Chapter Three.
They followed the caravan of SHIELD (and non-SHIELD) vehicles slowly out of the desert. Above them, May had taken the helicopter and was flying it to the nearest airfield to refuel for the longer flight to their destination.
Jemma had been right about the other agents driving faster. As soon as they were on a more solid road - the paved road, well before the proper freeway - the other cars shot ahead.
"What did I tell you, Jemma. Driving in America is easy as pie."
"There's no oncoming traffic, Fitz. And no cross traffic yet."
"Why do you have to go and burst my bubble?"
"I'm being realistic, Fitz. I'm a scientist."
"I am too. That doesn't mean I can't enjoy what I'm doing."
"Do you need me to drive?" Lily spoke up. "I know there's a reason Coulson didn't want me in the driver's seat of one of your cars, but you know, in case there's the threat of a head-on collision, I'm willing to risk Coulson's displeasure."
"Oh, Fitz is fine, really," Jemma said. "Plus driving makes him feel more masculine."
"What? I don't need to drive to feel like a man, Jemma. God. It's more the excitement of being out in the field, you know?"
Lily put her head back and closed her eyes and Fitz sped down the road.
Several hours later, the caravan ahead of them had disappeared far over the horizon and the trio decided to pull into a diner as they passed through one town. They had risen up out of the desert and were into the foothills now; their destination was little more than an hour away, but all agreed that food was needed. Fitz and Simmons had insisted that the cafeteria food at any SHIELD headquarters wasn't the best at times, and particularly not now if they were going to be heading into an emergency situation with people working around the clock.
And Lily was tired of the car. She'd seen so much of cars lately. Usually she didn't mind them, but recent days had been tough.
They entered and were quickly seated at a booth along a window; the place was practically empty, and Lily hoped that was because of its rural location and not its reputation.
As she glanced over the menu, she saw the price listing and her breath hitched in dismay. "I'm sorry," she said, "but I don't have my wallet. I mean, I think Coulson has it." When she'd been detained, they'd taken her purse and checked her ID. She hadn't seen it since then.
"No worries," Fitz said smoothly. "It's on us. We kind of owe you for dragging you all over the place like a rag doll."
"I don't think a simple meal can cover that," Lily said, smiling, and trying to feel it inside. She didn't want to have a bad time. These two agents seemed okay.
"Well, I suppose there have been worse first contacts with SHIELD," Jemma said. "We did have a new recruit a few years ago who accidentally touched a serum in my lab. He ended up with multi-colored lesions over his whole body for two weeks."
"Oh, I remember that," Fitz said. "Cooper, right? I wonder what happened to him."
"I think he transferred back to Homeland," Jemma said. "And he'd been so promising."
"And then there was that girl who claimed she knew how to code, so they threw her at me when we were doing some horrendous project with an impossible deadline," Fitz said. He looked up at the ceiling. "You would not believe my shock when I found out she hadn't been doing any of her assignments."
"Oh, was she the one who'd been flirting with Agent Springer?" Jemma said.
"That's the one."
Jemma giggled. "I overheard her say to him, 'I know how to code in the language of love.'"
"She sure did. I caught them together two hours before our deadline. I don't think I've actually been at a loss for words before. I still haven't scrubbed the image from my brain."
Jemma bent over laughing. "Do you remember how stern Coulson was during the staff meeting the week after?"
"Oh, that was awkward. It was like my parents giving me the talk again."
"So how long have you two been a couple?" Lily asked.
They both sobered quickly. "Oh, we're - we're not," Jemma said, in a way that Lily knew the exact opposite was true.
"We met at the Academy," Fitz said.
"And we've been finishing each other's sentences ever since," Jemma added.
"I'm guessing, then, that Ward and Skye no longer finish each other's sentences?"
Jemma sighed heavily. "Ugh. Ward."
"He said he used to work for you guys. I take it that he wasn't simply fired?" Lily asked. Not if he were now trying to get in on Aiden's business.
"Ward was Hydra," Fitz said.
Lily frowned. "That group that tried to stage a coup last year?"
