During World War II the Nazi regime, led by Adolph Hitler, formed a faction whose sole purpose was to help create a means to defeat Germany's enemies using science and technology; this group was known as Hydra. Johann Schmidt, a German super soldier and scientist by the name of The Red Skull, lead Hydra in finding an ancient and powerful artifact known as the Tesseract. Using the artifacts' powers, Schmidt and fellow scientist Dr. Arnim Zola, created weapons far more advanced than any other that the United States have seen. This turned the tide of the war in favor of Hydra and from here most everyone knows the rest of the story.
A story where a sickly and scrawny Steve Rogers was recruited by the S.S.R (the 1940's precursor to SHIELD) for their Super Soldier program. After which he became the one and only super soldier known as Captain America, the First Avenger. With the help of the S.S.R and his own Howling Commandos, he began to systematically dismantle Hydra. Yet, these victories did not come without sacrifice; during these surgical strikes, Captain Rogers seemingly lost his childhood friend and fellow soldier James "Bucky" Barnes. At the climactic battle against Hydra's final base, Rogers not only defeated the Red Skull, but sacrificed his own life to end Schmidt's plans and therefore saving countless lives.
At the very tail-end of the war S.S.R agent Peggy Carter, with whom Captain Rogers himself worked closely with, and the remaining Howling Commandos detained and captured the remaining Hydra operatives. Johann Schmidt's protégé Dr. Werner Reinhardt or Dr. Daniel Whitehall, as he would later be known, was among the captured; with this everyone thought Hydra was finally defeated and no longer a threat. No one could have expected that the last few still loyal to Hydra and it's cause were simply hiding; lying in wait for the perfect opportune time to strike.
Their plans started with infiltrating the descendant of the S.S.R, formed and founded by Peggy Carter and Anthony Stark, known as Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement Logistics Division; or S.H.I.E.L.D for short. Hydra agents merged seamlessly with the new agency, slowly gaining new recruits throughout the years as well as new and even alien technology. With each level they infiltrated they not only gained the respect, but also trust from their so-called peers and superiors alike. For some, like agent Phil Coulson, this was an excruciatingly painful pill to swallow, until he learned that fellow agent and friend John Garrett revealed himself as Hydra.
With this reveal Coulson tried desperately to keep his team close for they were the only ones that he could truly trust. Fate proved a cruel mistress once more as it was later revealed that one of his teammates and Garrett's own protégé, Grant Ward, was a traitor. Coulson realized that this was indeed true when Ward himself locked FitzSimmons in a chamber and ejected it letting it sink to the bottom of the ocean. Ward kept proclaiming that "I'm not loyal to Hydra. I'm only loyal to Garrett." which only came to fall on deaf ears each time he said it. After the death of Garrett and Wards' capture, Coulson was not only given the keys to Fury's secret underground base known as The Playground, but he was also given the title of Director by Nick Fury himself.
In the month following those events Director Coulson has tried his best to rebuild not only SHIELD itself but also the team he once trusted. He sends out agent Melinda May and agent Antoine Triplett to rescue those agents still loyal to SHIELD from the clutches of Hydra. While they rescued, he and Billy Koenig recruited who they could trust, but the past few weeks he has sent Billy and his brother out recruiting while he stayed back to keep an eye on things. So he sits in his new office behind his mahogany desk watching the monitor.
Coulson
I hate this. I hate seeing Simmons like this. There she is sitting at Fitz's bedside, wanting to be the first thing he sees when he wakes.
He's been comatose for weeks now; all of us hope that he'll eventually wake, but even then Simmons knows he won't be the same because of the oxygen deprivation he suffered while on the ocean floor.
She's reading to him, holding his hand, hoping the combination of the two will help stir him from the coma.
I flip the sterling silver letter opener in my hand while using the other to scroll over to the next camera. There's Skye, hard at work installing a new firewall that she guaranteed to keep out any unwanted snoopers.
She's barely slept 6 hours within the past week, probably having nightmares about her time with Ward and who could blame her. She exits out frame, most likely to come tell me that she's finished and looking for something else to do.
Once again I scroll over to the next camera, and there he is sitting on his bed in prison cell waiting for his daily interrogation. My hand clinches tight enough to the point of my knuckles turning white.
