Episode 21: Ragtag
Part Two

A few hours later, May walked into the Skye's room, holding a can of soda.
"You never came out to eat."
"Not much of an appetite." May handed her the soda and sat down on the other bed, facing her.
"Look, Fitz can't process the truth about Ward, not yet. What he said… it's what he needs to believe."
"Do you think Ward's being controlled?"
May scoffed, "Absolutely not."
"Neither do I. You know, I never gave you enough credit for this whole Zen-warrior thing. But I got to admit, it'd be nice to feel nothing right now."

Once again May let out a scoff.
"You think I don't feel anything?"
"Look at you! You're a statue. Your surrogate daughter is in Hydra's hands so if anyone should be furious—"
"I am," May said, her teeth grounding together. "I am furious. But I'm sure as hell not going to waste it on a tantrum. I'm gonna mine it, save it… and when we find Ward, I'm gonna use every bit of it to take him down."
"Wish I knew how to use that Hate-Fu."
"I'm up most morning at five."

A knock came at the door and Coulson entered.
"Trip ID'd a number of Cybertek shipments that ping ponged across the globe. Brazil, Cambodia, Syria, but they all ended up in Havana."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. used to have a base there," May said.
"I told you we'd fine them. We're going to Cuba."

Quinn sat in the barber's chair, holding up a mirror to examine his shave.
"Five bucks. That's it, huh?"
The barber nodded, "Sì."
"Same thing cost me thirty in Rome." The Barber lifted his eyebrows in surprise as Quinn stood.

The door opened and Garrett and Ward walked in. Ward rolled his eyes at Quinn as Garrett grinned.
"There it is! The face of our future. Mr. Quinn's the poster boy for our new enterprise."
"Not sure how that's supposed to work," Ward said. "He's also an international fugitive, accused of a laundry list of crimes." "Accused by S.H.I.E.L.D.," Quinn corrected. "Of whom I've been a vocal critic of for years. Now S.H.I.E.L.D.'s gone down in flames, while I rise from the ashes, all charges dismissed, and my sterling reputation restored."

Ward grimaced as Quinn clapped his shoulder.
"I knew there was a reason I didn't rip out that sliver tongue of yours," Garrett said. "Everything on schedule?"
"Your flamboyant display in Bogota got a lot of people's attention. I'll be in D.C. tomorrow capitalizing on it." Garrett nodded, sitting in the chair for the Barber to cut his hair. Ward's phone beeped and he pulled it out of his pocket.
"It's Raina. Maybe she has news." Garrett nodded again.
"Okay, Ernesto, let's show them what handsome really looks like."

Moving down to the lab, Ward approached Raina.
"Everything okay?" Raina walked out of the lab to join him.
"Everything's fine."
"You have a problem with the drug?"
"This isn't about the drug." She glanced around, trying to make sure they were alone. "I thought Agent Garrett shared my interest in special people, in transformation. But now I realize he was just afraid to die…. So, I'm not sure how interested he'll be in what I found out about Skye."
"Skye?"
"I probably shouldn't be talking to you about this. I should go straight to Garrett." She started to walk away, but Ward grabbed her arm.
"Garrett's got more important things to worry about. Tell me."

She turned back to him, arms crossing over her chest.
"I've been looking through the files that Skye downloaded from the plane. And, in addition to medical records, I found hospital files, adoption agency searches."
"Skye's an orphan. Been looking for her parents for a while. That's not exactly a secret."
"But that's what intrigued me. That and her DNA. It appears to be a match for someone I heard about a long time ago." "You know something about Skye's history?"
"I can't confirm it's her, but I did hear a story about a baby girl."

Interested, Ward leaned in closer to her.
"Years ago, a village in the Hunan Providence in China. It was destroyed, every man, woman, and child. Torn apart by monsters trying to find that baby."
"Did the monsters kill the baby's parents?"
"No. That's what's so interesting. The baby's parents were the monsters."

