A.N.: Sorry this took so long to get out, but I um...backtracked. You'll see. This is of course AU based on what I dream it's supposed to be, and I don't own a bit of them. Hope you enjoy.
Chapter 2: The Frenemy of My Enemy
The enemy of the enemy is my friend, or so the saying goes. I knew, just by virtue of our goals, that we would cross paths again - Coulson and the team. I had no idea how, though. I knew at some point we'd be pursuing the same target, but...I definitely didn't think we'd see them as soon as we did.
A cactus. She'll get it. Beautiful, prickly. Grant Ward put the plant on the passenger seat. Remind you of anyone else? Christian's voice murmured. Grant took a breath as his phone started to vibrate, seeing the familiar number. "Hey baby," he greeted, grinning.
"Hey, sweetie. Why don't you drop by? Love to catch up," Coulson replied.
Well, shit. Ward's smile fell away. Showtime. He confirmed where they were and hung up, blowing out a breath. So much for that low key day of Mexican and margaritas. He put the car in gear to meet them.
Mike scanned Kara's face, identifying the tech fused to it. "That mask on your face...got any more of those lying around?"
"Afraid not," she answered with a tight smile.
"At least I have my winning personality," Mike countered.
Both of them stood as the door flew open and Grant strode in. Kara started towards him, subsiding as Mike shoved her into her seat.
Deathlok as bodyguard? What is going on? "They didn't hurt you, did they?" Ward asked. This isn't a typical Coulson scenario.
"No, I'm okay. You shouldn't have come," Kara protested.
"Fact that this guy hasn't killed me yet means they need me," Ward remarked. But for what? He looked at the other occupant of the table. "Mike."
"Ward," Mike greeted. "Turn around."
Ward made a show of it, feigning reluctance. In another universe, this would be my job.
"You know what needs to happen?" Mike's voice signaled the end of the scan.
Grant sighed and withdrew his guns, knives and his garrotte.
"All of it," Mike persisted.
Grant sighed again and rolled his eyes, throwing his hands up as he glanced at Kara. Hope you've done recon...He reached into his sleeve to withdraw the scalpel blade he'd pilfered from the doctor, tossing it on the table with an audible clink.
Mike gestured him through to the main dining room. With one last glance at Kara, Ward stalked past.
"Ward." Coulson sat in a booth in the otherwise empty room.
Grant settled into the seat across from him, throwing a carefully careless arm over the back of the seat. "I'm flattered...bringing the robot along just for a sit-down with me." But not May. Interesting.
"There's no need for false modesty," Coulson said dismissively. "We both know you're that good. But frankly, this isn't about you. I'm after bigger fish - Strucker, List."
The enemy of my enemy...Grant smirked and shrugged. "Can't help you...not in HYDRA anymore." And if Kara and I pull this off, HYDRA won't exist anymore either.
"But you were," the director persisted.
Was I really? Ward shrugged again. Garrett and HYDRA weren't necessarily the same. "Even then, I only knew them by reputation. Never met either."
"Again with the false modesty," Coulson scoffed. "You're resourceful. Bet you know a guy who knows a guy."
"You know, last time I suggested we work together, you called me a deluded son of a bitch," Grant mused. And yet now here you are...
"Things change," was Coulson's only response. "I'm offering you a deal," he continued. "Help me, and I'll let you walk away, free and clear...no more looking over your shoulder."
Free and - Grant shook himself. "When something's too good to be true, it's a lie." I learned that the hard way.
"Not lying," Coulson countered. "I tried the stick with you before. It didn't work so well, so I'm offering a carrot."
Is that what handing me off to my brother was supposed to be? Motivation? Ward smiled. "I'm listening."
"Get me inside," Coulson said softly. "After that, I put you through the TAHITI protocol, and then you're free to go."
"Wipe my memories?" Because it was such an enjoyable process for you? Grant shook his head. "Well, that sounds like a threat, not a carrot. I like who I am."
"A murderer and a traitor?" Coulson said with a smile.
A man trying to find his way, not that you would believe it anymore. Grant fought to keep his face blank and maintain his feigned nonchalance. I murdered for Garrett, yes, but also for SHIELD, and as for traitor, I tried my best to stop them from blowing up the BUS as soon as I got what we needed. He clenched his fist on the table. You're welcome.
