13: THE NEW LEAD
The room filled with a cold silence the second they all saw Ward's picture placed on the table. So many emotions filled every person standing there; anger, frustration, dread, hatred. And right next to those emotions were memories; some happy, some painful, all devastating.
"No way. We can't go anywhere near the guy." Lance objected.
"Hunter, it's our only lead." Bobbi argued.
"You think I care? This is Grant Ward we're talking about; he's not gonna help us! We'd be lucky to say two words to him before he shot at us. If he's been running away from Rage then what could he possibly know that could help us?" Lance asked.
"The only way to find out would be asking him. To be honest, I wouldn't mind using him as bait to lure Rage out of hiding if need be." Daisy suggested.
"I'd be okay with that." May added.
"The man's a psychopath and a murderer. Do we really want to bring him into this crazy little game we're already playing?" Mack questioned.
"But if it's your only lead -" Andrew began.
"-Sorry Doctor Phil, but this isn't your place." Lance stated.
"Hunter, calm down." May warned.
"No! The man is a monster!" Lance exclaimed.
"A monster who hasn't been on our radar for months, probably over a year. Rage is a monster who has. There's no debate here, surely?" Bobbi wondered.
"I can't say I know the guy, but if he's our only lead it makes sense to follow it." Joey commented.
"I agree." Lincoln nodded.
"Fitzsimmons won't agree to this." Mack said solemnly.
"I think they would; they want Rage caught more than anyone. Fitz is in a wheelchair because of that thing." Daisy said sadly.
"Coulson?" May prompted, silencing everyone. Coulson had remained staring into Ward's eyes as if they were piercing his soul.
"I hate Grant Ward more than anyone on this Earth. I don't like the thought of contacting him at all, but they're right – it's our only option." Coulson said.
"I don't believe this." Lance said, shaking his head.
"Hunter, saying his name makes my blood boil, but I'm not gonna wait for Rage to hurt anyone else. I see you all as family, and Rage put a member of my family in a chair. It needs to pay for that, and I want to see justice done as soon as we can. You need to put your personal feelings aside and think like an agent about this. Think of the bigger picture." Coulson explained. After a moment, Lance nodded slowly.
"Fine." Lance relented.
"Okay. For Turbo." Mack nodded.
"So how do we find him?" Lincoln asked.
"That's the easy part. We've been tracking him ever since our last encounter; we have two agents tasked with following and tracking his every move, permanently stationed wherever Ward goes. I hoped we'd never have to use their intel but I'll contact them. I think he's still in a summer house he bought in Greece." Coulson revealed.
"Where did he get the money for that?" Joey wondered.
"A question I doubt I want the answer to." Coulson replied.
"Only question is now…who's gonna go and see him?" Daisy asked.
The room fell silent once more.
…
"Ugh, Ward. Can you believe it?" Jemma asked Fitz in the lab later that day as some of the team packed their bags to be dropped off in Greece.
"Can't get rid of the bastard." Fitz grumbled.
"Do you know who they're sending to confront him?" Jemma wondered.
"Uh…Coulson, Daisy and Joey." Fitz answered.
"I hope they get something out of the encounter, at least." Jemma sighed.
"I don't think I could do it. Look him in the eye again after…well, everything." Fitz said sadly.
Jemma looked at Fitz for a moment before stepping away from her desk and reaching down to take his hand, giving him a soft smile.
"I just try and remember the good times we had. I do genuinely believe we were his friends, at least for a little while." Jemma said.
"Yeah. I'd like to hope so." Fitz nodded.
"Well, I have to talk to Mack about something quickly." Jemma said, jumping up and heading out.
"Again? You've been having meetings with him a lot over the last few weeks." Fitz asked.
"Oh, you know how it is. Secret agent business and that." Jemma chuckled.
"…Are you, um…are you two, like…you know…?" Fitz mumbled, looking down.
"NO! Goodness, no! It's not…we're not…no, nothing like that. It's all very professional. I mean, I don't…he's not my type." Jemma stated nervously.
"Really? I mean, it's just, he's always reminded me of that James you dated for a bit a few years back." Fitz said shyly.
"James? I'll admit there are a few similarities, but that also lasted for less than two weeks. I'm surprised you remember him." Jemma said.
"I remember all of them. Not that there were that many, I mean, I'm not saying that you're, like -"
"-I know, Fitz. Don't worry."
