A Marvel Fiction
"Inspired by the love between Skye and Grant Douglas Ward. And also my twisted gut feeling telling me that Ward isn't going to stay HYDRA."
Ward's Redemption
Chapter 4: 'Folsom Prison Blues' Johnny Cash (or) Joaquin Phoenix
Hideout, LOCATION: Russia
Ward and Skye sat in the hallway; everyone else was getting prepared for their long trip ahead. Skye knew deep down that she wasn't going to see him again because Ward was going to head directly to the base with May. The others, including herself, was going to hang back, giving the two assassins some space.
Grant let Skye zip up his jacket and make sure that his gloves were strapped on tightly.
"I'm coming back you know." Ward said, giving her a smile as he placed his hands on her shoulders. Skye just shook her head and cried.
"I know-I know. But what if-if you don't make it? Ward I-I can't do-"
"Hey-hey Skye, it's alright, I promise you I'll come back."
"Promise?" Skye asked, glancing up into his brown eyes.
"Promise." Ward responded and gave her a hug. Grant then let go of her when May strolled down the hall.
"Ready to go?" She asked, giving a glance at Skye then back at Ward.
"Yeah."
May and Ward left the base, trudging out into the cold snow. She led the way, Ward only a few feet behind her. All she could see was snow, but Ward told her to keep moving. As they continued through the snow, some parts going up to their knees, Ward kept lagging behind. May eventually had to drag him out of the deep snow, pulling on his arm with all her strength.
After twenty minutes of walking, and no time for rest, the base came into sight. May hid low so that she couldn't be spotted by any guards from the base.
"May, give me the gun." Ward ordered, but May hesitated.
"Why?" She questioned her hand on the gun.
"Well, I need to make it look like I'm on their side." Grant pointed out and held out his hand for the gun.
"Oh, I see, shoot yourself. That's a brilliant idea." May quipped, sarcasm leaving her voice.
"Well then what do you think we should do?" Demanded Ward, glancing at the base then back to her.
"A better idea would be me shooting you." May said and before Ward could reply she pulled the gun out and shot him.
Ward collapsed in pain, crimson blood leaking from his side.
"Ahh, May-why?" He gasped, clutching his wound.
"Well, if you need to run you can still run. Anyways your spleen isn't very important." May said and pulled Ward to his feet. Ward looked terrible, his face was pasty and his body was shaking from the cold and his fever, and now blood ran down his coat and onto the pure snow.
He coughed a few times then left May. Ward walked over to the base, planning on just going through the front door. Once he reached it, a camera pointed towards him.
"¿Cómo ha sido su día?" 'How has your day been?' Came a voice through the speaker. Ward thought deep down, trying to remember the countersign and why they were speaking Spanish in Russia.
"Muy bueno, ¿y tú?" 'Very good, and you?' Ward said, his Spanish a bit rough. The door to the base then made a clicking sound and it swung open. Four guards rushed out and confronted Ward; Ward raised his hands in surrender.
One of them shoved him onto his knees.
"¿Identificación?" 'Identification?' He asked, pointing his gun at him.
"Agente Ward." 'Agent Ward' Grant responded calmly, trying not to pass out from the pain.
"Señor, le dispararon, tenemos que llevarlo dentro." 'Sir, they shot him, we need to take him inside' The other one said.
"Capitán, la herida parece fresca, enemigos son estar cercanos." 'Captain, the wound is fresh, enemies are probably nearby' A different one said, the Captain sighed before speaking.
"Ponerlo en la sala de interrogatories." 'Take him to the interrogation room' He snapped and the soldiers did just what he said. They dragged Ward inside and took his firearm away. The soldiers then tossed him in the room and shut it loudly. Dayshavoo.
Ward was left alone for some time before the door finally swung open, light streaming into the darkly lit room.
"Hello Mr. Ward." Said the voice and the figure approached him. The man wore a nice leather jacket alone with some regular jeans and a baseball cap on his head.
"Is this some joke?" Ward snapped, scanning the man over.
"No, but are you?" The strange man replied, crouching down to Ward's height.
"Who are you?" He questioned, getting up slowly.
"My name isn't important right now. What is important is why you are here?" The man asked and Ward took a deep breath before replying.
