The next time Hayley was called in by Coulson, it was a couple of days after their trip to 1941. The mission was fairly straightforward: go under cover as passengers and board the train carrying the package meant for Ian Quinn; tag it and follow it back to the intended recipient.
Of course as with most of their missions, nothing went as planned. Coulson, May and Ward were no longer on the train and Jemma was currently unconscious, knocked out by a grenade version of the ICER. That left Fitz, Skye and Hayley to follow the package.
The trio followed the vehicle carrying the package all the way to a very fancy looking house. Fitz, Sky and Hayley crouch down by some bushes and watch the car pull up outside the house. "Coulson was right" Fitz said as Ian Quinn exited the vehicle "Cybertek led us to Quinn".
They watch as Quinn shakes the hand of one of the men who had been on the train. "Activate the tracker, let them know we're here", Skye told Fitz and he pressed a button on the tracker to activate it. As he does so, Hayley eyed the people on the steps of the house.
"You want to go in there don't you Hales?" Skye asked her sister having noticed how intently her twin was looking at the people on the steps. She didn't blame Hayley one bit for wanting to go into the house. Quinn was in there and as it took them long enough to track him down since their first meeting in Malta… they couldn't let him get away again.
"Of course I do", Hayley replied looking at her "Quinn is in there Skye".
"I know", she said understandingly "but you won't be going in there alone. I'm coming with you". There was no way she was going to let Hayley walk in there alone, no matter how good her fighting skills were.
"I figured as much", Hayley turned to the house again, seeing that all the people had gone inside save the one man who was pacing by the parked cars. "Fitz can you disable their cars?" she asked glancing at him.
"With my bare hands", he replied pulling out two small cubes that were stuck together from a pocket in his rucksack. He set them down on the ground and opened up the rucksack to get out the spare ICER they had. The one Hayley had brought with her was now strapped securely to her leg. "You should take this", Fitz said holding it out to Skye.
"You'll need it out here", Skye said. As Hayley already had her ICER, she didn't want Fitz to be left outside without a weapon to protect himself.
"Just take it", Fitz insisted. Skye sighed and took the ICER from him. "Good luck and be careful", he said to the sisters.
"You, too", Skye said sincerely. Fitz zipped up his rucksack and shoulders it.
"Wait for it…" Hayley said watching the man by the cars "Now!" she said when he moved away, enabling them to run from their hiding place. Fitz goes for the cars while Skye and Hayley headed for the house.
With their ICER's at the ready, the twins stuck close to the side of the house, edging towards and archway. Hayley signals for Skye to stop when they got close. She quickly peeked around the corner, pulling back before the guard stationed on the porch area spotted her. 'One' she mouthed to Skye who nodded.
Hayley counts down from three with her fingers and when she got to zero, the pair stepped out, shooting the guard simultaneously with their ICER's. He dropped to the floor unconscious. Hayley and Skye hurried up the steps and entered the building.
The pair creep quietly along the hallway, ICERS at the ready. Apart from the guard outside, they hadn't ran into anyone else. Hayley and Skye rounded a corner just as a door opened further down the hallway. They quickly slip back around the corner and watch as a man and woman walk through the open door.
"Find Mr. Quinn. Tell him his purchase is downstairs", the woman said to the man.
"Si", the man replied. The sisters watch the pair walk further away from them. When they were sure the man and woman was far enough away, they moved down the hallway to the open doorway. They looked in to see a set of steps that led downwards.
"Should we go down?" Skye asked Hayley quietly as they stood at the top of the steps.
"Yes", Hayley replied "we need to find out what that package is" and with that she began to descend the steps. Skye followed quietly after her. At the bottom was a door. Hayley put her hand on the handle "ready?" she asked Skye.
"Yeah", she replied tightening her grip on her ICER. Hayley turned the handle and slowly pushed the door open. She entered the room carefully, making sure it was empty. Skye followed her in, glancing behind every so often to check to see if anyone was coming down the steps.
In the middle of the room was a table with a box sitting on top of it. It was Quinn's package. Up against the back wall was some sort chamber. There was another against the wall on the right side of the room. Unlike the first, this one seemed to be lit up. Skye and Hayley walk up to it, their eyes widening when they saw who was inside. It was Mike Peterson!
"Mike", Skye breathed staring down at him. Neither of them could believe their eyes. The last time they'd seen the man, he'd been rushing off to save Coulson and then there was the big explosion. They thought he'd been killed but he was here. He was alive.
"Hello", Quinn's voice suddenly said behind them. Startled, Skye and Hayley spun around, pointing their ICER's at the man. Before either one could fire a shot, two men came out of the shadows and ripped the guns out of their hands. Hales you idiot! You let your guard down! Hayley mentally reprimanded as she and Skye were pinned against the chamber, a hand at their throats and their own ICER's pointed at their heads.
"Skye. Hayley. The Clairvoyant told me to expect you", Quinn said smirking at them. Hayley just glared back at him.
