Chapter Six: Samson and Delilah
"Nothing?" John growled when Ward reported back to him about the mission's success- or lack thereof.
They were hidden away in John's bunk at one of John's personal, secret safehouses. Garrett had wanted him to meet him there for debrief, and Grant was not in the habit of questioning John's orders. If he asked to be met there, Grant was sure it was for a good reason.
Ward nodded calmly in response, his face a mask concealing any doubt that he had. Because Grant was doubtful that he really was doing the right thing. Covering for SHIELD Agent Skye seemed like a worse and worse decision by the second as Grant was faced with Garrett's disappointment in person. He could not help but feel as though he were betraying his mentor who had given him so much. He should just tell John what he learned so they could begin preparation to capture the woman who apparently held the key to Garrett's salvation.
The words did not leave Ward's lips though. There was no logic behind his actions. John was the closest thing to real family that Grant had ever had. He was his purpose in life. John had saved Grant from himself when no one saw anything of worth in him. Garrett did though, he saw Ward's value when Grant had already resigned himself to a short and pointless life.
There was no rationale that drove Ward to keep quiet on the many secrets that Skye had. They had met twice really, and both experiences were wrought with conflict and suspicion. It was the opposite of Ward's effortless routine with John. Grant trusted John with every fiber of his being, and they had been a team for so long now that Ward could just sense what Garrett wanted him to do and get it done.
Ward cursed the weakness that he could not shake. It made him feel like the pathetic little boy who had helplessly stood by the well as his little brother drowned. Every time Grant thought he had freed himself from such pitifulness, the memories came back with a vengeance. Ward kept them so carefully repressed, but they were always lurking in the back of his mind waiting for an opportunity to claw themselves to the surface.
If anything, Grant should loathe the woman more for doing this to him. He could not remember the last time he was so indecisive. It was like anxiety bubbling in his veins, traveling under his skin, at all times. It did not show on the outside, but its presence was enough to drive Ward mad.
And whatever Grant would like to think, he knew he did not hate Skye. In fact, just thinking about her sent jolts of excitement through him. She made him feel alive in a way that Grant could not remember ever feeling. It was like he had been unknowingly sleeping through his whole life and just speaking with the woman was enough to finally wake him up. Grant wondered what would happen if they did more than just talk.
"Damnit, what the hell, kid?" John's voice tore through Grant's thoughts and filled him with guilt. He was forgetting himself again.
"Kaminsky and Hauer failed to search the prisoners after securing them," Grant recited almost dully. "They had active trackers on their persons. It prevented me from getting to fully interrogate them before SHIELD arrived."
Garrett scrutinized him. "What the fuck kind of bullshit is that?"
Ward's surprise broke his carefully blank facade. "Sir?"
"'Kaminsky and Hauer failed to search the prisoners'," John mockingly repeated. "Of course they did, they're morons. How did you fail to check the prisoners yourself? Are you a moron, too?"
Ward faltered in the face of Garett's derision. His shoulders hunched automatically in reaction. "I assumed they had already done so." Even as he spoke, Ward felt himself sagging under the weight of Garrett's disappointed glare. Grant should have checked himself. John was right to be angry.
"You never trust anyone to do the job for you, least of all idiots like Kaminsky and Hauer." John scowled in revulsion at Grant's stupidity. "I taught you better than that."
Ward felt the full force of Garett's disgust wash over him and said nothing. There was nothing to say, he knew he had messed up. He also knew why. Seeing Skye again had messed with his head in a way that Grant did not want to admit. As if he needed any more proof that their strange connection was disastrous.
John looked him over, no doubt reading the self-recriminations flashing across his expression. "What's the matter, son? It's like your head's not in the game. Don't you remember how important this is to me?"
"I do," Grant reassured. "It won't happen again."
Garrett narrowed his eyes and considered the promise. Grant felt his breath catch as he waited John's response. All of the sudden, John brightened and slapped Ward's arm. "That's my boy, I know you won't disappoint me again." Grant smiled in reply.
