Episode 10: The Bridge
Part Two
Messing with her tablet, Sara pulled several x-rays onto the monitors for Fitz before turning to Mike.
"On the left is Akela Amador's," Fitz said. "Hayward's is on the right."
"His prosthetic was slightly damaged," Sara said without looking away from her current task. "But, based on digital reconstruction, we can confirm that the technology is virtually identical."
"So… centipede also developed the eye implant?" Coulson asked.
"Wow, these guys are serious multitaskers," Skye whistled.
"Who is Akela Amador?" Mike asked quietly.
"Former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, the first person we encountered with this eye technology. A good agent who was forced to do some bad things," Coulson answered.
"We helped her," Simmons remarked.
"Kind of a pattern with you guys," Mike said.
He winced as Sara pricked him with a needle. A tiny painkiller, just to help with the soreness he was suffering from. The wound that had been inflected was healing just fine on its own, it didn't need sititches or anything, but for a few hours or so, Sara knew the painkiller would help ease the pain.
"So, these soldiers at the warehouse were forced to attack us through that eye thing?" Mike asked the group.
"They were getting orders," Coulson answered. "When the tide turned in our favor Centipede flipped Hayward's kill switch, told the other guys to run."
Turning to Skye, Coulson folded his arms over his chest.
"Can you track the eye feed like before, find their location?" Skye shook her head.
"Nope. They've updated since Amador. Their feed's untraceable now."
From the sink where she had been washing her hands, Sara called over to them.
"Their technology keeps advancing at a disturbingly rapid pace. They must have endless manpower, resources."
"And someone with a fat wallet," Skye added.
"Po's the strategist," Simmons said. "Rania's the recruiter. Perhaps this Clairvoyant's the money."
"That makes sense," Fitz agreed. "If I could see the future, I'd go straight to Las Vegas."
His words caused Mike to smile and Simmons and Sara to roll their eyes. Coulson shook his head.
"Whoever's behind them may or may not be psychic, but they're one step ahead of us every time. I need to update HQ. This is bigger than we thought." As the others shared worried looks with each other, Sara watched as Coulson walked out of the room. She was worried about him, and she couldn't quite pin-point why.
Sitting in a dark car, Raina smiled as Po climbed in beside her.
"I spoke with the Clairvoyant," Po told her.
"And?" she asked eagerly.
"I'll share the information when the time is right," Po told her firmly.
"I would love to hear much more than just information. Will you… tell me what he's like?" Po shook his head.
"Never."
The young woman's happy expression fell at his words.
"The last person who tried to learn these things got a knife for it. I don't want to have to do that again, Raina. You have such pretty eyes." Raina gave him a sad look.
"I understand. You can't even whisper to me about him?"
"No, I can't. But I did tell the Clairvoyant about you."
That was a pleasant surprise. It must have shown on her face because he nodded at her.
"Spoke at length about your many virtues." She gave him a very warm smile.
"How sweet." Reaching over, she just barely brushed her fingers against his.
Ward sat beside Sara in the living room of the Bus. He was holding a beer, alternating taking a sip and pressing the cool glass bottle against his swollen jaw. Sara had tried to convince him to use an icepack, but he refused.
Cocooned in his side, Sara sipped on a glass of wine and listened to the movie that was planning on the laptop between them. They normally would be cuddled up in their bunk, but Ward had wanted to be alert incase anything happened with their case.
At rapid, quick footsteps, Sara paused their film just as May rounded the corner. She was pissed and glaring at Ward. He barely noticed her angry expression.
"I'll pour you a scotch," he said, getting ready to stand.
"Don't ever do that again," she spat at him.
"Brandy, then?" Ward questioned, heading to the bar.
"When we're out in the field, your head needs to be on the op, not on me."
Confused, Ward set down the bottle of Brandy.
"Time out. Still playing catch up here. What are you talking about?"
"You taking a punch for me? I don't need your protection!" A flash of hurt crossed Ward's expression.
"You think I don't know that? I too that punch 'cause you're faster than me. You could do more on your feet. It was tactical, not personal."
May took a small step back, realization crossing her face.
"My mistake." He gave her a small nod, grabbing his beer and the laptop from Sara. He whispered something in her ear and Sara mockingly slapped him against the chest before following him to their bunk.
Watching them go, May was slightly startled when Skye appeared behind her.
"What do you want?" May asked. "This about that thumb drive again?"
"No."
"Good."
"Look, I get that you don't want to help with that, loud and clear, big neon flashing lights. But I didn't ask, okay. Coulson—"
"Coulson doesn't want to tell you the truth," May cut in. "The truth is… You have to deiced why you're here. We have a mission and it's not to find your parents. If you can't put aside your personal attachments, then you shouldn't be here." With that, May spun on her heels and marched out of the room, leaving a shocked and hurt Skye behind.
