Episode 18: Providence
Part Two

The Bus

Coulson turned away from the window in his office as May walked in.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Tell you what, let's skip the part where you act concerned about my well-being. What do you want?"
"I need to confiscate your weapon."
"You want to share the twisted logic that makes you think that's a possibility?"
"Fury's dead. It's hard to accept, and we haven't had a chance to grieve."
"There's no reason too. I have faith that he's alive."
"That feeling… That belief that he is reaching out to you, Phil, it might not be faith. It might be something else."
"And what's that?"
"Hydra."
"Hydra."

May nodded, arms crossing over her chest.
"Impulses implanted in your brain right alongside memories of a beautiful island."
"Really? This is what you want to come to me with that right now. That's not possible. Fury ordered the surgery."
"Yes, but he wasn't in charge of the T.A.H.I.T.I. project, and the person that was behind that operation may be in ch—"
"Wait, wait, wait. What did you say?"

He stormed from around the desk to stand in front of her.
"Somebody else was behind it? Who the hell was that?"
"I don't know."
"Who? Tell me!"
"Phil, I don't know."
"You don't know? Oh, let me guess. Only Fury knows."
"Yes. And without him there's no way to know who is responsible. And there's a real danger that Hydra's controlling your actions. That's why Fury put me on this plane. To watch you."
"Well, I'm not going to hand over my weapon. You want to try to take it from me?" Her shoulders visibly sagged, and he nodded. "Good. Now get out of my office.

Down in the lab, Fitz spoke quietly to Simmons as he packed up a box.
"We have to trust that Coulson knows what he's doing," he said.
"Hey," called Trip. "I respect Coulson."
"Agent Coulson to you," Fitz snipped.
Trip rolled his eyes, "Fine. Agent Coulson. He saved our asses back there at The Hub. But I'm telling you, he's chasing the white whale."
"Have you even read "Moby Dick"?" Fitz asked.
"Yeah. Have you."
"That's not the point. Now if you'd please stop sprouting your nonsense and let me get back to checking my inventory."

Trip rolled his eyes again as Simmons approached Fitz.
"He may be right, Fitz. Coulson could be leading us into a trap and not eve n know it."
"The whole world's coming apart at the seams," Trip said. "Now's not the time to follow blindly."
"No. It's likes like these you stick with the guy you believe in." Fitz picked up the box he was working on and walked away.

The Fridge: Location Classified

Ward stood behind Garrett at the top of a very tall building. It stuck out of the middle of the ocean.
"It's a hundred floors," Garrett remarked. "The only way in is through the roof." Ward grabbed hold of the man's elbow, leading him towards the glass doors.

Inside, two guards watched them approach.
"Identity yourself and state your purpose," one said.
"Agent Grant Ward and you know who this is. Hand called it in."
"We have specific orders not to let anyone in without Agent Hand present. So where is she?"
"Where do you think she is? She's heading to meetings with every high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agent still out there. There's a war going on, in case you guys missed it. You really want me to radio her? Have her turn the plane around and come all the way back?"
"That's exactly what you need to do."

Sighing, Ward rolled his head around in irritation.
"All right. I guess you boys have never seen Hand angry, have you?" He picked up his radio, putting it to his mouth. Before he could "speak", a helicopter appeared behind them, beginning to fire.

Grabbing Garrett, Ward pulled the two of them behind a small wall.
"Take cover!"
"It's Hydra," a guard shouted. The helicopter fired against the door, barely damaging it. Ward grabbed Garrett again, yanking him to the door.
"Open the door!" Ward shouted.
"It's against protocol!"
"I don't care about your protocol! Open the door. You're gonna get us killed!"

The guard kept hesitating until the helicopter began to turn back.
"Screw it." He opened the door, allowing Ward and Garrett to hustle inside.
"Took you boys long enough," Ward muttered as a guard used his key-card to get the elevator moving.
"How the hell did Hydra know you and Hand were coming?"
"We told them," Garrett answered.

The guards spun around, finding Ward pointing guns at their faces. He rolled his eyes at Garrett after he shot them.
"A little warning next time? I mean, they had automatic weapons."
"I couldn't resist," Garrett said as he pulled his hands out of the handcuffs.
"It was too good a line." He handed a gas mask to Ward, who had a smirk toying on his lips. "Let's go shopping."

