Missing Scenes, Making Friends and Influencing People, an agents of s.h.i.e.l.d. fanfic

Missing Scenes, "Making Friends and Influencing People"
by Sammie

SUMMARY: "Coulson and his team race against HYDRA to get to Donnie Gill - a dangerous gifted with the ability to freeze objects - while Simmons is caught in the crossfire." (episode speculation)

A/N:
- admittedly nowhere near my best work; it was pretty rushed. Plus, I figure this will never ever happen in canon...but this was begging to be written, so here it is. Hope somebody enjoys it.
- episode dialogue (from the sneak peak) in italics.
- references three ideas found in shineyma's story "A Right Decision," her soulmate AU series and offshoot stories, and "Still the Right Decision."

The others watched silently as Coulson paced the conference room in front of them. "This is the second gifted in two weeks," he said sharply. "Second!"

The others stood quietly as he continued to pace.

"We've had notice that Hydra's going to move, and we haven't been able to stop any of them. Two have died and we don't even know how many Hydra got to work for them."

Trip and Hunter exchanged sidelong glances.

Coulson shook his head, then waved to Skye. "Go ahead."

Skye tapped on her tablet, then gently pushed the screen forward and onto the large screen in front of them. "Two weeks ago we found the non-energy form of Living Laser. He'd been killed pretty brutally, with some science equipment that had put him out. High tech stuff had been used."

She tapped her screen, bringing up the screen for the next victim. "Radiation Man. Much simpler death method. Bullet through the head. This was two days ago."

"Rumors are that this is Hydra's recruiting," Coulson replied.

Trip and Hunter looked at him incredulously. "Recruiting?! You Yanks don't seem to understand the English language," Hunter muttered, even as Trip jabbed a thumb at the screen: "With all due respect, sir, this ain't successful recruitment."

Coulson ignored the comments. "There isn't much more we can do for them right now," he continued. "I'm concerned about those they do have on their payroll now - and others they're targeting."

"Like Creel," Hunter murmured.

"May sent this in about an hour ago, from where's she tracking another Hydra recruit in New York," Skye replied. "This report is in Minnesota."

"Super storm," Coulson continued. Skye clicked on a video report from the Weather Channel, listing strong hail and ice forming in the clouds. "Minnesota gets some doozies of storms, but this shows all the signs of it being unnatural."

"You believe it's a gifted?" Trip frowned.

"Donnie Gill," Skye replied, bringing up the SHIELD recruitment video. "We first met him when he and a classmate at SHIELD's Science and Technology Division Academy were building a machine to sell to Iain Quinn. His friend was killed in the experiment gone bad. Donnie absorbed the powers from the broken machine and can make ice trails with his fingers."

"Does he rule Arendelle?" Hunter asked dryly.

"He couldn't let any of it go," Trip added.

"He's taken time to see what he can do," Hunter offered.

"To test his limits and see if he can break through," Trip explained.

Coulson stared at them, an incredulous look on his face. "Really? Really?"

"Oh, I'm sure it's just a small coincidence that two students attempted to build an ice machine after Disney's internationally praised bastardization of Hans Christian Anderson's Snow Queen," Hunter said sarcastically.

Coulson opened his mouth to protest, then quickly shut it.

"He's got a point, man," Trip grinned, chuckling and holding up his hands in a 'what will you do' gesture.

"Let me just ask you something, Director Coulson," Hunter said, his eyes narrowed comically and leaning forward as if sharing a secret with the director. "When you come upon this Master Gill, how do you intend to help him control his abilities, hm? It wouldn't happen to be, say - " he paused for effect " - gloves?"

"No, of course not," Coulson snorted. "They're - " he looked sheepish now - "wristlets." As Trip started laughing, and Hunter looked smugly satisfied, Coulson waved at Skye. "Go on."

Skye bit her lip, but she couldn't stop the amused smile crossing her face. Grinning, she turned back to the screen. "Donnie was secured at the Sandbox after the incident."

"The Sandbox didn't fall," Trip replied, now back on task. "He should still be there."

"Except he's not," Coulson replied, returning to his businesslike tone. "He was supposed to be moved to Alaska but never made it. He was signed out by Level 5 Field Agent Perry Arthur."

"D-mn," Trip muttered.

"I suppose it's too much to suppose that's good news," Coulson sighed.

"Arthur was one of Garrett's students, for whom he was an SO," Trip replied.

Skye groaned. "Great. Was there any student Garrett hasn't corrupted?!"

Trip gave her an insulted look.

Skye shook her head. Did you see the guy at the end? I wouldn't trust any of the guys Garrett served with, either!"

At that, Coulson turned to her, an insulted look on his face.

"Present company excluded," she quickly amended, looking at the two SHIELD agents giving her weird looks.

Hunter just snorted and shrugged.

Trip turned to Coulson. "Arthur wasn't very subtle about his desire to rise in SHIELD. He wasn't there for the right reasons; rather, to climb the ladder. Very ambitious, willing to jump over others to gain position. Opportunistic. Even Garrett wasn't that fond of him - not the way he was of Ward."

"You believe he's with Hydra now?"

"Huh," Trip snorted. "Him? He'd have jumped ship the minute he saw SHIELD go down. I'd have suspected him before I suspected Garrett. Or Ward."

"Great," Coulson sighed. "Just great."

"Hydra is going to tear Donnie apart," Skye interjected. "We have to get to him first."

Coulson nodded. "Skye, talk to Ward. See what he knows about Hydra and how they treat gifteds. Hunter and Trip, find Donnie. Track him through the weather reports if you have to. I'm going to call May to return back to HQ, and I want us ready to go when she returns. Let's get to Donnie before Hydra does."

Ward shrugged as he continued to pace his cell. "Hydra's protocol on gifteds is pretty straightforward. An acquisition team is sent out to convince or to captured the gifted. If those two options are not possible, they'll take him out."

"Even if the gifted doesn't pose a threat," Skye said, in a tone that sounded unimpressed but not surprised.

"A gifted that refuses Hydra is a threat," Ward replied. "And threats are taken care of quickly."

"That's the difference between SHIELD and Hydra." Skye's voice held a note of pride - and defiance.