I notice my other hand using the letter opener, carving those glyphs into my desk. Takes everything I have to stop, even then I can still feel it gnawing at me.
That's when I hear a knock at my door, I quickly turn off the monitor and cover the glyphs with a mouse pad after which I say "Enter." Time for your game face Coulson, she can't know what's going on, no one can know.
Skye
Opening the door and there he is sitting at his desk; still having a hard time thinking of him as Director Coulson instead of agent. But things change, I have most certainly, just don't know if it's for the better.
"Hey Coul- Sorry, I mean Director Coulson." I keep forgetting to call him Director; I mean I'm a SHIELD agent now so I need to start acting like one.
"It's ok Skye; you don't have to call me Director every time, Coulson is just fine." He grins like he used to, like he did before the crap hit the fan.
"Ok A.C." that's my little nickname for him, "Here's my report on our new Security Systems as well as an update from Agent May." I hand him the tablet and he immediately starts reading through it.
"May and Triplett run into any problems?" he doesn't even look up from the tablet. With all his new responsibilities as Director I'm not all that shocked that he's trying to multi-task.
"Aside from the usual, no. Triplett reported that some of the agents they rescued were injured so they'll probably need medical attention." That's when he stops scrolling the tablet and looks up; he leans back in his chair and lets out a heavy sigh.
"If their injuries aren't too severe we'll get one of the other doctors to fix them up." I can the look of concern in his eyes, a look I know all too well.
"So, how is Fitz doing? Getting any better?" I'm hoping for some great news because we could use a big win right about now, but I know his answer before he even speaks.
Coulson
"Fitz's condition is the same. No change at all." I try to keep my voice smooth, but it ends up breaking and she noticed. She looks calm, but I could tell that she was just as distraught over my answer as I was.
She looks down at her feet for a moment trying to think of something say, possibly trying to find a way to change the subject. "Damn." she says under her breath trying to keep me from hearing, but she immediately looks up. She knows I heard her.
"Sorry AC it's just-" she's trying so hard to keep her composure, trying her damnedest to be a good agent. "I know Skye, I know. After everything that's happened, with Garrett, with Ward; it's normal to feel helpless."
This is especially true when one of our own is lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life. "But we have to move forward, we have to push ourselves past all of the heartache, the tragedy; wasn't for nothing."
I stand up, walk around the desk and stand in front of her. She looks up at me trying to take in every word as if it was her first day at the academy.
"What I'm trying to say is, don't stretch yourself too thin." she scoffs and rolls her eyes, but I keep on it "You've been pushing yourself too much, especially with this last month. You are not responsible for anything that has happened; not Hydra, not Fitz, not Ward."
When she looks at me I can see that Ward is still a touchy subject and that there's fault in her eyes. "Coulson, I should've known something was off about him. I mean he was my SO for crying out loud, I should've seen this coming!"
The intensity, the pain that radiated from her eyes said it all. Gently I place my hands on her shoulders and say "SKYE, none of this is your fault; if anyone is to blame for not seeing Ward as a traitor it is me. This is Hydra's and Ward's fault, not ours; you have to learn to forgive yourself and focus on what you can do and not what you can't."
Skye
Coulson is good at these pep talks; he always made me feel like I could do so much more, be so much more than I was. I'll never be able to thank him enough for that, yet I still feel so useless when it comes to Fitz.
Just thinking of him lying there in a coma, poor Jemma; god only knows what she must be going through. But, like Coulson says, focus on what you can do not what you can't.
I give him a smile and say "Thanks AC. I really needed that." Once again he shows his soft side and says "Anytime Skye." The next few seconds are filled with awkward silence, really, really awkward...
"Sooo...Fist bump?" sometimes the best way out of an awkward situation is to be creative. Coulson stands there for a moment before nodding.
Despite the awkward way he hits my fist with his, things may be getting back to some sense of normal.
Seconds later, a beeping noise started coming from Coulson's desk causing the both of them to turn simultaneously. Walking over to his desk, he found that the noise was coming from the tablet that Skye had previously given him a few minutes before. Looking at the screen, Coulson saw that an unknown caller was trying to video chat; he did not recognize the number, so he picked it up turning it to show Skye. Immediately, she leapt into action, quickly she walked over behind his desk and opened his laptop. She began pressings the keys using the laptop to trace the number, while she did this Coulson waited anxiously for more information. He thought that perhaps it was General Talbot calling to intimidate them, or maybe it was Fury checking in to see how they are settling in. Soon he would have answers as Skye finally finished; she simply stared at the screen speechless.
