Sorry for the wait friends. What can I say, life is crazy even in the summer!
I'm hoping to give you all a quick update this time though! I'm having a good time writing these parts :)
I don't own stuff.
"When we get there, we're going to need you to disable the fan long enough for us to get through without sending the blockage signal, Lance."
Coulson surveyed the glow of light that he knew was the end of the tunnel.
"You got it, Philly."
"Call me that one more time and I'll shoot you."
"Copy that." Lance grinned, moving forward toward the fan, and Bobbie rolled her eyes.
Suddenly there was a loud bang, the light at the end of the tunnel went out, and the fan stopped spinning.
"What the bloody hell…." Lance was pushing them all through the fan before they could react.
"Did you do that Lance?!" Coulson turned on the young man. "We can't have them know we're here!"
"No sir, that was not us." The young man's face was uncharacteristically serious.
"Tripp?"
"Sir, it appears the fuse of the science wing was blown, from the inside."
Tripp's voice was worried in Coulson's ear.
"Did you all hear that?" he asked his team.
They were crouched in a ventilation tunnel in complete darkness.
"We all have Tripp in our ear," Bobbi reminded him.
"From the inside?" Coulson confirmed.
"Yes sir."
"Any idea what caused the blow?" Coulson touched his ear.
"No idea, sir."
"The emailer…" Coulson mumbled, feeling May shift beside him. He found his hand in the darkness and she squeezed it slightly.
"Alright, we'll proceed with caution," Coulson decided, his eyes turning to where he knew the tunnel exited- now hidden in darkness- right into the science wing. "This could distract from our presence. And we got through the fan."
"This could be an unexpected blessing," Bobbi commented.
"Exactly," Coulson smiled, pleased with her optimism.
"Or it could be the reason we all die," Bobbi continued.
Coulson's face fell slightly in the dark.
"We have to try to get out of here." Fitz broke the heavy silence in the abandoned laboratory room. "I did some pretty serious damage to the wiring but it's only a matter of time…"
Jemma leaned heavily against the wall, allowing her exhaustion to wash over her for a moment. Even the simple movement caused spikes of pain to shoot out from her shoulder, only slightly muted by the drugs she had given herself. After all, she didn't want to use anything too strong. She had to be alert.
"Come on, Jemma," Fitz was suddenly crouched beside her. "We've got to try."
"It feels safer here." The initial courage had faded slightly as the pain set in and Jemma very much did not want to move.
"They'll find us here eventually."
Jemma knew he was right. But that didn't mean she wanted to stand up.
Her eyes travelled to Skye, resting on the tiny girl crumpled on the ground.
They were sitting ducks in this room. But outside they were just as likely to run into someone. Skye would be injected with the serum, which would most likely cause a torturous death. They would be killed.
A sob caught in her throat but she couldn't let a sound come out, afraid that once the tears began she would be unable to stop.
"Hey." Fitz grabbed her hand, forcing her to look into his blue eyes. "We're going to be okay. Come on, it will be an adventure."
She held his eye contact for a bit, almost overwhelmed by the care she found there. Finally she tore her eyes away.
"Yes. Yes of course." Jemma tucked her hair behind her ear and took his offered hand. "What's the plan?"
"Don't die," Fitz was stuffing things into his bag.
"That plan could use some work," Simmons observed.
"Yeah well, work in progress." He handed her a gun and she took it uncertainly. "Relax, it only stuns."
"Oh." Jemma gripped the weapon more tightly.
"Jemma?"
The two young adults turned around to find Skye sitting up, her brown eyes confused and clouded.
"Hey sweetie," Jemma quickly moved to soothe the tiny girl.
"You're hurt," Skye's eyes widened and Simmons glanced at the stained bandage on her shoulder.
"I will be alright, what matters is getting you to safety."
"Mommy and Daddy," Skye murmured.
Simmons thought to the fruitless emails they had sent to find Skye's parents for help.
"Yes. Do you think you can stand up?"
"My body is tired," Skye frowned. She pulled herself onto her feet, swayed precariously for a moment then collapsed back down, Simmons catching her before she hit the floor.
"Her body has gone through too much trauma," Jemma murmured.
"I'll carry her." Fitz appeared with countless gadgets strapped all over. He gave Skye a kind smile. "You okay with that, Skye?"
She stared up at him for a moment then nodded. He lifted the little girl up, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.
There was something about the way she held onto him, the way her skinny limbs clung, the way he could feel her warmth and weight that suddenly filled his chest with determination.
He would not let any more pain happen to this child.
"Think you can keep an eye out behind us?" Fitz asked her, as her head was looking over his shoulder. He felt her nod. He turned to Simmons and caught her gaze. She grabbed his hand for a moment and squeezed it before quickly dropping it.
"Excellent. Alright, out we go then."
They got about five feet before they ran into the first Hydra soldier.
Jemma stifled a scream as Fitz shot him with the stun gun faster than she thought possible. Skye whimpered.
"Come on." Fitz adjusted his night glasses which gave him a clear advantage.
Gulping she followed cautiously as they crept up to a corner and Fitz carefully peered around it, holding Skye's tiny form tightly.
"Clear."
They began creeping down that dark hall when a burst of gunfire behind them bounced off the walls around them.
"Run!" Fitz grabbed her good hand, pulling her forward. Jemma tried to force herself onward despite the pain in her shoulder and varying waves of dizziness. She focused on Fitz's hand in hers and tried to follow it best she could.
A bullet whizzed by her leg, so close she could feel it.
She heard Fitz inhale sharply and he slowed down slightly before speeding up again.
"Here!" Fitz pushed her into a random room and slid in behind her, hiding behind the slightly ajar door. They held their breath as footsteps approached the door. There was more than one person, the men talking in low voices to each other.
Skye burrowed here face in Fitz's chest. He quietly moved his stun gun to a more convenient location, knowing that it wouldn't really matter against several guns.
"You check down the hall, I'll check the rooms. We'll get those bitches."
A pair of footsteps moved closer to their door.
Suddenly there was whizzing noise and a soft thud.
"You alright?" a female voice asked quietly outside the door. The footsteps began to move away from the door. Fitz relaxed slightly. They might just make it. He didn't know why someone had killed the guard looking for them but he didn't really care. They just needed to get out.
"Just a scrape." Another female voice, slightly lower, answered.
At the second voice, Skye jerked up. Before Fitz or Simmons could stop her, she was scampering into the hall on unsteady legs.
"Skye!" Jemma's voice was shrill with fear. "Skye no!"
The two women dressed in black turned around, raising their guns.
Then the Asian woman dropped her gun and ran towards Skye, wrapping the girl up in her arms, rocking her back and forth.
"Mommy," Skye sobbed, burrowing her face in woman's shoulder.
Meanwhile the other person, a beautiful blonde young woman, raised her gun and pointed it straight at Jemma, fury burning in her blue eyes.
I promise I won't leave you all hanging for too long!
Yay for Skye and May finally being reunited!
Thanks for continuing to stick with this story :)
