A.N: I love writing Raina... she's such a fun complex character. Feel free to comment and let me know you think so far. Things are getting more complicated. And not everyone is a bad guy by choice in this world. Remember that... And some people just make the wrong choice for all the wrong reasons. ;)
The steel door cracked open to let her in. He'd woken up a few hours ago inside of the bare cell he assumed was in the basement of their base. They'd thrown a mattress on the floor and called it a bed. He hadn't even been given a pillow.
"How far the mighty have fallen," Raina commented as the door shut behind her.
He was lying on the mattress with his hands folded behind his head, staring at the stone ceiling above him. "What do you want, Raina?"
"I came to check on you," she shrugged looking around at the empty cell. "To make sure you had everything you needed."
"A real bed would be nice," he narrowed his eyes, sitting up to level her with a glare. "A real meal wouldn't hurt either." The sludge that they called oatmeal was almost insulting. But he'd really enjoyed throwing the bowl at the super soldier that had been tasked with delivering it.
Raina gave him a knowing smile.
"What are you so happy about?" Ward asked, standing and leaning against the wall.
"It's only a matter of time before they come for you," she shrugged. "Especially with Skye being pregnant…. Do you think she'll come with them? I do hope to see her face to face so I can congratulate her on the baby."
Ward dropped his arms and clenched his jaw. "Stay the hell away from her."
"And how are you going to stop me?" she asked. "You're down here and I'll be up there…"
"I should have killed you when I had the chance," Ward told her.
"Like you killed Garrett?" she asked. His eyes widened, confirming her suspicions. "You think I didn't know? I knew… And I've just been biding my time, waiting for you to mess up so I could catch you. I never imagined that your downfall would be not being able to keep it in your pants. Typical…" she shrugged nonchalantly.
"When I get out of here, I am going to snap your neck," he growled at her.
"Is that a threat?"
"It's a fucking promise."
"I can't wait," she winked at him with a smile before knocking on the door. It opened as she looked over her shoulder one last time, "I'll give Skye your regards."
She left, shutting the door behind her. Ward sat on the mattress with his head in his hands hoping that Skye wouldn't come for him and wishing he could warn her about Raina's trap.
As far as rescues go, Coulson knew this one was probably one of the most difficult he'd have to carry out in his career as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Without backup and despite being seriously outnumbered, he'd made a promise to Skye and he intended on keeping it. He was flanked on either side by Trip and May since they'd left Skye with Fitzsimmons back at their base. They'd always done well on their own though. They'd overcome the odds before and they could do it again.
That's why Coulson was surprised to find that the base where Hydra was holding Ward was so easy to infiltrate. They expected more resistance but had only encountered a handful of super soldiers that had seemingly been left behind for them. For the most part, the base was empty… just like Cuba.
Coulson touched the ear piece he was wearing with a sigh. "Skye? We need your help here."
"I'm in their security feed. I can see you. It really does look empty."
"Where's Ward then?" Trip asked.
"He should be there," Fitz spoke up. "As far as we know, this is where they were holding him."
"Coulson, there's a basement." Skye said in his ear.
"That's where we're heading now," Coulson answered. "Standby…"
He turned off his comm for the moment until they could secure the downstairs area. The three operatives took the steps one by one slowly and quietly. May went first with Coulson in the middle and Trip right behind him. Before Coulson could ask, May was already downstairs with a super soldier passed out at her feet. She cracked her neck with a stoic look and bent to search for keys.
"We need to hurry up in case more come," Trip told them.
Coulson nodded, putting his gun away and running down the hall calling for Ward. Eventually, he heard the younger man call out to him.
"Coulson?"
"It's me," he answered. "I'm with May and Trip."
"I never thought I'd be glad to see you again, boss."
Coulson nodded releasing a breath. "May, the key…"
She tried all the keys on the chain and frowned with a shake of her head. None of them worked. He knew something was wrong and that this rescue was taking way too long.
"We need to blow the door," Trip told him.
Coulson nodded before turning back to the door. "Ward, can you take cover?"
"All I have in here is a mattress but it should work."
"Okay, get behind that. We're going to blow the door to get you out."
"Copy that."
Coulson glanced at Trip before the other man stepped up to the door, rigging it to blow. He signaled that he was done and the three of them ran to the same staircase they'd come down to take cover. A few seconds later, a small explosion blew. Coulson glanced at Trip in confusion.
"I thought it'd be bigg-"
The louder explosion cut him off and the door burst off its hinges. Coulson looked around the corner to see Ward stepping into the hallway and walking toward them.
"Are you injured?" Coulson asked.
Ward shook his head. "They drugged me but that was hours ago… Where's Skye?"
"She's safe," Coulson told him. "She's back at the base with Fitzsimmons."
"The three of you took down everyone?" Ward asked with confusion. May gave him a sidelong glance that had him explaining. "I know you can take down an entire room, May, but there was an army here. And where's Raina?"
Coulson shook his head.
"Cal?" Ward asked.
"Who's Cal?"
"Dr. Zabo? Skye's father…."
Coulson shrugged. "They weren't here."
"That doesn't make sense." Ward told him. "She was taunting me that she was waiting for you… for Skye…"
"They weren't here when we got here, Ward."
"Something's wrong…." Ward told him. "Get Skye and Fitzsimmons on comms now, Coulson."
Coulson eyed him with confusion before turning his comm back on. "Skye, you there?"
There was static in his ear but he tried again anyway. "Skye, can you read me?"
No answer.
"She's not answering but maybe we're not getting a signal down here. Let's get out of here and back on the Bus. I'll try again when we get up there."
Ward nodded but the fear in his eyes was clear as glass. He was worried. And Coulson started to feel that same worry and fear gnaw at him.
The entire ride back to base was quiet. Coulson had been trying to reach Skye and Fitzsimmons but had been unable to get in touch with them. By the time the plane landed, Ward already had the cargo hold open and was jumping off before May could fully kill the engine.
Coulson's fears became realized when he saw the small based turned over and ransacked.
"Oh god…" he mumbled watching Ward turning over furniture and calling out Skye's name. Coulson heard groaning coming from his left and quickly ran to turn over a wooden table, finding Fitz under it.
"Fitz, what happened?"
"They showed up right after you went silent on the comms," the young scientist said.
"Who?"
"Raina and Cal," Ward answered, standing over both of them.
"Where are Skye and Simmons?"
"They took them," Fitz answered. "They took them both… Coulson they knew about the baby."
Grant pushed the heels of his palms against his eyes in frustration to hold back the tears he was ready to shed.
"Raina said that they wanted Skye but they took Simmons too…"
"Why would they take Simmons?"
"She's a doctor," May spoke up.
"So is Cal," Ward told her. "But he won't experiment on his own daughter. He's a lot of things but he loves his daughter."
"Skye's father? Only Raina was here, Ward." Fitz said.
"Not Cal?"
Fitz shook his head. "Just Raina and few super soldiers."
"Raina's gone rogue," Ward kicked a chair making Fitz jump. "This isn't about Cal or what Skye is… Raina just wants to make her suffer."
"Why? What does she have against Skye?" Coulson asked.
"Because of me," Ward frowned. "Raina hates Skye because of me."