"Who are you people?!"
Compared to the confused Skye, Coulson reacted much more strongly. He immediately pulled a gun and aimed it at the two men across from him, ready to fight back at any moment.
He didn't know who they were, but anyone showing up at a time definitely wasn't just passing by.
Besides, he also knew there was a hidden hand behind the Rising Tide group.
Their recent hack into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database was likely done under someone else's orders.
Since he was able to find Skye, it wouldn't be surprising if that hidden hand had sent people to silence her.
In Coulson's eyes, these two were most likely hitmen, so he stayed on high alert.
But as soon as he pulled out his gun, the blonde man at the alley entrance—who hadn't said anything until now—raised his hand and slightly curled his finger toward Coulson.
The gun flew out of his hand, floated in the air, and turned around to point back at him.
"A superpowered person!"
Coulson's eyes widened in shock!
Realizing they had sent someone with powers, he quickly raised both hands to show he was surrendering.
Skye finally understood what was happening. Seeing these people weren't with S.H.I.E.L.D., she quickly distanced herself from Coulson.
"I'm not with him. If you're here to arrest someone, arrest him!"
"Don't worry, Skye. We're here just for you…" the man, Raymond, said with a smile.
Skye slumped and looked at Coulson, hoping he'd help.
Coulson raised his hands even higher, as if saying, "Do I look like I can help you right now?"
"Should I take him out?" 'David' suddenly asked.
"Who even are you?" Raymond glanced back at him.
"I'm Wayne, boss…Jack Wayne!" 'David' flashed a peace sign, but kept the gun pointed with his other hand.
"Stop playing around. Give the man his gun back. He's one of us."
"He pulled a gun though?" 'David' looked doubtful.
"With your brain, it's hard to explain. Just do it."
With a casual wave, the gun flew back to Coulson's hand. After a quick change in his expression, 'David' looked a bit embarrassed and said, "Sorry, I thought he was an enemy…"
Raymond shook his head, signaling it was fine.
Coulson took back his weapon and realized things might not be what he thought.
If they were here to kill Skye, they wouldn't have returned his gun.
"Who are you people, really?" Coulson asked again.
"Everyone, calm down! We're on the same side!" A woman's voice called out before Raymond could answer.
As the voice rang out, Agent May quickly ran over from the other side of the alley.
"Good afternoon, May—" Raymond said with a smile.
"Doctor? What are you doing here?" May looked surprised.
Coulson couldn't help but ask, "May, who is this?"
"Dr. Raymond," May answered simply.
"The Dr. Raymond from the Combat Division?" Coulson looked even more shocked.
Raymond's one-on-one defeat of Combat Division Chief Leonid had become a well-known story—not only throughout the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy but even inside S.H.I.E.L.D. itself. Coulson had definitely heard of him.
"This is Agent Coulson," May said to Raymond, giving him a look that said, you know what I mean.
Raymond got it right away—May was telling him that Coulson had parts of his memory sealed. He no longer remembered Raymond.
In fact, the body's original owner and Coulson were quite close. As the project leader of "Project T.A.H.I.T.I.," there was no way Coulson wouldn't know the original owner, who oversaw the psychological treatments.
But to protect Coulson from the trauma of his "resurrection," all of his related memories had been wiped—including anything involving Raymond.
Raymond didn't mind. He gave May a knowing glance and smiled at the two of them. "I've got some business with Miss Skye here. If it's okay, I'd like to take her with me…"
"I'm afraid that's not possible," Coulson replied before May could speak. "She's tied to a major case. We can't let her go until we've figured things out."
"No room for flexibility?" Raymond looked at May.
"Doctor, this case is serious. Do you really have to take her?" May didn't sound as firm as Coulson.
"May?!" Coulson noticed her hesitation and tried to stop her.
"I need her help with something. Don't worry, she won't be going anywhere while she's with me. Also... if you need to question her, I'd probably have a better chance of getting answers, right?" Raymond said calmly.
"Since you're the one asking, we'll leave her in your care. The Director will be in touch to discuss the details," May said after a moment's thought.
"No problem. I'll wait for his call," Raymond smiled. "I'll take her with me now. If anything comes up, just call me…"
He gave David a look.
David understood right away, walked over to the van, and pulled Skye out to bring her to Raymond.
Skye had seen David snatch Coulson's gun using his powers. With someone like that around, she didn't dare resist and quietly followed him.
After saying goodbye to May, Raymond took David and Skye and left.
As for Skye's belongings, Coulson and the others could handle those—Raymond didn't need to worry.
While Raymond was leaving with Skye, Coulson wanted to stop him several times, but each time May silently stopped him with a look.
Once the three had left, Coulson finally complained, "Why'd you keep stopping me? Even if he's on our side, he can't just take over my mission like that."
"That was the Director's order. If you've got a problem, take it up with him. It's not my call," May said, holding up her hands.
"The Director told you that? Are you serious?" Coulson was doubtful.
"Let's go. Bring her things. We'll report this to the Director and let him handle things with the doctor. We don't need to worry about the rest." May walked to the van and started looking for anything important to take.
Coulson, hearing this, let go of his complaints for now and helped her pack up Skye's things.
The most important was, of course, her laptop—along with any hardware in the van that might be related to the earlier hacking.