"Sorry," Coulson continued. "My offer's the only way you leave here."
Grant could feel the menace of Deathlok radiating from behind his back. Definitely not the same Coulson.
"You could have run," the director reminded him. "You didn't. You risked your freedom for her..." Coulson pointed towards Kara. "That says something, says that maybe there's still good left in you. Maybe Garrett, your family didn't destroy all that."
Ward felt his heart pick up speed. You actually believe...You believe me about my family. About what Garrett did...
Coulson's voice was soft. "TAHITI will erase all the bad, let you be the man you want to be, start over."
Grant's expression was vulnerable as he questioned softly, "Free and clear?" That's what you said. We can deal with TAHITI later, but that part...I need to know now.
"I give you my word as director of SHIELD," Coulson promised.
No more hiding, no more running...Ward steepled his hands and leaned towards Coulson. The man I want to be...a man you don't believe is beyond redemption...He met the director's gaze steadily. "I might know a guy."
Jiaying turned to Gordon. "I've searched the records. No mention of precognition."
"Raina could be the first of her kind," Gordon remarked. "I was," he reminded her. "A gift like hers could change everything. Imagine...she could warn us of threats before they happen."
Jiaying inclined her head. "If that is her gift."
Skye knocked and opened her mother's door. "Ah, sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt." Much.
"No, we're finished here," her mother said with a smile.
Gordon nodded to her. "I'll let you know how it goes."
Skye watched him leave before turning back to Jiaying. "Was that about Cal?"
Jiaying only gave another tight smile.
"I want to talk to you about that," Skye continued. She took a breath. "Cal's dangerous, I know, but he's better when he's with us." And no, that sentence is not applicable to anyone else I know, damn it.
"That may be true, but he can't stay here," her mother said firmly.
Skye grimaced. Yeah, as a recent exile myself, I totally get that..."Well, can we give him a heads-up? Or -"
"And risk how he gets?" Jiaying asked her. "You think you've seen him at his worst. You haven't," she emphasized.
"Well, that's my point," Skye countered. "You know how he'll get when Gordon just abandons him in the middle of nowhere." Or to the tender mercies of his worst enemies like...She blinked and held her mother's gaze. Stop. Stop thinking.
"Not nowhere...we're taking him home," her mother assured her.
"It doesn't matter," Skye retorted. "He will feel abandoned, and people will get hurt." Which is not at all like - A voice whispered from her memory that he'd never lie to her, that what he felt for her was real. She focused on her mother to still her mind again.
"Those people aren't my concern," Jiaying dismissed.
"Well, they're mine. I'm a SHIELD agent," Skye reminded her. No matter what else I might be.
"The longer he stays, the more attention he draws, the more attention he demands. I can't make exceptions." Her mother cast a grave look at her. "He's not one of us."
Skye looked away. No, he's not, but he wants to be...And so did -
"Sometimes, as a leader, I have to do things I'd rather not do," Jiaying concluded.
"Get the package?" Coulson asked.
"Just like they said," Mike replied. He looked back towards Ward and Kara. "I still don't trust them."
Coulson scoffed. "Hell, no, but we need them to trust us."
Grant watched as Mike and Coulson talked outside the car. "Something's not right," he murmured. Still no backup and no BUS…"Why isn't May here?" He shook his head. "There's something Coulson's not saying."
"Which is why we should make a run for it," Kara urged again. "The idea of them wiping away who you are..."
"Hey, no one's gonna wipe anything," Grant told her. He ignored the twist in his stomach at her words of protest. Someone who doesn't want to lose me, for the first time in my life... He looked at Kara. "We have the upper hand. Whatever Coulson's endgame is, doesn't matter because he is gonna help us get to ours." Good planning pays off...
Kara reached out to pluck the flowerpot from the front seat. "What's this?"
He grinned. "Thought we could put that on the windowsill."
"It's beautiful," she said softly. "It's too bad. I liked our house."
