Pieces Solving a Puzzle
Spoilers:All seasons...
Disclaimer: I only own the characters that Marvel doesn't already own.
One Year Post HYDRA/Inhuman-SHIELD Confrontation – HYDRA Headquarters – New York
Skye stood starring at Ward's computer, more importantly what was on the screen in front of her. Her orders had been simple, put Hunter and Morse in a cell together but separate May from the others. She'd been stern in her order that they sedate the woman as she could tear apart anyone entering the cell. Tests were done and the results returned confirming that she was indeed May. The entire fracture of her team, of her people, from those she called family had been because one of them had killed May. It seemed Inhuman hands had stolen her breath then given it back.
A hand on her hip made her turn her head slightly to see Ward out of the corner of her eye. With the hand on her hip, he reached around her with the other and turned off the screen. "Just go down there."
"Everything started because of her, I'm here because of her."
Ward turned her till she faced him, he gently pulled on her arms so they unfolded. Tipping her chin up with a finger he stared into beautiful brown eyes. "Why you're here doesn't matter anymore, we can't change the past." He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "It's been a week, I'm sure Coulson is starting to lose his mind thinking they're dead."
"Like you care what Coulson is going through."
He nodded, "not really but you do, so a small part of me cares." Rubbing her arm, he picked up the tablet and folders beside her left hip. "I have a meeting and you have people to talk to. I'm sending Jamison with you, he knows how to keep his mouth shut and he knows where priorities lie."
"A meeting or," she used her fingers to quote his words, "a meeting?"
He chuckled, "if it was that type of meeting I wouldn't have these." Raising the files and tablet in his hands he smirked before leaning down to kiss her chastely. "I'll see you in a few days, I know you plan to return to the habitat after you speak with them. Sparky mentioned something about a birthday for the twins."
Skye poked his chest with her finger, "which you better come to."
"I'll send a gift but unfortunately our Los Angeles office got hit by ATCU yesterday so I have to go inspect the damage. Being a director, even of HYDRA, isn't all power trips and orders."
"You could always quit." She folded her arms and smirked at him.
Ward pulled her closer despite pushing her back into the desk, "better me than another madman."
"Define madman, Hellfire?" A grin crossed her face as he leaned down and kissed her, only coming up for air when she pulled him closer. "Tease."
"The original Sweetheart." Winking at her he moved around the desk, looking at Jamison as he opened the door to see his lieutenant waiting. "Protect her with your life, even a scratch and I have your head."
"I believe it will be the other way around sir but yes sir, I'll do my best."
Security Holding Area – HYDRA Headquarters – New York
Entering the hallway that lead to individual cells, Skye moved to one of the walls and hit the screen of the tablet in her hand. The wall disappeared to show a glass wall, beyond it was Melinda May pacing her cell. The woman paused when she turned to see Skye beyond the glass. Skye pressed a button the door and hit it, knowing that a two-way conversation was possible with the sound system turned on.
May walked to the glass barrier and Skye watched the woman survey her, probably taking in her clothing. She wore what she usually did when she was at HYDRA, it wasn't her Inhuman combat uniform but her 'professional' clothing. A sky blue button down shirt tucked into black jeans with boots, her HYDRA pin lay on her collar and she wore the small teardrop sapphire necklace that symbolized the Terrigen crystals of transformation.
"Our scientists have confirmed that you are who you claim to be." Skye took a step forward and nodded to her. "It's good to see you alive, I mourned you despite being exiled by Coulson."
"Daisy you need to let us go and come with us." May moved till she was at the glass, "Ward is only using you to get what he wants. Sooner or later he'll turn on you like he has everyone else."
Skye shook her head, "you were dead so I'll fill you in. HYDRA and the Inhuman community have been allies for a year. Ward and I are working to build HYDRA into a world security corporation, since his transformation he's changed."
"Daisy, he's still homicidal. You know he wears masks and personalities like they are clothes. He's a psychopath, a murderer…"
"I don't except you to understand what my people have been through May. How we've been hunted by Coulson after your death, how ATCU came in offering an alliance for Inhuman lives, or about how SHIELD and ATCU have been hunting us together." She shook her head, "Ward provided safety and supplies, and in return, I owe him a few favors every so often. Sacrifices had to be made and I made them, including aligning myself with my enemy."
May stared at her sternly as she spoke. "How long Daisy? How long has he been using you to suit his own wants? How long has he been giving you everything your people need? How long has he been maneuvering you into a position of power and providing protection, just to use it to his own means?"
