A/N: Written for anon's prompt "truth and lies". Hope you like it! :)
Disclaimer: I own neither the show nor the characters. I don't earn any money with this piece. I just do it for fun.
Watching the security footage of the Bus through Deathlok's eyes, Garrett finally has to admit to himself that among all the lies he's told Coulson's team, there's been one truth.
And it's not one he likes.
You've had a big impact on him.
Unknown variables always pose a threat to the success of a mission. They have the nasty habit to try and change the other variables of the equation. The key is to figure them out early on and use them to HYDRA's advantage.
His boy has that rule engrained in his every bone, he lives by it, breathes it. It's what made Ward the perfect soldier, unbreakable and cold-blooded.
Until her. Until Skye.
Now his boy is leaning towards her, like she's gravity, the new center in this new world. That girl, a hacker turned asset turned wannabe-agent, has managed what nothing and no one has ever been able to. She's cracked Ward's armor, slipped past his defenses and got right under his skin, setting fire to his boy's dark soul.
He's different than I remember him.
Skye has left her mark, there are traces of her in his boy now, even though Ward denies it, plays it down and says it's all for the mission, but Garrett can see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice.
His boy is good, the best, Garrett will give him that, he trained him after all, formed, shaped and molded Ward's body and mind until he was what Garrett needed - loyal to the cause, to HYDRA and to him, the father Ward never had, but his boy's heart is a different matter altogether.
It looks as if his boy has a weakness now. Skye is in Ward's blood, she's like poison, running through his veins, and her hold on him is strong, so strong that Ward has openly defied Garrett for the first time, put him on the spot and questioned his decision.
It's the difference between fighting against something and fighting for something.
He is driven by his feelings for Skye, Garrett can sense it, but he can also sense the battle that's taking place inside Ward, and though he hopes, his boy will make the right choice in the end, there's still doubt lingering on the edge of his mind.
No matter what his boy says, there's a connection between him and that girl now, and it runs deeper than he's willingly to admit.
Or someone. Ward's got that now.
Garrett turns away from the screen and types a message before sending it to Deathlok. "Don't follow Coulson and Skye. Return to base immediately."
Maybe it's not too late. Maybe he can cut the connection before it becomes impossible.
- END -