A/N: I hope you all enjoy this... it's my take on why Ward is going to be the next leader of HYDRA... It's a little different to FanFics I have previously written as this one is from their point of view... Please let me know how I do (It's my first time writing in first person narrative...)

Please note this chapter has mild torture in it (hence the rating of T!)...

The first thing I notice when I come too is that my wrists are tied together and my hands tied to a ring above my head, which hurts. A lot.

I can see someone lurking in the shadows of the room, hovering, waiting.

"Ah! I see you're finally awake!" I hear a voice cut through the cotton wool that currently makes up my brain.

"I want to know everything you know about SHIELD's rose." The voice continues.

"SHIELD's what?" I ask, my voice thick and heavy.

"You heard me. I want to know about SHIELD's rose."

"I know nothing about roses, well other than they grow on bushes, have thorns and come in a hell of a lot of different colours."

"I think you know more than that. And I'm going to enjoy making you tell me. I still owe you for those needles."

Suddenly I realise that Bobbi is the one talking to me and she steps out of the shadows.

"How can I tell you something I don't know?" I ask

I see Bobbi take a long knife out of her waistband, the blade glinting in the light of the bare bulb swinging between us. She stalks to me and presses the blade against the skin by my neck.

"A rose is a rose is a rose" I say. I feel the blade press deeper into my skin and Bobbi starts to pull is down to my chest.

"Not good enough." She says to me as I let out a hiss of pain.

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet?" I ask hesitantly.

"I didn't know you were a Shakespeare fan?" Bobbi asks me as she slices the fabric of my shirt.

"What makes you think I am, everyone knows that quote."

I feel the white hot pain slicing the skin on my abdomen.

"I want to know about SHIELD's rose. Where is it and how do we access it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I spit at her.

"You know you and I met before the whole HYDRA thing."

"We did? I'm sure I would have remembered."

I feel another swipe of white hot pain. This time across my thigh.

"I observed one of your psych evals. I was lurking in the room. Had no idea you were a sociopath."

"I'm not a sociopath, well maybe a little. Do you have a point or are you going to continue to torture me?"

I try to put more confidence in my voice than I feel. I just need to keep alive until Mya, my Head of Security can get me out of here.

"My point, Ward, is that I know something about you no one else has figured out. I watched as the evaluator put pads on the bottom of your feet. I watched as you flinched."

I close my eyes. Bobbi is right. I did flinch when they put the assessment pads on my feet. I can feel her pulling my shoes off and using the point of the knife to pull my socks down, slowly and agonisingly pulling them over my toes, then the cold, hard metal against the sole of my right foot.

"Tell me about the rose."

"I know nothing."

I feel the knife blade move and feel a moment of nothing before the pain. I don't say anything.

"Oh, you're good Ward. I know that you feel the same way about this as I do about needles, but you aren't even reacting. Maybe I need to step this up a gear."

I keep my eyes closed. Suddenly I see my worst fear. Skye being dragged through the door and being tied to the chair in front of me.

"Oh God no!" I whisper, opening my eyes.

"Yes Ward, that was Chilli powder I just put on the bottom of your feet."

"I don't know anything about a freaking rose!" I cry as my feet start burning up, making me sweat.

"Very well." Bobbi says to me and heads to the door. She opens it and Mack drags a struggling Skye into the room, forcing her into the chair in front of me and tying her to it.

"I don't know anything about a rose." I say again.

"I think you're lying to me Ward." Bobbi says, lifting a bucket of water up and placing it near Skye's head. "Here's how this works. I ask you questions. You answer them, or Skye here experiences some form of pain. The longer it takes, the more serious the pain. Do you understand?"

I stay quiet. I am pretty sure she is bluffing and won't hurt Skye, she's one of them. Why would they even think that Skye would be able to get me to talk? She shot me FOUR times in the chest.

I watch in horror as Bobbi pours a bucketful of ice water and pours it over Skye's head, making her scream and writhe against the ropes binding her to the chair.

"Just so you know Ward, I never bluff. Tell me what I want to know."

"Never." I whisper.

"Very well." Bobbi says, picking up a tazer from table at the side of the room.

She strikes Skye once, twice, three times. The water making each one hurt more than it would usually.

Still I say nothing.

I watch as Bobbi picks up a pair of scissors and takes small strands of Skye's hair between her fingers.

'Not her hair!' I think as I watch Bobbi place the strands between the blades of the scissors and press down.

I can see tears streaming down Skye's face as Bobbi butchers her hair.

"I don't know anything." I say again.

Bobbi puts the scissors down on the table and stalks towards me.

"I will give you five minutes to make your mind up on how far you want to push me." She hisses and stalks from the room.

I say nothing to Skye, just listen to her sobs.

"Are you in on this?" I eventually ask her.

"Nnnooo." She stammers.

"So why are you in here?"

"Mack hit me with something. The next thing I knew – they were dragging me in here."

Again, neither of us said anything for a couple of minutes.

"Do you know where it is? What they're looking for?"

"Yes."

We lapsed once more into silence. Skye looked around the room and noticed the strands of hair on the floor. Tears welled up in her eyes again.

"Is it dangerous?"

"In the wrong hands."

"And their hands are the wrong hands?"

"Definately."

Skye suddenly looks me straight in the eye.

"Don't tell them."

I don't answer her, but I do look at the floor. I can see Bobbi coming back in, having listened to our conversation, leaning Skye back in her chair, covering her face with a towel and pouring water over her face. I cannot let that happen.

"Promise me Ward."

"I promise."

The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.

The door reopens and Bobbi and Mack come back in and right on cue, Bobbi tilts Skye back in her chair and Mack wraps a towel around her face and slowly begins to pour water onto it.

"STOP! I'll tell you everything!" I yell, fighting against my restraints, my knife wounds protesting as I move.