"Yep. They were all deeply hidden within SHIELD, to bring it down all at once. He was our trusted friend, and he just betrayed all of us."
"He tried to kill us," Jemma said. "Personally."
"What? Really? He didn't strike me as the nicest guy, but that seems …"
"He tries to sell it that the man he was loyal to, the one who recruited him into Hydra, ordered him to," Fitz said. "And he actually saved us by pushing us out of an airplane, but whatever. It was quite hard for me not to run him over once I realized he was on site. I'm not sure how Skye kept her cool."
"So he's definitely someone not to trust," Lily said softly. "Like Aiden."
There was an awkward pause, made longer by the waitress bringing them their food. They all took several bites before speaking.
"So, Aiden," Jemma began. "I'm still a bit unclear. You met him last year, and he's been working on this project this whole time?"
Lily swallowed a bite of burger. "Yes. And I had no idea what it was. He just said he was working on something that would change the world." At their two skeptical glances, she continued. "I was just in love with him. He had a lot of great ideas. I never - I just never questioned what he was doing. I don't really understand why. I guess it's those love hormones or something."
"I can understand," Jemma said. "I mean, we all did trust Ward. Even looking back, I can see times when there had to have been signs. But we had no reason to not trust him, you know?"
"What I don't get is how he could build all that on his own," Fitz said. "Was his background in engineering?"
"He has advanced degrees, yeah. He also picked up stuff really quickly. He was always into reading anything he could get his hands on."
"But to do this all by himself?" Jemma asked. "No one else to run his ideas through?"
Lily smiled faintly. "Your interrogation tactics are a lot better than Coulson's, you know." Both of them flushed pink. Lily waved her hand. "No, it's okay, I understand. And I want to talk now. I have no more loyalty to Aiden. And if my talking helps convince Coulson I had nothing to do with Aiden's plot and keeps me out of the same dark hole they'll be tossing him in, then great."
"They're not going to throw you in prison," Jemma said. "They've always known you were just the girlfriend."
"Coulson's not a bad person," Fitz said. "He's just under a lot of pressure to stop these plots that keep happening."
"I know," Lily said. "Really, I do. Back to what you were saying - Aiden really kept to himself. I wasn't aware of him discussing his designs with anyone. When we were together, it was just us. And when he went on his business trips, I just figured he was working on his own. Or buying more supplies, or whatever." She looked down at her plate. "I just feel so stupid for not even wondering about that. I mean, even being in love, something should have triggered in my mind. I was raised to be a cautious sort."
"Maybe that's his superpower," Jemma said jokingly.
"God, I hope not," Fitz said. "Imagine if he turned that power on the masses?"
"Have everyone fall in love with him? Would you want to give him a kiss?" Jemma asked him, puckering her lips at him and making smacking noises.
"I sure hope not," Fitz said. "But I would probably be mesmerized by his tech, so he'll have me there." Fitz looked at his watch. "And I'm sure at this point the team will be back, so we should wrap up. I'm sure Coulson's going to want me available to take a look at one of those things as soon as they can catch one."
"You texted him we were stopping, right?" Jemma asked.
"Yep." He pulled out his phone and tapped on it. "And now he knows we're on the road again."
Lily scarfed down the last of her french fries and then they headed back out into the parking lot.
"Are you sure you're okay driving, Fitz?" Lily asked.
"Oh, I'm good now," Fitz replied. "It's starting to feel normal to have the cars to the left side of me."
"Oh, Fitz. Don't scare her. We are trying to keep her on our side."
Lily laughed. She had missed this. And she couldn't believe that she'd ever let it slide. Sure, she and Aiden had fun together, at least she thought she did in her memories, although she was beginning to question those, too. Yet she couldn't remember the last time she had hung out with friends and just had fun. All her recent memories were just her and Aiden. Was that odd? What had she been thinking? Had none of her family ever mentioned this?
She didn't even know if Aiden really had any family at all. They'd never visited.
Lily tried to ignore that twinge of anxiety that told her that something had been wrong for a long time. They'd discover the truth sooner or later.
