Chapter 12 – So Close Yet So Far
Arriving in London Grant Ward had taken great pains to find a base of operations close enough to the team that he could protect them but far enough away that they didn't notice the constant surveillance. Fury had informed Romanoff that a surveillance team was in place for the team's protection, although Ward doubted the Black Widow knew that the team only consisted of an Ex-HYDRA agent willing to do anything to protect one member of Coulson's team. With the amount of time he had spent following the team Ward was surprised he hadn't been spotted, especially when he followed them on a team outing which included May, Coulson, Romanoff and Trip. Twice in the last week Ward had noticed people paying close attention to the group, another time he had spotted a tail on them. As a specialist Ward had been taught to make quick work of anyone, or anything, perceived as a threat, but that job had become considerably harder since he decided killing wasn't an option. That said, the three threats had been dealt with quickly, the surveillance team and their van had a nasty run in with a traffic light pole and the tail had a run in with an open man hole. Neither group was dead, they just wouldn't be doing any spying for a while.
Ward noticed that the team took turns choosing the group outing and it was also something predictable, so he wasn't surprised when Fitz chose the London Zoo and he defiantly wasn't surprised when the team headed towards the monkeys as soon as they entered the zoo. Keeping track of the team in the crowd proved difficult, while large groups of people helped hide his presence they also hid the presence of any tails. Ward had almost given up, he'd considered letting Romanoff and May deal with any threat that came at the team while at the zoo, when he noticed Skye stop midway through a conversation with Agent Romanoff. The hacker sat down looking like she was going to burst into tears and only Romanoff stopped to check on her. Ward briefly wondered whether he should continue to trail the team but as far as he knew Skye had always been the target so she was likely to be the target again. The specialist hoped May and Trip could deal with any threats that came the team's way because today Skye was his priority. From the distance he kept Ward couldn't hear Skye and Romanoff's conversation but it didn't last long as the Black Widow offered Skye a hand and they walked off in the opposite direction to the team.
Ward trailed the pair to a small café where they sat in silence for a while, eventually they started talking, what surprised Ward was that from what he could see it was Agent Romanoff that did most of the talking. Suddenly Skye stood, obviously upset about something the Widow had said, the hacker walked off and Ward was surprised again when the assassin didn't follow her. Ward didn't wait to see where Natasha went, his priority was Skye, whom he quickly followed.
It didn't take Ward long to spot the tail on the hacker, this time there was three of them. But in the busy London streets it was difficult to create an accident for the trio without drawing attention to himself. It took the specialist another block to notice that Skye was using the evasion techniques he's taught her, meaning she had wither spotted him or the trio of men. Ward guessed it was the men, they were closer to her and weren't hiding their presence as well as he was. Ward didn't London very well but he obviously knew it better than Skye, the way was now heading led to a dead end. Ward knew he couldn't stop the men before they cornered Skye in the alley she now heading down, his only hope was that the alley trapped them as well.
Ward arrived in the alley just as Skye received a blow to the head, by the time the second blow came Ward had reached her attacker, he moved fast, faster than he thought he could, in three blows all three men were unconscious on the floor.
Ward ran over to Skye, she was barely conscious as he picked her up, he caught her looking at him, but the look was far away like she didn't fully comprehend his presence. As he adjusted his grip on the hacker she slipped in an unconscious state. Ward had had enough head injuries to know hers wasn't life threatening, she'd have a head ache in the morning but she would recover.
Taking back alleys and side streets Ward made his way back to his own apartment, he received a few strange looks from people but he kept walking. When people looked a little too curious he made the universal sign for drinking and they tended to lose interest, some even gave him a knowing smile. He briefly considered taking the hacker back to her own room at Coulson's base but decided against it. If the team was still at the zoo then Skye would be on her own and if they weren't Ward doubted he could sneak past them all with an unconscious Skye in his arms and just turning up with a bloody Skye in his arms was a sure way to get shot.
Sneaking past the landlady proved easier than expected, the woman was in her eighties but had a habit of peeking out her door whenever someone so much as tip toed past her door. Ward had hoped to time his arrival during her nap, when the door didn't open he almost sighed in relief, he didn't want to explain the girl in his arms. Taking the stairs carefully Ward made it up to his rooms without incident. Carefully shifting the hacker in his arms he pulled the keys from his pocket and opened his door. Peeking his head in Ward checked for danger, finding none he entered the apartment. It wasn't big and it wasn't pretty but Ward didn't need much, he didn't spend much time here anyway.
Ward carefully placed Skye on the bed, using a damp towel he cleaned the blood from the hacker's face. After cleaning the blood from the towel Ward took a seat at the desk in the corner of the room. He knew that the hacker would have questions and he doubted she would wait long enough for him to scribble notes when she asked those questions. Pulling card out of the desk draw Ward begin to write his response to every question he thought she would ask. It was a long list and Ward doubted he would finish before the hacker woke up.
Author's Note: I know there isn't much (or any) talking in this chapter but there is a lot in the next to hopefully that will make everything better. Please keep reviewing, hopefully I'll be able to update soon.