1
May turned the corner quickly, Coulson trailing slightly behind her. She wasn't all that surprised that he was letting her take the lead. Whether he'd admit it or not, he cared about Skye and he clearly didn't want to see her in a compromising situation.
"They can't have gone far," she stated. The Playground was a big space and Phil had stressed the need for speed. He wanted them found before something happened that couldn't be undone. They opened a supply room and quickly scanned it before closing and locking it. Locking up the hiding places had been her idea. The last thing they needed was for the lovebirds to double back and escape detection. Trip might be out of it, but he was still one hell of an agent.
They entered the hangar, the last place in their half of the playground. Except for the bus, it was empty. May knew it at the exact same time as Phil started off in that direction. It made sense. Skye especially was familiar with the Bus and thought of it as home. That she's make her way there wasn't really surprising. The only problem was the Bus wasn't exactly small.
The cargo door was down and Coulson was standing in front of it.
"Phil, just be glad you changed your mind and had Trip take Skye on the mission. That could be you in there with her." May was trying to lighten his mood, but as he turned she realized that she had really missed the mark. "I'll start in, you call Simmons and Koenig. The more people, the faster we find them." She headed in, knowing that she needed to find them before Phil did.
2
"Can't you walk faster?" Simmons urged. She was not a tall woman and somehow Koenig was still trailing behind her. She wanted to get to the Bus. This was really all her fault. She let her guard down and Trip had slipped away. Now he was probably undressing Skye and there was nothing she could do from halfway across the Playground.
"I'm walking as fast as I can." He was clearly out of breath so it was wrong to hold his pace against him. Still, she moved faster leaving him behind. Only when they got to the Bus did he finally catch up. Simmons had slowed down. She knew it was because a small part of her didn't want to see anything.
"I gotta say," Koenig remarked, "I thought there was something there between you and Trip. You're handling this very well considering."
Simmons felt a blush creep up on her face and pushed forward to get away from Koenig. The lounge was dark, and while Koenig was still nattering behind her, Simmons heard something up ahead. She gestured behind her and Koenig quieted down. Then she heard was was most definitely a moan. She moved quickly towards the crew quarters and threw open Skye's door.
Empty.
Behind her, she heard a gasp. She turned and Koenig was standing in front of her own quarters. Inside Skye was on top of Trip, clad in her bra and jeans. Simmons was relieved that they had found them in time. Skye and Trip were oblivious to the world, as his hands slid up her torso and reached around her back to her bra clasp.
"That's quite enough," Simmons ordered and moved in to break them up. Quickly she was helped by Coulson who for the second time in just a few hours found himself grabbing Skye by the waist as she struggled to hold onto Trip. May and Koenig both instinctively moved in to block anything he might do.
Trip was still very out of it and as Simmons moved in to check his pulse she noticed that he didn't even register that she was there. Heart rate elevated, though she didn't know why she was expecting anything else. A makeout session would do that to anyone, drugged or not.
She looked over to Skye, who was still only half dressed and grabbed her t-shirt off of the bed, holding it out to her. Skye reached out to take it. At least she was responsive. Skye shot Coulson a look and he relaxed his grip just enough for her to put it on.
"AC, you have to lock us up." Skye's voice was steady and it was clear to Simmons that as much as she wanted to be annoyed with her friend, Skye was trying to do the right thing. Trip still hadn't moved.
"Yep, I'm going to take you somewhere safe and May," he continued, "lock Trip up somewhere too, please."
3
"Antoine," she whispered. "I'm going to take more blood. If you could just give me your arm." She watched as her extended his arm. He was at least responding but still was so quiet. She considered that he was using all his focus to control his impulses since Skye was much more vocal.
Sample in hand, Simmons slipped out of the interrogation room and locked the door. After May had locked him away the team had considered May flying him out of there. Simmons had objected. Trip was her patient and if she discovered a cure she didn't want him to be hundreds of kilometres away. Besides, the interrogation room on the bus was made mostly of vibranium, he wouldn't get out even on the ground.
Simmons noticed Koenig coming around the corner, a box in hand.
