Episode 19: The Only Light in the Darkness
Part One

Sara held a bandage to a deep cut on Ward face while the rest of the team surrounded him, trying to find out what he knew.
"I'm afraid that might scar," Simmons warned. Sara rolled her eyes. Figured that Simmons would be concerned about looks.
"On the upside," Skye shrugged. "You'll look badass, dangerous."

Fitz leaned in, looking at Ward's face closely, a worried expression on his face.
"He's gonna be fine, though, right?" he questioned. Sara glanced over at her brother; frustration written on her face.
"He will be fine. Fitz, back up and give me some room." Fitz took a step away, exchanging confused looks with Ward.
"So, what then?" Coulson asked Ward.
"By the time we got to The Fridge, it was too late. It was overrun, Hydra everywhere. We couldn't stop them."

Coulson sighed and May glanced up from staring at the floor.
"What were they after?"
"Everything," Ward answered. "They took weapons, alien artifacts. Anything they could grab."
"I assume that means the prisoners are no longer prisoners?" Ward nodded and Coulson grimaced, lowering his head upset.
"So… Ian Quin…" Skye whispered.
"I'm sorry. He's out. They all are."

Fitz looked at him again, tilting his head to the side.
"And Garrett? Did he get away?"
"Couldn't stop them from taking The Fridge, but I wasn't gonna let Garrett walk. Not after what he did."
"Is he the one that did this to you?" Skye asked.
"He was one tough son of a –" He paused when Sara flinched.
"Was? Past tense?" May questioned.
"As soon as I had the upper hand, I put three in the back of his head."

Coulson's face dropped, showing surprise.
"Good," Fitz said.
"One from me…" He looked over at Trip and Sara. "One from each of you."
"I would've emptied the mag," Trip muttered.

Sara stepped away from Ward, pulling off her gloves.
"You're all set," she said with a tense smile.
Simmons scoffed, "Well, as set as you can be with two cracked ribs and a zygomatic fracture."
Fitz smirked, "Uh, for those of you that don't know what that is, it's a –"
"A hairline fracture to the cheekbone," Trip spoke with him. Fitz gave him a surprised look and Trip smiled.
"Your body needs time to heal," Simmons told Ward. "Please take some time."

Ward nodded, reaching for his shirt.
"Understood. Thanks." Simmons walked away as Skye and Coulson moved in closer.
"Ah. One small victory," Ward said, holding up Skye's hard drive. "Hydra didn't get their hands on this."
"A hard drive?" Trip asked, confused.
"It's all the research our team's ever done," Skye answered. "Downloaded off the plane and encrypted for safekeeping."
"We should probably back it up now that we're in a secure facility," Ward said.

Sara's ears perked up at Ward's words. Since when did he naturally assume they were in a secure place? Coulson shook his head.
"First, Skye, I need you on threat assessment. Pull up a list of all the inmates at The Fridge. I want to know just how bad this is." Skye nodded and Sara noticed a brief grimace cross Ward's face.

Pulling on his shirt, Ward glanced over at Sara as the others cleared out. A look from May told him not to push it. It was a look he was probably going to ignore. She was cleaning up her equipment when he hopped off the table. He let out a painful breath and she rolled her eyes.
"Two cracked ribs," she reminded him.
"I can feel that!" he groaned.

He noticed her stiffen when he wrapped arms around her waist. Normally she would lean into his chest, but this time she stood like a statue.
"Sara?" His brow furled in confusion.
"Yes?" she asked simply.
"What's wrong?" he asked, kissing her shoulder. She finally relaxed, leaning into him.
"Nothing's wrong," she said. "I'm just tired. I was worried about you and –"
"You were worried about me?" he teased.
"Shut up," she muttered. He kissed the top of her head.

Sara twisted in Ward's arms, smiling sheepishly up at him. She reached up, wrapping her arms around him. He leaned his head down, capturing her lips. His hands gripped at her hips, pulling her closer to him.
"I. Love. You," he murmured between chaste kisses.
"I love you too." Ward glanced around before lifting her up. She squeaked as he set her on a table before capturing her mouth again.

