AN: Wow! Thanks so much for the great feedback form the last chapter. As always thank you for all the reviews, follows, and favs. They are incredibly motivating!

Phil Coulson stared at the tablet in his hands as the Quinjet flew through the night sky, May pushing it as fast as it would go towards where the trackers signal was coming from. The white dot blinking a silent call for help. It had been a few hours since they left Providence, desperately taking what they could carry before taking off, vowing to return and give Eric a proper burial later.

He sat in the cockpit with May needing the silence and time to gather his own thoughts. He had wished Skye hadn't scrubbed their identities now, wanting to go back through Fitz's records, read what he could about him with a new set of eyes. Guilt still gnawed at him and he berated himself for not seeing what had been in front of him for months, starting to feel he was too consumed with his quest to find out who was behind Tahiti.

May turned to study him, having watched him for the last few hours, deciding he had had enough time to have a pity party. "I know what you are thinking over there, it's not your fault, so stop acting like it is" she said both gently and forcefully at the same time.

He scoffed, "How is it not my fault? I put my blind faith in Fury and look where it's gotten me…killed…torturously resurrected without my consent….kidnapped…tortured again….all the while he was hiding my own son from me" Coulson said for the first time in his Shield career he was questioning Director Fury.

"I'm not condoning it, and believe me I plan on helping you have a long conversation with Director Fury about this when we find him, however I do think he was trying to protect both of you. For obvious reasons Fitz would be used against you but have you thought about it the other way around….you being used to force him to do something, build something terrible" she said eyes on the beacon blinking on the screen.

He rubbed his hands over his face May continuing "Garrett was gunning for him even before he knew he was your son. If anything I think it will ensure he keeps both of them alive until we can get there. Fitz is now very valuable leverage to you and Simmons to keep him in line".

He found little comfort in the statement but knew she was right, Fitz would be safe until Garrett got whatever he wanted out of him. A soft wrap from the cargo area revealed Skye and Tripp, Skye clutching her laptop to his chest, something she seemed to be doing a lot lately. "Or maybe he needed them, both of them, all along" she said.

May set the auto pilot and turned as well. Tripp picked up where she left off "I was with Garret for a long time before the fall" he said "and something about him just rubbed me the wrong way…so I started keeping notes on our missions and Garrett himself….I swear if I had thought Hydra I would told someone".

"It wouldn't have done you any good" Coulson assured "too much of the upper levels were Hydra themselves and you would have wound up face down in a pool like the others"

"We've been looking through them and cross referencing to Shield missions, seeing if there was a pattern" Skye said, gone was the sobbing girl from back at the base. She had pulled herself together with a new sense of purpose and funning all her fury and frustration into finding her friends. "Nearly every official mission for the last few months was connected to Centipede in some way. Be it outright raiding a Centipede facility or tracing down where the components came from….back even before I found Mike Peterson".

Tripp looked upset with himself "He kept me busy on enough side missions that I didn't pick up on it until I went back and read everything again".

Skye ignored him and continued "I also hacked into his Shield account to see what he was looking at…yeah clearly the Clairvoyant…but after our first mission is when he seemed to develop what I can only call an unhealthy obsession with you and Fitzsimmons. Fitzsimmons due to their stabilization of the Extremis and later Simmons work with the GH-325. And you because you were alive, there were literally hundreds of inquiries into it. He tried many times to hack into the Bus's systems but couldn't get past my firewalls…thankfully I never gave the traitor the password".

Tripp opened up a specific page in his journal, a list of dates and length of time "I think I can explain the obsession with you and the drug at least, Garrett is sick or dying. There were times were I could catch glimpses of him down or doubled over and then after he would disappear sometimes days at a time".

"And we now know Hydra was developing the Centipede soldiers" May finished.

"Sir…its possible Garrett has some Centipede components as well" Tripp said "He rarely would do hand to hand combat training with us, but one day he was I guess in the mood to relive his glory days and had me go a few rounds with him. I got a shot into his side and I swear I hit metal, he brushed it off as his 'rock hard abs'…but we've seen he's no Agent Ward in the at respect"

Coulson sat back pensive as the pieces falling into place and going back to Skye's original statement. Garrett had shot Skye to force him to find the serum, he'd walked Garrett right into the Guest House, and he'd been on the Bus long enough after to see Simmons begin her work on it. He'd also been on the Bus, on Missions with Fitz…he knew exactly what the young engineer was capable of. "He was after them from the beginning" he repeated "Fitz being my son is now just an added bonus…something he can use against us".