Fifteen Years Ago

Ward stood behind trees, watching Garrett walk into his campsite. He stepped around, pressing the barrel of his shotgun against Garrett's neck.
"Give me one reason not to blow your head off." Garrett lifted his arms in the air, one of them has a brown paper bag.
"I brought tacos?" The gun didn't wavier. "I was half expecting you to be long gone," Garrett admitted.
"I was half expecting you to never come back. You said a couple of months. It's been six."
"I've been out of the country on assignment."

Slowly, Garrett turned around to face Ward.
"Seems like you and Buddy did okay without me." Buddy whined from Ward's feet. Ward lowered the shotgun and stepped away from Garrett.
"First few weeks were rough. But then I realized my thinking was limited." He stepped to the fire. "So, I started raiding cabins. Got some tools, the tent. Life got easier." Ward pointed it a small clearing. "Gonna build a cabin, over there."
"See, I told you that you could do it."

Garrett walked past Ward, patting him on the shoulder.
"Damn, son, you stepped up in a big way. I couldn't be prouder if you were my own." Garrett spun around, pulling out a gun from the paper bag. Ward glanced at the gun in shock, then back up at Garrett. "I lied about the tacos."
"What's that for?" Ward asked warily.
"Your next lessons."

Swallowing hard, Ward flinched as Garrett fired the gun, but not at him. At the coffee jug, knocking it off the table. The man turned in a circle, randomly shooting things as Ward watched with big eyes. Garrett stopped and held the gun out to Ward.
"Your turn. Stick with me, kid. In a couple of years, you'll shoot better than that."

Present Day

Garrett watched as Raina walked around the lab, packing it all up. She felt him staring and looked over her shoulder to smile at him.
"Something about that woman unnerves me," Garrett said.
"It the eyes," Ward said. "No, it's what's behind those eyes. What did she text you about earlier?"
"She had questions about your decision to pack up the lab and move it to the states."
"I planned to expand operations anyway. The fact that the Deathlok files were stolen from Cybertek just speeds up my decision."

Raina walked over to them, holding a tiny vial.
"I heard you wanted to hang on to this during the flight," she said, holding out the vial to Garrett.
"You heard right."
"You've recreated GH-325?" Ward asked.
"Almost. We've distilled the genetic components of all the previous samples down to one single vial."
"And it'll do what we talked about?" Garrett questioned.
"It should regenerate and heal cells, just like it did in Skye and Coulson. So, take good care of it. That's the only one in the world."

Sara's rolled her head around on her neck as Garret entered her cell.
"Afternoon," he greeted, seating across from her.
"I'm surprised Ward's let you in here," she said, leaning back in her seat.
"I'm surprised you've let up your little rouse for so long," he shot back.
"Rouse?"
"You actually love the kid? I doubt that."
"Sometimes these things happen, John."
"It's been what? Three years of lying to his face?"

A dark chuckle left her lips.
"I pity the woman you fall for. You'd probably kill her in her sleep."
"Already did."
"I thought there was a Mrs. Garrett somewhere in the picture."
"Stop with the games, Reyes-Fitz," Garrett snapped.
"What games?" She leaned forward, resting her folded hands on the table.

The two glared at each other for a moment before Garrett sighed, rubbing at his face.
"One day, I'll break you."
"When your little puppy tires of me, I'm sure you'll have a chance. How's Raina doing with your serum?"
"Oh? This?"

From his pocket, Garrett pulled out the vial of GH-325.
"I'd recommend a test subject first," Sara muttered.
"Sound advice, if this wasn't all that was left."
"I should've killed her when I had the chance."
"Probably should've."
"Why are you really here, John?"
"Thought I'd try to get you to join my side."
"Yeah, not a chance."

Standing, Garrett stretched, putting the vial back into his pocket.
"Besides," Sara continued. "Even if I said I would, I doubt you would believe me."
"Touché." He grimace slightly, hand going to his side.
"You're dying, John," Sara murmured.
"I don't think you'll outlive me," he said. He wretched open the door and slammed it shut behind him.

