Dangerous Liaisons
Chapter Three: Dangerous Liaisons
June 6th, 2014
There was a sharp pounding in her head as Cameron woke up. It reminded her of the time she’d gotten a concussion in one of her foster homes. She peeled her eyes open, groaning and shutting them almost immediately when the bright light made the pain in her head even worse. The lights dimmed slightly and it was the sound of another voice that made her force her eyes open again.
“Looks like someone’s finally awake.”
She quickly sat up, staring at the woman who was sitting on the floor on the other side of the room. Or the cell, she supposed, was probably more accurate. The room was all white and she knew immediately they had done something to block her powers. There was no way she was getting out of this one. A blonde man sat quietly on the other side of the woman, observing her.
“Well, people tend to sleep when they get tranqued,” Cameron retorted.
The last people that had been sent to get her were no better than these ones. They all said the same thing; they want to help her, keep her safe. But they really just wanted her to go along with their plans and let them throw her back into foster care. Which definitely wasn’t happening. Frankly, the containment cell would probably be a better choice.
“We needed you to come with us and you didn’t leave us with many options,” the woman said and it almost sounded apologetic.
Cameron shook the thought out of her head. They weren’t sorry, they never were. All they cared about was meeting their quotas or whatever government order they’d been given.
“So, am I staying here or are you turfing me back to a group home?” she asked.
“You say that like those are your only options,” the man finally spoke up.
“When you come up with a better one, feel free to let me know,” she replied harshly.
“We could find you a foster family. Well, a good one,” he offered.
“Like that would ever work out,” she mumbled.
She wasn’t an idiot; she knew there were some good foster families out there. But no one wanted a teenager, much less an Inhuman one. She’d done her best to hide her powers, but it was pretty hard to keep them a secret once the government showed up. The man and woman exchanged a look, having a silent conversation.
“You know, it’s considered polite to tell the person you kidnap your name,” she quipped.
“I’m Daisy, that’s Lincoln,” Daisy said, nodding her head in Lincoln’s direction. “We’re Inhuman too.”
“And you’ve decided to spend your time locking the rest of us up? How sweet of you.”
“No one’s trying to lock you up,” Daisy told her softly. “We’re just trying to make sure you’re safe.”
“If you think I’m safe in foster care, you’ve got another thing coming.”
A pained expression fell over Daisy’s face and Cameron noticed Lincoln taking her hand and squeezing it softly. Before anyone could say anything, the door to the cell slid open and a man in a suit walked in.
“I can take it from here. Fitz could use your help in the lab,” the man told Daisy and Lincoln and the pair stood up and headed to the door. Daisy shot her one last look on the way out, something that was halfway between guilt and pity, before closing the door behind her.
“So,” the man said, pulling a chair up so that he could sit near Cameron, who was still perched on the bed. “What do you think of the place so far?”
“For a prison cell, not bad. If you were going for a five-star hotel, you might want better room service,” she replied and the man cracked a small smile.
“You haven’t asked where we are,” he noted.
“Some government place, I’m assuming.”
“We’re a little more covert than that. You might’ve heard of us before,” he replied, handing her a business card.
The card was gray, heavy paper, entirely blank except for an eagle printed on each side. Except, it wasn’t a typical eagle.
“SHIELD,” she said softly.
“Exactly.”
“SHIELD fell. To the Nazis. Remember?”
“We sort of function off the books. And none of us are Hydra,” he added.
“You guys have a bad habit of not telling people your names. Well, a smart habit, I guess,” she said, tossing his card back to him.
“Coulson. Phil Coulson,” he replied, sticking out his hand for her to shake. “I’m the director of SHIELD.”
For a reason she couldn’t describe, she found herself wanting to trust the man. Maybe it was because he seemed nonthreatening, or it was due to the fact that she hadn’t been able to trust anyone in so, so long.
“So, why is SHIELD rounding up Inhumans?” she asked.
“We were asked to keep an eye on you is all. Some other people would rather you be in foster care. Makes it a little easier to watch you.”
“Well, forgive me for being difficult,” Cameron scoffed. “You can do whatever you want, I’m not going back.”
“We’re exploring… different options for you,” he assured her.
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“You can trust us, you know. Everyone here is on your side,” Coulson promised.
“I can’t trust anyone,” Cameron argued.
It was the brutal fact of life she’d learned long ago. If you didn’t trust anyone, then you could avoid being hurt by them. Well, emotionally hurt at least. And Cameron knew that was what hurt the most. She could take the slaps and hits her foster parents doled out, but it was the betrayal that hurt far more.
“Your uncle teach you that?” Coulson asked.
“No, life did,” she said quietly.
“You’ve been dealt a bad hand, kid. Let us help.”
Cameron didn’t reply and looked down at the bed, picking at a stray thread on the blanket. No one could help. No one ever wanted to and anyone who said they did was a liar. She was better off alone. And everyone was better off without her. Coulson sat there quietly for a moment, looking her over as he tapped the card in his hand. Suddenly, he handed it back to her and she cautiously accepted it.
“I’ll be back later. Maybe you’ll want to talk then.”
________________________________________________________________
“Daisy, you guys have to get out of there,” Coulson said over the comms.
He’d sent Daisy, Bobbi, Hunter, and May on what should have been a simple retrieval mission. It was the average “oh no, the bad guys stole super dangerous technology” type of mission. So the four of them had taken a clocked quinjet and landed on the deck of the cargo ship they’d tracked the weapons to. The mission had been smooth sailing, pun intended, until Hunter found a bomb in the basement.
“We haven’t gotten the weapon yet,” Daisy responded, sounding slightly out of breath.