"And that's why Hydra will win," Ward retorted. "Because while a SHIELD agent is considering right and wrong, Hydra's already taken a shot."

Skye just stared back him, barely veiled disgust on her face. "All right. Tell me specifically about one gifted. Donnie Gill."

At that, Ward raised an eyebrow in amusement, his scar becoming briefly visible near hi hairline. Nevertheless, he acquiesced. "Of course Garrett was aware of Seth and Donnie. He was in touch with Ian Quinn the entire time. After Seth died and Donnie was transferred to the Sandbox and put on the index, Garrett used his clearance to find what had happened to Donnie and to where he was sent."

"And then?"

"After the Fridge fell, Garrett waited for things to die down, then sent an agent to retrieve Donnie. It wasn't that hard. Just sign him out in a transfer to a more secure location."

"And?"

"Arthur lost track of him. Not that Garrett was especially concerned about it at the time. He was more concerned about the GH325."

"I thought there was something you needed to see." Trip shifted on his feet. He looked around at the others, working around the lab, around Mack and Fitz. His eyes fell on the pair and lingered there a little longer than just a passing glance.

Coulson looked over, following where his eyes went. "Mack's good for him. He's pushing him, but gently."

"Yeah," the specialist agreed. "I'm glad." Trip broke his gaze, turning back to look at the director. "I'd like to talk to you in private, sir."

Coulson gave him a look, and the two of them went into his office. Trip shut and secured the door.

"Hunter and I got a lot of photos. We've been combing through them. That's when I saw this." Trip quickly swiped with two fingers. "Take a look at this one."

Coulson gave him a concerned look of puzzlement, then took the tablet. He tapped a few times, blowing up the image. He frowned, then set the tablet down.

Trip looked back at him steadily, saying nothing.

"Who have you told?" Coulson asked.

"Nobody, yet," Trip replied. "I don't believe we could take another blow like this."

"I'd like to keep this between us for now." Coulson's voice was icy.

"But sir - "

"I will figure out a way to deal with it. I'm getting tired of losing our best and brightest to Hydra."

Simmons paused at her doorway, fishing out her keys. Her eyes scanned the door, then suddenly paused as her eyes fell on the top right corner of the door. There was a piece of tape that was broken - from the door opening.

She carefully pulled her weapon out of her bag, then carefully slid the key into the door and slipped into the dark apartment. She slid her boots off, padding quietly through the apartment. As she approached her study, she noticed the light on - although she distinctly remembered turing it off that morning.

She pushed the door open quickly, stepping into the doorway and hold her gun forward.

The intruder turned, looking over his shoulder at the small scientist. "Dr. Simmons," her former SHIELD boss said sharply. "Did you think I wouldn't find out?"

She continued to point the gun at him but did not shoot.

"How could you?" He shook his head. "After what Ward did to you and to Fitz? To Victoria Hand? And why? Because they have good lab equipment?"

She said nothing.

"Is that why Ward jumped after you when you were sick? Because he knew it was too much of a loss for Hydra if you died? And Fitz? You two play him?" Coulson spat.

She continued to stare straight back at him, stoically still. "As a courtesy, Mr. Director," she said quietly, "I will permit you to leave my apartment without incident."

Coulson just shook his head, dropping the science file he had been looking at back onto her desk. "I don't believe disappointment even begins to cover it, Jemma," he said quietly.

There was a long silence. "I," she said deliberately, "am well aware for whom I work." She kept her gun trained on him. "Now, again, I will give you three minutes to leave peaceably, Director Coulson. Good night."

"Tell me about Simmons." Skye's voice was cold.

Ward blinked. "She's five-foot four. Two doctorate degrees. SHIELD scientist. Two parents. English, from Sheffield. Age of twenty-seven." He looked at Skye cautiously. "Why?"

"You told me you'd always tell the truth," Skye retorted, then repeated, "Tell me about Simmons."

"I don't know Simmons any more than you do," Ward snapped.

"You told me - ironically, the same day we met Donnie Gill! - that you knew that Fitz and Simmons were like rock stars in SHIELD," Skye shouted. "I want to know what Hydra told you. Tell me everything about Simmons!"

"It's exactly what I just told you," Ward replied sharply.

"You're lying. I know you're lying," Skye's voice sharp.

"I told you that I was only going to tell you - "

"Then explain this!" Skye thrust the tablet up against the see-through wall, showing the picture of Simmons, clearly wearing a a Hydra jacket and entering a Hydra research facility. "Not so smug now, huh?" she said, her tone one of satisfaction for having one-upped the prisoner.

Ward looked at the photo for a long time. "I did an analysis of every person on this team before I joined," he replied, his voice eerily calm and confident. "Jemma Simmons had a less than 1% chance of joining Hydra. Less than you, less than Fitz. Less than even Coulson."

"Well, I'd love to sit to remain to rub your mistakes in your face, but pictures don't lie." Skye yanked her tablet away. "If she's not choosing to do it, then is she in the Incentives Program?"

"That would most likely explain better her actions, but I'd be far more likely to assume even you or Coulson would fall for the Incentives Program than she would."

Skye looked briefly insulted, then schooled her features to a passive mask. "Why do you say that?"

"Coulson is loyal to people. Fury, for example. What wouldn't he do for Fury? Never mind that SHIELD was building a WMD with a Tesseract before the Battle of New York. You - you're loyal to Coulson. Simmons isn't."

"I can see that," Skye snorted sarcastically.

"Simmons is loyal to doing the right thing," Ward corrected. "That doesn't change. She doesn't compromise with somebody - somebody you'd call evil - for the sake of getting something she personally wants."

He pointed at the tablet. "She's not with Hydra."

May bent down, looking through the scope and testing the rifle. She looked tired, but she hid it well.

"You going to be OK in the field?" Trip asked, giving her a sidelong glance.

"Why wouldn't I be?" May said, her tone neutral - not at all defensive, but rather amused.

Trip chuckled. "I wouldn't question Melinda May's abilities," he joked, "except that she's been tailing another gifted for two weeks - alone. And she's barely been at headquarters long enough to take a whiz before we hit the skies again."

A trace smile tugged on the corner of May's lips. "Thank you for your concern. But I'll be fine."