Trip dug through his suitcase, pulling out random things.
"You sure you don't want anything else?" he asked. "How about one of these quarter walkie-talkies?" He held out a quarter to Fitz. "They have a built-in homing beacon."
"Okay," Fitz said, taking it from him.
"I'll keep one, too."
"Thanks," Fitz said.
"Mm-hmm."
"Don't want to be greedy," Fitz admitted. "We've already got the dwarfs."
"No problem. All right."

After he closed the suitcase, Trip turned to Fitz, holding out his fist. Fitz looked at Trip fist then closed his hand around it. Trip grinned back at him.

A few moments later, they stood together in a circle, listening to Coulson.
"Because we had to fly in low, we have to search for our plane on the ground. Fitz, Simmons, you have the maps. Do not engage under any circumstances. If you find The Bus, call us, and stand down or come back here and wait."
"We'll be careful," Simmons promised.
"Understood, sir," said Fitz.
"Let's do this."

A few hours later, the team's van sat outside a barber shop. Trip was looking through the windows as Coulson shook his head.
"We're too late. They're gone."
"They knew we were coming," May grumbled.
"I'm not sure everyone's gone," Skye said. "Something's generating a lot of volts in there."

As Trip climbed back into the van, Coulson's phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, putting it to his ear.
"Yeah?"
"Sir, we've found The Bus," said Simmons. "It's on an airfield outside Able Santamaria packing up to leave."
"We're on our way… How far is that from our location?"
"About three hours, but by the looks of it, they'll be long gone by the time you can get here, sir."
"Get out there, right now! Do not engage. Wait for us back at the jump jet."
"Copy that sir."

Hanging up, Coulson looked to May.
"Garrett's leaving."
"We have to at least try and get over there."
"Or not," Skye suggested. They all turned to her, and she held up the flash drive. "We still have this little puppy. If there's a computer system in that barber shop, we don't have to chase him anymore. We just plug it in, we wake up the Trojan horse, and we're off to the races." Trip clicked his tongue.
"Worth a shot." Coulson took a deep breath then nodded.
"Let's do it."

Fitz-Simmons stood inside a small building off to the side of the runway, staring at The Bus.
"I know we're not supposed to engage," Simmons said. "But if they get away, we're back at square one… I can't handle square one again."

Holding binoculars up to his face, Fitz frowned when he saw Garrett appearing on the ramp.
"Garrett's there, which means Ward's probably there, too, and Sara." He passed the binoculars to Simmons, and she held them up.
"What if we sent a dwarf into the plane from here? It an stow away inside so we can track where The Bus is going."
"Yes, Simmons, excellent suggestion!" Fitz grinned. "We can send Sleepy. He's our best listener, next to you of course." She gave him a little smile, handing back the binoculars.

Taking the binoculars, Fitz headed for the door.
"Okay, I'll go get him from the car." He pulled open the door, jumping back when he saw Ward blocking the exit.
"Long time no see," Ward said. Fitz' eyes went wide as he backed away.

Ten Years Ago

Ward and Garrett sat by a fire, outside of Ward's small log cabin. He'd built it from the ground up. Ward picked something off his plat, feeding it to Buddy.
"There you go," he said, petting the dog's head.
"You know he's not human, right?" Garrett asked.
"Of course. No, he's better than human. Smart, loyal, trustworthy."
"Yeah. Where does that trust and loyalty lead? Abandoned in the woods or dropped at the pound?"

With a grimace, Garrett hit his chest, clinking the metal together.
"I learned that lesson the hard way." He pointed at his chest, causing Ward to sit up a bit straighter.
"I know you've never asked, but I'm sure you're curious. Nickle version?" He glanced down at his can of chill, then back up at Ward. "I got fragged by an I.E.D. outside Sarajevo. When I radioed for medevac, I got nothing but an earful of excuses. That's when I realized I was more loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D. than S.H.I.E.L.D. was to me. So, I decided if I made it out, if I survived, I was gonna treat them the way they treated me. Then I stuffed my intestines back inside, duct-taped myself shut, and humped my way out."

