TRASH

by

Devan Alexander

Trash was published before… before I knew Agent May had a mother… or a father… so it was pulled down and updated so that my version fits a little better with what is cannon. The metal in this story was created prior to me having seen the monolith that ate Simmons. Also, this episode is set in Season One after Skye started to recover but before Lorelei appeared on the scene and will contain the entire original cast, plus a guest star.

CHAPTER ONE

Coulson sighed. His team hadn't had down time in months, not really anyway. Watching Skye fight for her life was not down time. He was grateful that she was finally starting to be up and about and the team had only now started to relax and it looked like their down time was over before it started yet again. He picked up his tablet and tuned into one of the many micro-cameras he had placed around the lounge. It opened to Skye and Ward playing Battleship at their favorite table. He couldn't help but grin as he noticed that Skye was winning. Here it was only Skye's first day out of the med-pod. Why hadn't he said no? Coulson sighed again as he watched their silent banter. He briefly wondered why it was that he was so happy that Skye was winning. It wasn't that he didn't like Ward. He was a confident specialist, always so sure of himself... and then the little hacker came along and started beating him at his favorite game. To be honest, he was proud of her. He angled his tablet slightly and the focus of the camera shifted to where he expected to find his scientists. Coulson wasn't disappointed. There they were, side by side staring at the television screen desperately trying to beat the other at some video game, most likely SPORE. It was Jemma's favorite. He was about to switch his camera to the cockpit, but then he noticed a shadow. Turning the camera slightly he found May in the lounge studying her tablet. He knew she spent a great deal of time on her tablet, but usually not in the lounge. She had been prone to keeping to herself... but since that run in with the Asgardian staff he'd noticed that she was surfacing more, not necessarily interacting with the team but at least sharing a space with them. It was a start. Of course her interaction with Ward was not the kind of thing that he wanted to think about. He switched the camera off on his tablet and pulled himself away from his desk. Damn it, why did he have to agree to this stupid mission? But he had and it was time to get started. He pulled himself from the chair and left his office, slowly descending the circular staircase.

"Say it!" Skye demanded suddenly. "Say it Ward."

The specialist rolled his eyes at her and Coulson noticed May look in Ward's direction.

"You sank my Battleship," he acquiesced.

Skye smiled at him smugly and May offered him a hint of a grin. His eyes lit up.

"We go again," Ward told her.

"Wait," Coulson told him. "Ward, FitzSimmons, May, Skye, we've a new mission."

FitzSimmons paused their game and gave him their full attention. May put her tablet down. Both Ward and Skye turned to him. Coulson walked around the table looking at his agents. Yes, they were his agents, his team and he was proud of each and every one of them. He leaned back against the table.

"Item recovery," he offered quietly. "Ward, this is yours; May will back you up."

Coulson saw the anger flare briefly in Ward's eyes, but it was gone nearly as fast.

"Fitz, your turn to park the bus in the desert and take us out."

Fitz acknowledged his role with a simple nod of his head.

"What is the item?" Ward questioned.

"A box," Coulson answered. "Ornately decorated. Our instructions are not to open it, only to return it to HQ."

"Not the Sandbox?" Skye asked. "Then it's not dangerous?"

"I wouldn't make that assumption."

"You said desert," May stated, bringing them back on topic.

"The Sonora Desert, and we'll be traveling into the edge of Phoenix," Coulson continued. "We put the bus down about 40 minutes out. Ward, May and I will take the SUV across to the drop point, then Ward and May go in on foot. Shield has an operative on the inside who will place the box in the shack at the edge of H.A.M.M.E.R.'s facility under the workbench by the hay bale..."

"I can't just go in and get it?"

"Not this time Ward. We let the operative put it in place."

"Feels like a trap," Ward stated, glancing up at May who rose and crossed to stand by the arm of Ward's chair. She met his glance but he could read nothing in it, neither could Coulson.

"In, out, back to HQ."

"How big is this box?" Ward persisted.

"One foot square. Hand was uncertain of the weight."

"When?" May stated simply.

"Tomorrow afternoon. Four o'clock." Coulson pulled up the visual map of the area on his tablet, the others moved closer to be able to see. "Our destination is here," he indicated, blowing up the image of the shack.

"That's a long way from their facility," Ward commented.

"The operative has been in place for a long time. Hand assures me that the operative has successfully done this many times before." He reduced the size of the image of the shack, showing the terrain. "Moving outward, there is an outcropping of rock here. I'll be here with the SUV. We bring the bus here under cover of darkness."

May surveyed the terrain, she was obviously displeased.

"Can I talk to you?" May asked Coulson. "Alone?"

He tipped his head toward his office and the two left the room.

"I need every bit of knowledge you can uncover on that facility," Ward told Skye, intentionally ignoring the scene that was about to play itself out upstairs. "H.A.M.M.E.R. is a competitor for Stark Enterprises."

"On it."

"Fitz, familiarize yourself with the gear that's come out of H.A.M.M.E.R., Simmons, review the bio."

"Ward, I have a new camo I've been working on," Fitz indicated. "May I show you?"

Ward nodded and the team disbursed to begin their preparations.

May stalked into the room and turned around, waiting for the door to close.

"Do you trust Hand?" she asked the moment it had.

"With my life," he reminded her.

"Even though every instinct in your body is screaming trap?" she asked again.

"Don't you?" he asked her in return.

Her gaze answered his question and he knew she was thinking of Ossetia. What had happened there was unacceptable... unforgivable... and he had accepted this mission without hesitation... why? He was better than this... She walked up and activated his board, bringing up a map of Phoenix.

"The bus goes here, we drive most of the day up the edge of town to here. Ward and I go on foot at this point. Fitz and Simmons head out from here, kids escaping authority. Ward gets the box, we rendezvous with Fitz and Simmons then we meet you and the bus here."

"Clever, but no. Fitz needs flight time. Simmons needs to monitor Skye. It's only her first day out of recovery."

Her glare was intense, he could feel it burning through him. He reconsidered what she'd proposed.

"The bus moves to your recommendation. But I replace Fitz and Simmons in the SUV," he conceded.

She let out a slow sigh, her intensity no less than before, but she turned and headed back toward the door.

"Hand is on our side," he reminded her softly but she offered no response. "I think..." he added quietly after she'd left the room.

May strode from the room taking the steps quickly and headed down to the next level toward the lab where Fitz could usually be found. He and Simmons were side by side engaged in their research. A hint of a smile appeared on her face, one that she was certain to remove before speaking.

"Fitz? Change of destination."

He hit the save button on his image board and rose to follow her. Together they headed toward the cockpit and she watched him carefully as he made the changes to the autopilot. Coulson was right about one thing, they all needed to know how to move the bus.