Chapter 3 – Leap of Faith
Two months later…
Trip, Skye and Mac crept quietly along the deserted corridor, their weapons help out in front of them, eyes scanning each door way and shadow. The car manufacturing plant on the edge of Detroit was old, disused and in a state of decay. The air smelt damp, patches of black mould staining the crumbling plaster and rotten wood, alongside years' worth of graffiti as rain ran down the dirty, cracked windows;
"You know" Mac said, studying the walls as he walked,
"Some of this is pretty damn artistic"
"Can we keep on track here please Agent MaKenzie" said Coulson's voice in his ear,
"Yes Sir…but can someone please remind me why we're creeping about in this rotten dump in the middle of the night again?"
"I second that" came Hunter's voice over the Comms. He, Bobbie and Conall were at the other side of the building. Coulson's sigh sounded like static through the team's earpieces. He and May were hovering above the site in a cloaked QuinJet;
"This site has been non-operational for years. Recent S.H.I.E.L.D satellite sweeps have shown thermal signatures that shouldn't be there, machinery, generators, lighting and a coded wi-fi signal. CCTV and traffic cameras have shown regular attendance of trucks at the site. Someone has been taking a lot of deliveries but there is no evidence of anyone legitimate taking over the site"
"So we're thinking Hyrda?" asked Skye,
"Correct"
"Anything showing on scans now?" Trip enquired, sweeping his ICER around a deserted office,
"Negative. The site appears to be deserted but stay on your guard all of you"
"Acknowledged. Alpha Two proceeding to fourth floor" said Bobbi, motioning to Conall to go up the stairs in front of her while Hunter turned and watched the corridor they had just come down. Conall slipped passed her and disappeared in to the gloom above;
"What's wrong Bob?"
She glanced at Hunter who was still watching their rear,
"Nothing"
"Liar"
Bobbie hesitated for a moment,
"You ever get a feeling about a person?"
Hunter rolled his eyes,
"You women and your 'feelings'" he said,
"Lance – "
Hunter turned to her slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her to him,
"Bob, the only person I ever get a 'feeling' about" he said, eyeing her suggestively, "Is you"
She smiled and put a hand to his cheek as he leaned towards her,
"Ahem?"
They pulled apart and spun to face the sound. Conall was standing on the stairs, his expression amused. Neither of them had heard him return,
"Stairs and landing are clear if you'd like to come up?"
"Alpha One proceeding to basement level…Mac help me with this door will you?"
The technician examined the chain and lock before pulling a syringe from his bag. He poured a few drops of the colourless liquid on the chain before injecting the rest into the lock of the heavy metal door itself. The acid ate through the chain which snapped as Mac put his shoulder into the door, bursting the lock. The door swung open easily, no creaking of metal or grating of rusty hinges. Skye examined them more closely,
"These are new" she said,
"Someone's been using this level recently" said Trip, raising his weapon as he stepped into the room beyond. Skye and Mac followed him, moving slowly, keeping close. Skye tried the light switch on the wall beside the door, but nothing happened. She lifted her torch, noticing how the wires had been pulled from the trunking on the wall and cut;
"Erm..guys?"
They turned towards Trip, his torch beam illuminating deep gouges in the concrete wall. Below them was a dark stain that spread out across the floor.
"They look like scratch marks" said Skye, stepping up beside him. He nodded,
"And that looks like blood" he said, darkly.
Skye touched the scratches, spreading her hand out to try and get an idea of scale,
"What do you think made them?"
"I'm guessing the same thing that did that" said Mac behind them. They turned, pointing their own torches in the same direction. In the corner was a large cage, the door bent and hanging off its hinges. Behind them, in the dark, something started to growl.
Bobbi, Hunter and Conall stepped out on to the metal gantries suspended above what had been the production floor of the plant. The gigantic space was empty now, a home for pigeons and junk. They made their way through the dark only to find the single walkway connecting the two sides of the plant had collapsed in the middle,
"Damn it" said Bobbi, "we'll have to double back, head down to the ground floor and see if we can get access that way, or at least meet up with the other team"
Hunter leant back on the railing and folded his arms,
"This is a wild goose chase, there's nothing here", he saw Conall eyeing the gap in the walkway,
"Not a chance mate, you'll never make that even with a decent run up"
Conall tilted his head to the side,
"Perhaps" he said and looked at Hunter out of the corner of his eye,
"Oh yeah? Want to put money on it? I'll use it to buy you some grapes while you're vacationing in the med bay with two broken legs"
Conall smiled,
"Sure, why not? Twenty dollars?"
Hunter stuck out his hand,
"You're on Jock"
Bobbi stepped between them,
"That's enough you two"
"Aw let him try Bob, it'll be funny"
"Plus" said Conall, placing a hand on her shoulder to stop her turning to Hunter,
"If I go over there I can clear this level. You two go back down and search the level below and I'll meet back up with you at the far entrance" he said, gesturing to the southern end of the building,
"The quicker we get this cleared the quicker we can get Hunter back to his bed"
Hunter scowled at him over Bobbi's shoulder. Bobbie shook her head,
"We're not splitting up Conall"
"I'll be fine Agent Morse. I'll check in on Comms every two minutes and trust me you'll sharp know if I need help"
He gave her a reassuring smile. She glared at him, about to pull rank and insist he follow her orders but there was something in his confident green gaze that made her pause. After a moment she nodded and stepped back,
"Fine. Every two minutes. You come across anything out of the ordinary you request back up"
"Yes Ma'am"
Conall turned and took a few steps back, holstering his gun and adjusting the straps holding the twin swords on his back.
