Hi, everyone.
A new chapter full of fluff and threat, and unexpected news. Try to find the hints!
Have fun reading!
The half-breed girl, Skye, was the one who went to see her to give her food, try to talk. Her words were trying to get through to her but she wouldn't. She wasn't going to listen to the traitorous words of SHIELD. She was better than that. Her father had taught her what she needed to know. And that was enough. SHIELD was corrupted, full of sub races, cruel and they were monsters, abominations. Hydra was pure, trustful. She would follow her father and the organization. She was meant for it.
She couldn't believe he had somebody else. She was still in shock after the news. she just wondered which of the agents was the one he cared about more than he loved her. The Asian? The half-breed? The sciency girl? A guy? No. She shook her head. This was wrong. He was doing everything wrong. He was supposed to be with her. Her father had said it many times. The future of Hydra was her and him. He could not have someone else.
"What did they do to you?"
Her tone was full of worry. A worry directed towards her. She snorted, moving her arm to keep the girl from touching her. She saw a light hurt look in her eyes. She didn't care.
"You don't have to be afraid here."
"Who told you I was afraid?"
Skye took a deep breath. That Adele girl was a wild, scared animal. Her whole behavior was showing it. She held everything back, was afraid of her own shadow, and deeply damaged. She didn't have any clue of what Hydra had done to her, but it was surely horrible. She had basically no scars, she hadn't been tortured, but she was hurt in another way. Worse maybe.
"Ward told me you had a nightmare... You know him, right?"
"Yes, I do."
"How did you two meet?"
The pale girl stayed silent. She couldn't say anything and risk Grant's cover to be blown by her fault. She shivered at the possible consequences. She shouldn't talk.
"Please. You're not in danger here... You can talk to me..."
Of course she was in danger. If one of these agents learned about her true identity... She was doomed. And Grant with her. She looked by the little window of the plane. No talking. They heard footsteps and saw Coulson walk down the stairs. He knocked on the glass door of the med bay.
"Skye? Can I talk to you for a second?"
The girl nodded and left Adele. The blonde sighed, picking up some food and chewing half-heartedly. She wasn't a big eater, had never been. Years of privation in her childhood were still engraved in her mind. She relaxed a little. Her shoulders lowered, she stretched her limbs one after the other, feeling her body. Her young body. Feeling suddenly tired, she drank some of the water she had on her tray and lied down on the bed.
She could feel the plane moving slightly, a soft sound resounding in all the rooms, the sound of the motors. She focused on it, allowing her mind to go blank. As usual at this point, when she tried to get herself to think about nothing, terrible images came back. All the worst events of her life. She closed her eyes, and tried to sleep.
"Miss Banks! Adele!"
The call of her name woke her up. She swallowed back a few swears. A woman was waiting expectantly. It was the Asian, the cold and focused agent who had taken her in, neither roughly nor gently. Just professional.
"Yes?"
"I'm Agent May. You remember me?"
She nodded, sitting up. She was slightly dizzy, but it was probably due to her nap. She hadn't slept correctly in a while.
"You don't seem to be very cooperative..."
"I have nothing to cooperate about, Agent."
"I think you do, at the contrary."
May was scrutinizing the girl. She had visibly been trained for interrogations. It was clear already when Skye had questioned her, but now it was obvious.
"Oh, really?"
And probably by the same person who had trained Ward. The way they answered, arrogantly and sharply was similar. If she tried, she could even find a pattern. That was problematic. May didn't trust Ward already. After Garrett had revealed his true allegiance, she had felt Ward's loyalty strange, misplaced. His SO, his mentor, and the one he considered a father, was a traitor and he hadn't followed him? She could believe that, after years of abuse, he had seen here an opportunity to put himself out of reach. But it still sounded forced.
And now, there was this girl. She didn't look more than twenty. Ward and her had a relationship, but the way the specialist kept his distance from her showed it was unrequited, or that it was pure pity or disdain from his side. She had nightmares, and Ward found himself at her side at 3 or 4 in the morning. As if he was watching her. May knew that the key to the mystery stood in both their pasts, with Hydra and Garrett, the link between them.
"Yes. You say you don't know Ward."
