They had been hiking for hours, and yet they still didn't seem any closer to their destination. It had been all day of straight uphill, yet Skye seemed to be the only one in any pain. She knew that Shield agents were practically superhuman, but come on. For the hundredth time that afternoon, Skye bit back her complaining so she wouldn't sound weak and childish.
Ward could barely go a few feet without glancing back to make sure she was keeping up. It was his old instinct as her SO creeping back up. He had to make sure she was doing alright. She wasn't trained for this. He and the others could so this all day, but he could tell she was getting tired.
"We should stop for water," Ward said suddenly. He pulled out his bottle and handed it to Skye.
"We're almost there," Hartley said, "We should just power through"
"It's still completely uphill," Ward insisted, "We need to regain our strength.
Skye gave him a thankful look before she began greedily drinking the water. She allowed herself to catch her breath for the first time all day.
"Five minutes," Bobby said, "We want to be back before nightfall"
Skye nearly audibly groaned. How could these people do it? It wasn't the first time she'd felt out of her league at Shield, but now she was expected to actually be useful, and she could barely take another step without collapsing.
"Time to go," Bobby said callously as she began climbing again. Skye sighed and followed, trying to put her pain aside for the last few miles.
Skye wiped the beads of sweat off of her forehead as the cabin came into sight. Ward hadn't been exaggerating when he said it was in the middle of nowhere. She hoped the communicator would work from here. If she couldn't talk to Fitz, none of this would work.
"Very tranquil," Bobby said approvingly.
"Very Raina," Skye added. A cabin in woods. Just enough melodrama for the "Girl in the Flower Dress."
"Come on," Ward said, "The sooner we go in, the sooner we can go home."
The other agents just nodded and followed Ward to the door. He knocked twice, paused then knocked again. A few moments later, the door opened a fraction of an inch
"Agent Ward?" A voice asked. Raina.
And company, Skye thought, but she bit her tongue as Ward slipped inside. He gave the others a look that said wait until I get you before closing the door behind him. Skye crossed her arms and waited. Patience was not one of her virtues, and as the minutes passed, she began to grow uneasy. Ward should have come back by now. Where the hell was he? Skye tried to push back her feelings of worry. She didn't care about him, only about the mission. She knew they were lies even as she thought them.
"We should go in," Skye said suddenly
"Ward said to wait," Bobby replied.
"It's been almost ten minutes," Skye insisted
"We'll give him five more," Hartley said.
Skye groaned and returned to tapping her foot, "It's been five minutes," Skye said. It had probably only been three, but she was becoming apprehensive.
"Calm down, Skye," Tripp said soothingly
"I'm not calm, can we please go inside?" she said, not even trying to hide her exasperation.
"She's right," Bobby said, "He should have come out by now"
"Do you think something's wrong?" Hartley asked
"Not sure," Bobby replied, "But if things went south, he should have at least been able to signal us.
"Oh god," Skye moaned. Of course this was going wrong. Everything involving Ward always went wrong.
"Are we going in then?" Tripp asked
"I'm not sure we have a choice" Bobby admitted.
"On three?"
"On three," Bobby agreed, "One, two, thr-"
The door opened just as they were about to storm in. Ward didn't look like he was hurt, but he seemed shaken.
"You guys can come in," he said, Skye couldn't get a read on him. Raina wasn't normally dangerous on her own. Was there someone here with her? Skye tried to push back the feeling of dread in her stomach as she walked inside. She placed her hand on the gun on her belt just in case this went bad.
It was a fairly normal looking cabin, like somewhere you'd go on a Boy Scout camping trip. Of course, she had added her own little Raina flairs to it. Vases of flowers on every table and a few expensive looking rugs. There was no doubt Raina had been staying here.
"Where is she?" Skye asked.
"In the living room," he sounded apprehensive.
"Grant…" Skye said slowly, "What are you not telling us?"
"Just be careful" was all he said before leaving the other four to follow him. Skye glanced at Bobby for confirmation before following Ward into the living room.
