A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this update has taken so long! I've been busy writing some original stuff. So here's another chapter, and until next time!
"This base is almost too small for all these people." Archie said as he and Fitz walked in the hallways. Seventy-five percent of the escaped prisoners had decided to join their HYDRA. It was weird for Fitz, seeing the hallways he'd grown used to being silent filled with noisy men and women. Almost all of their rooms were filled. Gone were the days of quiet mealtimes and almost eerily quiet nights. Now mealtimes were filled with a healthy din, and movement could be heard at night as people walked to their rooms.
"Do we have a larger base we can move to?"
"I need to ask Doc about that."
Two women walked by, eyeing Fitz as they did.
"Everyone here knows who you are." Archie said. "Especially the ladies."
"Everyone's supposed to know who I am." Fitz said. "I'm the symbol of hope, remember?"
Archie cracked a smile. "Don't get too full of yourself, kid. I'll need to knock some sense back into you."
Now Fitz smiled. "You could try."
They walked to the lab, where they found Dr. Nast in conversation with his assistant Helen, Dr. Brown, and the other two scientists Fitz had rescued (on his own), Dr. Peters and Dr. Drake. "Keep working on this." Dr. Nast said when he saw Archie and Fitz. "I'll be back shortly."
He walked over to Archie and Fitz. "What do you need?"
"Doc, do we have another facility we can use?" Archie asked.
"Don't worry about that. Early this morning I sent out some of our men to start preparing it. After this next jailbreak we'll need a larger base."
"I knew Doc would have it covered." Archie said to Fitz.
"How large do we need to be?" Fitz asked.
"Our next jailbreak should give us at least thirty new members, which will give us roughly sixty men. S.H.I.E.L.D. is weak right now. If we launch attacks on smaller bases with that force, we should be fine, but I want to have no risk of loss."
"So after this raid we'll need to travel to make our attacks."
"Yes." Doc said. "We need a lot more men if we're going to take over Whitehall's HYDRA. Though you're like a small army alone, Fitz."
"Thank you sir." He said. "Just one more question."
"Let me guess." Archie said. "When's the next jailbreak?"
"I'm sure S.H.I.E.L.D. has realized that we're operating in this general area, and that there are two more bases around us. They'll be expecting us to go to one of them, so they'll have more guards."
"So we should leave sooner rather than later." Fitz said.
"Strategy-wise, yes." Doc said. "But I don't want to just rely on strategy. I want to complete our attack any time we want. I want to rub it in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s face as we take their men from right under their noses."
Fitz nodded. He understood what Doc was saying, though he wished the man would tell him when the mission would take place. For his own sanity.
"Just relax, Fitz." Doc said. "We'll go in a few hours."
Jemma reprogrammed the D.W.A.R.F. drones and took two with her. She could only pilot one at a time, but if she set them to fire automatically they could hit S.H.I.E.L.D. agents instead of HYDRA. She chose to take Grumpy as her main fighter, with Sleepy as the backup. She equipped her chosen dwarves with a small camera and connected them to her tablet. She also grabbed an ICER and put it in her bag; better safe than sorry.
She knew that she was going into a dangerous situation. She was realizing that she was terrified.
But she had to go. She had to do something, because here, where it was safe, she couldn't do anything. And that was worse than the fear.
Once she was packed she went to find Skye, and found her in the first place she thought to look: the op center.
"Hey." She said.
Skye looked at her briefly before going back to punching the bag.
"I thought you might want to talk before we go." Jemma said.
"About what?" Skye asked, punctuating with a punch.
"We finally find a possible lead, and I haven't heard much from you."
"Because this isn't about Fitz." Skye said. She lowered her fists and turned to face Jemma. "Yeah it's great if we can bust HYDRA, but I don't really care about that right now."
"But this is the only thing we can do right now."
"I guess so."
"Look at it this way." Jemma said. "We can question any HYDRA members we capture. We can ask them about Fitz, where he is and why they took him."
"Even if they know something, why would they tell us?"
Jemma met Skye's eyes, hiding nothing. "I'll make them tell us."
Skye studied her for a second before nodding, her face still straight. "I guess you never stopped thinking about him, then."
