Disclaimer: Yea, not mine.
Note 1: On the one hand, I should probably stop having these be separate stories. On the other hand... well, the style lends itself to oneshots. Plus, starting an actual single fic is a bit of a commitment to some kind of regular updating, where as oneshots are a more of an indefinite 'whenever' thing. Just because my muse is working quickly on this one doesn't mean it always will.
Note 2: Yes, I grasp that things move slowly with each one – basically, my muse gives me a context and a punchline and I write for it – that means things don't really advance as quickly as they could. But that's the nature of things – Does this short, slow-moving, punchline-centric style bother anyone, or no? As long as people keep enjoying them, I'll keep writing them, but we could be looking at another four or five fics before they're formally working together.
Note 3: I make a mention of Mike Resnick's book 'Santiago' here, as well as spoil the big twist – it's still a good book you should definitely take a look at if you get the chance.
Talk to Me, Grant
By Alkeni
Private Jet, Flying to Milan
March 13th, 2016
Ward had said nothing the entire time back to the airport in Topeka, and still nothing since their private jet got into the air. He'd spent the entire time stewing. It was unhealthy, he knew. He also didn't care. Stewing was the better option.
He thought back to what he'd said to Skye in Paris: Every other time we spoke, Skye, since I was stuck into that little box you called a prison cell, I was holding onto the delusion that you had any interest in treating me like a human being. I don't hold onto that anymore.
And he really hadn't held onto that delusion. Hadn't since that last conversation on the Bus. He really should have given up on that hope after she'd shot him in the back four times, but then, he'd never known when to give up before. But he had eventually.
It still had been a pleasant delusion.
He looked down at the shot of whiskey in his hand and downed it, settling the empty tumbler on a table.
He hadn't really planned on having a private jet, but when one of the Hydra allies they'd taken down had one – well, Rose had insisted that a private jet made their lives much easier, and so now 'The Santiago Group' had a private jet.
Ward hadn't picked the name. Rose had – something about some science fiction book about a character who conceals an underground resistance to the interstellar government behind a facade of being a master criminal. She'd suggested it because they were, technically, criminals, but it their targets were much worse.
We're not good people, sure. But neither are we the bastards we're going after. We're doing bad things for a mostly good cause.
Speaking of Rose... he heard her walking towards him from behind, and then watched her come around and sit down on the other side of the table from him.
"Grant. Talk to me." She said, voice unusually soft.
"What's there to talk about? You were right. We didn't need that face to face meeting. Co-coordinating over the phone would have worked better."
"We don't even have to work with them at all." Rose countered. She held up a hand and Grant let her speak. "Yes, Lash needs to die, and I agreed that taking the deal to help Thomas was the best call. But working with her? There's no working with that bitch, given how much she clearly hates you."
"You didn't help anything when you called up to give her some death threats." Ward pointed out sourly.
"If you think I trust Skye or S.H.I.E.L.D. as far as I can throw this plane, you're wrong." Rose replied. "She needed to know what would happen if she double-crossed us. And you didn't help anything when you drew a gun on her-"
"She doesn't get to say Kara's name!" Ward interrupted, the words rising unbidden to her lips. "She doesn't get to play that card and still be part of the same organization that handed Kara over to Hydra and still protects Bobbi Morse as if she deserves it!" Ward clenched his hands in his fists, his memory going back to that moment, when Kara was in his arms, bleeding out from his bullets in her stomach, her lungs filling up with blood.
He saw Rose look at him pointedly. "No. She doesn't. But you still rose to her bait. And then you went and told her you were still willing to work with them."
"I am." Ward replied. "I don't trust them either, but as you said, Lash needs to die, and if it will help Thomas..." It was his fault. He should have been there, for Thomas. He'd been stupid, trying to kill Christian with something so... basic. He should have just shot the bastard. He shouldn't have let himself get caught.
Shouldn't have tried it in the first place.
Maybe not. But it was done, and now Thomas was in prison.
"We can always just break Thomas out ourselves, if it comes to that." Rose pointed out. "And S.H.I.E.L.D. will beat Lash on their own, eventually. We do have other things we could be doing. Should be doing. In a lot of ways, Lash is small potatoes."
Ward shook his head. "No." He relaxes his hands. "You weren't the one that had just finished calming that girl down, Rose. Convincing her that having powers didn't make her a monster, that her family's death was an accident – it wasn't her fault. You weren't the one that had to watch Lash kill her. He takes pleasure in it. He may not be as big as Hydra, but he's worse than a lot of Hydra's splinter factions." Not all of them, of course. Whitehall was worse, and some of the other ones today were too, but most... they were evil, but it was an impersonal kind of evil. Hydra's vision of Order Through Tyranny wasn't one Ward had ever shared, and it was evil. But compared to others...
Rose looked away. "Maybe. But that doesn't change the fact that we don't have to work with these people."
Grant shook his head. "She's the one Coulson has running point on Lash, and for good reason." He picked up the tumbler and poured himself another shot, downing it quickly. Rose reached over and grabbed the bottle.
"This was half-full when we got on this plane." She said holding it up. "I think you've had enough." She set it down on her side of the table and watched him. Grant set his tumbler down. "You know." Rose continued. "You never told me if you loved her." Of course I didn't. Not something I want to think about.
"Who?" Ward muttered bitterly. "Skye?"
"No." Rose shrugged. "I already know you loved her. I think part of you still does, as unhealthy as that is." Yes, Rose, let's start with this. Ward really had no idea how he felt about Skye. Every time he saw her, she sent him into a tailspin. But that tailspin wasn't the same now, now that he had stripped away the last of his delusions. "Kara. You never told me if you loved Kara."
Ward looked at his sister. "This is not a discussion I'm having." Ward... he didn't know. Sometimes he was pretty sure he hadn't... but other times...
Had he loved Kara? He really didn't know. At the very least, he'd wanted to love her, to give her what she wanted, to be what she wanted. But every time he consiidered that... he hadn't been lying to her. He hadn't been manipulating her. He had cared about her. He had loved her.
And he'd killed her. He'd failed her. Everything he touched, everyone he tried to help – Garrett went insane, Fitz nearly died because the medpod didn't float... his effort to help Skye meet her father had ended badly too, at least as far as she'd been concerned. Well... it had ended badly, even if Ward didn't care about Skye's powers at all.
And his efforts to help Kara... that had been the worst.
Why was she even wearing May's face then? May and her people weren't even in the area...
Whatever her reason... it was still his fault. He should have... they should have arranged some sign. Of course her wearing May's face was a possibility. He should have thought of it – he'd tried to think of everything else. But he hadn't managed it. Hadn't even killed Lance Hunter.
Did you love her?
I don't know. And that was the worst answer of all.
"I'm going to check on the pilot." Ward replied coldly. He reached into his pocket and handed her a burner phone. "In case Coulson or S.H.I.E.L.D. calls." He turned and headed for the cockpit. At least he could trust Lorenzo to stay silent. He really needed silence. Because maybe Rose was right.
Could they really work with Skye? Work with S.H.I.E.L.D.? Lash needed to die, yes, but...
Was it worth subjecting himself to Skye? To having to deal with her very presence throwing him into emotional tailspin. Ward would like to say he hated her, but it wasn't that simple.
Maybe they shouldn't work with them.