Skye sat with her laptop on her lap, speaking to Coulson and May in the dining room of the safe house.
"This is really, really bad," she remarked. "Quinn is the least scary of the bunch and he shot me… twice."
Coulson shrugged, "Quinn's more of a sociopath. A lot of those inmates are full blown psychopaths. Violet, impulsive."
"And some with superpowers. Lovely," Skye muttered.
"Is Marcus Daniels on the list?" Coulson asked.

May shot a look to Coulson at the mention of that name. Skye started typing. She glanced up at Coulson, then turned it around so that he could see what she had pulled up.
"That's him," Coulson nodded. "Cross check the list of inmates with crime databases, recent activity." Skye turned the laptop back around so she could work on it. "I've got a feeling we'll be seeing a slight uptick," Coulson continued.
"Okay, but that'll take time and more computing power than my laptop. Agent Koenig probably has some sort of –"

Coulson nodded as Ward and Sara walked into the room.
"I'm sure he'll lend a hand," he told her. He glanced over at Ward. "The plane you flew in on, is it operational?"
"Yeah. You need me to pilot?" Ward asked. He made a face as he sat down, bringing an arm to his rib cage.
"You heard Simmons, you stay and get better," Coulson ordered.
"I'm gonna take a splinter team out and start going after inmates on that list, starting with Mr. Daniels. I think I know where he's going."

May spoke as he stood.
"Uh, you sure it's wise to spilt up the team, leave the base? What if it's part of Hydra's plan, a distraction?" Without realizing it, Ward's face fell ever so slightly.
"She's got a point," Skye said. "I mean, Fury brought you to this base for a reason. We're safe here."
"Yeah, we're safe here," Coulson agreed. "But what about everyone else? People who don't happen to have access to a top-secret underground shelter?" Ward nodded along with him.
"What about them? I don't know if it's wise, but it's right. I'm taking a team, and that's the end of it."

Koenig shook his head as Coulson told him the plan.
"No, you're not. Absolutely not. You can't leave. There are protocols."
"Since the entire Agency's pretty much collapsed, maybe now not the time to stand on protocol." Koenig shrugged.
"Okay, fine, then forget protocols. What part of "secret base" don't you get? Fury said to let you in, and you show up with a bunch of people!"
"Agents!" Coulson corrected angrily.
"Whatever! The point is, they know where this place is now, and I don't know them."

Coulson groaned.
"Hydra just released the entire population of The Fridge into the wild. There's gonna be violence. People will die. And I still consider it my duty to be the shield that protects them." Koenig sighed dramatically and put a hand to his heart.
"Moving speech, truly. But nobody leaves until they go through orientation."
"Orientation?" Coulson asked.

The team gathered around in a cold room. It was all concrete with a large metal chair, sitting in its center. Koenig put his hand on the chair, turning it to the group. He had a large smile on his face. Sara shivered and Ward pulled off his jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders.
"All right. Just gonna need you guys to answer a few questions," Koenig said. "A few psychoanalytic, no sequitur questions."
"A lie detector," Coulson deadpanned.

Koenig pointed at the chair.
"The lie detector, Agent Coulson." Ward took a breath, standing a bit straighter. "This baby measures Galvanic skin responses, oxygen consumption, micro-expressions, biofeedback brain waves, pupil dilation, voices biometrics –" Koenig laughed happily. "96 variables in all. Fury designed this himself. He wanted a lie detector Romanoff couldn't beat."

Ward looked up at him.
"Did she?" Koenig laughed again.
"Like Fury would tell!" Ward looked down at Sara, who was smirking.
"Did she?" he repeated.
"Like Fury would tell," she teased. Coulson rolled his eyes at their playful bantering.
"Okay. The sooner we get this done. The sooner we can get to work." He looked at the rest of the team."So, who wants to go first?" The entire team shifted uncomfortably.