He took her hand. "It won't be our last, promise," he assured her. "At the end of this, you'll be whole. And we'll be together." He cupped her head in his hand and drew her in for a kiss. Just don't ask what 'we' I mean...
Deathlok banged on the side of the car and jerked the door open. "Break it up. Let's go."
Grant and Kara rounded the car to the trunk, opening it to reveal the package in question.
"This just gets better and better," Coulson remarked.
Sunil Bakshi shivered and whimpered as he looked up from the trunk.
Ward smiled at Bakshi. "Not to worry. We are working with Director Coulson." Despite what we may have prepped you for. "You're gonna do whatever he says...understand?" I hope you do...
"Of course," Bakshi replied, smiling. "I'm more than happy to comply."
Coulson looked to Mike. "Get him out of there."
Skye sighed as she knocked on the door. She waited a beat and opened it.
"Hey!" Her father looked over from the bed and quickly rose to greet her. "Um...sorry. I was expecting Gordo," Cal said apologetically.
Skye's smile was genuine as she replied. "He can't like you calling him that."
Her father chuckled. "Oh, he loves it." He held the door open. "Uh, come in," he invited, closing the door behind her. "Uh, so, I was, uh, gonna find you today, but, um, I - I didn't want to overdo it after last night. I - I tend to overdo. Big overdoer." He chuckled again.
"Yeah, I noticed," Skye murmured with a grin.
"Oh, so I guess you heard I'm gonna be out of here for a little bit," Cal offered.
"Yeah, I heard," she confirmed. Something like that, anyway...
"Hey, you want to put in an order? I'll bring you back something from the mainland ... gossip mags, soda pop. Do you like funyuns?" He laughed again.
She gave a light chuckle in return. "I'm...I'm okay, thank you," Skye answered. Is this what being alone for so long can do to a person? "So, where are you going? China?"
"What makes you think I'd go there?" Cal questioned, horrified. "No. God, no."
"Oh, I-I'm sorry," Skye apologized. "Jiaying said that you were going home, so I just assumed that...that..." Where is she taking him?
"Oh, oh, of course," Cal replied. "No, that makes sense. No, I was in China volunteering for Doctors without Borders."
"Wow," she murmured softly. He had to be a good person once, to be doing that...
"Hard to picture that, right?" Cal teased. "I was supposed to be there two weeks, but I met your mother and I couldn't leave. She stole my heart," he said with a smile.
Skye nodded slowly. I was bad for him, he said...and there were things about him I wouldn't like if I knew…
"No, home is, um, Milwaukee," her father continued. "That's where we were gonna bring you up. I should take you there sometime...I don't know...maybe show you around the old haunts."
He told me he wasn't a good man...was he waiting for me to save him? Her heart clenched. And now my mother is asking me to let her abandon my father..."Why not tomorrow?" Skye said impulsively. "I want to go with you."
"Okay," Cal agreed enthusiastically. "Best day ever!"
Skye tried to keep the smile on her face. "Yeah." I might not have been able to save him, but maybe I can help my dad...
Skye glared at her mother. "You can't just leave him on the side of the road like an unwanted puppy. It's irresponsible and cruel - for both a puppy or Cal," she clarified, "and Cal's not a puppy - he's a pit bull, a raging pit bull who will attack if he doesn't -"
"I don't want to hear about the people you think you're responsible for," her mother said dismissively.
"This isn't about them. This is about me," Skye insisted. "You asked me to be decent - give Cal one dinner. I did that. And I... empathize." And now, because of that, I can't stop thinking about -
"After one night, you understand him?" Jiaying asked skeptically.
"Yes," Skye said firmly. "Because I spent my entire life searching for you. I lied and I broke laws just to get the - the tiniest sliver of information," she admitted. "And I had no memories of my family. Cal had memories. He knows what he lost." And maybe he's not the only one...Skye shook herself. "Listen, I'm…" She sat across from her mother. "I'm not asking you to let him stay," she explained. "Just let me go with him. I'll talk to him. I'll soften the blow - let him know I'll visit and that...he hasn't lost us forever."
"Bakshi reached out, arranged a meeting with Dr. List," Coulson informed Fitz and Hunter.
"And are we sure we trust stepford Bakshi?" Hunter said skeptically, eyeing the man in question.