She watched as Skye's expression turned neutral to angered, the former agent gripped the tablet so hard it shattered into pieces on the ground. An alarm went off and all the girl did was bend down to pick up the pieces. The doors opened and Skye merely looked up to see Jamison and several men from her security unit, assigned to her when she was at HQ.
"Ma'am, are you alright?"
"Fine Jamison." She stood back up and placed the broken tablet pieces on a nearby table.
Jamison looked between May and Skye before he hit the red button by the glass, it caused the glass barrier to dissolve away. Immediately he moved into the cell with a gun pointed at May. She merely looked at the barrel as he spoke. "Cox, call the boss."
"Negate that." Skye spoke and the man removed his hand from nearing his ear. "Jamison removed yourself and the security unit, I'm fine. I broke the tablet I was unable to maintain control for a moment."
"You're sure ma'am?"
She was silent so he backed up and moved out of the cell. Hitting the red button, something sprayed across the opening before crystallizing into glass. Jamison looked at Skye, she nodded towards the door. "Go, wait outside."
"Can't you see Daisy, Ward has men on you to track your every movement." May moved to the glass despite the men in the hallway. "He doesn't trust you, he only wants to control you. When he's finished with you, you'll be nothing but another kill."
Jamison moved to glass and pointed at her. "I'd watch your tone Calvary, you know nothing about Agent Johnson's position here or her importance."
"Sir!" The men behind them spoke and Jamison turned to see Ward standing a few feet behind him.
Ward moved past them towards Skye, glancing at the destroyed tablet as he went. He put a hand on her arm and met her eyes, she put a hand on his own arm. "I'm fine, the alarm was triggered because I crushed the tablet. Jamison is just getting a little over protective."
"Good, he should be. He knows what failure to protect you means." Ward dropped his hand and moved past Jamison to look at May. "Pissing off my men again May?"
She glared at him, "just bidding my time till I can kill you. Inhuman or not, I will put you down."
"You've tried that a few times now and failed each time." He held his arms out, "now look where I am, head of HYDRA and we're building something much more powerful than SHIELD."
"Ego, watch it." Skye made the comment and Ward looked back at her.
He's nodded, "Skye's right, I'm not giving her the credit she deserves."
"Not looking for credit, just telling you to watch the ego." She accepted the tablet one of the men handed her. "Last time you inflated your ego ATCU planted a bomb in your building and you ended up in a coma." Skye started messing with the tablet. "Don't you have a meeting to run?"
"Lunch break." He took a few steps back and looked down at her.
"Lunch break this early in the morning?" She looked up at him as if asking if he really thought she believed him. "Go finish your meeting, I'm sure you're dying to put Hoshito in his place for that experiment he conducted without clearance."
He narrowed his eyes, "you mean the one…"
"No the other one, the one that nearly caused a nuclear blast." She looked at Jamison, "go with the director and see to anything he needs. Consider that an order."
Jamison nodded his head, "yes ma'am."
Skye looked up at Ward, "go Director Ward."
"As you wish Deputy Director Johnson." He nipped her chin with his finger and turned to the security unit by the door. "Protect her with your lives, a single scratch and you'll be joining Dixon and Brockner at the Arctic base."
"Yes sir." They all spoke as he left the hallway and disappeared with Jamison behind him.
"Wait outside." Skye spoke evenly to the men beside her. They looked at her with confused expressions, "I believe I gave you an order."
"Yes ma'am." With that they were gone and the door shut behind her.
May looked at Skye as the former agent turned her attention back to the woman in the cell. Skye smirked as she manipulated the tablet. "Ward doesn't control me, if anything I control him. I'll be contacting Coulson to coordinate an exchange, I've checked on Hunter and Bobbi regularly, they're fine. I even have a medic making sure Bobbi is receiving oxygen and medications as needed."
"I know you care Daisy, about the team and SHIELD." May tilted her head slightly, "let us go and I'm sure an agreement can be reached. We can help you protect the Inhumans, take on ATCU and HYDRA, end this whole mess."
"Should only be a couple more days and you'll be back at SHIELD." She turned to leave but May's voice stopped her hand on the door.
"He's destroyed you a second time and the truth is, he doesn't care. You're just a means to an end and you'll only realize that when he's standing over you while you bleed out."