"All right, ladies," Fitz said, putting his sunglasses on, "get ready for the ride of your lives - oh, no wait, Jemma can you grab my mobile? I hear it beeping."
"Yes, I see it. Oh, it's Coulson texting you."
"Tell him we don't have time to buy him a burger. The cafeteria will have to do."
"He's - Fitz! He's saying HQ is compromised. We need to stay away."
"What? Lemme see that."
Lily leaned forward, trying to see the phone, to no avail.
The phone beeped again.
"He wants her," Fitz read. "'They're coming for you. Go. Don't stop.'"
"Oh, my god," Jemma breathed. Lily just stared at them in shock.
Fitz dropped the phone into Jemma's lap and spun the ignition key. He shot into gear and the car's tires screamed out of the parking lot.
"Fitz!" Jemma cried. "Where are we going? We need a plan!"
"There was an intersection about ten miles back. Get the maps up on my phone and tell me the direction that isn't gonna be a dead end and keeps us as far from SHIELD headquarters as possible."
Jemma frantically thumbed through screens on his phone as the landscape flew past the window. It wouldn't be long before they were back into the high desert.
"Take Route 2, west," Lily said. "I think I know the intersection you're talking about. The 2 will go rural but it'll end up with towns along the way. There'll be gas stations and lodging. Also, a lot of hiking trails if you think we need to ditch and walk and hide."
Jemma nodded. "Yes, that looks right, Fitz."
They reached the intersection faster than Lily thought possible. She was amazed that no cop had pulled them over yet. She craned her neck out the window, looking for any sign of an approaching flying robot of doom, or a cavalcade of cars behind them. The text had said Aiden was coming for her, but how?
"Do you know the contingency plan for SHIELD, Jemma?" Fitz asked as he madly navigated the left turn onto Route 2.
"Protocol dictates that in a takeover situation we contact The Hub, but ever since Hydra those lines of communication have been suspect. And how do we know they haven't already gotten to the Hub?"
"Then what are we supposed to do?"
"I don't know! I expect we should keep running until we hear from Coulson or someone else makes contact."
"Just leave me somewhere," Lily said. "If he's going to send someone or something after me, I don't want anyone else getting caught in the crossfire."
"We're not doing that," Jemma said firmly. "SHIELD does not just abandon people. Our very core is to protect and defend."
"That's very chivalrous of you, and I appreciate it, but if this thing goes really south, is it possible that you two might be the only two left?"
"Oh my god, please don't say that," Fitz muttered. "I don't even have all my tech with me."
They continued down the road at great pace, eating up miles, and passing no other cars. They'd hit the most rural part of the journey. Lily didn't know if she wanted to be around other people for safety, or for them to stay away so no one could get hurt, no matter what was coming.
Then she heard a low rumble. At first she thought the road surface had changed, but a quick look back indicated it hadn't.
"I hear it, too," Fitz said. "Where is it?"
"That's the thing," Jemma said. "We can't see these machines!"
Then without any other warning besides a steadily increasing roar, something materialized in front of them. Fitz hit the brakes, sending the SUV skidding sideways slightly. When the car came to a rest, all of them wincing at the harsh movement, they stared in fear at the robot in front of them.
This one was built more than the one they'd seen, but not by much. It was clearly armed, however, as the bulk in its upper limbs looked like turrets. The robot resembled a metal skeleton which had accidentally gained too many parts. Even so, its red eyes gleamed malice.
"Should I try to run it down?" Fitz asked.
"If that is built in any way like Stark's weapons, then no. It's probably far more dense than we realize."
"And it would probably shoot us," Lily said.
"So what do we do?" Fitz asked. "It's just staring."
Lily glanced out all the windows. "I think it's the only one. Maybe we could reverse and go back?" She didn't know how far that would get them; a flying monster would be able to catch them, no matter which direction they drove.
Fitz eased the car into reverse, and gently lifted his foot off the brake.
The response was immediate: a hail of gunfire spat toward their car. Bullets ricocheted off the pavement and sent sprays of sand shooting upward.
"Stop, Fitz, stop!" Jemma cried, although he had already put the car back in park.
