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CHAPTER SEVEN: WARD VS WARD

Skye

On the day we meet with Christian I walk down to Ward's cell with a change of clothes and a razor.

He stares at the floor, not even acknowledging my (or the armed guards I have with me) presence. I tell him to shave and he does. I tell him to get dressed (turning around, of course) and he does it. He's like an actual robot, doing exactly what I say. It's disconcerting. Where is the arrogant man I saw a few weeks ago? And who is this frightened one left in his place?

"Ward." I say, beckoning him towards me. "It's time."

Ward's eyes look haunted and fearful, and I notice he's trembling like a baby deer.

"Please, Skye." He whispers. "Don't send me back there."

"It's 15 minutes, Ward. What can he do in 15 minutes?" I sigh. Ward gives me a look that is so full of dark memories, it sends shivers down my spine.

"You wouldn't want to know."


May

We meet Senator Christian Ward in a safe house. The prisoner, Ward, is handcuffed to a chair in the next room. Christian smiles politely, but to me it looks forced. Christian Ward is a tall man, chunkier than his brother Grant, but no less imposing. He has a dangerous look in his eyes that I have seen in my own eyes. Once again, I question Coulson's motives.

"15 minutes alone with him. Then I'll help you." Christian confirms. I nod. Coulson nods also.

"What are you going to do to him?" I ask quietly.

"Talk to Grant." Christian smiles, and it's the smile of the devil. "That's all."


Skye, Simmons and I spy on the Ward brothers through a carefully carved hole in the wall.

Grant is handcuffed to a steel chair, which is bolted to the floor. Christian stands opposite him. Ward holds his hands in his lap, pushing down on his thumb absentmindedly.

Christian takes off his suit jacket and chucks it to aside. He takes a long case and places it by the jacket.

"Hello, Grant." He says in a soft voice that sends chills even through me, the Calvary. "I hear you've been gelling lies about me."

Grant raises his eyes to Christian's. I see that they are full to the brim of anger.

"I never lied, Christian!" He yells. "You're the liar. You've always been the liar-"

Suddenly, Christian lashes out and punches Grant straight in the stomach. Grant groans as the air rushes out of him. He hunches over, gasping for breath. Christian blows on his knuckles.

Next to me, Skye and Simmons gasp in shock. I shoot them a look that tells them to shut up.

"What were you saying, Grant?" Christian asks coolly.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Christian." Grant gasps out. My eyes widen at Grant's easy submission. He is a HYDRA super solider, for god's sake! Who is this pathetic child in his place?

"Now, they tell me that after you burnt down our family home - with me in it, might I add - you escaped juvie. And now you're HYDRA. How messed up can you really be?" Christian hisses, prowling around Grant, resting his hands in the back of his neck. Grant flinches.

"I wasn't HYDRA." He mumbles, almost inaudible.

"I'm sorry?" Christian asks, his fingers tightening around Grant's throat, but not too tight as to restrict his breathing yet.

"I wasn't HYDRA." Grant says clearly. "I worked for Garrett, not HYDRA."

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about." Christian's fingers release Grant's neck, but not before his fingerprints cause bruises on his throat. He walks back around to the front of Grant. "Now, having a brother like you is bad for my public image. So what should I do about you?"

Christian punches Grant in the gut again. Grant doesn't cry out or ask him to stop: he just takes every punch that his older brother gives him.

Then Christian steps away from Grant and pulls on some gloves. He crosses the room and picks up the long case. Opening it up, he takes out the Asgardian Berserker Staff. Grant pales visibly.

"Wh- what are you doing with that?" He asks, unable to contain the wobble in his voice.

"Someone told me that little Grant has used this thing before." Christian says. "That it made him half crazy with rage."

I narrow my eyes. What is this man planning to do? I'm about to send Simmons for Coulson when Christian forces Grant's hands to close over the staff and we watch as he leans back, smirking at the reaction Grant has to the staff. After a few minutes, Christian takes it away from Grant. The younger man shudders, gasping for breath.

"Now, you're not going to live long, Grant." Christian says calmly. "I'm going to convince this Coulson man to hand you over to me, and then I'm going to publicly execute you. I'll finally get rid of my whiny, coward of a younger brother and boost my chances at the elections at the same time." Christian smiles. "How great is that."

"Great." Grant agrees dully.

"Shut up." Christian snaps, punching Grant in the gut again.

"Sorry." Grant whispers. Christian punches his stomach again.

"I told you to shut up!" Christian's voice is controlled. "Why can't you just shut up, Grant?" His voice becomes less and less controlled by the minute. "All you ever did was cry and complain. Cried when mom locked you in that closet. Cried when I found out how much you hated that small, dark closet." With each sentence, there's another punch You told me you would kill me, yet here I am." Christian spreads his arms. "You burnt a house to get to me, yet I'm still here, you stupid bastard."

Simmons whimpers. I watch the scene silently, considering whether to interrupt when my eyes catch Grant's hands. He's pressing down on his thumb bone harder now, his eyes glassing over as Christian continues to yell abuse at him. I realise in that instant what he's planning to do.

"Get Coulson!" I tell Simmons. "Tell him to get in there now!"

There's a crack as Grant as breaks his own thumb, slipping the handcuffs off one hand easily, leaving one hand attached to the chair. He breaks out of it fast and punches Christian straight in the face.

"Don't touch me, Christian." He growls dangerously. "I don't like it."

Christian recovers fast from his brother's attack, a smirk on his face. He rubs his jaw ruefully.

"Ah, yes. Your touch aversion. Did that get worse?" Christian taunts. "You're weak, Grant Ward. Weak. No wonder you lost that girl they told me about. What was her name? Skye?"

And that's when Grant Ward totally loses it.


Skye

We run around to the doors, panting.

"Open them!" May orders. Coulson gives her a look.

"May, it's only been 7 minutes-" He starts, but May just shoots the lock. I push past her and we enter the room, not really prepared for what we see.

Grant's gotten hold of the Berserker Staff again and is roaring like a hell beast. He's beating Christian into the ground, yelling incoherent things as he does so. It's a painful sight, to see him beating his brother repeatedly over the head with an Asgardian stick while tears are threatening to fall from his eyes.

"Grant, you're going to kill him!" I yell, running over to him. Grant growls at me.

"I don't care!" Underneath the stick, Christian's face is a mess. "He deserves to die, Skye!"

"Please, Grant!" I plead. I only know that I must stop Grant from killing Christian. He can't be a murderer again. He needs to stop. He needs to prove that he's the man I fell for.

Grant's eyes become unfocused. I slowly put a hand on his, hoping that my touch can snap him out of his head, like it always used to.

"Put the staff down, Grant." I say quietly. Grant stares at me for a long moment before bowing his head and stepping away from his older brother, dropping the stick to the floor with a clutter. Christian breathes heavily, getting to his feet.

"Monster." He spits violently in Grant's direction as he strides out of the room for medical attention.

"Yeah, I am." Grant mutters to himself before looking up and giving me a broken smile. The kind that is creepy because with his broken, sociopathic eyes, smiles are the last thing you do. Then he straightens up, holds his broken hand close to his chest and holds a calm look onto his face.

"When will I be returning to my cell, sir?" Grant asks calmly, like he didn't just try to kill his brother by hitting him repeatedly with a stick. Like he didn't just go through another torment.

But Coulson, May and I could see how shaken he was from that fight, and we decided to keep him out of the cell for a bit.

And that's when I realise that I started calling Grant by his first name again.