Chapter Fourteen: A Smoke and Mirrors Game
Skye strolled into Coulson's office and leaned against the side of his desk. There was more warmth in the director's expression than Skye had seen recently. She supposed he was relieved enough that she and Fitzsimmons were alive that he dropped his 'all work, no play' exterior.
Coulson leaned back in his chair with a light smile. "Where are Fitzsimmons?"
"What, no 'Welcome back, Skye! So glad you're not dead, I don't know what I would have done without my favorite agent?'" Skye grinned. The lightheartedness almost made Skye feel like it was like old times again, back before Hydra attacked.
"I told you, directors don't have favorites," Coulson replied.
Skye waved her hand in the air as if brushing aside his protest. "Sure you don't." Her smile widened, "Fitzsimmons are going through orientation with Billy. They lost their lanyards."
"I'll get their debriefs later then," Coulson said.
"We were together for most of the time, and they told me what happened when we were separated. I can fill you in," Skye said. If she gave a thorough account now, chances were Coulson would not press the scientists too much later. That made it less likely that they would give away anything about Zach.
Skye felt a twinge of unease trying to manipulate Coulson, but it was for the best. She was loyal to SHIELD and Coulson. This was not a big deal, she told herself.
"Where's Eric?" Skye asked to distract herself. "I would've thought he would be the one walking Fitzsimmons through orientation."
"I sent him off on a mission," Coulson said. Skye waited, hoping that he would tell her more. Just when she assumed that was going to pull an "it's classified" on her, Coulson continued, "I have him tracking Garrett."
Skye started. "You found him?" John Garrett had been Public Enemy No. 1 for over a year, and Coulson had been desperately trying to locate him. He had Skye tirelessly try to find him, but Garrett was a seasoned agent and knew how to avoid detection.
"Not exactly. He's likely been holed up in a Hydra base because we haven't been able to get a lock on him. Recently though I've found some evidence that points to him being in Havana."
"Cuba? Do you think it's Hydra's headquarters?"
"No, I think that Garrett's been traveling there for some reason. Maybe it's a Hydra base or lab or just their next target. Whatever it is, it's important we figure it out soon. Garrett being this quiet is a bad sign."
"So you think he's planning something?" Skye guessed.
"That or there's some other reason why he's gone off the grid," Coulson said. "It's unlike him. Garrett, he's showy and full of himself. To just disappear like this, run away from the field and hide out for months? It means something."
"If you think it's a big deal, why would you send Eric in alone?" Skye questioned, careful to keep her tone mild. Skye trusted Coulson more than she trusted anyone, more than she had ever trusted anyone, but something felt wrong here.
As she watched, Coulson's face slipped back into the polite mask of Director Mode, and Skye knew that share time was over.
Knowing that, Skye pressed on with her report. She was honest with Coulson on everything but Zach and his involvement. It was easy to lie to the man who was more a father to her than her biological one. If Skye gave herself time to think on it, she would have wondered what that meant that misleading her loved ones was so simple to her. But Skye just walked out after debrief, confident that Coulson was none the wiser about the mystery man complicating Skye's life.
Hours later as she browsed the web on the laptop she sorely missed while kidnapped, Skye heard a light knock on her bunk door. "Come in!" she called without looking up from her screen.
Simmons slipped into the room and closed the door behind her. "Hey, can we talk?"
Skye moved over to give her friend room to sit beside her on the bed. "Uh sure, but nothing good ever follows an opening like that," Skye joked. She had a feeling she knew what this was about and wished she had an excuse to give. Before Simmons could say anything, Skye spoke again. "So how was orientation round three?"
Simmons huffed. "At this point, I think the Agents Koenig enjoy putting Fitz and me through it. It wasn't even that hard to deactivate our old lanyards, I don't understand why Billy was so upset."
Skye smiled. "Hey, those things are like his baby, and you left them in evil AIM's clutches."
Simmons sobered a bit at Skye's reminder of their mission gone wrong. "Speaking of which, I just came from my debrief with Director Coulson. He didn't ask a lot of questions, seems you covered most everything in your report."
Skye sighed and leaned back against the wall. "Just say it."
"I didn't tell him anything about our fellow captive if that's what you're wondering." Skye was, she had considered the possibility that Simmons would lose her nerve. She should have known better than to doubt her. "I'll keep this secret as long as it's not adversely affecting SHIELD."
