Well, unfortunately, it appears we are nearing the end of this story. :(. There are a few chapters left, don't worry. You may notice that this is the first author's note I've put on this story. That's because I found writing the notes pointless before, but this time I have a few comments I need to add. First off, Ward is not part of Hydra because that just doesn't make sense for this story. And second, I apologize ahead of time for the shitty writing in this chapter. I am having a horrible writer's block but still feel the need to update, so just bare with me. It will get better.
Ashley needed a bunk. She had offered to stay in the lounge, but Coulson would have none of it.
Skye had taken the last bunk when she joined their team, so hers was the only one open. Jemma couldn't stand it being changed, so she offered to let Ashley take hers while she stayed in Skye's. Coulson didn't question it. He, as well as everyone else, knew that Jemma needed it.
Jemma had been a mess since Skye was removed from the plane, even though it had been by her own hand. Jemma hadn't been sleeping, it was clear because of the dark circles around her eyes, her messy hair, and her tendency to be unable to concentrate.
Jemma picked a few of her things and Skye's laptop, and cleared out of her room for Ashley. Ashley saw her pass by with it and extended an offer.
"In return for your bunk, the least I could do is fix that for you." Ashley stopped her in the hall.
"No, but thanks. I want to be the one to fix it." Jemma told her.
"No offence, but that probably won't end well. I'll tell you what. You can be the one to fix it, but I can help out with a few tips." Ashley changed her offer. Jemma thought about it for a moment, but soon nodded and accepted. Ashley smiled and the two parted ways.
When Jemma slid open the door to the bunk, she was instantly hit with a wave of Skye. Her smell filled the room along with the mess she left behind that Jemma really didn't mind. She couldn't even bring herself to clean it up.
Jemma was exhausted. She set her stuff down and passed out as soon as she laid down on the bed, where she could almost feel Skye next to her. Why hadn't she thought of this before? It was so much easier to sleep when she could feel Skye's presence...
Jemma jolted awake when her phone buzzed. Checking Skye's clock, Jemma was confused. Her phone alarm shouldn't go off for another hour. The screen of her phone lit up the whole bunk. Jemma finally picked it up and saw that she had a new text message. As soon as she opened it she dropped her phone on the bed in shock and a sob escaped her lips.
Skye. It was a picture of Skye in a SHIELD uniform, an icy glare plastered on her face that was obviously meant for her. The text below it also grabbed her attention.
"I guess the security here isn't as good as it's cracked up to be. So long, Jemma Simmons." Jemma's chest ached and she felt like she was going to throw up. Skye escaped. Skye escaped?! She was never going to see her again, was she? Jemma knew all the signs, she knew she was having a panic attack, but she couldn't help it. She felt like she was going to die.
She was almost proud that her Skye could break out of a SHIELD containment facility, but she was also terrified. Skye was unprotected now, with who knows who on her tail.
"FITZ!" Jemma shouted as she barreled out of Skye's bunk and into his. "I need you to try and track a phone number!" She threw her phone at him and he woke up with a groan.
"I have to tell Coulson. We have to go find her." Jemma told herself. She bolted out of Fitz's bunk and sprinted to inform Coulson. She eventually found him in the cockpit with May.
"Skye... escaped!" She huffed. A look of disbelief crossed his face, but May stoically didn't show any reaction. Fitz came in right behind her, phone in hand. He tossed the phone to Coulson and he looked at the picture with a look of confusion on his face.
"How did she break out of a cell in the sandbox?" Coulson wondered aloud.
"You knew where she was?" Jemma asked with disappointment. Of course she wouldn't have suggested breaking her out, but she would have liked to know where she was.
"May, change course. We have to find her before Hydra does. I'd bet they're monitoring Simmons' phone and just got that message as well. They'll be trying to trace it." He said. May nodded and pressed a few buttons. Fitzsimmons grabbed onto each other to keep from falling over as the bus turned around.
"While we're there, we can hand over our guests." Coulson said, meaning the Hydra soldiers they still had locked up on the bus. They had tried to get useful information out of them, but it didn't seem they knew any more than Ashley did. They were useless and were probably just wrecking all of the supplies in the storage room.
Coulson had to admit, he was impressed with Skye's actions lately. She managed to escape with Simmons and their lives when they were captured, trapped thirteen soldiers with only a laptop, and somehow managed to escape her cell in the sand box. She would make an excellent agent, probably one of the best, if she still wanted to be one.
Halfway through the ride to the sandbox Coulson received a call. Fitzsimmons were still in the cockpit, refusing to leave in case in update came on Skye. It did.
"We have her back in custody. She won't be getting away again." Agent Hand's voice flowed over the phone on speaker. Jemma was relieved, but still scared. She knew Skye wouldn't have just raised her hands above her head and walked back in with them when they found her, she would have put up a fight. And she wondered what it was that made Agent Hand so sure that she wouldn't be escaping again.
Coulson finished the conversation and turned to Simmons. It seemed as if she was waiting for something from her.
