The next morning, or what Skye assumed was morning, she and Ward were going through the gun disarming thing she had learned the day before. Ward had insisted they practice multiple times so it's ingrained in her brain. Skye had slept well and couldn't use lack of sleep as an excuse to get out of it.
Just as she had spun and was pressed up against Ward, there was a loud bang and the door of the room burst open. Ward pushed Skye aside and held up his fists, ready to defend. She moved to stand behind him.
Standing in the doorway was John Garrett. He had an annoyed look on his face, yet still looked slightly insane.
"Well if it isn't Ward. And look, Skye too. Should have figured you'd have run off with her, Ward," he said. He pulled a gun out of his pocket and threw it at Ward, who wordlessly caught it.
"We didn't run off," Skye said because she suddenly felt like she had to defend herself.
"I'm just teasing," Garrett said to her. Then he turned back to Ward. "You caused me quite a bit of heck when I found you hadn't returned. I was, for a moment, worried about you, Ward."
"Touching," Ward replied dryly.
Garrett's smirk faded and he narrowed his eyes at Ward in a daring way. "Before I let you go, tell me, this bunch of inane do-gooders weren't your weakness, were they, Ward?"
Ward's face grew to a frown and his jaw tensed. "No."
"Ah, that's what I like to hear!" He gave Ward a hefty pat on the back then turned to leave. Skye and Ward were quick to follow. She was eager to get out of that room, even if she was probably being led into danger and she wasn't given a gun.
"Stay close," Ward whispered to Skye.
Garrett led them down the hall. Garrett walked loudly, lumbering around as if he didn't care for any possible threats. Ward walked lightly behind, Skye noticed, as if he couldn't walk loudly if he tried. She tired to keep a light pace too.
"What's going on here, John?" Ward asked. "Where's Coulson?"
"Hydra is taking over! Raina failed to get the info we need before so now we're trying again. This time, Deathlok and I are here and things are going great. We've got all of Coulson's little gang and they're separated and at gunpoint. Raina is on their computer now. Mission is going perfectly. Do you smell that, guys? It's the smell of a Hydra success!"
Raina was on their computers? Skye's heart leapt. Maybe she'd be getting her files today!
"How long were we in there for?" Skye asked Garrett.
"Almost three days," he replied said. They came to the computer lab. "Okay, so, Ward, come with me. Skye, you can take over one of our captives. That Simmons is pretty harmless, and if she's any trouble, just threaten her with the death of her little nerd brother."
"He's not her brother," Ward said, but looked away as if mentally reprimanding himself.
"Does it look like I care?" Garrett almost laughed. He gave Skye a gun. "She's being held in the lounge."
Skye turned, hoping she was turning in the direction of the lounge because she still had no idea where she was headed.
"Skye, wait!" Ward grabbed her arm. He pointed to her gun and leaned down to whisper to her, their foreheads almost touching. "This part is the barrel. And hold steady if you need to fire and look along the gun to aim. Stay safe and don't hurt anyone."
Skye was sure he put extra emphasis on the last word, but his eyes didn't give himself away. Or maybe that's why he refused to make eye contact with her.
She nodded and then hurried off.
The lounge was a large area kind of in the middle of everything, so she found it easily. That girl Jemma who she encountered earlier was there, her feet bound and her hands were tied behind her to the foot of the couch. She looked alarmed when Skye came in, but was the only one in the room.
"Wait, are you Simmons or Jemma?" Skye asked.
"Both. Jemma Simmons, full name," she replied in a small voice. She had tear stains on her face, Skye could see as she got closer.
Skye nodded and held the gun to her. Just like last time, she had to at least pretend she knew what she was doing. And this time, she had the upper hand.
"Do you know if Fitz is alive?" Simmons asked carefully.
"No."
"What about Coulson or May or Trip?"
"No. In case you don't remember, you and your people locked Ward and I in your weird cold room for days."
Simmons paused, then looked at Skye. She looked like he had a burning question to ask. "So Ward is alive? And really Hydra?"
"Yup. That must have been a shocker, huh? He told me how he was undercover. Crazy."
"Unfathomable," Simmons sighed. "And now look at the mess we're in."
"Right, so, how high up are you in SHIELD? Do you have access to everything?"
"Level seven."
"Never mind," Skye said. This girl was useless to her. Skye still held the gun to her though.
After a few moments of silence, Simmons spoke again quietly. "You can stop me if I'm overstepping, but how did you get involved with Hydra?" she asked, almost cowering in fear of being shot.