Raina was there, just like he said she was. And she appeared to be alone. So why was Ward so damn nervous, "Target is in sight, prepare to begin," Skye whispered to Fitz, who was hopefully on the other end of her earpiece before she fully entered the room.
"Skye," Raina said. Was it Skye's imagination, or did she sound excited? Skye shook her head. Raina always had something up her sleeve, she couldn't let Raina's surprisingly cheerful mood get to her.
"Raina," Skye said coldly. She touched her gun again, finding comfort in the fact that she had a way to protect herself.
"Sit down," Raina said. Skye glanced at Ward before sitting on the couch across from Raina, "Just Skye," Raina said as the others moved to join her.
They all looked at Skye, but stayed where they stood. Skye handed the tracker to Ward as discreetly as she could. Raina was about to start talking and it was the perfect opportunity. Ward didn't look happy about having to move away from Skye, but he understood that this was what needed to be done.
"I'm going to check the perimeter," Ward said, "Five Shield agents on the move won't go unnoticed by Hydra"
"So you're back with Shield now, Grant?" Raina asked
Skye nearly cringed at the sickening familiarity of using his first name. How much time did they spend together after the fall? She didn't care, Skye told herself. She didn't care that Raina considered him to be a friend. She only cared about leaving and getting back to where she was relatively safe.
"I never really left," Ward said before exiting the room. But just as he passed behind Raina, Skye saw him place the tracker on her shoulder.
"Why did you come?" Raina asked, "Are you going to arrest me?"
"Have you committed a crime?" Skye asked.
"Shield's always wanted me," Raina said, "Even when I'd done nothing wrong."
"Stall," Fitz said over the earpiece, "We're having some connection issues."
Skye silently cursed. She didn't want to stay out here longer than she had to, especially with Ward out of her sight.
"So you think nothing was wrong about working with Centipede?" Skye asked.
"I left when I realized something was off, if you'll recall"
"It wasn't soon enough," Skye replied
"No," she admitted, "But I couldn't have done anything to stop it."
Skye didn't really have a retort for that. The others seemed to realize that Raina would only respond to Skye, so they stood back and kept a careful watch in case things got dangerous. Skye wasn't sure if she was thankful or not for their complacency.
"So then why are you here?" Raina asked.
"Information," Skye replied after a moment. Now she was just making things up.
"On what?" She asked, "Hydra? Because I believe Agent Ward could supply you with more than enough"
"The Diviner," Skye said quickly, "Tell me about the Diviner."
The question gave Raina enough pause that Skye knew she'd asked the right question. She knew that she could keep Raina distracted enough with this one to keep her occupied for however long Fitz needed.
"I can't," Raina said as she leaned in closer to Skye, "Not with them here."
"Why?" Skye asked.
"It doesn't concern them," Raina said
"But it concerns me?"
"Yes"
"And it concerns you?"
"Yes"
Skye looked between Raina and the rest of her team and weighed her options. She wasn't very keen to send away her main sources of protection, but she would be lying if she said that this Diviner thing didn't have her curious.
"Oh not a chance in hell," Tripp said reading Skye's mind.
"Guys…" Skye said.
"Out of the question," Bobby said.
Skye stood up, "Can I have a word with my team, Raina?" Skye asked. Skye never thought she'd see the day where she asked Raina's permission for anything, yet she waited for a nod before she left the room, the 4 other agents in tow.
"And Skye," Raina said, "If you do come back, leave your communicator and gun with them."
Skye kept walking until she was sure they were out of Raina's earshot, "Let me talk to her," Skye said before anyone else could speak.
"No," Bobby replied, "Not without a gun."
"I can buy us time," Skye insisted, "and Raina trusts me."
"Bullshit," Tripp said, "You juts wanna know about whatever this Diviner thing is."
"I do want to know," Skye admitted, "But we can't leave without knowing the tracker is operational."
"She's right," Said Hartley, who had been uncharacteristically silent since they entered the house, "And whatever information she's got has to be useful if Hydra is keeping her safe."
"Thank you," Skye said.
Bobby and Tripp looked at each other before Bobby said, "Fine, you have ten minutes, then we're coming back in."