The room was cleared out and May sat in the chair, directly across from Koenig.
"We're gonna start with some easy questions to establish a baseline," he told her. "Can I have your full name?"
"Melinda Qiaolian May." He looked down at the readout on the monitor in front of him, she was telling the truth… for now.
"Eye color?"
"Brown," she answered without hesitation.
"You ever been married?"
"Once."
"What is the difference between a rock and an egg?"
"Edible. Not."
"Have you ever heard of Project Insight?"
"No."
"Ever had any contact with Alexander Pierce?"
"I met him. We shook hands."

Koenig glanced at her before looking back down at the monitor.
"You wash up on a deserted island alone. Sitting on the sand is a box. What is in that box?"
"Machete."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists. The Agency has been labeled a terrorist organization. So, why are you here?"
"Coulson," she answered, not blinking an eye.

Next was Fitz.
"Name?"
"Leopold James Fitz."
"Hair color?"
"Brown."
"Have you ever been married?"
Fitz scoffed, "No."
"Please list your immediate family."
"Mum, Sara, and me… And Ward, I guess."
"What is the difference between an egg and a rock?"
"Well… the differences are insurmountable, but if I listed them, we'd be here all day. One you can eat, the other you can technically eat, but I would advise against it."
"Have you ever heard of Project Insight?"
"No."
"Ever had any contact with Alexander Pierce?"
"No."
"You wash up on a deserted island alone. Sitting on the sand is a box. What is in that box?"
"How big is the box?"

The older agent sighed.
"Just say the first answer that comes into your mind. What's in that box?"
"Simmons," Fitz shrugged. Koenig looked down at his sheet of questions. Last one.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists. The Agency has been labeled a terrorist organization. Why are you here?"
"We have to stick together," Fitz answered. "Keep the people we trust close-by. No one else, really."
"Thank you, Agent Fitz."

Trip fidgeted in the chair as Koenig went through the same progress. He looked up when Trip lied about his immediate family.
"So, you're not going to mention your grandfather?" Trip shook his head.
"It's not something I advertise. Didn't want to be treated any different because I'm a legacy."
Koenig chuckled, "If I was the grandson of a Howling Commando, I'd have that tattooed on my chest."

He stretched for a moment before continuing.
"Have you heard of Project Insight?"
"Nope."
"Ever had any contact with Alexander Pierce?"
Trip shook his head, "No, but Garrett would get a call from him once in a while, said they had a mutual friend."
"You wash up on a deserted island all alone. There's a box on the sand. What is in that box?"
"A sat phone, so I can call someone to get me off that island."
"Last question: Why are you here. S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists… So, why?"
"My grandfather fought Hydra back in the day," Trip settled back in the chair. "The good guys won then; we'll do it again."

Simmons looked at Koenig before glancing around the practically empty room.
"What is your name?"
"Jemma Anne Simmons. Anne with an E."
"Okay… What's the difference between an egg and a rock?" The scientists' eyes darkened as if upset at the questions.
"Well, that's absurd, the differences are innumerable. If you want, I can start listing them."

He sighed, letting the question pass.
"You wash up on a deserted island alone. Sitting on the sand is a box. What is in that box?"
"That's a hard one. Let me think. The Tardis." She had barely hesitated, making Koenig smile.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists. The Agency has been labeled a terrorist organization. Why are you here?"
"Honestly… I'm not entirely sure."

Koenig smiled at Skye as she settled into the chair.
"What is your first name?"
"Skye."
"Last name?" Skye shook her head.
"Only name. No family. No family name to inherit."
"And you gave yourself the name Skye?" Koenig asked. "Well, the name they gave me at the orphanage was Mary Sue Poots, so…"

The agent's smile widened just a bit.
"When we were kids, my brother and I used to give each other nicknames. He called me Lightening Foot." Skye chuckled. "Have you ever heard of Project Insight?" Skye's eyes scrunched up.
"No. Is it important?"
"I'll be asking the questions," Koenig reminded her. "Have you ever had any contact with Alexander Pierce?"
"No."
"You end up on a deserted island all alone. There's a box sitting on the sand. What do you have in that box?"
"I want to say my laptop fully charged. But I don't want to seem subversive with the Rising Tide and all –"
"You're overthinking it," he warned.
"My laptop would be stupid anyway, there's no wi-fi," she muttered.

