Chapter Three: And I'll Tell You No Lies


It had been a month since Seville and John was still looking at him strangely. Ward could tell that he was trying to be subtle in his observation, but Ward also knew John better than himself after all their years together. That was probably the problem. John knew Grant well, too.

As he leaned against a wall out the briefing room, Ward recalled when the scrutiny started. When he reported back his failure to Whitehall and John, both of them were displeased for entirely different reasons.

Grant walked through the corridors Hydra's underground HQ without a hint of trepidation in his movements. The other agents balked when they saw him and kept out of his way. Most everyone did. It was no matter to Grant, he did not care what they thought or did not think of him as long as they did not bother him. When he was not with John, he spent most of his time alone anyway. It was the specialist's life.

He strolled into the debrief room where both John and Whitehall were waiting. As he approached the door, he heard the beginnings of yet another argument between the two. With Strucker overseas, Whitehall and Garrett were the two highest ranked Hydra members, which made things tense. Both men preferred to think of themselves as the other's superior while simultaneously not abiding by what the other wanted. It was a game of chicken and neither man was willing to blink first.

The only reason there was even a tentative peace at all was because John and Whitehall tended to operate in different areas. Whitehall chose to focus on brainwashing, alien technology, and so-called scientific experimentation. Garrett favored the Centipede projects, super soldiers, and, of course, his own personal mission. Garrett was an operations man through and through while Whitehall was more in line with the science. Garrett stuck to the field. Whitehall inhabited the lab. Whitehall was also the only one actually dedicated to Hydra's goal, but Grant supposed no one really knew that.

"Agent Ward, how nice of you to join us," Whitehall intoned with his usual pleasantry. Grant could almost feel Garrett's scorn at the man's sophisticated veneer. "Where is the obelisk?"

"I don't have it," Ward replied calmly. That got both men's attention. He supposed he should have pretended to be regretful, but he really could not be bothered.

"What the hell, kid?" Garrett had not cared before whether Whitehall was getting his toy, but now he was certainly invested. "Was it a false tip?"

"SHIELD intercepted the package before I could get to it. They had an agent waiting next to the deal's location. When I took out Guerra and his guards, they grabbed it and ran during the chaos." It was a simple explanation, one that Grant had planned in his head before he reported back. It was a variation of the truth as the best lies were. Agent Skye was positioned in the room next door to take the obelisk, but that was hardly a complication that would throw Grant off his game.

Garrett knew that, too. Ward's gaze did not falter as he evenly narrated his lie, and Whitehall was quick to turn his irritation towards SHIELD for stealing his prize. They had gotten their hands on the last obelisk as well, and it was clearly bothering the scientist.

Whitehall did not know Grant well enough to realize how unusual this was for him. Ward always considered all angles before every mission. He had taken the shots knowing that the commotion would cause any third parties to reveal themselves. As they scrambled in the chaos he created, Ward used the fire escape to climb up three levels into a window he had opened earlier that day. There he waited for the fleeing buyer with the device to come right to him.

It worked perfectly. The buyer and the third party had walked right into his trap. He allowed the SHIELD agent to take down the pathetic thug before approaching her. Seeing the girl touch the obelisk without being harmed was the only reason he even paused. After that, things became complicated for other reasons.

Garrett was giving his a searching look, but Ward pretended not to notice. There was no need to say anything because there were no problems to report. Grant Ward did not have weaknesses.

Garrett never said a word about it, trusting that Ward would not let anything get in the way of the real mission. Whitehall's schemes with the obelisk were nothing in their bigger picture.

Sometimes Grant wondered why John even cared about the power play with Whitehall. It was only a matter of time before their alliance with Hydra would end. As soon as they discovered the secrets of Coulson's miracle drug, they would have no more need for Hydra. Ward supposed it was not in Garrett's nature to listen to someone else's orders though.

Garrett walked out of the briefing room and into the hallway where Ward was waiting. "Come on, kid. We've got an op." Ward pushed himself off the wall and followed without question.


Skye had been trying to find the right way to ask for weeks. At first, she did not say anything for fear that someone would see through her and probe her for more details of Seville. After a couple days, Skye realized that she was being paranoid.

That bothered her because people were only paranoid when they had something to hide. Skye did not. Her chance encounter with "Zach" was hardly a betrayal. If anyone betrayed anything, it was "Zach" for Hydra since he let her and the obelisk go. Skye would have shot him, too, she just could not be sure he would not have shot her in response.

She was overthinking this.