"'Trust' might be a little strong," Coulson admitted.
Ward gave Hunter a patient look. "Bakshi's been instructed to act exactly as he would have...before."
"Before the brainwashing," Hunter elaborated. "Oh, well, in that case, I feel comforted."
"Any questions?" Coulson looked at Ward, Kara and Bakshi, while Hunter urged Fitz' fidgeting hand from his holster.
Kara was the only one to reply. "How much longer?"
Deathlok answered from the cockpit. "A couple hours."
Grant looked across the plane at Fitz. I remember when his biggest concern was whether Jemma packed him a sandwich for the field. He smiled to speak but subsided when he remembered Simmons' promise. He has to be all right to be out on a mission, though...He sighed. Damn it, I just want to know. He grinned. "So, Fitz...how've you been?" Grant held his breath waiting for an answer, his smile fading when Fitz lunged to attack him. Coulson and Hunter jumped up to hold Fitz back. Guess that was the wrong move. Damn it.
"Sit down, Agent Fitz," Coulson demanded. "Hey!"
Fitz paced the plane. "Bakshi, sir. Bakshi...no, he is...he is...he's the exact same as Ward."
Grant looked away. Like you know anything about me now…
"So he will double-cross us the second that he's with HYDRA," Fitz accused.
"Yes, he would...if he was going in alone," Coulson replied.
Grant exchanged a look with Kara. I told her this would happen. "He's not?" Ward questioned.
"He'll have his bodyguard with him," Coulson explained.
"That'd be me," Mike supplied.
Coulson continued. "We'll monitor the entire meet through Mike's eye."
Ward considered Coulson. Being director really has changed him..."Dr. List's instructions were explicit...Bakshi was to come alone." Good thing we prepared for contingencies.
"Luckily, Bakshi's good at talking his way out of things," the director replied. He turned to the man in question. "Aren't you?"
Bakshi replied eagerly. "I've been told it's one of my more useful skill sets, yes."
"See? No problem," Coulson assured Ward.
Grant exchanged a look with his side of the jet. Not a problem at all.
Strategy I can do. Plan, attack, execute, regroup, even. Those things I can do without fumbling, without blowing it all to hell. But when it comes to people, when it comes to feelings and...I just can't make it work. No matter how much I want to. I wonder if she knows how much of the real me I let show with her, with all of them, really. I know she doesn't. And obviously Fitz and Coulson aren't going to believe it. So all I can do is collect the pieces I can, and make sure to burn the whole thing to the ground.
No one will ever have to give up what I did, what Kara did.
Raina said Skye and I could be monsters together. I never wanted Skye to be a monster. She was the only light in my darkness. I'd never say it, and they'd all never believe it...but I'd much rather be healed and whole. For her, and for me.
If I can't have that, I'll settle for free and clear.
Fitz punched up the video feed. "We are online," he announced.
Dr. List examined the man before him. "It's good to see you alive and well, Mr. Bakshi."
"Dr. List, a pleasure," Bakshi replied. "You're a difficult man to find these days."
List gestured him towards the seats. "Please."
Hunter issued the threat assessment. "Three men, heavily armed. Bet there's more where they came from," he added.
What a revelation. "Does it matter?" Ward asked. "You've got a cyborg on board with rockets in his arm." Not to mention our own mole...
"He's not a cyborg," Coulson protested. "He's a SHIELD agent...with rockets in his arm."
Grant tried not to roll his eyes. The cyborg can be a SHIELD agent, but the rogue agent dismantling HYDRA piece by piece can't be. Got it.
"Our world is much more complicated now after the tragic death of Dr. Whitehall and the ensuing bloodbath that it caused," Dr. List commented. "Thank you." He accepted a champagne flute with a smile.
"Tell me, Mr. Bakshi, exactly how did you manage to escape unscathed?" List gazed steadily at the newly returned agent.
Bakshi raised a brow. "What are you implying, doctor?"
"Well, most of HYDRA's leaders were wiped out in one fell swoop, but not you," List remarked. "I was just curious if you might know anyone involved."
"Let's see how Bakshi holds up under questioning," Coulson murmured.
