Hi! You might recognize this story from 2+ years ago (under a previous title of "Just a Computer Genius", which I abandoned because I honestly wasn't sure where to take it. But with the final season currently airing (no spoilers pls, I haven't seen it yet because I don't have cable, rip) I decided, "eh, why not". So I mapped out the basic plot (hallelujah), changed some characters' names, and opened this doc for the first time since January of 2018 (holy crap).
This story takes place a few episodes after the Obelisk retrieval. However, Simmons isn't undercover at Hydra, Fitz doesn't have brain damage, and Ward isn't Hydra. Also, I have no earthly idea where the Playground base is located, but for the sake of this story, I'm going to say New England/American East Coast. Ok, enough talking:
I don't own Agents of SHIELD, if I did we'd all need therapy
Phil Coulson couldn't focus.
His mind was constantly buzzing as he struggled to solve a million problems at once. His main problem centered around the Obelisk, which they had acquired only a few days before. He fiddled with a pen on his desk, studying the SHIELD logo engraved on it. A sigh escaped his lips. SHIELD, an organization that had once stood solid in its core beliefs in protecting mankind, had been torn apart from deep within by Hydra bastards, and now he was left, alone, with no one to turn to. Fury was dead (ish), Hill was offline, Garrett had basically exploded, Hand had been killed, and Hydra was showing its true colors, leaving Coulson scrambling to pick up the broken pieces of an organization he had poured his life into. All that Coulson had left was a ragtag team of a few field agents, two scientists, a pilot, a hacker, a mechanic, a specialist, and said specialist's sassy ex-husband (who didn't do much except steal beer). Only May knew how deeply he was hurting and how much his role as director was taking a toll on him. In fact, just this morning, he'd found a patch of greying hairs. No wonder Fury had gone bald. Coulson sat down his pen and began examining the Obelisk's file.
"Sir," a deep, familiar voice said. Coulson looked up to see Mack, the muscular Mr. Fix-It guy onboard, standing in the threshold of his office. "There's someone standing outside the main door. He knew the code and everything."
Coulson frowned. It wasn't even possible, no one outside of the agents on-base knew where it was located. "Do you have any idea who they could be?"
Mack shook his head, "No sir."
"Could they be Hydra?"
"No Hydra symbols on them and no weapons, sir. I'm not saying they're safe, but I doubt they're Hydra. They look like they've seen and been through some shit."
Coulson thought for a moment. These visitors could hurt the team and would have access to all kinds of information about S.H.I.E.L.D. "Have the team meet by the door. And tell them to be armed and ready, just in case."
"Yes sir." And Mack was gone. The director stood up slowly, praying he was making the right decision. A voice in the back of his head warned him that he could be jeopardizing his entire team. But looking at the thin file for the Obelisk, with the shouts from Hunter and Bobbi's last argument still ringing in his ear - maybe a fresh face wouldn't be so bad.
Skye sat on her bunk with her computer, scrolling through Reddit, when there was a polite knock at her door. Skye grunted for the intruder to enter. Her mood instantaneously changed when Ward walked in the room, a fresh cut on his cheek from their latest mission.
"Someone's found the base," he said. "Mack says he didn't see any weapons or Hydra symbols, but Coulson wants us all armed and ready just in case."
Skye grabbed her gun and stood up. "Shall we?" she smiled, grabbing his shirt collar and pulling him closer.
"We shall," Ward grinned back, kissing her gently. After a few seconds, he pulled away and returned to Agent Ward-mode. "Now get a move on, I'm going to round up the others."
Skye was still giddy from their kiss, but curiosity and slight panic had her running down the halls to the door. Her mind raced faster than her feet as she tried to shake off any ominous thoughts.
At the entrance to the base, the little gathering of agents was growing, as curious but equally terrified agents clutched their guns and prayed this wasn't the end. Coulson arrived and nodded for Mack to open the door.
Turns out, there wasn't a visitor.
There were two: A tall man around 45 or so and a girl no older than 15. The man had curly chestnut-brown hair with specks of gray and a thick beard that didn't quite cover the long scar on his cheek, but his most noticeable features were his tired eyes and slumped shoulders. He stood protectively in front of the girl, whose deep brown had fallen in front of her freckled face. Her chest rose up and down in a panicked state, and one glance at her told you she'd been through hell.
Before anyone could say anything, the man stepped forward, raised his hands, and begged, "Please don't hurt us. I'm Agent David Ridley."
Coulson, who stood between Fitz and Simmons, opened his mouth to counter. but Hunter beat him to it. "Really? Where did you work, then?"
"The Hub, sir," Ridley replied, taking off his gloves.
"May I see your badge?" Coulson questioned sternly.
"Yes sir." Ridley pulled out a shiny silver S.H.I.E.L.D. badge. "Level 8."
Coulson stepped forward to examine the badge. Ridley's face lit up when he realized who he was. "Agent Coulson, sir! We were at the Academy together."
The director smiled, "I do believe I remember you."
"And you looked familiar as well, ma'am," Ridley added, turning to Agent May, whose expression didn't change, though Coulson could see in her eyes that she did, in fact, recognize Ridley.
The two men shook hands, and Ridley put his arm around the girl, who looked up at him admiringly. "Oh, and this is my daughter, Maggie Ridley."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Coulson replied, and Maggie nodded in acknowledgment.
