20 Chapter 20 - Test Drive

As Mikael rushed to prepare for the Tech Demo he had scheduled to promote his company and demonstrate his technology, over in time square within a large skyscraper a figure was currently stepping into an elevator. The elevator doors closed and the light of the city illuminated the figure as they pressed one of the buttons while swiping a badge over the scanner before an automated voice rang out in the elevator.

"Administration Office. Agent Sarah May Argent, Level 6." The elevator started to climb up the building as Sarah looked out the glass window separating her from the outside. She had a smile on her face as she watched the rest of the city spread out in front of her. She received the day off tomorrow so that she could be there for Mikael presentation where he could finally show the world what he was capable of. Soon the elevator came to a halt jolting her from her thoughts as the doors began to open. Sarah turned away from the window and stepped out of the elevator as she saw a brown haired man walking in her direction seeming a little under the weather.

"Hey Phil. Did you just see Melinda?" Sarah asked the man as she drew closer to him.

"Oh, Sarah. It's good to see you. Yeah I just talked to her." He answered as he looked up from his thoughts.

"Didn't go well did it?" She asked her smile fading from her face.

"She still hasn't said anything about Bahrain?"

"Nothing. I didn't ask her since it seemed to upset her and just hoped she would tell me when she's ready. No one else that was present with has recalled anything either." Coulson answered as he took a deep breath.

"Maybe she just needs more time. I'll go see her maybe I can at least get her out of the office for a little bit." Sarah responded as she pat Coulson on the shoulder as he walked past.

"Take care Sarah." Coulson said as he stepped into the elevator.

"You too Phil." She responded before she walked to the door at the end of the hall and walked inside. As she stepped into the room all she could see were several empty cubicles and shelves full of different binders and stacks of paper all long the walls and even half blocking the window looking into the hall. As she scanned over the room she could see in the far back corner as single computer was still on with a long dark haired woman sitting in front of it. Sarah walked across the room before coming to a halt in front of the cubicle as she threw a ticket to the Tech Expo in front of the woman as it drifted down to land perfectly in the center of the stack of papers she was aggressively stamping.

"What's this?" She asked with a straight face.

"That Melinda, is a VIP ticket to the Tech Expo Mikael has tomorrow." Sarah answered with a smile.

"I'm not going." Melinda answered before moving the ticket aside and continued working.

"Are you telling me you'd rather sort through paperwork than spend time with family?" Sarah asked placing a hand over her chest with a hurt expression on her face.

"Yes." Melinda answered without even looking up.

"I should tell auntie about this." Sarah threatened as she watched as her cousin took a deep breath and close her eyes.

"Come on. Melinda it's one day. Mikael said he was going to put on a demonstration to show what his creations can really do without the red tape they have right now." Sarah told her as she leaned in closer over the cubicle.

"Look if you come I'll ask him to let you drive one of his bikes. He told me they're faster and more maneuverable than any motorcycle available." Sarah added and smiled when she noticed a twitch in her cousin's eyebrow.

"He even said they're faster than F1 cars." She whispered as Melinda took another deep breath before grabbing the ticket.

"Fine, one day. But only if I'm allowed to take tomorrow off." Melinda said as she tucked the ticket into a pocket before standing up.

"Well good thing I already requested it for you." Sarah said with a wide triumphant smile. The two made their way out of the office and waited for the elevator before getting on. Sarah pressed a button on the panel before the automated voice rang out again.

"Agent Melinda May, Level 7. Agent Sarah May Argent, Level 6."

"So what are you working on right now?" Melinda asked as the elevator started to descend.

"Well I was looking examining the dead agents that turned up." Sarah answered.

"Was?"

"Yeah, they all died of either extreme blunt force trauma or from bullet wounds that seemed to match up to their own weapons that were at the scene."

"Extreme blunt force?"

"Shattered spines, broken necks, cracked skulls and one even had his chest caved in with the perfect shape of a hand."

"Nothing else was found?"

"There was a piece of torn fabric that one of them may have ripped from their attackers. It had what looked like a bloody handprint sewn into it."

"The Hand. I've heard of them. Where were they found?"

"About a block away from my son's factory actually. People are saying they went rogue and wanted to steal his tech and happened to cross paths with the Hand who were after the same thing."

"Did they steal anything?"

"One of his doors had signs of a break in but nothing was missing." Sarah answered as the elevator stopped and opened up at the second floor of a large lobby with numerous similarly dressed individuals rushed back and forth.