Ward glanced away when Garrett's eyes met his.
"You remember when we first met? I told you I worked for a secret organization?" Ward nodded. "Well, it's more like I work for a secret organization instead another secret organization. You ever heard of HYDRA?" Ward shook his head in reply. "HYDRA understands the importance of survival."

Present Day

Ward walked through the command center of The Bus, pointing over his shoulder as Fitz-Simmons followed.
"Here they are," he told Garrett. He glanced over at Sara, who was sitting on a sofa, arms crossed. He glared at the guard holding onto her shoulder. The man back up immediately.
"This is our plane," Fitz snapped. "We want it back."
"Really?" Garrett asked. "Just like that, kid?" He glanced over at Ward. Coulson probably figured out we're using the barbershop." He swiveled his head to look at a soldier. "Call Kaminsky. He'll know what to do."

Glancing around the room, Garrett stared barking orders. "All right let's close up the ramp and get this bird off the ground. Tell the pilot to keep it low in harrier mode until we're out over The Gulf." As he spoke, Fitz slowly started pulling something out of his pocket. Sara watched him, silently begging him not to do anything stupid.
"What's he got there?" Garrett asked. Ward pulled Fitz' hand out, forcing it open. A small hand buzzer sat inside the scientist's palm.
"One of those prank joy buzzers," Ward replied. Garrett scoffed and turned away.
"Yeah, you know me," Fitz told Ward. "Always kidding around."

He pressed the button and all the lights in the room blew sparks, going dark. A blue line of electricity arched across Garrett's chest, causing the man to grunt and lean heavily on the back of a seat.
"What the hell was that?" asked Ward as he hurried to help Garrett stand.
"An E.M.P."
"Looks like the joke's on you," Fitz hissed.

Frantic, Ward rushed into the lab.
"Garrett's dying!" he snapped at Raina. He pulled out the small metal case. "Not sure this'll work," Ward muttered. "Fitz shorted him out with an E.M.P. Call Cybertek, let them know what happened. See what they can do." He rushed back out of the lab, Rainia watching him go.

He shoved a solider aside as he reentered the living room of The Bus.
"Get back!" he snarled.
"I'd glad I did that," Fitz said. Simmons gave him a surprised look. "You hear me!" Fitz shouted. "You lose, we win." With a hiss, Garrett looked up at him.
"You're dead."
"Well, no worse than you. And you don't have to take order from him anymore, Ward."

Scoffing, Sara stood from her head. She moved over to Fitz-Simmons, putting a hand on Fitz' arm. "Let him die," Fitz told Ward.
"He deserves to die."
"Oh Fitz," Sara murmured. "He won't let Garrett die. He's nothing but a loyal mutt." She hissed her last words, causing Ward to look up at her. She noticed the pain in his eyes and shook her head.
"Stop lying to yourself, Ward," she said, her voice firm. "Take responsibility for your own actions." Ward took a deep breath before shouting orders.
"Get them out of here! Clear! Everybody out!"

Ten Years Ago

Ward crouched on the ground. Looking through the scope of his rifle, he set his sights on a deer.
"I have some good news," said Garrett from beside him.
"Can it wait a minute?" Ward asked, trying to focus. He took a breath, then fired.

At the sound of the bullet ringing out, Buddy took off in the direction of the deer.
"Damn dog takes off running every time I take a shop out here," Ward chuckled. "That deer's 1800 meters out." He set down the rifle, putting on a red baseball cap. "It'll take him awhile to find it. I'm all ears."
"You've been accepted by S.H.I.E.L.D. operations division, effective immediately."

A shocked smile appeared on Ward's face.
"We need to pack up." The smile dropped from Ward's face as he looked seriously at Garrett.
"Thank you, sir, for everything." Ward held out his hand to Garrett. Garrett looked at it with near disgust.
"Don't do that. You don't owe me or anybody else a thing. You earned it by yourself." Ward nodded in understanding. "It's gonna be hard when you get there. If you're gonna work within S.H.I.E.L.D. for HYDRA, you can't ever get attached to anyone or anything. You have to fight that weakness in you."
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Now take care of Buddy, and we'll get out of here."