Lily sat back up from where she had ducked down behind the seats. "Did anyone get hit?"
"No," Fitz said. "Those were just warning shots."
"Warning us about what?" Jemma asked. "Do we just stay here forever?"
"Maybe it's meant to keep us here until others arrive," Fitz muttered.
"I know what it wants," Lily said, resigned. She unbuckled her seat belt.
"What? No, Lily, you can't go out there!" Jemma tried to grab her hand, but Lily brushed her arm away and reached for the door handle.
"The robot's from Aiden," Lily said. "It would have killed us by now if it wanted me or us dead."
And she got out of the car.
She wasn't as brave as her words sounded; her knees were weak as she stepped away from the car and walked toward the machine.
"What do you want?" she called out. She heard the windows roll down in the car behind her.
The red eyes blinked. "Why, hello again, Lily."
"Aiden?" she asked. His voice had come out slightly tinny. "Where are you?"
"Oh, I'm enjoying all the comforts SHIELD has to offer. My inventions helped convince them to release me."
"What do you want from me?" she repeated. "It sounds like you have everything you could need."
"Oh, I do, but I'm missing the most special part of my life."
"We were on the way back to SHIELD, you know. I would have been there in an hour."
"Yes, I know. Then Coulson had to go warn you. I didn't want you to get too far away."
She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to look unconcerned. "Well, I don't much care for what you want. You ditched me."
He laughed, the voice sounding demonic coming from a red-eyed battle robot. "I am sorry about that. But I wanted the chance to explain."
"No. You had your chance."
"You seem to misunderstand who is giving orders here."
"Oh, now you want to sound like a tough guy? You're demented. I'm not going to give you what you want."
Bullets sprayed from the robot again without warning. Lily screamed and ducked down. Earth sprayed up around her, a few bullets dinging off the car.
Once it stopped, Lily looked to see if the two scientists were hurt. They seemed rattled but uninjured. She stood and turned back to the robot. "Okay, okay! Look, if you destroy the car, we won't be able to drive back."
"You're not driving back, love." One arm of the robot lifted upward, as if beckoning her.
Lily stared at the thing, horrified. "Oh, no, Aiden, no way. I don't like to fly. Especially not on that thing. You know this!"
"You took the helicopter ride pretty well."
"That's completely different. This is some sort of untested machine built in a mad guy's basement. It's like the worst airline ever."
Something clicked on the machine's arm, and Lily knew it was the gun turret reloading rounds.
Lily held up a placating hand. "Aiden. I'll do it. Just give me a moment."
God, did she want that moment to extend into a thousand years.
She glanced over her shoulder to see Jemma and Fitz - she really did need to learn that young man's first name - staring at her, equally horrified. Lily didn't see any other option.
Lily took a deep breath and stepped closer to the robot. "How am I supposed to do this?" she asked. "Hug it?"
He laughed softly, again a very unnerving sound coming from a killing machine. "They're designed to carry a person, facing forward. Do you see the ridges at the boots?"
"Yes."
"They'll fit your foot inside. The metal will close around you once you're in there so you can't fall out. Then keep your elbows in, and the arms will enclose you."
That didn't sound very fun at all. She stepped forward hesitantly. The robot was well over a foot taller than she was; it was bigger up close, out here in the bright sun, than it had seemed in the warehouse.
She turned awkwardly as she lifted her foot, feeling like she was putting on a pair of boots or pants.
The robot did as Aiden had said it would - as soon as her feet were planted, metal parts rearranged themselves to enclose her. And then something was grabbing her arms and shoulders, pulling her in, securing her.
Panic set in; this claustrophobia was worse than the metal tube of an airplane.
"Aiden," she whispered, voice hoarse, "I don't think I can do this."
"I wish I could be there to calm you," he said in response. "It just doesn't work over the radio."
Lily had only a second to consider the oddness of that statement before she felt the robot lift off the ground. In the moment before she closed her eyes, she glimpsed the two scientists staring up at her, shielding the sun from their eyes as they tried to track the robot.