"They can get me what I need," Skye said nonchalantly. "I'm not really Hydra."
"What is it you need? A miracle drug too?"
"What do you mean 'too'?"
Simmons shook her head and started stuttering awkwardly. "I think, um, someone, I don't know who, needs some medicine or, um, information about it, or something. I know, uh, nothing about it."
Skye smirked. "You're an awful liar."
Simmons sighed and laughed a bit. "So I've been told." She looked utterly disappointed in herself. Skye giggled.
Okay, so she's known this girl for like ten minutes, but she hardly seems like a bad person. And she had been hesitant to shoot Skye before, so she can't be too hardcore.
"What do you do for SHIELD?" Skye asked, just making casual conversation because she was bored and knew she's probably lost any hope of seeming like a tough guard. Plus, she was curious.
"I'm a biochem scientist," Simmons said proudly.
"Nerd," Skye muttered, in a teasing tone.
Simmons pretended to look offended. "It's cool! To know and understand how beings work is magical. And so applicable. I love it."
Skye smiled. "Suit yourself. And who am I to judge the neediness of hobbies? I am a hacker."
"Are you? That's really cool. I can deal with computer basics, which I guess is pretty high in SHIELD's standards, but Fitz is way better with them than me. He's an engineer. But you're probably specialized in it."
"I guess. I mean, there were higher ups, but Garrett and Raina said I made good time on the test I did, and Ward said I was one of the best."
At the mention of Ward and Garrett, Simmons lost the somewhat calm attitude she had. She frowned and looked sad again. Touchy subject, it seemed.
Skye shrugged. They were on opposing sides after all. She shouldn't feel remorse. No one else seems to.
Before Skye had a chance to even think about what to say next, a loud explosion went off and the plane shook. Then there was the sound of gunshots.
Skye's held her gun up and turned to the doorways. She hurried to the left one and peeked out down the hall. She heard commotion and shots, but couldn't see anyone. She took a few tentative steps forward. Figuring it was probably safer for her to not get in the way, she turned and hurried back to the area where Simmons was.
But Simmons wasn't alone now. There was a man in a suit there and he was trying to cut her bounds. He had been there before Skye was shot with the ICER. What did Ward say his name was? Oh, yes, Coulson, who was 'truly a good man'.
"Stop, or I'll shoot," Skye said loudly, her gun aimed right at his heart. Even if he was a good man, he was trying to help her assigned captive escape and she was sure Hydra wouldn't be pleased with that.
Coulson sighed and froze.
"Drop the knife," Skye said and he reluctantly did. "Sit down." He did that too.
"Coulson, this is Skye," Simmons said in a shaky voice. She was pretty brave to speak now after the commotion. Or was she comfortable because Skye was hardly menacing?
"You know her?" Coulson asked, surprised. Unlike Simmons, though, he looked relatively calm.
"No. We were talking," Simmons said but then likely realized how silly it was to be conversing with the person holding you captive because she looked down sadly.
Coulson sighed but looked at Skye. "So you're working with Ward and Hydra? What's that like? To know you're on the bad side that is killing good people?"
Skye chuckled. "I haven't done any killing yet. You could be my first," she added, enjoying how tough she sounded. Good line. "And before you get all judge-y why don't you think about how you guys put me in prison and then shot me before locking me in a closet for three days."
"It wasn't a closet, it was a specially designed holding cell and interrogation room with indestructible wall panelling and bomb sensors," Simmons corrected.
Skye flipped her hair. It needed a combing, but that was irrelevant now. "Whatever. So of course I'll work with the guys that got me out and recognize my skills and promised me what I need."
"Skills?" Coulson asked.
"I'm a hacker, and the best one," Skye said smugly.
"Are you? Cool. You're in the right age and business for it," Coulson said. That was a nice and harmless comment. Skye smiled.
"And how high up are you in SHIELD?" Skye asked.
Coulson shrugged. "Maybe the top now."
Skye's eyes widened. "Really? So you have access to everything? All the files?" So Simmons was useles but was this guy who she needed? Skye held her breath.
"Well, I can't at the moment. Due to our little feud with you, things are complicated, so I can't just log on to a computer and search through the databases. I don't even know if the databases still exist."
Skye frowned. Could all the info be gone? All her files? Are they nonexistent now? Would she be able to get them back? Was all this for nothing?
A/N
Not much to say. Hope you're still enjoying it! Tell me what you think! Love ya!
