The courtroom was surrounded by news reporters. It was a big story, after all: the rogue S.H.I.E.L.D. agents coming out of hiding to defend themselves - or get thrown right into the cells they were trying to avoid when they went on the lam in the first place. Fortunately the court had had the foresight to bring in extra security, which meant Skye, Jemma, Triplett and May could leave their van without incident. As soon as they had managed to get past the crowds and entered the building, they were met with a frazzled looking Jennifer Walters.
"Sorry we're late. Traffic was bad and, well, there's kind of a mob outside." Triplett smiled, but Walters didn't seem to acknowledge it.
"Wear's the other agent?" she demanded instead. Triplett tilted his head in confusion.
"What other agent? Fitz? He's -"
"Yes, I know he's int he hospital with a brain injury," Walters replied anxiously. "I'm talking about Phil Coulson!" She held up a folder and flapped it in Trip's face to emphasize her point.
The group of agents shared a collective look of confusion before Skye stepped between Trip and the lawyer. "Agent Coulson is, um, well he's ill."
Walters ran a hand threw her hair at the news. "Ill? He's ill? Of course he's ill, on the day of his trial to see how he and his team of rogue agents performed while apprehending a domestic terrorist!" She paused a moment to catch her breath. "What does he have?"
"Bird flu," the four agents answered in rehearsed unison. "It's really bad," Skye continued. "He woke up this morning and he was really pale and the first thing he did was throw up all over the bathroom and he jus totally cleaned out the medicine cabinet for painkillers but that didn't help, and then he was like 'Skye, help me get ready for the trial' and I was like 'no way AC, you need to get your rest because I do not want you throwing up on the judge', and then he puked again, and then he passed out." Skye threw up her hands in defeat. "So, yeah, now he's at the same private hospital that w put Fitz in and he's getting treated right now, so hopefully he'll be fine later if there's any paperwork that you need him to fill out."
Jennifer took a moment to take everything in before she responded. "Okay. Bird flu. I certainly hope he didn't pass it on to any of you."
"OH NO!" Jemma said, scurrying up to stand beside Skye. "I applied the. Vaccinations. Myself, to make sure of the...health of my friends!" She finished on a smile wide enough that it must have hurt her face.
"Yeah, we're all gonna be okay, and before I left him at the hospital he said that he didn't want anybody to know except for the people who needed to, so if you could just like, not mention him being sick to the press or the judge or anybody passing by then that would be great. Or even just not mention his name. Just, like, pretend he doesn't exist."
Jennifer nodded, mouthing the word 'okay' several times, but her face was read and she looked pretty uncomfortable. Skye frowned. "Are you okay?"
Jennifer shook her head and began fanning herself. "Um, no, I think I'm just, I've just got some nerves about this whole thing and with your compatriot missing then I'm scared we might have some issues in the trial..." she trailed off, quickly losing her composure. Skye grimaced and led her over to a nearby bench so she could sit down.
"Okay, calm down. Everything is going to be fine." Skye looked her in the eye. "You don't need to panic like this, okay? I heard that you had worked on lots of S.H.I.E.L.D. cases before this one. This won't be any different."
Jennifer was almost hyperventilating. "I don't know, I mean, the S.H.I.E.L.D. cases were the biggest thing I got at my practice, and I'm pretty sure that if I screw this up then they're going to let me go. I mean, they barely like me there anyways..."
Skye grabbed the other woman's hands in her own and squeezed them tight, hoping it would comfort Jennifer. "Hey. Listen. There is no way they'll let you go. And you know why?" The lawyer shook her head. "It's because you're awesome. You would never have been recommended to us if you didn't have the skill to deal with these kinds of cases. Now take a deep breath." Jennifer inhaled, shakily but deeply, and then exhaled slowly. Skye smiled. "There. You're gonna be great."
Jennifer took a few more breaths, then nodded. "Okay. Okay, I will. Sorry about me being a blubbering mess."
Skye shook her head. "Don't worry about it. People get scared."
Ms. Walters smiled. "Thank you. I can't remember the last time somebody talked to me like that." She dabbed at her cheek, were a few tears had been running a moment before. "I, um, I should fix my makeup before we start the trial, though. Excuse me." She darted away to the lady's room, leaving Skye sitting on the bench.
"And I thought she was the one who was supposed to be helping us," Trip commented as he approached her.
Skye stood up and looked towards the washroom. "She just needed a pep talk. Heck, I'm surprised I'm not as messed up as she is."
