Title: Send in the Cavalry
Rating: T
Disclaimer - I don't own SHIELD.
A/N: This was originally written for Melinda May Appreciation Week on Tumblr, now with some slight changes.
It has been nearly three days and the tactical team has gotten nowhere. Tensions are running high, and the lead ops team knows they are running out of time to get their agents out, but every attempt to approach the building has ended in gunfire. The fate of ten agents, ten good men, hangs in the balance. Which is why when they discover the basement access shaft on the building plans, Melinda doesn't hesitate to volunteer. She knows these men. She's worked side by side with most of them during her six years in OPs. She knows their wives, the names of their children, what they like to do with their time off, and she'll be damned if she sits around doing nothing while ten good men die.
Phil tries to talk her out of it. It's a risky scenario, going in with no backup and no extraction plan. He tries to hide behind mission parameters and risk assessments but Melinda can see the truth in his eyes. He's worried about her, terrified about sending her in. He knows this is the best shot they have, but he's letting his emotions cloud his judgment. Melinda knows that if it was her, and she had to stand by and watch him throw himself into danger she would be reacting the same way. Which is why she should have put in a request to transfer years ago, when she first began to realize her feelings for her best friend in the world ran so much deeper than comradery. Which is why she brushes aside his concerns, convincing him and herself that she will be fine; that the plan is solid and she's going to get their guys back. She casts one last look at him, standing alone amidst the chaos that is the SHIELD makeshift command center, worry etched onto his face like granite, before banishing all thought of him from her mind, focusing only on the task at hand.
The men patrolling the building are well trained, but Melinda May is so much better. She takes down eight before they even notice she's there, and the ninth falls with a well placed knife in his back before he's allowed to sound the alarm. She finds the room where the agents are being held and abandons stealth as she attacks the three men standing guard, using all of the skills from years of martial arts training to take down the enemy, regardless of their superior numbers and strength. She briefly loses the upper hand when a fourth guard appears behind her, wrapping his large, meaty hands around her neck, chocking the life from her, but Melinda doesn't allow herself to panic. Instead she allows herself to go limp, using her attacker's larger frame against him to flip him over her body, effectively releasing herself from his grasp. A powerful blow to the head ensures that he won't be getting up anytime soon, and Melinda can finally focus on the hostages.
She can't contain the small cry when she opens the door and finds the agents tied up on the floor, nor can she stop her stomach from rolling in disgust at their state. Whatever the agents had been through in the last 72 hours had been hell. The agents were covered with nasty cuts and bruises. Many of them also sported second degree burns, their skin had been seared right through their clothing. But the worst was their eyes, that blank, hopeless stares that came from psychological torture, hiding unspeakable horrors. Melinda doesn't want to know what could have caused such a profound reaction in these men in such a relatively short time and she certainly doesn't have time to ponder it. There were surely more guards in the compound and they needed to be long gone before those guards came searching for their fallen friends. With steely determination Melinda frees the agents from their restraints, directing the stronger ones to help carry the more critically wounded, and leads them towards the access shaft.
They are almost there when Melinda hears the unmistakable sounds of company coming. Knowing that the agents are in no condition to fight, she urges them to continue, promising to hold off the enemy force, giving them time to escape. They are barely around the corner when the guards appear, and for a brief moment Melinda is struck with absolute certainty that she won't be making it out of this alive. Driving that thought from her mind Melinda focuses on taking out the first two guards as they reach her. Once they are down Melinda relieves them of their guns, because there is really no point in attempting stealth anymore, and even though Melinda prefers hand to hand combat she certainly isn't prepared to die over stubbornness. Firing with deadly accuracy, Melinda takes down the remaining guards until she is the last one standing.
Sending up a brief prayer of thanks that she is not dead, Melinda drops the now empty guns and turns to leave, eager to escape before the next wave can arrive, when she catches sight of a figure peering around the corner. Instantly on alert Melinda prepares for yet another fight, until the figure cautiously steps out of the shadows.