Trip nodded. "Just, uh - if you want somebody to fly the bus while you catch a catnap, I'd be happy to do it."

May nodded. "Thank you."

He nodded, giving her a small, playful salute as they came into the briefing room, where Coulson was already speaking.

"...Donnie is hiding in a warehouse in St. Bonifacius. He'll be frightened, and SHIELD records indicate he does not have full control over his abilities; which means he might accidentally - "

" - start an ice storm if he's scared?" Trip sighed.

There was a beat.

"'Here I stand / In the light of day / Let the storm rage on'," Hunter whispered in a falsetto voice as Skye suddenly burst out in a giggle, then got herself under control. Trip had some more success schooling his features to calm.

Coulson glared at Hunter, then continued, "We'll use the ICERs on Donnie. Hydra, shoot to kill if necessary." Coulson gave them all a meaningful look.

As May headed off towards the cockpit, Skye paused, looking at Coulson. "But - don't you believe we should capture her?"

"And if we can, we will," he replied, not looking at her as he gathered the items off the computer table. "But I'm not going to risk more agents' lives for one traitor. We all saw what happened last time."

Hunter crouched by the door to the warehouse, looking across the large expanse to the next walkway, where Coulson and Trip where hiding. Trip threw him a thumbs up.

The door to the warehouse slid open almost silently.

Hunter signaled, holding his index and middle finger out to the left and curling the other two fingers into his palm. He held his palm forward, then held up his index finger; he dropped his hand, then held it up again, palm forward, and held up two fingers.

"H - for Hydra - twelve," Trip murmured. "Hope all twelve guys aren't armed."

The two men peered around the corner at Hunter. From a distance, the mercenary dropped his hand, then held it up in the shape of a gun and made a firing motion. He dropped his hand yet again and held it up, palm facing forward; he held up his three fingers, forming a circle with his middle finger and his thumb.

"Guns - eight," Coulson whispered, reading Hunter's signals. "They must have some non-combatants with them."

The five agents carefully tracked the Hydra acquisition team through the building, following them as they worked their way through the the warehouse.

One lone gunman tracked right past where Trip and Coulson were hiding. Trip, using a crowbar, struck him hard in the sternum, knocking the air out of him. The man went down, Trip grabbing the gun before it hit the ground in a clatter; then as the man fell, he hit him again on the back with the bar. It was effortlessly silent.

Coulson winced at each blow, then stood over the fallen body. "What happened noise and the funk?" he whispered.

Trip just grinned as he holstered the gun and snapped on a pair of cuffs. "I'm a man of many talents."

"They've made contact," Hunter whispered into his coms. "I believe this might be the 'convincing' part."

"C'mon, Donnie," Coulson muttered. "Do the right thing, kid."

There was some more talk, and then two of the Hydra agents reached forward, each grabbing one of his arms, the others leveling their guns.

"And they've amped up the convincing," Skye radioed.

Donnie struggled, fighting back, pulling his arms desperately, trying to get free. He started to reach out with his hand, shooting ice towards one of the Hydra agents and freezing him. Another nearby quickly moved forward, also getting frozen in the process. They brought out what appeared like a large band for the wrist and started forward to put it on him, and the shouting and hollering began.

"Fire at will," Coulson radioed, and soon the wide floor exploded with gunfire as SHIELD fired down below, taking care to take out the others first. Hunter picked off the two holding Donnie, and the kid began to run. The Hydra agents returned fire, even as one of them broke rank and started to run after Donnie. Several steps in, the jacket hood of one of the noncombatant agents flew off.

Skye's gasp was audible even over the intercoms. Soon there were gunshots peppering the floor in front of Simmons, and she ducked behind a crate before continuing to run after Donnie.

"Stop that firing!" May shouted, her voice blaring over the intercoms. "STOP THAT FIRING!"

"What the h - " Hunter's voice was furious.

Trip ignored the order, lining up a shot on Simmons and following her trajectory towards Donnie. Suddenly there was a shot, pinging hard against the barrel of his rifle, causing him and Coulson to jump back as Trip scrambled to get purchase on the weapon.

When the smoke cleared, they saw May staring at them from across the expanse, pointing a rifle straight at them.

The three of them trailed behind as Coulson stomped onto the bus, a furious May on his tail. Hunter was looking a little amused, and Trip and Skye both grimly upset.

"So, is this a normal operation?" Hunter asked, his tone half-irritated, half-amused. "Discovering that your supervising officers are Hydra?"

Trip and Skye both glared.

"Still a touchy subject, I see." Hunter shrugged. "Hope Coulson didn't trust the wrong old friend, this time."

"Coulson is a good man," Skye argued.

"Whose old friend just shot at our resident specialist," Hunter replied, nodding at Trip. He grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and sprawled on the couch, his feet propped up on the table.

"Feet off the table," Skye snapped.

"I'll take my feet off your furniture permanently when your boss pays," Hunter retorted. "And then I'm out of here. I didn't sign on to get shot at by my own side."

"D-MM-T, MAY!" Coulson exploded the minute they were in his office, whirling around in fury on her. "Am I going to have to shoot you right now?! Give me one good reason not to suspect you're Hydra!"

May just glared back. "That was Simmons, Coulson!"

"Arriving with the Hydra acquisition team!" he retorted. "Tell me what I am supposed to believe!"

"How about the benefit of the doubt?" May snapped. "We didn't even question Ward despite the fact that Garrett was his SO. We held off on Deathlok. But we see Simmons and we start shooting?"

"She is Hydra, May. We've had photo confirmation before today."

May straightened, her eyes narrowing. "Hold on. You've been tailing her before today? You were aware of this before today? And you kept this from me?"

"You were on a mission. If you remember, you flew in and we took off to get Donnie immediately. There wasn't time."

May shook her head. "You should have told me," she bit off.

"Look, I know you liked Simmons, and how difficult - "

"You should have told me!" May snapped. She was furious - not sad, not apologetic - furious.

Coulson recoiled a moment, surprised at the reaction, before fighting back. "I am the director of SHIELD," he retorted. "If I choose not to disclose information to - "

May slammed both of her hands down on the tabletop, palms down. Instead of shouting, her voice became a near whisper: cold, deadly, furious. "Simmons is working for me."