"You want red or white grapes?" Hunter asked before Conall shot passed them and leaped. He landed easily on the other side, standing and removing his ICER from his belt before turning and finding the two other agents gawping at him. He grinned,
"Every two minutes" he said before turning away,
"And you owe me twenty dollars Essex Boy" he called over his shoulder before the shadows swallowed him up.
Trip, Skye and Mac trained their weapons on the growling sound, their torch beams reflecting in huge orange eyes.
"What the hell is that?" said Skye as the creature in the corner stood, uncurling its mottled grey body from the floor,
"Lion maybe?" said Trip, holstering his ICER and drawing his Glock, levelling the weapon at the creature's shaggy head,
"That ain't no damn lion man! How many lions do you know of that are grey and have glowing orange eyes?" said Mac, beginning to back away, the other two keeping in step with him.
"Was a lion then?"
The animal slunk forward slowly, long claws scraping on the ground. Its body was mottled with scars, its mane dirty and patchy, long tail slashing back and forth and it moved. It opened its drooling mouth, exposing huge, yellow teeth, the growling noise it was making changing tone. The creature's muscles bunched and it sprang at them, mouth open, claws extended. All three agents fired multiple shots. The creature dropped, its momentum causing it to skid across the floor leaving a bloody trail before it rolled to a stop almost at their feet.
"Come on" said Trip, trying to calm his breathing, "Let's get back to the RV site. Coulson can have this thing picked up for FitzSimmons to play with"
Before they'd made it half way up the stairs a sound made them stop and turn. The creature was stirring, getting to its feet, eyes locked on them. It bared its teeth.
"RUN!"
"Alpha One what's happening down there? Alpha One? Trip talk to me!"
Coulson's voice sounded in Bobbie's ear as she and Hunter ran along the corridor towards the commotion.
"Contact! Unknown - …"
Trip's breathless and panicked communication cut off mind sentence,
"Trip? Alpha Two you getting this?"
"Yes Sir, en route to intercept"
"Help Alpha One then withdraw to the southern entrance, we'll extract from there"
They burst into the marble floored foyer and almost collided with the other team,
"What the hell is going on?" demanded Bobbie and Mac grabbed her and pulled her with him,
"Don't ask just run" he paused for a moment, brow creased in concern,
"Where's Conall?"
"He went - "
A clattering behind them announced the arrival of the lion like creature as it burst from an intercepting corridor, its claws scrabbling for purchase on the slippery floor. Bobbie and Hunter instinctively went for their weapons, but Mac pulled them away,
"Don't bother, it doesn't work"
The creature roared, spraying blood and saliva as it came after them again. They sprinted onto the production floor, lungs burning, not daring to look behind them in case they stumbled. It was a straight run in front of them to the south door and they could hear the whine of the aircrafts engines as it touched down. They were almost there when the creature struck. It lashed out a huge paw, tripping Hunter who sprawled to the floor, crying out in pain as his shoulder struck the concrete.
"Hunter!"
The team skidded to a stop as Hunter dragged himself away from the creature as it approached, moving slowly now, head down, focused on its prey. A steady growl resonated from its throat as Bobbie and Mac ran forward to drag Hunter away, Skye and Trip hauling open the heavy sliding doors. The creatures muscles bunched, tail slashing back and forth as it prepared to leap when a dark figure sprang over the railings above and Conall landed in front of it, shielding Hunter behind him. Conall was crouched, almost nose to nose with the creature, who froze and appraised the intruder, blazing orange eyes boring into him, fur rippling down its spine.
"Go to the jet" said Conall quietly, never breaking eye contact with the animal,
"Conall"
"Go!"
Mac bodily picked a bleeding Hunter up as Bobbie backed away, covering him. She reached the door and paused, Skye and Trip beside her watching Conall as he slowly unfolded from his crouch, standing over the animal in front of him. He took a step forward and to their amazement, the creature stepped back, making unsure noises as it hunkered down, tail between its legs. It looked up at Conall and snorted then whined pitifully, lying down on the floor, ears laid back over its head.
"What is he doing?" said Skye incredulously, "How?"
Bobbie shook her head and shrugged. Skye lifted her phone and took a picture, the flash lighting up the scene. Conall blinked at the bright light and that was enough. The creature sprang, huge paws on Conall's shoulders as it went for his throat. He fell back, kicking his feet into its belly and flipping it off him. It rolled away, claws digging into the concrete as it faced him again. Conall got to his feet turned and ran back into the factory, the beast behind him instinctively giving chase. He sprinted straight for a steel pillar and jumped, planting his feet against it and powering backwards, drawing his swords as he flipped over the creature. There was a flash of silver and the beast's body collided with the pillar with a sickening thump, its head rolling away into the darkness. Conall landed in a soundless crouch. He studied the dead animal for a moment before turning and stalking back to the door, swords down by his side, the silvery blades smeared with blood.
"My God Conall, I'm so sorry I mean..that was incredible it…Are you alright?"
Conall glared at Skye as he approached, his eyes hard enough to make her take a step back,
"I'm fine but next time I tell you to go to do something, you better bloody well do it!"
He paused at the look on her face, on the faces of his team mates and made a visible effort to relax. When he looked up his eyes had softened, the shadow across his features that they'd never seen before had gone.
"Thank you for your concern Skye, my apologies for snapping at you" he grinned at her,
"I hope you got my good side?"