The little girl can't be any older than twelve, and looks like she is closer to ten. Her black hair is cut short around her shoulders and the corkscrew curls looks as if they haven't been brushed in days. Her mocha complexion is a stark contrast to the dingy white wall she is clinging to and her brown eyes stare into Melinda's, as if she's trying to read her very soul. She takes no notice of the dead men that litter the hallway floor, she is entirely focused on Melinda.
Melinda freezes at the sight of the child. She knew that there were civilians in the building, people who had been tricked into believing in the unregistered gifted and joining his cult, but no one had mentioned children. She's still struggling with what to do next when the little girl speaks.
"Are you here to rescue us?" she asks in a soft voice.
"Us?" Melinda asks. "Who else is here with you? What's your name, sweetheart?" Melinda talks gently to the girl, not wanting to scare her, but inside she is a mess of adrenaline and fear. She has to get out of here now, before more guards come, but there is no way she is going to leave this child behind.
The girl ignores Melinda's question and repeats her own. "Are you here to take us away?" she asks again.
Melinda nods. "I'm going to keep you safe. Come with me and I won't let anyone hurt you" Melinda promises rashly, holding out her hand for the girl. Instead of taking it the girl shies away, moving backwards until she's farther out of Melinda's reach. Desperate now, Melinda knows they are running out of time to escape. "Please, I promise I can keep you safe, but you have to come with me right now!" Melinda begs, but still the girl doesn't move. A sudden idea flashes through Melinda's head, and she takes her attention off of the girl for a brief instant to dig a small object out of the pocket of her uniform. "Here" Melinda says, extending her hand towards the little girl and showing her the tiny gold object in her hand. "Come with me and I'll let you wear my pin. It's a very special pin, my mother gave it to me. It'll keep you safe."
The little girl looks curiously at the pin and much to Melinda's relief steps forward. "What is it?" she asks, picking it up out of Melinda's hand.
"It's a lotus flower." Melinda replies. "Flowers are very special, and this one will keep you safe" she promises as she places the pin on the little girl's shirt. The little girl takes Melinda's hand and she almost cries in relief, as she fairly drags the little girl away in the direction of the access shaft. But the child yanks on her hand, pulling in the opposite direction.
"No, we can't leave. We have to get the others!" the child insisted.
Melinda shook her head. "I'll get you out and then I will come back for the others. I promise!" But the girl dug in her heels, refusing to relent. Melinda feel lightheaded and feverish, a side effect of the adrenaline wearing off. "Alright, show me where they are."
As they wander through the corridors the girl whispers question after question to Melinda, which she found herself answering in great detail. Everything from "how many agents where waiting outside to save them", to "will they leave without us" to "what will they do with the bad men?" The lightheaded feeling lingers and Melinda is beginning to realize this was a terrible mistake, that there was no way she will be able to protect herself and the child when the little girl stopped outside of large doorway. "They're in there" she whispers, pointing. Trying to shake off her dizziness, Melinda cautiously peeked through the door. Almost instantly she recoiled in horror and disgust.
The room is a large laboratory. Medical equipment and an operating table occupied roughly half of the space. The other half is filled with cages. It's reminiscent of a kennel, but instead of dogs, these cages are filled with people. Melinda can barely keep from retching as she took in the ghastly sight. Men, women, and even children, staring blankly with hopeless eyes, packed in the cages like animals. Some of them look to be disfigured and malnourished, others showed signs of torture. All were dirty and covered in filth.
"So I see you've found my little collection," A chilling voice speaks out from behind her. Instantly Melinda whirls around, coming face to face with a monster. Of course, he doesn't look like a monster from the outside. Tall, blonde, with a fair complexion and well defined cheekbones he looks the part of a wholesome all American southern boy, but his cold blue eyes reveal his true nature. "The other agents were so certain that SHIELD would rescue them. Kept insisting that their bosses would do whatever it took to save them. They were waiting for SHIELD to send in the Cavalry. Instead they got you. Tsk, tsk. How disappointing."