Ward nodded slightly and started to answer before Kara cut him off.
"He's held up to worse than this," she said firmly.
Grant just watched the director. Ask me why, Coulson, ask me why...
"You think I poisoned the baroness?" Bakshi asked. "Killed Bloom?"
"Someone put a bullet in his head," List replied.
"I assumed it was you...or Strucker," Bakshi returned. "You had the most to gain, and look - here you sit, alive and well, with more money and manpower than ever."
"See? Told you he was good," Ward bragged. He tucked Coulson's small shrug of acknowledgement away for future enjoyment.
"The truth is, I didn't escape unscathed," Bakshi replied. "I was captured by the U.S. government. Mr. Peterson helped me escape." He waited while List looked over at Deathlok. "You do recognize him, don't you?" he asked. "Well, you should," he continued. "HYDRA invested quite a bit of funds turning Mr. Peterson into the perfect killing machine - money well-spent, I might add."
"What's he doing?" Coulson hissed.
"He's gaining List's trust," Grant assured him.
Bakshi took another sip of champagne. "I know Strucker has been experimenting on powered individuals. I believe that with a compliance upgrade, Mr. Peterson would prove quite useful to him."
"You're offering him...to me?" List asked skeptically.
"Consider it a sign of good faith," Bakshi answered smoothly.
"This wasn't the plan," Coulson bit out, spinning to glare at Ward. "What are you doing?"
Ward fought not to roll his eyes. What you asked me to do. "Getting us to Strucker," he insisted. And there is no part of me that's enjoying this because of what Deathlok did to Skye...
"Bastard sold us out!" Hunter shouted, moving to a defensive stance.
Ward took Fitz' sidearm and drew on Coulson, Hunter gunning for Kara while she held a knife to Fitz' neck.
"Put the gun down now - now!" Coulson ordered.
I don't have to take orders from you anymore. Ward shook him off. "It was the only way."
"I'm not gonna warn you again," the director repeated.
"Will you just listen to me?" Grant fumed. "Do you want to get to Strucker or not?"
Hunter fought to keep from pulling the trigger. "Fitz, are you all right?"
Fitz' voice was strained when he replied. "Yeah, I'm delightful."
"Strucker wants powered people. Bakshi alone doesn't get you to him," Grant insisted. "Deathlok does, and he can take care of himself - trust me." If you'd seen what he did to Skye...and that's before whatever upgrades he may have gotten between then and now.
"'Trust me'?" Coulson yelled. "I ought to shoot you just for saying that."
"Um, sir..." Fitz watched Mike's video feed with alarm.
"What if this goes south?" Ward asked. "Would you have been willing to sacrifice Mike?" Come on, Coulson, call it like it is.
"That wasn't your call to make," the director fumed.
Fitz swallowed hard, his voice stronger as he spoke. "Sir, Deathlok is, um..."
Hunter followed Fitz' gaze. "Is that Deathlok's targeting system?"
"Yes, he's gonna -" Fitz fumbled for words. "He's - well, he - he's about to kill everyone."
"Not a bad idea, actually," Hunter mused.
"No, we need them alive," Coulson insisted. "Fitz, tell Mike to stand down."
Kara's grip on Fitz didn't waver. "Yeah, no, that's not gonna happen," he managed.
Coulson looked at Kara. "Let him go, 33."
"My name is Kara, and I don't work for you anymore," she answered, eyes blazing as she looked to Grant.
"Weapons systems are hot," Fitz updated.
Ward locked eyes with Coulson. "On the count of three, we all put our weapons down." She won't listen to you, but she'll listen to me.
"Three!" Coulson shouted.
Everyone lowered their weapons and breathed a collective sigh of relief. Fitz immediately turned to Mike's feed and typed "PLAY ALONG." They all watched as Deathlok's targeting system disengaged, his rockets returning to their concealment.
Coulson held out his hand, taking Fitz' gun back and glaring at Ward. "You pull anything like that again, I'll throw your ass off this quinjet at 20,000 feet."
Ward kept his expression neutral. Just remember I didn't fight you for that gun.
"Doctor, there's been another incident," an agent called to List.