Skye glanced up at him, waiting for the next question.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists. The Agency has been labeled a terrorist organization. Why are you here?" She thought for a moment before shrugging.
"It's the only home I've ever known." He looked at the monitors and then back up at her with a smile.
"Congratulations, Agent Skye. Let's get you a lanyard."

Looking at Sara, Koenig tried his best not to frown. She looked frustrated, but not with him.
"Name?" he began.
"Full name?" she questioned.
"Yes please." She straightened, as if giving her name was a death sentence.
"Sara Elizabeth Camilla Reyes-Fitz."
"Hair color?"
"Black."
"Have you ever heard of Project Insight?"

Sara shook her head.
"Not that I know of."
"Okay. Have you ever had any contact with Alexander Pierce?" At that, she looked up.
"Yes. I had dinner with him once. It sucked. He is – was – creepy. And he wouldn't stop staring at me. It was uncomfortable." He smirked inwardly at her disgust but kept his face placid.
"You end up on a deserted island all alone. There's a box sitting on the sand. What do you have in that box?"
"I… I don't know."
"What do you mean?"

She blew a piece of hair out of her face.
"I don't know what would be in that box… Maybe a bottle of rum and a pistol with a single shot." That wasn't the answer he was expecting.
"Why…"
She shrugged, "Drown my loneliness with that terrible drink and then end it all. That's what pirates did. Why should I be any different?" She chuckled softly, reading his face. "Don't worry about it, Agent Koenig, I'm not suicidal." He chuckled with her.
"All right. S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists. The Agency has been labeled a terrorist organization. Why are you here?"

He glanced down, her heartrate accelerating. He looked back up at her as she took a deep breath, calming herself.
"Well… I didn't really have any choice, now did I?"
"Explain, please?"
"Fitz is my brother. May has been my 'mother' figure since I can remember. Ward is my… significant other. Coulson trained me. None of them would just let me walk away. Fitz would leave with me, and I can't let him do that. Coulson would feel betrayed. May and Ward would try to be understanding, but they'd never look at me the same. Walking away would be a sign of failure."

Koenig nodded slowly. She wasn't lying. He walked over to her, helping her undo the wires.
"Take it easy, Agent Reyes-Fitz," he said.
"Thank you, Agent Koenig."
"Grab Agent Ward for me, will you?"

Ward was leaning anxiously against the wall across from the door. He stood up straighter when Sara existed. She was putting on her lanyard.
"Piece of cake?" he questioned. She shrugged, slightly pale.
"You're gonna hate it," she warned. He gave her a quick kiss.
"Go lie down," he suggested.
"Ward…"
"No, you need it. Those circles under your eyes say you haven't slept properly in about a week." They exchanged soft smiles before she walked away.

The smile on Ward's face dropped as he stared at the door. He took a deep breath before entering. Koenig settled him down in the chair before walking over to his equipment. "What is your full name?" he questioned.
"My name is Grant Douglas Ward."
"Please list your immediate family."
"Two parents, a sister, two brothers. Don't have any contact with them. I'm engaged to Agent Reyes-Fitz."

Koenig frowned at Ward's baseline. Everyone else had calm lines, but Ward's lines were jumping and scrambled all over.
"Boy, your baseline's getting a lot of spikes. Are you in pain?" Ward took a deep breath, grimacing.
"Yeah, only when I breathe. Two broken ribs." Shifting, Ward looked uncomfortable as Koenig looked back down at the monitor.
"Okay, well, try not to move. It may affect the results."
Ward nodded, "I'll try my best."

