Jewel paced around the cell, like a tiger locked in a cage as agents walked by. She felt almost as if they were prizes to be seen for everyone saying "hey! Look who we just arrested!". What Jewel found even more annoying was the fact that agents were just randomly finding their way towards the lab just to peek in at the cell. Jewel gave the same irritated glare that she gave everyone else but her stomach especially turned when she recognized a few that were working with Coulson before she left. The one who seemed to annoy her the most was Gomez who was on the other end of the lab laughing with his friends while drinking a cup of coffee but always glancing towards Jewel as if he was the one who did all the hard work.
The only two people that were not in the shared cell was Coulson and Ward which only made things more uneasy for Jewel. She didn't know what this team was planning on doing with Grant and she didn't know what method would come out first. She figured they had him in a more restrictive area considering how half of SHIELD was crowding the new lab. She wasn't expecting to see the new SHIELD agents already making a home for themselves in the old SHIELD headquarters… but it bothered her for some reason.
Again, Gomez glanced over with a big smile on his face as Jewel could see May march by in the outer hallway. Never did she once glance in to see her old teammates but seeing her not make eye contact didn't make Jewel feel any better. She actually just wanted to know what was going to happen now that they were all caught.
"Oi, could you sit down?" Hunter asked, "You're making me dizzy, love"
"How could you all be sitting down?" Jewel turned to the team crammed on one bench, "They have us out here like livestock or some sort of prized trophy and you guys are all okay with it? I thought it would upset you the most Fitz- Simmons, they took over your lab, they've already reorganized everything. Doesn't that bother any of you? Hell, it bothers me and I left SHIELD a year ago"
Simmons shifted uncomfortably as she said, "This used to be for quarantine"
"No doubt they probably placed some unknown disease through our vents to see what happens" Fitz looked up, "Bastards"
"I don't detect airborne threats" Peterson said, "What I am concerned of is Coulson… and Ward"
Jewel looked to him, "Thank you. I just hope they didn't set him outside to execute him or something like that. I figured he would've been up on display with the rest of us but I guess not. But what about Coulson-"
"Ah!" Fitz seized up from his leg, making everyone else look at him.
He kept a pained look on his face as he tried to inch himself off of the bench. Simmons and Jewel quickly rushed to his side to help him shift in a better position.
"Are you alright?" Simmons asked.
"Yeah, just glad they didn't let me bleed out" Fitz shifted, "That's nice of them, I guess"
"Maybe they kept you alive so you could suffer a more horrible death?" Hunter suggested.
"Thanks, Hunter" Fitz nodded, "I appreciate that"
"Oh, bloody hell" Hunter got up from the bench, "I'll deal with this lot"
Jewel turned and noticed that Bobbi More was standing in front of the glass, looking more empathetic than usual.
"I bet this makes you happy, Bob" Hunter began, "Finally putting me in a cage like some criminal"
"It wasn't supposed to go down like that" Bobbie said, "There were other missions besides our own"
"Doesn't sound so honest as Gonzalez claimed it to be-"
"Gonzalez had no idea" Bobbie cut in, "He was just as surprised as me and Maye. We honestly had no idea guys, I swear"
"Where's Grant?" Jewel stopped, "Ward? Where is Ward?"
"He's in a cell" Bobbie answered, "Along with Coulson, Gonzalez is with him right now"
"Shouldn't we be down there as well?" Jewel got up and waved her arms around, "Or did grandpa didn't know about this display too?"
"She's got a point," Hunter shrugged.
Bobbi turned and looked to Hunter who backed away from the glass divider which made her shift uncomfortably. A cat call was heard from the other side of the hall where agents were mocking Peterson's eye. Jewel went to the closest corner and did a roundhouse kick, shaving their glass prison and even cracking the glass. The man dropped his hand and quickly rushed out of the room as everyone in the lab had a mixture of a look of worry or shock. Jewel glanced at Peterson who nodded a thank you before she turned her gaze to Gomez, challenging him to say something.
"Looks like this cell wasn't built to keep us in here" Hunter said in a loud voice.