Minutes later, Skye gathered all the papers from her bed. All her research that she spent years of her time on. She grabbed them and angrily ripped them into strips and thew them into a nearby trashcan. Then she slammed the door to her bunk closed.
Unbeknownst to her, Coulson had been watching from the top of the spiral staircase heading to his office. Once the door slammed behind her, he walked down the rest of the way and paused outside her go. He went to know but paused when he heard crying. He took a deep breath and walked away.
Sitting in his office, Coulson looked up, hearing a knock on the door. He smiled at Mike, gesturing to a chair across the desk.
"Oh, come on in. Are you doing alright?" Mike let out a heavy sigh, then sat down in one of the chairs.
"Afraid I won't be much good to you for the next couple of days."
"That's understandable," Coulson said. "You went above and beyond at the warehouse, had our backs more than once."
"Thank you, sir. But I know Centipede is still out there. No, we still got a lot of work to do."
"True. But according to your SO, hard work's your specialty."
With a shake of his head, Mike laughed.
"Said you train 24/7," Coulson added.
"Well, I want to be the best."
"And that's admirable. But you hadn't left the training facility since you got there. Which means you haven't seen your son since Union Station."
"Ace is fine. We… we talk all the time."
"But you haven't been to see him. Why?"
The man in front of Coulson was quiet for a few moments. He wrestled with his words before settling on a quiet broken sentence.
"Because the last time he saw me… I was a monster. My kid saw that." Coulson nodded in understanding.
"You can't fix that from here, thought. And staying away, not being there… I've seen firsthand the kind of damage that can do." For a brief second, Coulson's eyes trailed to a photo on his desk.
Taking a breath, Coulson stood from his chair and walked around the desk to stand close to Mike.
"The last thing I want to do is hurt Ace," Mike said. "He's… he's my son, but… maybe he's better off without me."
"I don't think that's true," Coulson disagreed. "When I took this job, I made a choice. The same choice everyone else here made – this life over the other one. The one with holiday dinners and PTA meetings, recitals. It's not easy. But if the time comes to make the hard call, it's simpler. But you have a son. You have someone waiting for you to come one. You need to think about that. You need to think about him. Before you make your choice." Mike nodded before walking out of the office.
Sitting on his cot in the holding cell, Mike held his cellphone in his hands. He stared at it for a long time before finally hitting a button. He brought it up to his ear and felt tears well up when Ace picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Ace."
"Dad!"
"It's so good to hear your voice, buddy. And I got some good news, I'm gonna get to come home and see you for a bit."
"Awesome! Then maybe you can meet my new friend. She says she knows you. She's right here now."
At Ace's words, Mike paled.
"Ace, who's there with you? Where's your Aunt Mindy?" There was a clicking on the line and Raina's voice came over it.
"Hello, Mike. Remember when I told you I could change your life?"
Everyone gathered in the living room, Mike wringing his hands together with worry.
"They want to trade," Coulson told his team. "Ace for his father. They've set a time and place."
"Bloody savages," Fitz grunted.
"They want to experiment on him, determine how he still has his albitites," Simmons said.
"And we're gonna let them?" Ward snapped. "We've fought these guys before."
"We don't have a choice," Coulson said. "The instructions they gave Mr. Peterson were very specific. I called HQ, told them to stand down."
"Stand down?" May repeated.
"So, we take them alone," Ward mused.
"We should at least have a hostage rescue unit in support of this," May argued.
"They said they would murder my son," Mike murmured.
The entire team quieted as he continued.
"If we make one wrong move."
"Any electronics, any comms, any sign of surveillance and they'll terminate the arrangement," Coulson added.
"I'll give myself up, no problem, get him back," Mike said. "I can figure it out from there."
"You're still recovering," Skye said. "We can't just hand you over to them like that, can we?"
From her spot across the room, Sara looked up from her laptop.
"Fitz-Simmons and I have fabricated an odorless scent that's non-electronic and there's an instrument which can detect it."
"Works like a bloodhound," Fitz added. "Can track someone from over 50 kilometers."
"After we make the trade, we'll be able to follow Mr. Peterson," Coulson said. "Buy him some time to get his strength back. We'll find him."
"I don't care what happens to me," Mike said. "As long as my boy is…"
"We're gonna get your son back," Coulson promised. He looked to his team and started giving out more orders.
Sitting in the back of a van, Sara brushed a odorless chemical onto the back of Mike's hand.
"Once the swap happens," she said. "Fitz'll fire up the equipment. We'll be able to track you wherever they take you."
"Don't let them do anything that'll endanger my son," Mike begged. Her green eyes softened.
"I can't make any promises, Mike. You know that." He sighed, nodding.
He climbed out of the back of the van with Coulson and Sara got into the front seat with May.
