Episode 19: The Only Light in the Darkness
Part Two

A woman stood beneath a streetlamp, stretching, and preparing for a run. She didn't notice, but a light further up the path behind her went dark. She was wearing a sweatshirt that said: PDX Philharmonic. She stopped stretching and look out her earbuds from her pocket before putting them in.

She relaxed as classical music started playing. She took off running. She made it a few yards before stopping, her music cutting off. She took out her earbuds and turned to look behind her. She saw a strange man striding up to her just before the light above him went out.

The woman's eyes widened, and she ran away from him. He did nothing to hurry his steps. A car started down the road, blinding her with headlights before spinning so that the passenger side door was closest the Audrey. It opened and Simmons poked her head out.
"Audrey Nathan?" Simmons asked.
"What?"

Audrey started looking around.
"There, there, there's a man after me!"
"No, we know. We're with the CIA. Get in!" Audrey ran and got into the car. Trip turned the wheel and they started off, passing another car.

The car stopped not far away from Daniels, and Fitz and Sara's drones flew out of the car. They all circled around Daniels and shone lights on him. Daniels shielded his eyes from the drones. Coulson got out of the driver's side and pointing a flashlight at Daniels as Fitz got out of the passenger side, controlling the drones.
"Mr. Daniels, we don't want to hurt you. We need to take you in, for your safety, and the safety of others."

Daniels pointed angrily at Coulson.
"It was you! You took me there!" Daniels yelled. Coulson looked over at Fitz pointedly and Fitz messed with his tablet. The number of lights from the drones increased, making Daniels back up a step and put his hands back in front of his eyes. He panted a few times and then was able to take down his hands to stare at Coulson. "They did things to me there!" Daniel shouted.
"They were trying to contain you," Coulson said.
"No! They were trying to make me stronger."

The man smiled at Coulson.
"And they did." He thrusted both of his hands out, pointing each one at Fitz and Coulson. They were hit with a dark stream of energy and were knocked off their feet. They both grimaced and grunted as they got back to their feet. When they got up, they realized Daniels was gone.
"Here's where we'd normally call for reinforcements," Coulson said.
Where'd he go?" Fitz asked.

Skye stood in front of a bank of monitors, looking at all the people who escaped The Fridge.
"Here's something," Skye said. "Police report out of Morocco, attempted murder. The victim says the guy appeared out of nowhere, disappeared into thin air."
"Yeah, you just described every mugging, ever," Koenig remarked.

Sara scoffed and nodded in agreement from where she was sitting on a chair, staring at the piece of paper Simmons had given her. Skye sighed then noticed Koenig working on something. She tilted herself to look over his shoulder. She saw a layout of Providence with red blinking dots. The darts were labeled with the names of the people still on the base.

Skye looked down at her lanyard then back to Koenig. She took her lanyard off and dropped it. There was an alarm from Koenig's tablet, and he turned to look at her. He looked down at the lanyard then back up to Skye. He rolled her eyes.
"Aren't you clever?"
"Aren't you sneaky," she shot back. She scoffed and then picked up her lanyard.
"Using these to keep watch on all of us."

A sudden thought came to her and she looked at the monitor, then down to the floor. Koenig quickly looked to the monitors then to her.
"What?"
"We have been killing ourselves, trying to guess where these guys went. But what if we could see it, get visuals on where the prisoners went after leaving The Fridge."

Koenig laughed but shook his head.
"That's a good idea, but, uh, right now S.H.I.E.L.D. sat surveillance is dark."
"Ours are the only ones up there," Skye said.
"Well," Sara looked up at them. "The only other satellites in the vicinity that could have –" She cut herself off and sighed with an eyeroll. "The NSA, Skye? You want to hack the NSA?"

She nodded and Koenig chuckled nervously.
"That's a bad idea, Skye. That's a terrible idea. The NSA's already got S.H.I.E.L.D. on its watch list. Why poke the bear? The big, scary, waterboarding bear?"
"Ohhhh! I thought you were a comms agent, not an agent of playing video games while hiding in a bunker."