"Excuse me," List said, crossing to the screen. "We're close. Put us in the air." He turned to look at Bakshi and Deathlok. "And then...we'll see quite how loyal you and your enhanced friend really are."
"They're taking off," Fitz reported.
Grant shrugged. "If Strucker's overseas, I'd say that's probably where they're going."
"Then we tail them," Coulson said flatly.
Ward looked at his former director. "And how do you propose to do that without your pilot?"
Coulson pursed his lips, looking at Hunter and Fitz for an objection. He sighed but nodded. "Take the controls."
Ward hopped into the cockpit. "Strap in," he called behind him. He took the pilot's seat, exhaling roughly at the familiar feeling. I almost expect to see May coming up behind me. He allowed himself a smirk. Good thing she's not, though. Because she'd kill me for sure. He took them up and after List's plane. But even though May must've trained her, Skye wouldn't...He forced the thought from his head and focused on keeping Bakshi and the rest in range.
Skye watched her father react to the imagined slight as she lifted the cell phone. And this is why he's so dangerous...She called May, fighting not to run and beg for them to get her. Playing along with a psychopath...again. She stomped on the voice in her head telling her if she thought about it, only one of the men in question really qualified.
"We're landing? Already?" Bakshi commented. "I thought Strucker was in Eastern Europe."
"He is," List confirmed. "But first, we're making a stop. Have you heard of quantum entanglement, Mr. Bakshi?"
Bakshi raised a brow. "No, I'm afraid not."
List continued. "Well, we at HYDRA, for the last several months, actually..."
"Quantum entanglement?" Hunter questioned. "Sounds like a method of torture."
"We have found incidents of photon intensity so great that particles can exist simultaneously in two spaces over great distances," List explained.
"Never liked science or big words," Hunter continued.
Bakshi frowned at List. "But for something to be in two places concurrently -"
"No, no, no. This is a quantum entanglement bridge," List clarified. "We think it was created by a powered person, one we intend to capture."
Fitz' eyes lit up as the pieces fell into place. "The teleporter - they're tracking the teleporter, the one that, um, took Cal in Wisconsin and - and Raina -"
"And Skye," Coulson whispered.
"This is about Skye," Ward whispered and turned, surrendering the pretense he wasn't listening. Skye...
Kara looked to Ward. "Why would HYDRA want her?"
Coulson and Fitz exchanged a weighty look. "Don't know," Coulson bluffed.
Cal led Skye down the hall to stop before an office. "Please, uh, excuse the mess... and the, uh, the roaches."
Skye looked at the name on the window as he took out his keys. "Johnson...is that your last name?
"Was. Pretty ordinary, huh?" He unlocked the door. "I changed it to something more sinister when I went on the run."
Skye paused to consider it as she stood in the doorway. "Daisy Johnson. Huh." I wonder what kind of girl Daisy Johnson is...She followed him in, picking up the hula girl on his desk. "I, um, I had one of these." In another life, in another world...
"Coincidence? I think not," Cal said eagerly. "Genetics. Keep it if you like."
She doesn't belong to me anymore...not this me. "How is all this stuff still here?" Skye wondered aloud.
"I own the building," her father replied.
Skye blinked at him. "You own the building?" Definitely another life...
"Mm-hmm, every wall, every bulb, every cockroach." He took a deep breath and continued. "I wasn't rich, but you would have grown up quite comfortable." He retrieved the key he needed from his desk. "Had to shutter everything down after, uh - well, you know. Only been back a few times over the years."
"So, this is like your stash pad, where you keep all of your old stuff?" she asked. What would I keep? What would he?
Cal chuckled. "Oh, I like that - 'stash pad.' Makes it sound better than a crappy office." He withdrew a case from a drawer and set it on his desk. "Okay. My grandfather's field kit from WWII. I used this to put your mother back together again."
Skye's eyes shot to her father's face, seeing the anguish in every feature. When I was shot, when I was dying...did it break him like this?
"Truth is, her gift was the real healer," Cal confessed. "She's a walking miracle, your mother. The way she suffered and endured and fought through it..."
"You still love her," Skye said, the faintest hint of wonder in her voice. If you only knew what she's actually planning for you, for us...
