Wishing Well | Leo Fitz Book Four

Chapter FiftyTwo

thirteen years ago

Asia and Ward sat atop a large skyscraper, Ward with a sniper slung over his shoulder, Asia twirling thick black cord in her hand like a lasso. The sun was setting, and Asia had her booted feet dangling over the edge of the building. It would be a long drop if she fell, but that's what the carabiner and rope were for. The golden light played over both of their faces, and suddenly Asia pulled a black phone from one of the various pockets on her Shield issue vest.

"Isn't this supposed to be golden hour or something?" She asked, opening up the phones screen and opening the camera. Eleven years ago, technology was....not quite so up to speed, even with Shield. So she turned the phone physically around in her hand and nodded at Ward enthusiastically. "Smile you nerd, we're taking a picture together." She held up a peace sign with her other hand and grinned ear to ear, hoping her shot was lined up and Ward was smiling too. After she pressed the button to click the camera shot, she eagerly turned the phone back around and looked, still grinning.

It was a good photo, all things considered. Both of their faces were illuminated by the setting sun, Asia's eyes almost closed from squinting. Ward was looking over her shoulder, and his lips were pressed into a classic, thin lipped, Grant Ward smile. "Yep, that's the one," she nodded, putting her phone away. "Going to have to get a print of that one somehow."

"You know the tech guys are really getting sick of you using their lab to print pictures from your phone," he elbowed her in the ribs. "This printer is for important Shield evidence only," Ward pinched his nose and imitated on of the SciOps guys. The two Ops Academy agents laughed despite themselves. They had grown comfortable around one another, as hard and dangerous as it was to trust anyone in this field.

"How much longer do you want to wait?" Ward asked Asia, glancing at his watch and the building across from them. "Can't be much longer till everyone is out of the building." He started humming the song Closing Time as they looked far down below at the employees filing out into the street below.

The building they were set to hit was tall and windowed on every side. While the windows had somewhat of a tint to them, Ward's scope had a thermal viewfinder, so tracking Asia and anyone else inside would be easy enough. There was reason for Shield to believe that the company, MarCorp, was creating new, high-tech, weapons of destruction they were planning on distributing to the highest bidder. Being almost ready to graduate, they were sending in their two most promising students. With backup readily available, of course, though neither Ward nor Asia would ever call for it. They had too much to prove. The stakes were way too high.

"Ehh, I'm ready if you are," Asia shrugged, lifting up a harpoon gun, of sorts, which sat beside her. Aiming at a piece of concrete on the corner stone of the building across from them, she fired down, hearing the satisfying schink of metal sinking into rock as the blades locked into place. She anchored the rope she held onto tightly next to Ward. "Don't let me fall now," she teased, testing the hold a couple times before looping her carabiner over the rope and pushing off from the wall.

She sailed through the open air, over the street below, oblivious to the hundreds of people below. She landed, feet first, against the building across, then held out her wrist, a laser cutting a circle through the glass which she kicked gently into the building, crawling inside. She turned back to Ward and gave him a thumbs up through the opening. It was time to get to business. This was set to strictly be a recon mission, gather as much intel and physical evidence as possible, then get out. Ward was just there as a worst case.

Unfortunately, things had turned rather sharply towards 'worst case' quite quickly. Ward had been watching Asia through his scope, her red figure moving along the infrared. But then, from the other side of the hall, six more figures entered the hall. "Monroe, watch your back, you've got some company," he radioed over their comms. He watched her turn around, arms up, but suddenly her body jolted back.