Making a new friend
Disclaimer: none of the characters are mine, but belong to Marvel.
Note: this story contains spoilers for the original series.
Once upon a time, Grant Ward was in a foul mood, in no small part because Phil Coulson had killed him, or would've killed him, if it wasn't for some strange alien, who formed something of a symbiosis with him and revived him instead, sort of, so now he was stuck with the alien, in Hydra, just stuck - rather than passing on, already.
As a specialist, Grant Ward was a man of strength and endurance, not just dexterity, but frankly, after the alien planet, and Phil Coulson, and everything? He was honestly ready to call it quits - but for now, for some subconscious reason that he didn't know about, he found himself drinking a beer instead in some sort of a bar, his 'babysitters' far away from him. Not that they minded - nowadays he was more intimidating, more physically powerful and what else have you than ever... and it was nothing that he had wanted, not even before the entire Bus incident, back when John was alive. Now... Grant honestly was more than halfway ready to die - again, and hope that this time he won't be revived by an alien, or by S.H.I.E.L.D., or by Hydra, or - whoever.
A shadow fell across his seat at the bar - he looked up and there was a strange woman looking at him, all wiry muscles and slim build of a runner. "My name is Yo-Yo Rodriguez," she said in a no-nonsense tone, clearly beginning to warm up for something, but Grant's brain (and mouth) had reacted automatically.
"That friend of Kara that she began to talk about when she got her memories back?" he asked.
"...Yes," his new interlocutrix nodded. Silence fell - Grant didn't want to break it, and the woman didn't know how to, it seemed.
"...Why did you kill her?" she finally asked.
"She was in a feud with another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent," Grant said slowly, "namely Bobbi Morse, and since Kara was my friend, my only friend by then, I wanted to help her. I went at it as a Hydra agent would do it - in a wrong way, apparently. Morse flat-out refused to apologize, BTW, claiming that for the sake of many it's ok for the few to suffer. She's so like her mother, that it's sad how she is denying it - but this isn't the point. Her coworkers arrived to rescue her - and they did. I ended up killing Kara - by trickery - but it didn't matter, so yeah, do what you came here to do. To me, for I deserve it anyhow."
Instead of doing anything, Yo-Yo just stared. "This isn't how you're supposed to be acting, you know?" she finally confessed. "I talked to the woman in question, and her fellow agent - Daisy Johnson - and those FitzSimmons duo - they said that you're a master of manipulation, of denial-"
"I never denied who I was," Grant said flatly, "this is Bobbi's thing, not mine, and manipulation? John, my S.O., was one. Christian, my late elder brother, was another. Me? Not so much. I am what I am, and that is a killer for Hydra, and now - their flagsman, it seems, just as Daisy is for S.H.I.E.L.D. S.H.I.E.L.D. tried to make inroads into the gifted community for years, and now, after the mess of Li Shi, it seems that they got their chance. Good luck with them, Ms. Rodriguez-"
Instead of leaving, the woman sat next to Grant. "This ain't right," she muttered. "Bobbi Morse, and Daisy Johnson, and the FItzSimmons duo, they told me a tall and fancy tale about my friend's death, and Hydra, and the Secret Warriors thing that they were putting together, and you, and Hydra, and it was tall and fancy - but also some of the pieces didn't match with the another, and the look on Bobbi Morse's face? I don't like it, and I shan't." She gave Grant a pointed look. "My old man, he is in Hydra himself - calls himself the Griffin, did you hear of him, perhaps?"
"Yes, but I never worked with him-"
"Fair enough, and Daisy gave this great big sympathetic speech about her father and how we were similar and tried to bond - she has no idea about racial issues, how they work, do they?"
"Before she joined S.H.I.E.L.D., she lived in a van," Grant replied, "so it's anyone's guess, actually. I'm guessing that you're just in no hurry to relate, do you?"
"No, not yet," Yo-Yo admitted. "I just want to see what the other side offers, that is all."
Grant looked at the drink - he barely tasted it beforehand - and got up. "Come on, then," he told the woman. "Let's go and talk to Malick - let's see how his sale goes, then." He paused. "And if doesn't work - I'll see how I'll bust you out. I'm about done with him anyways."
"I like how this sounds," Yo-Yo nodded sagely. "You know, Mr. Ward, this may be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
"I owe Kara a great debt - if by helping you it helps, then by all means," Grant nodded, lopped his arm around Yo-Yo's, and they left.
/
"Well, we have pulled it off - sort of," Bobbi commented to Daisy, Lance and Lincoln as they observed Yo-Yo's interactions with Grant from afar. "The alien has bought it, it seems. The real Ward - not so much, but this guy? Oh yeah."
Daisy bit her lip and said nothing. She would've liked to put some sort of a listening device onto Ms. Rodriguez, but the woman was more high-strung and nervous than a cheetah; any suspicion, however slight, and she'd bolt. True, it might be preferable to joining Hydra for real, but Daisy would rather not risk it. The world was changing, the lay of the land was changing, and they need all the allies they could get... as opposed to Gideon Malick and his army, of course. Few simple while lies and truths, not even lies, when it came to the late Grant Ward, were a small price to pay. Weren't they? Time will tell. For now, Yo-Yo was in, they had their double-agent, and she, for one, hoped that it will work. For if Yo-Yo turned on them for real, they were going to be in real trouble.
End