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"Team briefing in five. SHIELD 616 changing course to Kyoto, Japan." May's voice announced over the plane's intercom.
Skye looked up to the direction of the voice coming from a speaker in the ceiling.
"I wonder what's in Japan?" She mused to Fitzsimmons. The trio was playing Scrabble in the lounge and the hacktivist was losing royally to the scientists.
"You mean for us or for you?" Simmons asked vaguely as she spelled out yet another unfamiliar word on the board.
Skye flushed, her heartbeat quickening. Surely they hadn't figured out that she was going to Hong Kong? Could they have made that connection that while they were in Hong Kong, there was a very good chance that Skye would be able to sneak away to catch a flight there?
"I mean, there's probably a SHIELD facility there for us to inspect, but are you asking what you can do for recreation there?" Simmons looked up then eyed Skye curiously, "Are you okay? Your face is very-,"
"I'm fine. It's just… hot in here," Skye said quickly, fanning herself, "are you hot?" she asked Fitz. He was absentmindedly chewing his Chex Mix as he contemplated his next word.
"I'm not hot. You're probably just thinking about I-N-T… intercourse!"
"Fitz!" Both women snapped at him with differing tones. The engineer looked up, alarmed.
"No, I didn't mean with Wa-. No, I meant with or, uh, it's my turn to- it's my ward- word-,"
Simmons shook her head sighing, "Oh, Fitz, you really don't know when to stop talking, do you?" She asked sympathetically, reaching for a handful of his snack but Fitz swatted her hand away.
"Here come Romanoff and Coulson," Skye said as the pair descended the spiral staircase from Coulson's office.
Fitzsimmons jumped up to join them in the Command Center but Skye took her time spelling out her next word before walking into the glass encased door, also taking that time to adjust her expression so Coulson wouldn't pick up any hint of her plan.
When Triplett finally walked in with May, Coulson began his spiel.
"Agent Romanoff has recently informed me that she has heard chatter that a particular SHIELD base in Japan is and has been secured. She has advised that we go there now to join forces with them and determine if they are ready and willing to operate and join us in recovering other facilities and bases."
"They've been secure this whole time and haven't reached out to us?" Trip asked skeptically, leaning against one of the glass walls.
Coulson nodded, "Their dilemma is similar to ours- they have no idea who to trust and haven't reached out in fear our exposing themselves to Hydra."
"While they are free of all Hydra influences, the base is being closely watched by the Japanese government. We have no idea what their stance is when it comes to SHIELD." Romanoff added, crossing her arms.
"Is there a chance that we could be arrested and sent back to the U.S. if we land there?" Simmons asked anxiously and Skye remembered that Simmons had disclosed to her how bothered she had been by the Colonel at Providence.
"Extradition between the U.S. and Japan isn't exactly a pretty affair right now," Trip assured her and Skye saw the pair exchange smiles while Fitz sulked over his bowl of munchies which he had brought with him.
"Agents Romanoff and Triplett will approach the base while Agent May and I meet with the Japanese government to work out a deal," Coulson said, making eye contact with each team member he mentioned.
"And us, sir?" Fitz asked.
Coulson nodded to him, "Fitzsimmons, Skye and Dr. Cavaco will stay on board the plane."
Romanoff spoke up looking a little troubled, "should we take Ward with us, sir?"
The Director looked down, thinking. Skye tensed, waiting for his answer.
"Unless I'm mistaken, Dr. Cavaco has been in the field before?"
The doctor nodded from his spot in the corner slightly behind Fitz.
"Field work is different from specialist work and Ward was a specialist." May reminded them respectfully, "You can take Skye with you and I'll stay behind-,"
"Even if Ward does break out, Agent Triplett and I will be close by to assist. The airfield is not that far from the base," Romanoff pointed out, "We can always sedate the prisoner before we leave."
"He's not going to be able to break out of the Cage. An Asgardian can't do it so there's no way a human can." Skye chimed in, eager to keep Ward on the plane but for reasons different from the rest of the team.
Coulson's eyes unfocused as he mulled over the situation, "Fine. How much flight time do we have left?" He asked May.
"Approximately thirteen hours assuming the weather conditions hold up." May calculated.
"Good. Okay, break." Coulson clapped once, as if he were a highschool football coach dismissing his players. As he headed for the staircase, Skye called out to him,
"Actually, AC, I was wondering if I could talk to you,"
Coulson gestured for her to follow him up to his office. Upon entering, she closed the door behind her, hoping to be undisturbed. Without waiting for an invitation, she sat down on one of the squashy armchairs facing his desk.
"Are you thinking of leaving Ward in Japan?" Skye asked with preamble.
Coulson leaned against the edge of his desk, "The thought has definitely crossed my mind," he admitted.
"But…" Skye prompted.
"He's a valuable asset. The play you two ran in Italy was good and we might need you guys to do it again."
