He walked to the kitchen and Carlos stepped out. "You're back?"
"Yeah. Didn't the soundproofing work?"
"I wasn't sleeping. I was on the phone with Alice. Things are going really well." He smiled. "Let me warm up the soup for you. It tastes terrible, cold."
James chuckled and began pulling ingredients from the fridge.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Looks like your second spring is coming," James said casually. "Does she have any family here?"
"Her parents live in Europe. She's British, but has been in the U.S. for a few years now," Carlos replied, reheating a bowl portion of soup in a pot.
"Not bad," James said. "But I think I'll run a background check on her. If it comes back clean, you can date her without worry."
He grabbed a piece of pandesal they bought in a local asian store, putting it on a plate as he sat down on the table and waited for the soup.
"You think something's off about her?" Carlos didn't look surprised.
"It's not a suspicion. It's just caution. Our lives are... complicated now. My work especially. And something about her caught my attention. Her name, her timing, and the way she knows flowers. It's all just a little too perfect."
He didn't say it out loud, but Alice reminded him of their mother. That alone was enough of a red flag.
"If someone's trying to use that to get close to us... they're already dead."
Carlos nodded. "Fair enough. Check it out. If she is trouble, I'll pick up a gun again."
James knew his father well. Carlos was still an assassin at heart. Top-tier assassins never trusted easily, especially when relationships developed fast. There was a good chance Carlos had been quietly investigating her too.
"Meow!" A fluffy furball of a tail came out under the table.
"Alright Anny, I'll give you some attention."
James patted his lap as Anny jumped on it, allowing him to give her some nice petting and expecting some treats later.
Carlos on the side just smiles as he serves him the soup and talks about how their day went.
The next morning, James received a message—his credentials had been updated. He was now a certified Level 3 Special Agent.
He drove to the SHIELD precinct.
"Congratulations, Agent James," the instructor said, handing him a new ID. "You're officially an Agent. No assignments at the moment. You'll take orders from Agent Phil Coulson."
"Thank you, sir. Not being in internship feels good."
James left the building and sat in his car. He scanned the ID thoroughly to ensure it didn't contain any hidden trackers. Satisfied, he slipped it into his jacket and pulled out his encrypted phone.
"I'm Level 3 now," he told Phil. "Just reporting in. Any instructions?"
"None for now," Phil replied. "I'll be in touch soon. Can't talk much at the moment and congratulations."
James guessed it had something to do with Stark. SHIELD was probably scrambling behind the scenes. Tony's health was declining, and the palladium poisoning was only getting worse.
Back home, James opened his laptop, logged into the SHIELD database, and searched for Alice Roy.
SHIELD's internal network linked directly to national intelligence, voter records, and law enforcement systems. Practically everyone in the U.S. was in there somewhere.
Alice Roy. Thirty-two. British national. Moved to the States at twenty-five. She studied oil painting in the UK and came to America hoping to build a name for herself as an artist. A few of her pieces had sold, but none for notable sums. She had been working day jobs to support her dream.
No signs of suspicious activity.
She wasn't an only child either. She had a younger brother and sister, both living in the UK. Even her extended family checked out.
James leaned back in his chair. That kind of access from just a Level 3 clearance was impressive. Surface-level civilian data was wide open.
But anyone trying to infiltrate their lives wouldn't make rookie mistakes. If Alice really was planted, the surface info would be airtight.
He picked up his phone and called someone who could help—Maria Hill.
"Hi, beautiful," he said.
"Well hello, handsome. Miss me?" Hill's voice was light, almost teasing, clearly playing along.
James blinked, caught off guard for a second. He recovered immediately.
"Of course. Isn't it a man's duty to think about a woman's well being?"
"Flatterer. Where are you now? Washington? Or flying in to buy me dinner?"
"Dinner might have to wait a few days. Just wrapped up my assessment today. I'm calling because I need a favor from a beautiful woman who may or may not have a soft spot for me."
Hill laughed softly. James hadn't expected this kind of banter between them, but she was playing it like they had chemistry, like a true seasoned agent trained in espionage. He decided to roll with it.
"I knew you had a reason for calling. Go ahead."
"You should already have access to my file. I want everything you can find on Alice Roy."
He didn't believe SHIELD wasn't already watching.
"We're on it," Hill said. "But we're keeping it quiet. Few people even know you exist right now. We're using a team that technically isn't SHIELD. You understand what that means, right?"
"Yeah," James said. "You've got problems inside."
"Exactly. We're not sure how deep it goes yet. No hard evidence."
"Got it. So I'm part of the organization now?"
"You are. And if you see something, say something."
"Why didn't Phil tell me this directly?"
"We weren't going to say anything. But you called me. I figured it was time. Also... I accept your dinner invitation."
James paused.
"Really? Is this a honey trap? Cause I'm walking right into it."
"I figured you wouldn't mind."
"I don't. But one thing's clear—my father's off-limits. He's retired. If anyone tries to drag him into this, I don't care who it is. I'll deal with it."
After they hung up, Hill immediately called Nick Fury.
"James called. He asked about Alice Roy. Wants us to confirm she's clean."
"We can't guarantee anything right now," Fury said. "We're stretched too thin."
"I told him about the internal issues. If he finds something, he'll let us know."
"You think someone will make contact with him?"
"I don't know. But he's part of us now."
"How'd you manage to win him over?"
"I accepted his dinner invitation."
"You sure about that?"
"He's charming. And I'm still single."
Hill ended the call.
Back in the apartment, James sat on the couch with the phone in his hand, thinking.
HYDRA had already begun to rot SHIELD from the inside. Eventually, the organization would fall apart. Coulson would die and come back. SHIELD agents would scatter and go underground.
Should he change something?
Should he start preparing for what was coming?