Chapter 10

After making up with Coulson we sat and watched 'The Walking Dead' while eating ice cream – our typical Saturday night tradition whenever I wasn't on a mission. But when midnight rolls around, Coulson and I say goodbye. After cleaning up a little, I grab my face-mask and turn the TV off. Then I shut off the lights and crawl into my comfy bed and drift off to sleep.

I wake up to thumping noises outside my room and I groan. As I pull myself out of bed and get into my uniform I return to the BUS from my apartment. I hop on my motorcycle and speed off back to the team. When I pull up to where the BUS is, I am shocked to see it's no longer here. Panicking, I tear my phone from my pocket. I open up the tracker Nat had put on the plane when we first heard AC was alive, it reads 'The Hub'.

"That's odd," I say to myself and start to make my way there.

I pull my bike into the cargo ramp of the plane and swing my leg back over the bike. I take note of the shattered glass and dozens of bullet holes around the plane's interior. I lean down to take a closer look – they are AK-12 Assault Rifle bullets with a 9x39mm barrel. Russian rifles, I think curiously, what the hell happened here? I slowly pull out my Sidearm, just in case. Suddenly, I hear movement around the corner. I instantly move towards the sound. I raise my gun as I take a quick breath and swivel to meet the hidden enemy. When I turn, I am faced with four 1977 AMT Hardballer pistols; I disarm the assailants quickly. I drop to one knee to steady myself, my gun poised and ready to shoot.

Suddenly, a voice tinged with panic shouts, "Anastasia it's us!"

I look up at my targets to find Coulson raising his arms in surrender.

"Dammit Coulson! You know not to sneak up on me," I say, putting my Sidearm back, "what happened? Why did you move the BUS? And why does every S.H.I.E.L.D location look like chaos?" I remember the state of my apartment and The Hub.

"S.H.I.E.L.D has fallen. Hydra infiltrated us at the highest level and Fury is dead," Coulson said looking down at his shoes. "And they took my gun."

"I slept through the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D? Damn I'm a heavy sleeper," I mumble under my breath; then it dawns on me, "where's my sister!?"

"Natasha and Captain America are dealing with Hydra at The Triskelion. They just took down the Helicarriers that were designed for Project Insight," Coulson explains to me.

"I told you guys Project Insight was going to back-fire on you," I retort, raising an eyebrow, "so what do we do now?"

"Well General Talbot is coming here to 'talk' so we we're just about to leave," May replies.

"God I hate that guy. He's just a real pain in the ass," they all nod their heads. "Well then, Agent May get this plane in the air," I order. She just nods her head and pulls up – which is peculiar; she never takes orders from me.

"Mission de–brief in 5," Coulson says over his shoulder; leaving Skye, Ward and I alone.

"Well this awkward," Skye says.

"You are correct my friend. Skye would you like to join me for a coffee?" I ask her.

"Awesome! Coffee with a world class assassin – my friends would never believe it," she says while following me and leaving Ward behind us.

We walk into the kitchen and I head straight toward the Tassimo, "you don't like Ward, do you?" She asks me as I grab mugs.

I look her dead in the eyes, "no, I don't."

"He's a good guy once you get to know him," she replies.

"Oh, I'm sure he's all gumdrops and rainbows," I mumble sarcastically, "Skye, here's the thing. Specialists tend to not like other specialists. We like to work alone or with the partners we've been assigned. So don't take it personally – especially since I don't like a lot of people. But you just happen to be one of the very few that I do like, Rookie," I say, pouring the coffee.

She smiles, "I like you too," and she takes the mug from my outstretched hand.

From there we make our way to the de–briefing room. A few stragglers rush in behind us.

"Alright let's get started," Coulson says as soon as he enters the room. He then pulls up all the information on the screen. "So, we all know Hydra is inside S.H.I.E.L.D. One of our highest agents is suspected to Hydra. So the operation is to send in a two-man team and tag them with a tracker that FitzSimmons designed," he explains.

"This tracker is designed to dissolve into their skin as soon as it is placed on them. So we can be tracking and hearing Hydra's every movement and they will never know," Fitz explains vigorously.

"Agent Novak will be at a charity function tonight. The two-man team will go in posing as a normal, rich, married couple," AC explains further.

"So, pompous and stuck up?" I ask.

"Pompous and stuck up," he confirms, "you are to plant the tracker without him noticing or anyone discovering you are from S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Well that's obvious," I huff under my breath. I receive a dirty look from Coulson, I ignore it by adding, "who is the two-man team?"

A sly smile grows on Coulson's face as I take a sip of my coffee. "That would be you and Ward," he replies.

Shocked, I spit my coffee out and all over him.

I give a harsh laugh and ask, "I clearly didn't hear you properly. Who is the team; answer honestly this time."

He asks as he pulls out a cloth from his jacket, "I made no error Anastasia, the team is you and Ward. Will that be a problem?"

I clamp down on the acrid bile clawing up my throat. With clenched teeth, I reply, "of course not. A job is a job."

"My suit suggests otherwise . . ." He says in a hushed tone as he wipes the coffee from his face.

"Yeah . . . sorry about that," I flash an innocent smile – he does not look pleased.

"You will leave as soon as the bus touches down in an hour. You will need to be ready in that time," he says hopelessly, I can tell he is just trying to get rid of me.

Grant and I give him a slight nod and head off to our bunks. Agent May follows close behind me as she always helps me get ready for OPS like this.

"What are you wearing this time?" She asks knowing I always have spectacular dresses locked away for events like this.

I smile devilishly, "I have this fiery red dress that I've been saving for just the occasion. It shimmers in the light, hugs the curves, and shows off all my best features," I wink at her and I am awarded with a sly smirk.

An hour has passed and I am just finishing up my hair as May leaves to land the plane.

"Would our two-man team please report to the cargo bay," Coulson's voice booms over the intercom.

I take a deep breath and head towards the cargo bay. As I make my way down the hallway I can see everyone is waiting for me.

"You ready to get this show on the road?" I ask Ward; hooking my arm through his waiting one.

"Absolutely," he assures me, walking us over to the car. He then chivalrously opens the door for me.

I offer him a very slight grin as I slide gracefully into the SUV. Coulson walks up to my window and taps it as Grant climbs into the driver's seat.

When I roll it down, Coulson asks, "Please, at the very least, try not to kill him."

"I make no promises AC," I confess as Grant turns the key and brings the engine to life.

I return the window to its original position as Grant backs off the cargo ramp and speeds off towards the charity event.