But just as Grant's breathing evened out, John's grip on his arm tightened to the point of bruising. Ward knew a warning when he saw one.
"I need you to shake off whatever's distracting you fast, kid," Garett continued seriously. "I gotta know I can count on you, now more than ever."
"Has something new happened?" Grant wondered more than a little alarmed. John's health was unpredictable as of late. Ward knew that he had gone to Cybertech and Raina recently for an update. Had the results been worse than expected?
John ran a hand over his face and sat down on the foot of his bed. His elbows lay across his knees as he slumped forward. His absentminded gaze was leveled at the wall in front of him. "Flowers' prognosis is bad." Garrett raised his stare to meet Grant's own. "She says I've got half a year left at most."
Terror filled Grant. He had known that John was getting much worse, but the deadline felt all the more real now that Ward could count down the days his father figure had left. It only made him feel all the worse for letting John down- and hiding Skye's secret.
"Has she made any progress with Stage Three?" Ward found himself asking numbly.
John shook his head with a haunted look in his eyes. "No, she's hit a roadblock in her research. She says we need more info on Coulson's miracle drug."
More guilt pooled in Grant's stomach. It was not too late, he could open his mouth and tell John what he knew about Skye and GH-325. But when he parted his lips, all that came out was a desperate, "What do you need me to do?"
John focused on that. "Your Hydra missions need to be sidelined for the moment. Your full attention has to be on the real mission. I can rely on you, right, son?"
Ward nodded immediately. "Of course, sir."
"Good, good, because you're the only one I trust with this, kid." Shame and gratification surged through Grant at Garrett's approval. "That prick Whitehall is breathing down my neck all the time now. I think he suspects something." Garrett frowned. Grant realized that was why they were meeting in the safehouse, to stay out of Whitehall's reach. "He can't know about this. Do and say whatever to keep him off the scent, just make sure he doesn't know anything he can take advantage of. When you're not appeasing him, I'm sending you out for more GH-325 missions."
"Copy that."
Strong and sure hands ran up and down Skye's sides, tracing her curves and driving her wild. They just barely grazed her breasts each time. Skye let out a whine in protest and arched her back to push her bare chest into the body above her.
The lips that had been peppering kisses into her neck stopped. A dark chuckle sounded in her ear and sent more waves of desire flooding through her. He lightly bit her ear as ran one hand down her naked thigh.
Without warning, he gripped the back of her knee and yanked her leg up and around his waist. The resulting pressure of their locked hips had Skye moaning loudly. She was not even sure what was escaping her lips beyond a litany of pleas and begging for more.
Skye slid one of her hands up and down his unclothed back while she curled her free fingers into the hair of her lover. She used her grasp to pull his head back and meet his eyes.
The dark, unfathomable eyes of "Zach" gazed into her own. "Are you sure this is what you want?" He asked softly.
Skye could not be bothered to answer. Instead she moved her hand to his backside to grind against her more firmly. His reaction was breathtaking. His eyes fluttered in pleasure, and he released a groan that filled Skye with satisfaction.
"Please," she whined, "I want this so bad." She needed more fiction, she needed everything he could give her and more. Skye bit her lip hoping the pain would ground her, but she was far past the point of that.
"Just be sure, because you can never go back after." Skye ignored his warning carelessly. She could not keep a coherent thought anymore. She did not care to. Nothing mattered but the way one of his hands was slowly trailing down her stomach to where she wanted it most.
He was almost there. Skye captured his lips in a fierce kiss and tightened her fingers in his sweat-soaked hair in anticipation.
"Skye?"
A loud bang reverberated. Someone was knocking on her bunk's door. It startled Skye awake in a heartbeat. She sat up flushed and confused and turned to stare at the offending entrance.
"Skye? Are you awake?" Skye could recognize Simmons' voice now. She sounded a little concerned. It usually did not take much to wake Skye up. She was hardly a heavy sleeper due to her training and the hazards of the job. On days like today where she did not have 5am training with May, Skye did enjoy sleeping in a little. But it was never past 8 anymore, and the lightest noise would wake her.
