Episode 3: The Asset
PART 2

In front of Ian Quinn's estate, Skye's taxi pulled up. She was wearing a pretty pink dress with her hair curled. She took a deep breath then walked forward to the front door. In the courtyard, a waitress stopped by Skye with a tray of Champaign, she took glass.
"Thank you." The waitress walked away, and Skye walked deeper into the party, sipping on her Champaign and taking it all in. Another waiter walked up to Skye.
"Hors D'oeuvre, Madame?" he asked.

She took a skewer off the tray and continued walking by, but a man's voice stopped her.
"Who are you?" She quickly turned around to see an older gentleman. A younger one waked over, speaking to Skye as he came.
"Oh, apologizes for his manners. He's know very little English."
"Oh, that, uh, that's – what, whatever." She waved away the worry then extended her hand to the older man for a handshake. "Skye."

Slowly, he reached out and shook her hand.
"Qasim Zaghlul."
Skye smiled brightly, "Big fan. You built half of Dubai, including the Arabian Blade." He gave her the tiniest of smirks. "I love that building, it's super sci-fi. Where's your wife…"
"Wife's name is Nadrah," May's voice buzzed through her ear.
"… Nadrah?"
"Twin sons."
"Is she staying at home with the boys?"

In The Bus, Fitz walked into the planning room with a large bowl of popcorn. He whispered to the others.
"How's she doing?" May and Simmons answered at the same time.
"She's good."

Meanwhile, Skye reached out and touched Qasim on the arm.
"The pleasure is mine." She gave him a small laugh then turned away. She almost immediately put her hand to her ear to talk to those on The Bus.
"I could get use to this, people. It's like Siri if it worked." She looked to a group of people off to her right. "Sipper to Bravo, I got eyes on top dog. The eagle is landing on it." "What are you doing?" Simmons asked.
"Uh, sorry, I – I don't know," Skye stuttered. "I see Quinn, I'm gonna go talk to him." She started off towards him.

Reaching the group, Skye positioned herself in Quinn's path.
"I mean, that and it's effective on the industrial average," Quinn was saying. Skye joined the group, laughing when they did.
"That was good," a man said.
"Yeah, right?" Skye said. She looked up at Quinn. "Ian Quinn. I'm your last minute party crasher. Skye."

Extending her hand, he gave it a shake.
"Oh." He chuckled. "Wow." She chuckled as well. "Great to meet you." He addressed the others in the group around him. "This is Skye, a member of The Rising Tide." The group looked at her and she gave them a little wave. "They're a group of hackers. They've gotten some pretty big secrets out of the public."

Skye smiled lightly, "I prefer "Hacktivist". I'm glad you've heard of our site."
"I read it," Quinn said. "We think very much alike, more freedom of information, less government infringing on everyone's rights, I'm a fan."
"That explains the invite. This is a tough party to get into."
"Not as hard to get into as the encrypted back channel you contacted us through to request the invite."
Skye laughed, "That's sort of where I live."
"You got to show me how you did that, I mean, if you sign on."

That threw her off.
"Sign what, now?"
Quinn shrugged, "I've been known to turn a few black hats into white hats. Not just for vulnerability analysis, but for very creative thinking."
"A-Are you offering me a job?"
"Well, I didn't just invite you here for your pretty face." He paused, "I didn't know you had a pretty face… Yes, I want to hire you before someone else snatches you up."

Quinn walked away, leaving Skye looking shocked.
"That seemed to go well," May buzzed.
"Yeah, it did." She took a sip of her drink as people at the party started to clap. Quinn had gotten on a small stage in front of them.
"Many of you shareholders have been with us for years, and I see a few new names here, but I want to thank you all for traveling so far to his beautiful country. And, well, for slumming it at Shaba Tal-Banar." The crowd laughed at his joke as he took a drink. "This country where we are allowed to pursue progress and profit without the stranglehold of regulations that are now choking our world. The United States government, the E.U., the DRTC, S.H.I.E.L.D., these are just a few of the institutions that are guilty of halting the development of new technology for anyone, expect themselves. We dare defy them with a new idea, they steal in and sweep it out from under us. But not today. You're all aware of what Quinn Worldwide has been able to do with basic minerals, let alone Uranium or Plutonium, despite these unjust restrictions that weigh the scales in the other guy's favor."