Triplett half-smiled. "We're S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Whenever we get messed up we just stuff it deep down and act professionally." He paused. "And if anybody would cry at one of these things it'd be Fitz."
Skye nodded. "Totally Fitz."
A few feet away, May was checking her communicator. Jemma leaned over her shoulder to see.
"Don't. Loom." May stated as she felt the younger agent's hair brush against her neck. Jemma immediately jumped back.
"Sorry! Sorry. I just wanted to know if there were any status updates."
May didn't move her eyes from the screen of the communicator. "All of the bugs on Kaminsky are functioning, and they are ten minutes away from the holding area."
"And do you really think Kaminsky will talk to Ward about all the important HYDRA plans?"
May's brow twitched. "We can only hope."
The plan was to bug Kaminsky using some of the new prototypes included in Fury's cube. They were sub-cutaneous, almost undetectable by any tracing device, and could self-destruct with the push of a button without losing any evidence thanks to an exclusive 5G streaming network (patent pending). At least, that was the theory - during the events of the HYDRA attack on the Triskelion there was a massive information leak and every secret, blueprint, and file in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s records had been released to the public. So along with the fact that various communications networks were attempting to claim the rights to the use of the new technology without S.H.I.E.L.D. to take it as it's own, Coulson had to worry about the possibility that several institutes had already equipped themselves to find the kinds of espionage devices that this entire plan hinged on.
Said plan went as such: Bob Kaminsky, being a huge HYDRA fanatic and a bit of an idiot, would never talk to an agent such as Coulson or his specialists, in this case Agent Bolewa from the East African HQ. However, he would certainly love to talk to a genuine HYDRA agent about all the amazingly terrible things that could be accomplished by taking over the world. The only known HYDRA agent that the team knew of and knew the exact location of was Grant Ward.
The trial was still thirty minutes away, which gave Coulson and Bolewa a small window in which they could leave Kaminsky alone with Ward, record the conversation, and then turn the former into the law enforcement agencies while they made off with whatever intel they managed to gather.
It was a long shot, but it was all they had in this situation.
"Where are you taking me?" Kaminsky asked, his head whipping this way and that and making the bag over it comically flap back and forth.
"That's for us to know and you to find out," Coulson replied, and with a press of a button a wall descended between he front and back seats of the van.
"Are we sure this is a good idea sir?" Bolewa asked.
Coulson remained mostly expressionless. "I asked everybody if they had a better idea. This is our only shot. If we miss it then we're back to square one."
The other agent pursed her lips. "Still, it is risky. Not just because there may be no intel gained, but because we are placing two trained HYDRA agents in a room together without any supervision. They are crafty, as we have seen time and again." Coulson parked the van and the two got out. "I remember a mission in Wakanda that I did back when S.H.I.E.L.D. was what it once was. We sent in a former spy that had supposedly defected to our side in order to investigate a terror organization."
Coulson opened the doors of the van to retrieve their prisoner. "And what happened?"
"He returned with a bomb built into his ribcage. His last words were a declaration of martyrdom." Bolewa regarded Kaminsky with contempt. "Don't get me wrong, I do not believe that something so drastic will occur here, but I do not believe we should let our guard down either."
"You don't need to worry about that, Bolewa," Coulson replied. "I haven't let my guard down since I died."
Ward sat in the interrogation room, watching dust float through the beams of sunlight that filtered through the small window in the corner. They had placed him in there so soon before his trial because apparently somebody wished to speak with him. He figured it was likely his lawyer trying to get him to accept the deal a final time and save everybody their time and energy. What was the point though? Of any of it? If the American justice system was as just as it claimed to be then Ward should have been dead by now, and he knew it. Pathetic.
The door opened, and a man in a high-collared trenchcoat stepped through. Ward raised an eyebrow in confusion. This mouse-faced, balding man was certainly not Mr. Baldwin. The man sat down and adjusted his tiny glasses.
"Good morning, Mr. Ward," he said in a European accent, "and hail HYDRA."
Ward coughed. "Do you know how many people I've heard say that in prison? I don't get why everybody is so keen on turning it into a joke."
The man's face remained emotionless. "I assure you, Mr. Ward, it is no joke."
Now Ward's curiosity was piqued. A genuine HYDRA agent come to see him? "Alright then. Who the hell are you?"
The man paused, then smiled. "I am Dr. Arnim Zola. Pleasure to meet you."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Oh snap!
I loved writing this chapter. It was one of the most vivid ones I had in my head when thinking up this episode. Remember to fav, follow, and review!