Instinctively Melinda reaches out to grab on to the child, to shield her from this man, but the little girl is no longer by her side. Instead she is standing next to the man, sliding her hand into his. "You were right, Father" she says. "They have an army out there. They won't let us leave." She tells him everything about the SHIELD team that is waiting for them outside, everything Melinda had told the child. She doesn't understand how she could have been so stupid. The man must have read her disgust in herself on her face, because he turns to Melinda and laughs.
"Don't feel bad, my dear. Very few can resist my daughter when she asks a question. She can be quite persuasive when she sets her mind to it."
"Your daughter?" Melinda manages to ask, latching on to idea that if she could keep him talking, then maybe she could buy enough time to think of a way out of this.
"Yes. Although, not in the traditional, biological sense. But I am her father, just as surely as I am the father of all of my subjects. And my little darling over here is one of my best. She certainly managed to get you here, didn't she."
"Why? What do you want from me?"
"Answers my dear. About SHIELD. What they know about my organization. What they want. What kind of operation they have surrounding us at this very moment. And since you've been so kind to supply these answers for me I see now that there is no way out of here without SHIELD getting its hand on my research. It's a good thing that I've planned for a situation such as this." The man snaps his fingers and second man appears. "Frankie, I've finished with this one. Can you kindly take care of her. I have other matters to attend to."
Frankie smiles menacingly at Melinda, and she feels her blood run cold. He clenches his hand and suddenly it's like a thousand knives are stabbing her all over. Melinda lets out a scream as the pain floods her entire body. The man gives Frankie a smile of approval and laughs at her pain, reaching over and stroking her cheek. His touch leaves her feeling cold all over, like someone dumped her into a frozen lake and she has no energy left to swim, so she's left to sink straight to the bottom. When he pulls his hand away Melinda is horrified to see it's covered with blood. Her horror is only compounded when he lifts his hand to his mouth and licks the blood from his fingers. "Fear and pain always make it that much sweeter" he hums in appreciation. "As dearly as I would love to stay and play with you, I have things that need to be done. But don't worry my dear. Frankie will take good care of you."
As the man takes the girl's hand and leads her away, Frankie gives her another smile and Melinda feels the pain return tenfold. She cries out, begging for the pain to end. Obviously this Frankie was gifted to be able to cause pain without so much as a touch. Melinda knows the only way she will survive is if she can take him out. Struggling against the pain Melinda reaches for the stiletto knife she keeps in her boot. Calling upon every last reserve of inner strength she had, Melinda focuses on putting the pain out of her mind just long enough for her to reach her hand out and grab the knife and send it spiraling through the air with deadly accuracy, right into Frankie's heart. With a surprised gasp Frankie falls to the floor. Immediately the pain released its hold, and Melinda let out a grateful cry before her body finally gives up and she sinks into darkness.
Melinda doesn't know what woke her first, the blistering heat or the bloodcurdling screams. Her head is pounding and her body aches from the ordeal she's been through. She tries to take a breath, but immediately is choked by smoke. Coughing and sputtering, Melinda is fully alert now. Her body screams in protest as she stumbles to her feet, but Melinda doesn't have a choice of staying stationary. The building was on fire; flames licking the walls and deadly smoke filling the hallways. The smoke stings her eyes and fills her throat, and Melinda feels a primal fear raging inside of her. She doesn't want to die. Not now. Not like this! As Melinda contemplates her fate, the bloodcurdling screams sound again. The laboratory! Galvanized, Melinda bolts to laboratory doors at the end of the corridor. The screams have became louder and more frantic, chilling Melinda to her very core. She pulls on the doors, but they're locked, made of solid steel that won't not budge no matter how hard she tries. Through the windows she can make out flames leaping, eating everything in sight, including the people who are trapped helplessly in their cages. Melinda can't give up, banging and pounding on the glass, screaming until the smoke chokes her into silence. The smoke wasn't silencing the screams of the people on the other side of the door. Their screams echo in Melinda's head as she collapses onto the floor, unable to help them, unable to move, unable to breathe. Silent tears drew tracks down her cheeks as Melinda May lay on the dirty floor of dirty warehouse building in Bahrain, awaiting death. Things began growing dark, as her lungs filled with smoke, when all of the sudden she heard cracking, and suddenly she's falling….down, down, down, and nothing makes sense anymore, and will never make sense ever again.