It sounded slightly like an accusation. "As if I would hide something that could harm SHIELD," Skye said.
"Maybe not intentionally, but Skye…" Simmons trailed off as she tried to find the words. Giving up, she changed tactics. "I want you to remember I'm here if you want to talk."
"I know that, it's just there's nothing to say," Skye insisted.
Simmons scoffed. "Now who's the bad liar?" She turned serious quickly after. "I've never seen you look at anyone like that, not even Miles."
"Like what?" Skye asked, both afraid and eager for the answer.
Simmons considered for a moment. "Like it was a gravitational pull compelling you to stare at him. Honestly, Skye, I was surprised you refrained from jumping him when you were undressing him."
"You make it sound so dirty," Skye complained. "I was just trying to help. You saw how beat up he was."
"And was it really necessary to hug him for so long?" Simmons' slight smile while she spoke let Skye know she was teasing. The amusement drained away soon after though. "I assume this was the man you were so preoccupied with that night at the pub."
Skye considered lying, but she had done so much of it to her friends lately. "Yeah, he was."
"So you haven't been intimate?"
Skye rolled her eyes. "'Been intimate'? No, Simmons, we haven't had sex. Obviously."
"Yes, obviously," Simmons agreed primly, "No satisfied couple would interact the way you two did. Your unresolved sexual tension was enough to make any observer uncomfortable."
Determined not to look at her, Skye played with the Hula girl doll that she had since she was living in her van instead of answering.
Simmons placed a hand on Skye's to recapture her attention. "I just want to know if you know what you're doing."
"I'm not doing anything. Like I said, we haven't had sex. We're not going to. I don't even know his name."
Simmons pursed her lips. "That's not the way it looked."
"Well, appearances can be deceiving. Can we end this conversation already?" Skye pleaded. Part of her wanted to just tell Simmons everything, every little detail of each of her encounters with her mystery man. But then Skye realized that the reason she wanted that was so maybe Simmons could reassure her, tell her it was okay to feel this way. Tell her she was not a bad person for harboring these emotions for a Hydra killer.
As if reading her thoughts, Simmons spoke up. "You know nothing can happen, right? I don't need to inform you of how disastrous it would be to engage in any kind of relationship with a Hydra operative, do I?"
"Jemma," Skye said seriously, "There's nothing you can say that I haven't thought about before. Believe me, if I could stop this," Skye fumbled for the words and gestured wildly, "Attraction-thing-whatever, I would have already."
It was true. Mostly Skye wanted to get rid of her complex feelings for "Zach", but there was also a secret part of her that found the experiences with Zach to be such an exhilarating thrill that she would not give them up for anything. The issue was it was not just an attraction. That was how it started, but she did not know what it was now. Skye was attracted to a lot of people that she did not have wet dreams about. She did not have them on the brain all the time either.
Lust was there for sure, but there were other things. Curiosity, chemistry, belief all combined dangerously.
She did not trust him, could not possibly trust him, but she wanted to trust him, which amounted to the same thing in the end. Skye liked talking to him, too. Most of what he said prompted a fiery disagreement from her, but she wanted to know more. He interested her.
Skye could not understand him, but that just made her want to get to know him even more. She wanted to wrestle his secrets from him and unfold all the mysterious contradictions. She wanted that just as much as she wanted to run her tongue over his abs and drag him to bed.
That was what Skye was so afraid of though. Desire was fleeting, feelings were messy.
"I didn't mean to pry," Simmons said. "I'm just worried about you."
"Don't be," Skye said while flashing a fake smile, "Everything's fine."
"Lovely," Simmons replied as she stood to leave. "Maybe we should go to another pub soon, see if we can't get you sorted."
"Sounds great," Skye lied.
Simmons shut the door behind her and left Skye to her increasingly troubled thoughts.
John's hand never left Grant's back the entire walk to medical. It did not move even when Garrett abruptly changed their path away from medical and towards the corridor leading to John's bunk. The hand was still there when Garrett pushed him into his room and out of reach from inquisitive eyes and eager ears.
Grant stumbled slightly because of his poor ankle and immediately cursed himself for his clumsy show in front of John. He turned around to face his mentor and stood still as a statue.
"Relax, son," John said with disarming charm and an easy smile. "You look like you're about to face a firing squad."
"Am I?" Grant asked. His body was coiled tight, holding more tension than it did when he fought multiple assailants or defused a nuclear bomb.