As soon as the gas dissipated, the two men pulled off their masks, walking around a group of hydra soldiers.
"First time I came down here was to lock up Johnny Horton," Garrett remarked. "Ever heard of him?" Ward merely frowned as an answer. "Guy somehow game himself these lion's paws for hands." Garrett pretended to paw at Ward. "Can you imagine?"
"That doesn't sound practical." Garrett laughed.
"Everybody's got their own weird thing, I suppose."

He stopped in front of a door and looked over at Ward.
"You know the Slingshot Program?"
"Yeah, it's how S.H.I.E.L.D. gets rid of its dangerous technology." Garrett took out a small round device and attached it to the keypad. "Do they know?" Ward tilted his head to the side, blocking his ears momentarily as the device exploded, allowing the doors to open.

Waving away the smoke, Garrett gestured for Ward to head inside.
"Welcome to the toy store." Ward stared in shock, seeing shelves upon shelves filled with various sized boxes. "All right, grab all you can, boys. If it looks dangerous, good. Alien? Even better."
"It's all here. Slingshot's a fake."
"We shot a lot of empty rockets into space. And maybe every-once-in-awhile, they put a monkey in one for kicks. You really think Fury would give away all these goodies? We're talking about the same guy that messed around with Tesseract technology and sparked an alien invasion."

Looking around, Garrett grinned at a specific box. He picked it up, showing it to Ward.
"Remember this?"
"Yeah, I found it in Peru… It's some sort of plasma particle beam."
"Plasma particle beam, my ass. I look at it more as a gold card." He grinned again, turning it on. Ward was quick to move behind him, grimacing when Garrett fired.

Somewhere cold

The bus landed in a snowy desolate area, nothing but trees and mountains as far as they could see. Everyone was gearing up in warm weather gear, meeting in the cargo bay. Sara leaned against Fitz, watching Coulson closely.
"Coordinates are about a seven-mile hike from here. Terrain's pretty rough, even if it wasn't covered with snow."
"Agent May and I can lead a scouting party first," Trip said, "make sure this isn't a trap."
"There's no time," Coulson said. "In less than eight hours, a NATO satellite will pass directly over us. If The Bus is still here, they'll know. I've been doing this long enough to know that something's up there. But this mission, has to be your voice."

He looked specifically at Fitz-Simmons.
"A lot's changed in the last few days. I know you all have your doubts about what we've been doing, about me. But I don't. Which is why I'm going to find whatever Fury has waiting for us… with or without you." He hit a button the wall, opening a hatch. He started off, Skye and May following. Fitz-Simmons, Sara, and Trip stayed behind for a moment.
"Well, you heard the man," Sara murmured. "We don't have much time." She picked up her backpack, zipping up her jacket as the other three did the same. They started off after Coulson, Sara taking the rear as she watched their surroundings. They might have been in the middle of nowhere, but danger always followed them.

The Fridge: Location Classified

Ward knelt beside a box, staring down at the Asgardian Berserker staff. He gave it a fond smile before standing, moving to Garrett's side. The man had used the 0-8-4 to blast a hole in the walls to let prisoners out.
"You're welcome, gentlemen! Don't forget to follow your dreams." One of the soldiers gave him a curious look before hurrying off. "Ladies," Garrett nodded as a woman walked out. "Well, this ought to keep Coulson busy a while." He glanced over to see Ward wandering off by himself. He had the 0-8-4 in his hands. "Grant! Come on!"

Ward ignored him, still looking down at the ground.
"We gotta roll. The chopper's almost full. What the hell are you doing?"
"You might want to take a step back," Ward said.
"I'm not following."
"Coulson told me there was a little something hidden down below."
"I hate to tell you, but this is the bottom floor. I've seen the blueprints with my own eyes."

Smirking, Ward rolled his shoulders.
"Care to make it interesting?"
"Loser buys dinner," Garrett suggested.
"Perfect," Ward said with a shrug. He prepped the device as Garrett moved to stand behind him. "I'm so sick of the crap we ate on that plane."

He fired at the floor and leaned down into the hole as the dust cleared. They knelt above it, Garrett looking astonished.
"Well, hello, gorgeous," Garrett whistled.