He stepped away from Ward, pausing when he saw Ward's shell-shocked look.
"That's not a weakness, is it?" Ward hesitated for just a moment.
"No, sir."
"Good, I'll be at the truck." He moved away, leaving Ward alone.

Present Day

Ward hooked up the metal case to Garrett.
"Internal battery must have fried," he told Garrett. Raina walked into the room, watching behind Ward's back. "I'm gonna have to open it up, see if there's a mechanical fix."
"I talked to Cybertek. They're prepping a facility in Miami."
"Good," Ward said. He went to stand, but stopped when Garrett grabbed his jacket, pulling him close.
"I need you to do something for me."
"Yeah. Anything."
"Put down Fitz and Simmons."
"What? No! There's plenty of time. I won't leave you."
"And I'm telling you to cross them off for me. That's not a weakness, is it?"
"No." Garrett shoved him back.
"Then take care of them. I'll take care of me. I've cheated death plenty of times."
"I'll stay," Raina said. Ward studied Garrett, then nodded.

Coulson and his group entered the basement of the barbershop, which was completely deserted. They all had guns up, except for Skye, who was carrying her laptop.
"Skye, where are the computers?" May asked.
"I'm working on it," Skye said. "Trip, anything in your granddad's kit that might help us out here?" Trip nodded, holstering his gun.
"Always. Let me have a look."

Garrett pointed at his chest, pressing a button that allowed it to open.
"I'm pretty interesting, inside," Garrett said. "Wanna see?" Raina leaned forward, taking the cover off. She gasped when she looked inside. There was a yellow light source inside mechanical intestine.
"That's my Centipede serum."
"It's the only thing that's been keeping me alive these past few months."
"Why isn't it making you strong?" Raina asked.
"I'm too far gone."
"I'm afraid your entire system is shutting down."
"Maybe you can just start it with this?" Using a shaky hand, Garrett showed her the vial of GH-325.

Sara crossed her arms, standing close to Fitz.
"Coulson will find us, won't he?" Simmons asked.
"Man won't rest until every Hydra agent is either dead or behind bars," Fitz answered. Sara leaned in close to him, catching his eye.
"Follow my lead," she mouthed. He gave her a tiny nod.

They pasted a rolling chair and Sara grabbed it, throwing it at the guards.
"Run!" she ordered. She followed behind them, and pulled shut a door, locking it behind them. "Go!" She took off ahead of them, coming to a sudden halt when she saw Ward coming down a ladder. "Back!" she said. Ward caught sight of them and took off after them.

Shoving Fitz-Simmons into a med pod, Sara slammed the door shut.
"Simmons, lock the door," she shouted. "Lock it now!" Simmons did as she was told as Fitz started banging on the class.
"Sara!" Fitz said, banging on the glass.

She spun around, meeting Ward's eye. He lunged for her, and she wrestled against him. She slammed him into the side of the wall. He managed to get her pinned as he stared into the med pod at Fitz-Simmons.
"Open the door, Fitz," he ordered.
"Ward, please," Fitz pleaded. "I need to understand."
"You need to accept the truth, Fitz," Simmons said. "He doesn't care about us, about anything."
"No, I don't believe that," Fitz said. "We're friends, aren't we? We've been friends. We've had laughs together."

Struggling in Ward's arms, Sara twisted to see Fitz-Simmons through the glass.
"I know you're a good person, Ward," Fitz said. "And you can choose right now to be good." Simmons rolled her eyes. "It's a choice!"
"I've got my orders," Ward said. "Open the door."
"Don't you dare, Fitz," Sara snaped. Ward pulled out his gun, pressing it against Sara's neck.
"Open the door, Fitz." Fitz stared at the gun, then at the determination in Sara's eyes.
"Not a chance," he said.

Ward lowered the gun, unable to shoot Sara. He released her, shoving her to the ground. She slammed into the ground, wincing as her knees hit the hard ground.
"Have it your way," Ward said. Sara turned, seeing him going to a panel on the wall opposite the pod.
"Wait, what are you doing?" Simmons asked.

