They were heading away from the city center, but Trey seemed to know exactly where he was.
"So… explain?" Simmons gestured between Fitz and the kid.
Fitz heaved a rueful breath and launched into the story… "Well, just after you disappeared, I spotted this punk with his brother," he motioned to Trey, "coming back around- I guess they'd meant to throw us off their scent and backtrack. Only…"
"Only they didn't count on you being outside."
"Exactly. So these little ninjas," he pointed to the nine-year-old, "I swear, I don't know what they're teachin' kids in PE these days-"
"Parkour," Trey cut in sassily.
"- they're nearly over the fence, and I was bein' sneaky so they hadn't spotted me-"
"Yes we had, but we run faster than you," the boy muttered.
"-and this numpty got stuck on a bit of metal and dropped the pow- erm, I mean, the bicycle light."
Simmons felt her face go taut as she took all of this in. "Well? Did you get it?"
"No," Trey interrupted, the heat in his young voice making his eyes flash. "Cody grabbed the light and ran off. I was just hanging there, on the fence." He looked down at the sidewalk. "He's a butthead sometimes."
Fitz shrugged, agreeing. "I would've said rat bastard, but fair enough."
Trey giggled, the sound high and strange to Simmons' ears. "You're weird. I'm gonna tell Cody you said that." He kept on laughing, most likely sillier than usual due to lack of sleep. "Rat bastard."
"And where exactly are we headed?" Simmons murmured, falling back slightly and leaning over to speak to Fitz a bit more privately.
"He said their dad owns a furniture warehouse near here? The kid claims to know where he's goin', anyway."
"Hey! Hey guys! What're you guys talking about? Is it a secret? Is it grown-up stuff? Are you guys on a date? Is that why you're dressed so weird?"
Trey was the Energizer bunny, wired from staying up and bouncing from one foot to the other, skipping a circle around FitzSimmons as he tried to slow himself to the hobbled pace of their aching feet.
"Was he like this while you were waiting together?" Simmons grinned, more curious than annoyed. It was possible she'd misjudged the young man based on her reaction to his sibling.
"Kind of a pest, isn't he?" Fitz stopped short to avoid a run-in. "Can y' just walk like a human being? Not some kind of… caffeinated kangaroo?"
Trey stopped circling and started walking backwards, occasionally switching to the moonwalk. "So what'd you guys do for your date, huh? Dinner and a movie? What'd you eat?"
Simmons chuckled. "It's not a date," she answered, at the same time that Fitz said, "Pizza."
Her eyes widened, and Fitz quickly corrected himself. "Erm, I meant- yeah. 'S not a date. We're just friends."
"Cool. I have a couple friends who are girls. You play baseball? My friends are on the baseball team with me."
FitzSimmons' only experience with the national pastime had been a mandatory SHIELD team-building activity, and to be perfectly honest, the only part of the day she'd truly enjoyed was the image of Fitz in a baseball uniform. But she smiled and responded quietly, "On occasion." Simmons supposed she should probably turn the line of questioning back to Trey, before he got too curious. Working for a secret organization didn't lend itself to chitchat about their day. "So what else do you do for fun?"
-o-
"You expect us… to what?!" Fitz's tone was getting sharp, displaying a hint of the shrill note he typically reserved for spider sightings and mortal peril. They were in a narrow alley, the small space cluttered with a standard lidded dumpster, surrounded on three sides by piles of broken and discarded furniture.
"It's not hard," Trey protested, "You just climb up on this heap and get over to the ledge and then you just scoot till you reach the window! Don't worry, it's got a loose latch." He pantomimed each step of the process with his hands. "See? Simple."
"Oh, sure. As simple as fallin' to your ruddy death." His grimace was carved into his face now.
"Cody does it all the time!" Trey assured them, puffing up in pride. "He's brave though."
"I'm brave," muttered Fitz under his breath, "I just also happen t' be skilled at a little thing called risk assessment."
"Come ooon, you gotta do it, I'm not tall enough to reach the ledge from the top of the heap." Ah, there it is. Whinging. Yes. Children are not the little angels we make them out to be in storybooks.
