Chapter Four
Ward's compound was located below a bustling diner, the ring of the order-up bell and the smiles of plucky waitstaff forming a strange contrast to the nefarious machinations taking place a floor below.
Coulson and May took some time to check out the location, sliding into a booth and sussing out the clientele. Most of the patrons and staff appeared to be clueless about Ward's hidden base, but a few men and women standing by the door in black attire, wearing sunglasses inside, practically announced themselves as Ward's soldiers.
"Subtle," May murmured derisively, her face half-hidden by a menu.
"Ward doesn't do subtle," Coulson replied. "Skye said that the way down into his hideout appears to be in the kitchen, so we've got to get back there without these chuckleheads noticing."
"Good thing we brought these," May smiled determinedly, tossing Coulson an apron. They pulled the aprons on over their casual clothing and slipped into the kitchen, where they started canvassing the floor for likely entryways to secret passages.
Just then, a series of the black-clad thugs came into the kitchen, the beaded curtain jangling loudly as they stampeded in, demanding of the chef, "has someone been back here?"
The chef, who hadn't even noticed May or Coulson, shrugged as they half-concealed themselves against a nearby wall.
"We need to convince them we're not who we are," Coulson whispered urgently, seeming to rack his brain for an idea.
May rolled her eyes at his indecision and pulled Coulson gently by the back of his neck, pressing her lips to his as Ward's followers rounded the corner and saw them.
Coulson pulled back slightly in surprise, examining May's face as if analyzing her more closely than ever before. May's mouth turned up in a tiny smile, and he leaned in to kiss her again, more passionately. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she responded by deepening the kiss as he pressed her against the wall. May's heart pounded at the excitement of finally doing something she'd wanted for so long, and having it feel even better than it had in her half-repressed fantasies.
"You two!" shouted one of the neo-HYDRA acolytes, causing Coulson and May to jolt back to reality. "Get back to work. Now." The thugs exited, satisfied that the only issue in the kitchen was a hook-up among the staff.
"Nicely done," Coulson said in a low, intimate voice in May's ear. She smirked.
"You're not so bad yourself."
May quickly scouted out the trapdoor underneath a movable island covered with pots and pans. She shoved the furniture back as the chef obliviously flipped a burger, loud music blaring from his headphones.
Coulson grinned and nodded at her, pulling out his sidearm as the two headed down the shadowy staircase.
The stairs wound and wound, seeming to go on forever in a dizzyingly spiral pattern. When they finally got to the bottom, May and Coulson both had to stop to regain their bearings, but luckily overcame their disorientation quickly enough to quietly subdue the two armed guards waiting there.
"So," Coulson said casually as they raised their guns and slid sneakily down the hallway, checking each room to see if Andrew or Ward was within, "You wanted to make me jealous."
"You want to talk about that now?" May inquired incredulously.
"When else are we going to talk about it, May? This is the first quiet moment we've had alone together in weeks."
"We're here to rescue my husband," May reminded him.
"Ex husband, and stop changing the subject," Coulson corrected her. "Andrew's my friend, and I want to save him as much as you do. But as far as you and I go, this passive aggressive routine of yours is driving me crazy."
"You've got a lot of nerve saying that," May responded, "There's a picture of you next to 'passive aggressive' in the dictionary. Quite a monopoly you've got there, since there's a picture of you next to 'manipulative,' too."
"Maybe so," Coulson agreed reflectively, "but you did just kiss me."
May couldn't help a small smile as they kicked the next door down. Her eyes broke away from Coulson's as they both noticed Andrew, tied to a chair, beat up but otherwise fine. Andrew looked up and shook his head emphatically. "It's a -"
"Trap," May concluded effortlessly, spinning to ram her fist right into Ward's jaw as he approached from behind them. Ward, with an equally habitual ease in his fighting prowess, caught May's fist and looked down at her smugly.
"We've infiltrated your base, Ward," Coulson remarked, training his gun on his former friend and teammate turned traitor. "Time to surrender."
