Holes

“Are you going to tell us what’s going on?” Simmons asked, when May came into the room. Fitz stood next to her.

“First I need you to analysis this,” she said, handing the vial over to Simmons. She took it and moved it to her table.

“She can analysis while you talk,” Fitz said. “What’s going on? I feel like the four of you are having a party that we weren’t invited too.”

May wasn’t sure what to say. The last three days had been almost more than she could handle. When Coulson told her about Ward, about Hydra, about Garrett, she couldn’t believe it. It sounded unreal. While May felt some anger toward Ward, she felt enraged at Garrett that she had to hit the punching bag repeatedly. Coulson told her to keep everything a low profile and to only tell Fitz and Simmons after they caught Garrett.

“I need your full attention for what I’m about to tell you.”

“It’s running the analysis,” Simmons said, turning around and walking over. “Fire away.”

May wasn’t the talking type. She wished Coulson had elected to talk to the scientists, but Coulson and Skye were dealing with Ward and seeing if Garrett’s specialist Triplett had also been brainwashed. Garrett was currently stewing in the cage.

“John Garrett is the head of centipede,” she explained. “He calls himself the clairvoyant, but he’s been using his ranking of SHIELD to predict our movements. He’s not actually psychic.”

Both Fitz and Simmons looked at her in shock.

“And Ward?”

“Garrett had placed Ward with us to spy on Coulson to find out how he came back to life. Garrett is dying.”

“No—“ Fitz’s eyes got very wide. “Ward’s not evil— Garrett must have done something to him. Like an exploding eye or brainwashing.”

May didn’t respond.

“He’s right? Isn’t he?” Simmons asked. “Garrett did something to Ward.”

“When Ward was teenager, Garrett took him to the woods and isolated him until Ward was compliant to him. It’s a form of brainwashing. Garrett’s been controlling Ward ever since until the staff showed him some truths. The reason we didn’t tell you is we needed evidence other what Ward’s word and we needed to trap Garrett. That’s what Skye and I have been doing for the past few days.”

May wasn’t sure what to think. She didn’t know why Ward was still controlled by Garrett after so many years. She realized that Garrett was probably always in his life, always filling his head.

“So the syringe you just gave me—“

“The whole argument earlier was staged. If we didn’t catch Garrett, it would have been his word against Ward’s. Garrett is a high level decorative SHIELD agent. We needed some ammo before going after him. We caught Garrett trying to give the syringe to Ward. Except Ward wasn’t in the cage. We moved him back to his room.”

“Does Fury know?” Simmons asked.

“He does. And we are to keep this quiet as possible. There is more to Ward’s story than Garrett wanting to live. Hydra is still around and they are inside SHIELD.”

“What?” Fitz said.

“John Garrett works for Hydra and by extension Ward.”

Fitz shook his head. “No—it was under duress.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it does,” Simmons said. “Garrett brainwashed Ward. He needs protection not scorn.”

“We’ll protect Ward from Garrett. There is a limit what we can do. Even if Ward was an unwilling participant, in SHIELD that doesn’t matter.”

Simmons eyes got wide. May had no idea had close they two of them had gotten to Ward.

“This is so unfair,” Fitz said.

“Life is unfair,” May said, thinking back on the time in Bahrain.

There was a beeping sound indicating the chemical analysis had finished.

“G329,” Simmons said. “A SHIELD concoction that causes stroke and is untraceable after death. Garrett meant to murder Ward.”

“Ward, open up,” Skye’s voice said. He went to the door and opened it. They stared each other for a moment. He couldn’t tell from her face what she was thinking. He was sure she hated him.

“You owe me a talk,” she said. “But Coulson’s ready to interrogate Garrett and he asked me to come get you.”

“Skye—“

She put her finger up. “I need some time to process this.”

Her voice wasn’t angry at least. Maybe she wouldn’t hate him. It didn’t matter; he didn’t expect to be in SHIELD much longer. He never cared for SHIELD or Hydra. Garrett was always the most important person in his life. In the last few months, he found enjoyed the team and he got more anxious to get the intel before he got too close to them— too weak.

As if she understood what he was thinking, she added. “I don’t hate you.”