The first thing Lily noticed was the wind; it was fierce. But it only lasted a few long seconds before calming to a mere whisper on her skin. She opened her eyes to see if they were still moving; they were, and very fast, but the outside world had become blurry. That's what the cloaking system must look like from inside, she realized. It was a bit comforting, because she couldn't see down below very well. She could almost imagine she was just standing on the ground again.
Even so, she closed her eyes. Lily wasn't a superstitious person, but she didn't want to tempt fate.
"The flight will only take a few minutes," a voice said in her ear, startling her. "How are you doing?"
"Just peachy, Aiden," she replied. "Do I get a free drink on this flight?"
He laughed softly. "That's what I always loved about you, Lily. You always see the humor in a situation."
"To be honest, I don't see much humor in any of this."
"You're right," he said. "Changing the world is a serious matter."
"I'm not in the best position for an argument," Lily said, "but I think we need to have a long discussion on that."
"Good," he said. "You'll be here in less than a minute."
Lily squeezed her eyes shut harder, not wanting to look down and see the ground coming up at her. She felt the slowing in her gut, and then the wind increased, and then she felt the gentle jolt as the robot touched down.
She opened her eyes as the robot released her. In front of her lay a fairly nondescript building that disappeared into the side of a hill. Behind her was an expansive parking lot, ringed by a tall fence topped by barbed wire. Making a run for it wouldn't be successful, not that she would try with the robots on standby. Plus, waiting for her in front of a set of doors was Ward.
"Oh, you guys are working together now?" she asked as she walked toward him. She tried to hide how she relished the feel of solid ground beneath her feet.
"He made a great offer," Ward said. "And I'm a man in search of a good deal."
"Yeah, well, I hope that you enjoy being his lapdog."
She could tell the comment bothered him, but he didn't respond to it. He gestured her inside.
The base was a maze of corridors and labs and meeting rooms. All of it empty.
"So, where did everyone go?" she asked. "Did you kill everyone?" She said it lightly, but her heart felt heavy with worry at the thought.
"Oh, everyone's safe, just locked away nice and tight."
She turned to study him. "You said you used to work here. You're totally fine doing this to your friends?"
"They are not my friends," he said, his voice low and ominous. "And you don't know anything about me, so stop trying to influence me."
"I guess I was wrong about you," she said, trying not to let the tremor show in her voice, "I suppose you don't have any goodness in you left."
He didn't respond to that. They had finally reached their destination, and he pulled her into a large conference room that had multiple television screens attached to the walls, showing various scenes.
"There she is!"
Lily turned to see Aiden, who had been standing against the back wall studying the screens. He looked ecstatic, which worried her. Aiden rarely did ecstatic. He did passionate, but not ecstatic.
"Alright, I'm here," Lily replied. "What is it you want?"
"So quick to turn to business," Aiden said, smiling. "But aren't you even curious about what's been happening?" He gestured to the screens.
She hadn't even looked at them closely since entering the room, and upon viewing them her heart dropped again. The first two screens showed blocks of cells with agents in them. Squinting, she saw Coulson and the rest of his team, but not Jemma and Fitz, which gave her hope.
The next two screens were more worrisome. They seemed to show live feeds of national news networks.
"You're … you're attacking Washington?" Lily asked faintly.
"It's the only way to change the world. Burn the old one down first."
She closed her eyes for a moment. "Aiden," she said slowly, "this is insane. No one's going to care what ideas you have when you resort to violence!"
"Yes, that's true," he admitted, "but I've done my homework on that front, too."
"You're not … you're not anything like the man I thought I knew."
He stared at her. "Am I not?"
"Of course not. You used to be kind." A fury built inside of her; what patience she possessed had slowly bled out over her recent treatment. "Now, Aiden, you're only a monster."
She approached him as she spoke, spitting out the words, and he just studied her calmly, which made her more furious. So she jumped at him, raising her fist to eradicate that smirk off his face -
- when Ward grabbed her from behind and swung her around. A moment later she found herself shoved partially onto the conference table, her hands twisted behind her back.
"Ease up a bit, Ward," Aiden said. "I need to make sure she can focus on this next bit."
