Decisions
"How many times are we going to have to learn the same lesson?" asked May.
"I can't believe I'm going to say this," she rolled her eyes. "You need your pieces to solve the puzzle. You need the team on this."
"I can't believe you're quoting Skye," said Coulson, shaking his head and tucking away a pistol in his vest.
"I need you here, rebuilding SHIELD. If I don't make it back."
He had a series of sidearms and weapons laid out on the desk.
"That's not my job, Phil," she said.
"What?" he replied, the edges of his voice harsh. "You told Fury you had my back."
"And I do have your back," she said. "But Assistant Director is not my job."
Coulson clenched his jaw, stared at the floor, breathed out.
"We both know whose job that is," May added. "You need her. And we need to get her back. Both of you back."
Koenig knocked on the open door with his knuckle.
"Come in," Coulson said.
He walked over and handed Coulson a flash drive. "She left this," he said.
"What's on it?"
"All of her correspondence with Miles Lydon," said Koenig.
"Anything useful?" asked Coulson.
"Possibly," Koenig said, looking back at Coulson glaring back at him. "A really strong maybe?"
Coulson pursed his lips, sighed.
"May, get the team together. We have a mission."
****
"Coffee shop," he said, his hands in the pockets of his trenchcoat, looking at the building in front of them.
"We used to spend a lot of time in coffee shops."
He extended his hand. She took it for a moment, shook it, let go. Shrugged at him.
"Let's cut to the chase, Miles," Skye said.
"Can we walk?" he looked around.
"Yeah."
They continued down the street. It had finished raining, but the roads were slick and shiny, the beginnings of the sunset reflected in them.
"What were you thinking?" she asked. "Chasing Raina?"
"Just wanted to get something back for myself," said Miles. "You're not even a little impressed?"
"She is a very dangerous person, Miles. When this is done, you need to disappear for awhile."
"So you were worried about me?" he asked.
"Of course!" Skye said.
"And also, I have something you want," he said.
"That, too," said Skye.
"You've been looking all your life," he said. "When you find it, do you think you'll stop searching?"
She knew what he was asking. What he had always wanted to know. If she'd ever settle down.
"No," she said. "I don't think I ever will," she smiled at him a little.
"We had a nice thing," he said sadly, stopping in the street. "I wish it could've stayed that way."
Skye felt her head go dizzy. "What?"
"Sorry," he said. "Raina is really clever. Skin to skin transfer. Sedative. Don't worry, it won't hurt you."
"Miles," she stumbled towards him, trying to keep herself standing.
"It's for the best, Skye," she heard him say as she passed out.
****
Skye woke on a cold metal slab, restraints on her arm.
She winced at the bright light overhead shining down into her eyes.
Tried to sit up, but the arm restrains were too tight.
"Skye," she heard from above. "It's so nice to see you again."
It was Raina's voice.
"What are you going to do, experiment on me?" she said. "Like you did Coulson?"
"Coulson wanted under the machine," Raina said, coming into view.
"Yeah, when I found him he was begging to die, sounds like you knew exactly what you were doing," she seethed.
"He was just remembering," said Raina. "What Director Fury did to him."
Skye swallowed. Couldn't think of something to say.
"He never told you?" Raina said sadly.
Skye felt something tighten in her chest.
"Don't worry," said Raina, "We're just going to take some of your blood."
Skye heard shuffling noises in the dark around her.
"How did you convince Miles?"
"I didn't have to convince him at all," said Raina.
"She left that to me," said Ward, smiling, leaning over her.
Skye looked Ward in the eyes.
"You got your voice back," she mocked. "Ouch, crushed esophagus, sounds painful."
Ward smirked. "Remember that time when you told me you'd never give me what I wanted?"
She turned her face away from him.
"So you work for HYDRA," she said to Raina.
"Oh, no, how dreadful," said Raina. "I work towards evolution.
Ward just gave a disgusted laugh and walked away from the table.
"You're just taking some of her blood?" Miles asked him as he came near the desk.
"Why, you don't have the stomach for anything else?"
"Skye is more useful to us alive," Raina said walking up to Miles.
"I'd like to just get what we agreed to and go," Miles said. "If you don't mind."
He turned the computer towards them, the wire transfer at the ready.
Raina looked over at Ward. Nodded.
"You sure you don't want in on our incentives program?" Ward asked.
"We could use your talents," Raina said, admiringly.
****
"Guys, we have incoming!" Koenig shoved the tablet towards Coulson.
It was the message board thread. A new post. With coordinates.
"Skye," Coulson said.
"Wheels up in ten," said May. "I'll let the others know."