Somewhere cold

Coulson lead the team through the snow, continually consulting his compass as May huffed and puffed behind him. Sara was sneezing, already feeling the effects of a cold. Fitz had a tablet out, Simmons looking over his shoulder as normal.
"This is not good," Fitz murmured.
"Bears?" Simmons asked alarmed. "Did it find bears?"
"No. Found nothing. No sign of life or S.H.I.E.L.D. base or anything making it even remotely worthwhile for freezing our butts off."
"Did you mean what you said earlier about Coulson?" Simmons asked.
"I don't know, Jemma. I want to believe Coulson knows what he's doing, but…"
"Well, at least we have each other," Sara cut in.
"Yeah. Good. Cause the last thing I want is for things to change."
"Fitz…" Sara said slowly. "It's too late for that." She gave him a small hug before sneezing again.

Head of them, Skye leaned in close to May.
"Do you think he's okay?"
"It's been a rough couple of days," May answered.
"That's not what I meant," Skye muttered.
"Don't act like you know what Fury had me do."
"Well, eh had you spy on im for a reason. So, what was it?"

May came to a stop, sighing deeply.
"Fury was concerned about Coulson finding out the truth. The doctors thought it would have negative consequences."
"Like what? Like he'd go crazy? Spontaneously combust or something?" May shook her head.
"It's not clear. All I know is he seemed stable until today. And now he has us in the middle of nowhere, chasing ghosts."
"That's because his whole world fell apart."
"He's not alone in that."

A few miles later, Coulson led them in a small clearing, looking at his compass.
"This is it!" Coulson said. "There's got to be something here." Everyone began looking around, Sara leaning against a tree.
"How long should we look before thinking about heading back?" Skye asked.
"We're not going back, not until we find whatever Fury has waiting for us."
"What about the satellite?" Trip questioned. He leaned against Sara's tree, shoulder brushing against hers.
"It doesn't matter," Coulson said. "The Bus used all its remaining fuel just to get us here."

Fitz-Simmons look at him in shock.
"Did you know this before flying us out to the middle of nowhere?" Simmons asked.
"It was the right play," Coulson snapped. "Fury sent us these coordinates for a reason."
"And what reason is that?" Sara asked.
"I don't know!" he shouted. "I don't know! There's got to be something here!" He looked down at his badge and then back up at his team. "This means something! This has to mean something!"

Everyone looked away, unable to meet his eyes.
"The world needs us! Hydra is out there! We cannot let them win. We—we cannot let them define us. Do you understand that? We are not agents of nothing! We are agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and that still carries weight! It—it has to carry weight! After everything we've been through, that carries weight!"

He bowed his head, taking deep breaths. He barely registered Sara walking up to him under her arms were wrapped around his waist.
"It's okay, Phil," she murmured. "It's going to be okay." He nodded, kissing the top of her head.

As she pulled away, he glanced around at his team, remorse in his eyes.
"I'm sorry." Angrily, he tossed his badge into the air. A gun turret came up from the ground and fired on his wallet. Everyone ducked for cover.
"Well, seems like we found it!" Fitz said.

May raised herself up a bit, addressing the others.
"Nobody move!"
"I really don't think that's going to be a problem!" Simmons said.
"This is a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility," Coulson said.
"Shoot first, ask questions later?" Trip said. "Doesn't sound like S.H.I.E.L.D. to me."
"It's not Hydra," Coulson said. "This is Fury reaching out."
"There's no way to know that for sure," May snapped.
"There's one way."

Standing, Coulson avoided May reaching for him as he stepped around a rock.
"Phil! Don't!" she hissed.
"Hey—no!" Skye cried. He didn't listen to them, waling until the gun pointed at him.
"Identify yourself," came a robotic voice.
"I'm Phil Coulson, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." The gun pointed at the sky, the turret going down.
"Welcome, Agent Coulson. We've been expecting you." A sound came from his right and Coulson turned to see a panel in a stone wall sliding apart to reveal a doorway.