"Look, I mean no trouble, but I just need a place to lay low. I just escaped a SHIELD prison and now they're chasing me." Ward said, trying to sound innocent, which was quite hard for him.
"Who shot you?"
"One of their SHIELD agents." Ward responded, feeling the blood ooze out.
"How did you know about this facility?" The man demanded, giving Ward suspicious glances.
"I worked with Garret, I know where everything is." Grant said coldly, his HYDRA side taking over. The man just grinned.
"How do I know that you're not with those annoying SHIELD agents that are trying to destroy this facility?"
"Truth to be told, you don't." Ward replied and the man continued to grin.
Ward had to go through questioning for several hours while the doctors patched him up. The strange man turned out to be Chris Vlahakis. Mr. Vlahakis ran the entire facility and was now in charge of several other bases since many commanders had been lost when SHIELD found out about HYDRA.
Grant knew he had to find out a way to take down the base soon, he glanced quickly at his watch; two hours before the bombs went off.
"Hey, want to give me a tour of the place?" Ward asked, knowing with Chris' personality type he couldn't resist an opportunity to talk more.
"Oh, of course. Where are my manners?" Chris said then led Ward out of the infirmary and out into the hallway.
Ward had to endure through much talking from Chris, but after an hour and a half, Vlahakis had finally showed him everything, everything from control stations, to back systems. Grant felt like this was too easy. Could the man be playing him? Ward gave Chris a quick glance and thought about it for a moment.
"Hey, really, thanks for the tour, it was great." Ward said plainly, not finding the strength to find any enthusiasm within himself.
"Good, glad you enjoyed it Mr. Ward." Chris chirped and started to lead him to his room. Ward followed him slowly, his energy leaking out of him. When they reached the entrance, Grant really didn't want to do this, but he knew he had too.
Quickly, Ward punched Chris in the face, knocking him to the ground. Before Chris could say anything or grab his pistol, Ward gave him a good kick into the head, making Chris' skull crack loudly. Ward grabbed his firearm and shoved Vlahakis' body into the room and shut the door. Ward knew he had only about twenty minutes to prepare, but only three until everyone in the entire base knew that he wasn't HYDRA.
Ward kept the gun raised high, rounding the sharp corners carefully. Grant knew the second he pulled the trigger he would set the alarm off immediately. Ward made his way to the control room, which had two guards at the front door. Grant expertly put a bullet into both of their heads, the gunshots echoed through the hallways, and moments later the alarm went off.
Ward broke through the door and shoved any technicians that got in his way. He kicked a techy away and hacked into the computer. Behind him, a guard entered and Ward fired a signal bullet and it went into the man's heart.
Grant shut down most of the systems and put the base into lockdown and he snatched a high level security badge from one of the technicians. Ward then had to murder the defenseless technicians, which he knew that he would regret later.
Once he had swept the room, he left and jogged down the hallway. Using the security card, he swept it across the lock and the door opened. Ward made his way over to the base's power source, which on his way there he had to shoot several guards.
Ward reached the room and shot the guards in there. He scanned the room to make sure no one else was in there, and once he made sure the room was clear he went straight to the main power source. From the dead soldiers, he grabbed their explosives, which happened to be some C4 and frag grenades.
Ward stockpiled all the explosives he could and grabbed the remote detonator and left the room. At least ten soldiers were on his six, firing rounds at him, which he quickly dodged by rounding the corner.
Grant waited for the first man to round the corner and when he did, he stuck his fist out, knocking him to the ground. The next guard came a split second later and Ward shot him in the face. The third soldier came and knocked the weapon from Ward's grasp, but Ward grabbed the man's own weapon and twisted the automatic gun from his hands and fired.
In seconds Ward had eliminated half of the pursuing men. Strategically, Ward waited behind some cover. When they came into view, Ward fired the M4A1, spraying bullets into their direction. He hit three of them and the other two tossed grenades.
Out of habit, Ward dived as far as he could away from the grenades. The explosion stilled tossed him forward into the hard wall, but it wasn't too bad. Some of Ward's ribs cracked on impact and his head started to spin a bit.
Before Ward could get to his feet, soldiers surrounded him, kicking the weapon from his hand and one kicked him in the face, knocking out tooth. Ward stood up, dazed from the kick and raised his hands.
