Chapter 32
"How is it that you get to go to Hawaii and I'm running the base?" May says over video chat as Skye and Andrew both begin to walk by.
"Don't get to jealous. I probably won't even see the tarmac." Coulson responds.
The two agents are pass the conversation and go to sit at the table near the bar. Trip and Fitz are already over there sitting looking at maps trying to figure out the terrain.
"So a paid vacation to Hawaii. How about that?" Trip says when he sees them, laying back with his arms behind his head.
"Don't think we are staying long." Andrew responds.
Skye is the first one to sit down, clicking on her tablet in the process. It lights up with a picture of her and Andrew in San Francisco enjoying the baseball game the Giants had won that day. The hacker unlocks the screen and instantly the writing that Coulson was drawing on the wall appears.
"Whatever we are doing here, it's connected. I just don't know how yet." She says telling both of them.
"We'll figure it out." Andrew says rubbing her back.
The base seemed just about as empty as can be for Jemma Simmons. No one was really working in the lab. Only a handful of lab techs to be exact. Fitz had left to on the mission to Hawaii so that meant she wouldn't be able to talk to him. She thought they had been making some form of process since she and Andrew had come back from HYDRA.
Andrew and Skye had left too. Jemma was left without anyone really to talk to about what had happened before they arrived on base. Bobbi tried talking to her a little bit but it didn't seem the same. Although the Mockingbird would tell the biochemist about the stories that happened with Andrew when she and him had first met. How he was completely different now and wasn't as weak as before. Sometimes the stories would go on for a bit until Hunter came and tried telling impossible scenarios which ended with Bobbi slapping him on the shoulder and nearly beating him with a baton.
Jemma walked out of the lab and towards the conference room. She had heard that Bobbi had begun to conduct the interrogation with Bakshi down in vault D.
She was a bit surprised when she found Mack and Hunter sitting there watching the monitor. Both were chatting away until they had finally noticed her standing in the doorway.
"Come to join the festivities?" Hunter asks.
Jemma sighs for a brief second before coming in and standing at the end of the table watching the interrogation a bit closer.
"Mr. Bakshi almost killed me a few times." She tells them. "If it wasn't for Andrew, I don't know what would have happened."
"You were quite lucky the young lad was there." Hunter answers pulling out a chair for the biochemist.
"I don't know how Bobbi can do it. Sitting across from him like that."
"It's Bobbi, that's why." Mack says.
"How can you follow Whitehall? He's sort of a milquetoast middle-management type. Now you, you got that whole classic bond-villain thing going on. Why not lead?" They all hear Bobbi say.
"My time will come." Bakshi answers.
Eventually Bobbi gets up and leaves the vault. All is seen is Bakshi just sitting there. When Bobbi comes up from the vault, she comes into the conference room flipping through the files that they had on him.
"Do you think Bakshi could have been brainwashed?" she asks.
The three of them look at the specialist carefully but then shake their heads no. From the answers they heard it didn't sound right.
"Any HYDRA member could have been and not known it." Mack offers.
"I guess you're right." Bobbi comments. "Something Bakshi said, the language didn't feel right. Called Whitehall 'a disciple of Red Skull.' Weird choice. He didn't say "studied."
"So they could be connected somehow?" Hunter questions.
"It sounds firsthand." May says coming down the stairs.
Bobbi shook her head and looked towards Jemma.
"That doesn't sound right though. Whitehall looks too young and from what Andr-" Bobbi was cut off by Jemma with a stern look.
"The Red Skull has been dead for over seventy years." Jemma explains. "This was an old SSR base before. Maybe we could find some answers."
"Get on it." May tells them.
The four younger agents were called for a meeting once Coulson was done talking to May. They all stand around the hologram table waiting for instructions that the director had for them.
On the table already sat a button and a watch. Andrew tilted his head unsure what was going on but carefully studied what was set next to him.
"Before Agent Parker starts studying and getting Fitz in on it to experiment, I should tell you what is going on." Coulson told them.
The team was quiet waiting for Coulson to go further. The director picks up the watch and hands it over to Skye who then looked over it carefully it herself.
"This is just a watch, sir." She said before letting Andrew see a closer look while it was still in her hand.
"Deliver it to Cam, the owner of the Kahananui repair shop. Here. It'll need the following inscription, 'Dearest Darren, I count the seconds we're apart. Love, your island flower.' You got that?"
"Island flower." Skye repeats.
"If it starts leaking fluids, I would advise you to run."
"That doesn't sound like a normal watch, sir. Are you trying to put my wife in danger?" Andrew asks.