"What more could you possibly have to say to me?" she spat at him. "We are so done." She tried to kick backward, to take out Ward's knee, but he easily sidestepped while maintaining his hold on her wrists.
Aiden walked around the table so he was opposite her. He leaned down slightly and looked directly into her face. "Lily," he said softly, "everything I'm doing is to make you safe. All my research, all my long hours - it's all led to one inevitable thing: security."
Lily just bared her teeth in frustration in response.
Aiden didn't seem perturbed by her reaction. He just calmly continued, "All my life I've only ever wanted the world to be a peaceful place. And when I met and fell in love with you, my desire was only strengthened. So I want you to put your trust in me, that I have your best interests at heart, and I only want what's best for you."
Despite herself, she felt the pull of his voice. Her anger began to melt away, and she started to focus on his words.
"Things might feel odd at first, because change can be an uncertain thing," Aiden continued, his voice soft yet firm, "but I have a plan, and we're going to come out the other side stronger. Do you believe me? Are you willing to stand with me as I fight to make this world better, stronger, safer?"
"Yes," she whispered. The same feeling she had felt back in their warehouse-turned-home came back to her. The sense of security, even of completion. Certainty. He was going to help her, he was going to help everyone. There was no need to worry at all.
Her mind grew fuzzy and her memory blurred. Yet inside, she felt warm. Safe. She relaxed. Felt her wrists slipping from Ward's grasp as she gave in.
"That's my girl," Aiden said, his voice higher, sharper.
Lily blinked. "What - what was that? Were you just …" her voice trailed off, as she tried to remember what she was going to say. She took a deep breath. This feeling felt familiar. She'd begun to register the truth of it over the past couple of days.
"What did you do?" she asked him. "What have you been doing?"
He smiled. "Being persuasive."
She shook her head. "This is not salesman tactics. This is … unholy."
"All right, you got me," he said. "I was being very persuasive."
"Why are you doing this? How? Why?"
"I'm not kidding about being persuasive," he said. His expression subdued slightly. "It's something I've always been able to do, but with technology I found a way to make it stronger."
"With me," she said. "You found a way with me."
"I can't deny that," he admitted. "For almost a year I was able to fine-tune what I could do."
She ran a hand through her hair. "You … our whole relationship was you practicing your persuasiveness? A damn experiment?"
"No, not entirely," he said. "Look, I did like you. I fell in love with you. But my calling - I've always felt a higher purpose. And our closeness gave me a chance to work on something I couldn't otherwise."
"So you found a way to get me to listen to you? Become some zombie?"
"Yes," he said, completely serious. "I found a way to use a microscopic transmitter to enhance the feeling behind my words. Without that, I was just a bit more of a persuasive salesman. With it, I could actually influence thoughts of those around me."
"My thoughts," she whispered.
He nodded.
"A microscopic transmitter?"
He smiled slightly. "Do you remember that mole you had removed? Well, that wasn't what the surgery was. In fact, you'd never gone to a doctor."
Lily rubbed her upper arm over the scar where the procedure had been. She felt slightly ill. "You did that? You put something in me?"
"It doesn't harm you," he said. "Just enhances my natural ability."
"And how does controlling me help all this?" she asked, pointing at the news screens.
"I found that my voice does not work over digital or electronic media," he said. "I needed to find another way to reach people. Through experimentation, I found that the transmitter helps overcome that obstacle."
"I still don't understand," she said, but a part of her did.
"I still need to tweak things, but I believe I can now use transmitters in everyone in order to enhance my persuasion."
"Tweak things? Does that mean you still need to experiment on me?"
"Just a little," he said. "I discovered in my phone calls with you it still doesn't work as well or consistently as I'd like."
She closed her eyes. "I can't believe what I'm hearing."
"I know it's not what you wanted to hear, but I am being honest when I say I meant you no harm."
"My god," she said. "You betrayed me to Ward when he was threatening me. Or were you two working together even then? What the hell was that all about?"
"I had no idea what he was doing," Ward said. "I believed him."
