Chapter 311: Old Acquaintances

"How do those foreigners even know this place has the best Chenpi Duck?" Wong was puzzled, his face filled with confusion as he hurried along with Solomon. Wong couldn't wrap his head around Solomon's mysterious source of information or the specifics of the message itself, but none of that mattered as much as getting to the restaurant on time.

Questions could wait, but if the Chenpi Duck sold out, there'd be no turning back.

The small family-run restaurant was a frequent haunt of the Hong Kong Sanctum sorcerers, and Wong knew they were on borrowed time. Delicious food always sold out fast in places like this.

"They've got a local with them, obviously," Solomon muttered in Cantonese. That mysterious AI, likely trying to curry favor with him, had sent over a photograph of the SHIELD team heading to the same restaurant. To his mild annoyance, Solomon recognized them immediately—it was Phil Coulson's team. Specifically, it seemed Melinda May, an agent of Hong Kong descent, had recommended the restaurant and wanted to give her teammates a taste of her hometown's cuisine.

The AI had also offered to help in its own peculiar way: it could rearrange the restaurant's order queue, delay traffic, or even intercept deliveries to ensure Solomon got his food first. However, Solomon refused.

"No," he said firmly, shaking his head at the message. "Not a chance. I won't let you meddle in my life, little one."

"Seriously, who are you even talking to?" Wong looked at Solomon incredulously. "There aren't even any spirits around here..."

"It's great to see you again, Solomon!" Agent Phil Coulson greeted him warmly. Despite a recent mission that had ended less-than-ideally, Coulson's mood had rebounded, and he was genuinely pleased to run into an old acquaintance. Besides himself and Agent Melinda May, the rest of the SHIELD team had only vague impressions of Solomon. Their memories of their first encounter at Solomon's apartment had been erased through an enchantment. Yet, as they encountered him more frequently, the effects of the spell were beginning to wear off, and fragments of those memories began to surface.

"I feel like I've seen him before," Skye whispered to Simmons, glancing furtively at Solomon.

"Me too... he looks familiar," Simmons replied, narrowing her eyes in thought. "You think he's on the Index?"

"If he is, what's his ability?"

"I have no idea…"

Melinda May, overhearing their conversation, shot them both a sharp look, immediately silencing their speculation. Solomon's identity was classified—far beyond what junior agents like Skye and Simmons were authorized to know. Even Grant Ward, another member of the team, didn't have the full picture. He had described his strange experience at Solomon's apartment as some sort of advanced, high-tech oddity.

"I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you were based in New York," Coulson said, taking note of Wong, who stood beside Solomon. The agent subtly filed away Wong's appearance in his mental catalog.

"Not here for work, I hope?" Coulson raised an eyebrow, his tone light but laced with genuine curiosity. To his knowledge, Solomon typically appeared only when magical anomalies or disasters were at hand. Given their shared past encounters, Coulson couldn't help but feel slightly anxious, even as he tried to mask it with small talk.

"I'm just here for the food, Coulson," Solomon said with a sigh, hoping to avoid any unnecessary entanglements with the agent. He was starting to regret declining the AI's offer; if he had let it intervene, he could've avoided this awkward reunion entirely. "You look well," Solomon added, changing the subject. "How's the heart holding up?"

"It's better than ever," Coulson replied with a grin. "I don't know what kind of material the doctors used to fix me up, but my heart's stronger than before." His smile widened. "Hey, if you're not busy, why don't you join us? Agent May highly recommended this place. She says the decor's awful, but the food is the best in Hong Kong. I've only ever had... how do you pronounce it? Chenpi Duck?"

As the others went to place their orders, Skye slid a plastic chair across the tiled floor and plopped down directly across from Solomon. Her interest had been piqued ever since a recent mission involving an individual on SHIELD's Watchlist—a man who could produce flames. Given her vague recollection of Solomon, she suspected he might also be on that list.

Originally, she had intended to lean in and apply subtle pressure during their conversation, but the sight of the restaurant owner wiping the greasy table in a lazy Z-pattern with an old cloth made her reconsider.

"Haven't we met before?" Skye asked, her voice lowered as she cast a quick glance around the room. Confirming that Melinda May wasn't watching her, she leaned closer to Solomon, speaking with urgency.

Wong glanced at Skye's Eurasian features, then turned his gaze to Solomon. With a dismissive shake of his head, he let out a quiet scoff, clearly unimpressed by the young agent. Solomon, likewise, wore an expression of disdain. He rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore Skye's probing question.

"Oh, come on!" Skye huffed, clearly irritated by Solomon's aloofness. "Listen, this isn't me trying to hit on you. You've got a decent build, sure, but you're way too young—probably not even old enough to legally drink. I'm conducting an investigation, okay? A SHIELD investigation!"

"Skye!" Simmons tugged at her sleeve, glancing nervously toward Coulson and May, who were returning with their orders.

"Don't be so loud... Look, if you know something about the Index, you might be able to help. I could even get you less intrusive surveillance if you play ball—"

Both Solomon and Wong rolled their eyes again, entirely unimpressed by her rambling. Before she could press further, Coulson arrived just in time to catch her mid-sentence.

"You're making unauthorized contact with a subject, Skye," Coulson said firmly, dragging a chair over and placing it between Skye and Solomon. "You know you can't initiate conversations without prior approval."

Skye, to her credit, didn't seem the least bit flustered. She merely shrugged, her expression exuding defiance at Coulson's strict adherence to protocol. Melinda May, however, shot her a glare so sharp that Skye immediately shrank back like a chastened schoolgirl. Under May's piercing gaze, she sheepishly rejoined the others at their table, where she began teaching Fitz, Simmons, and Ward how to use chopsticks.

"So, Solomon, mind telling me what brings you to Hong Kong?" Coulson asked, his friendly demeanor unwavering as he turned his attention back to the young sorcerer. He reached out to rest his hand on the table, only for May to stop him mid-motion with a quick tug on his sleeve.

"Right," Coulson muttered, pulling out a napkin to wipe down the greasy surface instead. "I know your academic schedule's pretty packed, but if there's anything we can do to help... well, let's just say our last collaboration went pretty well, didn't it? Ward told me you agreed with my proposal."

"You didn't encounter any magical threats. If you did, I'd have shown up, but not because I agreed with your proposal—it's simply my responsibility," Solomon replied curtly.

"Still, I wouldn't mind lending a hand—"

"You and Fury have enough on your plates—"

Solomon trailed off mid-sentence as he noticed Skye repeatedly glancing back at him. At the same time, his phone buzzed with an alert.

She's attempting to hack into your phone's network.

Intrusion blocked.

Counter-hacking initiated.

Target's hard drive compromised.

With a snap of his fingers, smoke and sparks erupted from the laptop inside Skye's bag. A faint, acrid smell wafted through the restaurant.

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