Engaging the Body's Defenses

So, this is the other side of Vault D. I don't like it. It's creepy.

Vault D was empty. When Grant was imprisoned in the cell only an hour before, there'd been a hospital bed, medical equipment, and other items needed for someone as sick as he'd been. Now there was nothing other than a cot on one side of the room. Either the base was functioning at peak efficiency (unlikely) or someone knew Skye would be imprisoned here. That seemed ominous.

A quick glance around confirmed what she'd instinctively felt whenever she'd visited Grant: it was a nightmare. There were no windows. The only light source was florescent and inconsistent. Whoever held the controls to the dungeon determined if there was light and, if so, how much. The smooth walls and bare floor held nothing of interest. Whenever the barrier was up, there was only blank space to gaze at. Skye shivered. Nothing in here was under the prisoner's control; nothing was consistent. She suddenly understood why Grant had been so desperate to leave that he risked killing himself.

Skye sat hesitantly on the bed, testing it out to see how comfortable it was. As she suspected, not very. We can't let prisoners have any kind of comfort or they might not be punished enough. However, weeks of broken sleep led her to collapse onto the bed anyway. As she laid down, she could feel her body relaxing for the first time that day. Now that Grant had escaped, all the stress and fear she'd been holding onto for weeks could be let go. He was safe and free.

She smiled to herself as she imagined his escape. Watching Grant in motion was kind of like seeing poetry come to life. His movements flowed, each twist, kick, and punch seamlessly merging. His fights were physical and brutal but also smooth, almost effortless. He made everything look easy, never hesitating to engage even when the odds were against him. Since Grant was a survivor, almost too much so, she knew he was fine.

She'd be fine too. Even though things seemed a bit grim now, Skye wasn't worried too much about herself. She relaxed onto the bed, secure in her knowledge that, whatever else happened, she wasn't going to be in the holding cell for long. This was a relief. She couldn't imagine spending days, possibly weeks, holed up in a place without natural light or anything much to do. Anyone enduring such confinement was likely to go crazy.

Even though sleep beckoned, flashes from the past few years went through her head. The orphanage and never being a good fit for multiple foster families. Meeting Miles and working with the Rising Tide, her passion for information being free mostly due to her desire to find her parents. The SHIELD kidnapping and her first interaction with Grant. The time on the Bus, working hard to fit in even when she didn't always agree with SHIELD's methods. The fight at Cybertek and her deep feeling of abandonment when Grant left. Rebuilding SHIELD, darker and angrier than before. The start of the pandemic. It's definitely been a journey.

A wave of exhaustion rolled over her but Skye fought against it. She went over what her future interrogation would entail, trying to think through responses but the fatigue didn't allow fully formed thoughts to develop. Instead, she gazed at the blank walls, not really thinking about anything specific, jerking herself awake every few minutes. After 15 minutes, she realized fighting her body was stupid. Might as well give in. Skye closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

The thrumming undercurrent of the electricity used to keep the cage secure rose in intensity, jolting her awake. Skye rubbed her eyes, looking over at the boundary. She had no idea how long she'd been asleep but it must've been enough for a solid nap. She felt refreshed. She smiled at May standing on the other side of the barrier. May didn't smile back, her grim expression unchanged. Skye's smile faded but only because she knew it was expected. If she thinks this is intimidating, she's wrong. I know her too well.

"Get up. It's time to talk," May said.

Skye dutifully got up and carefully approached the boundary. She didn't know how close she could get before it shocked her and didn't want to find out. May pressed a button on the monitoring pad and the boundary went down. Without the constant electrical hum, the vault room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Skye sighed in relief at the sudden quiet. She hadn't realized how much the humming had been driving her crazy until it was gone.

"I thought you'd send Bobbi but hopefully she's in too much trouble right now." Skye had no plans to forget how poorly Bobbi had treated Kara. She hoped her constant hammering on the subject kept it fresh in their minds, so they couldn't brush it under the rug.