Unbeknownst to them, Ward walked into the room.
"You can't goad me into…" Koenig stopped when he caught sight of Ward, hurriedly using a folder to cover his tablet tracking their movements. Skye looked over at him.
"Can you help me convince Steve Rogers here to suit up, grab his shield, head into battle?"

Ward pushed Sara over to make room for him before looking back at Skye and Koenig. She hastily crumbled up the paper, stuffing it into her pocket.
"Okay. Who's he supposed to battle?" he asked.
"If we hack NSA satellites, we can get footage from The Fridge breakout, see who was there, where they went." Sara blew a piece of hair out of her face.
"I happen to know, Steve Rogers, Skye, and I'm fairly certain that he would agree with Koenig." Ward kissed her temple.
"But she's right. It's worth trying."

Skye turned to Koenig, happy to have Ward's backup and Koenig sighed.
"You know," Ward began. "I can't hack the NSA, but maybe I can upload the hard drive you gave me, get the specs on the weapons they might be carrying."
Skye nodded hurriedly, "Absolutely we should." She looked over at Sara.
"We can't," Sara said pulling away from Ward to stand up. "The encryption is location based. You'd have to take a field trip at some point to decrypt it. Have fun, I'm going to find May."

Ward smiled and nodded at her, although he seemed disappointed. Koenig stood, smiling at Skye.
"Color me impressed. Now, impress me more. Get me that footage." He pulled a lanyard out of his pocket but held it back before he could grab it.
"These are the keys to the comm/sat room. The mainframe is in there. Start the hack, but then send the feed to these monitors." He handed the keys to Skye as Ward looked away, worried and disappointed at how it was going. "Let's live dangerously," Koenig chuckled.
"Yeah!" Skye nodded.

Skye started out of the room.
"How long before you get visuals?" Ward asked. She turned around with a sigh, thinking.
"Um… NSA satellites should be tough. Give me an hour." She started off again.
"Great."
"This is exciting," Koenig told him. Ward turned, glancing at him. "Let's see if being sneaky pays off." Ward gave him a smile and a nod.

Simmons, Trip, and Audrey stood in the kitchen of a small apartment.
"We should be safe here," Simmons told Audrey.
"I thought he was locked up," Audrey said.
"He escaped from prison," Simmons sighed.
"You don't have to worry," Trip comforted. "That's why we're here. We're gonna keep you safe."
""We"? Meaning the CIA?" Audrey asked.

Trip shot a look a look to Simmons, who didn't notice while she kept her eyes on Audrey.
"Of course," Simmons nodded. "That's what I said, isn't it? We're the CIA." Her lying was terrible. If only she had asked Sara for tips.
"You're not," Audrey shook her head. "You're a S.H.I.E.L.D. aren't you?"
"We're just trying to help," Trip said quickly. "We're not the bad guys." Audrey nodded her head in agreement.
"I know. I don't believe what they're saying about S.H.I.E.L.D. The Agency saved my life once before."

Coulson and Fitz stood in an abandoned apartment, listening in on their conservation with Audrey while Fitz messed with the drones.
"A few years ago," Audrey continued. "I saw Daniels at one of my concerts, front row. Then I started seeing him at all of them. At first, I was flattered. Cellists don't get many groupies."

Simmons laughed a bit as Audrey smiled embarrassed.
"But then, one night, I saw him outside my house. I was terrified. I begged him to leave me alone. He just stood there, saying I was his light. I didn't understand what he meant until he started blacking out my entire block. I ran and called the police. They didn't believe me. But then, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent came to my door.

"I don't know why, but I trusted him right away. Something about his face, the handsome part maybe. He just swooped in. It was like… out of a movie." Simmons smiled at her. "You two were… close?"
Audrey nodded, "Very. He promised me he would stop Daniels. And that's exactly what he did. That's why I know I can trust S.H.I.E.L.D. Phil never lied to me." Simmons perked up at that.
"Phil?"
"Agent Phillip Coulson?" Audrey said.

Fitz looked up from what he was doing, gapping at Coulson.
"I've heard the name," Trip said.
"Is that… Audrey was… you two were…" Fitz stammered.
Coulson nodded, "Yeah."
"Okay." He quickly went back to work on his drone.