"Sir" Tripp said "From what we can tell you are what's left of the Shield leadership, and as far as we can tell you are the only one trying to mobilize things…If I were Hydra I would sure as hell make sure I had you out of the way".

A soft chime from the control panel caused May to turn "We're approaching the signal" she said flipping off the auto pilot and taking the stick. She descended lower so they could get a good look at their target, Skye letting out a curse. The side of the cliff was wide open to reveal an empty hanger, the lights on glowing like a beacon in the dark desert night.

"Something tells me they've moved on" Coulson said scanning the mountain for heat signatures anyway as she circled around once more. "Nothing" he said the scan complete the small bubble of hope he had vanishing once more. "May land, we still should check it out….see if we can find any clues or message as to where they are going next".

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"Grant Douglas Ward!" Jemma screamed at the top of her lungs banging on the door of the Cage with bloodied hands. "You bring him to me and you do it this instant!" she continued having given up trying to stop the tears ages ago. She hadn't seen Fitz since she was forced away from him at the base…when he was alone with Garrett…when Garrett was leaving a message for Agent Coulson. A fresh wave of tears began to flow as her worry redoubled, terrified he had been beaten and tortured for the madman to make a point.

"I know you can see and hear me you Hydra filth!"

Ward watched the monitors with a raised eyebrow surprised to see the normally reserved scientist throwing what seemed to be a temper tantrum in her prison. Garrett had opted to keep them apart in the hours since taking off, when he had drug a battered and barely conscious Fitz onto the plane, handcuffing him to one of the chairs in the lounge where he could watch him like a hawk.

Grant felt a small ping of guilt at the site of the large angry finger shaped bruises on the young engineer's neck and bleeding cut on his forehead. He wasn't a fool, he knew exactly what had happened on that video. He'd left instructions and incentive for Coulson to find.

"She's still going?" Garrett asked coming up behind his protégé "I would have though a little thing like that would have run out of gas ages ago".

"If anything she's picking up steam" Ward said "Started using middle names and everything". Garrett laughed and watched her for a bit "What do you say we put her out of her misery" he said. Grant followed and pulled out his ICER, he wouldn't put anything past the hysterical Jemma right now. After all she had shot Agent Sitwell trying to get information on what was happening to Fitz on their two man mission.

They arrived at the door, Ward opening it a crack "Agent Simmons I suggest you calm down". She must have thought Fitz was with them and stepped back. He opened to door all the way allowing Garrett to enter, not at all surprised about the disappointment and anger in her eyes. Her chest heaved from the effort while her face was red and puffy from the tears.

"Where is he? What have you done with him?" she seethed all out launching herself at Garrett. Ward easily caught her and pinned her arms to her sides.

"Relax" Garrett said "Your boyfriend is just fine" Grant noticing she didn't correct him like she normally would instead trying to pull her arms free. "However, how long he stays that way is entirely up to you right now". He could feel her tense up in his hold.

"What do you want?" she asked softly, her voice raw from hours of screaming.

Ward had always marveled at how John could get people to do what he wanted so easily, the man having a gift for finding weaknesses and exploiting them. Though Fitzsimmons wasn't necessarily the toughest nut to crack, he himself using her against her friend the day before.

"I have a sample of GH-325 I snagged from the Guest House, I need you to verify it's the same type that was injected into Skye and Coulson…that its safe for someone to take" he replied his voice soft, kind, like Grant remembered form when he was a lost teenager. "I'll even let you see him while my boys get the lab set up". He felt her tense again, clearly torn, that moment of indecision only egging Garrett on. "Refuse me" he said all the kindness gone from his voice "And I will make him suffer in ways even your brilliant mind can't fathom".

"You need him alive…" she shot back Garrett on her in a second, he mouth right against her ear so Ward had to strain to hear "Yes, I do need him alive but that won't stop me from…let's say taking a hammer to his toes or even better those very useful fingers of his, shattering those fragile bones one by one while you watch…"

"I'll do it!" she shouted sagging back "now please, let me see him…"

Garrett nodded patting her face as she shuttered in revulsion "That's a good girl", Ward leading her out while he went to get the lab situated for her. She waited until Garrett was gone before wrenching her arms again, this time Ward letting her go, she wouldn't run right now having nowhere to go. "How can you be going along with this? You were our friend…our protector" she asked wrapping her arms around herself.