Perry Arthur continued to run after the two as the shooting continued. He caught up, passing her and shooting at Donnie. One shot from a sleepy-sleep projectile took Gill out, sending the teenager falling to the floor.

"All right, let's get him in the car," Simmons replied shortly, reaching down to pick up the legs of the now prone and unconscious boy.

"We wouldn't have to do this at all if we hadn't met up with your old friends."

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "We wouldn't have to do this at all if you hadn't lost track of him in the first place," she said contemptuously. "Who lost him on the way out of the Sandbox?"

Arthur bristled at the reminder of his own incompetence. "It's not like you know good field agents. Your precious Agent Ward is sitting in a SHIELD detention facility."

"At least he can say it took the Cavalry to take him down," Simmons retorted as she climbed into the passenger seat of the unmarked vehicle. "You got bested by a teenager with little control over his abilities - and then by me. Let me remind you I failed my first SHIELD field test."

Arthur glared at her retreating back.

"Where do you believe that tip off came from, to start looking into the gifteds on the index?" May snapped. "That was the first tip she sent me."

"Why the - do you know that Fitz is going crazy without her here? And you sent Simmons into the field?! You know she failed her field test!" Coulson shouted.

"Fitz was suffering whether or not she was here," May retorted. "He was using her as a crutch, present or not, and she didn't know how not to be one. She was right in saying it was better for Fitz if she left. And if I didn't send her, who would I send, huh?"

May grabbed a file out of the desk and threw it onto the desk with force, the photos scattering across the tabletop and some falling to the floor. "Episode after episode!" she hissed, pointing at the photos of the alien writing, each meticulously labeled by sequence and date. "Every few weeks, more of this. And nobody to help us document it."

She shook her head. "She told me you refused to let her upload the GH325 results to SHIELD's database. She can't solve it without more help."

"So you let her go to Hydra?!" Coulson shot back.

"Who else has that information, Phil?" May challenged him. "Who? If Simmons had been allowed to upload to SHIELD's database when she asked, she would be more advanced in her studies. Sure, Hydra would have seen it, but she has never hidden her research. Now Hydra is light years ahead of her on it, having Garrett's blood and documentation of what he went through."

She straightened. "Why is Skye not sick? Is she in danger? Are you in danger? Why are you having episodes? Why did Garrett react immediately to the serum but it took you two years before you began to have episodes? What do we do to counter it? What does it mean? Please, Phil, if you have answers, tell me!"

She paused, waiting. When he gave no answer, but at least had the shame to look contrite, May softened her tone. "Fury gave me a job, to look after you. I brought Simmons on this team to heal your body. We all joined to defend the innocent. So, yes, I sent Simmons undercover in Hydra, and she went because we needed her to be there."

"There you are!" Simmons smiled gently as the teen started awake, lying on the mattress in the small motel. "I hope you don't hurt too much."

Donnie blinked awake, looking around the small room and then at her. He then tugged at the handcuffs on him. "Stay away from me," Donnie said, holding his hand out towards her. "Don't come near me. I heard about Hydra all over the news. I know exactly what you're capable of."

"It's not what you believe, Donnie," Simmons said, her voice gentle but urgent.

"That SHIELD civil war," he said, shaking his head in horror as his eyes fell on her jacket insignia. "That potentiality talk. Did you mean any of it? What side did you end up on?"

She looked at him steadily. "The right one, Donnie."

He squirmed away from her. "So where's Agent Fitz?"

"He's...not here. He was...is...still recovering from a terrible accident."

"That you caused?" he exclaimed, horrified. "How do I know you didn't cause it?"

A brief moment of guilt flickered across her face before that same, calm mask dropped back over it. She said nothing.

"Hydra transmissions say Arthur is currently with Simmons and Donnie," Coulson said, pointing up at the large screen on which they projected their latest information. "This is our one opportunity to intercept - before the Hydra welcome wagon arrives."

"We'll follow the transmissions, then," Skye replied. "Should be simple enough. And Simmons won't stop us, we'll allow her to escape with Arthur to keep her cover."

"Arthur's gone dark," May replied shortly. "Even Hydra's looking for him. He hasn't made contact in four days. And we have no way of getting a message to Simmons without alerting Arthur. He would be the contact person."

"Can Simmons get a message to us through those hidden frequencies?" Coulson asked.

"Last time we had contact we still didn't know about those," May shook her head. "So no, she doesn't know about the availability of those Hydra frequences."

"She's in there blind?" Trip frowned.

"She did what she had to do," May replied calmly. "Now we've gotten a chance to separate Donnie from Hydra. We got to do it before they get to him."

"Trip. You know Perry Arthur best. How do we follow him?"

Trip shook his head. "Don't know him that well," he said regretfully. "I came on board not long after he left." He paused a minute, then took a deep breath. "There is somebody who knows him well."

"Haven't you heard?" The man lying on the cot said with a drolly laidback tone as the door to the vault opened and then shut, and two pairs of footsteps came down to floor level. "I only talk to Skye."

"He's talking to us to say he only talks to Skye," muttered a sarcastic English man. "You Yanks truly don't understand English, do you."

That got a reaction. Ward turned his head, looking at the newcomer with interest, but said nothing.

"Whoa." Hunter blinked when he saw the man's full beard. "I am horribly tempted to start singing the Lumberjack Song."

Trip grinned at that, however dire the circumstances were. "The three of us can have a beard contest."

"I believe he already won," Hunter replied, still looking a bit horrified.

The door opened behind them, and May appeared with what seemed to be a slim bag. "Did you talk to him yet?"

"Nope. We were here long enough for him to tell us he wasn't talking to us and for Hunter to complain about his facial hair," Trip replied easily.

"My eyes are literally bleeding," Hunter commented.

"'Literally'? Now who doesn't understand the English language?" Trip returned.

"Metaphorically," Hunter corrected.

May shook her head, then turned to face Ward. "You might not want to talk, but you will listen. We need help tracking Perry Arthur."

Ward simply stared up at the ceiling.

"He's regained custody of Donnie Gill after breaking him out of the Sandbox."

Ward folded his hands over his chest and closed his eyes.