Skye caught Maggie's eyes and smiled, and the girl gave her a small smile in return. Her eyes lingered on Skye for a while, and it took the hacker a minute to realize she was staring at the gun in Skye's hand. Maggie looked alarmed that everyone on the team was holding a gun - even Simmons, who could barely use one. Skye understood and tried to cover up her weapon.
"May I ask what you're doing here?" Agent Coulson questioned, obviously anxious for an answer.
"My wife, Jane, and I worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. She was killed when Hydra took over, and Maggie and I have been on the run ever since. I knew Fury had built secret bases for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and I knew we'd be safe in one."
"I'm sorry to hear about your wife," the director replied. "And yes, you are safe here. But I'm sure you can understand that we will have to examine you and your daughter to make sure we can trust you." Coulson motioned to the stout goofball, Billy. "Billy will take you to our Lie Detector. Don't worry," he added quickly, noting the girl's triggered countenance, "you'll be all right. And afterward, you can settle in and meet the team."
When Billy and the Ridleys were out of earshot, Coulson turned to the team with an expression of utmost concern. "Normally I would trust these people, but in light of recent times, I want to take every precaution to ensure the Ridleys aren't hiding anything. Skye and Hunter, I need some info on David and Maggie, anything suspicious or abnormal. Bobbi and Trip - go through their bags and make sure they aren't hiding anything. May - tell the other bases that we've found Agent Ridley and that any information on him would be welcome. And Ward, look in the Academy yearbook in my office and make sure Ridley really was at the Academy."
As everyone turned to leave, Mack spoke up. "With all due respect, Coulson, sir, can't we just give these people the benefit of the doubt? They're just refugee agents."
"I know it sounds strange, but we need to be able to trust them. If David and Maggie are staying here, they'll have mountains of S.H.I.E.L.D. information at their fingertips. Now, let's get to it."
Skye's fingers flew over the keyboard, searching for anything on the Ridley's. Hunter leaned over her shoulder as she worked at the table in the common room.
"Who knew anyone could type so fast?" he said, clearly impressed by the young agent's unforeseen abilities.
The brunette's foot tapped impatiently as the information slowly loaded. "I'm a hacker," she defended. "That's what makes us look so cool, right?"
"Think you could teach me?"
"It depends," Skye shrugged, grinning. "Bobbi says you don't do well with instruction."
"Well, Bobbi also says my cooking is horrible," Hunter countered. "The woman who fights with me all the time is not really the most reliable source for unbiased information about me."
"Wow, I'm surprised you could string that many words together in a sentence."
Before Hunter could sass back, Coulson entered the room with a stern countenance and a Captain America tie.
"Nice tie director," Hunter greeted, stepping closer to the computer to make it look like he'd actually been doing something useful.
"Thanks," Coulson replied with a half-smile, then turned to Skye. "What have you found so far?"
Hunter coughed loudly. "Well, I helped too."
"Agent David Ridley," Skye began, pointedly ignoring her partner. "49 years old, attended S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy in Operations. Worked at The Hub for twenty-two years, until Hydra took over. Was married to Agent Jane Kohls-Ridley, a SHIELD scientist, and has a fifteen-year-old daughter named Maggie. In his spare time, Ridley enjoys coaching a hockey team for underprivileged kids and singing in the choir at his church." Skye took her eyes off her computer and looked at Coulson. "This guy's clean, not even a speeding ticket. And his daughter - Maggie - she's also clean."
"That seals the deal, then. No one else can find anything suspicious about them. Hunter - go help Bobbi set up two rooms for our newest members. And Skye, do some more research on the Obelisk. Whatever information you have, it's not enough."
And Coulson was gone.
"He's kind of in a Melinda May mood right now, don't you think?" Hunter asked as Skye fiddled with her computer.
"Hunter, he's just being serious about this. I would be too, it's kind of weird for two strangers to show up at our base just a few days after we'd secured the Obelisk."
Hunter shrugged and lumbered off to help Bobbi. Skye shook her head, trying to conceal her laughter.
"What's so funny?"
Skye knew the voice without even turning around. And when she did, Ward was grinning at her with that goofball smile he had. Skye felt her heart melt.
"Nothing," she replied, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.
He looked down at her, grinning. "Need me to get on your level?"
She scowled and stood on his feet to try to be taller. Laughing, he leaned in to kiss her when Skye realized someone was watching. David Ridley.
"Agent Ridley!" Grant greeted, extending his hand to the man. Ridley shook it, still eyeing Skye warily.
"I hope I didn't interrupt anything," he smirked.
"No, you- I mean, we weren't-" Skye stumbled, realizing just how red her face was. She cleared her throat and extended her hand. "I'm Skye."
"Just Skye?"
"Yes sir."
"Please, call me Ridley."
"Pleasure to meet you, Agent Ridley," Skye said.
"It's nice to meet you too, Skye," Ridley replied. "I can't seem to figure out how to get to Coulson's office, however."
"I'll show you," Ward offered, and the two men wandered off, leaving Skye and her thoughts alone in the room. She watched them walk off, hoping Ridley wasn't going to rat them out to the director. Nonetheless, the hacker couldn't keep a smile off her face as she worked.
Hope you enjoyed it!
Face Claims (who these characters would look like or be similar to in real life):
Maggie Ridley: Bailee Madison
David Ridley: Justice Joplin/Christian Bale