Simmons looked at Audrey, her eyes saddened.
"What happened to him?" she asked. Audrey sighed sadly.
"He died in the line of duty. I don't know the details. We were planning a trip up the coast, and then I got the call."
"You must miss him," Simmons said.
"For so long after he died, everything reminded me of him. His daughter still visits, but they are brief and sparce." She laughed tearfully. "I still dream about him sometimes, just us together, laughing."

Coulson reached up taking out his earbud.
"I wake up feeling like he's watching over me. It's nice," Audrey said.
"Maybe you should go in there," Fitz offered. Coulson shook his head.
"No, she's healing. She's getting on with her life. We should help her do that."
"I think I know a way," Fitz told him. "How to stop Daniels for good."

Fitz looked away sheepishly as Coulson turned to look at him.
"But we would have to use her to draw him out," he added.
"No." Coulson shook his head, "Do you understand? That's not acceptable."
Fitz nodded, "It's not ideal, but there's no other choice."
"I won't put her danger again," Coulson snapped. "That's not fair to her."
"But, sir, I'm sorry, she's already in danger," Fitz reminded him. "And you said it yourself, Daniels is single-minded. He's dangerous. He won't stop until he gets what he wants."

Ward walked into the cargo hold of The Bus. He tucked a gun into the back of his jeans, covering it up with his shirt. Sara sat on a chair, twisting herself around as she glared at May, who was deep in thought. Both of them jumped when Ward spoke.
"How's it coming? Is The Bus operational?"
"Still banged up," May shrugged. "But she's ready to fly. The fuel line's been repaired and the tank's full."
"What's the range on this thing?"
"Just under 10,000 miles," May answered.

She turned away from him and his hand went to the gun at his back. She grabbed a big black bag out of her bunk and walked out, throwing Ward off his course of action. He took his hand off the gun and folded his arms.
"Are you leaving?"
"Yeah. I was here for Coulson. But he can't see past me lying to him."
Ward nodded, "I get why you did it. When you get orders, you don't question 'em. You follow 'em."

Sara's heart started pounding at the change in his tone.
"No matter the price," he practically whispered.
"Yeah, well, this price was too high," May muttered. "I lost him. Coulson doesn't want me here. He doesn't need me."

May turned and started off again.
"So, what should I tell him?" Sara asked. "Whatever you want. He won't hear it." Ward smiled at his bit of luck that he didn't have to kill May, but it dropped as Sara ran after her.
"What about me?" she demanded. "I'm only here because you're here. I almost turned it down until Hill told me you were on board." May brushed past her.
"Do what you want, Sara. You're an adult." Sara blinked tears out of her eyes.
"May…"
"Goodbye Sara." The younger agent turned, marching angrily away.

Koenig stood in his office, looking at his monitors. Ward entered the room. As Ward entered, one of the windows changed from a sunset to nighttime.
"How's it going?" Ward asked. Koenig turned and saw Ward, smiling. He gestured at the camera.
"Oh, hey. Believe it or not, Skye got us in! We have access to the NSA's complete sat feed history! That girl's good."

Ward shook his head with a smile.
"Uh… the images are a little patchy, but they're gonna clear up any second." Koenig turned back to the monitors all the humor was wiped from Ward's face, replaced by anger. "I guess living on the edge really pays off sometimes." Ward turned back towards the door.
"Yeah, sometimes." He closed the door.

Audrey stood on a stage with Simmons and Trip. Coulson and Fitz were watching from behind glass in the control room.
"What if he doesn't show?" Audrey asked.
"Before they put him away, he never missed a rehearsal, right?" Trip asked.
"No," Audrey sighed.
"Then he won't this time either," Trip reckoned.
"Don't worry, we'll be close," Simmons promised. "All you need to do is keep playing until Daniels gets close to the stage. We'll do the rest."

She shivered, gripping her cello tightly.
"Last time, there were two whole teams of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents."
"See up there?" Simmons asked. She pointed up to the control room where Coulson and Fitz were.
"Our best agents are watching. They won't let anything happen to you."