Coulson
I've only seen that look only once before; that look of confusion and shock is never a good sign.
She looks at me before spinning the laptop around; when I look at the screen that is when I realize why she has that look.
"It's coming from Stark Tower." she can't hide the surprise in her voice. Sometimes I forget that she's still so new at this.
Hopefully it's not Stark, that's last thing I wanna deal with at the moment. Looking at the tablet I tap the screen accepting the call; Maria Hill pops up on the screen and she looks less cheerful than last time.
"Hill, good to see you. How've you been?" can't help but make small talk; when it comes to Hill she just brings it out of me. "Been better, considering the current circumstances."
I can feel a smirk form on my face, "Well, I did tell you what Stark was like. You know my offer is still good, I promise to try to keep the sarcasm to a minimum."
She doesn't break character, just stares at me looking more serious than she did just before New York; if that's even possible, then this could mean big trouble.
Skye
I can't believe it! The Maria Hill, Fury's second-in-command. I read her file, and by read I mean I hacked into Coulson's computer and looked at some classified personnel files without his permission.
From what I read she is one of the best SHIELD had, and from how AC talks to her, he seems to respect her as much as Fury. I'm curious as to why she's calling him.
"Sorry to call without a heads up, and I know that your still adjusting, but this situation requires your attention." she's determined, I guess you have to be when you're working for The Tony Stark.
"Don't know if you have noticed, but we're still getting up and running. Besides, we got enough on our plate; we still have to interrogate Grant Ward to see what else he knows about Garrett and Hydra."
Ward; even now with him locked up in his cell, his name still sends chills down my spine. Despite that, Hill has an avenger for a boss, why can't she just ask him to handle it.
"I know, but I can't go to Stark with this or anyone else. That leaves you." as she speaks I know that she's hiding something, and looking at Coulson he sees it too.
"Why? What is so secretive that you can't tell Stark or even Romanoff?" That's the AC I know, asking the hard questions giving her no leeway.
"It's about Dr. Streiten." that name, I know it. I can see his jaw tighten, the muscle tensing up; she definitely caught his attention.
"What about Streiten?" his tone was no longer calm. I have a feeling that I'm not going to like what comes next.
"Hydra has him. Looks like they're going to try and recreate GH-325." what she just said made my heart skip a beat. That serum saved my life, but it literally brought Coulson back from the dead and made Garrett insane.
Looking at AC I can tell he feels the same, as he tightens his grip on the tablet to the point where his knuckles start turning white. I have to help, however I can.
Coulson
Damn HYDRA! It's bad enough that the serum brought me back from the dead and saved Skye, but it also made Garrett a delusional psychopath.
And perhaps I'm turning into one as well because of it. I will not let anyone else become like Garrett, like me. "Alright, we'll move on this right away. But we're still a few people down. Can you get a hold of Barton or Romanoff? Could use their help."
I can tell from the way she shifts in her chair what her answer will be. "Barton is busy, and Romanoff is off rescuing other agents; but I might have one more person to try. The Sword."
Skye
"The Sword?" I didn't mean to just blurt it out like that, but it started to feel like I was being left out of the loop.
Coulson turned to me, looking calmer than he did before. "He was a specialist who worked for Fury. He was very good at tracking people who didn't want to be found." his words were smooth; he definitely knew the guy.
"He's also one of the best interrogators SHIELD ever employed." Hill chimed in a bit, but there was something about what she said that didn't add up.
Before I could ask my question Coulson turned back to her asking "You wouldn't happen to know where he is by chance?" I see him trying to be suave and it works apparently. Hill gives him a sly grin before saying "I'll send you his coordinates. And Coulson, be careful. He still doesn't know who to trust, or whose friend and who's Hydra."
He nods then says "Understood. Thanks Hill, I owe you one." This time she gives him a flirtaous smile "Yes you do. And Coulson...Good luck."
She disconnects, and he goes straight into first gear; he turns around and says "Get your gear, we leave in 15 minutes." He then presses the button to the intercom, and moments later good ol' Billy Koenig answers.