"Oh, I know that" Jewel said, "Any wise agent would've figured that out, I'm just sticking around"
"For Ward" Bobbi nodded, "You're more loyal to him then any organization"
"Well, he is the father of my child" Jewel cocked her head, "We're family"
Bobbi seemed to respect that answer so she left it at that. Jewel turned and watched as Simmons checked Fitz' wound, he hissed only a little bit but he seemed fine. Jewel finally took this chance to sit down, knowing she got her message across from the kick to the glass. She glanced up to notice Maye was watching from a distance.
"All we want is Fury's Toolbox" Bobbi said, "And some of you would be great assets to our team"
"I already tried a SHIELD before" Jewel looked her in the eye, "When it actually meant something"
Bobbi gave off a small smile before she said, "No offense but you weren't on our list"
"Well, too bad because if she's not on it then why would I join" Fitz said from the floor, "She's a better fighter then you, Morse, and you know it"
Jewel looked to Fitz surprised before Simmons turned, "During my time of being a mole here, I realized how even more deceptive that this place was after Coulson was banished. This place isn't SHIELD, it's Hydra"
"No, it's not" Bobbi scoffed, "You even know this yourself, Simmons, Hydra was different-"
"They kept everyone in the dark with multiple leaders each one worse than the other" Simmons got up from her place, "If this place was so great then why did Gomez shoot and nearly kill Fitz with an actual bullet!"
Everyone who was within earshot gasped and turned and looked at their colleagues. Gomez rolled his jaw as if he wanted to hit Simmons himself but that was the beauty of being on display; everyone was watching. Maye walked further into the room and looked over to Gomez.
"Is that true?" Maye asked, "Did you command people to have live rounds instead of icers?"
"It was necessary" Gomez growled, "Ward was already on the Kill List"
"We voted to not use excessive force" Weathers appeared in the room, "You rose your hand in that vote"
"Sounds like having more than one leader isn't working out for this lot" Hunter let out.
The tension in the room changed when an older man came slowly walking into the room, propped with a cane. Jewel immediately recognized Gonzalez and could very much tell that he was the head of the new SHIELD.
"It is unfortunate what happened out on the field, yes" Gonzalez said, "But in the end, we got what we wanted; Coulson"
"That's funny" Jewel quickly jumped on the opportunity, "Maye and Morse were saying all you wanted was his toolbox, but it wasn't, was it"
"My organization is transparent-"
"Oh, I know when an "organization" is lying right in your face" Jewel cut him off, "I've walked through it in this very hall. You've been hiding something from this team the moment you claimed to be group leaders"
"I know what you suffered through Coulson has traumatized your trust" Gonzalez said, "However, if it were up to me as a Director, that would've never happened"
"But it's not, is it?" Jewel asked, "Up to you? That's your whole slogan, isn't it? To have more than one leader? You might think of a gentler route but someone like Gomez would think to give me more of a harsher discipline. It's funny because you guys play yourselves to be better than Coulson but know this… you will never be better than him. Fury saw it… that's why none of you got to be Director"
Jewel smirked as she took a step away from the glass as Hunter rose up his hand for the woman to high-five him.
Maye spoke slowly, "What does she mean, Gonzalez?"
"It means" Jewel answered, "That everyone who is a leader in this SHIELD was on the list of promotion if Fury retired or passed away"
"Now you're saying we killed him?" Gomez marched up to the front, "Take her away from here, she's doing nothing but spreading lies"
"But I'm not, am I?" Jewel said, "Fitz, when do the files appear on their screen?"
"Any minute now" Fitz answered.
And just like that, beeping sounds came from each computer, listing the candidates or being Director. By the looks of the scientists and agents, they were surprised as Maye turned and went to the nearest computer. Seeing her stunned face made it almost worth it as people turned and looked towards their leaders. Weathers looked guilty, Gomez looked pissed, but Gonzales never moved from his position. He just twisted his cane around and around and sighed.
"This won't go unpunished," Gonzalez said in a low voice.
"I was on death row the second I let your people took me" Jewel said, "Mind as well go out with a bang"