Inside the control room, Fitz held up a big metal object.
"I pulled these from the jet's power reserves," he said. "Simmons made me wear gloves." He laughed at that. "She's so uptight, that one." He looked at Coulson, who didn't respond. "Sir?"

Coulson turned and looked down at the device in Fitz' hands.
"Good, can they stop him?"
"Okay, well, this will modify the frequency and wavelength of the stage lights, although technically they wouldn't be lights at that point. More like gamma rays."
"Tell me this will work," Coulson said. "I gave Daniels to S.H.I.E.L.D. to rehabilitate him. Turns out they just gave him an upgrade."
"Well, I mean, there's a slight chance he would absorb the energy and gain more power, but it's unlikely."
Coulson swallowed, "Who'd you say created this technology again?"
"Bruce Banner."
"Then I'm sure it'll go off without a hitch."

Staring out the window, Coulson watched his two agents speaking with Audrey. Fitz was standing behind him, preparing the weapon to use on Daniels. Coulson sighed when he saw Trip walking away and Simmons putting a hand on Audrey's shoulder in comfort.
"We better get going," Coulson said. "Daniels will be here soon."

Fitz glanced down at Audrey before up at Coulson.
"Why don't you tell her the truth, that you're still alive?" Coulson turned and looked at Fitz, who shifted uncomfortably.
"Sir, it's just… the way she talks about you sounds like you two had something nice." Coulson looked back at Audrey.
"We did."

They watched Simmons walk away, leaving Audrey alone.
"So, it's not because you're afraid to talk to her?" Fitz asked.
"I don't want to hurt her again," Coulson said. "Besides, it's not like I can stay." He looked back at Fitz. "We have a job to do." There was a pause before Fitz caught on and he turned toward the weapon.
"Yeah."

Audrey sat in the center of the stage, preparing to play her cello. There was only one light on, the spotlight illuminating her. She began to strum a slow song. A light in the hallway went out, one they couldn't see.

Skye sat on Koenig's desk, looking at her folder. She sighed as she stood. Shutting the folder, she put it back on the desk. She looked over and saw Koenig's tablet under another folder, the tracking program still pulled up. She picked up the tablet and saw a dot labeled "Koenig".
"There you are Eric." She lifted the tablet higher and turned a few times, orienting herself on the map, then she set off to find Koenig.

Ward stood at a sink, washing blood off his hands. He was in the dining area alone for the moment. He picked up a shiny napkin holder and checked himself for blood. He set it back down then put his hand in his pocket, looking around.

When he saw that the room was still empty, he pulled out a long thin wire, and washed the blood off it as well. He looked over his shoulder again then wrapped the wire around his hand and stashed it away. He needed to find Skye, but he also needed to check up on Sara.

She was asleep in their bunk when he opened it. She had her arms curled around his pillow like she did whenever he was late. He walked over to her, gentling rubbing her shoulder. She muttered something, curling up tighter. He chuckled, kissing her cheek.
"Grant?" she mumbled.
"Hey baby."

Ward brushed a piece of hair out of her face.
"Fitz called and he needs us to fly The Bus out to them. I'm gonna grab Skye, can you get to The Bus?" She shrugged, sitting up as she yawned. Ward kissed her forehead quickly before slipping out of the room, shutting the door.

Audrey kept playing as Daniels entered the theater. He walked down an aisle and the lights went out. He watched her entranced, then closed his eyes, smiling as he listened to her play. She finally realized he was there and stopped playing. His eyes snapped open when she stopped.
"No, keep playing," he said. "I'm sorry I scared you. I know that I'm a monster. But you're the one who can save me." Audrey nervously looked around then put her bow back to the cello and started playing again. Daniels smiled and started to walk toward her.

Skye walked down a hallway with Koenig's tablet held up, looking at the map. She stopped in front of a storage room and put her ear close to the door, knocking lightly.
"Eric?" She tried the knock and it twisted so she opened the door.

When the door opened, she heard something small and metal hit the floor. She looked down confused and saw a penny spinning. She looked up then picked up the coin.
"That's weird," she muttered.