Gasping, Sara leapt to her feet, rushing to his side. She tried to keep him from pressing buttons and Fitz-Simmons began freaking out.
"Stop!" Sara cried. "Stop it!" She grabbed onto his arm and he pushed her away. "Ward, please!" she begged. "Don't do this to them." He paused as a warning popped onto the screen. ALERT: CARGO POD ENGAGED. He hesitated, hand hovering over it.
"Ward! Look at me!" Fitz shouted. "I know you care about us, Ward!" Ward let out a shaky breath.
"You're right. I do. It's a weakness."

Once more, Sara tried to get him away from the panel. He grabbed her, pining her arms against his chest as he slammed his hand down on the button.
"No!" Sara screamed, listening as the pod was ejected from The Bus.

Her knees gave out and Ward tightened his grip on her.
"I hate you," she sobbed, beating half-heartedly against his chest. "I hate you." He steeled himself against her cries.
"Would you have rather me shoot them?" he asked lowly. She raised her eyes to hers, anger radiating off of her.
"You know what I would rather you have done."

Raina held a syringe filled with the GH-325 above Garrett's chest. She was preparing to inject it inside of him.
"I can't promise it'll work," she told him. "And once it's gone, I won't be able to make any more. This is the end of the road."
"Without it, I'm dead for sure," Garrett said. "So… what the hell?"

He put his hand on Raina's elbow, urging it closer to the capsule. She inserted the syringe into the capsule. The blue drug began mixing with the thick yellow mixture inside the capsule. It stopped glowing, turning purple.
"That's it," Raina said. "The final ingredient."

Garrett sat up, looking around as if expecting something. He glanced at Ward as he entered.
"Is it done?" he asked. Ward nodded sharply. "If the job was easy—" Before Garrett could finish his sentence, his back jerked rigid. He made a gurgling sound and there were loud popping noises. He started choking then let out a spray of spit as Raina gasped, backing further away. He started twitching, as yellow-red lines snaked across his body.

When the yellow-red lines faded, he gasped, taking a deep non-labored breath. Ward bent down close to him.
"What are you feeling?" the younger man asked.
"The universe," Garrett grinned, his voice filled with awe.

Trip used a device to scan the basement of the barbershop.
"Come on… come on," he said. He stopped moving, "Over here! There's something behind this wall." They all moved over to the wall as Trip studied the screen of the device. "Okay, I got something."
"Secret door?" Coulson asked. Trip shrugged and Coulson smiled. "I got this. They're like my thing."

Stepping forward to the wall, Coulson started running his hand along it. Something unlocked and the wall swung open. He grinned, taking out his gun.
"Here we go." He led them inside, noticing a command center. There was a computer in the center of the room, surrounded by light diodes and wires.
"Finally!" Skye said.

Suddenly, the lights shut off. May gasped and turned to see a solider standing in the doorway, holding the Berserker staff. It glowed red-orange. There was another noise from a dark section of the room. "It's a centipede soldier," Coulson said. Skye swallowed as the room started lighting up with red dots.

Quinn sat on a couch, speaking to a few men.
"Bogota was a freebie, a calling card, a demonstration of what we can do."
"It was a circus," a marine snapped.
"It was a single man with no support team and no extraction plan." He held up his glass in cheers before taking a drink.
"I mean, come on, tell me—how much did you spend to get Bin Laden? Between the ships and the choppers and the support troops. What was it? Thirty million? Fifty million?"
"Whatever the price, it was worth it," a navy officer said.
"Maybe. My super soldier could have done it for a fraction of the price."
"Is that why you are here?" the marine asked. "Are you proposing to sell us this super soldier of yours?"
"God, no. I'm proposing to sell you a thousand of them. Better, stronger, faster. Gentleman, with the continued exposure of corrupt institutions like S.H.I.E.L.D., with the terrifying rise of HYDRA, the need for reliable security is at an all-time high. Which is why we are expanding our super soldier operations into a brand new, state of the art Cybertek facility. So… would you and your friends like a tour?" His face lit up with a sly grin as the two officers looked at each other.

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