Slowly, Skye started moving away.
"Well, today, I am announcing something new, an element that could balance those scales. And I mean that quite literally." The screen behind him the device he was building. "Image if you could control gravity. If instead of drilling for oil, it rose up to great you. Imagine if you could move a super tanker's worth of cargo with a swipe of your hand." Quinn smiled cheerfully. "Well, we will do this and more!" As he talked, Skye slipped into the house.

Sara and Ward pulled an inflatable raft onto the beach. They both were wearing comfortable but regulation operation clothes. Sara spoke quietly to Ward.
"This could be a traumatic experience for Dr. Hall. He may not be the same when we find him. I'll talk him down. We don't want your personality to set him on edge."
"I thought you liked my personality," he teased.
"Great time for humor, Ward," she teased back.
Ward shrugged, "My people skills are the least of our problems if Skye can't get us in."

Skye walked down a hallway looking for a signal. She stopped outside a set of double doors and pushed on them, it didn't open.
"It's locked, but there's no lock."
"Eh, check for a keypad," Fitz said. She looked around.
"Nothing… Wait, can you hack a keypad?"
"No, not over the phone."
"Is there a reception desk?" May asked.

Looking to her right, she saw a small desk set up in the hallway, she walked toward it.
"Okay, yeah." She got to the desk. "Well, now what do I do?"
"What are you trying to do?" Quinn asked. She turned to him quickly.
"Just…" she sat down her glass, looking at the desk. She chuckled. "Looking for a pen." She pulled one out and held it up. "Here we go."

She laughed again and Quinn smiled, but he wasn't buying what she was selling.
"Got to write down all those good ideas, you know what I mean?... Of course you know what I mean, you probably have like ten pens for all your ideas."
"What are you really doing?" Quinn asked. Her face turned nervous for a moment, then she thought of something.
"All right. I'm busted. I was trying to get a glimpse behind your office doors, see how things really operate."

Quinn took a few steps closer to her.
"I invite you here as a guest, you treat me like another corrupt institution, looking for trade secrets to leak online." He backed up and put his phone near his mouth. "Security." "No, no, no, wait," Skye exclaimed. He put the phone down. "It's just with all these la-di-da people, you have to be so guarded, so careful. What'd you say, what secrets you reveal." She leaned over the desk and started writing something. "And… I was hoping that you and I could be honest with one another. If you know what I mean." She held up the piece of paper:

S.H.I.E.L.D. is listening

Fitz munched on popcorn while he, Simmons, and May listened to Skye and Quinn.
"My office had less space, more wheels. Wow. A view of the ocean and the pool," Skye was saying. "Not a bad place to do business."
"Got the dispatch leaking Hall's location. User's an alias," May said.
"Oh, can you trace the DHCP server –" Fitz started.
"Trace is running, but it'll take time. Our girl?"
"I thought she was done for," Simmons said, "but she just sweet talked her way into Quinn's office."
"How'd she manage that?" May asked. Fitz mumbled something incoherently.
"She probably just used her, um…" He raised both of his hands up by his chest, indication her breasts.

The two women shot him looks and he started to stammer.
"Uh… uh… her, uh… ah, boobs."
Simmons sighed, "Ugh. That's the only explanation –" She was cut off when the feed from Skye went silent. "Oh, my gosh, the signal's dead." She hit a button, growing worried. "Fitz!"
"What, I didn't, she must've, oh lord."