His anxiety lessened from what she said and he felt a little better but he hated the look on her face. He had lost some of her trust.

“Coulson told me that Garrett made you think we would hate you. I’m a little mad—but I don’t hate you. I’m glad you came clean.”

“Thanks,” he said.

“Is this the real you, though?”

He didn’t respond right away. Quite honestly he had been Garrett’s pawn and a spy so long, he didn’t know Grant Ward really was. “I don’t know who the real me is. It was whatever Garrett wanted me to be.”

Skye didn’t respond. She bit her lip slightly. He almost regretted telling Coulson everything. He looked down not sure what to say.

He was surprised when she took his arm gently and escorted him to the monitors to view the cage. He was surprised to see Fitz, Simmons, and May waiting for him. They said nothing but Fitz and Simmons both gave him a comforting smile. He couldn’t smile. He didn’t know what to think or feel. Agent Triplett was sitting off away from them. He had a grim look on his face. One he didn’t lose when he made eye contact with Ward.

Ward could see Garrett on the screen. Dread filled him. This was a mistake. He almost turned and fled but Skye guided him gently to a seat. Then she took one next to him. Simmons sat on the other side and he felt someone behind him and realized it was Fitz. May stood close by as well. At first he thought they were trapping him and his heart rate went up.

He realized they weren’t trapping him.

They were protecting him.

Ward felt awkward. He wasn’t used to other people looking out for him. Never in his life did anyone bat for him except he thought John Garrett. He always thought that no one would be willing to help him.

He faced forward to see Garrett on the screen and Coulson sitting across from him.

“He’s watching,” May said into her communicator.

“Are you ready to tell me the truth?” Coulson asked.

“The truth is that kid is a liar and maybe even a psychopath.”

Ward tensed up and swallowed his anger. He wasn’t a psychopath. He wasn’t evil; he just did some bad things.

“So are you telling me he lied about everything?”

“Yes, really Phil. Hydra? Captain America destroyed most of Hydra in World War II. Our founder Peggy Carter got rid of the rest. He’s delusional as well and makes up shit. He lies on top of lies.”

“Then why were you trying to kill him?”

“Because I know that controlled he’s useful to SHIELD, uncontrolled, he’s very dangerous. He had to be put down. SHIELD’s done it before. You know that Phil, even with our own agents.”

“So you’re not this clairvoyant?”

Garrett smiled. “No.”

“And you didn’t send Ward to spy on our team.”

“He made it up. I thought that he would be a good fit. He was fine since he started working for me.”

“And you didn’t kidnap him when he was 15 and take him across statelines to brainwash him?”

“Fantastically story! Maybe he can get a new job as an author.”

Coulson had a folder in front of him and he opened it. He pointed to a map with a circle near the center.

“So you didn’t take him to this land you own in Wyoming where there is nothing for hundreds of miles and leave him there alone for five years? You didn’t bribe the head of a juvenile facility to go along with a plan to make it look like you broke him out. Or that your friend ran a military academy and told you about a kid who was a natural sniper and had certain qualities you were looking for. It’s good to have a hacker on board. She even found the former school psychologist who remembered Ward very well except her reports about him, which had been doctored, said the opposite of what she told Skye and May. She remembered him because the report the school gave him a whole list a mental illnesses. Except when she met him, the only thing she saw was evidence of severe abuse.”

“Fine, you got me. I nabbed Ward out of juvie—but it was to strengthen him out. I didn’t brainwash him, I made him stronger.”

Coulson shook his head. “You made him think emotional attachments were a sign of weakness. That’s not strength.”

“Phil, that’s exactly how SHIELD trains us. That’s why most of us are single or divorced. We’re spies Phil, we lie for a living. You know we aren’t supposed to get attached.”

“He was an abused 15 year old,” Coulson said.

“No, he wasn’t. Don’t let his age fool you. He was a liar and manipulator. He probably made that shrink believe he was an innocent victim, but I spoke to his family. They’re good people. Grant Ward is not.”

Ward’s balled his hands up into tight fists. He almost stood up but Skye gripped his arm hard.

“He told us all about Centipede. It’s just a matter of time before we find something that leads it to you. He had no reason to say anything, yet he did. The staff told him truths about you.”