Havana, Cuba

Garrett clapped Ward on the shoulder as they entered the base.
"I've never been so happy to buy a man a steak dinner in my life."
"Wait till you see the bill," Ward joked. Garrett frowned when he saw Raina, who was looking very unhappy.
"Why the long face?"
"There's a complication with the hard drive."
"I don't like complications," Garrett said, letting out a dark chuckle. "This one involves Skye and Agent Reyes-Fitz."

The two glanced over at Ward, who's ears had perked up at the mention of his fiancée.
"We had three teams try to hack it, but Skye programed it to erase all data if anyone other than her or Reyes-Fitz attempts to access it." Ward rolled his eyes.
"Of course, she did."
"In case it fell into the wrong hands, I guess," Raina murmured.
"You know what that means, Romeo?" Garrett asked. Ward sighed, nodding.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Facility
Location: Unknown

After the team passed through the doorway, the doors shut behind them. Sara and May had their guns pulled.
"What is this place?" Skye asked.
"One of Fury's secret bases," came a voice. Without hesitation, May and Sara had their guns pointed at the stranger's face. He held up his hand in defense. "Uh, I call it Providence, although technically it doesn't have a name because technically it doesn't exist, it being a secret base and all. If everyone would follow me."

He started off, the team following a second later. He led them through a set of double doors into a dining hall.
"Pretty cool, huh?" he asked.
"I'm sorry," Coulson said. "Who are you, exactly?"
"Eric Koenig, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 6."

The agent held up an identification badge, showing it to Coulson.
"Phil Coulson," Coulson introduced.
"I know, I know." Koenig smiled, holding out his hand to Coulson. They shook on it. "It is an honor to meet you, Agent Coulson," Koenig said. "And I apologize for the kerfuffle outside. The precision remote system was designed to destroy any rapidly moving metallic object."
"It was my badge."
"It was—okay. That's gonna be, tough to replace… but very soon you're gonna be issued your very own lanyard." He glanced around at the others. "Lanyards for others will be distributed on a case-by-case basis." "What happened to Director Fury? Is he alive?" Koenig's face fell.
"Fury… didn't make it out of D.C. It's uh, it's been rough. We're all a little shaken up, especially now that The Fridge has fallen."

A small gasp came from the back of the team and Sara fumbled to pull out the cellphone. She scrambled away from the others, Fitz hurrying to follow her.
"Who is she calling?"
"We had a man at The Fridge."
"Someone important?"
"Her fiancée."
"Can I speak to you in private?" Koenig asked. Coulson nodded, the two walking off, the rest of the team turned to Sara.

Sara sighed in relief when Ward picked up.
"Hello?"
"Ward?"
"Sara?"
"Oh, thank God."
"Baby, what's wrong?"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah… Sara, what's wrong? Are you safe?"
"We're safe. At some secret base thing. I just… he said The Fridge fell and I just was scared and—"
"Hey, I'm okay, I promise."
"I can't lose you," she whispered. "Fury's dead. I can't lose you too."
"I'll be back soon, okay. I'll be back soon. Send me your coordinates and I'll find you."

Koenig led Coulson into an office, Coulson looking curiously at the windows.
"It's nice having company," Koenig said. "But don't get me wrong, I mean, this place is great."
"What's with the windows?" Coulson asked.
"Oh, that's supposed to make the isolation more bearable. Every day of the week, different view. Wednesday's pretty terrific if you like topless beaches."
"So, how long have you been in here?"
"Since the Chitahuri invaded New York."
"Oh."

Moving off to the side, Koenig picked up a remote, turning on a fireplace.
"Oh, it's not so bad. Reading a ton of historical fiction, gaming online with my brother. We're racking up major "Call of Duty" hours. You play?"
"Of course. Lately, not so much. So, was there something you wanted to tell me?"
"Yes! My bad. Fury's not dead."
"What?"
"Yeah, they—Hydra thinks they killed him, but he managed to escape from D.C."
"So… you just lied to my team."
"Well, I don't know them. And those are Fury's direct orders. Only a select few people can know that he's alive. Maria Hill, Cap, a couple others, and now you and me."
"Where is he now?"
"No one knows. Ever since he went dark, no one's heard from him. This is highest priority, full eclipse protocol. No one else can know."
"I'm not comfortable keeping secrets from my team."
"Well, they haven't been vetted. And if you walk, we're gonna have major problems."
"Are you threating me?"
"One-hundred percent. Fury's orders. Not big on the trust, is he? So, we're good."
"We're good." Koenig's face lit up immediately. "Great! I'm gonna get you set up with a lanyard. Uh, maybe ask Agent May to pull the plane in. I've got a parking space for her and everything." Coulson nodded his head in confusion as Koenig walked away.