With that in mind, she finally broached the conversation with Bobbi a month after the mission gone awry. Bobbi was sitting in the kitchen eating a sandwich when Skye found her. She looked when Skye entered and gave her a smile.

"Hey, Skye. Want some?" Bobbi asked as she gestured to her food.

"No, thanks," Skye said as she slid into a chair next to Bobbi. "I was hoping to ask you something actually."

"Sure, what's on your mind?" Bobbi replied easily.

Skye hesitated unsure of how she wanted to phrase her question. "What was it like when you were undercover at Hydra?"

Bobbi looked confused, "Are you going undercover?" It was an absurd question. Her unstable powers made a long-term undercover assignment too risky. Coulson would never send her on one before she had a handle on them.

"No, that's not it. I was just wondering," Skye paused and organized her thoughts. "When you were undercover, did you meet any Hydra agents that were… sympathetic?" It was the wrong word to use, but Skye could not think of a better way to say it. "Likeable" was too strong and "human" was too weak, Skye could not think of the right way to express it.

Bobbi appeared even more lost now, but after a second, realization washed across her face. "Oh, you're talking about the brainwashed members."

Skye was not, but she supposed Bobbi's complete misunderstanding of her question was an answer in itself. The only vaguely sympathetic people Bobbi met while undercover were the ones forced to work for Hydra. No one who chose to serve Hydra could possibly be worth understanding.

Skye nodded anyway for lack of a better response. Bobbi continued obliviously, "It was hard to be sure. Any member of Hydra could be brainwashed theoretically, and it was hard to tell the victims from the murderers. There's no way to tell most times," Bobbi finished softly making Skye feel even worse.

What was wrong with her? Here she was humanizing one of the evil traitors that likely went around stripping people of their free will instead of feeling sorry for the people who actually deserved it. Still, Skye could not stop herself from wanting to know the actual identity of her mystery man.

"What about any of the higher ups? When you were pretending to by Hydra, did you meet any of them?" All Skye really knew was that "Zach" was probably highly ranked and have a reputation with his skillset. He was obviously not a Hydra leader. Besides the fact that he let her and the obelisk go, no Hydra leader would go gallivanting off to Seville to intercept a black market deal in the first place. They had lackeys for that- lackeys like "Zach".

Bobbi shrugged. "I wasn't high up or trusted enough to meet Whitehall or Garrett if that's what you mean. I spent some time with Whitehall's right hand man Bakshi and crossed paths with Agent 33." Bobbi paused to take another bite of her sandwich. While she chewed, she seemed to consider the rest of her answer. "Bakshi was where I got most of my information actually. That was pretty much it though. Occasionally I'd see Ward, but like everyone else, I kept my distance. There was no point not to, Natasha Romanoff couldn't seduce that block of ice."

This was nothing Skye did not know already. She had heard all of those names before but had no face to place them with. "Zach" might not even be that high up, just because he was skilled did not mean he was trusted. Given that he let her go with the obelisk, Hydra would be right to not place too much faith in him. He likely was lower in the ranks than his skills made her believe. This was stupid, Skye was wasting her time with these thoughts. What would knowing his name change anyway?

"So what's this really about?" Bobbi asked after she finished up her sandwich.

Before Skye could answer, Hunter ran into the room. He spoke quickly, "Come along now, ladies. Time is of the essence." He ducked out of the room and sped towards the meeting room just as hastily.

Both Skye and Bobbi immediately stood up and followed him. Bobbi caught up to him first. "What's happening?"

Coulson was waiting with the most of the team when they arrived in the meeting room. "Here's what's going on," Coulson's clear voice cut over all the chatter. "Hydra has attacked an outdoors, informal congressional meeting with some sort of chemical gas weapon. We don't know its source. It could be alien like when they created weaponry from the obelisk or just something their scientists have cooked up using material more of this Earth. What we do know is that the congressmen are exhibiting some serious side effects from exposure, the government is in an uproar, and Hydra has once again caused the deaths of many innocent people."

Fitzsimmons were muttering lowly together next to Skye. This was their area of expertise, so it made sense that they were so worked up. The blathering on about the potential chemical components that would cause such a reaction was giving Skye a headache so she quickly tuned them out.

"But why would they do that?" Bobbi cut in over Fitzsimmons' now heated conversation. "What's the point of all this unless they're trying to frame us again?" Last time Hydra had made such a big move against world leaders, it had been their assault on the United Nations. They posed as SHIELD agents and wore their insignia as they killed a dozen people. This was one of the main reasons why SHIELD was still in the shadows, everyone still believed them to be the ones responsible.