“You’re going to believe an alien devise over me.”

“Yes, I am.”

Garrett looked a little surprised.

“Phil—I think being dead has done something to you. We’re friends you and I. You know I’m not evil. But that kid, Phil. Don’t let him fool you. Do you know why he was in juvie?” Garrett didn’t wait for him to answer. “He tried to kill his brother—Thomas. I spoke to his parents. They said there was always something wrong with him. He was vicious and mean. They sent him away because they thought he was a psychopath. They signed off when I asked them to give him to me. I thought I straighten him out but clearly I didn’t.”

Ward almost stood up. He placed his hands on the table and slammed them hard against it. Before he could get up, Skye took one of his hands and squeezed it hard.

He couldn’t believe it. Not just that Garrett was trying to frame him just as Christian had, but that his parents had sold him to Garrett. Garrett had lied to him, about everything.

“About that fire,” Coulson said. “You destroyed a lot of evidence didn’t you? I mean the Wards wanted to keep that tidbit out of the papers. They didn’t want anyone to know they weren’t one big happy family. They certainly didn’t want to know one of their son’s might be a sociopath.”

“See I told you.”

“I’m not talking about Grant,” Coulson said. “You destroyed the evidence but not the people.

Garrett looked at him curiously.

“Grant was at military school. It was winter break and Christian was home from college. Thomas was worried and called Grant. A next night was when the fire happened. The fire chief at the time labeled it arson. They found Ward in the bushes, a little beat up and battered and thought he caused the fire.”

“He did. I’m telling you, Phil. He admitted it. That kid can manipulated anything.”

“He never told me this, John. He told me he started the fire, but he also told me he felt disoriented the whole night like everything was a dream.”

“I told you, he’s a psycho.”

“Or he had a head injury.”

Garrett looked at him confused.

“They found him the bushes right below the second floor outside his bedroom. The Ward house was old and had skeleton key locks. The fire report found a stuck door on the second floor. The door wasn’t stuck it was locked. The bedroom belonged to Grant. Someone locked Grant in his bedroom and he jumped out the window to escape the fire. You knew it was possible that Ward didn’t start the fire but you hid it. Christian had bullied and gaslighted his brother so much, Ward didn’t know what was real and what was not. You took advantage of that.”

“So I used to the kid to my advantage, so what. SHIELD sometimes does bad things for the greater--“

“And he also told us how Hydra communicated with each other. Fury and I have been listening in on some very interesting conversations. We’ve been listening for a few days. Still hadn’t figured out the voices, but we will.”

Garrett didn’t respond.

“You’ve lost control, John. Of the situation and of Ward. He’s free from you now. Unlike anyone else in his life, I’m going to make sure he gets the help he needs. I’m just happy enough he saw the light before he did something he regretted.”

“Phil, you’re making a mistake,” Garrett said, but his voice was lower.

“No, you made the mistake. I’m sorry you’re dying, John, I really am. I’m sorry Fury saved me and not you—“

Garrett got a little angry. “He saved you even though you didn’t want it. I had to tape my guts back together to get out. I started centipede because no one gave a damn about me—I was the only one who gave a damn about Ward. You don’t know what his family did to him. How his brother almost killed him because he resisted—“ Garrett paused when he realized he said too much.

Ward looked down at the screen. Skye squeezed his hand again. Simmons took the other.

When Christian first attempted to get him to hurt Thomas, he said no. The abuse he endured started very minor. His things would get destroyed, the kids at school would tease him, out of the blue his friends dropped him. But he resisted.

Until he woke up one night with Christian’s hands around his neck. When he told his mother, she told him to stop being a wimp and boys will be boys. When he told the school counselor, he called his mother and they had a long meeting and nothing happened. Then he knew or at least thought. If he didn’t hurt Thomas, he would be killed.

“We can make this easy John. Tell us everything about Centipede, about Hydra, we can see we can do to keep you alive or at least make your reminding months comfortable. Die a SHIELD agent, John not a Hydra one.”

Garrett didn’t respond.

The room filled with silence.

“You’re going to die without talking. You’re the man who never shuts up.”

“I think we’re done,” Garrett said, bitterly.

“Have it your way.”