“Daisy, forget the weapon, get out of there,” Mack argued.
May and Bobbi had been on one of the higher levels of the boat and were already on the jet, waiting to take off. Hunter and Daisy, however, had the misfortune of being far below deck when they discovered the bomb.
“We don’t have time anyway,” Hunter said quietly. “No way can we make it to the deck in 60 seconds. We’re too far down and this thing is gonna make the whole ship blow.”
Everyone went quiet as Hunter’s words sunk in. There was a bomb that, no matter how hard they’d tried, Hunter and Daisy couldn’t diffuse. Time was running out and they had no escape plan, no way out. Coulson could hear May quietly start the lift-off sequence of the jet despite Bobbi’s arguments. She knew what was coming, they all did.
“Daisy, I…” he trailed off.
“I know, Coulson,” she replied softly. “Me too.”
“Hunter, how much time is left?” Lincoln asked suddenly.
“45 seconds,” the Brit answered.
Lincoln darted out of the room, running down the stairs from Coulson’s office two steps at a time. Fitz chased after him, calling his name, but Lincoln didn’t stop until he reached the containment pod. He hurriedly scanned his palm and rushed into the room the second the door slid open. Cameron was sitting on the bed, right where they’d left her hours before hand, eyeing Lincoln cautiously. The kid almost seemed scared of him, not that he could blame her. They’d basically kidnapped her and now he was running into her room like a madman.
“Can you jump somewhere if I give you coordinates?” he asked.
“W-what?” she asked, confusion on her face.
“Yes or no,” he snapped. He knew he was being an asshole, but there were important things at stake. Lives were at stake.
“Yeah, I can,” she replied carefully and he quickly shoved the tablet at her.
“I need you to go get Daisy and Hunter. Now.”
“And what’s to stop me from just…leaving and not doing that?”
“I’m giving you a chance. I’m trusting you. Please.”
And just like that, the kid was gone. Vanished into thin air, the tablet clattering on the floor in her place. Lincoln quickly snatched it off the floor before looking back at Fitz, and the two raced back up to Coulson’s office.
“Did it work?” he asked as they burst in the door.
The monitors were showing blank footage from the cameras, and Lincoln knew it was because they’d been blown up. A glance at the tracker on the quinjet told him that Bobbi and May had taken off, but where were Hunter and Daisy? He tried to swallow the lump in his throat, to stop from panicking, when all of a sudden, Daisy, Hunter, and Cameron appeared right in the center of the room.
“Well, that was a bloody close one,” Hunter remarked.
____________________________________________________________
“So, what are we gonna do with the kid?” May asked Coulson.
It was just May, Bobbi, Daisy, Hunter, and Coulson left in the kitchen. Everyone else had gone to bed, considering it was the middle of the night, and Lincoln had returned Cameron to the pod hours ago. Surprisingly, she’d gone without a fuss.
“We’re not just gonna dump her back in foster care, right?” Daisy questioned.
They couldn’t do that. It wasn’t fair. Daisy knew how it felt to grow up like that – always being moved from one place to the next, being seen as nothing more than a bother and a paycheck – and it sucked. No one could be a kid in that environment. No one was ever loved or cared for the way they should be. And all it took was one look at Cameron Delaney to see how completely terrified the kid was at the thought of being sent back to foster care.
“Hear me out, guys. What if we just… kept her around base?” Coulson said carefully.
“Lemme get this straight. You’re proposing we let a 13 year old live on a top secret military base,” Bobbi exclaimed.
“It’s not like she’s a little kid. She’s a teenager. And she could be good, Bobbi. You know it and I know it too. She can hold her own in hand-to-hand, she’s an Inhuman, and I’ll bet you my life savings the kid has her uncle’s aim.”
“But she’s a kid,” May stated, clearly unhappy with the arrangement.
“A kid that has nowhere to go. And don’t pretend like foster care is an option, because it’s not,” Daisy replied, slowly getting onboard with the idea.
“We wouldn’t have to send her on any missions. She could just stay here, and Daisy and Lincoln could help her learn more about her powers. Cameron could train a little and then when she’s older, decide for herself,” Coulson offered.
“Fine, but if this goes south, I blame you,” Bobbi said and May nodded behind her.
“Great,” Coulson replied under his breath.
_________________________________________________________
Phil walked into Cameron’s room the next day, noting the girl was staring down at her blanket again.She quickly glanced at Phil for a second, and Coulson could tell she was studying him. She was thinking over how she could escape and ways she could stab him with a pencil probably.
“Hey kid,” he greeted gently.
“Hey,” she replied softly, clearly not in the mood to talk. “What’s going on?”
“We need to talk about what’s next for you.”
“Lemme guess, a group home?” the girl questioned.
“How would you feel about staying here for a little while? Not in a cell… obviously, but to train, maybe learn a few things,” he offered.
“Why?”
“Well, you’re a good kid. You have talent. You could be great-”
“No, I mean, why are you helping me?”
No one ever wanted to help unless it was for themselves. And there was no one every adult at the Playground would let her say.
“Because you deserve some luck for once. To draw the long straw, to get dealt a new hand in life.”
Cameron didn’t respond for a moment, trying to think over the man’s offer. It wasn’t just a silly little deal, it was her life. She could stay with SHIELD and actually work towards something important. Plus, she’d seen the way everyone interacted, like they were family. She wanted that. She wanted people who would watch her back and be loyal and she wanted people she could trust. Because, frankly, lying and hiding from people all the time was exhausting.
“Ok,” she said eventually. “I’m in.”
Coulson handed her a small badge, quietly watching as her finger traced the gold SHIELD logo.
“Welcome to SHIELD, Agent Delaney.”