They looked for a way across to the Colosseum. Romanov noticed hand holds coming from the ceiling, while Ward noticed small, evenly spaced circles covering the floor.
"Laser grid?" Skye asked, remembering the previous year.
"No. It changes every year. This year I think its landmines."
"Mines? That explains the hand holds."
To check their theory, Ward disconnected a bullet from his mag and threw it over the balcony edge. It hit a circle the electrical charge in the mine exploded and the bullet was set off. The five of them took a step back from the ledge.
Hawkeye saw a cable on the top of the smooth ledge of the Colosseum.
"Right, here's what we do. I'll go across with Nat and fire the cable across for May, Skye and Ward. Nat can help while I provide cover fire to keep anyone getting in."
"Sounds good to me!" Skye responded, relieved to know she wouldn't have to use the hand holds.
She watched as Romanov and Hawkeye made light work of the maze of bars. They were soon across the room and firing the cable into the wall nearby. Romanov pulled it tight and fastened it round a pole. May slid across it first, as she was carrying the flag, then Skye leaving Ward, who had the best chance of defending himself.
While Skye was on the cable it slipped from the fastening. Hawkeye, Romanov and May all jumped on it to stop Skye falling to the ground. It was in that split second that three guards made it through the door, finding Ward alone on the balcony.
Two rushed at him, one used a machete type knife to cut the cable before joining the others. But, Ward being Ward, threw two of them off the balcony to the ground with a couple of loud bangs, as the electrical mines exploded, and incapacitating them. The other, he managed to dislodge the machete from his hands and throw him out into the corridor, using the machete to secure the door. He looked across at the others and knew there was only one thing for him to do to get to them. The hand rails.
"It's a good job my back is better" He thought as he sailed through the air from bar to bar. He was soon on the top of the ledge with the others.
"Let's climb." He told them.
"This is the first time I've made it to the top" Hawkeye told them when they got to the top and May reached into her pocket for the flag to connect it to the cargo net.
"Me too" She admitted
"I've never tried before" Skye pointed out. May handed one side of the flag to Ward and the other to Romanov.
"Why don't the three of you press the buzzer then" Ward suggested. After all, he and Romanov did this nearly every year. So Hawkeye, Skye and May climbed to the buzzer. Hawkeye put his hand over it, Skye put her hand on his, and May covered Skye's hand with hers, before pushing them all onto the big red button.
The siren sounded throughout the building.
Amber and Kain were stood talking to some of the people in their class who were curious to know what life was like on the 'bus. The siren made them all jump.
"The flag! When the hell did that go?" They heard one of the guards shout.
Romanov, Hawkeye and May had all connected the decent cable to their belts and taken the jump off the top of the Colosseum. Skye, who had never done anything like this was panicking a little.
"What if I just climb down" She asked Ward scared.
"Then the others would take the piss out of you for the rest of you career."
"Really?"
"And this is the first step in learning to parachute"
"So you're telling me I have to jump."
"Yeah."
"Oh God."
"Let's turn this off" he said, turning her microphone and video feed off. "They don't need to hear you scream."
He held his hand out for her to take for comfort as they jumped. She took it.
On the ground Hawkeye, Romanov and May were taking bets on whether Skye would jump or not.
"She won't jump. She's only a baby" Hawkeye said.
"She's not jumped before" May pointed out
"I thought you crashed the 'bus"
"We were all still on it. She's not going to jump." May concluded.
"I think she will. I think you both fail to realise how persuasive Ward can be, especially to women" Romanov countered. Just as she finished, Ward and Skye jumped off the top of the Colosseum.
Amber and Kain were still in the Atrium when the cheers went up. They looked to see Ward, Romanov, Skye, May and an agent they didn't recognise all entering the atrium in full TAC gear.
They saw Director Fury enter the Atrium from the opposite side of the Atrium.
"Agent's front and centre!" he shouted. All five agents lined up, to attention, in front of him.
"I told you to make it interesting!" he continued to shout, as he paced in front of them, eyeing each one of them up.
"Eight and half minutes is not interesting!" He stopped in front of Skye.
"I do not want to see your hands there again" He told her. He had seen her hands perilously close to Ward's personal equipment. She looked at the floor and blushed
He stopped in front of May, "Next time, use the bars."
He continued to Romanov and Ward.
"Rock, paper, scissors." He said to them shaking his head in disbelief. He knew they were insane, it's what made them so good, but this? The two agents looked at each other with a half smile.
"Rock, paper, scissors. Seriously?" he said to them again before stopping in front of Hawkeye.
"Barton, You're fit for active duty." Was all he could say.
"Dismissed. Ward, with me"
Skye saw Ward follow Fury out of the Atrium. He turned to her and gave her a devious, yet seductive smile.
Unfortunately they would not be able to spend any time together as Coulson needed them all back on the 'bus.