Garrett scoffed. "Don't be stupid, kid. I only just got you back," John told him blithely. "Good thing, too. I wouldn't know what I'd do without you."
Grant relaxed, but the guilt at almost abandoning John returned. "I'm sorry, sir."
John appraised him. "Are you sorry for taking your goddamn time returning, embarrassing yourself by letting yourself get beaten up by the likes of SHIELD and AIM, failing repeatedly over the past couple months or a combination of all three?"
Grant forgot how to breathe for a second. He knew that John had noticed that he was distracted, and he guessed John was done turning a blind eye.
"Because I'd say all three are worth a 'sorry'," John finished with the same cheery tone he began with.
Grant said nothing. There was nothing to say. Apologies were meaningless, and John knew that better than most.
"Out with it, kid. You've been off your game since that mission to get the obelisk. What is it?"
"There's nothing," Grant said. There was nothing. Skye was nothing, he had to make himself believe that.
John did not buy it. He growled, "Don't lie to me. Your excuses may fly with that idiot Whitehall, but not with me."
Grant was rigid before him, unable to come up with anything to appease him. Countless successful deep cover missions and lies, but John always seemed to see right through him. There was no lie that would explain to John why he had been such a disappointment recently because John knew him well enough to know Grant would not let any excuse he came up with affect him.
John narrowed his eyes at his silence. "See, I've been thinking on this for a while, and it seems like you've forgotten how important the mission is. We're running out of time, or do you not care anyone? Is that what this is about?"
"No, of course not," Grant blurted horrified.
"Then what is it? Why are you acting so weak-"
John's questioning abruptly stopped, sparing Grant in the worst possible way. John clutched his chest and stumbled. Ward caught him before he had a chance to fall and directed him to the bed. He clutched his mentor tightly in panic.
"John? What's wrong?" Grant did not wait for a response. He already knew what had happened. He darted towards the cabinet and rifled through Garrett's personal effects. He found the device he was looking for quickly and returned to John's side. "Hold on. I'll get you stabilized."
His fingers nimbly moved in the practiced movements. He removed John's shirt to access the cybernetics hidden under it. Swiftly and efficiently he relieved the attack by rebooting the biomechanics. When he was done, the two sat in silence, all previous traces of their argument gone.
"It's been happening more," John told him. "My organs are failing. I'm running out of time."
"What are we going to do?" Grant asked dumbly.
"We're going back to the Havana base to visit Flowers," John told him staring straight ahead. "Stop in medical and get your things. We leave in the next hour. Think you can handle that?"
Grant nodded.
"Then go," Garrett ordered.
Grant was in and out of the med bay in ten minutes. The doctor had fearfully told him that even though his shoulder was patched up and all his breaks set that he should take it easy, just as Simmons had said. Under Grant's glare, the man had shrunk and let him go with some painkillers that Grant was probably not going to use. The throbbing of his ankle was already starting to fade with his focus so thoroughly on other things.
When Grant stepped into his bunk to pack, he stopped short. He had forgotten all about Kara. She was still waiting on his bed, nervously playing with her hair.
Grant could not decide if he were feeling guilty for forgetting about her while she waited in fear or irritated that he had to deal with her when there were more important things to deal with. Just what he needed, more worthless indecision.
"Kara," he greeted as he began to pack.
"How'd it go?" she asked anxiously.
The guilt beat out the irritation. Grant smiled reassuringly. "Fine. I don't think Whitehall is upset anymore."
"Really?" Kara asked hopefully.
"If anything, he's pleased. I found some solid intel because of the complications to go along with his Chitauri gun." Grant folded his clothes into his duffle bag. "There's going to be a mission shortly to capitalize on it. You should run point."
Kara gave a shy smile. "What about you? You're the one who found the intel."
"It was a joint effort, partner," Grant said because he wanted her to relax and return to normal. Just looking at her when she was like this made him uncomfortable.
It worked, she loosened up. The worry and terror drained from her body, and she transformed into the confident agent he knew. Grant wondered if it was always like this, a twisted cycle of fear and shame between bouts of regularity. Was this standard for all brainwashed agents or just her?
"Where are you going?" Kara asked. She leaned against the wall as she watched him gather his weapons.
"Mission with Garrett," Grant said shortly. Kara knew better than to press for mission details, too, so they lapsed into silence.