"Koenig," let us know if you get any updates while we're in the air. He handed him the phone. "Secure line only."
"Got it!" said Koenig.
"Good luck, sir. I hope she's okay."
Coulson nodded and headed to the hangar.
When they were in the air they all gathered around the holotable.
"Raina," Coulson said.
"That means CENTIPEDE soldiers," said Trip.
"They could have upgrades," warned Simmons. "Raina has shown she is constantly experimenting."
"Up the dosage on the Nite-Nites," Coulson said. "If it's lethal, so be it."
Simmons looked over at Trip, who didn't even blink.
May walked in having set the plane on autopilot.
"They lured Skye out with information about her past," she said. "And Miles Lydon is involved."
"Who?" asked Trip.
"Ex-boyfriend, fellow hacker," said Coulson. Right then it dawned on him. May noticed the change in his expression.
"Could that mean Ward?" asked Simmons, looking over at May then Coulson.
"Possibly," May said.
Coulson shut his eyes. Dammit. He'd let this whole thing distract him.
"The messages from Lydon said he was following Raina's trail," Coulson said, thinking it through.
"Ward was after Skye when you took Garrett out," May said.
"And Raina was using both of your blood for her experiments," Simmons added.
"That sounds convenient," Trip chimed in.
Coulson was leaning over the table staring at its top, but not seeing it.
May nodded to Trip and Simmons.
"I'll get the Nite-Nite cartridges ready," said Simmons walking off. "Trip?"
He looked back over at Coulson then headed towards the lab.
"Phil," said May. "It's Ward. It was someone who knew about Lydon, about what happened."
"I know," Coulson agreed. "I fell for it," he said. "It was meant to get her out of the Playground, I see that now."
May put her hand on his arm. "Is there something you need to tell me?"
He looked up at her.
"I kept her in the dark. I should've told her about my involvement in TAHITI. About her parents being monsters. About the wall in the storage room. And I let the guilt weigh me down and she walked. She knew I was holding back."
"Why?" asked May. "The two of you were already keeping secrets from the team."
Coulson shot a look over at her.
"Well, you were," she said, confronting. "Why didn't you just tell her?"
"I don't know," he replied.
****
"Besides him being a loser and a Nazi, which is like, a loser nexus, what makes Ward useful to you?"
Skye asked the question drowsily, turning to look over at Raina.
Raina was studying a readout of her bloodwork, monitoring her vitals as she took more.
"You should save your energy," Raina replied.
"You are, like, a person of color and you are working with HYDRA," Skye said.
Raina sighed. Oh, not this again.
"I am not working with HYDRA, I am just working with Ward. The arrangement was never with HYDRA it was with the Clairvoyant, I knew nothing about HYDRA."
"What do you know about my parents?"
"It's a story, I will tell it to you if you're very still," Raina replied.
"Gotcha," Skye said, slurring.
"Once, there was a little girl in a village. And one day, her parents came to look for her. And they were very, very inhuman."
"Sounds lovely," Skye managed.
"But, sometimes people don't see the true beauty inside," said Raina. "And they call people names, like monsters."
"I'm a monster," Skye said, closing her eyes.
"The beautiful mommy and the beautiful daddy just wanted their sweet baby girl back."
Ward walked over just as Skye passed out on the table.
"Coulson's here, with his team," he said in mission mode.
"How?" said Raina, shocked.
"Lydon," Ward said. "Get your stuff together, and get out of here. I'll send you coordinates for the next safehouse."
Raina nodded as Ward left in a rush.
Lydon. Well, hopefully Ward would see to that.
She began packing up the blood samples and downloading data.
"Hello, Raina."
Raina turned around and blinked back at Coulson.
His eyes caught Skye on the table. His gun was pointed at Raina as he walked calmly towards her.
"Impressive. You got past Ward, and my soldiers," she was sizing him up.
Coulson moved to Skye, checked her breathing and her pulse.
"What I want to know, is why you want Skye," said Coulson.
"Are you in love with that girl?" asked Raina, coyly.
"What?" Coulson asked.
"Garrett. He taunted you about her. Blamed all of what happened to her on you."
"Of course I am," he said back to her, not missing a beat. "Stop wasting my time."
Raina brightened.
"Do you know what she has inside of her?" she asked.
"Just so we're clear," he said. "I don't care. I've seen monsters. She's not one."
"Aren't you even a bit curious?" she pleaded.
"Raina, we're a little short on containment facilities right now," he warned. "So, don't make me shoot you," he said plainly. "Because, I will. And I won't feel bad about it."
She actually looked a little surprised.