My eyes struggled to open. My head was pounding and my ears were ringing. I forced my eyes to open fully so I could get a look at where I was. The room was dark and it was clear that we were nowhere near the diner now. There was a light bulb hanging precariously from the ceiling slightly illuminating the room.
I struggled to move and found out my hands and legs were bound to the wooden chair I was in. I scanned the room for Ward and found him handcuffed to a pipe connected to the ceiling. Before I can speak a bucket of water is dumped on Ward's head, shocking him awake.
He coughs and quickly scans the room before his eyes settle on me. I see fear and anger well up in them quickly. "I'm fine." I assure him as he turns his gaze to our kidnapper who is still shrouded in shadow.
"Grant, Grant, Grant. Did you really think John wouldn't know what you did?" The voice said as the body it came from steps into the bleak lighting of the room. He was a man of average build, almost as tall as Ward, almost. The man's face is scarred and rough-looking. I can see his receding, unkempt hair and budding stubble. The man is dressed in all black, similar to the way Ward dresses before he goes with a tactical team.
"So let me see if I understand this right; you kidnap your target, but you find out you love her and you can't bear the thoughts of her going through a HYDRA interrogation, so you convince her to run away with you and live happily ever after. Does that sound about right to you," The man turns his dark eyes and predatory grin towards me. "Skye, is it?"
I don't answer him, which only ends with him walking towards me and slapping me across the face. Ward quickly struggles against his bonds, but it is of no use. Our captor stares at me with a dark hunger, rape is the first thought to come to my mind, but I figure he would have done so while I was unconscious. No, he wants to see me bleed.
"Feisty, this one. I can see why you got attached. She's a hot piece of ass. So tell me, Skye," My name rolls off his tongue maliciously, makes me want to puke. "What exactly do you see in my friend here? I get he's handsome. He's got a body most men die for. But you don't look like the type to care about the outside. No, no, you must be one of them that likes the person, not the body."
I winced inwardly at his comments. I saw a murderer in Ward. I saw a killer. I saw the man that would let me see him without his walls. I saw the man who would let me see him at his most vulnerable. When Ward would shut everyone else out he would let me in. My stomach starts knotting around myself at the thought of how even despite everything Grant has done, I still find myself in love with him. Every time I try to talk myself out of it, try to remind myself who he is, what he is, I'm always assaulted with the memories of him letting down his barriers and the idea that I wouldn't be any different if Garrett found me instead of Coulson. I was given a chance to be good; Ward was given a chance to be a survivor, two things that never correlate.
The man slumps over to Ward and punches him in across his face. I see Ward spit a bit of blood onto the cold concrete floor. Ward gives the man an icy stare, and I'm reminded that underneath everything, Ward's no stranger to violence and death.
"Go to hell, Thom." Ward says lowly as Thom picks around his pocket. Thom pulls out a key and undoes Ward's cuffs. Ward drops slightly from the pipe holding him up. Thom pushes him against the wall and takes the pistol out of his holster. Thom backed off and left Ward holding his gun.
"Now, outside there are three individuals who need a bullet in their head. They tracked their friend here and are gunning to kill us both. I'm giving you a chance to redeem yourself. All you have to do, is pull the trigger." Thom explained to Ward as he pressed a button on a monitor to his left.
The monitor showed three people I've never be more scared of to see in my life: Coulson, the man I loved like a father. May, the overprotective mother. Triplett, the big brother. On any other day I would have been ecstatic to see the rescue party, but knowing what Thom was asking Grant to do, I was never angrier with their timing. I saw Coulson skulking down one of the hallways while Trip and May flanked his sides, all of their guns were drawn.
I looked at Ward and I saw the hesitation in his eyes, his grip on the gun was loose. Thom looked at him expectantly, like he knew what Ward was going to do. I was scared that I knew what he was going to do. He wouldn't actually kill them would he? Would he kill the people that treated him like family for months?
"And if I refuse?" Ward asked slowly as his eyes flickered between me and Thom.
Thom reached over to me and quickly yanked a fistful of my hair that caused my head to jerk back. He took out a gun from the waistline of his pants and pressed the cold barrel into my right temple.