"He's got Simmons, too, and Hydra is on their tail."

There was no big change, but his jaw tightened, as did his fingers.

"We need to extract Gill before Hydra reacquires all of them. We also need to do so without blowing Simmons' cover."

At that, Ward opened his eyes. He stared at the ceiling a moment, then sat up and turned to the group in his cell and looked straight at May. "Coulson is a fool," was the only thing he said.

"Coulson didn't send her undercover," May replied easily. "I did."

Ward narrowed his eyes, staring her down for a moment. He shook his head and went and lay down on his bunk again, folding his hands across his chest and closing his eyes. His body was still tense. "Then that's your problem."

"Is it?" May held up the bag. "We're going to let you out - provided you wear this subdermal tracker. You will go, unarmed, with me. It's your choice."

Ward opened his eyes, then got up. May and Hunter released the doors together, and Ward stood still as Hunter and Trip each slipped on tags on their wrists, allowing them to walk past the laser-protected wall without incident. Trip slipped one on his wrist and the two them brought him forward.

May walked around him, then carefully shot the chip between his shoulder blades She circled around to the front as Hunter and Trip continued to hold him, then leaned forward until they were face to face, her mouth near his ear. She barely needed to whisper to be heard. "You better catch her if she falls."

The small van rolled along, its "Roto-Rooter" signature face beaming at the cars who went by. Inside sat Coulson, Skye, and May, the latter with a gun pulled on their prisoner. In the car behind them sat Hunter and Trip.

"Are we insane?" Hunter was murmuring.

"Yes," Trip replied with an easy, merry grin. "Don't you love it?"

"I love being alive," Hunter muttered. "Was it a good idea to bust him out?"

"May seems to believe so."

"Good thing Skye is in that van with him. She can control him."

"Mm," Trip murmured in agreement. "We'll see what happens with that."

"This better be the place," Coulson muttered as they pulled up to the small motel. "You sure they'd pick here? Looks - "

" - like a dump," Skye muttered. She looked at Ward. "Seriously?"

Ward shrugged. His handcuffs jingled, the metal cuffs joined by a long chain between them.

"Arthur did move around a lot as a child, living in and out of motels and shelters," May replied. "He also knows this area pretty well. He was based out of here for a while."

"We got company!" Trip's voice came over the intercom, followed by two door slams and firing. "They're here!"

"Get the office to get the guests out of here," Coulson barked at Skye as he and May jumped out of the vehicle. "Then come back to the car!"

"What's that?" Donnie asked, frowning as his eyes widened. "Is that gunfire? But - "

Arthur unholstered his gun, pointing it at the door. Simmons grabbed Donnie, pulling him into the bathroom and locking the door, then opening the window and pushing the screen out, forcing him to climb out. She shuttled him towards the back, sliding behind the square fence which hid the large garbage receptacles. The stench was awful.

"Donnie, now listen to me. Listen carefully." She pulled out a buzzer and punched it, and the electric system in the hotel suddenly went black. The handcuffs on him went black, too, the light blinking out. "I can't take the cuffs off without alerting Hydra, but the electronics should be off permanently. Just wear them until you get to New York."

She handed him a ticket. "This Amtrak will take you straight into New York. Don't stop, don't look back."

He blinked at her, confused.

"Look for Stark Tower."

There was more gunshots outside, and shouting.

"Walk in. Go up to the security guard and say exactly this: 'Hi, I'm Donnie Gill. I heard there was trouble on the hill, and so they sent in the cavalry, and here I am.' You'll be taken to see Mr. Stark and the former Commander Hill. They'll keep you safe. Repeat it to me."

"'Hi, I'm Donnie Gill. I heard there was trouble on the mountain, and so they sent in the cavalry, and here I am.'"

"'Hill', Donnie! 'Hill'!"

"'Hi, I'm Donnie Gill. I heard there was trouble on the hill, and so they sent in the cavalry, and here I am.'"

"Again!"

"'Hi, I'm Donnie Gill. I heard there was trouble on the hill, and so they sent in the cavalry, and here I am.'"

"Again!"

"'Hi, I'm Donnie Gill. I heard there was trouble on the hill, and so they sent in the cavalry, and here I am.'"

"All right." She squeezed his hand. "All the best, Donnie. Please don't forget the things I said that day. I meant them. I'll tell Hydra you went to the bathroom and escaped."

Suddenly there was a shot. Simmons slid the door open slightly to peek out and back towards their room; Arthur lay in a puddle on the ground. Simmons waved Donnie out, and the two began to run. They turned a corner.

Ward stood there, gun in hand, his wrists still tied together with a two-foot handcuff and chain.

Simmons gasped, and Donnie stared at him, then back at the gun pulled on Simmons. "Agent Ward? But - " he turned to her. "You betrayed - you really are with Hydra! You - " He started backing away.

"No, Donnie, it wasn't me," she begged. "Ward - he was the one who went with Hydra. He turned! Donnie, wait - don't - "

The youth raised one of his hands, the now dead wristlets not stopping his powers from engaging.

"Stop, Donnie." Ward's voice was firm, causing Simmons to whip around to look at him. "Don't think about it."

The boy shot out something at the both of them. Simmons was hit square in the back; Ward dove to the side, the shot meant for him missing easily. Donnie began to run, even as storm clouds began to gather and hail began to fall.

Ward groaned as he was pelted with hail, getting up just to see Simmons fall. Her lips were blue, and her fingertips were turning blue, and her hair beginning to whiten. "Simmons?" He rolled her over. Ice was beginning to creep up her skin, and it was slowly frosting over.

"Hydra got here faster than we figured," Trip muttered as they finally looked around. Talbot was arresting several of the Hydra members, and the few SHIELD members were gathered inside one of the hotel rooms. "Arthur must have contacted them."

"Arthur's dead now," May replied. "Every room's been searched. Donnie must have been taken by one of the other Hydra members. Simmons is gone, too."

"And how do we know she didn't take him back to Hydra?" Hunter pointed out. At their looks, he shrugged. "Hey. You were the ones who believe she turned, not me."

Skye approached then, her face grim. "Ward's gone."

| | Ward slammed his foot down on the gas, even as his fingers fiddled with the heater on the small sedan. He turned everything up, both power and heat. "Simmons?"