"The last time either of them ate was before they went on their mission. I thought maybe, if you think it won't hurt, some food and water?" he offered, showing her the contents of the box. She smiled. Of course Koenig would think of that. She'd been so worried about the problem but Koenig was the sort to organize and coordinate.
"It's good. I'll take it in," she said as he handed her the box. He unlocked the door and opened it while Simmons slipped inside.
A feeling of dread washed over her and she quickly put down the box. Trip was just sitting quietly like before but his breathing was quiet. His eyes, which had been glassy, were now clear. Simmons reached down and grabbed a bottle of water from the box. She inched forward, her arm extended.
"Where's Skye?" Trip gritted out. Simmons could feel her head shaking.
"You can't see Skye. That's what you-"
He leaped up and lunged towards her. She shrieked finding her own voice unrecognizable. Her hands came up to shield her face. A loud bang sounded behind her and suddenly Trip was on the ground. She turned and Koenig was there, Icer in hand.
"You okay?" he asked softly. She nodded not trusting her voice.
4
Coulson was getting frustrated. Everything they uncovered about Miami made it clear that Padovano wasn't there. And that tip from Interpol had been their only lead. He paced around his office while Skye sat quietly on his couch. It would have been easier to lock her up, but he needed her if they were going to find Padovano. Even distracted, Skye was still the best.
"AC," she said softly, "I am so sorry about this. I keep thinking about the mission. I was joking around too much. He snuck up on us because of me."
"No," he answered. "This is not your fault. And you are handling yourself very well considering." He moved to sit next to her.
"With the right person, this would be incredible," she said, looking at him intently. He realized that he'd missed seeing her with clear eyes. "I know I should feel bad saying that because it's a dangerous drug, but you could make a fortune selling this feeling."
She looked away and Coulson rose knowing it would be a while before she was able to focus again.
"Padovano's selling it!" Coulson turned to face her again. She was standing, her breathing seemed normal, and she looked happy. "This isn't a weapon, it's a party drug. And one this good, people will talk about." She rushed to his desk and sat down at the computer.
"Can you find him?" Coulson asked.
"Yes," Skye answered and he was proud of her determination.
There was a knock at the door and Coulson turned to make sure Skye was sitting down before he unlocked it and went out to the hall. He locked it behind him. Koenig and May were waiting for him.
"I have some news Sir," Koenig started. "Agent Triplett attacked Simmons when she was bringing him some food."
"Is she okay?"
"He hit Trip with an Icer before he got to her. He's still out." May's voice was deadpan but Coulson knew her well enough to know she was impressed.
"That's good, right?" Coulson knew the answer was going to be no. You didn't need two people for good news.
"Simmons had just taken a blood sample before the attack and she took one after Trip was out. His hormone levels have spiked." May continued, "She said it has something to do with the two drugs reacting. He's going to be worse when he wakes up."
"He can't get out of the interrogation room." Koenig's confidence was not reassuring to Coulson.
"Unless someone lets him out." Coulson stopped, understanding now why they were there. He nodded to May and they all turned to go back in his office.
"Skye," he said quietly. She looked up. It was like nothing was wrong. Having work in front of her was keeping her lucid.
"AC," she said, "Padovano's in Tijuana. Southern California's full of something called mollylove. People keep smuggling it up from Tijuana. Plus we ran into him in Las Vegas. That makes more sense than Florida." Only then was it clear that Skye registered the grave looks on their faces.
"Did something happen? Is Trip okay?" The panic in her voice was clear.
"We need to lock you up now, Skye." May was firm. Skye, though, knew Coulson too well. She looked to him for confirmation. He nodded.
"AC, I have to find this guy. This whole thing is my fault and I need to fix it. I can fix it." She was pleading and Coulson knew that she had a point. When she had work in front of her, she was mostly okay but the risk was too big to let her roam around his office.
"No, Skye," he responded. "I don't think its a good idea."
"Skye," Koenig chimed in, "You might feel in control now but we've all seen how quickly that can change."
"Then chain me to the desk," she begged, ignoring everyone but Coulson. "You know this is a good lead. I can find him."
Coulson looked at her, then at May standing off to his side.
"Great," May snapped. "I'll go get the chains."