Havana, Cuba

Ward walked up behind Garrett, still on the phone.
"All right, I'll see you soon… love you."
"Secret base, huh?" Garrett asked. "Sounds just like Fury." Shrugging, Ward learned against a pillar.
"Sara confirmed, Fury's out of the picture."
"Well, that's good news. Gives us one less thing to worry about. Listen, about Reyes-Fitz—"
"Look, I know how much it means to you. I'll get it done."
"Hey, we all have our weaknesses. The heart wants what it wants. Can't control everything. So, if you can do it the easy way without blowing your cover, then by all means…"
"I just need some time to get the information."
"You'll have it. Coulson will be busy. I'll give you twenty-four hours to get the password and get out. After that, well… cross of the team and bring the girls to me."
"You said you'd leave Sara out of this—"
"And I will," Garrett promised. "Unless she becomes an issue."
"An issue?"
"Hell, I like the girl, Grant, you could do worse. But she's a level nine agent."
"She won't be a problem."
"I hope so… Now, you got your story straight?"
"Yeah."

Straightening his shoulders, Ward stood from the table and walked towards him.
"Just need to make it believable." Garrett pulled his arm back and then hit Ward across the face.
"Who are you?" Ward rolled his head around then looked down at Garrett.
"Grant Ward, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." He didn't flinch as Garrett hit him thrice more.
"Who? Make me believe."
"Grant Ward, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." Ward spat out blood as Garrett hit him again.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Facility
Location: Unknown

Ward stood out in the snow, his face bloody and bruised.
"Identify yourself," the robotic voice asked.
"Grant Ward, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Welcome, Agent Ward. We've been expecting you." Ward sighed in relief as the doors opened. He walked inside, dropping his bag as he pulled Sara into a tight hug, ignoring the pain in his ribs.
"Thought you might have given me bad directions," he teased, kissing her forehead.
"At least the machine gun outside didn't start shooting at you."

Pulling away slightly, Sara touched his face gently.
"Are you okay?"
"Oh, it's just a scratch," he promised. He pulled off his backpack, grimacing slightly. "Maybe a broken rib or two."
"Grant—"
"Sara, baby, I'm fine," he said, tugging her back into his arms.

Taking the quiet for a moment, Ward's lips found hers. She brushed her hand against his cheek as he deepened the kiss. He groaned in pain as her fingers found a particularly deep cut. She pulled away, studying his face.
"I'm fine," he muttered again. "I'm just tired."
"Let me stitch that cut and then we'll go to bed, deal?"
"Sara—"
"Ward, please." With a sigh, he let her lead him deeper into the base.

Havana, Cuba

Ian Quinn glared at Garrett.
"You… you have to be kidding me. I've been in a cell smaller than my shoe closet. I wasn't allowed to eat with a fork, which would have been worse if I'd been allowed to eat anything but meatloaf!"
"I did just bust you out," Garrett said.
"Yeah, out a prison you put me in! Do you know what my life was before I met you? It was really nice. But because of you, I've had my assets frozen, I've been beaten. You almost ripped my tongue out of my mouth."
"But I didn't. I'm regretting that now."
"Yeah. And all that for a fake. Raina, here, she told me the truth about "The Clairvoyant."

Garrett glanced over at Raina, who shrugged.
"He didn't respond well."
"Hey, I bought it, that's on me. But you're crazy if you think I'm going to do another damn thing for you." Garrett raised his eyebrows at Raina.
"You didn't tell him?"
"Didn't want to spoil the surprise."

Confused, Quinn looked back and forth between them.
"It's true I'm not gifted, Quinn," Garrett said. "But that doesn't mean I don't have a special gift just for you." With a questioning look, Quinn followed Garret and Raina through the base to the lab. He froze when Garrett removed a sheet that was covering a box.
"My Gravitonium," he breathed out.
"That's all you got to say?" Garrett asked.
"Thank you."
"That's more like it."

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