A/N: Hello! Very old author who has recently found my muse again with a new fandom. This little idea wormed its way into my head and I just had to get it out. I hope you all enjoy it! Definitely AU picks up not long after 1x17/1x18
Disclaimer: I own NOTHING!
Theo Tittle….
Garrett sat in a secluded corner of the jet, his men excitedly chattering around him as they continued to go through the spoils from the Fridge. More than once he had to caution them about playing with their new toys on a jet that was 30,000 feet in the air, Ward having to take the 084 he had found in Peru from a rather inept agent who was aiming it at all the wrong places.
And while the weapons and prisoners escaping had been a nice bonus of storming the secure facility, he had one of the biggest prizes in his hands, countless files pertaining to the few agents high enough still affiliated in Shield to pose a threat to Hydra. Fury's paranoia keeping these out the wrong hands meant they only existed in hard copy, secured deep within the facility that had just raided. In his time as the Clairvoyant he had learned that the right information in the wrong hands could do more damage and provide more leverage than any weapon ever could.
Theo Tittle….
Satisfied no one was going to blow a hole in the plane for now he went back to his reading, what he was calling "Phil Coulson, The Early Years". Fury's favorite protégé topping the list of threats, holding all the information and assets he needed on the GH-325 as well as some of Fury's most closely guarded secrets. And right now he was regretting not killing him outright when he'd had the chance…multiple chances in fact. He had set tall, dark, and creepy on the Cellist, knowing it would draw Coulson out and force his attention away from Hydra's take over, if even if it was for a little bit.
Reading he found Phil's career differed so much from his own, distinguished from the beginning his cool head and ability to easily fit into any situation earning him a reputation even fresh out of the Academy. He didn't need to embellish or boast like Garrett did to get and keep attention. Everyone who worked with him just loved him from foot troops to the damn Avengers.
Theo Tittle….
"Damn it" he mutter to himself as that name popped into his head, as if his subconscious was screaming at him. Continuing on, his eyebrows raising. 27 Years ago Coulson had been on a long undercover mission in Scotland trying to root out a group of mercenaries who had been running weapons to a cell in New York. His alias had been Theo Tittle. There it was again, the name that had been nagging at him for what seemed like months now. Coulson's had used the alias a number of times over the years but he knew he'd read it somewhere else. Growling he set the file aside he pulled up the tablet that held all of his more recent Shield secrets, and did a simple search for the name. What came back caused him to blink, the air suddenly rushing out of his lungs. "WARD!" he shouted causing everyone in the cabin to jump and his protégé to nearly fall out of the seat he had been dozing in.
Ward had his gun out even before he was fully awake worried eyes looking to Garrett fearing an attack or another episode. He wasn't expecting a tablet to be shoved in his face, John bearing down on him like a hungry animal "Did you know!?" He demanded.
Unable to keep the annoyance out of his voice he put his gun down and shoved the tablet away, unable to read it right against his face "Know what?"
"The Engineer, Agent Fitz" Garrett said excitedly like he was a cat who had caught a canary "What did he tell you about his family?"
Now Ward was completely confused, Fitz's family, what the hell did that have to do with anything? "Not much, he didn't really talk about them and seeing as how my family isn't something to boast about I never really pried. I know he was raised by his mother, the father either ran out of them or was never in the picture. That genius brain of his got him all sorts of scholarships at a young age before eventually getting Shields attention. You want to tell me what is going on, why the sudden interest in the Kid?" Grant knew the interest and it wasn't sudden. Fitz was brilliant and in the short time he had known him come up with incredible creations. Garrett seeing them first hand when they had gone to the Guest House to get the serum for Skye. His mind unwillingly turning to after the fall of the Hub, before leaving to escort Garrett to the Fridge he had stumbled upon Fitzsimmons, huddled together in an abandoned lounge. Both appeared to be crying "He was going to take you…shoot you…torture you…and it would have been all my fault…" she murmured as Fitz rubbed her back muttering words of comfort Ward couldn't hear.
They were both incredibly valuable assets, the top of the wish list for years as they began to rise through the Academy. That wasn't why Garrett wanted them, he needed them, especially Fitz to come up with new components for the tech that was keeping him alive. And with Fitz doing it the upgrades he could be made to be more deadly than Mike Peterson. Simmons on the other hand had made more headway on the GH-325 than any of Hydra's scientist and that was only with her working on it in her free time.
Garrett gave him a knowing look "You know very well Fitz is a Specialists version of Santa Claus, the toys he has come up with …can you imagine what he could do with the proper motivation". Ward had to suppress a shutter, yes he could imagine what he could create, what he would do to protect someone he cared for. Finally getting to the point Garrett shoved the tablet at him again, finger pointing to Fitz's fathers name in his Bio. "Theo Tittle? Never heard of him…"
Now John laughed, almost skipping back to his seat and pulling up one of the files he had been reading. Ward read the page, feeling his jaw literally fall open "There is no way….Coulson would have never hidden that, not from him, not after everything we've been through" He said shaking his head doing the math in his head the dates lining up from Coulson's time in Scotland "…Honestly no way….there was never even a whiff…." Theo…Leo the mother had paid homage to the father in the name.
"Fury could have Tahiti'd it out of him or even better he never knew! Now that sounds more like Fury" Garrett said gleefully "A simple DNA test is all we'd need to confirm. We have him Grant! We finally have a way to take the indestructible Phil Coulson down! Saddle up you're going back in and we have a family reunion to prepare for."
Ward began to feel sick, his stomach twisting painfully, and he wasn't quite sure why.
To Be Continued….
A/N: Thanks for reading, hope you are all intrigued. Favs, follows, and reviews are always welcome!