"You didn't by any chance overhear Trip and I talking earlier, did you?" Skye asked with a grin on her face. Coulson gave her a confused look and shook his head and Skye wiped the grin off her face and composed her face into an expression of mock seriousness, "Well then, if I didn't know better, I'd say that you've grown attached and you don't want to let him go. You've gone soft on him." She teased. With any other person, Coulson probably would have gotten angry, but Skye knew that it would take a lot more from her to get him even the least bit upset.
"I still don't trust him, but you're right. I don't want to let him go. Before you say anything, it's because I don't trust anyone else besides us to keep him behind bars. Besides, I have a feeling that you would never forgive me if I just dumped him in Asia."
Skye agreed, "That's very true. The last part, at least." She watched Coulson walked around his desk to take a seat in his swivel chair.
"I don't need to remind you not to go anywhere near the Cage while we're gone, do I?"
"No."
"Thursday's coming up." Couslson commented indifferently.
Disconcerted by the sudden change in topic, Skye resisted the urge to look away from her commanding officer's level eyes, "Uh, why yes, it is. Why? Want me to save you a taco from Taco Thursdays? It's a thing now."
The joke bounced right off Coulson, his eyes sad and helpless, "Please, don't do this to yourself. Some things are better left unknown and I don't want you to get hurt."
So they were back on the topic of Raina and her father.
"Coulson…" Skye whispered, conflicted. She knew he was right. Maybe it was better to leave things as they were. They had a lot going on anyway and she couldn't afford to be distracted. But at the same time, she wanted- no, needed to find out just what kind of a monster she was and why so many people died for her. Skye needed to know if she was capable of hurting her teammates and how to prevent it.
"I won't go," She said as convincingly as possible, silently adding to herself, alone. I won't go alone. At least that way, she wasn't completely lying to Coulson. She hoped that she could trust Romanoff to do whatever needed to be done if things turned ugly. Even if that meant putting Skye down on the spot for the good of the team.
The hacktivist was quiet for the rest of the evening. During dinner, she pushed her food around on her plate and made little eye contact with the rest of the team. When Fitzsimons tried to rope her into a game of Spades, she busied herself with her laptop. When Trip offered to spar with her, she retired early to her bunk without visiting Ward first.
"Can I come in?" The door to Skye's bunk slid open, revealing Romanoff.
"Do you sleep in that suit?" Skye mumbled, not looking up.
"I have a plan," She said to the hacktivist, "do you still want to go?"
Skye looked up to the ceiling, drawing attention to the gap between the walls and the top of the plan.e
Romanoff waved a hand carelessly, "I already checked. Fitzsimmons is down in the lab and Agents Triplett and May are in the cockpit. Coulson's back up in his office."
"I still want to go but…why are you helping me?" Skye set her laptop down on her nightstand, giving her undivided attention to the Black Widow sat down next to Skye on the bunk.
"I don't always trust the system. My first instinct is to not trust the system. See, I'm a little like you; I believe that freedom of information is good but it is also powerful. And powerful is dangerous. But I also believe that danger cannot always be avoided. There are things out there that we all deserve to know as human beings. There are also things that are best kept contained and unknown. SHIELD doesn't have the best track record for flow of information but it's a bureaucratic organization and their system is what makes them –made them- successful. But your family history? That secret is something that is entitled to you. SHIELD likes to keep secrets that benefit them, not us. So that's why I'm helping you because I believe that sometimes SHIELD can take their classified documents and levels and go to hell."
"Wow. That was a great speech. So did you tell Coulson about the Japanese facility to get us closer to Hong Kong or did you tell him to because there actually is something for us there?"
"Both. I wouldn't sell out your team for just one ulterior motive. Although there is a more strategic and useful base in South America but Coulson doesn't need to know that yet."
"One last thing… if the need arises… to put…"
"It will be done if need be. But remember, I did take on the Hulk and Loki before. Not at the same time, but you get the point."
Grant Ward was not a man that was easily surprised so when Fitzsimmons burst into the Cage at approximately 7:25 Wednesday evening, his heart nearly stopped when Fitz yelled,
"Romanoff's taken Skye and disappeared!"
That bitch. Of course she did, she was never one for following direct orders from her equals and that mixed with Skye…
"Ward? What are we going to do?" Simmons asked, her voice grounding him.
"Get Triplett in here right now and tell Coulson we need to go to China right now. And get out!" The scientists scrambled to leave the Cage and Ward waiting until the door slammed shut before he released his leftover Berserker rage by throwing a chair over the table. He watched as the chair bounced off the wall, forcing his anger to simmer down. He was going to be part of that extraction team and after he got Skye to safety, he was going to snap Raina's little neck cleanly in two.
Whoa. Easy there, Ward. Haha did I hear someone say "filler chapter"? because that certainly was one! Sorry guys, I've kind of had something of a writer's block recently but I think I know how I want this all to go down. As always, if you have any ideas for me, feel free to PM me. Review review review (even if filler chapters don't deserve it).