Her teeth was chattering.

"Tell me what you need."

"No - no - thing. Nothing - from - from y - you."

"D-mm-t!" he exclaimed. "This is not the time!"

He wheeled into a hospital, but sirens started going off the minute he pulled up towards the door. He blinked in surprise, then peeled out of the lot. Within a few minutes, the horns at the hospital suddenly stopped.

He paused, his brow furrowed in thought as he mentally flipped through the possibilities as to why the siren had gone off. The tracker. He reached back and felt along his shoulder blades to the point where he could feel the still sore bump.

Next to him, ice began to form on Simmons' hair. The teeth rattling slowly began to die out, replaced by a numb look on her face.

He veered off the road into an empty parking lot and parked the car. He leaned over. "Simmons. Simmons, look at me." She was unresponsive.

He jumped out of the car. He popped the trunk and found a blanket in the back. He yanked open the passenger door and started to pull off her now iced clothing; her dazed look and lack of response at what he was doing and who he was said everything.

She blinked, and then her eyes did not open again. The lids were frozen closed, but she didn't seem to realize this, either. He quickly lay down and pulled the blanket over them both, then blew hot breath on her face. The ice dripped down her face as water. "Open your eyes. Simmons." Getting no response, he changed his voice to a hard bark, that of a drill sergeant. "Agent Simmons! Front and center!"

They fluttered, then opened slowly, heavily. Her eyes were confused and glazed over. She looked up at him, bleary and completely disoriented.

He wrapped her tightly in the blanket, then quickly searched through her clothing pockets and found a knife. He climbed into the driver's side, then picked the lock on his cuffs.

He then carefully leaned forward and bit down on the steering wheel. He reached back and felt for the tracker, then slowly sliced it open and pulled out the tracker. Feeling around, he found an old take-out bag in the car and threw it inside, then wrapped it and the cuffs up and tossed it in the back of a pick-up truck, then ripped off his sleeve to blot the blood.

That done, he started up the car and turned back towards the hospital.

"Let's activate that tracker," Coulson barked at Skye. "May, you're with me. Trip and Hunter, get on the trail of Donnie. See if you can figure out where he would've gone. Family, friends, whatever."

Skye clicked on her computer, activating the tracker. "It's stationary, in the parking lot of a nearby shopping mall."

"Stationary?" Coulson asked with a frown.

"Let's worry about the implications later," May called as they climbed back into the car.

Ward watched as the emergency room wheeled Simmons into the ER. Doctors and nurses rushed around her.

"You, sir? Did you hurt yourself?"

"I'm - uh - it's a gash from - going after her when she went into the lake," he said, clamping down on the cut on his shoulder blades. "I'm fine. It's not deep."

The nurse looked doubtfully at him.

"I'm fine, really."

"We'll need you to sign some paperwork for your girlfriend."

"Yeah, of course." He smiled as charmingly as he could, then took the clipboard and started completing it. He altered his handwriting and put down a false name.

After a couple of minutes, a doctor came out and spoke quietly to the nurse, who frowned. The doctor then moved and spoke to the security guard. The nurse turned, then headed straight back to her desk. Surreptitiously - but not enough for the former SHIELD specialist to miss - she picked up the phone.

Ward got up, handing the clipboard to one of the passing nurses. He gave her a dazzling smile and asked for the nearest bathroom. She pointed down the hallway, and he headed down there quickly.

He passed a room - he could see Simmons inside, the doctors finishing up. Outside was her file with the fake name he'd given. As he approached the hallway with the bathroom, he heard a doctor talking. "Call...Talbot...hotline. Possible hostile." Ward closed his eyes a moment, looking down the hallway towards the open doorway. He then headed to the bathroom.

The fire alarm went off and the sprinklers turned on, soaking the room. There was shouting, a mad scramble, as doctors and nurses rushed for patients. Ward, now dressed in scrubs, quickly slipped through the hallways and into Simmons' room.

"C'mon. We're getting out of here."

"Cold. Wanna sleep."

Ward snapped the top of the bed down so she was lying flat, then carefully covered her hair and pulled the blanket up to her chin to hide as much as he could of her face. He wheeled her out, moving with all the different beds in a rush out of the hallway.

"He's good," May said, shaking her head as they stood next to the truck, holding up the cuffs. "Best marks since Tasha's."

Skye looked at the food wrapper, unwrapped and revealing the bloodied tracker. "I should have stayed in the car."

"The question is if he plans to sell Simmons out," May sighed. "Considering he threw her and Fitz overboard, my hopes are not great."

Ward tumbled into the small motel room, dumping her body onto the bed. He quickly stripped the sheets off the other one and unwrapped her from the blanket and laid her on the mattress and tucked her in. She barely reacted.

Changing his mind, he ran to the bathroom and started up the water, turning it hotter. Before it was even full, he came back, pulling her out of bed and carrying her over, laying her down in the small bathtub and shutting the windows and the vents. He then turned on the blow dryer, holding it carefully and trying to heat up her hair.

She coughed, struggling to keep her eyes open.

"Simmons."

"Cold."

"Stay awake."

For a moment, she seemed to spark, now awake. Then her eyes slowly slid shut.

Swearing, he quickly switched off the blow dryer and grabbed her head and shoulders as she slipped into the water. He knelt by the tub, holding her head above water level.

When the water cooled, he started to let it run out, replacing it with warm water again. When she seemed to reach the point of just pale and no longer blue and sickly, he dried her off and wrapped her in the bed blankets and then a Mylar blanket before putting her into the bed. "What do you need? You have to tell me what you need."

"Gl - need - don't remember." She seemed confused.

"You have to remember." When there was no response, he smacked her face lightly. "Simmons!"

She started awake, looking at him, disoriented. She blinked, then looked at him again. "Ward?"

"Yeah. Tell me what medicines you're going to need."

It didn't seem to register. She looked at him, then began to cry. "The bus - the bus - did I - are they - "

He stared at her a moment, then seemed to realize why she was so upset. "They're fine," he said, as reassuringly as he could, slipping back into his SHIELD persona. "They're fine. You jumped out of the plane early enough, you discharged far away enough. They're all fine. They'll come get you."