Skye dropped her earpiece into a Champagne glass before letting out a small sigh.
"Much better. Haven't felt that "someone's watching my every move" feeling since I failed my driver's test."
Quinn frowned at her, "You want to tell me what the hell is going on?" He picked up the glass, looking at the earpiece. "S.H.I.E.L.D. got to you?"
Skye nodded, "They picked me up in L.A., I helped them in a crisis, and now they want to recruit me."
"Of course they do," Quinn sighed.

Quinn set the glass down on his desk.
"So, I played along, talked about inside info, I have a bunk on their plane. I've been gathering intel, biding my time until I could become useful. I thought this qualified."
"Why would they trust you with a covert operation like this?"
She shrugged, "Something about S.H.I.E.L.D. not breaking international laws. They had no other options, whereas I like to keep mine open."

Ward and Sara walked along the beach, coming across a sign that said:

DO NOT CROSS LETHAL RADIATION.

Sara bit her lip, bending down to pick up some rocks. She threw them up into the air and they hit the laser grid, flashing yellow. Ward took a deep breath and gave her a look of worry.
"Next patrol any minute now."

May's voice suddenly buzzed in their ears.
"Skye's offline. Repeat, we've lost audio and vitals." Ward frowned at Sara.
"Abort is not an option, but if she's compromising –"
"She's still our only way in to get to Dr. Hall."
Ward sighed, "And we're their only way out."

They turned as they heard a man's voice.
"Beach is all clear. Let's move up the ridge," the man called. The pair moved quickly, trying to find cover as guards came walking towards them.

Skye sat on a sofa in Quinn's office.
"You're saying they wanted to rope me in because I pose a genuine threat?" Quinn stood next to one of the windows.
"Yes, and fit their profile."
"Profile?" Skye questions.
"Sure. You're a criminal. You have a warrant somewhere."
Skye scoffed, "Probably."
"Specialized skill set."
"I try to stay humble, but fail."
"No family."

She had no quip of that, she lowered her eyes for a moment.
"Sorry," Quinn said. "I didn't mean to hit a nerve, but that's what these people do. S.H.I.E.L.D." he leaned in close to her. "They prey on fear and loneliness and desperation, and then they offer a home to those who have no one else to turn too. I can offer you something better." Skye looked away from him.

The guards crested the top of the ridge where Ward and Sara were hiding. Sara rushed out of some bushes and knocked the lead security guard's hand away from his gun. Ward fought another as Sara took hers down. Sara lazily held the guard's gun in her hand.
"Nice," she said before tossing it into the laser grid. He went up in a puff of smoke.
"Guy's clocks ticking," Ward said. "Where's Skye?"

Quinn stood and walked to sit next to Skye on the sofa.
"Say with us, there's no secrets, no lies and no agenda. You're free to do what you do without big brother watching over you. But first, you have to tell me exactly what agenda S.H.I.E.L.D. sent you in here with." She opened her purse.
"Well, they wanted me to do whatever it takes to get in here." She pulled out her compact, looking at herself in the mirror, seeing that there were red dots on the left side of the mirror.
"Get in here and…?" The lights suddenly went green. She ran a finger under one of her eyes.
"Bat my eyes." She snapped it closed and then sat it on the table. "Get you talking."

A despondent looking Simmons was leaning down over the table as May studied a monitor behind her. May quickly turned when she heard a beeping sound.
"We're in!" she exclaimed. Coulson stood from his chair in the corner.
"She's done it!"
"Fitz, you're up," May said. Fitz quickly hurried over to the table.
"Oh, mother of all things." He tried to get in front of May to get at the table. "Move, move, move!" He quickly started typing away.

Sara was tying the hands of a security guard when a voice came over the security guards radio.
"We have a man down! Hostiles on east ridge!" She and Ward both ducked when gunfire hit around them. They ran to the laser grid, but found it still on when a bullet hit it.
"We need a reset here, Fitz!" Ward snapped.

Ward pulled his gun as they continued to duck from incoming fire.
"Fitz!" Ward snapped again.
"Saying his name repeatedly does not increase productivity!" Sara scolded.
"Okay go!" Fitz called.
"Maybe it does, Sara," Simmons said.

