Chapter 4

Laura ended up spending a week in observation after giving birth to girls. I bussed the kids to and from the hospital daily to see their mother. After Laura came home, we quickly found that 2 babies and 3 children pulled us to the end of our limits. The next time I saw Clint I would kill him. I could tell that Laura was worried about her husband. I considered the last time I talked to him. I had tried to call Nat and him a few times in the last 3-4 months but had never heard back. I was officially in panic mode. It was Laura and the kids that kept me from breaking into SHIELD to track him down.

Then the call came.

"Hello."

"Skye. It's Jemma."

"Jemma?"

"Look Skye, I know you probably hate us but we could use a hacker right now."

"Are you sure you trust me?"

"It's not a matter of trust. You are the best at hacking. And we could really use your help."

"Jemma, I would love to help. But—"

"Skye." Laura had come up behind me.

"One second Jemma." I covered the microphone. "What's up?"

"Go."

"I need to be here for you and the kids."

"You need closure. Even if they don't trust you again. The second she called you excited. You deserve the chance to prove you aren't who they think you are. So go."

"But—"

"No buts—"

"Jemma. I think I can help."

"Skye, who is with you?"

"A friend who I am helping out."

"Okay…" There was a pause of uncertainty. "Where can we pick you up?"

"I will be in Denver in 2 days."

"We will meet then."

"And Jemma…"

"Yes Skye."

"I never meant to betray anyone."

"Sure Skye. Bye."

"Bye Jemma." But the line had already gone dead.

I turned around to face Laura who had an excited look on her face.

"Really?"

"You need a break from this Skye."

"So do you."

"I chose this. You didn't. And I can handle a few weeks with my munchkins."

"Well, I guess I need to get a plane ticket to Denver."

Laura practically tackled me with a hug then immediately shoved me out of the room to pack while she planned a good luck dinner. I shook my head and got to packing.

By the next evening, I was in Denver and checking into a hotel. Laura insisted I check in somewhere nice so I don't get kidnapped. So I checked in and sent a picture of my room as proof I didn't check into a sleazy motel. After 2 thumbs up came back, I sprung onto the bed and tried to settle my mind, not noticing when I fell asleep. Early the next morning, I went to the agreed location to meet the team. May and Fitzsimmons were the only ones there.

"Get in the car."

Fitz took shotgun while Jemma rode with me in the back. I had a feeling that no one really wanted me there. As we drove to the bus, I tried to initiate conversation. Eventually, I gave up and watched out the window. I was frustrated. I didn't know how to regain the teams trust without explaining my actions.

Once we arrived at the Bus I finally decided to ask, "Am I in the same room?"

"Yes." Jemma answered.

I dropped off my stuff and went to the conference room, already feeling the eyes following my every move. I refused to cry. I couldn't let them see how much I was affected by the loss, otherwise I will spend more time trying to win back my place and not get this job done. Laura also needed me. Or was it I who needed her? I couldn't dwell on that right now.

I strapped in for take-off. Then Coulson began the meeting while May put the plane in autopilot.

"We have 2 agents whose cover fell apart on the mission. We recently got a lock on where they are being kept." Coulson started. "Ward and May will go in for retrieval."

May joined the meeting. Ward began to discuss the layout of the building and the weaknesses and how they would approach the rescue.

"So how shall I dazzle you with my mad skills?" I said with a grin, faking what I could. Inside I hated the way things ended. I couldn't regret my actions. I did what I needed to for my family. Not a single person turned to me. Not a single smile cracked.

"The facility has a top of the line, reportedly hack proof electronic security system. You will try to disable the security system. So the extraction team can get in to pull out the targets." Coulson responded.

"Roger that. What type of security are they running?"

"We believe it to be an Ian Quinn creation, however, we really are unsure. Analysts haven't been able to get past the first level."

"Then this hack may take some time. Let me know the name of the facility. Who are we rescuing?"

"That is classified level 8."