"¿Dónde está?" 'Where is it?' As the guard said this, a voice over the speakers could be heard saying 'We need immediate backup, forces are being diminished outside.'
"¡No sé!" 'I don't know!' Ward replied quickly and the voice over the speaker could still be heard, telling what teams to go outside.
"¡Quiero verla ahora!" 'I want it now!' The man shouted, and Ward slowly put his right hand into his jacket.
"¿Quieres? Lo tendrás." 'You want it? You can have it.' Ward chirped and pulled out the detonator and before anyone could move a muscle, Ward flipped the switch.
"Pendejos Adiós." 'No need for translation here.' Ward muttered expecting the building to collapse, but nothing happened.
"Ahh mierda." 'And no translation here either' Ward cussed and got hit in the head by the butt of the soldier's gun. Ward slumped over unconscious and the guards dragged him away.
Outside, Skye, May, Coulson, and Triplett's team fought off the enemy forces and when they got too close, Coulson set off the explosives they planted. Coulson just hoped that this was a big enough distraction for Ward to detonate the explosives that he should be planting just about now.
Truth to be told, Ward wasn't planting any explosives right now; he was actually chained to the wall, wondering why the explosives didn't detonate when he flipped the switch. Ward felt exhausted, his wounds weren't treated at all and he was pretty sure the plan was going to fail now. He didn't know what to do, well, false, he did know what he could do, but it was impossible. But he knew it was worth a try, he just might as well try.
Ward looked around, nothing but cold stone walls surrounded him. There was no way out besides the door, which was more than likely bolted shut.
Coulson's forces were being driven back, they were outnumbered, outgunned, but weren't outsmarted, not yet. Phil pulled his forces out and regrouped with Triplett.
"Agent Triplett, do you have a plan B? Looks like Ward isn't getting the job done." Coulson called over the gunfire.
"Well I wasn't hoping on relying on plan B, but if we have too, then I guess we have no other option." Replied Triplett, shooting at the soldiers who were trying to advance on them.
"We can't hold them much longer . . . it's either now or never." Coulson stated and fired a few rounds into some guards trying to get a better angle on them. Triplett nodded, but before he could move a muscle, May appeared by their side.
"Phil-Coulson, let me go inside." May demanded, but Coulson look at her like she was crazy.
"What? How would you get inside?" He asked, his face puzzled.
"Coulson, I have my ways, just give me ten minutes."
"Fine, have fifteen. Blow the place up and get yourself and Ward the hell out."
May nodded her head and dashed off.
"Coulson with all due respect, that was a stupid decision." Triplett pointed out, but Coulson turned on him immediately.
"Look Triplett, I know you haven't been here for a while, but I believe in my people. And trust me when I say this, May will find a way."
"I truly hope so sir, I truly do."
May snuck around the back of the base, making a big U shape while driving the snowmobile. She checked her watch, she had ten minutes to get in and get out. With all of the soldiers busy with Coulson and Triplett's men there wasn't much protection from the back.
May easily got to the wall, only killing two men, one she ran over with her vehicle which now had no fuel, and the other she shot. She planted C4 on the wall and when a decent distance away, she detonated it. A big hole was blasted through and May stepped inside, her gun held high. She checked the hallways, but it was clear.
The SHIELD assassin walked down the hall, she had to find Ward first, and he more than likely knew the schematics of the building. She searched around for about two minutes when she came across the security room. May looked inside, the door was unlocked and nobody was inside. Strange, where is everybody?
May checked her six, but no one was there either, she stepped inside the room and went straight to the computer. She looked through all the cameras until she found Ward in cell 23h5r; she then planned a route to get there. Once done, May ran out the door and into the strangely empty halls.
Ward breathed heavily with Vlahakis looming over him.
"Haha, muy bien mi amigo, muy bien. You thought that you could do it didn't you?" Chris snapped at him and gave him a few good kicks into the gut.
"What is wrong with you? You perra." Ward replied tiredly, blood seeping from every wound.