"How could I not?" he replied.
How many times can she kick you away before that changes? Skye looked away from him. How many times can I do the same thing?
"I mean, I know she resented me for a time after we lost you," Cal conceded, "but I think now that we're back together, that we can -"
"Please, stop," Skye burst out. I can't listen to this anymore...
"What? What?" Cal said, bewildered. "What'd I say?"
"We're not all back together. You can't hang on to the past like this. You need to move on. We all do," she said emphatically. We do. Me included...She shook herself. "Jiaying...she's responsible for all those people, and I…" Am a complete mess. "I-I'm an adult now. And as much as you want to turn back the clock to the time of science fairs and father-daughter dances..."
"They're gone, yeah. I know. I know," Cal whispered.
"But, look, it doesn't mean that we can't see each other," she continued. "I could visit -"
"Visit? Where are you going?" he questioned, an edge in his voice.
Damn it. Skye hid her grimace. Screwed that up big time. She fumbled for words, jumping at the sound of a door.
Her father froze her with a hand to her shoulder and came around behind her, a familiar brush of his arm against her back shooting her gaze to the medical kit. I know a lift when I feel it - what did he take from there?
"Who's there?" Cal demanded. "Come out where I can see you."
"Relax," came Lincoln's voice. He emerged from a room down the hall. "It's just me."
"Lincoln." Skye stalked towards him. "What are you doing here?"
"Jiaying sent me to make sure everything was cool."
"Why wouldn't everything be cool?" Cal questioned, stabbing the weapon he'd swiped from the kit into a metal filing cabinet. "What's going on here? Wait a minute. Y-You think Daisy isn't safe with me?"
"I didn't say that," Lincoln appeased. "Just calm down."
"Don't patronize me," Cal growled. "Who the hell do you think you are? I'm her father!"
"Cal, let me explain," Skye offered. I have to be able to help you. "I -"
"No," Cal interjected. "What an idiot I've been, huh? I see what's happening. You were gonna dump me here like yesterday's trash. You don't want to spend time with me. This isn't daddy's day out. This is goodbye."
"It's not forever," Skye protested. But you're making it harder for it to be anytime soon..."It...it ... " She took a step towards her father.
Lincoln held his arm out between them. "Skye, don't," he pleaded.
"Her name is Daisy!" Cal burst out, shoving Lincoln into the wall before throwing him down the hallway.
"Cal!" Skye called out.
Cal's eyes blazed with rage. "After everything I did for Jiaying, for our family...years of searching, the pain, and the rejection!"
"Cal, I'm warning you," Lincoln cautioned.
"Oh, you're warning me?" Skye's father retorted.
"Watch out!" Skye shouted as a black-clad intruder emerged from a hallway.
Lincoln lashed out, his electricity knocking the interloper out.
Cal frowned at the scene. "What's SHIELD doing here?"
Skye assessed their uniforms. "It's not SHIELD, it's HYDRA."
The three froze as reinforcements filled the hall.
"Get her out of here," Cal barked at Lincoln. "I'll take care of this." He put on his bumbling, chuckling persona and stalked towards them, hands outstretched. "Hey, hey, fellas, huh?"
Skye moved to follow her father, struggling to shrug Lincoln off when he grabbed her arm. "I can handle myself."
"No, don't use your powers," Lincoln urged. "You could bring the whole building down. I'll help hold them off."
Her father reached the HYDRA forces. "Let's not lose our heads, okay?" He knocked one out immediately, using the body to block the bullets of the other two.
Skye lunged at Lincoln, sending them to the side and into the office.
"Just go, please," Lincoln rasped.
"Sir, Skye - Skye's here!" Fitz pointed at the video feed where Mike spotted her.
Coulson was at Fitz' shoulder immediately. "Where?"
"10th floor," Fitz replied.
Kara quirked a brow at Grant. "The Skye who shot you three times?"
Grant shrugged. "Four," he corrected as he checked the clip on his now-sanctioned firearm. No headshot though. No kill shot.
"Don't even think about it," Coulson snapped at them. "You keep HYDRA off us. I'll find Skye."
Ward threw his hands up as Coulson charged off the plane. I didn't agree to that.