"Thank you," she spoke softly.
Grant glanced over at her. She was playing with her hair again, a nervous habit that someone as experienced and skilled as Kara should not have. "Don't thank me. I didn't do anything."
"You did more than anyone else," Kara said.
Grant snorted. That was nothing to be proud of, but Kara did not seem to see it that way.
Skye's words from weeks ago when they were at Dr. Streiten's office came back to him then. Solid organization you work for. Must make you proud to be a part of.
Grant scowled. He could not afford to think of her now. John was dying, and Ward needed his full attention to be on saving him.
"You should go," he said tersely. "I need to get ready."
Kara nodded and left without comment on his abrupt change of mood. She looked hurt though, and that just made Grant more agitated.
He should not worry about her feelings. He owed her nothing, and he owed Skye even less. It was John he owed everything to. These attachments, to Skye, Kara, Simmons and Fitz, were pointless and distracting. They were weaknesses he needed to get rid of.
That night, he touched down in Cuba with John. His face was a blank mask, and he had almost succeeded in squashing any thoughts of his weaknesses.
He walked beside Garrett as they turned the corner towards the barbershop that served as a cover for the lab.
"We have a tail," Grant casually told John.
"I noticed." He turned to look at Grant expectantly. "Take care of it."
Wordlessly, Grant left John's side to eliminate the threat. The short, round-faced enemy never saw him coming.
"What's going on?" Skye asked Bobbi as they entered the meeting room, but Bobbi just shrugged.
Coulson had gathered many of his top agents for some reason, and Skye was on edge. The feeling only increased when she saw the director enter with a grim look on his face.
Without preamble, he began speaking. "Hydra infiltrated an AIM facility earlier today. They stole a stash of Adamantium that AIM had been collecting."
"Adamantium?" Skye whispered to Fitz beside her in confusion.
"It's an extremely rare manmade alloy," Fitz replied softly. "Virtually indestructible, harder and denser than even than Vibranium, which is what Captain America's shield is made out of. Not quite as malleable though. It can pierce through almost anything, it's very dangerous when used to create weapons."
"Oh," Skye said. Her throat constricted. What were the chances that Hydra would raid an AIM base a couple days after Zach escaped with the unknown intel if the two were not connected? Skye saw Simmons shoot her a look across the room and knew she was not the only one thinking that.
"Who led the raid?" Skye asked. She had to know if she had allowed this to happen.
Coulson did not let any of his confusion show, but Skye was sure he was wondering why she asked. "Agent 33 was the mission leader based on reports."
Skye frowned. Well, she knew that her mystery man was not the female Agent 33. Did that mean that Zach was not high enough ranked to lead the mission or had it not had anything to do with him in the first place? Maybe Skye was just feeling guilty for lying earlier.
Coulson continued to speak to them about how bad this was for everyone, but Skye knew him well enough to see he was holding something back.
"That's not the only piece of bad news," Coulson said finally. "Eric Koenig was found dead earlier."
Skye's heart dropped. She would be lying if she said she was close with the man, but he was loyal, and it was always a reality check to lose anyone. There were so few SHIELD agents left anyway. Skye looked around but could not see Sam or Billy. Coulson must have told them already.
"Do we know who did it?" Bobbi spoke up beside her. Skye thought she knew the answer. After all, Eric was following John Garrett.
"We think it was Grant Ward," May said surprising her. Of course that made sense, May had said he was Garrett's personal lapdog.
Trip and Bobbi both scowled at the name but said nothing.
"By the time we arrived, Garrett and Ward had already left the area. We don't know where they are now," Coulson spoke somberly. "But we do have the location of a probable Hydra base. I'm sending in a team there immediately to launch an attack."
"Is that a good idea?" Bobbi wondered. "Maybe we should wait until we have more information instead of acting on emotion."
Skye frowned. Bobbi had a point, but she shared Coulson's need to get revenge. She was sick of playing defense with Hydra.
"Your comment is on record, Agent Morse," Coulson said coolly, "But we're going to proceed with the plan of attack. If you'd like to sit this one out, you can."
Bobbi stared him down resolutely. "No, I'm good to go."
"Good," Coulson said. "Because I want you, Hunter, and Trip to go. Skye, are you up for it so soon after your kidnapping?" He looked at her concerned, but Skye was feeling more energized than she had in a while.
