Coulson watched Skye leave, then turned to Ward and said, "You're pretty tough on her."
Ward, serious, replied, "She lied to us. While we were on a mission, she contacted the Rising Tide. If she wants us to trust her, she's going to have to earn it."
Coulson nodded and said, "Her background check on Cross was a good start. Upload it to the server and have May review it after she's done with the interrogation."
…
Meanwhile-
At the S.H.I.E.L.D. temporary base in the Inca temple-
Sitwell and Barton's attention was fixed on the blue vial in C's hand.
"This is a physical enhancement serum from the Hidden Cloud," C explained, taking it out of the case.
"But the information you provided last time isn't enough for exchanging this vial."
Sitwell wasn't disappointed. On the contrary, his interest grew. As long as they could negotiate, there was hope. If the value wasn't enough, they could always offer more.
"What would we need to give you for this vial of enhancement serum?" Sitwell asked.
With a smile, C replied, "The first vial, considering the previous intel you gave us, I can sell at a discounted rate."
"We need a base in downtown New York as a foothold for Cloud Village. It doesn't need to be huge, just a standalone house with a yard."
Sitwell nodded. A standalone house with a yard in downtown New York wouldn't come cheap, probably costing around $100 million.
But a vial of enhancement serum, if sold for cash, would easily go for at least $1 billion—and even then, it would be impossible to find.
"In addition to that, we need startup capital—$300 million in cash. And we also need access to your resources: comprehensive historical, cultural, economic, and legal data. We don't want any unnecessary misunderstandings to lead to conflict."
Sitwell nodded in agreement. "Mr. C, none of your requests are a problem for us. S.H.I.E.L.D. will offer you three properties in New York for you to choose from."
"We'll also get the $300 million cash ready as soon as possible. As for the information and books you need, we'll deliver them to the residence you select."
Sitwell then added, "But beyond this vial of enhancement serum, how do we go about future trades?"
C, unsurprised by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s swift agreement, continued, "I've heard you have many mysterious items containing unique energies."
"If you're willing to trade, we can do a one-to-one exchange for the items we select. One item in exchange for one vial of enhancement serum."
Barton interjected, "Anything that contains energy?"
C shook his head. "Not just anything with energy. Only the items we choose from your collection will be eligible. If you offer energy guns or cannons, even a hundred of them wouldn't be enough for one vial of serum."
Understanding C's point, Barton nodded, knowing that the serum's price was high, not to mention Charles had valued it at 200 energy blocks per vial.
Sitwell responded, "I'll need to report this to headquarters. Most of those items aren't in our immediate possession, but if we reach an agreement, we'll contact you."
Sitwell then placed two phones on the table, "Since you've just arrived here and don't have communication devices yet, these are satellite phones. They work globally."
C and Karui didn't refuse the phones. Karui, however, joked, "These don't have any listening devices, do they?"
Sitwell quickly shook his head, "Rest assured, there are no bugs. If you're worried, you can always buy phones from outside. They're easy to come by."
In fact, when preparing the phones, Sitwell had considered bugging them but ultimately decided against it to avoid straining the delicate relationship over something so small.
C placed the vial of enhancement serum back in the case and pushed it toward Sitwell.
"This is for you."
Sitwell smiled and said, "Thank you for your trust, Mr. C. We'll prepare everything as quickly as possible."
Karui, eager to move on, then asked, "Now that we've settled these matters, when will you take us to see Killer Bee? I'm getting impatient."
…
Elsewhere-
Simmons was in the lab examining the body of the deceased Adam Cross. At this moment, Coulson walked in.
"Perfect timing, sir," Simmons said.
"I just finished analyzing the sagittal and coronal images of the victim's brain."
Coulson glanced at Fitz, who was standing outside the lab, looking puzzled.
"What's Fitz doing out there?" he asked.
Simmons explained, "He detected a strange energy emanating from the body."
Coulson chuckled, "Is he scared?"
Fitz, overhearing the conversation, shouted back, "It's the smell! It's horrible!"
Simmons turned and reassured Fitz, "There's nothing to be ashamed of, Fitz. Feeling scared is perfectly normal."
Fitz stood up to defend himself, "No, the only thing I'm scared of is that this rotting corpse will contaminate my clean workspace."
"Remember the last time you brought something dead into the lab?" Fitz added.
Simmons, annoyed, snapped, "You're not still talking about that cat, are you?"
"You left its liver next to my lunch..."
Coulson, noticing the conversation getting off track, interrupted, "Guys!"
"Can we talk about the victim first?"
Simmons turned back to Coulson and apologized, "Yes, sir. As I was saying, this is the victim's brain."
She displayed a series of scans on the lab's large screen.
Coulson glanced at the images and, with a puzzled expression, said, "It looks like a burned potato."
Simmons nodded, "That's the result of being hit by nearly two thousand megajoules of static energy—almost twice the energy of a lightning strike."
Just then, May walked in and announced, "The kid in the interrogation room checks out."
She turned to Simmons and asked, "Have you figured out why the body was floating?"
Simmons sighed, "Not yet."
"The victim's molecular density was temporarily altered by positional energy. I'm hoping that after I extract a brain tissue sample, I'll have more insight into how it works."
At that moment, Fitz called out from outside the lab, "It's happening again! Another static event—less than 20 kilometers from here."
Coulson and May rushed over, checked the location Fitz was pointing to, and quickly gathered the team to drive to the new site.
###
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