A long chapter for you guys. I'm not entirely happy with it, but here it is anyway. Enjoy!
Ward POV
"You have a visitor." I look up from reading 'The Deadliest Bite' to find my newest guard standing at the open door. I mark my page and follow him out, flanked by two more guards. They lead me to a room I've never seen before and leave me there alone.
Ten minutes later and I'm started to get restless and confused. If I have a visitor then where is he? I don't let it show though, as I know they're bound to be watching for any sign of discomfort, They're always watching. I hear the door behind me open and tense automatically. I stare straight ahead, not wanting to appear curious and wait for my visitor to appear in my line of sight.
The scent of lavender and strawberries hit me first and my breath hitches. I know that combination, but she would never come here to see me. When she stepped into sight, I thought I was dreaming, especially when Agent Coulson followed her into a chair opposite me. What ultimately convinces me is the look of utter disdain on her beautiful face.
"Agent Coulson Sir." I say, automatically rising from my seat.
"Actually, it's Director Coulson now." Skye tell me shortly.
"Sit down Ward." Director Coulson says. I take my seat, feeling shocked and impressed at his change in status. "I'll get straight to the point. There is a mission that has come down from Director Fury himself. He has requested you for an undercover operation."
I snap to attention. "What is the mission?"
"There has been some chatter concerning a possible resurgence of Hydra. We want you to go undercover, find out who they are, where they are planning to meet and get yourselves invited. Once we've identified all the players, we'll come in and take them down."
I nod, already on board. "Are you in?" Skye asks.
"Yes." I say quickly.
"Won't that be a conflict of interest?" She replies snidely.
I take her hostility in stride. "Not at all. I have to atone for my sins. If this is the only way, then so be it. I will do whatever is necessary."
She scoffs at me. "I'm sure you will."
"Skye." Coulson admonishes her. She has the grace to look ashamed. He pulls out a silver bracelet and a syringe. "Before we go anywhere you need to know about these two items. This bracelet prevents you from harming innocent people and this syringe contains a tracker which enables us to know your whereabouts at all times, and a microchip which prevents you from using a gun. Let me be clear to you. We don't trust you at all, but our need for your services far outweighs our personal feelings."
I nod in acceptance. I would expect nothing less from the people I betrayed. I watch as the Director approaches me with both items. I hold my left arm up and let him snap on the bracelet. He then injects the tracker under my collarbone, where it cannot be easily removed.
"Go ahead Fitz." I don't understand what he's talking about, but evidently something happens because they both relax a little. "Let's go."
I stand as Skye does and follow Director Coulson to the door. He opens it to an empty corridor, which surprises me, as I can't go anywhere without my armed guard. I don't question it though, just follow him dutifully out of the Fridge to the waiting Bus, with Skye bringing up the rear.
I'm aware of the silence as we walk up the ramp. Three sets of eyes watch us, each with varying degrees of hatred and disgust, as we head towards the lab. May heads for the cockpit and FitzSimmons follow us. "Wheels up in five."
We strap in and the silence starts to get uncomfortable, but I don't want to be the one to break it. I keep my eyes on the wall opposite me, knowing everyone else's eyes are on me, watching and waiting for me to make the wrong move. I feel the plane gain altitude then level out to cruise.
Agent May joins us once the auto pilot has been engaged. "We'll reach our destination in 14 hours."
"Good, that gives us plenty of time to prepare." Director Coulson says. "Fitz, Simmons, get all the tech and weapons ready, ensure they'll have everything they need, and May, check on their covers and accommodation, then help with the weapons. Skye, Ward and I will be in my office for the briefing." We all head in separate directions. I follow the Director, tracing the familiar path, up the stairs to his office. Him and Skye take a seat on opposite sides of the desk and I stand off to the side, unsure of what I should do. "Sit down, Ward." I take a seat next to Skye and wait. I watch as he enters something onto a tablet, which brings up the mission briefing on the display to the right of me.
"You will be going undercover as Mr James and Mrs Jennifer Clark, a happily married couple, looking to settle permanently in the UK. You will be Hydra members looking to join the British section, far away from the reaches of Shield. Ward, your knowledge of Hydra will be essential in gaining their trust and discovering who is still out there." A ping sounds from the tablet and he opens a document which contains our back stories and details about the location we would be spending our time in. He sends them to two tablets, which he gives to us to study.
"Your first order of business will be to 'meet' Mr and Mrs Jordan Cliff-Simons. They are confirmed Hydra members and will likely have some information on the current set-up. If you can, get into their computers, find out who they're talking to, relay it back to us and we can determine our next move." I nod in understanding, glad to have an order to follow and knowing we won't be going in blind. "Are you both with me on this?" He asks of us both.