"I owe Garrett everything" he said simply and she filed that information away. He'd said Garrett not Hydra. She wanted to press more but she was lead into the lounge, a small terrified squeak escaping her at the site of Fitz, curled up on the couch asleep. A long chain running from one of this wrists to a newly installed bolt in the wall. "Oh Fitz" Even from there she could see the purple on his neck and the dried blood on his forehead "Get me a first aid kit" she ordered, Ward merely starting back at her indifferently but nodded to one of the men.

She rushed to him kneeling on the floor next to him, running one hand through his hair the other taking his handcuffed hand. He didn't stir so she leaned down kissing him softly to wake him up, not caring who was watching or that this wasn't necessarily the best time or place to be having a first kiss. His eyes flew open in shock before he returned the gentle gesture, this was definitely not how he'd pictured their first kiss happening either. He pulled away with a small smile before his eyes narrowed as he looked at Ward behind him, smiling "What?" He hissed slowly sitting up, wincing in pain.

"Nothing, May just owes me fifty bucks, I'll make sure to collect it before I kill her".

Fitz wanted to respond, attack, something but Jemma placed a comforting hand on his arm and shook her head "Not now" she whispered "I don't know how long I have". Fear welled in his eyes as the prospect of being separated again, part of him wondering if the stunt with the trackers was even worth it now. The agent arrived with the first aid kid and she quickly went to work cleaning his cut "What did he do to you?" she asked.

"Not much, choked me for a bit and…dislocated, talked for a bit then reset my shoulder….the cut was on our way back to the plane….he said something rather ungentlemanly about you and well I felt the need to defend your honor". Without thinking she kissed him again, his free hand coming up to cup her face simple touches conveying more than words ever could between them. She pulled away wishing they didn't' have such an audience right now and turned her attention to making sure he was okay before she was taken away.

"What did he tell Coulson to do?" she asked quietly seeing the guilt in his eyes instantly as she forced his shirt up to make sure his shoulder had been set correctly. "First it was the whole supervillain 'I have your son' spiel, seriously Jem right out of a bloody Bond movie…and if he ever wanted to see us again he had 72 hours to find Director Fury".

Jemma gasped "Fury's dead" she said a little louder so goons could hear, neither one believing that was true. Fitz continued "At that time Garrett would contact him and give him drop location…oh and he's not to call any of the Avengers for help either".

"So deliver a dead man and no super heroes, brilliant" she said satisfied the shoulder was okay deciding to spend what little time she had left snuggled against his chest. "I didn't think that was the original plan" she muttered still not caring the room was full of Ward and a bunch of Hydra Agents.

His free arm now wrapped around he made a show of lowering his voice a bit, forcing himself not to smile and some of them actually leaned in to hear better. "I don't think it was either…He doesn't intend on letting either of us go" Fitz said, Garrett making that perfectly clear on their way back. "He still needs us for what I starting to assume are selfish reasons".

She nodded in agreement, snuggling in deeper and closing her eyes. He understood she wanted a few moments of peace, his hand running idly up and down her arms. The men guarding them now clearly uncomfortable at the intimate moment they were intruding upon.

Ward settled into a chair himself, never taking his eyes off the pair, making sure they were secretly building a bomb out of the contents of the first aid kit. Fitz met his gaze and held it as if daring him to say something. The traitor chose to remain silent, Garrett appearing about an hour later still looking exceedingly pleased with himself. "Time up!" he shouted starting the bio chemist awake, her hand clutching to Fitz's shirt.

"Come along, I held up my end of the deal and it's time for you to do yours" Garrett said Ward standing with him.

"Jemma?" Fitz questioned feeling sick at the prospect of her making any sort of deal with this monster.

She sat up giving him one last kiss "I couldn't let him hurt you Leo….he wants me to verify a sample". Her eyes bore into his and again Ward knew that was a bad idea. Fitz nodded in understanding and whispered something in her ear. "…don't worry they won't find it…." she whispered just a little too loudly back.

"If she finishes quickly I'll let her come back for another visit, how's that?" Garrett said leading her away "See, I'm not an unreasonable man, this doesn't have to be a bad arrangement. As I told Agent Fitz at the Hub, if you volunteer you will be rewarded". She held her tongue and followed Ward waiting until they were well away from the lounge before grabbing and pinning her to the wall roughly.