"We don't know," Coulson replied coolly.

"Why are they using chemical warfare in the first place? I didn't think that was their area." Mack questioned from beside Bobbi.

"That," Coulson began while nodding his head in agreement, "We also don't know."

"Hang on," Hunter began, "Does that mean-"

Coulson interrupted him. "Just assume that any questions you have can't be answered with the information I have." Everyone shut up after that. "Look, I know how difficult it is to go in blind like this, but we have to do something. We have more knowledge on Hydra and their techniques than anyone else. We have a chance to save some lives here," Coulson ended his speech passionately.

When no one raised any objections, the director began barking orders. "Bobbi, Skye, Hunter, I need you to lead Fitzsimmons to the site of the attack. Hydra may be long gone, but we can still get the necessary samples to find a way to help those still alive. If not, then at least we can better prepare ourselves for when Hydra tries to use this on us. Make sure no one identifies you as SHIELD, especially the government. If you can't stay under the radar and get the samples safely, abort the mission and get back here as soon as possible. Hydra has left, but be on your guards. Something's not right about this."

Skye and the rest nodded in assent. Skye saw May frowning at Coulson, but she did not say anything.

Coulson clapped his hands together, "If that's it, then go gear up."


Skye sat behind the driver's seat of the SHIELD van they were taking to the attack site. Bobbi was behind the wheel with Hunter beside her on the passenger side. They were arguing incessantly about something Skye could not be bothered to pay attention to. They were in one of their "off" stages of their perpetual on again, off again relationships. Hunter was ranting about Bobbi using a "tone", so the sexual tension must be at its tipping point. Skye would give it a week before they broke and began sleeping together again.

Fitzsimmons were still chattering to the left of her about the apparently endless possibilities of analyzing a new form of chemical warfare. They sounded a little too excited to be discussing something that just cost many people their lives, but Skye was used to Fitzsimmons' enthusiasm when it came to anything science-y.

Both couples were completely focused on what the other was saying. They were caught up in their own little worlds while Skye just sat staring out the window watching the other cars rushing past them. Suddenly Skye felt very alone. Sometimes it was as though there were pairs within the team. May and Coulson, Hunter and Bobbi, Fitz and Simmons, they were so tight that it made Skye envious. She did not doubt that the team cared for her and that she was a member. In some ways, she even got special treatment from May and Coulson as their mentee, but she was still left out.

She wanted to be some person's number one. She wanted the fierce, unconditional devotion that she had witnessed in the little moments between May and Coulson. She wanted the near co-dependency, needy bond that Fitzsimmons had. She wanted the inescapable and maddening love that Bobbi and Hunter shared. She had no one like that, and it made her feel like an outsider sometimes. That was the problem with being a unwanted foster kid, you never got over be the unwanted foster kid no matter how many years passed.

The car rolled to a stop around the corner from a smoking patio blocked off with signs declaring CAUTION: DO NOT ENTER and WARNING: CHEMICAL HAZZARD in angry yellow and black. Skye did not like this. Something felt off about this whole mission. She shared Bobbi and Mack's confusion, none of this made any sense even for crazy killers like Hydra.

"Is this even safe?" Hunter asked almost petulantly as he squinted his eyes at smoky patio across the street. Skye was siding with Hunter on this one. The courtyard certainly looked like it had been attacked with something even without the air quality giving it away. Tables and chairs were overturned, and what looked like the remains of a fancy meal were destroyed. Plates lay shattered on the ground, crushed next to clumps of unrecognizable food. There were dark splotches that were probably blood all over.

"Well, it depends on the nature of the chemical administered," Simmons announced cheerfully as she gathered some supplies from the van. She handed Fitz a weird contraption that Skye had never seen before. "The smoky residue suggests it is something related to the-"

Simmons' enlightening speech was abruptly cut off as shots began firing at them without warning.

"Get down!" Bobbi shouted as she pulled Simmons with her to duck for cover. Skye did the same with Fitz. Hunter was already crouching low and pointing his sidearm in the direction the shots came from. While the streets were relatively clear due to the earlier attack, there were still civilians everywhere. They promptly began screaming and panicking at the rain of bullets that appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

This must have been what Hydra was after. It was a trap somehow, they were luring SHIELD out into the open because of course SHIELD could not ignore such a blatant display of violence and death.

With all of the SHIELD agents covered, the bullets halted. Skye waited with bated breath on their next movements. Bobbi and Hunter exchanged a loaded glance.

