Just a little Ward/Simmons-ish future AU I had stuck in my brain. grammar may be atrocious. This is all Grant's POV and the opinions stated are not my own. I do not own the show or characters.
Jemma was glaring ferociously at a point slightly above Grant's left ear. If she had guessed his location correctly through the mirrored glass, it might have been eerie. As it was, she looked about as threatening as an angry kitten. Grant knew the impression of harmlessness was a false one. Jemma would never be a heavy hitter, combat wise, but a lot had changed in the last six months. Jemma was pragmatic, ruthlessly smart, and HYDRA's computer algorithms had deduced that she was the mastermind behind many of the terrorists' most successful raids. The raids planned by Jemma were the ones with the highest HYDRA agent body count and property destruction. It was a miracle she hadn't been killed.
It was a miracle he had this chance to save her.
It had been a desperate move, proposing to Baron Strucker that they capture the biologist in the assault against the terrorist's final base. He had argued, as impassively as possible, that Agent Simmons was a scientist at heart. She was extremely pragmatic and would see the futility of fighting once the fragments of the remaining rebels were squashed. Away from the influence of her former comrades, Simmons could be led to see that the logic and order of HYDRA was for the good of the world. It would be a shame to lose such a mind. She could do great work in the New Order for the Glory of HYDRA. He had almost stopped breathing when the Baron had agreed to run the data through HYDRA's computer algorithm. The AI had deemed the risk to be an acceptable one.
It had been a struggle to act as if it were any other mission. Any show of anxiety and someone might conclude that his assessment was driven by emotional attachment; might decide that the data that gave him a chance to save Jemma was corrupted and, therefore, unusable.
Not even Garrett had looked at him twice though. Grant had gotten a lot of ribbing over all the "pretty girls" on the team from his former S.O. It had been obvious that most of his superiors believed he had been compromised; that he weakened against the cause by his bonds with his former team. The comments ceased after Grant personally took out Coulson and Skye three months back. No one questioned his devotion to the cause after that.
Grant felt a twinge of grief at the thought of his former trainee. He had truly grown to care for the girl. He hadn't expected to enjoy being part of a team, but they had grown to feel like family. But the world HYDRA was creating had to be protected. It was a world of order, free of terrorism and hate crimes. HYDRA was building world in which computers could detect and predict those who would kill or abuse and stop them before they began. No innocent child would grow up afraid of their own family or neighbors. Skye was too rebellious, too wild, too strongly entrenched in her faith in human nature to ever listen. She had faith in the people, believed that humanity could be trusted with its own fate. She believed in the good of mankind. Grant had seen enough of mankind to realize how wrong she was.
With Jemma, there was a chance. There had to be a chance. Jemma was smart, had trusted him once before. Grant knew if he could just get Jemma tolisten, to see the good that they were doing she would come to understand the necessity of destroying those who fight against HYDRA. That the assassinations and atrocities he had committed were so that others would not have to. She would see the amazing work she could do in the field that she loved with the backing of the New Order.
As Grant walked towards the door of the interrogation room, he wondered if Jemma had realized yet that Fitz had been killed in the last raid. That everyone else had been summarily executed. That she was the last of those who had fought so desperately against the Glory of HYDRA. It would be difficult, but he could do this. He could get Jemma to see the truth. He could save her. He had to.
Grant reached for the handle, let out a breath, and opened the door.