Birds of a Feather | | Leo Fitz Book One

Chapter 37

"So this is some sort of medical facility?" Leo asked, as he, Coulson, and Asia jogged down a dimly lit hallway, checking all of the doors, searching for any sign of the medicine they were looking for.

"It seems to be," Coulson replied, "But I don't know if it'll do us any good without the staff here." Coulson came to a stop by a door which was labeled "Viewing," in faded, peeling red paint. Coulson grabbed the handle, slowly open it, mouth dropping open. For a moment, he didn't move.

Leo stepped beside their team lead, speaking softly. "Is this....?" He let the question trail off, floating into the hollow, dusty air.

"It is," Coulson affirmed quietly. But, as intriguing as it was, this area wouldn't help them. They had to keep moving. Before time ran out.

Moving briskly down the hall, Coulson spotted another door. This one was marked "Biohazard Containment" in the same, pealing red paint. Leo began to ask if they should really be entering the room when Coulson was already grabbing the circular locking mechanism to open up the door. Shoving open the door, which squeaked and groaned at being opened, Coulson stepped inside, followed shortly by Leo and Asia. Inside were shelves and shelves lined with drugs of all different colours, with only a thin sheet of glass separating them from the vials.

"We should put on suits before going in there," Leo muttered, his words loud even as he whispered.

"You're probably right," Coulson nodded, "But there's just no time." He clicked on a flashlight and slid open the sliding glass door into the area containing the various liquids. Asia looked over at Leo, shrugging, and followed him.

She had to, of course. This was exactly the kind of thing Natasha and Clint had told her to look out for. The exact thing they had asked her to send back if she ever located any of it. The kind of thing she would have to smuggle out before it was all blown to bits.

"Start looking," Coulson said, opening up a cabinet and checking each test tube. Asia and Leo each took a shelf, searching as well.

"I don't see any G.H.." Leo began to say, moving to another cabinet and shaking the door handles. "It's locked..." he muttered, tugging once more. "Agent Coulson, Asia," he motioned them over.

Coulson grabbed gloves out of his pockets, handing a pair to both Leo and Asia. "Put these on," he instructed, as he pulled out a ring of keys which he had taken off of a fallen guard. He tried one after one until finally he found one which clicked. "There, got it!" He opened the cabinet door, revealing a chamber holding several vials of GH-325.

At that moment, Ward entered the room. "Time to go," he said, shooting a thumb towards the door. "Couldn't stop it. We've got 4 minutes and counting."

"Almost ready," Coulson replied back, not turning to look.

"There's semtex lined throughout here too," Ward pointed out, "We don't have a lot of time."

"Got it," Leo said, holding up a vial of blue liquid. "This is the one we want. This is the GH-325."

"Good, good, we've got to get it up to Simmons." Coulson said, patting Leo on the back. When they weren't looking, Asia slipped her hand in, grabbing another vial and placing it descretly in her pocket. She would send it back to Nat as soon as she had the chance.

"Asia," Coulson said, and for a moment she thought she was made. "Get Fitz out of here."

Asia gave a sharp nod, grabbing Leo's arm, "Let's go." Leo didn't need any further instructing.

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They had three minutes left when Garrett and Leo finished rigging their exit door to blow. They had placed semtex in precise locations around the door.

"Haven't you work much with munitions, Agent Fitz? Explosives are a fascinating specialty." Garrett said with a grin. "Very exacting. Too big concussion could trigger a chain reaction, bury us like fossils for a thousand years. Guess we don't have to worry about the Clairvoyant finding this place. Asia couldn't deny her stomach squirmed at the idea of Leo working frequantly with bombs.

After setting the last few, Garrett and Leo both got up and made their way back to where Ward and Asia stood, behind a cement pillar.

"Agent Ward, would you like to do the honours?" Garrett asked, handing Ward a small, silver box with a little black button.

A grin instantly slid over Ward's face. "I thought you'd never ask," he replied, taking the trigger box. Pressing the small button, a trigger of small explosions popped around the corner.

The doors now, while not perfectly opened, had a small gap. "Can you fit?" Asia asked Leo, tugging on the doors with Ward to make them open just a bit more.

"Yea, yea I can make that," Leo affirmed after checking the area.

"Monroe, take him up, we'll get Coulson," Garrett barked, and Asia nodded sharpley, turning to Leo.

"You first," she said, holding the door open a bit so he could squeeze through with ease. Slipping through, she followed behind, the stolen vial of blue liquid weighing heavily in her pocket. She had to continually remind herself, it was all for the cause.

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The two barrelled up the dimly lit stairs, Leo grabbing onto Asia's are and pulling her forward. "Are the comms up yet??" She asked frantically, almost tripping over a stair.

"We should have contact soon," Leo replied, slowing momentarily so she could regain her footing. "Come in, come in," Leo tried over his comms, holding one hand to his ear. "Get the plane off the ground. I repeat, get the plane off the ground." He turned to Asia, "Now let's just hope they heard me."

Together, they kept climbing.They could see small cracks of light shining through twin doors above them. They were close, so damn close. Asia shoved aginst the doors, thrusting them outward and blinding sunlight hit the two agents in the face. Covering their eyes, they continued to run forward, Asia still dragged by Leo, who, in times of absolute necessity, displayed incredible speed.

They raced up the deck of the aircraft, taking the spiral staircase towards the medbay two steps at a time. Asia's heart nearly shattered when they reached Skye's pod. Jemma was pumping her chest, shouting orders at Trip. They were working hard, but their efforts were failing. Her hand rose shakily to cover her pale lips.

"We've got it!" Leo shouted, holding up the vial. He handed it quickly to Jemma, who held it up to the light.

"What is it? And how much, injected where?" She asked in a rapid succession. The two agents looked at each other, unsure. Jemma shook her head. "There's no other option. I'm injecting." She took a syringe and filled it with the strange liquid, finding a vital vein, and injected it, quickly. They all stood, breath held, hoping for the best.

Just then, Coulson came running in, screaming like mad, "NO! Don't give it to her!!"

They all looked over towards their leader. "It's too late," Jemma said softly, holding up the empty syringe. Her heart monitor began to slow, flatlining. It echoed sadly in the background. " I was losing her anyway, what harm can it do?"

Asia refused to let herself cry.