"Barely would be more exact."
"But yet, you two seem rather chatty when alone together... Tell me... How many languages do you speak?"
"Two. English and German. From my grandmother. She was... Jewish... and flew to the US with her family when she was a child during World War 2."
Some of the words seemed to come out of her mouth with more difficulty than others. May sat on a chair, levelling their eyes. The girl looked immediately at the ground. That was another strange thing about her. She was so... submissive.
"Banks does not sound Jewish."
"My father wasn't."
"You said you ran away from home. What happened?"
"I couldn't stand the pressure anymore."
"The pressure?"
"Studies, wedding. Life choices."
May nodded. She could understand that at age 19, this kind of pressure was too much. Even more if it had went on since she was a kid. She looked at the girl. She seemed to have drifted off. Maybe lost in the memories of her time with her parents. She was probably regretting her running away, as she finished into Hydra's claws directly. She thanked the girl for talking to her and walked away. Something was still off in the girl, but she didn't know what. But she was Melinda May. She would find out.
Skye entered the lab. She was met with the scientific babble of Leo Fitz and the serene smile of Grant Ward. Both were good friends, despite their different ways to see the world. Fitz did the major part of the talking, while Ward just smiled lightly, testing the guns the engineer presented to him. It was a new version of the ICERs, stronger, maybe more dangerous. The brunette sat on the holotable, earning a glare from the scientist and a chuckle from her boyfriend.
"Anything for me, Fitzy?"
"Maybe if you take your butt of my table! That's a very expensive piece of the best Earth technology can offer. I suggest you treat it with a little bit more of attention!"
Skye laughed at this and got back on the floor. She immediately attacked Ward, sneaking between his arm and his torso, in the clear intention of getting a hug. He complied with a little smile, wrapping his arms protectively around her and resting his chin on her head. He breathed in her hair deeply and she sighed in content.
"You ok?"
He whispered at her ear and she nodded. The conversation with the girl had been weird, the one with Coulson reassuring and now she was just good. Everything was ok. She felt him relax a little. It was sweet of him to be worried, but she could handle an afraid and desperate girl.
"By the way, Skye, Simmons wants you in for your monthly check-up."
"When will she understand that I'm ok? The GH-325 thing is gone!"
"She still thinks Coulson and you should be monitored."
"Alright, I'll go… But, what she's afraid I'm pregnant?"
She heard Ward humming. He didn't like when she joked about being pregnant. One night, they had sat around a table with a glass of whiskey and she had asked for explanations. He ad given them to her. He was afraid of being a father, with SHIELD and Hydra and the danger of every mission, with what had happened with his own parents. So she had started to avoid these jokes. But that was inevitable when it came to Jemma's constant worry about her health.
"Anyway, with you two, it looks like we won't be able to do more work today. Go do whatever you want."
"Thanks, Fitz."
The engineer shooed them away. He had understood that those two needed to be together, alone, for some time. Something had changed in the inner dynamic of the team. Everyone was tensed, nervous, looking at the med bay with apprehension. Adele Banks was changing everything.
Ward kept her hand in his when they went up the stairs to the main room. The living room was empty. May was in the cockpit, Coulson in his office, Simmons and Fitz in the lab. They were alone. He pulled her to him and kissed her softly. She smiled. He soon parted, breathing into her scent and smiled back.
"Go choose a movie. I'll be back with snacks."
She grinned widely, pecked him on the lips, and practically ran to the DVDs. She chose one cheesy romantic comedy, knowing he would grumble about it but watch it anyway, just to make her happy. He shook his head and opened the drawers in the kitchen, pulling out different candies and things she liked. He would only eat one or two anyway. His phone shook in his pocket. His second phone. He checked for people around him but he was alone. He opened the message.
My girl left me for a man in black. Drink together? Wess.
He sighed. That meant trouble. But he just shouldn't worry about it now. He would deal with it later. It was time for a silly movie and unhealthy eating with his girlfriend. The love of his life. And nothing, even a Hydra freak, would keep him from doing what he was planning for tonight.
So?
What do you think? What do you think about Ward, Skye, Adele, May and stuff? What does that message mean?
Until next time,
The Queen of Heart