She cried out eyes wide as saucers Garrett even putting a hand between her and his protégé "Whoa Kid, don't damage the merchandise".

Ward ignored him and hissed at her "What aren't we supposed to find?" She began to tremble "I don't know…"

"What aren't we supposed to find?" Ward pressed again, this time Garrett making no move to stop him.

She shook her head refusing to meet him in the eyes "He just said if I was hungry there is his stash of candy…"

Now Ward grabbed her chin in anger "You are an awful liar Agent Simmons, now what are you hiding or do we need to go ask Agent Fitz about it…the hard way…" Tears welled in her brown eyes and she looked desperately down the hall where he friend was being held. "He wanted me to make sure you hadn't found one of our prototypes" she whispered and looked away "it's hidden in the lab, we didn't get a chance to get it out before you took us from Providence".

Garrett's interest was piqued "Prototype?" he asked eagerly his eyes alight. She nodded as Ward released her and allowed her to wipe away her tears. She continued her trek to the lab where she couldn't help but freeze in the door, feeling as if their sanctuary had been violated with unfamiliar people and equipment. She felt a harsh poke in her back and entered pointing to the ceiling above the workstation "It's up there" she said defeated "You won't hurt him, I told you what you wanted, right?"

Garrett ignored her and motioned Ward up, on top of the bench he moved the grates away to find a case, much like the ones they kept their dwarves in. He pulled it out and he could practically see Garrett salivating as he imagined what could be inside. "What is it?" Grand asked.

She sniffed and opened it up revealing a small treasure trove of gadgets. Some like the ICER and Mouse hole he recognized while others looked new and seemed to be in various stages of design. "We are calling it a Jump Kit" she said "Agent Triplett gave us the idea when he was telling us about his Grandfather's Howling Commando's kit …its mean as an escape kit of sorts, little something for any occasion if an uncover mission goes wrong of if the top brass was someone in danger and needed to escape and lay low for a bit".

Garrett ran his hands reverently over the devices inside "Grant, have I mentioned you outdid yourself bringing these two too me…"

"Sir" one of the men said from the door "Headquarters is on the line and would like an update from you personally as to when we will be joining them…"

Garrett cursed wanting nothing more than to spend time with the marvelous new toy they had found, instead he now had to go waive the Hydra Flag for a big longer, at least until he got what he wanted. "Take this up to the lounge, Agent Fitz and I can go through it when I'm done. Agent Simmons, Flowers sent us everything she had and you'll find our current samples of the formula set up…I don't need to remind you of the consequences of failing to give me adequate results. Ward, you look like Hell, get some sleep".

Garrett strode out Ward not far behind with the kit "Ward" Simmons said timidly slipping on her own lab coat for what seemed to be the first time in ages. He stopped and gave her annoyed look more than ready to go collapse in his bunk for a few hours and let a few of the flunkies babysit her for a bit. Seeing she had his attention "Whose Flowers?" He groaned and just walked away.

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"AC, Are you sure?" Skye asked for the fifth time, her fingers hovering over the keys that would set the video in motion. They had surveyed the base and even clumsily sent the Dwarves in to ensure it was empty before heading in. The small devices another stark reminder of the gaping hole in their team.

It hadn't taken them long to find it, the camera sitting on a table clear as day next to two trackers and the tie Fitz had been wearing when they'd left the base. A simple note sitting on top of the camera…To Phil.

"I'm sure" Coulson said tightly bracing himself for whatever could be on there. Skye took a breath and hit play, the image appearing on a large screen in the room, Garrett's ugly face filling the screen as he turned the camera on. It was Coulson that gasped as he pulled away to reveal Fitz gagged and bound behind him, no sign of Ward or Simmons, possibly explaining why Fitz wasn't fighting back. He felt his breath hitch as this was the first time he'd seen Fitz since finding out the truth and it was like looking at him for the first time all over again.

"Phil!" Garrett greeted as if greeting an old friend after years away "Let me be the first to congratulate you…It's a Boy!" Grabbing Fitz tightly by the back of the neck. "I think he has your eyes, don't you? He definitely has your spirit, sneaking trackers along….such a naughty boy…" At that point the grip on his neck shifting leaving Fitz gasping for air around the cloth, his bound hands uselessly trying to claw them away.