"Signor Quinn, this is the same gun as the specs that you gave us", the man holding Skye informed him.
"Yeah, you guys have been looking at us while we've been looking at you…" Quinn tapped the ICER to make his point "And we found a handful of particularly interesting things". He went over to the head of the chamber, twists the lock and pulls the door open. The men holding the sisters captive released them with a shove. Hayley rubbed her neck glad that the time vortex didn't decide to make an appearance. While it would've allowed them to escape, she couldn't afford Quinn discovering this 'ability' of hers.
With their ICER's still pointed at them, Hayley and Skye watched as Quinn pulled out the tray Mike was laying on, the man starting to stir the moment he was out of the chamber. "Mike", Skye said as he slowly started to sit up.
"That's right, you three know each other", Quinn said looking from the twins to Mike and back. He clapped Mike on the shoulder "Hey. Do you know who I am?" he asked and Mike nodded his head. "And you have your orders?" Quinn questioned. Mike nods again.
Hayley frowned at that. Orders? What did Quinn mean by that? Is Mike working for him now or something? "Good, because I purchased something that's gonna help you complete them", Quinn said. He took the ICER from the guy who was pointing it at Skye, who incidentally happened to be one of the men from the train.
While Quinn pointed the ICER at Skye, the train guy turned to the package on the table and opened it. "Mike. What is happening here?" Skye asked. Mike looked at her but didn't say anything.
The man from the train turns from the open package and has some sort of big bowl like device in his hands. Mike looks down as he places the device on the stump of his missing leg before glancing over at the twins.
"Stand, please", the train guy ordered as he stepped away. Mike stands on his leg using his arm on the table to steady himself. The Train Guy punches a bunch of buttons inside the package. Mike lets out a yell of pain as the whirring increases. The "bowl" suddenly spreads out along his thigh, going up to his hip. Suddenly it starts to grow from below as well giving Mike a newly completed leg. While this is going on, Mike is yelling out in pain. Hayley and Skye both watched, wincing every time Mike cried out.
"Mancini, thank you" Quinn said giving the ICER back to him "You will be receiving your payment shortly". Mancini and the other man who'd been holding Hayley's ICER on her, left the room. The moment they left the room, Quinn went over and tapped Mike's new leg "That is the best money can buy, my friend", he said sounding rather proud about that "Every piece of technology in you is top-of-the-line" every piece? How much did they put in him? Hayley thought worriedly.
"I just wonder if I'm getting my money's worth" Quinn mused aloud "I know you get your orders from the Clairvoyant, so that means you're not allowed to hurt me, right?"
Hayley could tell by the look Mike gave Quinn, that he would love to hurt the man. That told her Mike wasn't working for the Clairvoyant willingly. It made her wonder what this Clairvoyant had that would make Mike do what he's told. She hoped it wasn't his son, Ace. "But what if I tried to hurt you?" Quinn asked, pulling out a small handgun and pointed it at the man "Would you stop me?"
Mike looks down at the gun then up to Quinn "No. I would not", he replied.
Quinn picks up Mike's hand and puts the gun in it. "And…if I wanted you to…to hurt them…" he pulled Mike's arm up pointing the gun at the twins. Immediately Hayley tugged Skye behind her "You know, kill them…will you?" Quinn asked "I mean, what would hurt Agent Coulson more than to lose his pet projects?"
Mike looks at the girls and then at Quinn "Those aren't my orders", he answered, his voice calm but Hayley could tell by the look on his face that was he anything but calm. Quinn looked at him sharply as Mike lowers the gun and presses it against his chest. It wasn't the answer he was expecting. "They're not who I'm supposed to kill", Mike declared and with that he walked out of the room.
Skye darted out from behind Hayley to chase after Mike. She'd just reached the door when a shot rang out. Skye spun around, her eyes widening when she saw Hayley with one hand pressed against her stomach, blood seeping out from under her fingers. "Hayley !" she exclaimed but before she could take a step towards Hayley, Quinn fired again. Skye cried out as the bullet hit her in the stomach. She collapsed to the floor, hand pressed on her wound.
"I'm sorry", Quinn said to her as she gasped in pain "But I have my orders, too". He went over to Hayley who like Skye, was gasping in pain. The brunette let out a scream as Quinn shot her in the stomach again. He then walked out of the room, not once looking back at the dying women.
With enormous effort, Skye managed to push herself up onto her elbows and look at her sister. "Hales?" she gasped out. She got no response. "Hales?" she called louder and then groaned at the pain that was spreading through her body. There was still no response. Skye knew she had to get help. Neither one of them was going to survive if Coulson and the others didn't show up soon. Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself into a sitting position, using the wall to keep her upright. Skye reached into her pocket for her phone but she couldn't find it. She cursed under her breath when she discovered that her phone wasn't in the other pocket either.
Black dots started to appear in her vision. Skye knew it wasn't going to be long before she passed out. "Coulson…I'm sorry", she whispered as she succumbed to the darkness.