Skye turned to look at her former mentor, "you'll never realize he's changed, you only see who he was before. Inhuman Law is centuries old and while some laws change, one never has. Who you are before Terreginesis is forgotten, you gain a new life with all the possibilities that come with it. Ward embraced that, he may threaten to kill and dole out the task to another but he has not taken a single life since his Terregensis. He's cocky as shit sure but he's not the murderer he was before, he's changed and no one believes it."
"Or is that what he wants you to believe." Without hearing another word Skye hit a control on her tablet and the grey wall returned, the sound disappearing with the touch of a second control.
Director's Office – HYDRA Headquarters – New York
When the screen fizzled out to show Coulson on the other side, Skye bit her lip. She was out of focus, out of sight from Coulson as Ward sat in front of the computer facing the man that had once been like a father to her. Coulson seemed to fold his arms immediately, slightly taken aback by the man who had once been a key part of their team before a heavy betrayal.
"Ward…"
"Coulson, how's life?" He leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Look, I have some people here of yours that I'm sure you want back. Don't worry, they're being taken well care of." He waved a hand in the air as if to swipe away the bad thoughts Coulson had about the status of his agents.
"We have two different definitions of 'well taken care of' so excuse me if I'm wary of your hospitality."
Ward shrugged, "fair enough. I'll give you a little update for reassurance. Hunter and Morse are in a cell together, Morse is receiving oxygen and medications as needed. May is by herself but she is being provided with basic needs. All are receiving food and water, Morse is also being given additional nutrients to help prevent sickness due to her compromised immune system." He folded his arms, "we aren't animals, we do take care of our prisoners."
"Where's Daisy?"
Skye moved into the frame, allowing Coulson to see her. "I'm here."
"I assume you're the one making sure Morse gets the care she needs." She gave a nod and his attention turned to Ward. "What do you want for them?"
Ward sat up and leaned in as he spoke, "I want you never to work with ATCU again, several of my Inhuman employees are dead because of them. They also stole the coordinates to the Inhuman habitat, luckily they are false coordinates put there for that reason. HYDRA and the Inhuman community are intertwined, it doesn't bode well for any of us if they continue their attacks. While HYDRA and SHIELD will never stop hunting each other, I can say that you and your teams are less likely to be fired on than ATCU."
"ATCU turned on us as well, the Inhuman scientist who revived May was executed during the night. We didn't find her till after the raid went down, several of the other Inhumans we've been tracking have gone missing. ACTU traces could be found at all their locations, we're learning that ATCU makes alliances to get close to Inhumans before killing them." Coulson nodded to him, "so you don't have to worry about us working with them."
"Good, we'll send coordinates of where you can find your agents." The connection was cut immediately and Skye put her hands on Ward's shoulders.
Looking up at her he squeezed her hand as he stared at the blank screen. Skye wrapped her arms around his neck, linking her fingers together as her chin rested on the top of his head. "I dug through all the government data related to ATCU. They have accords they are required to follow and they aren't, they're doing things in an inhumane manner. If we could get them to admit it, we could do this legally and avoid the government downpour that would happen on all of us."
"May mentioned a treaty, make one with Coulson concerning our people." Ward moved slightly so Skye stood up, removing her hands from him as he turned around to look at her. "Even if a legal avenue is taken, our people need to be protected and SHIELD can make that happen."
"And if part of the treaty demands HYDRA separation from the Inhuman community?"
Ward rubbed her arms, "we'll separate, you can keep the habitat and everything we gave you. I'll reach out to contacts to help our employees find new jobs and you can go back to being their leader full time."
"You'd be an outcast, labelled rogue and without the protection of the Inhuman community. Coulson could hunt you down, kill you and we'd be unable to retaliate." Skye met his eyes as he took her hands in his own. "Any contact between us would void such a treaty."
Standing up, he pulled her into his arms and leaned down to kiss her head. "Your safety is more important than anything Skye. If it means you keep breathing and our people are safe, I'd keep myself halfway across the globe." Pulling back slightly he looked at her, "living in a world without you is not worth living. If I know you're alive and even marginally happy I'll do whatever is necessary to keep it that way." Chuckling he smiled at her, "you could do worse than Sparky."
"He isn't you."
"No, but he cares for you and is loyal, I can live with that." Brushing her cheek with the back of his fingers he leaned down to kiss her. Pulling back he smiled at her, "make the treaty, we'll deal with the rest as it comes."
A/N: Well that happened...
Next: We see Skye returning Bobbi, Hunter and May to Coulson along with making a treaty with him.
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