"Yes, all two of you have infiltrated my base. I'm shaking in my boots," Ward said sarcastically. "And you showed up without my five HYDRA assets."
"The rest of the team's outside, but it still only takes one gun to end you, Ward," Coulson retorted as May ran to Andrew, untied him, and helped him to stand.
"I shouldn't have to remind you of that, after what you did to Agent 33."
Ward grimaced. "Shouldn't have said that, Phil," he bit out harshly, shooting Coulson in the arm and grabbing May by the hair. She spun rapidly with a roundhouse kick but then they stood face to face, each pointing their gun at the other.
"You know, I have a real affection for the rest of the old team, May. Except for you. Despite the good times we had way back when, I always found you...annoyingly simplistic."
"Thanks for the show of affection, old buddy," Coulson said from where he half-lay on the floor. "Now are you going to talk us to death?"
"Quite the reverse," Ward replied smoothly, "I'm going to make Agent May here suffer enough that she'll wish she never-"
Ward's face registered shock as he was dealt a sudden and severe blow to the head. He blinked once and hit the floor in a heap. Andrew had smacked Ward with Coulson's icer, which had fallen when Phil was shot.
"Thanks for the rescue," Andrew said with a weary smile as May placed one of his arms around her shoulders helpfully.
"Thanks for the assist," Coulson answered as he slowly started to get back to his feet, cradling his arm.
Just then, Ward shot back up and made a fierce grab for May again. Coulson, who had taken his icer back from Andrew, also stood and shot Ward in the head, rendering him unconscious and ready for transport back to SHIELD holding. "That arm's prosthetic," Coulson said drily to the now expressionless and sleeping Ward, shaking out the arm that had been shot without the slightest indication of pain.
Once Ward was back in an even more secure cell at SHIELD headquarters, May took Andrew home and helped him get cleaned up and onto the couch. She pulled a blanket over his legs and went to the kitchen to make him a cup of tea. When she returned with two steaming mugs, Andrew was regarding her with a contemplative expression.
"What?" May asked with a knowing smile. "You only give me that look when you want to have a serious talk."
"The kind you hate," Andrew agreed, returning her smile. "The kind full of deep questions and getting to the bottom of things. Personal things."
"Hasn't it always been personal with us?" May inquired, sitting beside him.
"I think it's a different kind of personal now," Andrew observed. "We went through so much together, and somehow, we found a way to be close again, despite all those old ghosts threatening to make that impossible. You can be honest about all those words you wish you'd said to me years ago, when we were falling apart. But you can't be honest with yourself about where your heart really lies."
"It's time I was honest," May admitted. "And I'm sorry."
"I always knew there was something between you and Coulson," Andrew reflected. "And I wrote it off even though I knew better. Sure, I knew you were always faithful and he'd never cross that line either. But the way you two looked at each other, the way you still do? I knew."
May sighed into her tea and wished there were an easy way to have this conversation. It pained her to disappoint Andrew, who'd put his own well-adjusted, moved-on life aside to give her another chance. For that, May would always be grateful, and she was in awe of his kindness still.
"I love you, Andrew," May said softly, taking his hand and kissing it fondly. "I'm sorry I dragged you back into my crazy life."
"I went willingly," he grinned, "And I'd do it again if I thought I had a real shot. Besides, a little danger and excitement was good for me." Though he winked at her jokingly, May knew he was hurting from more than the wounds he'd suffered during his kidnapping.
"Melinda," Andrew said, sitting up with careful effort and cradling her face in his hands, "I love you, too. But you and me, now, today? We're friends. And that's the way it should be. Thank you for saving me. Now go, and save yourself."
May knew what Andrew meant, that she should go to Coulson, be with him finally, face her true feelings at last. Tears welled up in her eyes, but instead of forcing them back, she led them slide down her cheeks, and it felt good to let the emotion flow freely. "Okay," she said.