"I may not have been working with Ward," Aiden said, "but as I'd known him from business deals before, I knew he wouldn't actually carry through on any threat. He only does that for intensely personal reasons."
"That's just so comforting," Lily said. "I mean, really. I feel so safe."
"I had reasons for doing what I did on that phone call," Aiden said. "When I was able to talk to you face to face again, I realized that even after you felt I had betrayed you and you no longer trusted me, I was still able to break through that."
"And that helps you how?"
"Listen to me, Lily," Aiden said. "I'm using my normal voice now. I only want peace in the world. And if I can help people by convincing them to listen to me, to trust me, to trust each other - is that not a good thing? Even if someone tries to rise up against me, I know now that I can fight back and regain that trust."
"You can't have peace if it's a lie," Lily said. "And this is all a lie."
"It's not a lie because it's what everyone wants, Lily. Everyone wants to be safe and secure. It's why we pursue relationships. It's why we form governments."
"Don't spout philosophy at me, Aiden. This is world domination. This is about control, not about peace and safety and security or whatever you want to call it."
"There is no difference between control and security. Lack of control by definition means insecurity."
"You're insane. Totally insane." She turned and took a step away, paced a few steps, then turned back. "So, what, you use your machines to take out our national defenses, and deploy your transmitter to change how people feel about it all? How in the world can you possibly do that many surgeries on that many people?"
"Oh, I don't need to affect that many people," Aiden said. "Just a few influential people in power, some celebrities, the most popular media outlets. The citizenry will usually fall in line at that point, as they have always done when manipulated before. However, I've developed a way of dispersing the transmitter through water and air systems, and I'm ready to do so on a mass scale, once I fine tune the electronic transmission aspect."
"I'm not going to help you," Lily said. "I mean, I know that you can speak sweet words and make my brain go fuzzy, and I won't have a choice then. But at any other point, when it starts to wear off, I'm going to fight you every step of the way."
Aiden smiled faintly. "That is the woman I fell in love with." When she scoffed, he nodded toward the screens. "Would you endanger their lives, Lily?"
She hesitated. "Are you saying that you'd hurt them? I thought you wanted peace."
"I do want peace. But sometimes sacrifices have to be made."
"What sacrifices have you made?"
"I could have continued my life making millions as a con man. But I realized that I could work for something greater."
"I don't think you know what sacrificing something for a greater good actually means. Stop deluding yourself."
Aiden sighed. "Perhaps some rest would do us both some good."
"I'm not going to change my mind on this after a good night's sleep!" Lily said. "I may have loved you - and I did - but there's no way I can go along with this. I refuse to be a scientific experiment."
"Even to save your friends?" he asked.
"This isn't you," Lily whispered. "You may have gone off the deep end, but this isn't you. You wouldn't do it. And I'm not helping you."
He just stared at her, almost sadly, for a moment. Then he picked up a radio from off the table and spoke quietly into it.
Unease began to pull at Lily's gut.
Aiden turned to watch the screens of the SHIELD staff in cells, and Lily watched with him. On the far left screen, several of his guards entered the image. They pulled someone from one of the cells - Lily didn't know who it was. It looked like one of the tactical team members she'd never spoken to.
"Aiden," she said. "What are you doing?"
"What I must for the good of us all," he said quietly.
Aiden's man forced the agent to his knees and shot him immediately.
Lily gasped. "You didn't - Aiden - why - he wasn't -"
"I said I would do what needed to be done, my love," Aiden said.
His passion, with a matching moral detachment, unnerved her completely. She had no reserve of anger left. Her only emotions solidified into tears that rolled down her cheeks as she watched the men drag the dead agent away. As she watched the reactions of the other SHIELD agents in their cells.
"I will get what I want, Lily," Aiden said. "I will have peace."
Lily sank to the floor, all energy and thought of resistance gone.
They ignored her for a while, allowing her to rest her head against the cool floor. She listened, dully, as Ward and Aiden exchanged ideas about the attack on the military in Washington. About moving some of the SHIELD team off-base.
Dimly, Lily wondered where Fitz and Simmons were. If they were still free and safe. What she would agree to do if Aiden directly threatened their lives.