Sara rushed through the grid before spinning around with her gun.
"Ward come on!" she shouted.
"Systems rebooting in two, one, now!" Sara breathed a sigh of relief as Ward dived in at the last possible moment. A shot was fired at them, but it hit the grid instead. With the cover of the grid, they hurried away.

Soon, they walked up some stairs toward the house.
"I'll look for Dr. Hall down in the lab," Sara said.
"I'll get Skye," Ward said. "Stay safe Sara."
"Right back at you," she said before hurrying down a passage.

Quinn stared at Skye in disbelief.
"No, you can't be the only angle. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s thorough enough to know about me and my exploits. It takes more than a pretty face to disarm me." A man entered the room. "Sir, we have a security breach." Quinn got off the sofa quickly.
"Oh, the timing on that was perfect," Skye said.

Quinn let out a sigh and picked up her compact. He took one look at it then broke it in two and threw down the pieces. He turned to the large man, and pulled out his gun, pointing it at Skye.

Dr. Hall was working over his monitor as the door opened and Sara entered.
"Dr. Hall," Sara said softly. She walked into the room, shooting a glance at the deice. "I'm Agent Reyes-Fitz. We have an exit strategy." Dr. Hall didn't pay any attention to her.
"S.H.I.E.L.D.?" he asked.
"Yes, sir. Let's get you out of here." Sara headed for the door again, but Dr. Hall's voice stopped her.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Reyes-Fitz, but I'm right where I'm supposed to be." He spared her a brief glance then went back to working on the device."
She frowned, "I'll be honest, our strategy did not take into consideration that you would say that."

On The Bus, May was trying to locate where the leak of Dr. Hall's whereabouts came from. There were two messages of her screen:

Alias Identified and Camera Memory Loading…

Once it loaded, May saw a picture of Dr. Hall looking at the camera. On the bottom of the screen it said:

Alias DHCP Login Identified; Workstation 32.29.1

Camera Memory Accessed.

May let out a sigh, "Oh, no. Coulson, come see this."

Sara stared at Dr. Hall, standing in front of the device with her back to it, not paying much attention.
"Look, I don't know what Quinn is promising you, but –"
"An opportunity," Hall said. There were zapping noises coming from the device that got Sara's attention. She turned, looking at the device.

The black undulating mass was now sparkling blue with electricity and the rings around it were spinning. Sara looked from the device to Hall.
"We can't let Quinn have control of this. It's too dangerous."
"We can't let anyone have control of this. That's why I'm here, to bury it at the bottom of the ocean, with him."

The zapping sounds increased, and the rings were beginning to light up with power. Sara stepped closer to the glass separating them and looked at the device. Coulson's voice came over her earpiece.
"Sara. The leak came from –"
"From Dr. Hall. Yeah, I'm getting that." Dr. Hall started speaking.
"All petitions, embargos in the world could stop Ian. He grows more powerful every day. And then I get word that he's found this."

The rings around the device started spinning even faster. It seemed to come alive with electricity. The force of it seemingly came alive, rocking the whole compound. Sara was knocked back for a second.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Reyes-Fitz. I had to make a choice." Dr. Hall hit another button and held it. It seemed to discharge the energy that had been building. The cabinets in the room all opened, spilling out the contents and sent them towards the device.
"Something tells me that wasn't the "off" button," Sara muttered. She suddenly was ripped off her feet.

She awoke with a gasp, on the floor with bottles and various things around her. She put her hand to her earpiece.
"Guys," she said in a groan, "we need to talk."
"Lost you for a minute," May buzzed. "We're aware of the problem. Dr. Hall wanted Quinn to kidnap him?"

May entered the lab where Fitz-Simmons were busy at work.
"Yeah, why would he do that?" Fitz asked.
"What is wrong with him?" Simmons asked.