"Not trying to on purpose, Agent Parker." Coulson says. "That's why you're going with her and with this."
The director holds up a button and then places it in Andrew's hand before explaining.
"Take this to the Ka Pua dry-cleaner on Makaimoimo Street."
Andrew raises his eyebrow before responding.
"I'm not even going to try to pronounce that myself. Repeat that again?"
"Not the one on Hookelewaa." Coulson responds avoiding the agent's question.
Andrew flips it over for a brief second looking it over before looking over at Skye and then back at Coulson.
"Am I allowed to put this in my pocket or do I need to store it somewhere else?"
"That depends on if you want kids or not." The director answers. "I wouldn't advise it if I were you since you're married and such."
Skye rolls her eyes and grabs her backpack off the table that was filled with gear. The hacker finds her husband still stuck in the same position as before with his mouth partially open.
"Great D.C, you broke my husband." Skye says as she tries to get Andrew's attention.
Coulson just smiles before telling they can go at any time now.
"What about us, sir?" Fitz asks referring to himself and Trip.
"I need you to work on this kit. Take it apart, get it back together as fast as you can." Coulson hands him the kit. "Trip, I need your help elsewhere."
He walks towards his office with Trip and Fitz is left to ponder how he was going to do it.
The walk was nice for the married couple. They kept a map handy just in case they were all of a sudden lost. There seemed to be a lot of people out and about selling market type items.
"Not to freak you out or anything but Coulson wants a grandchild." Skye tells her husband.
Andrew looks over at his wife puzzled. "How does he plan to do that? He doesn't have kids of his own."
Skye laughs at the comment. "He refers us and FitzSimmons as his children. He's done that since we were traveling on the bus."
They walk by a fruit stand and a lady that tries to offer some to them. Andrew politely declines and they continue to walk.
"I guess we would be around that age range."
"He kinda just wants to smother them with Captain America items." Skye tells him. "Cause you know that was his childhood hero."
Andrew stops walking in the middle of the street before taking a few seconds to start laughing. Skye turns around puzzled for a second. Oh his family would not enjoy that one to be honest.
"Uncle Clint would have a fit." Andrew says after a minute.
Skye shakes her head. "I told Coulson that. He said he wouldn't mind competing with the Hawk."
Andrew takes his hands and places it on his wife's waist, looking into her eyes with his piercing blue ones.
"Even if we did agree to have kids, and I'm saying I possibly would like to have one with you. Now isn't exactly a good time." He tells Skye.
The hacker nods her head agreeing with what was just said.
"We have to get through this first, I know."
"Hydra is out there and so is my dad." Andrew explains. "I'm already putting you in danger with him."
Skye looks away from her husband and watches the street vendors for a few seconds.
"Mine too. We're putting each other in danger."
"We'll get through it."
Jemma flipped through papers quickly, skimming them also in the process. She had found a little bit of information on Bakshi from a database on her tablet along with a little bit of information from what the old SSR agents had left.
"Any luck?" May asked as she entered the room.
"I've found a little bit." She responds honestly.
"What's a little bit?"
"I've found decades of research, and it's incomplete." Jemma explains. "But I did find the original 0-8-4 report signed by Agent Carter herself."
"What about the Red Skull?"
"Did you hear what I said? Peggy Carter, founder, happens to be British, held this in her hand." Jemma says waving a file.
May gives the young agent a stern look.
"Okay no, but I did find information about a Werner Reinhardt. He was a commander."
May grabs one of the documents and begins to exam it.
"Howling Commandos grabbed him and the obelisk in '45."
"Yes but all the important documents on him are missing. I kinda question Coulson's filing ability here." Jemma tells May.
The older agent stands in her position for a moment thinking before walking over to one of Coulson's mini vaults in the wall. She manages to open it before searching through it and find a key that she is twirling in her fingers.
"Vault D, Not the only one." May explains. "Agent Carter had a lot of things buried here."
Fits throws down the screw driver in frustration just as Skye and Parker come back from their trip into town. Agent Triplett was already next to him ready to cool him down.
"What are you doing?" Skye asks as she and her husband both peer over the engineer's shoulder.
"Coulson has me patching a transceiver into a system that's not even meant to handle one." Fitz explains.
"You can probably do this in your sleep, Leo." Parker tells him.
"Yes, when I'm sleeping, I'm quite good at it." Fitz says. "I think Coulson is testing me."
"Coulson doesn't roll that way." Trip comments.
Skye nods her head in agreement. "If he has you in the dark, it's for a reason."