Eventually, Aiden must have grown tired of her on the floor because he directed Ward to take her away. She didn't resist as she was pulled to her feet, although she had to concentrate on her steps so as not to be dragged. Everything had suddenly become so much harder. Her thoughts were molasses.
Hope was a distant and unattainable thing. A fantasy. Something that belonged to her past self.
Ward didn't put her in a cell. They'd found a small room, more of a closet, and emptied it out and stuffed a cot in there. He told her there were guards outside the door at all hours. And then he'd locked her in.
She lay on the cot, numb. She could only wait for when Aiden returned to experiment on her, and she had to make sure no one else got hurt on account of her. She was powerless but having that small goal was the only reason she was able to quiet her mind enough to fall into a restless sleep.
For a long time, Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz watched the sky where Lily Nicholson had disappeared. No other robots approached. The desert around them remained an eerie quiet, as if the world knew something terrible was happening.
"What should we do, Fitz?" Jemma asked. She was heartbroken at feeling so helpless. She felt like she had failed Lily, although logically she knew there hadn't been anything to do.
"Well, we can't go back to HQ," Fitz said, as they climbed back into the car. "We have to assume all the other bases are compromised, too." He started the car. "Well, at least it works. I'd been afraid one of the bullets had hit it."
"Do you think we should try to contact the Avengers?" Jemma asked.
"That is above our paygrade, I think," Fitz said. "SHIELD has protocols for such things."
"But if they're attacking all of SHIELD'S installations, won't that mean there's no one to contact the Avengers?"
"I don't know. Maybe." Fitz rested his forehead on the steering wheel. Then he sat back again and checked his phone. "There's got to be something in the news about what's going on. Maybe we can figure out who to contact that way without giving away that we're out in the field and end up with Aiden sending his robots after us."
"Do you think he would?" Jemma asked. "It's not like we're soldiers. We're just scientists."
"Which means, based on what he's doing with those things, what he's building, that we're more valuable or dangerous to him than any well-trained field agent would be."
"Oh," Jemma said softly. "That's true. I suppose he might come for us once he's got Lily."
"You think he was distracted by her?"
"He had no reason to otherwise contact her. There has to be something about her that he needs. I don't think it's simply lust. I think he has an ulterior motive."
"Oh no, Jemma," Fitz said, staring wide-eyed at his phone. "There's reports of attacks on our military bases. And in Washington."
"No," Jemma gasped. "That means he's …"
"Going for everything," Fitz said grimly. "Not just SHIELD."
"Well, at least the Avengers have to know," Jemma said.
"If they're even on Earth," Fitz said. "If they're not already involved in something."
"We need a plan," Jemma said. "We need to make concrete steps to figure out exactly what we're going to do from here on out."
"First off," Fitz said, "we need gas before we think about going too far."
"I think there's a town twenty miles ahead. We can stop there, and find a motel if we're not going to keep driving."
Fitz put the vehicle in gear and continued down the road, quickly reaching the same breakneck pace from before their sudden halt. "I need to find a place to get tech. I've got my laptop, and you've got yours, but we're going to need access to something more."
"What about the SHIELD storage facility?" Jemma asked. "Perhaps some of our stuff got moved there during the remodel last year."
"It's a thought," Fitz said. "Although that takes us pretty close to HQ, and I'd like to stay away from those gun-toting robots if I can."
"If Aiden was taking Lily to HQ, which is a good assumption based on what Coulson texted us, then can we assume that his base of operations will occur there."
"I need dwarf drones," Fitz said. "We could sneak them inside. And then relay that information to whoever needs it."
"Where are your older ones?" Jemma asked. "Would they have been moved to storage?"
"Unfortunately, no. I kept them in my lab. But if I can get my hands on some technology, I can upload my program to their engineering."
"You mean a regular drone?"
"That would be easiest. I can modify it without much trouble."
"So, we just hope that there's a well-equipped Best Buy in the small town up ahead," Jemma said, a bit dryly.
"You far underestimate my abilities if you think I need Best Buy in order to make a drone," Fitz said.