Sara tried to get to her feet and her bearings to her feet.
"Quinn built a gravity generator, like the one we found but bigger. Dr. Hall knew Quinn would need him to control its raw power, but Dr. Hall just wanted to unleash it." She managed to get to her knees, but grunted in pain.
"The one that we found was 2.5 centimeters in diameter," Simmons said. "It stopped a semi… how big are we talking?"
"Um… about 12 feet. It'll definitely take down the entire compound."
"It'll sink the place," Simmons said.
"No, it'll do more than that," Fitz said.

Fumbling with the pocket of her pants, Sara pulled her inhaler, taking a long puff.
"Work a solution. I'll disconnect the power before things get…" She was finally able to stand taller on her knees. When she did, she saw that he was hanging upside down on the ceiling. The only thing left on the real ground was the monitor Hall was using, and that was because it was bolted to the floor. "… crazy," she finished.

Dr. Hall entered the room holding a gun.
"They can't help you," he told her. He opened a cabinet that held a bottle of booze and pulled it out, show it to Sara with a smile. "Soon, it'll reach exponential acceleration state." He pulled a glass out of the cabinet and bent down, picking up a chair, righting it.

Looking at the device, he sighed.
"I'm sorry." The device started spinning really fast, all the lines glowing on it. "
My team's here, good people," Sara said carefully.
"Sworn to protect all mankind? That's what I'm doing, I promise. Making things right."

He held up his glass at a weird angle and poured his drink, the liquid went sideways. He chuckled then took a drink. The room suddenly shifted, and Sara was thrown against a wall as Dr. Hall stood. His chair was swept away from him. Dr. Hall started walking with an exaggerated slant to his body.

Quinn pushed Skye against the wall with one hand holding her neck, the other holding the gun to her head.
"Don't you get it? S.H.I.E.L.D.'s against everything you stand for. They're Big Brother."
"Maybe. But they're the nice Big Brother who stands up for his helpless little brother when he's getting beat up because he ate a piece of cake that wasn't…"

Skye was rambling and Quinn looked lost.
"You know… you kidnapped a person!" Quinn got upset at that, releasing Skye to step away.
"I set him free! I saved him!" She massaged her neck as he snapped. "And I could've saved you."

Ward entered a hallway and looked around.
"This place is massive." He turned, heading left. "Where am I heading?"
"Southwest corner." Ward started to move, but then stopped, the device starting to affect the gravity above. "Ward," May buzzed, "tell me you've got things covered on the ground. I can't do a damn thing from out here." He looked around, trying to figure out what was happening.
"I'm working on it."

The ground below Skye and Quinn caused them to lose their balance. Quinn became even more upset.
"Tell me what they're doing!" Skye remained silent and looked scared. Quinn lowered his voice, putting softness in it. "Tell me what they're doing. You have to talk. You have no other way out of this."

Laughing, he put the gun up to point at her head again.
"You're expendable to S.H.I.E.L.D. They sent you in here with nothing." Skye moved quickly, busting out the move Ward taught her on The Bus, disarming Quinn of his gun.

She pointed it at him and his bodyguard.
"They taught me a few things."
"Kids got balls," the Security Guard said.
"Thanks, but yuck."
"But, do you have what it takes to pull the trigger?" Quinn asked. She thought about it, her eyes widening.
"Nope."

Dropping the gun, she ran out of the door and leaped off the balcony into the pool below.
"Get her," Quinn ordered. The second bodyguard rushed past Quinn and the first toward the doorway. They were all once again knocked around from the device. This time, Quinn fell to the ground. There were two pins there and for a moment, they placed on their points, then lowered. Quinn rolled his eyes. "Hall. We have to evacuate. Get the chopper. Now!" The guard hurried to do his bidding.

Inside the compounds lab, the device was running even faster now. Sara slid along one of the walls, going upwards toward the ceiling. Dr. Hall got to his feet, pointing the gun at her.
"All I had to do to get access to Quinn's lab was drop little clues, create puzzles for him to solve. Quinn likes to feel smart."
"So you leaked your location. Why not try reasoning with him?"