"Or just keeping me busy." Fitz mumbles just as Coulson comes down the stairs.
They all turn to see the director ready in a suit but is missing a tie.
"Here's one box of blue tie." Parker says to him as he hands the box off.
"Thanks. Any complications out there?"
"Not at all, sir."
"Great, then Trip can get the bus in the air."
"Where to, sir?" Trip asks.
"Australian outback."
The agents all look at the director strangely for a few moments.
"We have a satellite to steal and only much little time to do so." Coulson finally explains.
Trip gets it and leaves to go get the bus back in the air as Parker and Skye watch Coulson tie his tie around his neck.
"What's the story?" Parker asks.
"It was a gift from Audrey and I accidently spilled poi on it."
Parker gives a confused look for a moment before finally getting it.
"That's the cellist right? The one mission I assisted with? "
"Correct."
"Sorting paperwork, the life no one chooses to do." Hunter complains as he opens another box.
Each of the agents muffled through paperwork hoping to find something on Reinhardt. A few times when a box was opened the dust that was collected inside made one of them cough but they eventually got through it.
"Good thing none of this made it into the database."
"Yeah, Hydra could have used to an advantage."
Everyone's comments filled the vault but it wasn't until Hunter had found the file that Jemma began to worry.
"I found the file." Hunter says excitedly as he flips it open onto the table.
There was all the information they needed along with a picture that looked a lot like Andrew in a way.
"That's Daniel Whitehall." Jemma finally says.
The biochemist doesn't say anything further. She doesn't really want to give away any information that her and Andrew had found out while they were within Hydra. How would she even explain all that in the first place?
"Who?" Hunter questions. "This is Reinhardt, the guy we've been looking for. It even says."
"It's the same man, Hunter. I've seen him in person."
"It can't be. He looks old in the picture." May tells them as she cuts in.
"I'm sure of it, May."
Jemma and May continue to discuss the possibilities and eventually learn that Reinhardt was kept at The Rat, an old S.H.I.E.L.D. prison while looking more through the box.
"How long was he there?"
"I read quickly that it said for life."
Jemma looked up to find that only her and May were left in the vault. Mack and Hunter was nowhere to be seen and the file was gone. That immediately put a panicked look on the biochemist's face as she ran up the stairs out of the vault.
She had found Hunter watching the screen where Bobbi was now finishing up the interrogation with Bakshi.
"What did you do, Hunter?" Jemma questioned angrily.
Hunter looked at her scared. "What do you mean, what did I do? I gave the file to Bobbi."
"Nooo." Jemma stretched out as she saw Bobbi open the file.
"You do know we have a personal connection to Whitehall." Bobbi tells Bakshi.
"Is that so?"
Hunter turned to face Jemma confused once more.
"Where is Bobbi going with this? Since when?"
Jemma winces as the words come out of Bobbi's mouth.
"Whitehall's son is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent."
"That's an interesting subject." Bakshi replies.
"You want to tell us about that?"
"Never."
"You failed your boss. Question remains what kind of man are you?"
"A loyal one." Bakshi says before hitting the table and then gasping out for air as he hit the floor."
Jemma and Hunter saw this and ran as quickly as they could to go help Bobbi with the issue. Hunter swiped his card on the door to let them in and opened the shield that was keeping Bobbi and Bakshi in.
"Cyanide! We checked him!" Jemma yelled as she saw the foaming in Bakshi's mouth.
"Capsule embedded in his cheekbone!" Bobbi explained.
Jemma looked at the agent disappointed as Hunter helped with Bakshi's body.
"What were you thinking when you got that file?" Jemma asked Bobbi.
"I wasn't going to tell him who." Bobbi answers.
"Who is the agent anyway?" Hunter asks as Bakshi is now completely knocked out.
Both the girls look at each other and then over at Hunter followed by back at each other.
"Parker."
Skye helped her husband with the last part of his tactical suit as Coulson explained what they were doing. Trip was staying behind to help her with some of the hacking they were supposed to be doing on the plane.
Fitz and her husband on the other hand were going in with Coulson to help get everything set up so Skye could later launch the Trojan horse.
"Fitz, how much time do you have the receiver down to?" Coulson asked once he was done explaining.
"About seven minutes and twenty seconds." Fitz responds.
"That's not good enough."
"Oh that's with my bad hand. With both I have it way lower."
Parker sees Fitz smile and the engineer follows the director out the cargo ramp. The agent is about to as well but he's stopped for a brief second. A hand is on his arm and when he looks up, Andrew sees his wife there.
