Alexandria is a city in Virginia located to the south of Washington, D.C.
History
Isabelle Hartley, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent recruited as a mercenary by recently appointed S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Phil Coulson, established a meeting with fellow former agent Roger Browning, in order to buy a Clearance Level Ten file on the original 0-8-4, the Obelisk, one of the items contained in the storage facility where Browning was assigned, the file about the Obelisk.
Hartley went to the reunion with fellow mercenaries Lance Hunter and Idaho, while Coulson also sent agents Melinda May, Skye, and Antoine Triplett to overview the exchange. Skye surveyed the operation, receiving orders from May not to engage until the deal was finished and the package with the item was visible.
Browning showed Hartley both the file, displaying an image of the original box where the Strategic Scientific Reserve contained the item and his former S.H.I.E.L.D. badge to authenticate the information. Hartley noticed that Browning seemed indifferent to their identity, but Browning said that the only thing he was concerned was that they were the highest bidders, so their motivations did not concern him anymore.
May and Triplett checked that Browning was only selling intel, not the actual item, so when Idaho presented the briefcase with the money Browning expected as a payment, Hunter asked why should they be paying so much for just an image of a box he did not even have. Browning revealed that the United States Government obtained the item and stored it in a facility with thousands of other S.H.I.E.L.D. items and equipment.
Browning revealed the importance of the items, as the facility where he worked had thousands of boxes looking exactly like the one he was selling, but that was the only one with a Clearance Level Ten file dedicated to it, so knowing Hartley's reputation, he knew they would be able to retrieve the item. Browning was not comfortable with changing the terms of the deal, but Hartley noticed that it was Browning who changed the terms, as they had agreed to bring just two guards, and there was another man approaching them.
That man turned out to be Carl Creel, a gifted individual sent by HYDRA in order to obtain the file that Browning was trying to sell. Creel quickly disabled Browning's guards and killed Browning by breaking his neck. Hartley, Hunter and Idaho quickly shooted at Creel, but he was able to punch Hunter, retrieve the file and jump through a twenty-five feet high window to escape.
As Hartley stood up from the place she took cover, one of Browning's guards was about to kill her, but Skye, appearing behind the guard, quickly disabled him with an I.C.E.R. Hartley was surprised to see May and her team, while Triplett ran to check the window that Creel used to escape.
Hartley asked why May and the others were shadowing her and her team, as it was supposed to be an undercover operation, though Skye said they were just their backup. Hartley contacted Coulson at the Playground to inform him about the outcome of the mission and ask for orders. Coulson simply ordered them to go dark, so the agents and mercenaries left the city and returned to the Playground.[1]