Skye walked deeper into the room. It had shelves running along the walls.
"Eric?" She looked around but didn't see Koenig. She turned and walked deeper into the room. "Eric?" She looked down at the tablet and saw that her little dot was literally right on top of Koenig's.

Suddenly, a few drops of blood hit the screen. She looked up and gasped. She saw Koenig's body stored up in the ceiling rafters. Skye covered her mouth, keeping in the scream she wanted to let loose. She gasped and looked at the tablet again. She saw Ward coming toward her. Realization dawned on her and her eyes went big.
"Ward."

Audrey played her cello and Daniels chuckled, walking closer to her. Coulson, inside the booth, hit a few buttons and waited. Fitz-Simmons shared a nervous look between them. Trip walked up some stairs, holding the weapon Fitz made as Audrey looked nervously at Daniels.

Coulson slid a button up and the light Simmons was holding onto lit up brightly. Fitz and Trip's lights also lit up and the three of them focused their beams at Daniels. At first, he turned away from the beams, seeming to be absorbing them.

Suddenly, he turned towards Trip and shot out Dark-matter, hitting him and knocking him back. He aimed at Simmons and hit her as well. Her light was knocked out of her hand as he turned to Fitz.

Once the three lights were down, he turned and glared at Audrey. She set down her bow and cello and stood as Coulson hurried out of the control room. Fitz hurried over towards the grimacing Simmons.
"Jemma," he gasped out.

Daniels stalked closer to the stage and Audrey moved back.
"No. Please!" He stopped at the pleading in her voice. Suddenly, he was hit from behind by one of the lights. He turned and saw Coulson holding the light. Daniels lifted his hand to fire at Coulson, but Trip rebounded and fired his light at Daniels' head.

Audrey had to cover her eyes from all the bright light. Daniels had a stream of Dark-matter coming from his hand that didn't reach Coulson and started to dissipate. Daniels screamed in pain as he exploded from the Dark-matter within. Audrey let out a yell as she was blown backwards.

Skye breathed heavily as she shut a door behind herself.
"No, no." She ran her hand through her hair and walked deeper into what seemed like a bathroom. She was very shaken and close to tears. "No. Oh, no." She put a hand to her mouth to cover the sounds and the shock.

She jumped when she heard Ward's voice.
"Skye? Skye!" She looked around, taking in a shaky breath, lowering her hands from her face. She sank to the floor, thinking everything through. "He's Hydra." She took a steadying breath. "Okay. Okay. Okay." She looked around the room.

Opening a medicine cabinet, she rummaged around inside it. She jumped when she heard Ward's voice again.
"Skye!" She closed a supply cabinet and turned, frantically looking around. Something caught her eye and she stared at the window unit in the base. It showed a city at night.

Coulson hurried over and knelt next to Audrey, lifting her wrist to check her pulse.
"Oh." He let out a relieved sigh and looked her over. "You're safe. I'm still here." He ran his hand over her head and hair, and she smiled a bit. "I promise. I'm still here with you." He leaned down and softly kissed her forehead. She moaned a bit, a tear sliding out of her eye.

Audrey opened her eyes as a hand touched her shoulder. She looked up hopefully.
"Phil?"
"Are you okay?" Simmons asked. Trip and Fitz also stood nearby.
"I… I though… that he was here. Seemed so real this time. See what we want to see, I guess." Simmons slowly nodded her head and gave her a small smile.
"I guess so."

Ward searched the base for Skye. His face was hard and closed off. He was not happy. He turned a corner and saw a door, then sighed. That was where Koenig was. He stood in front of the door and opened it. He put his hand out and the coin fell into his palm.
"Hey!"

He quickly turned around to see Skye standing at the end of the hall, giving him a smile.
"Think I'd be hiding in a closet?" He gave her a warm smile as he shut the door then walked over to her.
"I just got word from Fitz," he said. Skye looked surprised by that. "They need our help. The Bus is fueled, readying to go. Sara's waiting for us.

Skye's voice stopped him as he started walking away.
"We should tell Koenig."
"I just did," Ward said. "He's headed outside to open the hanger doors. We're in a hurry."
"Okay. Leave the way." She gave him a light laugh before following after.