"Agent Morse might've been a…distraction. I'll be handling your interrogation," May said, glaring at Skye. "Follow me."

Skye nodded. She was glad she'd be talking with May instead of Bobbi. Her anger at Bobbi would only have gotten in her way.

Once in the interrogation room, Skye gingerly sat on the prisoner's side. She smiled ruefully at May. "This is weird. I'm usually in your spot or back there." She waved at the mirror, not knowing or caring who was behind it. "Hey, silent watchers! Hope you enjoy the show."

May didn't smile. She sat down and leaned across the table.

Skye bit back a smirk, knowing that this tactic – May using physical closeness to intimidate – wasn't going to work on her. She didn't want her to know that though. This is going to be fun!

"How did you help Grant Ward escape?"

Skye rolled her eyes. "I already told you – several times if memory serves – that I didn't."

"This is an incredibly secure facility. There's no way Ward would be able to escape without help. Since Kara Palamas is missing, we suspect she assisted him but she didn't have the access to engineer his escape. You do and you're the only one who cared about him. What. Did. You. Do?"

"Grant and Kara were partners before coming here, so yeah, Kara probably helped him. But she may not have. Maybe she got tired of being in a place where few people trusted her. Or maybe she saw how badly SHIELD's treating brainwashed former agents these days and decided to bail. Either way, it's a mistake to make assumptions before talking with her. Or is that no longer protocol anymore?" Skye took a moment to savor how May sat back and thinned her lips when Skye pointed out SHIELD's flaws.

"It's still protocol but this situation is different since it involves our own agents. Internal investigations are more difficult," May admitted.

"That's good to hear. I was afraid everything you taught me had gone out the window."

May leveled a glare at her. "Don't be ridiculous. Skye, you need to tell us the truth. How did you help Ward escape?"

Skye leaned forward, adopting a low, intimate tone. "May, you and I both know how physically amazing Grant is. Not only is he strong and skilled but he's also unbelievably strategic and disciplined." Skye sat back, resuming her usual tone. "He easily could've escaped on his own. And I think you know that."

May appeared to be struggling with herself. "What do you mean I know how physically amazing he is?" she growled.

"You worked together closely for months. You sparred regularly." Skye paused, watching May relax, then went in for the kill. "But what I really meant is that you slept with him."

May's face froze, her eyes narrowing for a millisecond, before she scoffed. "I suppose he told you that."

"He didn't have to. I lived on the same plane with both of you and I'm not an idiot. I know when your affair started, when it ended, and I know you cared for him. That's why his betrayal hit you so hard."

"If we did sleep together, it was only to relieve tension. Being on the Bus with three kids untrained in combat was stressful."

Skye's expression remained unchanged as she internally tipped her hat to May. The "three kids" comment was clearly designed to upset her. A few months ago, it might have. But now, Skye was in a totally different headspace. Nice try, May!

May's smile was cold. "If I took his betrayal hard, it was only because of all the damage he did to SHIELD. He had the opportunity to be loyal to us and he chose Garrett."

Skye nodded. "Yeah, that was tough. I struggled with that too. But here's the thing: he's sorry."

"Sorry means less than nothing," May scoffed.

"No, sorry means everything. Aren't you sorry about what happened between you and Andrew? Don't you wish there was something you could do to change that?"

Skye could tell her shot landed. May was trying to control her fuming. "Leave my relationship with Andrew out of this."

"Why? I'm sitting here because of my relationship with Grant. Why should yours be off the table?"

"Because you're the one being interrogated." May paused, leaning across the table again, clearly trying to regain control of the situation. "My relationship with Andrew only hurt the two of us. Your relationship impacts everyone here. You're siding with a traitor, Skye."

"That's who Grant used to be but it isn't who he is now. Don't we all deserve the chance to learn and grow? Changing our minds based on new information is a sign of wisdom and Grant did that! He saw the error of his ways and is working to atone for his mistakes. The Black Widow has the same kind of history and SHIELD allowed her to become a valued agent. Why won't you let Grant do the same?"