Phil couldn't breathe. He'd watched with bated breath as Melinda entered the building, reassuring himself over and over again that she could handle it. He kept telling himself she was the best they had, she would be fine, and that he wasn't worried, at least no more than he would be for any other agent that put their life on the line for Shield. But no matter what he tried to talk his brain into believing, his heart wasn't having any of it. He felt like something was squeezing his chest, hindering his ability to breathe or think or move, and nothing was going to fix it until Melinda was out of that building. When the ten agents had emerged from the building, battered but alive, Phil had felt that weight lighten, until he realized Melinda was not with them. Suddenly his worry morphed into full blown panic. He had wanted to send in a team then, comprised of every available man with direct orders to take out anyone in their way until they found Melinda, but the acting supervisor had elected to wait and see before taking action. And then, suddenly, flames were spouting from the building, and everything was engulfed in fire. Panic erupted from the command center. The fire department was called and agents ran around setting up barriers, trying to keep civilians out of the way, while all Phil could do was stand there, helplessly staring as the flames reduced the building to ash, while the woman who meant more to him than anything in the world was still inside. Then, suddenly, miraculously, out of the ashes a figure emerged. Barely a silhouette against the backdrop of the raging fire she seemed so small. Phil rushed to her side, thanking every deity out there that she was alive. She was bruised and dirty, coughing up smoke, and her wrist was bent at an unnatural angle but she was alive! He dashed to her side, eager to hold her, to reassure himself that she was still here, but when she looked up at him he stopped cold, frozen by the look in her eyes. She stared at him, unseeing, her expression completely blank. She looked lost, empty, broken. He knew that she was in shock, that she was injured, he tried to tell himself that she would be ok. But he never could get that look out his mind. And from that moment on, Agent May was never the same.
She wouldn't talk to him. In fact, she didn't talk to anyone for days after it happened. Then somehow, she convinced him to let her help with the recovery process. For weeks they shifted through the ashes of the building, digging up the bodies of the dead. He didn't know why she was putting herself through this. Why she insisted on seeing the carnage firsthand. Why she insisted on blaming herself for something that wasn't her fault. They never did find the body of the man she had met in the building, or the little girl she had tried to save. May refused to talk about what happened in that building. She never filed a report, wouldn't talk to the SHIELD psychologist, and refused to discuss it whenever Phil brought it up. Finally the case file on Bahrain was closed, at least for everyone but May. She started refusing field assignments, opting out of missions, until finally she transferred to Administration. She shut everyone out, including the man she had once considered her best friend in the world.
Meanwhile the mysterious man had carefully plotted his escape just as he had carefully plotted every other detail of his organization. He regretted destroying the lab and the test subjects, especially when he had been getting such good results, but it was a necessary loss to keep SHIELD from his research. A call he'd also been forced to make years early in China, when SHIELD had once again showed up and ruined his plans. However he wouldn't allow these minor setbacks to distract him from his purpose. He could always find more subjects. There were plenty of individuals throughout the world with the ideal genetic makeup, just right for his modifications, primed and ready to become 'his children.' He glanced at the little girl sitting next to him, fiddling with the lotus flower pin she kept pinned on her shirt. So far she was one of his most promising subjects. If only he could find more like her his life's work would succeed. "Come now, my dear Raina" he whispered to the child. "There is important work to be done."
The End