"No," Skye said as she took out her ear piece and handed it to the agent, "You wait until Fitz tells you everything is clear."
"You are pushing your luck," Bobby warned.
"Raina won't hurt me," Skye insisted.
"One sign of trouble and we come back in there guns blazing," Tripp warned
"I expect nothing less." Skye took a deep breath before handing her gun to Tripp and turning her back on her team.
"Ward is going to be so pissed," Tripp muttered as Skye closed the door behind her
Skye tried to walk as casually as she could. She didn't want Raina to know how nervous she actually was. Skye was used to things not going according to plan, but she wasn't used to pulling cover stories completely out of her ass. She'd really screwed herself over with this one, one wrong move and she was going to end up dead. Or worse, a captive of Hydra.
"You're back," Raina said.
"You sound surprised,"
"I am," Raina replied, "I never thought you'd hide something from your team."
"I'm not hiding anything from them," Skye said, "The moment I leave; they're going to know everything."
"You won't want to tell them everything, Skye," Raina insisted.
"Why don't you start talking then I can decide that."
"What do you already know about the Diviner?"
"Nothing really," Skye said, "Just that you and I are mixed up in it."
"Garrett's carvings," Raina said suddenly, "Do you know anything about those?"
"Um… just that he did them," Skye said, "Why?"
"They're related," Raina said, "The carvings are a map, Skye."
"A map to where?" Skye asked suspiciously
"A special place that only the Diviner can lead to."
"I'm really confused, Raina," Skye admitted. The more she spoke, the less sense she made. And the more Skye wondered why she had to be alone to hear this.
"I have the Diviner," Raina said.
"You have it?"
Raina looked at the door apprehensively, "You can't tell them, Skye."
"Why not."
"They'll make me give it to them," Raina said, "And then Hydra will come after you."
"Hydra is already after us," Skye said, "Try again"
"They can't touch it, Skye," Raina said, "Not without dying."
"And now I'm even more confused."
"Only certain special people can touch it."
"Like you?"
"And you," Raina replied before adding, "I think"
"So you expect me to lie to my family because you suspect that I'm a special person who can touch a mysterious object that leads to some weird ass city? Okay, sure"
Skye almost laughed. This whole situation was ridiculous. Skye had seen some weird shit since joining Shield, but this was too much. She should have known better than to trust Raina.
"The thing about fact, "Raina said slowly, "Is that it's true whether you believe it or not." Raina got up and walked over to the mantel hanging over a rustic fireplace. She grabbed a small decorative box and brought it back and placed it on the coffee table between Skye and the chair as was sitting in before, "But if you don't believe me, you can touch it and see for yourself."
Raina carefully lifted the lid to reveal a silver, oddly shaped object. Skye knew this must be the Diviner. She wasn't sure how she knew exactly, just that she did. Skye's first instinct was to touch it, to see if Raina was right about her. The Diviner seemed to be calling to her, drawing her in. Skye's hand subconsciously moved until it was hovering over the box.
Her skin was about to make contact when she heard a loud crash just outside the door, "No," she said as she drew her hand away, "I'm not risking my life to prove your theory."
"Fair enough," Raina said, "But you might not another chance for a while."
"You're running away," Skye said. It wasn't a question; Raina's intent was painted on her face. She was going to leave and see how long she could hide from Shield and Hydra.
"And you're not going to look for me," Raina said knowingly
"And why's that?" Skye asked.
"Because you and I are the only known people who can hold the Diviner," Raina said casually, "If you imprison me, it will only put a bigger target on your back."
"I'm used to having a target on my back."
"Not one like this," Raina said, "Whitehall will stop at nothing to get you. He'll kill your entire team for it. You might not care about your own life, but I know you'll do anything to protect theirs."
"You think you know me pretty well, huh?" Skye bluffed.
"I do," Raina said, "But if that isn't enough to convince you, I have more."
"Oh?" Skye said.
"If I'm in prison, who will take you to meet your father?"
A.N so I actually ended up really liking this one in the end, especially the parts with Raina.