That seemed to relieve her of her fears, and although a few more tears leaked out - he quickly wiped those away before they became ice - she seemed to settle down.

"Simmons, I need to know what medicines you need. Hypothermia."

"Glucose - lowers my freezing temperature. Bre - her - I don't remember. Ber - ty - bre - ty - li - warm liquids."

He picked up a burner phone, then turned it on and turned on the video screen. "I'm going to the hospital. I'm going to show you the medicines on the phone. You have to watch on the screen, OK? When I show you the label, you tell me what you need."

She nodded.

Ward walked the hallway in his scrubs and white lab coat, the stethoscope strung around his neck. He swiped himself into the medicine storage locker and turned around, then headed for the corner for the emergency drugs for arrhythmia. He held up his phone.

"I'm going to show you the labels," he whispered. "Tell me which one you need."

He held up the phone, showing her the labels of the different medicines. "No. No. No. No." This went on shelf after shelf, before it finally went quiet.

"Simmons?"

He snatched the phone away, to see her eyes glazing over on screen. The phone slipped away and soon he was looking up at the popcorn ceiling.

"Simmons!" He looked around and grabbed a tray off the shelf, then swept the last shelf's worth of medicine into the tray and put it into a case before grabbing a syringe and disappearing.

Three days later, the five agents crawled back into the Playground. Coulson came in first, his face grim and still. May followed him, her fury under her quiet control. Trip opened the door, waving Skye through first. Hunter threw his helmet at the wall, and it bounced off and hit the ground before skittering across the floor. No one said anything.

"Koenig, please lock the hatch, please," Coulson called out tiredly as he hit the button shutting the enormous steel doors and engaging the first mag lock. He waited for the click of the computer to show the security lock was engaged, but there was no sound. "Koenig?"

The agents looked at each other, and instantly weapons came up. They moved through the cargo bay, then deeper into the Playground.

The lab was empty. Fitz was nowhere to be found.

Skye inhaled sharply.

There was a pounding coming from inside the bus. The door was locked, so Trip jerry-rigged it to force the ramp down. Inside was Mack, locked and bolted with steel doors in the lab. He was wild, slamming against the glass, where there was already a crack.

Skye raced up, punching in codes and overriding the system. The door whooshed open.

"He's here. Ward locked me in."

"He's here?" Coulson asked, incredulous.

"He was, anyhow," Mack replied, running down the ramp. "He was carrying a body or something - three hours ago. I came into the lab and he and Fitz facing off, and given how Fitz was reacting, it was not good. He knocked Fitz out cold, and took me out pretty fast. That guy's good."

They found all three in the living area. Simmons was fast asleep, wrapped tightly in a space foil blanket. Koenig and Fitz were both still tied up, handcuffed to each other and to the railing separating the dining from the living areas.

Trip leaned over and picked the Post-it note off Simmons forehead, holding it up for the others to see. On it was scrawled, 'Train her'.

The mechanic held up two post-its on his one hand. "Says the same thing on these two, stuck to Fitz and Koenig's foreheads."

May came in, a post-it in hand. She stopped short when she saw the others with the notes. "See you got them, too. Found this on our security camera in the wall." She held up the note, which read 'Crappy security.'

"Get up the security feeds," Coulson barked at Skye. "We need to figure out what rooms he went to before he left, what he took before he left."

He turned to May as Skye scooted off. "How dangerous is he?"

"He was plenty dangerous to everybody he killed," May replied dryly.

"And now?"

"He ran the minute he could. I wouldn't exactly say remorseful."

Suddenly the door slammed open, and guns immediately went up. Skye was standing in the doorway, breathless. "Ward is still here. He's sitting in his cell, right outside that lasered wall."

Skye watched, frowning with a confused look on her face. She tapped the screen, and the panels slid open. Ward stepped into them and she shut the panels. He did not look at her. "Don't believe you doing this constitutes us trusting you," she said sharply.

He said nothing, just sat down on the bed. He did not look at her.

"I'm sending Trip down to search you in a second. You better cooperate."

Silence.

"I'll bet you helped Hydra get Donnie. More valuable to them than you are, huh?"

He simply said nothing, just stared blankly at his hands.

"What, now you don't want to talk?"

Getting no answer, she shook her head and proceeded to close up the cell. She turned to go when he finally spoke. "Who treated me when I tried to commit suicide?"

Skye turned. "Like you don't know."

His voice was dull and quiet. "I was given a sedative each time. I don't remember."

"I doubt that!"

"Believe what you want." Ward lay down on the bed and rolled over so his back was facing her.

Skye paused. "Simmons. Coulson made Simmons come down to treat you every time. Why?"

There was a very long silence. "I'd like to speak to Agent May, please."

Frowning and slightly baffled, Skye turned to leave.

There was a quiet knock on the door. "Come in," Coulson called, and the door opened to reveal May. She shut the door after herself and came and stood before his desk. "Long day."

She nodded. "You all right?"

"Besides losing our prisoner for a few days and having a scientist suffering from hypothermia? The losing a gifted to Hydra?" He sighed. "I do have to say - I'm sorry for reaming you. I am relieved to know Simmons is not Hydra."

She nodded. They said nothing for awhile, and then she spoke. "Ward is willing to speak with you on whatever you want."

Coulson blinked. "On what condition?"

"He gave none."

Coulson frowned.

"He does make a request."

"I knew it."

"He wants Simmons and Fitz sent to Stark Industries. He knows you know Stark, he knows I know Hill. He wants them there. Medical treatment for Fitz, and the two of them could help Stark and Banner. He believes it's safer for them there."

"Is this a plan to get them out of SHIELD?" Coulson asked suspiciously.

"Look, regardless of his motives, it's true they're already not doing much here," May argued. "Fitz isn't getting the care and training he needs to adjust to what happened to him, and Simmons most likely can't safely go back to Hydra now."

"That's Ward's condition for helping us?" Coulson asked suspiciously.

"That's his personal request. He wanted me to see it through. He doesn't trust you," she said frankly.

The director frowned at that, then shook it off. They looked at each other for a long moment, and then Coulson asked quietly, "Do you believe his reaction is honest?"