Dr. Hall scoffed, "You can't reason with an addict, and he's addicted to exploiting opportunities. He never gives a thought to the friends, ecosystems, future generations left ruin in his wake."
"Like Agents Fitz and Simmons, and I? Your former students. I've got them in my ear right now telling me you're not a bad guy and I know you're not. We could've worked with you on this."

The device powered up more and sent out another blast, knocking them around. Dr. Hall maintained his footing, but Sara fell to the floor.
"S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Doctor Hall asked, growing upset. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is just as guilty of the same thing, experimentation without thought of consequences! Your search for an unlimited power source brought an alien invasion."
Sara nodded her head, "That's a fair point."

The room rocked again, and Dr. Hall fell to his knees, however, he was still pointing the gun at Sara. Sara tried to regain her footing.
"This element is far too powerful for you, for him, for anyone! I don't have to tell you that… You're feeling it now." Once again, the room shifted, causing them both to lose their footing.

Outside, a helicopter took flight. It seemed like the party was still going on but all the party goers and help staff were frightened and trying to figure out what was going on. Skye rushed past them. She stopped for a moment, figured out where she was and continued running. She saw a couple of security guards appear from a flight of stairs and turned the other way. One guard came up, blocking her escape. The two behind her caught her and held her by her arms.
"No, no, no, no! Please, please!" she begged.

Ward suddenly appeared behind the one guard. When the guard turned, Ward elbowed him in the face then fought him. The other two guard released Skye to fight Ward. Ward quickly took out the three guards. Once she was sure the guards were down, Skye rushed to Ward. She clung to him, panting with fright.
"Are you hurt?" Ward asked. She shook her head. "Just follow my orders. I'll get us out of here." He took her hand, leading her away.

Inside the lab, all hell was breaking lose. Papers, bottles, people, and a gun were flying all around the room. Dr. Hall got to the gun before Sara could, but Sara was able to hit Hall when they both stood up. She knocked Hall down and took control of the gun.
"I can see the future, Ms. Reyes-Fitz, and it's catastrophe."

The room grew calmed and without taking her eyes off Hall, Sara realized she was standing on the window of the room of lead into the device.
"I just see a lot of people in trouble." She pulled a wire down from the wall causing sparks. "It's not too late to do the right thing. Help me find a catalyst."

Dr. Hall shook his head.
"I am doing the right thing, a completely selfless act. I know history never celebrates what didn't happen. They'll call this a – a tragedy. They don't understand the good I did here." Sara caught sight of Ward and Skye watching them from a little window on the door.
"Killing innocent people?" Sara asked.

The older man's face turned insulted.
"Saving millions. We have to live with the choices we make, but sometimes we have to die with them, too." Sara lowered her gun.
"I understand. You made a hard call."
"Yes," Dr. Hall agreed. Sara took a deep breath.
"And now I have to make mine."

She fired the gun into the window below her, the one that lead quickly into the device. She jumped up and grabbed a wire hanging above her head. Dr. Hall wasn't so lucky. He dropped through the open window and fell into the device. The undulating black mass enveloped Dr. Hall in slow motion eventually covering his body and face.

Once he disappeared, the room fell into its proper place with gravity returned to normal, including Sara. The door opened and Ward entered, rushing to Sara. He grabbed her, pulling her into his arms as she stared in horror at the device. The mass was no bigger even though it absorbed Dr. Hall and the rings were slowing to a stop.

Coulson stood in his office, staring at his monitor. There was a young man on the opposite side.
"Say it back to me," Coulson said.
"Deepest level of the fridge, unmarked vault, no access granted." Behind the young agent, a forklift was backing up then pulling away.
"And no recorded entry, I don't want this listed. I don't want it flagged for the slingshot… Anyone finds out, you're responsible, and suffering. Understood?"
"Yes, Sir," the man said.
"That's what Hall would've wanted."

The feed beeped as it cut out and Coulson turned to desk with a sigh. He picked up his gun and looked at it with confusion.
"I used to have this down." He was trying to disarm his pistol. "Should just be muscle memory." He was having no luck.

