Chapter 13
Laura watched Mrs. Riley wander around the hanger, talking to the agents, practically giving orders. Gwen, her girlfriend, was taking a nap in another part of the hanger.
“You seem to know what you’re doing.” Laura said after Piper had walked away.
“I was an active-duty SHIELD agent for the better part of 30 years.” Mrs. Riley said, “I used to do this sort of thing for a living before Scott was born.”
“You did?”
“I was what we called a ‘Specialist” She said “That’s someone who runs solo ops. Bit like what you’d see in a ‘James Bond’ film, but usually not as interesting… or clean.”
“Clean?”
“You ever see him crawl through two miles of sewer pipe… twice? Once in and once back out again? All to steal a floppy disk. I smelt like shit for a week after that.”
“Why’d you quit?”
“I didn’t. I worked here until the agency fell apart during the Hydra take over attempt six years ago. But I did spend most of that time after Scott was born working a desk job in the human resources department.”
“What happened?” Laura asked. Part of her wanted to know what she was getting into. She and Gwen had a discussion before, and they’d come to a decision about their future. Laura had questions and needed answers.
“… We didn’t know it at the time, but my husband, Scott’s father, Kent, is half alien. Their alien DNA and human DNA don’t mix too well… If it wasn’t for the fact both my father and my father-in-law are Inhumans, it wouldn’t have worked at all. When Scott was born, the afterbirth took about half my uterus with it because it wasn’t designed to work with a human womb. If it wasn’t for the fact that I was in one of the world’s most advanced medical facilities at the time, I would have bled to death.”
Laura’s face went a little white as the older woman continued.
“My father-in-law, aside from his work in the US Air Force, was a high-ranking SHIELD agent. A bit like Mr. Coulson, you’ll meet him when they get back. We were touring the Triskelion, the headquarters building in Washington, with him as part of this stupid company promotional video. They wanted a ‘pretty face’ among the group… That and for some reason Kent Sr. REALLY wanted to be around when his grandson was born. I was two weeks late, but he begged me to come. So I did. Ended up saving my life. But… I was really weak and the damage also made it hard for me to bend over and move in certain directions.”
The hanger’s PA clicked on “Attention all personnel, Zephyr Zero is inbound, twenty minutes out.”
“Ah, good… All this noise is terrible for Toni, now we can get her home and to bed.” Mrs. Riley said.
“Can I ask you one more thing?” Laura asked.
“Sure dear, ask me anything.”
“Have you ever… you know… killed anyone.”
“Yes.” Mrs. Riley said, in a tone more inclined of someone asking, “would you like some water”.
“You did?”
“Laura, come here, sit with me.” Mrs. Riley said, motioning to two chairs near the wall. “something is on your mind, I can tell.”
“Gwen and I were talking. She wants to stay her.” Laura said as they sat down.
“Okay…”
“She wants to do what your son and his wife do. She thinks it’s all fun and games. I want to talk her out of it. I’m scared. I love her and I’m already worried she’s going to run off and not come back.”
Mrs. Riley took a deep breath. History was almost repeating itself.
“Taking her out of this is going to be difficult, because people often assume it is fun and games.” The older woman said, putting her hand on the younger’s shoulder. “The risk of going on a mission and not coming back, it’s one we live with every day.”
“I don’t mean to offend you, but the way you were so nonchalant about having killed… scared me.”
“Laura…” Mrs. Riley said, trying to find the best way to explain everything… “It takes a certain kind of fortitude to do this job. Honestly… agree that you might be right, I’m not sure Gwen is up for it… When her and her cousins were little, whenever we were in one place, they’d all ask me questions about my work. For Scott, this was just life, but for them, it was the most amazing thing in the world. They hung on to every word I said. The wide eyed looks I’d get from them as I told them about the places I’d been and the people I met. That’s why the other two joined the army. Gwen wanting to be like me, like the rest of my family, doesn’t surprise me in the least bit, if I’m honest.
“Attention all personal, Zephyr Zero is on final approach, ground crews standby.”
The massive hanger doors began to slide open and one of the ground crew handed both women ear protection. “We’ll talk more when we don’t have to yell.” Mrs. Riley joked.