"Yes, Director. I know what I have to do." Skye tells him with a smile.
"Yes, Sir." I say, in response.
"Good. Study those covers, make sure you're comfortable with them and each other before we land in England." With that he leaves us alone in his office. I start to stand when I hear the door shut and lock. I look up to find Skye standing in front of it with her arms crossed. She looked pissed off, which actually makes her look extremely sexy. I won't ever tell her that though, she'll bite my head off if I do.
"I'm only going to say this once, Ward. I hate you. I don't want to work with you, let alone pretend to be in love with you. What you did, who you are, sickens me and nothing you can or will do will ever make up for your deception. Fitz will never be the same and that hurts us all. May would gladly see you dead. Jemma won't say it, but I know she feels the same, you destroyed her best friend. And the Director – well, he spent half an hour on the phone attempting to dissuade Fury from this course of action, so I guess that speaks for itself." She stops to take a breath. "But I'm a professional and an Agent of Shield, so I will do my job, flush out the traitors and put them all where they belong. Then I will gladly see you back to the prison you built for yourself and I will leave you there to rot with a smile upon my face. You made your choice years ago when you agreed to follow that madman and no amount of apologising can even begin to undo all the pain you caused."
I sit in silence, with my head down throughout her entire rant, knowing that I deserve it. "I'm sorry." I whisper when she says no more.
"Well, sorry isn't enough." A few minutes later I raise my head to find the room empty. I sigh and close my eyes. It's going to be an extremely tough mission to complete when she barely even looks at me. I pick up the tablet and leave the office. I stop abruptly when I reach the hall as I have no idea where I should go. In the end I choose the bar, where I pour myself a scotch and begin to read my alias' back story.
By the time we land in England I know both of our characters inside and out and I've studied a map of the area where we'll be staying. It's a busy little town nestled in a valley in the Cotswolds. It's pretty close to some big cities and has some large open spaces if we need the rest of the team in a hurry.
Finished with my part I walk around the Bus, looking for any sign of Skye. She's not in her bunk, the lab, the kitchen area or the training room. Either she's walking around too or she's very well hidden. If it's the latter then I don't blame her, I wouldn't want to be around me either. I take a seat near the bar and wait for someone to find me and tell me what I need to do next.
I don't have to wait long as May walks through on her way to the lab. "Come with me." I get up and dutifully follow her downstairs where I find everyone is already assembled. I stand at the back of the room, away from everyone else and just listen.
"Everything you should need has been packed into the car already." Director Coulson says to us both when he spots me.
"I've set up an account for us, using the funds that Fury allocated, so if there's anything missing we won't have to worry." Skye tells me, studiously avoiding looking in my direction.
"OK." I say, nodding slightly.
"Your house is already furnished and groceries have been delivered ready for you." May hands a set of keys to each of us.
"Your targets are holding a party at the end of the week." Coulson continues. "Get yourselves an invite. They will be at the cinema in Gloucester Quays tomorrow evening for a private showing of Transformers: Age of Extinction. We've managed to get you two tickets to attend with them. It's the perfect place to make their acquaintance."
"How do we do that?" Skye asked, taking the tickets.
"That is entirely up to you." The Director tells us. "Everything we know about them has been downloaded to your tablets. Just find a way in."
We both nod, my mind already racing with ideas about how to get in with them. First things first though, we need to get to our house.
"Is that everything, Sir?" I ask him.
"For now." He nods. "You had better be on your way so you can get settled in. And remember, you two are happily married, so please, no fighting in public." He addressed that last comment to Skye, obviously aware of her animosity towards me.
She smiled at him sweetly. "Not a problem, AC. I'll be so in love with him that even you'll be convinced it's real." He nodded back at her indulgently.
"Get going you two." The keys get tossed towards me and we start heading towards the car.
"Wait!" Simmons calls from behind us. "You'll be needing these." She hands me a jewellery box, which I open to find three rings inside. A set of gold wedding bands and a gold engagement ring with a diamond surrounded by a bed of rubies. It's quite a stunning ring, really. I turn to Skye and look her in the eye, watching for her reaction. When she nods, I take out both of her rings and slip them onto her ring finger, marvelling at how right it looks and feels to be doing so. I reluctantly release her hand and take out mine. I place it on my ring finger and almost do a double take at it. Wearing it settles something inside of me and I feel a sense of peace come over me. I shake myself out of those thoughts and get into the car. A moment later Skye joins me and we head down the ramp towards the town and the house that we will be sharing for who knows how long.