"I'm up, Simmons!" Skye called out but did not move. So many emotions were rushing through her as she stared at the tangled mess of her sheets. She must have been tossing and turning all night. Skye's cheeks heated at the thought.
Oblivious to what was going on with her friend, Simmons continued, "Coulson wants us to meet for a debrief in fifteen. Is that enough time for you to get ready? Everyone else is already out of bed."
Skye checked her clock. Of course they were, it was almost 10. Even when Skye first started training she rarely slept this late. She felt so out of sorts that she could not even begin to wade through her cluttered thoughts.
"Could I get a bit more time?" Skye called out as she pushed back her blankets. "I need to shower first." There was no way she was going to face Coulson and May without a cold shower first. May especially would see through her in an instant.
"Are you alright?" Simmons wondered worriedly.
"Uh yeah, just feeling a bit under the weather," Skye responded distractedly. That was a lie. If anything, Skye was filled with overflowing energy. Well, distinctly unsatisfied energy but still.
"Do you want me to tell them you're sick?"
"No, no!" Skye shouted back. "I should be fine after I shower. Just tell them I'll be there in a half hour."
After hearing Simmons' agreement, Skye flopped back down in bed. The sheets beneath her were wet with sweat. Skye felt so out of place and lost. Her entire body was on fire and aching with unfulfilled need. Skye wondered if she would feel better if Simmons had just waited a little longer before getting her…
A shiver wracked Skye's body as she imagined. She was tempted to follow those thoughts and take care of the frustrated desire herself. She shook herself out of it quickly though. The team was waiting on her, and what if someone came to check on her supposed sickness and found her in medias res? The humiliation alone would have Skye locked up in her bunk for weeks.
Grumbling to herself, Skye hoisted her displeased body up and yanked off her sweaty pajamas. She padded into her bathroom and turned the shower knob. The water was set chillier than it normally was, but Skye needed a wakeup call after what had just happened. It was only once she was under the spray of water that Skye even allowed herself to fully consider the implications.
Skye had just had a wet dream. She never had dreams like that. Skye was a confident, beautiful woman. If she wanted sex, she went out and got it. She practically lived in seedy bars during her late teenage years. She had also never been one to scorn a potential one night stand if she was in the mood. It was a good way to release some pent up horniness.
Admittedly since joining SHIELD, Skye had not indulged her hormones all that much- but she had also not felt the need to. She ended things with Miles almost a year ago. After that, she had a fling or two in her spare time, but nothing serious or long lasting. She had not wanted that. She could probably find a colleague willing to have no-strings-attached sex with her though.
She thought through potential prospects as she washed her tangled hair. None of them sounded even remotely tempting. She could always go off base to a bar and find a willing partner to blow off steam with. That appealed to Skye even less than the first option.
Skye bit her lip as she realized what the problem was. It was the subject of her dream and not the topic that indicated her repressed longings. She was not craving sex, she was craving him. That was dangerous and impossible for more reasons than Skye could even begin to contemplate.
Skye had woken up from a wet dream about a Hydra agent. An agent whose real name she did not even know. What she did know was that he had abducted Fitzsimmons, opened fire on a civilian population, and lied as easily as he breathed. That was the man occupying her fantasies and steadily making her insane. What the hell was wrong with her?
Skye leaned her forehead against the cool tiles as the freezing water rained down on her. She still felt flushed and unsettled. She shut off the spray and wrapped a towel around her torso. Skye used her hand to clear the mirror so she could stare at her reflection. She stood there gazing at her own appearance until her expression only showed what she wanted it to. It was time to join the team.
Skye strolled into the meeting room where everyone was waiting confident that she had sealed away any evidence of her inner turmoil.
May, Coulson, Fitzsimmons, and Trip were the only ones in the room. That immediately put Skye on edge. It was obvious that Coulson was purposely only calling the agents he trusted most to this meeting for some reason.