"I mean, Mack's great, I wouldn't be surprised if you -"
"-Leo, there's nothing going on. Okay? And all those guys are exes for a reason. I've spent a while recently…readjusting my type. A lot's happened lately, what with Rage and everything, and people I care about have been hurt…it's put things into perspective." Jemma explained, her eyes fixated on Fitz, who was working on something on a tablet by this point.
"Yeah, me too." Fitz nodded, looking up at Jemma and meeting her eye contact for a brief moment before looking down again.
"I better get going."
"Yeah, see ya."
…
The flight to Greece went by without a hitch, and Coulson, Daisy and Joey were dropped off a few miles out from Ward's location according to their intel. One rental car journey later, they pulled up outside of a beautifully white summer house, the rays of the sun bouncing off it in a way that made it seem it was shining.
"Weapons primed but hidden. As much as I hate to say it, we don't want him dead." Coulson ordered as he, Daisy and Joey exited the vehicle in suitable attire for the environment.
"Man, the heat and I have never mixed well." Joey sighed, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"Is it okay that I'm pretty nervous right now?" Daisy asked.
"I'd be worried if you weren't." Coulson said, placing a reassuring hand on Daisy's shoulder.
"Okay. Let's go." Daisy nodded, determined.
The three rushed towards the front door and halted at the entrance.
"Proceed with caution." Coulson said sternly.
"Uh, sir?" Joey said, gesturing towards the door. Coulson looked and saw it was slightly ajar.
"That can't be good, can it?" Daisy asked.
"It's Ward, it was never gonna be good." Coulson said.
"Come on in, it's boiling out there."
The voice that had come from inside was unfamiliar to Joey, but brought back memories for Coulson and Daisy.
"He knew we were coming?" Daisy whispered. Coulson pushed the door and headed inside.
…
The Bus had been moved a short distance out from where Coulson and the others had been dropped off, hovering in silence and cloaked to avoid detection.
"And now we wait it out until Coulson sees what Ward knows." May declared as she entered the living area, where most of the team were sat waiting.
"If he knows anything at all, that is." Lance groaned.
"Let's just hope there's something to gain from this." Bobbi said as Lincoln rushed in, panic plastered across his face.
"We've got a problem." He exclaimed.
"What is it?" May asked.
"Facial recognition software picked up Maya Anderson." Lincoln revealed.
"She finally showed her face? Where is she?" Bobbi asked.
"The airport."
"Which airport?"
"…The one a few miles away."
"Rage can't fly, but Maya Anderson still can." May said, panicked.
"Well, crap." Lance said.
"Contact Coulson. NOW."
…
Coulson, Daisy and Joey slowly walked into a brightly lit room, one wall being taken up by a large panoramic window offering a gorgeous view of a small Greek town surrounded by a luscious blue sea.
Looking out of it, hands behind his back, was Grant Ward.
"Don't use this opportunity to shoot me, please." Ward smirked, turning around to face the small group.
"You were expecting us." Coulson said.
"I spotted your little S.H.I.E.L.D. puppets following me months ago, but today they were getting a little closer than normal in their observations, almost as if the big boss wanted specific details. As such, I expected you to show." Ward explained.
"Clever." Coulson commented.
"Very. It's good to see you." Ward said.
"Get me a bucket." Daisy sighed, looking around and trying her best to hide how jealous she was of Ward's fancy abode.
"Hello, Skye. How are you?" Grant asked, stepping forward with a small smile.
"It's Daisy now."
"Why?"
"Because that's my name."
"You seemed so attached to the name Skye; it's surprised me you changed it."
"Well, I've got a few suggestions if you're considering a name change." Daisy snapped. Ward chuckled before his eyes met Joey's.
"And who's this?" Ward wondered.
"Joey Gutierrez. I'm pretty new." Joey replied.
"Ah, the honeymoon phase of S.H.I.E.L.D. employment. It passes." Ward remarked.
"Especially when you're actually a Hydra slave the entire time." Daisy fought back. Ward smiled again.
"I've missed you, Skye."
"Daisy."
"You'll always be Skye to me."
"You'll always be a prick to me."
"We don't have time for this. We're only here as a last resort. We need information." Coulson began.
"Tell me more." Ward sighed, sitting in a chair at the corner of the room.
"We'd wondered why you suddenly started travelling all over the world. Now we realise you were running." Coulson added.