"I can be ready in a couple minutes," Skye said.
The next hour passed by in a blur as May piloted them to the Hydra base. Skye's thoughts were all over the place as she struggled to find her calm as her S.O. had taught her.
Bobbi, Hunter, and Trip were speaking in low tones next to her.
"I'm just saying we shouldn't be rushing into this," Bobbi was saying. "There's no reason to run in without gathering intel first. This could be a trap, but even if it's not, we might be unprepared enough that it won't make a difference."
"Can you blame Coulson for wanting to move in?" Trip said. "Hydra killed Eric."
"I've lost just as many friends to Hydra as Coulson has," Bobbi insisted. "But we can't afford to be careless when their numbers and resources are so much greater than ours. Skye, Simmons, and Fitz got kidnapped and could have died because Coulson sent them into a building without even knowing it was AIM's. Right, Skye?"
Skye frowned. "We weren't captured because of AIM. Hydra blew the place up, and we got caught in the blast." That was technically true, though Zach's actions made the whole situation more complicated than she was making it out to be.
"I'm more interested in how Koenig ended up in Ward's line of fire," Hunter said, likely trying to keep an argument from breaking out.
"He was trailing John Garrett," Skye told him.
Hunter shook his head. "Well, that explains it. It's hard to keep your cover when Ward's around, right Bobbi?"
Bobbi bristled. "I didn't blow my cover."
Skye threw a look to Trip in the hopes he would explain. He told her quickly about a mission where Ward noticed the three of them following him easily and even approached Bobbi outright to tell her so.
"Then how'd he find you then?" Hunter baited her. Skye nearly rolled her eyes in exasperation. Fights like this were like foreplay for the on and off again couple.
"He saw I was still on the same page of the book I was pretending to read."
"What?" Skye blurted.
"Yeah," Bobbi huffed as she turned to her. "I hadn't flipped the pages while acting like I was reading, and he noticed." Hunter started laughing, but Bobbi gave him a glare to stop him in his tracks. "I don't know why you find this funny. He must have seen you, too. You were dressed like a cowboy."
Skye leaned back and tuned the bickering out. Why would Coulson send Eric off alone to trail after a guy whose right hand man was so skilled? She did not want to question Coulson, but Bobbi was right about a few things.
Skye had tried to curb her rebelliousness with Coulson recently. He had enough to worry about without her bothering him. She had found herself holding her tongue more often than not in a desire to make things easier on him. She knew how much everything was weighing on him. But if she pushed earlier, maybe Coulson would have listened, and Eric would still be alive.
She stopped her thoughts. Hydra was to blame. Them and Grant Ward specifically, it was not her fault nor was it Coulson's. Coulson was a good man and had the best intentions. Bobbi was wrong to doubt him.
The team found the base easily enough and in the camouflage of the night moved in.
Bobbi and Hunter led the way and immediately engaged with several combatants. There were more coming out, and an alarm had started blaring. Well, it seemed that subtlety was a lost cause.
Skye and Trip ran down the hallway together taking down opponents left and right. Suddenly an attractive woman with dark hair and slightly lighter skin entered and raised a gun.
Trip and Skye took cover on opposite ends of the hallway.
"Go see if there's anyone else," Trip called over the gunfire. "I've got this."
Skye did not hesitate. She took off down the hallway while Trip distracted the female Hydra agent. Her footsteps fell in time with the alarm.
After a few moments where she had gone far enough away that she could no longer see or hear her team, three men appeared. She wasted no time in wiping the floor with them.
She shot the first two before they could respond and threw the third into the wall, twisting his arm behind his back. She knocked his head into the wall, and he fell unconscious.
Before she could move away, a hand reached out and dragged her into a room. "What the hell?" Skye asked out loud in surprise. The room was dark and the noise from the alarms subdued. The door had shut behind them before Skye could tell who grabbed her.
Somehow she knew who she was going to see when she spun around to face her assailant.
He had already released her arm after shoving her inside. The light of a lamp turned on, and she could make out the furious features of "Zach".
So I doubt this chapter will be all that popular, but I promised not to pull punches. It's a long road to self-realization and redemption in my opinion. Grant's slowly reevaluating things, but change doesn't happen overnight. On another note, Skye is finding herself in a situation of conflicting loyalties and questioning her own mentor in some respects.
I'd really like some feedback on what you guys think. Thanks everyone who reviewed!