"Can I still go visit her? There are some things I need to tell her." Simmons informed him. Coulson just nodded, he had expected her to request that.
No more than two seconds later Coulson's phone buzzed again. Jemma's heart leapt out of her throat as he picked up.
"Don't come here Coulson, Hydra is in SHIELD!" Agent Hand shouted loudly.
"What? What do you mean-"
"Hydra has infiltrated the highest levels of- oomf!" Agent Hand's voice was cut off at the sound of a gunshot. By now Ward and Ashley had joined them in the crowded cockpit and the entire remaining team didn't move or speak.
(A few minutes ago)
Skye realized how stupid she was. She removed her cap and let her long, messy brown hair fall over her shoulders before she replaced it. She was lucky no one had seen the device at her hairline yet. She had gotten so used to it being there that she didn't think to keep it hidden.
Skye continued to bravely walk down the hall, even when an ear piercing alarm rang out and the hall flashed with orange lights. She knew she'd been made, so she shouldn't have been surprised when she finally stepped into a main lounge-like room full of soldiers, all in identical uniforms, on their feet. She was disappointed though.
Skye spotted one of the men who had taken her off the bus, and when she made eye contact, she knew she was done for.
"Hey! That's her!" He shouted, pointing.
"Shit." Skye said out loud. Skye knew they weren't just going to let her skip to the elevator and exit the facility, so she took action. She ran into the crowd of soldiers and the movement that followed made her impossible to distinguish her from any of the other female soldiers in the room. Except for one. A certain female wearing a certain suit, with certain red stripes in her hair. And of course, with her luck, this is the person Skye crashes into. Skye had been glancing behind to see if anyone was on to her when she smacked right into Agent Hand and then proceeded to fall on her ass in a very ungraceful fashion.
Several soldiers immediately claimed control of her limbs and dragged her all the way back to her cell, not bothering to slow down and accidentally kicking her heels when she couldn't keep up.
Skye finally knew her fight was over and complied, offering her hands when they entered her cell for the hand cuffs she knew were coming.
Agent Hand stepped out of the cell, appearing to be calling someone. Skye heard the name Coulson drift through the doorway as the first handcuff clicked into place too tightly around her wrists. Of course.
Before the soldiers finish securing the second cuff, one of them pulled out a gun and shot the other three. He smiled at Skye and held his finger up to his lips, instructing Skye to be quiet, as he snuck out into the hall. Skye was frozen in fear. She had no idea what had just gone down in front of her.
"Don't come here Coulson, Hydra is in SHIELD!" Skye heard Hand outside. Don't come?! Coulson was coming?! Her team was coming! Skye let herself get excited for a minute before she remembered that she couldn't rely on them to come get her. Not after those eight months. Another gunshot sounded and Skye jumped in place. She tried to escape through the doorway, but several more armed guards blocked her path. Who was really in charge here?
One man, the first soldier who attacked the others, smiled at Skye as he walked back into the room. He signaled to another guard, who produced a laptop from his bag. Great. Now Skye knew what was going on. Another third party wanted her ability.
Skye had heard the Hand's phone clatter to the ground, but hadn't heard it shatter, so knew Jemma would be listening. Skye took a deep breath. She needed to keep her cool for Jemma's sake, no matter how terrified she was. She didn't want Jemma to sit on the other end of the line like she knew she would and worry about her.
Coulson turned the phone off of speaker mode when he heard Skye. Jemma didn't need to hear this.
"Coulson! Give me the phone!" Jemma pleaded, reaching across him with one hand for the device that expelled Skye's voice. Although Coulson resisted, Jemma made one more lunge and snatched the phone from him, pressing it against her ear.
"Don't touch me you asshole!" Skye shouted. Jemma cringed. It seemed as if after killing Hand they failed to destroy her cell phone, which miraculously worked underground.
"She's prettier than you'd think the average imprisoned computer geek would be, isn't she boys?" Jemma clutched the phone in her fingers and didn't let anyone take it from her.
It was unspoken that May not turn the plane around despite Agent Hand's warning. They weren't going to leave their team member in the wrong hands. They weren't going to make that mistake again. Knowing this, Jemma left the cockpit to listen to the phone alone as they made their way ever closer to Skye's location.
"I wish I could say that you looked better than the average lackey, but, well..." Skye's voice trailed off before she delivered the punch line. "I've seen a nose like yours before, and it looked better on the monkey." Jemma couldn't help but smile. Ten points for Skye. It comforted her to hear that Skye was still sarcastic, meaning she obviously didn't feel too threatened at this point.
"You know kid, your mouth's the perfect size... for your foot." Skye's new captor responded.
"Well, I think I'd rather have my foot in my mouth than my head up my ass." Skye said seriously. Jemma could actually hear the chuckles of other men in the room as they laughed at Skye's teasing of their boss.
Jemma thought Skye was going to be okay until she heard the muffled sound of a fist hitting flesh and she just knew it was Skye. Skye cried out in pain and the call was suddenly cut off. Someone had found the phone.