Barbara Morse, agent codename 'Mockingbird,' wasn't high in the organization's hierarchy, but in terms of closeness, she was one of the few people Nick Fury trusted the most.
"Boss, you called for me?" A few minutes after receiving the order, Barbara appeared in Nick Fury's office.
"Let me introduce you, this is Coulson, and May." Nick Fury pointed to the two people still in the office and introduced them: "This is Barbara."
"Hi, everyone."
"Hello."
In the plot of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," Barbara first appeared in the second season as an 'undercover' agent. Analyzing that short plot, it's not hard to see that she had never met Coulson and his team members before.
They worked for the same agency, had the same boss, but didn't know each other at all… This proved that Nick Fury was indeed a complete sly fox, living up to his reputation as the head of the agents.
"Barbara, didn't you say you wanted a vacation?" Nick Fury took a sip of coffee, looked at Barbara, and with a tone that implied, 'Look how much I understand you,' assigned her a task: "There's a very easy, almost vacation-like long-term mission that I want to give to you."
"...Director, this isn't what we agreed upon."
"Don't worry." Nick Fury calmly put down his cup, raised his hand, and pointed at Coulson: "He'll tell you the specific details later. My mission for you is to find a storefront near the target's residence and use the identity of a small shop owner as a disguise…"
The potion transaction work had been transferred to the newly established company, so Coulson was no longer suitable to frequently appear before Shi Xiaolei as before. Considering that the relationship with Shi Xiaolei could not be broken and the surveillance work on him could not be relaxed, Nick Fury naturally thought of sending someone else to replace Coulson.
She was capable, and as a woman, she wouldn't easily arouse suspicion; she was a former gymnast, so she naturally carried an elegant demeanor without needing to act; she understood a lot about biochemistry, so opening a flower shop was a perfect fit… That's right, not only did a thought lead him to Barbara, Nick Fury had even already decided what kind of shop she should open.
"Open a flower shop?" Based on the description, the mission content was indeed very easy, especially compared to previous missions. No wonder Barbara was surprised.
"There's no need to deliberately approach the other party; just act as an ordinary person and interact normally." Nick Fury smiled: "How about it, isn't this mission easy enough?"
"What about intelligence? No need to collect it?"
"No need, it's just an ordinary surveillance mission. Unless the other party makes any unusual moves, you don't even need to report to me regularly."
"Okay, I'll take this mission." It really was like a vacation. It was rare to encounter such an easy mission, so Barbara immediately made her decision.
"Very good. Coulson, introduce the basic situation of the target to Barbara." Nick Fury nodded and sat back in his seat: "Now, you two can leave. Oh, May, stay a moment, I have a few questions I want to confirm about that matter last time…"
"Yes."
...Hydra was still in hiding, and at this moment, S.H.I.E.L.D. still maintained extremely strong executive power.
Sure enough, in just two or three days, the storefront directly across the street from Shi Xiaolei's house had already fallen into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hands.
"Old Liu, morning."
"Brother Shi, you're here." Old Liu greeted Shi Xiaolei as usual, then chuckled and leaned over, pointing at the shop across the street, and said mysteriously: "Look over there."
Looking up, the shop across the street, which used to be a pizza place, was now being redecorated.
A blonde woman in a floral long dress stood beside an engineer holding design drawings, pointing and saying something.
"Heh heh, see that?" Old Liu took a puff of his cigarette, a smile on his face that men understood: "It seems we're getting a new neighbor, and she's a beautiful woman too."
"Old Liu, you're…" Not knowing what to say, Shi Xiaolei laughed speechlessly.
"What about me? I'm not harming anyone, just looking." With a grinning, slippery tone, Old Liu at this moment felt like a very improper old pervert: "Besides, I deal in handicrafts, and I always like to look at beautiful and pleasing things. It's an occupational hazard, you know?"
It was only because his wife wasn't around; otherwise, Old Liu wouldn't dare to be so brazen.
"I know~~, heh heh." What else could he say? Shi Xiaolei could only laugh and shake his head, while also giving Old Liu a thumbs up: "I don't believe you'd still say that when sister-in-law comes back."
"I'm not an idiot."
"Heh heh." While laughing, Shi Xiaolei pulled out his keys and opened the rolling shutter of his own shop.
The creaking sound was a bit loud, and it was morning, so there were fewer miscellaneous noises… Barbara across the street heard the movement behind her, turned around, and met Old Liu's gaze.
Then she looked next door, and Shi Xiaolei was there too.
Her mind racing, Barbara stopped her conversation with the engineer, crossed the pedestrian street, and came to this side of the small street.
"Hello everyone, nice to meet you, I'm Vivian, the owner of the flower shop across the street." Although it was an easy mission, Barbara habitually used a fake name for herself.
It was this inconspicuous small decision that played an important role—if she had immediately said she was Barbara, Shi Xiaolei, having watched "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.," would most likely have become suspicious.
But now… because Barbara didn't have many appearances in the original plot, Shi Xiaolei's memory of this character was only a name, plus an impression of 'being in great shape and good at fighting.'
Not remembering what Barbara looked like in the TV series, and hearing this beauty introduce herself as Vivian… Shi Xiaolei had no idea that the person in front of him was actually an agent, and thought she was just an ordinary young woman starting a business.
"Hello." Not only was he completely unguarded, but he also, with the attitude of a helpful neighbor, proactively greeted Barbara: "Welcome to Chinatown. We all have shops on the same street, so if you ever need help with anything, just say so, don't be shy."
"Locke's right. Young lady, we Chinese are always happy to help. You'll know after you stay for a while."
"Thank you." Barbara smiled and expressed her gratitude, and to leave a better impression, she even told a small lie: "Actually, I had a roommate in college who was from China. We lived together for a few years, and she left me with a very, very good impression. I like Chinese people, the Chinese way of life, and Chinese food… Okay, I admit, it's because there are so many Chinese restaurants here that I specifically came here to find a storefront."