"Yessir Director, What 'ya need?" I like Billy; aside from him being a stickler for the rules sometimes he can be really cool.
"I need Lola fueled and ready to go, the specialized tactical gear loaded up, and all available files on "The Sword" ready in ten minutes." Billy doesn't hesitate, "I'll get right on it sir!"
Coulson presses the button once more, ending the conversation. He looks at me and says "Bring your laptop, and ICEr. I'll meet by Lola."
He walks over to the door; with my curiosity now peaked, I have'ta find out why I haven't heard of this "Sword" guy before. "Wait, AC-uh urm... I mean Director, what exactly are we doing here? Who is this guy anyway?" I can't believe I just blurted it out like that, but it couldn't be helped.
For all we know Dr. Streiten could be working for Hydra willingly. He stops, and turns around looking calm; he said "He's a friend. And he can be trusted."
Can't help feeling cautious, especially after Ward showed us his true colors, showed us his true loyalties. He knows exactly what I was thinking.
"He's not like Grant Ward. He can be trusted Skye." he tries reassuring me but I can't let myself be fooled, not again.
Coulson
She's hurting, we all are, but Ward took more than just her trust, he nearly took away the only real family she's ever known. That's not something one gets over easily, especially Skye.
"I'm sorry, but I can't place my trust in someone I've never even met. Even if you vouch for him." as she speaks, I hear the pain in her words.
I want to give her the everything-will-get-better speech, but the truth is I don't know that it will. So for right now we just have to dig deep and find it within ourselves to continue doing what needs doing.
I walk over to her and once more I gently place my hands on her shoulders and tell her "You don't have to put your trust in him, just in me."
She looks up at me and I can see a glimmer in her eyes; she sees me as a father-figure, and she is like a daughter to me. With that mutual bond, she'd follow me anywhere and that's exactly what I need right now.
"Ok AC; I trust you." when she uttered those words, it felt like it did back then, back to when everything wasn't so topsy-turvy. I wish we could go back to that, but somethings can't be undone.
I let go of her shoulders and she begins to leave the room, but she stops when she opens the door. Turning to me, she flashes a brief smile and says "Thanks Coulson. I needed that."
I flash a brief smile as well, before she closes the door. Now it's time to see if "The Sword" is all for SHIELD, or a Hydra traitor. For our sake, I hope he's on our side.
2 hours later
New York City, New York
Normally it would have taken a no more than 45 minutes to get from their base to New York City using "The Bus". Unfortunately, it's currently in operational thanks to Garrett and his cohorts, but they did however have a quin-jet that Fury had so kindly stowed away at "The Playground" for safe keeping. It was currently in use by Agent May and Agent Triplett who were heading back from a rescue mission; Coulson had contacted May via a secure communication uplink that had survived Lola's "harsh" landing. While Skye read up on some files, he was telling his second-in-command May about the current situation; needless to say she wasn't very thrilled about the news.
Skye
I've been sitting here for nearly an hour listening to May and Coulson. May stating that You can't go to him alone, he might perceive you as hostile. He thinks that you're still dead.
Meanwhile Coulson says We need all hands on deck with this, and... After a while I just tuned them out and focused solely on this guy we're looking for.
There's very little in his file, and by little I mean one page which gives a brief description of who we might be looking for.
DOCUMENT
CITIZENSHIP: UNITED STATES TITLE: AGENT-LEVEL 7
PLACE OF BIRTH: UNKNOWN HEIGHT: 5'10"
RACE: CAUCASIAN/ 0 8 4 WIEGHT: 210 ILBS
GENDER: MALE HAIR: DARK BROWN
DENTAL: NONE EYES: HAZEL
LANGUAGES: MULTI-LINGUAL
IDENTIFIABLE
MARKINGS:
FAMILY: PARENTS UNKNOWN - PRESUMED DECEASED
EDUCATION: UNKNOWN
CURRENT S.H.I.E.L.D.
EMPLOYMENT: AGENT/ Contractor ALIAS: "The Sword"
Why even have a file on him if they just have one page, I mean there could've at least put a blurry photo of the guy here, but nooo. Guess that would've been too much to ask for.
"Like I said May, this was time sensitive and the only ones available were me and Skye. We couldn't chance it by waiting." Looking up from the file and I see May standing in the cargo hold of the quin-jet, looking aggravated by Coulson's decision.