"Is Ward in position?" she asked. May nodded sharply as Sara leaned forward in her seat. She tried to look for Ward but could see him.
In a different part of the warehouse, Ward had a sniper rifle set up. Through the scope, Ward watched as a car pulled up onto the center of a bridge. He turned on the infrared and saw Raina sitting in the passenger seat of the car. She opened the door and got out along with one of the Centipede soldiers. He followed her with his scope until she disappeared behind a cement mixing truck.
"Damn it," he snapped. Looking around, Ward trained his scope on Coulson and Mike, until they too disappeared behind the truck.
Smiling at Mike, Raina greeted the two men in front of her.
"Hello, Mike. It's been awhile. Your son is adorable, and he looks just like you…" She turned to Coulson. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure."
"Lucky for you," Coulson said. Raina looked back to Mike.
"I have to thank you, Mike. For holding up your end of the deal."
"Let's just make the trade," Coulson snapped. He was fed up with the small talk. "Give us Ace and you can have him."
"Oh, that wasn't the deal," Raina said.
She laughed delicately as Mike looked over at Coulson.
"I'm so sorry." Coulson stared at him.
"What's happening here, Mike?"
"Well, in exchange for his son, we asked Mike to deliver you," Raina answered Coulson.
Overcome with sudden anger, Mike reached out, grabbing Rania by the throat.
"I'm not at full strength," he said. "But I can still crush your throat. New deal! My son for your life."
Raina sighed, "Sadly, my employer cares no more for my life than your son's. If I die, so does he. And his death will be so much worse."
Reaching out, Coulson put a hand on Mike's shoulder.
"You need to let her go."
"I told them they could have me," Mike spat. "But they want you. Why do they want you?"
"I don't know, but if you kill his woman, you'll never see your son again."
"But how will I look him in the eye?" Mike asked, tears falling down his cheeks. "How will I explain what I did?"
"We talked about him," Coulson reminded him.
"I am so sorry," Mike told Coulson as he let go of Rania's neck.
As she took several deep relieved breaths, Coulson barked at order at her.
"Let's finish this." She nodded, waving a few of her fingers in the direction of her car. A centipede soldier opened the back door and Ace ran out towards his dad.
"Dad!" Rushing past Rania, Mike scooped Ace up in a tight hug.
From their place in the back of the van, Skye and Simmons let out relived sighs to see Ace.
"There's his son," Skye murmured.
"Oh, thank God. I have no stomach for this."
"On my mark, Fitz, activate comms and tracker," May said. Fitz nodded, getting ready.
Holding Ace close to himself, Mike walked past Coulson.
"If there had been any other way…" Coulson cut him off.
"You made the only choice you had." Mike hurried away as Rania walked up behind Coulson, shooting some type of drug into the back of his neck.
With a gasp, he fell unconscious, much to the surprise of Ward.
"They took Coulson," Ward said. "All right, call it in, we need backup. I have a shot."
"Do not engage," May ordered. "They'll kill Coulson. Stand down, I'll contact HQ."
Mike ran up to the van and set Ace down.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
His son nodded, "I'm fine dad." From inside the van, Mike could hear May contacting HQ and made a quick decision.
"Ace, I've got ot make something right," he said. "Daddy loves you so much, okay? Stay with Skye. You remember, Skye, right?" At the boy's nod, Mike looked up at Skye. "Keep him safe. Take care of my boy!"
Running away from the van, Mike headed towards the car Coulson was dragged to. He barely passed by the cement mixer when boy of them exploded on either side. Skye jumped, hugging Ace tight to her, watching with horror.
"NO!" she screamed.
Lifting the scope to his eye again, Ward focused on the car that Raina drove in. It exploded moments later.
"Oh, my God," Skye whispered as Sara jumped out of the van. She came to a stop near the edge of the destroyed bridge. She glanced up as a helicopter appeared next to the bridge. She ducked under a piece of rubble as it started firing at Ward. She saw him go down, something hitting him in the shoulder.
The moment it flew away, Sara bolted towards him. She called for Simmons to bring the med kit as she passed the van.
"Straight through," he grimaced, trying to sit up.
"Where?" she asked as Simmons arrived with the med kit
"Right shoulder. Hurts like a—" He let out a strangled curse when she pressed a syringe into his arm. "Damn you," he bit out. She sat back on her heels as she allowed the numbing agent to start working.
Inside the helicopter, Coulson sat between Rania and a Centipede soldier. Po sat in the co-pilot seat with another solider flying.
"We land in half an hour," Po said.
"Good," Rania said. "The sooner we begin, the better." Coulson gave her a long-measured look.
"Whatever this is, whatever you think you're doing, it won't work. I won't give you what you want."
"You will," Rania disagreed. "And what we want is simple. We want you to tell us about the day after you died." Coulson didn't react outwardly, but his stomach started churning.
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