"Hey, what's up?" She greeted casually belying her growing unease as she moved to stand next to Trip. He gave her an easy grin before returning his attention to Director Coulson.
Coulson looked at her with paternal concern. "Are you okay? Simmons mentioned you were feeling sick."
The real reason for condition pushed at the edges of her consciousness, begging to be noticed, before Skye ruthlessly squashed those thoughts. "I'm good, no worries. I just needed a shower to wake me up."
Coulson nodded without a hint of suspicion and switched into Director mode. "As you know, Agents Fitz and Simmons were taken recently by Hydra." Fitzsimmons both awkwardly raised a hand in response as if anyone was unaware of who Coulson was referring to. "What you probably don't know is why."
Coulson took a deep breath before looking at everyone in the room one at a time. He paused when his gaze landed on Skye. "It seems Hydra is still looking for the GH formula."
Skye froze. She thought that they had given up on that after their big reveal from the shadows or whatever. There was nothing really to be found. The team had blown the Guest House sky high once they secured a dose of the drug to save Skye's life after Ian Quinn had shot her.
The point had been to lead the so-called Clairvoyant- read: that asshole John Garrett- to the GH formula when Coulson had been forced to break all the rules and find out how he was resurrected for her. Unfortunately for the jackass, Coulson had gone so off book that no one in SHIELD had known where he was. Garrett missed his window of opportunity to follow them. Coulson had not even allowed Fitzsimmons to upload their research on the drug to the SHIELD servers, so Hydra never found out anything.
Coulson had gone so far as to hide the fact that she even got shot from everyone. Only Fitzsimmons and May knew besides Coulson. He said he was afraid they would target her if they knew the drug was probably still in her system. Considering Fitzsimmons had been taken apparently for that reason, it was a good call on his part. May had killed Quinn in a rage, and Skye's secret had been safe all this time. Or at least, it had been. Zach now knew as well.
"The GH formula?" Trip repeated questioningly. He was the only one in the dark here. As Coulson explained briefly the nature of the drug and its usage on Skye and himself, Skye became lost in her own thoughts.
So Zach and his team had been looking for information on the drug. That was why he took Fitzsimmons. Skye stared at the pair of scientists as they spoke quickly to each other in hushed tones. That must mean that one of them had told Zach that the drug had been used on her as well. There was no other way he would know. Skye wanted to scream at them in frustration, but she also knew that there was no way either of them blabbed on purpose. They were not trained for enemy interrogation. And Skye knew from personal experience what a bad liar Simmons was under pressure.
She wanted to get the full story, if only to find out if any other Hydra agent had been present when they told, but she could not. She had claimed that she saw no one, and specifically did not run into Zach, at the Hydra base. As far as SHIELD knew, Skye had no way of knowing that he knew. To say anything would reveal her complicated encounters with the Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome Hydra Agent haunting her dreams.
Skye stayed quiet.
With Trip successfully caught up to speed, Coulson returned his attention to the group. "The drug is far too dangerous for Hydra to get their hands on. Now that they know that Fitzsimmons are unaware of the drug's composition, they are going to need to target someone more in the know. They can't get to me, and they don't know about Skye." Not true, not true, not true. The words echoed inside of Skye making her feel even more jittery than when she woke up- and in a far less pleasant way.
Coulson could not read her mind though, so he resumed speaking obliviously. "There are only a few other people in the world who know anything important. I don't even think Fury knows the details." Coulson shuddered to himself, no doubt remembering what he knew was in the stuff. Only he, Skye and May were fully aware of the alien biology that contributed to the making of the drug. To the rest of SHIELD, Coulson's weird quest that led them to San Juan was just an odd quasi-mental breakdown. Hydra did not know about it, and only a few SHIELD agents understood what had happened there. That was when Skye's life transformed, literally, so she would never forget it.
Coulson pressed on after only a moment though, "The obvious target would be Dr. Streitan but there are a couple of other possibilities like Dr. Goodman." He turned to look at Skye and Trip. "I'm confined here as is May, and I think Fitzsimmons has seen enough field action for a good while. I need you two to retrieve the doctors before Hydra can get to them." Trip and Skye agreed easily, the gravity of the situation not lost on either of them. "Skye, can you track them down?"