"I understand, but the least you could've done is brought Simmons with you; Jaxx and her have history, he trusts her." when May says that I immediately perk up. History? With The Sword? My mind begins to wander at what exactly that could mean.
Coulson's face cringed, "I know that, but I figured that one or more of the agents you rescued would need medical attention. Was my assumption wrong?"
He's always been good planning for the unexpected, well, except for the whole Hydra-Garrett-Ward thing, but not even Fury saw that coming. So there's no fault on AC for that.
I continue keeping quiet so as to not interrupt their conversation, which by the way was getting tense. "We managed to get 7, 4 of which need medical attention."
Seeing the look of confusion on his face meant that something was wrong and soon I found out why. "Intel suggested there was over 20 at the location? What happened?"
May looked away for a moment, and when she looked back I see a glint of agony in her eyes. "Hydra happened. Trip and I barely got these people out, the others weren't so lucky."
"You mean their dead?" couldn't help but to interrupt. Hydra nearly took everything, our friends, our trust; what more can they want?
"Some, others were taken; we tried Skye, but we were sorely outnumbered." May's words expressed how we all felt. Because right now, it's us against the World.
Coulson glances at me for a second before looking back at May on the screen. "Understood. Get those people back to base pronto. And notify Koenig, let him know that Simmons is going to be needed in medical for new arrivals."
Simmons, maybe this'll take her mind off of Fitz, even if it's only for a brief moment. "Will do Director. Something else you should know." Great; please please let it be good news for once.
"What is it?" his tone was no longer calm, it had a hint of concern within. May smirked briefly, almost in a flash it was there and gone "These agents wish to rejoin SHIELD, under your command Coulson."
Yes finally! Good news for once, I look over at Coulson but instead of seeing joy or some hint of excitement he just sat there, calm not even a smirk.
"That's great, we'll talk more when their patched and we're back at base. Til then, you're in charge." his tone was calm and neutral again; it's almost robotic how he does that, but he only does something like that when his mind is elsewhere.
May either doesn't notice this or doesn't care, because she just says "Understood Director. See you when you get back. Over and out." the screen goes black, and goes back into its hide away inside the stereo.
I'm not sure what's going on with him; it's almost like he's off in his own little world. So it's up to me to snap him back "Hey AC, are you ok?" He doesn't answer, just stares at the steering wheel in front of him, but once more I try "Heeellllllooo; earth to Coulson, are you there?"
Coulson
Too late again. We should've gotten to them sooner, but I hesitated because I thought it might be a trap, just like the last time, and the time before that.
I hate the fact that we're always one step behind Hydra; hell for all we know Hydra has already gotten Streiten to develop a new version of the GH. 325.
And if so, I doubt it has the same side-effects that I'm experiencing; even this very moment instead of concentrating on the mission at hand, I keep thinking about those symbols.
That's when I hear a voice, albeit it sounds so far off in the distance, it causes me to snap out of it and back to reality; just in time too.
"Heeellllllooo; earth to Coulson, are you there?" I look to my left and there's Skye looking concerned. I haven't told her about the symbols; haven't told anyone for that matter, and even if I wanted how would I go about it.
Hey guys guess what? You know those symbols that Garrett was drawing before he went bat-shit crazy and tried to kill everyone? Yeah turns out that it might have something to do with the serum that was injected into Skye and brought me back to life. No big deal right?
Yea that would go over well, especially with Skye and all her questions. I have to put it out of my head, for now concentrate on the mission at hand.
"What's up Skye?" that's the only response I can come up with? Well, let's hope that it's enough otherwise I'm totally screwed.
"What's going on AC? Everything alright?" her questions are often simple, but effective. I want to tell her what's going on, but it's not the right time.
"It's just...before Hydra I thought I knew who could be trusted and who was the enemy and now..." my words aren't completely untrue, so hopefully that'll get to focus on the case.
"I know what you mean, everything is just so..." she looks away trying to find the word to best describe this situation; "Confusing?" that's the word that springs to my mind.
She looks back at me and says "Complicated." I can't help but nod in agreement. What she doesn't know yet is that if Jaxx is with Hydra, things are about to become a whole lot more complicated.
