after pulling something like this, he could just think again. "Hey!" he shouted to Steve and Bruce, who were approaching the door. "Get over here! You won't believe what Fury did this time!"
"Agent Coulson?" Steve almost dropped the box he was holding when he saw Phil. "Director Fury showed us your cards with your blood on them. He said…."
His trading cards. Coulson winced and fought back the urge to cry just thinking of the vintage cards that Fury had runt. Okay, motivating the Avengers to save the world was important, but couldn't he have motivated them with something else soaked in blood that it hadn't taken YEARS for him to collect? He would have gladly contributed a shirt or jacket to the cause instead of his poor cards.
"Fury said. That was our first mistake, believing something Fury told us." Bruce said. "If he said it was raining, we probably should poke our heads out and double-check. Fury and the truth don't even have a passing acquaintance. Can you open the door? I'd like a chance to check on some of your agents, and talk with Agent Simmons. Have their been any changes?"
"Everyone's generally miserable, and Victoria was still sleeping the last time I checked." Coulson said as he opened the door. At least Banner seemed focused on the problem at hand, with the sick agents. That was one good thing. "Wait, what are those?" Why were some of Stark's employees carrying arrangements and pots of flowers up to the doors along with other boxes of equipment?
"Agent Sitwell asked if we could drop them off." Steve said, still looking at Coulson with a puzzled and slightly hurt look.
"Well, not us personally, since he didn't know we were coming, but you get the idea." Tony added. "He said that they took up a collection for that sick agent, Agent Hand, right? And you owe me two hundred dollars for those flowers I sent to your funeral."
"Sitwell took up a collection for get well flowers?" Well, that was probably better than ordering Victoria's tombstone.
"I don't think these started out as get well flowers." John had came around the building to see what was going on, and was checking out the floral arrangements. He pulled a ribbon off of one and waved it in the direction of the door. "Rest in Peace. You might want to check everything before you let Vic see it. I don't think she'll be thrilled to get a message like that."