"On it," Skye nodded.
"Good," Coulson said with a grim smile. "After you find them, you and Trip will each need to immediately locate them and bring them in safely. Skye, you have Streitan. And Trip, you have Goodman. We can't waste any time here, Hydra's probably already on the move as we speak."
"You got it, boss," Trip replied. He gave a little, two-finger salute. "We'll have them before you know it."
"If you run into any opposition, don't engage," May ordered. "Especially if it's Ward or Garrett himself." Skye wanted to point out that she did not know what either man looked like, but she supposed the point was if she had to ask, she should not go after them. Avoid the evil assholes, it should not be too difficult.
"Aww but I have some things to say to those two that can only be expressed with an itchy trigger finger," Trip responded with half-seriously.
May glared at him. Trip began to melt under her infamous stare. He raised his hands in surrender.
Coulson cut in, "The most important thing is that the two of you return unharmed. As much as I understand your desire to make Garrett pay, Trip, they aren't worth your life."
Fitz's brow furrowed. "Are they that good? I mean surely Trip and Skye could take them in a fair fight."
Skye was in agreement there. "Yeah, I can handle myself thank you very much."
May looked at her sharply. "That kind of arrogance has gotten agents more experienced than you killed."
Coulson placed a calming hand on May's shoulder and focused on Skye. "May's right. You don't know what those two are capable of. Trip can tell you." He nodded towards Trip.
Trip shrugged, "They're right. Garrett's old enough to be past his prime physically, but he never goes anywhere without Golden Boy anyway."
"Golden Boy?" Fitzsimmons asked simultaneously.
"It's what I used to call Ward. Garrett would brag endlessly about how perfect his protégé was. I heard countless stories of Ward's achievements. Anyone who worked under Garrett knew that Ward was the example, the standard to beat, for Garrett. No one ever measured up. Used to drive me crazy with jealousy," Trip added almost bitterly. "The guy could supposedly shoot from two thousand yards away, had the best espionage scores since Romanoff, never felt pain or fear, and could take down fifteen, trained and armed men at once. He was a machine."
Skye frowned skeptically. "If he were that good, he wouldn't be taking orders from Garrett."
"Don't be so sure," Coulson warned.
"Yeah," Trip agreed. "I saw him in action enough to know that the rumors were true, but I also saw enough to know that Ward was not interested in power. He was never more than a Yes Man to Garrett."
"He's Garrett's personal lapdog," May added scornfully.
"If he's not interested in power, then what is he after?" Fitz asked.
Trip shook his head. "Who knows why Ward does anything? He's almost robotic. Smart enough from what I can tell and a damn good tactician, but he rarely offered any opinions of his own. And he does anything Garrett orders without question. Like I said, he's a machine."
"He's a weapon," May corrected before turning towards Skye. "Don't engage Hydra alone under any circumstances."
"Copy that," Skye nodded. "Don't take on any of the jackasses in suits, especially if they are mindless killing machines like Ward."
"Go get going then," Coulson ordered. "And remember to keep this under the radar."
Everyone knew the dismissal and began to move out before Coulson held up a hand to stop them. "Hey, wait a second," he turned to Trip, "Garrett's no older than me. Are you saying I'm past my prime?"
Trip's sheepish expression had Skye laughing as she went to work. With everything going on, Skye almost forgot all about Zach and her dream.
Almost.
Okay, what does everyone think? I tackled the complex relationship that is Ward/Garrett more fully here. I hope I did okay. The juxtaposition between Ward/Garrett and Skye/Coulson is fully intentional. Now you should understand where everyone stands in the AU, like why Garrett doesn't know about Skye and the GH formula. You've also got a good idea about what everyone thinks of Ward on Team SHIELD. And now we're seeing how Grant and Skye are dealing with their feelings and the fallout of their interactions and subsequent choices.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it meant the world to me!