20 minutes later
Skye
We've been sitting in this car for almost half an hour without saying a word. Knowing AC he probably likes the quiet, gives him time to think, but me; I always prefer a good conversation, plus I'm dying to know what kind of history this Jaxx guy has with Simmons.
"So...How exactly do you know this Jaxx guy?" Coulson turns to me, and I can tell exactly what he was going to say It's a long story.
"It's a long story..." I knew that's what he would say. I look away briefly and shrug before saying "Well, we've got the time."
He looks away just staring at the Ernie's Model Toy Shop across the street. He does give a grin before saying "Ok. What do you wanna know?"
Yes finally, ok now what to ask him first; I know, I'll start off with the classics and go from there. "Where did you two first meet?"
"Falusia, 04. His squad had encountered a 0-8-4 while on mission." His tone was calm and neutral as if he was reading it from a file folder.
"What was the 0-8-4? What did it do?" even I could hear the curiosity in my voice that time which means I'm sure he heard it too.
"The device cause massive hallucinations, and nearly destroyed an entire enclave of refugees and the squad itself. Somehow Jaxx was immune to the device and somehow managed to shut it down before anyone was seriously injured. Shortly after that Fury sent me to retrieve both the device for safe keeping and Jaxx."
This Jaxx must be one tough SOB to be able to defuse a situation like that, but I knew there was more to this story and I had to find out what.
"What happened after that? Did you recruit him for SHIELD?" shortly after asking he shook his head and replied "I questioned him about what happened and he was very forthcoming. He held nothing back and simply wanted to know if there was anything else he could do to help."
I think I'm beginning to understand this guy Jaxx; "So it was after that, he joined SHIELD." Once more AC shook his head no, then looked at me and said "Both me and Fury asked if he would like to join, but he refused."
He looked back at the shop across the way, then continued "He said he refused to leave any of his brothers and sisters over there to fight alone."
I can see a glint of respect in Coulson's eyes; he truly respects the guy, and who wouldn't. "So, what part of the military did he serve in?" Once again Coulson grin and replied "United States Marine Corps; Captain 1st class, Special Operations Armed Patrol."
His voice was still calm, but no longer neutral in tone. Instead you could hear the pride in the words he spoke; AC always did have a soft spot for those in uniform just like his all-time hero. The Star Spangled Man with A Plan, Captain America himself.
Looking down at the folder I retrace the information on the document, and in doing so I could feel Coulson staring at it as well. "You're wondering why he has hardly anything in his file?"
"Actually, I was wondering how come he gets a cool nickname like "The Sword". May has "The Cavalry" and this guy has "The Sword"; when do I get a cool nickname like that?" I'm joking of course, well, maybe only half joking.
Looking up I see confusion in his face, which made me a little confused too; that is until he said "Skye you have a nickname. Don't you remember?" What's he talking about? What nickname, I, I...
"Mary Sue Poots." did he just, pull a joke on me. He starts to chuckle and I follow shortly. It's nice to laugh again, it's been too long. "That's a good one AC. Ha ha ha."
"Actually I umm..." I've got to find a way to word this just right. "I have been wondering about why his file has only one page and uhh..." time for the big finisher Skye..."What is the history between him and Jemma anyways; I mean were they-"
"That is complicated. And that's best left for Simmons or Jaxx to tell." he cuts me off before I finish. Must be some serious history between Jaxx and Jemma, well if AC won't tell me I'll just have to beat it outta Jaxx. Joking of course because he could probably kill me with a thumbtack or something and crap I'm rambling on again.
"As for the file, that's the only copy that was at "The Playground" when we moved in. I'm sure Fury has another more detailed copy hidden somew-" He paused, this caused me to look at him only to see him looking intently across the street at the same shop.
This time however a man walked out of the shop and that's when I ask "Is that him?" Coulson doesn't nod; he simply says "Sure is. We'll follow him for a bit before we approach him. Don't wanna spook him if he isn't with Hydra."
I look over at him and can only think of a worst case scenario, and once more my mouth blurts out before my brain catches up "And if he is?" Coulson looks at me, his face stern his eyes almost cold when he says "Then we find out what he knows about Streiten. By any means necessary."
His tone felt almost devoid of emotion, I guess at this point he's had enough of playing defense to Hydra's offense; now it's time to play offensively.