Coulson stood in a room with Trip and Fitz-Simmons. He wore a lanyard around his neck, loading a gun.
"Marcus Daniels was an assistant at a physics lab where they were trying to harness the electrical power of something called Darkforce. And nothing bad ever happens when you work with something called "Darkforce"."

Trip took the gun that Coulson handed him. Fitz looked over at Trip.
"It's a form of cosmic radiation, pure negative energy. Unstable but powerful. You knew that already, didn't you?" Trip smirked as Fitz looked back to Coulson.
"Daniels was exposed, ended up being able to absorb energy, all types," Coulson told them.
"Well, the human brain, the heart, run on electrical impulses," Simmons supplied.
"Exactly. He can kill with one touch."

Loading his mag, Trip looked up at them.
"And I'm guessing he likes to do it. Do we need to put a bullet in him?" Coulson shook his head.
"Unfortunately, it's not that simple. He can absorb the energy of most conventional weapons."
"He sounds unstoppable," Simmons muttered.
"Like Fitz said, his power is unstable. Last time, we managed to capture him by overloading his system with pure light."

Fitz nodded before looking away thoughtfully.
"Exposing him to more energy than he could absorb at once. I'm sure we could engineer some sort of delivery mechanism en-route."
"That's what I was hoping you were gonna say," Coulson smirked.

Coulson looked over at Trip.
"You mind flying, being the specialist on this mission?"
"Sir, I'll be whatever you want me to be," Trip said firmly.
"That's what I was hoping you were gonna say." He walked out and Trip looked down at Simmons. She smiled warmly at him, and he returned a big grin. Fitz scoffed, disgusted at them.

Koenig fired another question at Ward.
"What is the difference between an egg and a rock?"
"Eggs are food. Rock's a weapon."
"Have you ever heard of Project Insight?"
Ward shook his head, "No."
"Ever made contact with Alexander Pierce?"
"No."
"You wash up on a deserted island alone. Sitting on the sand is a box. What's in that box?"
"It would depend on the island, where it is, how big, what's the terrain? Is there fresh water?"
"Just say the first thing that comes into your head."
"A pistol," Ward decided.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists. The Agency has been labeled a terrorist organization. So, why are you here?"
"I'm an agent. It's my duty."

The other agent looked down at the monitor and frowned. He could see that all the lines were spiking again.
"I need you to give that to me again," he said.
"It's my duty," Ward repeated. Koenig watched the monitor then lifted his hand, now holding a gun.
"I'm gonna ask you a follow up."

Ward's face fell a bit.
"Agent Ward, are you associated with Hydra?" Ward's eyes darted away then he looked at Koenig.
"Yes." Koenig looked at the monitors then up at Ward, who gave him a small smile. "We all are. They've infiltrated the highest levels of our organization."

Koenig cocked the gun and pointed it at Ward.
"Like you mean it. Are you Hydra?" He looked down at the monitor, waiting for Ward's answer.
"I'm loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D. To Agent Coulson… and to my team." The monitor still showed red signs of lying.
"Do you have another agenda here?"

One of Ward's hands tightened, remembering back to Garrett.
"I'll give you 24 hours to get the password and get out. After that, well… cross off the team and bring the girls to me." Sara's face appeared in his mind.
"I love you." Koenig brought him back to reality.
"Agent Ward, why are you really here?"

There was a long tense moment as Ward tried to figure his way out. He finally decided on Sara.
"Sara. I came back for her. I couldn't leave her."
"Sara?" Koenig repeated. Ward nodded. Technically it was the truth. He needed to get that password from her and Skye. Koenig un-cocked the gun, pulling it out of Ward's face.
"Must be nice. Having her, I mean." Ward nodded swiftly.
"It is."

Walking down an empty hallway, Ward wore a lanyard and a smirk. He turned the corner and looked to make sure it was empty before ducking behind a wall. He grimaced as he picked at his thumbnail. He let out a hissing groan while he picked at it.