"Of course not." Jemma said softly, lightening her tone. "But we do have to be focused on the mission if we're going to safely capture them. Coulson was right when he said their forces are well-coordinated."
Skye walked over and hugged Jemma, only for a second and very lightly. "Thank you." She said.
Jemma nodded. "Be safe, alright?" she said, half-smiling.
Skye grinned and turned back to the punching bag, sending it reeling backward with one fist. "I'll be just fine."
The ride to the penitentiary was almost silent. It was just Jemma, May, Coulson, and Trip, and May was driving while Coulson sat next to her, looking at something. Trip tried to lighten the mood a bit by telling some jokes, but ultimately the silence pervaded.
When they got there, Jemma was surprised by its appearance. It looked like a typical prison, with large stone gray walls and solid wood doors.
"It looks so… ordinary." She said to Trip. "So old."
"Wait till you see the inside." Coulson said, noticing her apparent dismay at the sight.
She walked in and saw that the outside didn't give the building justice. It looked much larger on the inside, and not nearly as ancient in appearance. Immediately upon entering there was a large room, with two hallways extending to either side and a series of steps straight ahead.
"The prisoners are spread as far as possible from one another." Coulson said. "We'll set up guards in here, and right next to the cells as well."
A guard came up to them and stood up straight. "Director Coulson." He said. "We're ready to act on your orders."
"How many men are here?"
"Twenty, sir."
"Shouldn't there be at least one for each prisoner?" Jemma asked.
"Each prisoner arrived separately, with two armed guards as an escort. They're only let out two at a time. The worst of the worst are here, but they're under control." The guard said.
Coulson looked around. "Call all the men in here." He said to the guard. "We need to get into position. The attack could come at any time."
"Yes sir." He said, turning and heading down the stairs.
"It's not as many men as I thought." Coulson said.
"I don't like it." May said. "It doesn't seem like enough."
"What was the size of the HYDRA group last time?" Trip asked.
"At least ten, maybe more." May said. "But half of the prisoners probably joined them." She looked at the entrance. "I'm expecting a large force."
Jemma decided now was the time to speak. "I want to capture one."
Coulson looked back at her for a moment, thinking. "You want to ask them about Fitz." He realized.
She nodded, mouth set.
"It's a good idea. You can be sure we'll stun at least one."
"We should get Simmons set up." May said.
"I'll stay with her." Trip said. "She'll be safe with me."
"Hopefully she won't need to be protected." Coulson said. "But you can stay near her room. That way you're still fighting but close enough to help her if need be."
The guard came back with all the men behind him.
"I need every area of this penitentiary covered by a guard. Five head down each corridor," he said, pointing to the left and right. "Four go down the stairs."
"What's down the stairs?" Jemma whispered to Trip.
"There's gotta be more cells." He said. "Maybe they're for the most violent prisoners or something?"
"Something exactly like that." May said. "That's the section with the most built-in protection. That's why Coulson's sending less men down there."
"To your places." Coulson said. He nodded at May, and then looked at Trip. "Get Simmons situated down there. Drake will show you a safe place."
The man named Drake nodded at them and started leading them down the stairs.
"Be safe." Coulson said as everyone went to their positions.
Jemma walked behind Trip as they were led down the stairs, suddenly nervous. She tightened her grip on her bag.
"You'll be fine." Trip whispered to her.
"It's not just me I'm worried about." She whispered back.
"Girl, we've got the Cavalry on our side, and you've got me." Jemma smiled. "It's HYDRA who should be worried."
But they've got a super soldier, she thought.
"They won't think to check the supply closet." Drake said. "You can operate your drones from in there."
Jemma took a deep breath and looked at Trip. "See you in a bit." She said, a tight smile on her lips as she closed the door between them.
Skye, Bobbi, and Hunter arrived at the small S.H.I.E.L.D. facility quickly.
"Let's stay together; we'll hit anyone who comes in right away, hard." Bobbi said.
"You know no one's coming, right?" Skye said. She tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice, but failed.
"There's a slight chance they'll come here." Hunter said.
"It's not likely, but if they did come, and we weren't here?" Bobbi asked. "They would gain another scientist."
"I get that." Skye said. "I just want to be part of the action."
"We all do." Bobbi said. "But Coulson wants us here."