"I think we failed to stay 'under the radar' as Coulson put it," Hunter drawled. "Might be time to make our exit stage left."

Bobbi and Skye nodded. Even if they wanted to stick it out, they were at a clear disadvantage not knowing where the Hydra shooters were or even what they were after beyond drawing them out. Before anyone could act on their decision, shots started being fired again. Only this time it was not towards the hidden SHIELD agents.

Skye watched with horror as a woman fell to the ground clutching her shoulder. Not a minute later, a man on the other side of the courtyard went down with a bullet to his thigh. They were targeting civilians on opposite ends of the place, and there were too many potential targets to protect. They must have a sniper perched somewhere high taking the shots, but Skye could not tell which building he was in.

"We have to do something," Skye said even though she knew logically there was nothing they could do in these circumstances. She brushed that knowledge aside and rushed out from her cover towards the injured woman. It was a stupid move, but if Hydra wanted to draw them out, well here she was.

She heard her team shouting her name behind her as she reached the woman and put pressure on the wound. She was losing consciousness fast while still moaning in obvious pain. Skye knew from personal experience that being shot was agonizing as hell.

Skye half expected the sniper to take her out before she even reached the woman. No more shots were fired though, which Skye considered very fortunate if not even more suspicious. Even as she pressed down on the victim's shoulder with one hand, she had her sidearm in her other and scanned the area for another potential attack.

Bobbi and Hunter were upon her in seconds. Skye did not even notice them follow her out. Bobbi told Hunter to go tend to the other victim. Everything was strangely quiet. Even though the shooting had stopped, Skye's feelings of unease had only increased.

"We need to get these people to a hospital," Bobbi said as she used the lady's phone to call for an ambulance. There were sirens in the distance already, and they should probably leave soon if they wanted to avoid SHIELD being connected to this mess. They needed to get back to Fitzsimmons and the van.

Fitzsimmons.

The pieces of the puzzle suddenly clicked together to form a terrifying picture. Skye whirled around to look back at the van, completely forgetting about the injured woman she was helping. The van was there and untouched, but she could not see either scientist.

They should not even be there. Neither Fitz nor Simmons were combat cleared. They spent time in the field only because SHIELD lacked the resources to keep them out of it. But whenever they were out on a mission, they were always flanked by trained field agents who could protect them if things went south. Trained agents like Bobbi, Hunter, and herself.

The only reason they were out here was because Hydra for some inexplicable reason had used a chemical weapon in a flagrant display of death and violence that grabbed SHIELD's attention immediately. A chemical weapon, which would require the scientists' expertise on site, and a showy display of power to force SHIELD to react. When Fitzsimmons had been safely tucked away with three field agents protecting them, Hydra starting shooting up the civilian population to lure the guardians away.

They had been played.

"Simmons!" Skye screamed as she ran back towards the car, "Fitz!" Her heart was pounding uncontrollably, and she could feel her tenuous grip on her powers loosen as she was overwhelmed with emotion. Skye reached the van still yelling for her friends. She could not see them anywhere. They were gone.

Bobbi was right behind her a grabbed her arm when she made to run. She did not even know where she would go, she just knew she had to find them. She had to save them.

"Skye, calm down. The last thing this place needs is an earthquake to tear it up."

Skye spun around to face Bobbi and yanked her arm out of her grasp. "We need to go after them."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Bobbi asked steadily. She was too calm, Skye wanted to shake her. How could she be so composed when Fitzsimmons had been kidnapped by Hydra for who knows what? "We have no idea where they were taken."

"She's right, love," Hunter chimed in sounding far more serious than usual. "We need to return to base. Hydra may still be waiting. We have to get out of the open."

That was how Skye found herself returning to the van backseat as Bobbi gunned it back towards HQ. She was the one who felt too calm now. The terror that had gripped her just moments before had vanished, replacing it was an odd sense of numbed determination.

Hydra was not going to get away with this. She was getting her best friends back, and then she was going to make those assholes pay.


So we're getting into an actual plot now. First two chapters were more of a setup for how Ward and Skye meet and let you get a feel for where everyone stands it this AU. I'm probably going to stick with just Skye and Grant for narrators, I'd rather not overcomplicate things. They are the main characters and their relationship is the focus of this fic. It has to build though since in this AU they have no history. And while the Skyeward relationship is the most important one, this fic is going to incorporate many of the other relationships- particularly Skye and Ward's relationships with others. Updates are probably not going to stay this quick. I just wanted to get the foundation established.

Any and all feedback is appreciated! Please let me know what you think!