"Oh, for heaven's sake," Simmons shook her head in disbelief, "Will you two stop? The solution is perfectly obvious…"
"No, Jemma," Fitz turned to her, alarmed, "You're no more of a gymnast than I am, and that," he pointed to the pile of beams, particle board and rubble, "is not structurally stable in the slightest. It's a wonder these two haven't broken their necks already, if they've been makin' a habit of jumpin' off it."
"I wasn't suggesting I go up there." The tent of Simmons' brow spelled out Are you crazy? "I'd have to be Agent Romanov to make it across that gap."
"Who's that?" Trey piped up, and Simmons silently cursed her wagging tongue.
"Er…" Crumbs. "Someone who's very acrobatic."
"Like a circus performer?"
Why not. "Yes! She is… like that," she nodded slowly, to punctuate her answer. Fitz came to her rescue.
"So what's that y' were sayin' about an obvious solution?"
"Oh! Right. Trey, sweetheart," she implored with a small smile, "Could you be a darling and call your brother?"
She waited a beat for him to dial before taking the phone.
"What happened to you, loser? Need me to come get you? Where you at?" Cody's lazy syllables came through the receiver as if they physically stank.
"Hello, Cody."
"What the f- lady, how'd you get my brother's phone?! You better give that back or I'm gonna call the cops."
"Nonsense. Calm down and listen. You've something of ours, we have something of yours. I propose a trade. Does that sound fair?"
"You kidnapped my baby brother? I'm definitely calling the cops. I'm not afraid of you."
"Stop, Cody. Just stop. First of all, you have no idea where we are, because you abandoned your brother in a junkyard in the middle of the night, so why don't we see what the police have to say about that?" She let the implication linger.
"Oooooh, Cody, she told you!" Trey called towards the phone from where he was perched on a busted entertainment center laid out on its side.
"Right," Simmons continued. "Why don't you open up the warehouse and we can sort this out."
The building was huge, with a whimsical false front of turrets, parapets and flags, and the name Castillo Furniture emblazoned high over the front entrance. But the door Cody unlocked, thankfully, let out into the alley where they were already standing. The teenager stood there, pouting, and immediately started sniping at his little brother.
"I can't believe you got yourself caught, jeez, Trey." He took a step out and motioned to the boy. "C'mon. I got the Playstation set up in the office."
Trey hopped down and started towards the door, but Fitz intercepted, shifting himself to stand next to Cody in the doorframe. Fitz was no Sasquatch, but he was still of a height with Cody, and in the six years since she'd met him, Fitz had filled out. As a result, the broad line of his shoulders gave his frame an intimidation factor that simply wasn't there on the younger guy.
"Hold on just a second. I believe we had a deal?"
"Yeah, yeah," grumbled Cody, "I left it in the back."
Fitz put his toe across the jamb and crossed his arms. "Then let's go get it, shall we?"
-o-
They trekked through the dim warehouse, tall bunk beds and bookshelves and mirrored vanity tables casting their path into ominous shade. Trey skipped up ahead with his brother, FitzSimmons all but ignored as he chattered energetically on about the night's adventures. They were crossing a wide central aisle near the large front doors, when, from off to her right, she thought she saw a flicker of movement. Is there someone else here?
But before she could even reach out to tug Fitz into a halt, a shadowy silhouette suddenly jerked heavily toward them, angling an enormous - is that an axe? - down towards her head.
The mention of Fitz shrieking at spiders was inspired by a tumblr post. If you are jonesing for more Fitz-is-afraid-of-spiders (*Chandler impression* Could he BE any more Ron Weasley?) you should check out "The Not So Itsy Bitsy Spider" by TheLateNightStoryteller and "these leftover feelings of you" by leopolds & Anthropologicality.
Also, oof, that was some episode promo, huh guys? I'm so excited to find out what's really going on with Jemma. Fingers crossed!
Oh, and I'm terrible at planning out chapters, but best guess, there are 2 or 3 left.
Next chapter up on Sunday!