Garrett finally let him go leaving the engineer coughing his eyes still defiant and he sucked in great breaths. "But when his father hasn't been in the picture we can only expect him to act out. That was only the first part of your spectacular failure as a father….because you left him Phil…left him alone with a very very bad man…who brought him to me. So let's get down to business shall we. We both know Fury is still alive out there…that SOB has more lives than a cat. So who better to track him down that his favorite student and listen carefully because here's the deal Phil…" he paused suddenly wrenching Fitz's shoulder out of its socket leaving him screaming in pain, Garrett holding him up so he didn't fall from the view of the camera. "You have 72 hours to find the Director at that time I will contact you…if you don't have him for me by then, this…" gesturing to the writhing figure trying to stifle his screams "….This will be nothing compared to what I will do to him and his pretty little friend. And don't' get any ideas about calling your super powered friends for help either".

Garrett then pulled the shoulder back in with a sickening pop, Fitz crying out again before he was pulled up so only his tear streaked face filled the screen. Fitz was trying to say something around the gag, and knowing the engineer it was something along the lines of don't do it. Garrett tossed him to the floor so he could have center stage again, eyes boring into the camera "You just found him Phil, you have no past, don't give up a future as well…"

No one spoke letting what they had just seen sink in, Skye wiping away a tear that had leaked out as seeing her friend tortured. It was Coulson who gathered himself first, mind working rapidly at what to do next. "Show of hands, who thinks Fury is dead and we'd be wasting our time looking for him?" he asked first the trio staring back at him hands all down. "Great, we're all on the same page there. I think our best bet is to play along for now, even trade Fury for them…."

"He never said he would let them go" May said bluntly everyone's focus shifting. "He never said he'd let Fitz or Simmons go if we brought him Fury" she repeated "He said he wouldn't hurt them…"

Tripp replaying the conversation in his head "He never threatened to kill them either...its gruesome to say Sir but he can send you pieces and keep Fitz alive for a long time".

"He doesn't want Fury…he's playing with us…keeping us busy while he continues to use them against each other until he gets what he wants from them…I am at his mercy and when he is ready for me…I will go when he calls." Coulson finished rubbing his forehead reminded of why they had been hidden with him on the Bus in the first place. Though now knowing what he knew now, he was going to find an island somewhere in the middle of the ocean and keep Leo there, preferably guarded by the Avengers and a state of the art security system of the engineers own design. And a monkey, he was going to get his son that monkey he'd always wanted.

"But if we find Fury we can at least use him to find where Garrett's hiding them" Skye said "I know this is probably punishable by court martial to say but I will personally deliver Fury gift wrapped complete with a big red bow if it will even help a little in getting them back. So how do we find Fury?"

"Hill" May said simply now walking out the door mentally adding she'd sign the card to get those kids back "Wheels up in ten" she said disappearing. Tripp was steps behind her wanting to go through the cargo bay before they took off to see if there were any forgotten supplies they could take.

Coulson quietly gathered up the tie and trackers, fingers running over the small devices with a ghost of a smile. As the team leader he'd always been proud of his team's accomplishments, but the pride he felt as a father was on a whole other level. Skye closed her laptop and was disconnecting it from camera, resisting the urge to throw the offending device against the wall and never have to watch that again.

"Fitzsimmons is crazy smart and Fitzsimmons protecting each other is downright mad scientist smart" she said giving him a brief hug. "And I'm sure once Fury hears what's going on, he'll go along with it…he does kind of owe you for hiding Fitz from you all these years".

"Don't bet on it" Coulson said pocketing the devices and heading for the door himself "He'll say this is exactly why he did it…and he's right. I am about to hunt down the Director of Shield and am more than willing to turn him over to Hydra if it means saving him…them. It's a huge liability that was exploited as soon as it was discovered".

Skye felt her heart break, having spent the better part of her life looking for her own family she couldn't imagine what it would be like to find out like they had or to be placed in such a terrible situation right after. "AC" she said stopping him "You said yourself they were a target before we found out, Garrett was going to take him from the Hub even before…Ward…Ward would have taken them regardless…I'll bet he would have taken me if you'd left me there. Love is not a liability…only something as evil as Hydra would exploit it".

He offered her a small smile, for a moment the girl reminding him so much of May and the calming presence she had on him. "Thanks Skye" he said starting off down the hall again, Skye stopping him one last time "Hey AC!" she called and he turned again "He does have your eyes".

To Be Continued…