"What happened here?" Melinda asked as they stepped into the lobby and started making their across a large bridge while she looked over the side as groups of people carrying different sets of equipment left the building.

"I think it was that power surge that happened over in Lower Manhattan. All power in the area kept going out and back on for almost a whole day. And no one could find the problem. Part of Brooklyn was affected too." Sarah explained as they were descending an escalator.

"Lower Manhattan? Isn't that where your son's factory is right now?" Melinda asked as her brows knit together.

"Yeah but he said that his factory wasn't running and that he was uptown so he wasn't impacted." Sarah answered as they headed out the door.

"Alright, I'm going to head home. You should come by the house at 6pm and we'll go together. The Expo opens at 7 in the evening and will run until 11." She told her cousin as she headed to her car and got inside.

"Is it just a coincidence?" Melinda asked herself as she watched as Sarah drove off into the night before she walked over to a black motorcycle and put on the helmet resting on the seat. She looked in the direction of Lower Manhattan for a moment before mounting her bike and drove off.

The next evening Sarah stepped out of her house as she saw Melinda leaning against her motorcycle in jeans, black shirt and a leather jacket. Sarah waved her over while she walked to her car and got in the drivers side as Melinda got in the other side and sat down with her arms crossed.

"Don't be like that. I promise you'll have fun, I'll make sure of it." Sarah said as they drove off towards the expo. The drive took a longer than usual due to the increased traffic but eventually they managed to arrive before the venue opened. In addition to the race track Mikael had reserved the entire block along the bay for the event. After Sarah parked into a specially marked spot the two got out and made their way into the event after showing the guards the their tickets. As they stepped into the former racetrack they saw a line of speeder bikes as well as a few more personalized ones that Mikael was currently tinkering with.

"Mikael!" Sarah called out as she headed in his direction with Melinda in tow who was currently looking over the different speeders as she walked.

"Ah! Mom! Glad you made it." Mikael responded as he gave her a hug.

"This is your aunt Melinda, you remember her don't you?" Sarah asked as she pulled Melinda forward by the arm.

"Uh, yeah I remember her. Hi aunt Melinda." Mikael answered as he greeted her. There was a flash of surprise in his eyes as he recognized her.

"You can just call me Melinda. You've grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you." Melinda said as she put on a fake smile.

"Thanks? Well I'm glad you could make it. I'm looking forward to be able to actually drive these with the restrictions today." Mikael said as he patted one of the more sleeker models next to him.

"Your mother said these are more maneuverable than current motorcycles and faster than F1 cars?" Melinda asked with a sense of interest that Mikael could clearly pick up on.

"Well the models over there have a max speed of about 224 miles per hour. And those are the standard models without the current traffic restrictions." Mikael answered causing one of her brows to raise slightly. Seeing this Sarah leaned in close to Mikael.

"Hey your aunt has been through a rough patch lately. I was hoping you could let her drive one?" Sarah asked in a whisper. Mikael's thought for a moment as he pieced the things he knew about his aunt together before he nodded.

"You wouldn't happen to be familiar with motorcycles would you? I could use another driver to help demonstrate." Mikael asked.

"Well if you need one I wouldn't mind lending you a hand. Only because you're family." Melinda said as she looked over the different speeders that were in front of her.

"Well pick one and you can take it for a lap to get used to the controls and throttle. I recommend starting slow." Mikael said as he waited for her to choose before he walked over and started to point out the different mechanisms she needed to understand to operate the speeder. After a minute or two thanks to her being quick on the uptake he stepped back and motioned for her to give it a try. He watched as her speeder lifted off the ground and the landing gears retracted before she began to accelerate. He watched as she quickly completed one lap before continuing to speed up as she began to zip past again and again. Minutes later Mikael started waving to her before she started to slow down to a halt in front of him.

"Great, we'll head outside later and I'll show you the course I set up in the bay. It'll let you test the maneuverability for everyone to see. There's a contest later tonight for whoever completes the course the quickest and the prize is a speeder of their own." Mikael told her as he activated the landing gears. Melinda dismounted the speeder before setting the helmet he gave her down on the seat and walked over to join Sarah.

"Alright the expo should be opening soon, I need to get ready so you should head on out." He said as he walked them out of the area. As the two walked away from the track both Sarah and Melinda noticed a bald man in a suit standing guard at the entrance that Mikael seemed to be giving orders to. They weren't sure what it was but for some reason they could feel that the man was dangerous but noticed that the man seemed to treat Mikael with an unusual amount of respect as they both headed towards the stage.