"You see Mr. Ward, we found out about your little betrayal, and when we saw the explosives I had my men start to deactivate it. But it was too late. You pushed the button and it exploded. Bu-bu-bu-bu-but! The base didn't collapse because it wasn't strong enough, but now the power core is malfunctioning and is gonna blow any second now!" Ranted Chris and before he could say anything else, May came up from behind and whacked him on the head.
May strolled over to his side and she unlocked the cuffs with the keys she snatched from Chris' unconscious body.
"Can you stand?" She asked, helping Ward to his feet, but Ward didn't have to reply because he stumbled over and May caught him.
"I guess not." She muttered and slung Ward's arm over her shoulders to provide support, but it was like trying to drag a horse. Ward was just so weak that he couldn't really help at all. May knew from the conversation between Ward and the other man that she didn't need to know where the core was, but just get the hell out.
May checked her watch, she had two minutes left and she knew with Ward that they would never make it. Triplett was going to strike the base with missiles that they were going to save for another base that HYDRA had, which was about ten times bigger than this one.
Ward felt himself being dragged into the snow.
"Ward come on!" May shouted at him, trying to help him through the snow.
"May . . . May." Ward whispered and May stopped.
"Ward come on! We only got a minute before this building gets blown sky high." May said, holding back tears.
"Ma-May, I-I am not-not going to make it." He stammered feeling like his life force was being sucked away with each word.
"Just go." He said and pushed her away.
"Ward I can't leave you behind. We must go now." But Ward just shook his head, signaling her to leave, but May refused.
Coulson and Triplett were driven back about ¼ of a mile back from the base. The enemies forces never seeming to diminish.
"Coulson we have to do it now!" Triplett shouted over to him, taking cover in the snow but then popping out to return fire.
"Give them a minute!" He yelled back, signaling his men to take cover.
"We don't have a minute!" Triplett responded.
Coulson hesitated, not knowing if May had successfully gotten out or not. Before Phil made the order, a signal buzzed over in the coms. Phil immediately answered it, knowing instantly who was on the other side.
"Do not launch missiles. I repeat, do not launch missiles." May's voice came through and Coulson couldn't say how glad he was to hear her voice.
"May! Thank goodness. Did you destroy the base?" Coulson said, worry leaking through his voice.
"No sir, but the core is about to explode any minute and if we don't get evac soon we won't make it."
"May there is no evac! You need to get out of there ASAP." Coulson snapped, firing his pistol to hold the enemies off.
"Coulson I can't go anywhere . . . Phil, Ward . . . he-he can't make it-Coulson I can't leave him behind." May said, her voice sounding torn between saving herself and saving Ward.
"Wait-May, where did you leave Skye and the rest of your team?"
"I sent them over to you. Why? Are they not there?"
"Only some of them and Skye isn't with them."
May had taken the only snowmobile left, so Skye was forced to run after her on foot. It took her longer to reach the base, but when she did, she heard May talking to Coulson over the coms.
"May?" Skye called over to her. May stopped what she was doing immediately.
"Never mind Coulson, I think I found an evac." And with that she turned off the coms.
"Skye we need to get Ward out of here now." She ordered and Skye rushed to her aid. With the two of them, they were able to pick up unconscious Ward and drag him over.
"How come we don't use the snowmobile?" Skye asked, seeing that it was nearby.
"No fuel." May replied and continued forward.
The ground started to shake and the shaking got more intense as the seconds past by. May and Skye pulled Ward with all the strength they could muster, but May doubted that it was enough. Behind them, the base exploded, spraying chunks of cement while being engulfed with flames. Ward, May, and Skye were launched forward from the shock wave, sending them into a pile of snow.
Coulson had it easy from there, with their base in ruins no reinforcements and a portion of their men already dead, they really stood no chance. Even though they were still outgunned and outmanned Coulson pulled it off, using the chaos to their advantage.
It took hours to render their forces, but when they did some of the HYDRA forces surrendered and they took them as prisoners. The rest of HYDRA's forces either escaped or died in the conflict.
Phil then sent out search teams for May, Skye and Ward, letting Simmons and Fitz organize the teams and treat the wounded. Coulson set up evacs for all the troops, getting choppers to pick them up and take them back home. Of course the Russian government didn't agree with all of this, but what the heck, Coulson got away with it anyhow. It's only bad when you get caught right?