"Be careful." She tells him.
"I will. We all will." He replies back before leaning into give her a kiss.
It's broken apart eventually by the sound of Coulson yelling for him to get a move on. They had a mission to accomplish.
The three of them enter the area but as soon as they get in something doesn't feel right to neither Coulson nor Parker.
"This doesn't feel right. Skye do you read us?" Coulson asks through the coms.
"Standing by with geek squad. EMP ready in forty seconds." Parker hears his wife say.
"Copy that." Coulson responds.
Eventually as they go through, the three of them find the crew tied up in a corner. Coulson directs Fitz to untie them while he looks around a bit more. It isn't until a few seconds later that Parker sees another shadow.
"Coulson, we've got an ambush!" He yells. "Skye, Trip!"
The coms are a no go as he tries to get them to answer. Parker carefully covers Fitz as best as he can shooting a few of the other guys that come their way. Eventually they find the right spot for Fitz and he begins to work.
"Leo, you got this?" Parker asks.
"Of course." Fitz says as he begins to work.
A few seconds pass as Parker guards Fitz until all of a sudden he is shot by one of the other guys and Coulson is running through the aisle where they are at.
"Drew!" Coulson yells sliding over to his hurt agent. "Your wife is going to kill me."
Parker begins to gasp for air unable to do anything.
"Stay with me, Drew. Stay with me." Coulson says putting pressure on the wound.
"I can help." Someone says all of a sudden and it catches Fitz off guard. "I'm a doctor."
The doctor instructs Coulson what to do and Parker is groaning as the clamp and scalpel go through to get the bullets out.
"First went through clean. Second bullet is deep."
"I prefer we stabilize and move." Coulson tells him.
"The bullet is keeping the wound open. If I get this out now, there's a good chance this man lives, Phil."
The name catches Coulson instantly and he's pulling out his gun at the doctor.
"Hmm, shouldn't have said that. If I let go of this clamp, he dies."
"Who are you?"
"Hand me the gun Mr. Coulson." The doctor says before looking over at Fitz. "You too, son."
Coulson and Fitz do what they are told and hand over their guns to the mad doctor.
"Skye wouldn't want him to die."
"Is she here?" The doctor asks hopefully.
Coulson doesn't answer him but he sighs in relief.
"I only get one chance at a first impression and well this doesn't look so good."
"I don't think it's good for Skye to…" Coulson starts but is cut off.
"You're not her father!" the doctor yells. "You're S.H.I.E.L.D. you took her from me."
The doctor begins to explain everything that was going on. About the diviner and how his daughter was going to be in center of it when it happened. How he was working with Whitehall so he could finally see her again.
"I know you want to see her again." Coulson says.
"I can't wait."
"If you don't help this man, Skye will never…"
"That's not her name!" the doctor yells again. "And I won't let him die."
"Then help him! Help her husband!" Coulson yells back.
The doctor is taken aback by the comments just as Fitz every time they yelled. Coulson can see the surprise look in his face.
"Husband?" the doctor repeats as he grabs a syringe.
Coulson doesn't respond to anything but helps as best as he can to get Parker okay again. The doctor instructs what Phil can do and Fitz gets back to working on the wires. When Coulson finishes, Parker is finally breathing normal again and the coms are back online. The doctor is once again gone.
"Coulson, Drew, Fitz?" they hear Skye question.
Fitz is the one that responds back telling her that they had a little problem and that they were coming back to the bus. Both men help the fallen agent up and carefully take him back.
When they do get back to the bus, a couple of the extra agents they brought along are there to help Parker with his injury. Coulson and Fitz leave him there and head up to where Skye and Trip were working at.
Fitz is the first one up there and Skye sighs a relief but panic is bought back on her face when Coulson enters covered in blood. She knows it's not a good sign and lets Trip hold her for a few seconds.
"What happened?" Skye asks mumbling into Trip's shirt.
Coulson takes a deep breath before answering. "Agent Parker was shot."
That makes Skye cry only a little bit harder.
"But he's okay. It was in his shoulder and he's getting checked by a few lab techs." Coulson finishes.
The hacker pushes herself out of Trip's arms and runs towards the old lab that FitzSimmons used to use when they lived on the bus. There she sees her husband laying on a counter as a lab tech patched him up. Skye watches through the window for a bit until she notices that Fitz has joined her. It was going to be a few moments until they were up in the air again but knowing her husband was still alive made all the difference.
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Also please let me know what missing scenes you would like to see as I will be writing some of those.
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