"Why would you say that?"
"We know you were a member of The Young Gods." Joey said. The blood drained from Ward's face.
"Big announcement all over the news; a new organisation named R.E.S.C.U.E. run by the woman whose husband and son you killed? Of course you'd run. And you were right to; she had a file on you. And that's not all." Coulson explained.
"What?" Ward asked instantly.
"She's an Inhuman." Daisy said. She almost wanted to read the expression on Ward's face as one of fear.
"And she's been making each member of The Young Gods pay. You're the last one left. The one she can't find." Joey said.
"How did she work out who we all were?" Ward asked.
"I wish I knew." Coulson replied.
"You expect me to have information on someone I'm running from? You must be truly, utterly desperate to come all this way." Ward smirked.
Suddenly, Coulson's mobile buzzed. He picked it up and answered it.
"What is it?" He asked.
The ground began to shake.
"What are you doing?" Joey asked, turning to Daisy.
"It's not me." Daisy said, concern on her face. Coulson slowly lowered his phone, looking petrified.
"Well, shi-"
A wall blew to pieces, sending everyone flying to the ground in a cloud of pale dust. Emerging from the cloud, Rage.
"Grant. Ward." It hissed, jet black eyes fixated on a bewildered looking Ward.
"What the hell?" He coughed as everyone got back on their feet. Daisy sent a shockwave towards Rage, but it continued walking closer without breaking a sweat.
"Remember when I said Maya was an Inhuman?" Daisy asked. Ward looked at her and back at Rage in disbelief.
"Wow, you really drew the short straw, huh?" Ward teased, leading Rage to let out a piercing roar.
"Glenn. Kiaden." Rage muttered.
"Who and who?" Ward wondered.
"Her husband and son." Joey clarified.
"I see." Ward acknowledged.
"…You didn't…even know…their names?" Rage roared.
"The only name I associated with them was Anderson. They were related to you; you're the one who got them killed." Ward exclaimed, leading Rage to scream, shattering all the windows and forcing everyone to cover their ears before their skulls shattered.
Rage tore a chunk of the wall away and lunged it at Ward, who dived out of the way, pulled out a gun and started shooting as everyone else took cover.
"Bullets don't work!" Coulson shouted.
"I'm not going out without a fight!" Ward retaliated.
"How did it find us?" Joey exclaimed.
"The…connection." Rage shouted, throwing more debris around and destroying the house. The agents that had been following Ward for months rushed in and shot at Rage, who turned around and threw its hands into their chests, tearing them into pieces.
"NO!" Coulson shouted with pure fury, forcing him to get his gun out and shoot with Ward.
Daisy stood up and raised her hands to the ceiling, which began to shake and crumble rapidly.
"What are you doing, Skye?" Ward demanded.
"Raising the roof. Literally. AND IT'S DAISY!"
The roof collapsed and everyone ducked as the whole house caved in with an almighty crash. After a moment, Coulson, Daisy and Joey crawled out of the rubble and dusted themselves off.
"Ward?" Daisy asked. Coulson looked around just in time to see Ward reach the end of the cliff on which his house had been built, turn around briefly then jump into the water below.
"Son of a bitch." Coulson cursed.
"Guys!" Joey exclaimed as the pile of rubble returned to life and Rage burst out.
"WHERE IS GRANT WARD?" It exploded.
"Gone." Coulson answered.
Rage screamed again and held out its arms. Electricity began to flow across its body, sending a few sparks out of the tips of its fingers.
"Well, that's new." Daisy commented, startled by Rage's newest ability.
With another roar, Rage sent a massive bolt of blinding electricity towards Coulson.
"No!" Joey exclaimed, pushing Coulson out of the way as the bolt hit him instead, sending him flying ten metres across the ground.
"JOEY!" Daisy shouted, rushing towards him as Rage prepared itself for another attack.
Just then, a Quinjet appeared and started firing at Rage with all it had. Irritated and furious, Rage screamed one final time before leaping across the town and quickly out of sight. Coulson looked up and nodded at May, who was inside the cockpit and nodded back.
"COULSON!" Daisy wailed as Coulson ran over to her and Joey, who was lying on the ground, occasionally flinching but mostly motionless.
"There's no heartbeat!" Daisy cried, a tear rushing down her face as she hopelessly turned to Coulson, who turned on his earpiece.
"Get a medical team to my location. NOW!"