"Of course. When is it not?" I almost wished I could tell them that there was little in SHIELD I didn't have access to. Not all by express permission. Really, most of the permission was implicit.

"The facility is the Montelupich Prison in Cracow, Germany."

We landed in Germany early the next morning. The team scattered to scout the town to plan contingencies. I was allowed off the bus (with supervision) to stretch my legs. I quickly pulled my phone to call Laura and let her know I arrived safely. She let me know the kids were all okay and sent their love. Still nothing from Clint or Nat. I needed to focus on the mission, then I could find those stupid siblings of mine.

I wandered around the town, looking at internet connections in various cafe's and looking like a tourist. I grabbed a few things from local stores: power bars, Gatorade, burner phones, laptop, and a few other entirely unnecessary souvenirs. I returned to the bus before everyone else and immediately started getting comfortable with the security code I would soon be taking out. As the team shuffled back in, they ignored me for the most part. Furtive glances were sent my way. I didn't bother to greet anyone. I knew it would do me no good other than to serve as a reminder of my betrayal to them.

Once everyone was back, Coulson called a team meeting to discuss the next few steps.

"Skye, how does the security code look?"

"Pretty well built, but we all know it will bow to my stupendous skill."

"And how long should we wait for this stupendous skill to show up?" Ward clearly was pushing my buttons.

"I will start building a test run tonight so that as I test the hacks I don't trip any alarms. Hopefully, I can start practicing by tomorrow midday. As to how long a working hack will take, don't know."

"Don't know? Or won't share?" Ward is really trying to rub it in my face how little they trusted me.

"Don't know. I may hit the right combo within a day or 2. Or I may be unable to exploit a vulnerability and have to build a vulnerability into the program which may take a few weeks. Then there is the issue of timing, I need to make sure that my timing is precise for while you break into the facility. It would be a real shame if I executed the code correctly for you to get executed by a guard because we didn't account for things like guard rotations."

"Well work faster."

No problem Coulson. Of course, now that you said work faster, I think I can get it done tomorrow. Originally I wasn't going to even try.

I shut down my inner dialogue, it was not going to get me anywhere. The team continued to discuss the next steps while I tuned out already mentally reviewing the security code I had worked with. The team wouldn't want my input and the faster this code was done the quicker I could kick my brother's arse. They clearly didn't want me here and every overture at friendliness had been squashed.

Over the next few days, I built out a test run and ignored everyone else on the plane. Occasionally, I would ask if someone wanted to have breakfast (or any meal) together. Or I would ask to join May in Tai Chi. My attempts were met with the "no thanks" at best or the silent treatment at worst. I get that in their eyes I was a traitor to SHIELD, but don't ask me to help then shut me out. I was slowly accepting that they didn't want me here and I no longer wanted to be here.

I started to eat at different and odd times to avoid them. I worked out after everyone went to sleep. Much of my coding was done once everyone went to sleep so I could code without the glares and suspicious looks. My schedule revolved around putting more space between them and me. As much as I wanted to win back their trust, my extreme focus on separating my personal life (primarily Clint) would make proving my loyalty difficult. And earning back their trust would distract from the mission. Things were definitely better this way.

It was a week and a half later that a practice hack was successful. No alarm triggers. No catches. A dance through the maze of prison security software. I immediately notified Coulson. As I began to practice that hack for consistent timing, I realized that this mission would likely be closing out soon. Soon, I could go back to Laura and remind myself that someone wanted me for more than my ability to pull off cyber gymnastics. Nat knew I could make her life easier on a mission, but she never put my skills as a coder before me as a person. Clint didn't want to acknowledge my hacker nature, but that's because he was completely unable to conceive of anything he construed as dangerous for me and hacking definitely qualified.

The next day the team sat in the command center drilling out the rescue plan, discussing timing, rolls, positions, countermeasures, and contingencies. The bus had been hidden away as we all made our way to check into separate hotels. I would set myself up at a coffee shop with the burner laptop and hack the system. The following morning we would rescue the agents, each at locations scattered throughout the city, ready for a number of things to go wrong.