PARADISE ↝ Leo Fitz

↳ THREE

Lifting an eyebrow, one of the guards grabbed his handheld transceiver, but as he spoke into it, his stern stare never left Jenna. "Yeah, there's this scientist downstairs, says she's got a meeting with the Doctor. Jenna Rivers", he muttered, and for a while, it was quiet on the other side of the transceiver. Eventually, some words were mumbled out, and although Jenna could not figure them out, the guard had been given a question to ask her.

"What is it about?", he questioned, and licking her lips nervously, Jenna wasn't sure what to say. It needed to be a good lie, but in that moment, she kind of just froze. Luckily, Daisy stepped in.

"It's about the cure for inhumans. She's been studying and doing research for a while now. We think she's actually about to make a big breakthrough", she explained, clearing her throat nervously, and nodding in agreement, Jenna looked over to the guard and confirmed that was it. Although he didn't seem to believe all of it, he spoke the answer into the transceiver.

Once again, it was silent for a moment, and it was making Jenna anxious. Had their plan failed completely? Were they going to kill them now? Or torture them? What was going to happen? Could she actually see Fitz? And then, the silence was broken as three simple words rose from the transceiver in the guard's hand.

"Bring her in."

—————

JENNA FELT INTIMIDATED, to say the least, as she was being escorted by the two security guards around ominous hallways, and the wary beat of her heart had only quickened when she and Evan had been separated — apparently, he wasn't allowed to come with, even after Jenna had tried to explain that he was her bodyguard and he was supposed to go wherever she went. That, along with a few more attempts to change their minds, didn't earn a simple blink of an eye from the harsh, serious security guards, who were now walking by Jenna's sides with their loaded guns resting on their hips. There was no doubt in Jenna's mind that if she were to make one rash decision or sudden moves, the two would shoot her in cold blood and never once flinch.

Luckily, despite the situation feeling like she was being walked into her new prison cell, Jenna had no intentions to make a run for it. Even if there was a slight chance that she was headed straight for her doom, this was the closest she had gotten to meeting Fitz after all those years apart, and it was going to take a lot to change her mind about doing this. She knew that he wasn't the boy he used to be, that he had changed, that the Framework had taken its toll on him too, but no matter what, Jenna was taking the risk just to see him again. She needed to try to connect, and whether it would end with the two of them fleeing together, or Fitz pressing a gun against her head, there wasn't a single crumb of hesitance in Jenna's heart.

That didn't mean she wasn't nervous, though. But somehow, she didn't worry about her life being in danger — she worried about how she looked, about all those things people usually did on first dates. Of course, this was nowhere near to their first date, but it did ignite the memory of their night at the rooftop, causing Jenna to anxiously twist her necklace.

Without a word, one of the HYDRA guards then opened a door in the hallway, and for a second, Jenna simply stared at him as if waiting for a permission to go inside. But, his lips never parted, and sighing at the lack of communication, Jenna took a risk and went with her gut. And she was glad that she did, because as soon as she entered the room, she noticed a man standing there, facing the other way, allowing her to only see the neat, stylish haircut and the suit that fit his body flawlessly.

"Jenna Rivers", he spoke smoothly, and the familiar accent that Jenna had missed dearly, sent vibrations down her spine as she gulped and tried to play it cool. But she wasn't quite capable of doing so, not with someone so important to her saying her name like that. In a way, it was sad, because although his voice was low and thrilling, it was also tasting the words as if they were new and unfamiliar on the tip of his tongue. Even sadder was the fact that they probably were. However, he did continue with, "I've read of your work", earning a sharp inhale from Jenna, who tried to nod as formally as only possible.