This is about Skye. He lost her, somehow. What the hell happened? A teleporter, her father, Skye, Raina...What happened in Puerto Rico?
I know I can't ask, but what I can do is what I've always done - find her. Protect her. No matter what the real mission is.
And maybe she'll tell me why I'm still here to do it.
"Sir, Deathlok's down," Fitz said urgently. "I've lost his feed." He struggled to make sense of the readings. "Uh. Uh, sir, I think somebody's trying to hack into it."
Coulson advanced down the hall, taking down HYDRA agents in his path as the rest of the team fanned out behind him. Ward took out another agent as he shouted back to Hunter. "We need to split up!"
Hunter nodded. "We'll cover you. Go find Skye!"
Coulson nodded back and took off.
Ward watched as Coulson left them to hold the hallway. No way in hell you're going alone. Not when this is about Skye. He ran after his old CO.
"Where the hell is your boyfriend going?" Hunter called to Kara.
"Look out!" Kara warned. She fired past him.
"Aah!" Hunter groaned as a bullet found a home in his side.
Coulson and Ward cleared a path down the hall, searching for a sign of their lost agent among the gunfire.
"Skye?" Coulson called. "Skye!"
They stopped as a body came flying through in front of them, Mike following behind.
Ward glared at the sandy-haired stranger. "Who the hell's that guy?" he barked. What the hell is he doing here with Skye?
Mike groaned and struggled to his feet. "Don't know. Packs a mean spark," he managed. "I think he's protecting Skye."
"Where is she now?" Coulson demanded. "Can you scan the floor?"
"Optics are down," Mike reported. "I think she went around that corner."
Coulson took off in the direction Mike indicated, Ward close behind him.
A mean spark? Someone else powered here? And protecting Skye? From who? From what?
And I could tell him one thing for sure - Skye can protect herself.
Skye threw open the door to the roof and paused. I can't just leave them. I'm not leaving anyone again. She ran back down.
Coulson and Ward fought side by side, resorting to hand to hand with their empty ammo clips.
Ward knocked his sparring partner out, Coulson tossing his into the wall.
Skye froze as she watched them working in tandem. Oh my God.
Ward handed Coulson a fresh gun with a nod. Coulson accepted it and looked down the hall. "Skye?" He whispered incredulously.
She turned at the sound of her name, her heart skipping a beat. My old life, right there...
"What I want...is to stay here with you and imagine the world outside doesn't exist."
Ward's voice and the look on his face as he said it had haunted her more than she dared admit. Grant...Aloud, she only allowed herself, "Coulson?" She stepped towards them.
Electricity crackled and Gordon appeared in front of her, blocking her path. "I need to get you out of here," Gordon declared.
Skye tried desperately to get around him, around the bubble. "No, no, not yet, no!" The last was more urgent as Cal ran from the hall and jumped into the quantum bridge before it closed.
"No, don't go!" Coulson yelled. He subsided as he accepted the teleport had closed.
Ward kicked a HYDRA agent back to unconsciousness and followed towards the spot where Skye had been.
"I had her," Coulson whispered. "Damn it! I had her." He turned as a HYDRA agent came from the same hall Cal had run through, Coulson raised his gun -
Grant fired at the HYDRA interloper, stalking towards the director and adding a double tap for good measure as he passed. "Deathlok's down. We've got powered people on-site. HYDRA's storming the building."
"What happened to you?" Coulson asked as Kara half supported and half carried Hunter towards them.
"Ah, it's merely a flesh wound," Hunter dismissed.
"A bad one," Kara added, looking to Grant.
"We're outmanned, outgunned, and our only backup is Fitz. Your call, boss," Ward said. Goddamn, that should not have felt that good to say. I don't do bosses. Not anymore.
But maybe you miss your real family, Skye's voice whispered to him.
Skye...What the hell is going on? Who are these people, and what are they protecting you from?
You have powers. I know that. But what is it about them that has everyone scrambling? How did you leave? Why?
Did they reject you, too? Is that how Raina meant we could be monsters together? Monsters to them, but…
What could we still be to each other?
A.N.: Can't wait for Tuesday.