Fitz walked by in the background and noticed him.
"Hey, Ward," he called. He walked towards Ward. Quickly, Ward pulled a needle out from under his thumbnail and turned to face Fitz.
"Hey, Fitz. Are you guys taking off?"
Fitz nodded, "Yeah, I wish you or Sara were coming instead of Trip. He's insufferable, isn't he?"

Ward's brow furled.
"Trip?" he asked.
"Yeah," Fitz nodded.
"I think the guy's okay," Ward shrugged.
"I know. He's terrible. He's a horrible person." Ward rolled his eyes. Clearly Fitz wasn't paying attention to him.
"You sure this is about him?" he asked. "Not about Simmons?"
"What the hell does that mean?" Fitz asked.
"Everything is falling apart around us. We don't know how it'll end. If there's something you want to tell her, don't wait."

Fitz looked at him with confusion and worry.
"Maybe Sara should check you again for a head injury…" Ward rolled his eyes a bit as Fitz scoffed. "Cause that's not the Ward that I know." Fitz turned and walked away. Ward felt stung by that.
"You know what?" he called after him. "Do what you want, I don't care!" He marched down the opposite direction from Fitz, who turned back.
"Good to have you back!"

Sara felt her bunk shift as Ward laid down next to her. He curled up around her, hands laying on her stomach. He was out like a light, and she stayed still. He was hiding something from her. Something that he wasn't gonna share. Ward mumbled something, pulling her closer to him. She closed her eyes, willing herself to fall asleep.

May opened the door to Sara's bunk silently. She smiled lightly when she saw her 'daughter' asleep with Ward curled up around her. She closed the door and walked to the dining area where Coulson was making himself a thermos of coffee.
"I should be flying this mission," May told her.
"I made another call," Coulson told her. "Stay here. Get the fuel line repaired on The Bus."

Coulson went to walk past May, but she moved her body to block him.
"I remember when you brought Daniels in. I know how personal this is for you, but –"
"We don't do personal… not anymore," he snapped.
"Phil, the polygraph cleared me. I'm not hiding anything."
"You mean you're not hiding anything else, unless you do know what was behind the T.A.H.I.T.I. project."

May shook her head.
"I didn't ask. I was ordered not to. And you would've done the same thing. Our job is to follow orders."
"It's also your job to determine right from wrong. Watching someone in agony, searching for the truth, nothing saying anything – that's wrong."

Coulson walked past her toward the door.
"Look, I was just trying to be –" He spun around, his eyes angry.
"And don't tell me it's because you care so damn much. Fury's no longer around telling you what to do, so, why are you here? You want some orders to follow? Follow mine or find somewhere else to be." With that, he stormed out of the room.

Trip and Fitz-Simmons followed Coulson a hallway. The rounded a corner to find May, Skye, Ward, and Sara waiting to see them off. They stopped at a big heavy set of secure doors and waited while they rolled open. Both teams shared looks between each other. Coulson was glaring at May. May turned her face away and Sara glanced over at them, noticing the tension.

Simmons handed a piece of paper to Sara, smiling brightly.
"Thanks," Sara said, ignoring the strange look from Ward. Fitz glanced at his sister, giving her a small smile before walking away. Ward draped an arm around her shoulders, giving her a comforting squeeze.

Inside the plane, Fitz-Simmons sat across from Coulson as Trip flew them.
"How can you be sure he's going to Portland?" Simmons questioned.
"Daniels was obsessed with a woman there. He called her 'his only light in the darkness'."
"That's almost romantic," Simmons sighed. Fitz shot her a look. "Almost," she repeated.

Fitz looked up at Coulson.
"The man's been locked in The Fridge for years. He must be over her by now."
"Some people are hard to get over. Besides, Daniels is pathologically insane, single-minded, obsessive. His powers not only robbed him of a normal life, they also pretty much fried his brain."
"What about the woman?" Fitz asked.
"Audrey Nathan. She's how we tracked him the first time. We find Ms. Nathen, we find Daniels."