"He hasn't changed," May said darkly.

"Yes, he has. Even Andrew thought so."

May sat back in her chair. "How do you know what Andrew thinks?"

"Because he told me. He was hoping you'd do the right thing but, for some reason, he was worried about what you and Coulson were going to do to Grant."

May paused, clearly taken aback. "And what did you do with that information?"

"What could I do with it? I worried about what you were going to do but all I could do is hope you'd show mercy to Grant and trust that I know what I'm doing." Skye crossed her arms. "Guess I was wrong on both counts."

"Ward got mercy. He came to this base desperate for our help and we gave it to him."

"You put him in solitary confinement while he tried to recover from what was almost a fatal illness! That's your definition of mercy? He was so depressed he tried to kill himself!"

"He wasn't serious," May sneered. "You know how 'strategic and disciplined' he is." Skye grimaced at May's use of her words and again mentally tipped her hat. May isn't The Cavalry for nothing! "If Ward truly wanted to kill himself, he'd have done it."

"Did you forget how sick he was? He could barely breathe, much less plan and execute his own suicide. You complain about the damage Grant did to SHIELD but no one seems to consider how treating a sick prisoner so poorly makes us look. Aren't we supposed to be the good guys?"

"We are the good guys. He didn't go to Hydra for help with Covid."

"Yay, we're better than Hydra!" Skye said sarcastically. "That's a low bar. And here I was thinking SHIELD was supposed to be better than one step above evil."

"Enough!" A vulnerable expression stole over May's face. "I can't believe you're choosing Grant Ward over us, Skye. His betrayal almost destroyed our team. Don't you remember how bad it was after he left? But we got through it. You've come so far, learned so much since then. Now you're going to throw it all away for someone who was never loyal to us in the first place?"

For the first time, Skye felt sorry for May as she realized the depths of betrayal the older woman felt from Grant and now from Skye. She sighed. "May, I don't want to have to choose between Grant and SHIELD and I wouldn't have to if you and AC could see what's really happening. Grant was trying to come back! That's what the COP calls were all about. The Avengers are helping to heal both Grant and Kara. They were trying to show SHIELD that they'd changed, that they could be useful to us again. Are we so well staffed that we can't use two incredibly skilled agents?"

"We could never trust them again. Ward especially played us too well."

Skye realized this was the crux of the matter for May and probably for Coulson as well. Grant bested them at the spy game and they'd never forgive him for it.

"I don't want to leave SHIELD, May, but you're not leaving me much choice." She looked pleadingly at her former Supervising Officer. "You know I'd never do anything to hurt SHIELD."

May's face tightened in anger. "By fraternizing with Grant Ward, you already have. You need to tell me how you helped Ward escape, Skye!"

Skye leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "OK, I get it. You refuse to believe that I didn't help him. Fine. Tell me your theory of how I did it. Even though I was in plain sight of the entire base, how did I help Grant get out of his chains and overpower armed guards? Did I do magic? Can I be in two places at once? Please, enlighten me."

"We don't know how but, believe me, we're going to find out." May stood up.

Skye remained seated. "I don't believe you think I helped him. Everyone knows Grant's good enough to get out of tough situations on his own. The real reason I'm sitting here is that you and Coulson are mad that I'm in love with him."

May took Skye's arm and pulled her somewhat gently to her feet. Knowing May as she did, Skye understood that she was angry but mostly sad. "It doesn't matter what you think," May told her. She steered Skye back to Vault D in silence, raising the electric boundary once she was in the cell. "This isn't over, Skye. We're going to find out what you did and there will be consequences."

Once May left, Skye plopped down on the bed, dejected. Coulson and May seemed determined to believe in her guilt. Although they couldn't prove it, she couldn't prove her innocence either. She had no idea what was going to happen and felt overwhelmingly sad. It wasn't supposed to go this way.

The first time she'd fallen asleep in Vault D, she'd done so because she couldn't stay awake. The second time, it was because she cried herself to sleep.