May sighed. "Who knows? I'm not going to treat him any differently than we have before."

"I didn't ask what you intend to do going forward. I'm asking whether or not you believe his reaction is honest."

She paused, then said shortly, "Yes, I do."

"Why?" His tone was simply inquiring, not defensive or challenging.

"Before, he'd say things like he didn't blame Garrett for his actions. But of course he didn't; he adored Garrett. He blamed his family. He gave excuses to Skye. He'd try to bring up information he knew she'd want. Even now - just before we left to chase down Fitz and Simmons - he was talking about his family. Her father."

"And?"

She shrugged. "Just talking to him this past hour was different. He had nothing to say about his actions, to try to excuse them or to say he was hoping FitzSimmons had survived the fall or trying to defend himself by saying he hadn't shot them. There was no self-defense at all."

She paused. "For example - when he met Fitz face to face. Ward didn't say anything about what happened, but he kept asking what Fitz was doing for therapy and how long he'd been in it. If he wanted information on Fitz's science, he would have asked probing questions about what he was working on, but there was none of that, not even about whether or not Fitz could work in a lab."

"And Simmons?"

"Donnie panicked and shot at them both. He ducked; Simmons got hit. Nearly frozen. Severe hypothermia. He couldn't get into a hospital because of his tracker and Talbot's BOLO on SHIELD agents. He used one of his old SHIELD aliases to get a doctor for her."

"Disorientation?"

"Pretty bad. The doctor said she should recover." May was quiet a moment, then added quietly, "I had to press him. He said, rather unwillingly, that while she was disoriented she kept crying - just silent tears, constantly - always murmuring about people dying - Fitz underwater, Skye shot, you, her Chitauri virus killing us."

They were quiet a moment before Coulson spoke. "Mack moved Fitz and Simmons to their different rooms. He said the same; just very disturbed sleep. He asked me if she could take something."

May shrugged in acknowledgment. "Most likely what he saw." She took a deep breath. "Ward also knows now Simmons patched him up during his suicide attempts. He didn't mention it, but it was most likely from her talking in her sleep."

Coulson sighed, sitting down and rubbing his forehead.

"I believe we might have turned a corner, in all honesty," May finally said, her voice soft and gentle.

"You're not serious." Coulson looked up, shocked. "This could be a play for sympathy."

"It could be," May acknowledged. "It always could be. But there's no reason for Ward to change so suddenly now, after being a creepy Hannibal Lecter for the past several weeks."

"You believe seeing the effect on Fitz changed his view," Coulson concluded.

"I do. I believe seeing Fitz played a huge part. He was always fond of Fitz." May thought for a moment. "But I believe it was Simmons, too."

When Coulson frowned, May just smiled a little, sadly. "Garrett was abandoned by SHIELD to die in Sarajevo, and he joined Hydra," the woman explained softly. "Simmons was abandoned by SHIELD, to be thrown out of plane when she was sick, and she was worried more about her parents and then jumped out herself to save us - and then came back to SHIELD without a bit of bitterness. Ward, in his loyalty to Garrett, threw her and Fitz out of the plane, sending them plunging into the ocean. She sewed him up and patched him every time he tried to commit suicide, and she didn't do it half-heartedly."

May smiled softly. "Ward was right: while a SHIELD agent is busy deciding between right and wrong, a Hydra agent has already taken a shot." She paused. "If we're deciding right and wrong on the field, it's too late. We have to decide the ethical thing now, when we're in our right minds, when we're not emotional, when we're calm. Simmons already knows what is right. She applies it consistently."

Coulson was silent.

"When we win this war, Phil," May said softly, "it will be on the backs of people like Jemma Simmons."

The young man rubbed at the black, three-inch wristlets. They were chafing. He looked around, then up at the tower. He started to walk towards it, then stopped.

"Pretty amazing-looking building, isn't it?"

He turned quickly to see a friendly blond man looking down at him - most likely in his early thirties.

"Perhaps a little gaudy," the man acknowledged, his blue eyes twinkling. "OK, a lot." That got a little smile out of the kid.

"It's pretty neat, what Mr. Stark does," the youth said, his voice a little awed. "I love machines and stuff."

"I'm sure you'd get along great with him," the blond snorted in amused laughter. "You know they give tours. You don't get to see all they're doing, but you get to see a few floors."

"A tour?" The boy looked interested. "I didn't know about that."

"C'mon. I'm actually headed in there for a little business. I'll take you." The blond slung a friendly hand around his shoulder. "New York's different. It changes so much all the time. It's nice to know there's actually something legitimate going on in this tower, to protect again from things like the Chitauri invasion."

At, the young man blinked. "Did you see it?"

"Battle of New York? Oh, yeah, I saw a bit of it." The blond walked him in past the revolving doors. "Hi, Henry!"

"Hi, Steve." The big, burly security guy greeted him with a big smile. "Mr. Stark's right upstairs. He's waiting for you."

"Thanks." The blond ran his hand through the neatly parted hair. "I believe this young man is here to visit." The blond winked and waved as he left, leaving the youth with just a view of the beaten leather jacket as the vaguely familiar face left.

He walked up to the security man.

"Hi, son," the big African-American guard greeted him. "Playing hooky from school to come see Stark Tower?"

"Something like that." The youth rubbed his hands nervously on his pants.

The guard laughed. "Well, I won't tell your teachers or your parents. There's a tour in half-an-hour."

"Oh," he murmured.

"What's your name, kid?"

The young man took a deep breath. "I'm Donnie Gill. I heard there was trouble on the hill, and so they sent in the cavalry, and here I am."

At that, the security guard's kind look disappeared. He eyed the young man, then hit a button on his walkie talkie. Immediately Stark Tower locked down.

Within a few minutes, Maria Hill appeared, trailed by several guards. Pepper Potts appeared from the side door, followed by Tony Stark and the blond from earlier - Steve - now with his brow furrowed and his blue eyes narrowed. The others on the floor froze.

Hill walked straight towards him. "Who are you?"

"My name is Donnie Gill," he repeated. "I was one of the SHIELD SciOps kids. I was told to come here."

"By whom?" Hill said sharply.

He swallowed. "By a friend."

END