May appeared in the doorway, leaning against it with her arms crossed.
"You're making a habit of it, sir," she said.
"Trying. Guess I'm a little rusty."
"Of putting your team in close calls, I mean," May corrected. Coulson looked up from the gun at her words. "I don't enjoy running back end."
He sat down his gun, "You want off the plane? Go ahead."

Standing straighter, May walked towards him.
"I want in." She stopped behind him, putting her and behind her back. "Reporting for combat next time it's up." Coulson looked at her firmly.
"You committed to the cause or just watching my back?" She gave him a ghost of a smile.
"Same thing." She started away. "And you are a little rusty." Coulson smiled as he left.

Sara sat on the ground in the corner of the lab, her knees pulled up to her chest. She had her head on her knees, taking several shallow breaths. She could heard Skye in the cargo hold and was trying to keep quiet so Ward wouldn't find her. It would be worse if May or Fitz-Simmons found her, but she'd take her chances with them.

Skye was hitting at the punching bag as Ward walked down the stairs. She showed no indication that he was there, but she knew. She continued to hit at the bag as she spoke.
"You and your brothers, where'd you grow up?"
"Massachusetts, mostly," Ward answered.
"A house?"
"You didn't'?"

The question caused her to stop hitting, she steadied the bag and looked at Ward.
"One house." She walked away from the bag, messing with the tape around her hands. She passed Ward, who was still standing on the last step. "The Brodys." She picked up a water bottle, taking a drink. "I was 9. Sent me back to St. Agnes after a month. Said I wasn't a good fit."
"Foster parents. Your first?"
"My third."

Ward walked a bit closer to her.
"I had heard it before, but… this one was different." She looked down sadly.
"Cause you wanted them to like you." She looked up at Ward and nodded.
"Bad…" She looked away, seeming lost in the memories. "I called her "mom" once, tried it out." She let out a deep sigh then walked back over to the bag. "Guess it wasn't a good fit."

She began to hit the bag again.
"Hoping for something and losing it hurts more than never hoping for anything." Ward walked over to the bag and held the opposite side from Skye.
"We won't turn our back," he promised.
"Doesn't matter. I made my choice. I want this. Bad." She got into the punching. "And I know there's a truth serum."
"Whatever you say, Rookie." He pulled away. "Have you seen Sara?" She nodded her head towards the lab, her voice lowering.
"I think she's having a panic attack." Ward cursed under his breath, heading into the lab.

Squeezing herself under the desk, Sara tried her best not to whimper.
"Sara," he sighed when he saw her. He sat on the ground across form her, knowing how to handle her. The last time he'd attempted to touch her during an panic attack like this, he'd ended up with a bloody nose. She might be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, the best at that, but she had a tendency to panic after personal missions like this one.

She calmed after a minute, letting herself relax.
"I'm sorry," she muttered.
"It's okay," he said soothingly. "Have you talked to May?" She shook her head quickly.
"She doesn't need to know. She's already concerned about Coulson." She scooted out from under the desk, rubbing at her forehead. "I let him die, Ward." He shook his head sternly.
"No you didn't. You saved lives." She nodded slowly, letting him pull her into his arms. "You did great," he murmured in her ear. "Exactly what May and I would have done."

All rights go to the Writers and Directors of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

A/N: I figured I ought to explain what's up with Sara. I don't have panic attacks, nor do I know anyone who does. What happens is what I find on the internet. I'm sorry if you struggle with this problem, but I'm not trying to make fun of your disability.
Sara's character is compex and this is not my first re-write of this story, but in ever version, she ended up scared and panicky after this episode. The reason why is because she was kidnapped and tortured several times and that left her slightly broken. She's a lot like her father, stubborn when it comes to her job. She loves being an agent and doesn't want to quit, but it does come at a disadvantage.
I hope you're enjoying the story and I appreciate helpful criticism. Not only does it help this story, it also helps my writing further down the line. Thx!

-AMY