"No price. I'm just curious. Honest." He shrugged, a bit of realization coming to him. Spies could be very quid pro quo, he should know. Especially if she was a kid of freelancer. It wasn't too hard to remember Romanov when she first joined SHIELD. "But if that makes you nervous, I'm sure I could think of something. I just want to get to know you, Nikita. I want to know if you're someone I can trust. That's been a problem in the past and I don't like repeating mistakes."
He wouldn't risk another Ward situation, not here. And he wouldn't expose Fitz and Simmons to it either. "Here, I'll go first," he stuck out his hand, "Phil Coulson, I'm the director of SHIELD, an organization that protects the people from threats they're not capable of understanding. We're spies. The good ones. At least I like to think so." It was basic information. There wasn't a SHIELD here, or a Hydra, despite his initial fears. And regardless, the reasons for staying in the shadows back home didn't apply here. If it became public knowledge, it might make his superiors suspicious, but he didn't think it would entirely derail his plans. Heck, he was pretty sure he could spin it as a positive if he had to. "Now you have one of my secrets."
no subject
He wouldn't risk another Ward situation, not here. And he wouldn't expose Fitz and Simmons to it either. "Here, I'll go first," he stuck out his hand, "Phil Coulson, I'm the director of SHIELD, an organization that protects the people from threats they're not capable of understanding. We're spies. The good ones. At least I like to think so." It was basic information. There wasn't a SHIELD here, or a Hydra, despite his initial fears. And regardless, the reasons for staying in the shadows back home didn't apply here. If it became public knowledge, it might make his superiors suspicious, but he didn't think it would entirely derail his plans. Heck, he was pretty sure he could spin it as a positive if he had to. "Now you have one of my secrets."