"Then your pretty girlfriend dies." Thom replied coldly. For emphasis I guess, Thom pressed the barrel of the gun even harder against my head.
I couldn't hide the fear in my eyes. Guns have had me paranoid since Quinn unless I knew it was Coulson or May behind the trigger. Ward didn't even scare me when it came to guns. I know he's a psychopath, but even still I'm not scared of him. I guess the fact that I feel safe with him makes me a psychopath. Figures, it takes crazy to love crazy.
"Drop the gun." Ward said coldly as he aimed his pistol at Thom.
"Even you couldn't make that shot, Ward. Just do as I ask, and the girl's all yours." Thom reasoned.
I could see Grant waging war with himself in his eyes. I want to plead with him that my life isn't worth the lives of three good people, but my body is paralyzed with fear. I try to convey my message through my mind but Ward's shrug of defeat tells me that it was unsuccessful.
"If they're gone, is she free to go?" Ward asked lowly.
"By all means, as soon as they're dead you can go." Thom replied with a wicked grin.
"Skye," Ward looks at me with pleading eyes. "I'm sorry."
"Ward don't," I push my fear aside as I see him walking to the door. "Grant! Don't do this!" I scream at the top of my lungs, hoping the louder I yell he might listen. I was disappointed in myself for thinking I had that kind of influence over him. I should have known better than to think that I could've turned a killer.
"Don't fret honey," Thom said as he brushed his calloused hand across my cheek. I shivered with disgust at his touch. "Just give him ten minutes and it'll all be over." Thom removed the gun from my head, I feel a slight bruise forming on my temple from where he forced the barrel of the gun into my head.
I turn my eyes to the screen. I see May and Trip rounding a corner with their guns drawn, fingers itching on the triggers. Coulson walked down a hallway and I saw a dark figure behind him. I knew it was Grant and I felt the tears threatening to well up in my eyes. Ward stalked behind Coulson and I felt a pit of fear welling up in my stomach.
Ward took the gun and aimed it at the back of Coulson's head. If my hands were free right now they would be shaking. Coulson must've felt his presence because he whipped around and fired a shot that flew past Ward's head. They started fighting each other and immediately I saw Coulson losing, Ward was younger, stronger, and more ruthless.
As soon as Coulson went down Ward took off running down the hallway, I'm guessing to catch up to May and Trip and attempt to get the drop on them. May and Trip must've heard the gunshot ring out through the maze of doors and hallways because they took off running in Ward's direction. Ward shot the headlight that was hanging from the ceiling and made the hallway go dark. I saw nothing and heard nothing. I didn't hear any gunshots from the hallways outside of the door, so I assume that Trip and May have either subdued Ward and are on their way to get me, or Ward took them down and is now thinking about putting two in the back of all of their heads.
A lone tear trails down my cheek from the many violent scenarios running through my heads. I hear footsteps from the door Ward walked out of. I don't know why, but I find myself hoping that Ward would walk through the door without a scratch.
It is Ward, but he's got Coulson in tow, conscious but with a little bit of blood running from his nose. I see Ward's cut on his upper lip had reopened and is trailing slowly down his mouth towards his chin. Ward sits Coulson down on the ground. I see Grant's gun trembling in his hand, it looks like it weighs a ton. I see his eyes have gone almost completely black from the normal dark brown.
"Good work, Ward. Now shoot him in the head, like a good little shoulder." Thom replied maliciously. I look at Ward and see his hand shaking even worse, the gun rattling in his grip.
"Grant," I say lowly. "You don't have to do this. Just put the gun down." I see his eyes lighten slightly as I speak to him. The gun raises itself slowly, I panic on the inside thinking I'm not getting through to him. Coulson won't speak, he just looks at me with calm eyes, like a father trying to assure his daughter everything will be alright. I see Ward aiming the gun at the back of Coulson's head and I can't fight the tears trailing down my face at this point. I want to scream and yell and make Ward listen to me, but I finally realize, it doesn't matter that we love each other, he's a killer who will do whatever it takes to remain in his father figure's good graces. The only peace I can gleam from that is that I would do the same.
I force my eyes shut and I am rewarded with the piercing noise of a gunshot. Silence now permeates the air.