Coulson and Fitz sat in the back of the plane, flying back to Providence.
"Sir?" Fitz asked. Coulson looked at him. "Is everything okay?"
"She said I never lied to her, "Coulson muttered. "Today, I did. But she's alive, and safe. We did that, at least."
"Why didn't you tell her the truth?" Fitz questioned.
"I will. Someday, I guess, when there's a chance she'll understand."

Fitz looked away, lost in thought and something occurred to Coulson.
"When we get back, I need to make things right with May. How can I expect Audrey to forgive me if I'm not willing to do the same?" A shadow passed over his face and he undid his seatbelt as Simmons walked into the area. "I'm gonna check with Trip and see how much longer we have."

Simmons hurried over to stand in front of Fitz as Coulson walked away.
"We need to talk," she said firmly.
"We do?" Fitz asked.
Simmons nodded, "Agent Triplett thinks he's done something to upset you. Fitz, if you're questioning his loyalty in any way, I can assure you –" Fitz shook his head.
"It's not him."
"Well, what is it then?"

Fitz opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Simmons lifted her eyebrows, waiting. He closed his mouth and gave her a sheepish smile.
"Uh, you know how I can be. I hate change."

Coulson, Fitz-Simmons, and Trip walked into the hanger, looking around with shocked expressions at the lack of The Bus.
"Where's our bus?" Simmons asked.
"And our team?" Fitz added. Coulson looked around.
"I don't know."

Sara sat in the cockpit at the controls. Ward sat beside her with Skye standing nearby. She gave a little smile to the rising sun.
"It's so beautiful," she hummed. Sara flipped a switch but sent a smile her way.
"So, are we off to Portland?" Skye asked. Ward shook his head.
"Actually, Fitz thinks the 0-8-4 plasma ray we found in Peru might help."

Skye tilted her head to the side.
"Didn't we jettison that to the sun?"
Ward nodded, "Yeah, but Fitz has the specs on it."
"On the hard drive," Sara muttered, pressing a button. Skye nodded her head knowingly as Ward looked away.
"You need us to decrypt the hard drive," she remarked.
"The team does," Ward corrected. "And since it's coupled to specific coordinates, Agent Skye… you're in charge." He gave her a little smile. "Where to next?"

Internally, Sara started to panic, but her outwardly appearance didn't change. Ward was Hydra. This just confirmed it. She was married to a monster. She watched as the two of them left the cockpit, leaving her alone.
"I'll be right back," Skye promised. She shot Sara a glance, one that said she knew the truth as well.

May walked down a road with her bag slung over her shoulder. An SUV came up behind her, went past her, then angled itself in her path. She took the bag off her shoulder and put it in the backseat and then got into the passenger side.

Sitting down, she barely glanced at the older Asian woman behind the wheel. She sighed as she closed the door and put on her seatbelt. Once her seatbelt was on, the woman shut off the engine.
"What are you doing?" May asked. "We have to go."
"500 miles," the woman said.
"What?" May puzzled.
"500 miles, and I don't even get a "thank you"."

Sighing May dropped her head a bit.
"I was just about to –"
"It's too late," the woman told her.
"… thank you."
"I said too late." May let out another deep sigh as they both stared out the front window.

The woman turned and looked at May with a questioning look.
"You can call anybody you like. Why me?"
"I needed someone I can trust." The woman looked at her for a second longer than the back out the front window.
"That bad, huh?" May gave her a little shrug in answer.
"Did you get it?"

Pulling a manila envelope out from behind the sun visor and handed it to May.
"I may be retired, but I still have contacts. And my agency hasn't fallen apart." May rolled her eyes a bit but said nothing. The woman leaned over and touched May's leg."You're not the only one looking, you know. She won't be hard to find."

May nodded, "I know."
"You're not going to take her out, are you?"
"No, mom," May rolled her eyes. "I just want to talk." Mrs. May put the car in drive.
"Good. I've always liked Maria. How's my granddaughter?" May smiled sadly at her mother question as the car started down the road again.

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