Chapter 94: Principal Coulson Comes for a Home Visit

S.H.I.E.L.D.’s logistics division was busy from dawn to dusk, like ants relocating their nest. Agents hurried to and fro without touching the ground, their efficiency astounding.

One person had been launched into the sky; another had been sealed into a containment pod; another was being considered for classification as an 084. All manner of bizarre case files and dossiers drifted through the spacious office like a blizzard.

“May...”

“No!”

“Melinda, please.”

“No. Fuck off, Coulson.”

Agent May sat amid stacks of documents, her tight, stern face wrapped in a frost that kept the world at bay.

She kept working on her paperwork, utterly unmoved by Coulson standing before her.

“May, I admit it was my fault this time. No one expected the Apostle to be a child.” Coulson’s face was full of helplessness. He had already volunteered to Fury to have May serve as a tutor, but he still had not managed to persuade her.

It seemed the last time she had been taken alive by a child had left a deep mark on her.

Coulson thought.

“May, children like that are rare enough to count on one hand. You know how seldom we run into something like this. Once in ten years, maybe twice? Trust me, May, it won’t happen again.”

Coulson made his solemn promise.

May rolled her eyes and went on sorting files without saying a word.

“May, S.H.I.E.L.D. needs you.” Coulson played his trump card.

Coulson was shrewd, and his understanding of human nature had inherited the true essence of Fury’s teaching. He knew that May’s sense of duty was the reason she had remained in S.H.I.E.L.D. all these years instead of retiring. The last time he had used this card, it had worked remarkably well.

Sure enough, May showed a trace of emotion.

She had been brought into S.H.I.E.L.D. when she was seven by her mentor, Peggy “Flat-Face” Carter. For May, S.H.I.E.L.D. was home.

She felt she had nowhere else to go but to spend her life within S.H.I.E.L.D. until the end.

From childhood, she had been trained to take S.H.I.E.L.D.’s interests as her mission, and the will of its leadership as her own burden. Everything she knew had been taught to her by S.H.I.E.L.D. Without S.H.I.E.L.D., there would be no Melinda May. That was no exaggeration.

Whenever S.H.I.E.L.D. called, she never refused.

Coulson decided to press his advantage. With a smile, he said, “May, once this mission is over, I’ll buy you a drink. Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since the two of us sat down to eat together. How about it, Melinda? Let it count as compensation for last time.”

May lifted her eyelids, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

...

The two of them drove over, as though headed to a place of execution.

Coulson had never met Luke face to face, but he had read and reread the reports from the three who had. The image of Luke as a troublesome little brat had already taken shape in his mind.

On Sunday morning, Coulson appeared at the door of Luke’s foster parents’ home and rang the bell.

Luke’s foster mother, Karen, opened the door. Seeing the man in sunglasses, she asked in puzzlement, “May I help you?”

Coulson took off his sunglasses and revealed a genial smile. “Mrs. Nelson, good morning. I’m Philip J. Coulson, principal of Dawes Elementary School. The school has already spoken with you by phone.”

Karen hesitated. “I thought the principal was Jim White.”

“Jim and his family moved to Boston last week. I just took over,” Coulson said with a smile. He took out his principal’s credentials, freshly issued and still warm from the press. “I’m here for Luke.”

Karen warmly invited him inside. “Please come in, Mr. Coulson.” Then she called upstairs for Luke to come down.

At that moment Luke was about to leave. He was heading to the warehouse to meet Spider-Man.

When he came downstairs and saw Coulson, he rolled his eyes, utterly speechless, and walked down with obvious irritation.

“Foggy’s out at work. I’ll call him right away. Please, have a seat. Coffee or tea?” Karen asked.

“Coffee, thank you.” Coulson smiled and praised her, saying, “I’m only here for a routine visit today, so there’s no need to disturb his father. Your boy is very bright. Luke is the smartest child I’ve ever seen. His grades are excellent.”

“Thank you!” Karen’s face lit up with pride. She went to pour him some coffee.

While she was in the kitchen, Coulson lowered his voice and said to Luke, who had taken the seat across from him, “Luke, can I call you Luke? Could we speak privately for a moment?”

If this had been yesterday, Luke would have said, Which one do you want to borrow? What’s the catalog number? Christina has quite the collection.

But today Luke didn’t feel like talking.

Especially not to anyone from S.H.I.E.L.D.

“Who are you?” Luke asked.

Coulson answered quietly, “I’m Agent Coulson. Level 8 S.H.I.E.L.D. operative.”

“S.H.I.E.L.D.? Never heard of it.”

Luke pretended ignorance. He wanted to get Coulson gone as quickly as possible.

“Mr. Nelson, I think there’s no need for us to beat around the bush.” Coulson smiled. “You should know who we are. And it seems you know quite a bit about us as well? Director Fury has something important for me to tell you, concerning your cooperation with S.H.I.E.L.D. and that batch of alloys.”

“All right,” Luke said. “Let’s talk outside.”

At the doorway, Karen watched curiously as Principal Coulson and Luke spoke by the curb. They seemed to know each other, and that put her at ease. What she was more curious about was why the principal of Dawes Elementary had come looking for Luke.

Karen did not think Luke was the sort of boy who caused trouble. Compared with the mischievous children in other families, Luke seemed far too well behaved, far too withdrawn. It even worried her.

Most of the time, Luke only spent time with that boy Peter Parker, or else locked himself alone in his room playing by himself. And by the way, Karen was very fond of Peter Parker.

She thought the two of them were kind, honest boys.

Under the tree by the roadside, Coulson said with a smile, “Should I call you Luke, or the Apostle?”

“Either is fine.” Luke shrugged. “What brings the future director of S.H.I.E.L.D. to see me?”

“Me? Director?”

“I’m betting on you.”

Coulson blinked. “Thank you for the confidence...” He remembered perfectly well that this was their first meeting. For some reason, Luke seemed oddly familiar with him.

“I’m here for one important matter,” Coulson said.

“Fury sent you?”

“Yes. We believe you need a tutor.”

“A tutor?”

Luke’s expression turned strange. What kind of game was Fury playing? Was he sending a nanny over?

“You should know why. Some of the things you’ve done have crossed the line. Disobeying instructions, causing serious destruction, drawing far too much attention. We’ve been keeping an eye on you all along,” Coulson said with a smile.

“I know.” Luke nodded.

He had stirred things up precisely in order to attract attention, though of course he could not say that aloud.

What else he was thinking was this: Fury had sent out the good-natured Coulson. Was he trying to use this as an opening to persuade him to join the Avengers?

After all, Christina had once discovered that in Fury’s hands, his file had been shelved alongside Tony’s and Banner’s. It was clear Fury still hadn’t given up and still wanted to bring him on board.