Renegade Rising || Leo Fitz Book Two

Chapter FiftyOne

Asia looked down the sites of her rifle, lining it up with the seat she knew Ward would be taking, across from Coulson, and waited. She didn't flick the switch to light up her laser site just yet. No need for him to see that little red dot until she wanted him to. She wanted him to know she had every ability to fuck his entire life. Ruin all his plans. The only thing stopping her, was Coulson. She would take a lot of satisfaction in that.

Ward had entered the building moments ago, and according to their comms units, was currently getting pat down my Mike, removing all of his weapons that he no doubt had hidden on his body. Asia knew all of his tactics, knew all of his secrets (well, no all), and she knew how he thought. She knew he would have a razor hidden somewhere. Probably a knife in his boots. At least two guns. She knew Ward, and if he cared for Kara, as gross as that was, he wouldn't be coming to play.

She could practically picture it, and it made her heart clench, filled with confusing, contradicting emotions. Anger. Sadness. Confusion. She took a deep breath and exhaled them all. This was nothing but work. And Asia Monroe was always damn good at her work. No distractions.

And then suddenly there he was, right in plain view. And for just a moment, she wavered. He looked...okay. A little gritty. The stubble on his chin had grown out a bit, but his coal black hair was still cut in the same, comb-over style she had always known him with. He was wearing a grey jacket, and black pants, his clothing overall looking worse for wear than what she was used to. She looked at him, and she still saw her friend. Then she took a deep breath, and vanished her friend away in smoke. The memories she had with him were nothing but that, memories. She listened to the comms. She held the grip of her gun, finger at the ready. She waited.

"Ward," She heard Coulson greet over comms, watching her Director nod in her sites.

"I'm flattered. You brought the robot along just for a sitdown with me," Ward sighed, hands placed on the table that was between the two.

Coulson sighed and shook his head. "Don't be," he looked up at him, and Asia waited, finger ready to do what she knew she had to do. "We both know you're that good," Coulson continued. "Plus, Agent Peterson isn't the only one who came to the party." She saw Coulson's grin and heard his words, her signal. Her finger twitched on the laser trigger, flicking the little red dot on, letting it glow on Ward's chest, directly over his heart.

She saw his eyes flick her direction, and even though he couldn't see her, a look of recognition flashed across his face. "So you brought the Renegade, too. What a surprise. She's the big guns now, isn't she?"

Coulson shrugged, thinking about it. "We have a lot of big guns. But speaking over, we're after bigger things now. Strucker. List. Heads of Hydra."

She watched Ward sigh and shake his head, eyes still flicking down to the red dot on his chest every now and then. "Well you got the wrong guy. I can't help you there. I'm not in Hydra any more." Asia rolled her eyes. That didn't change who he was. What he had done. To her, Ward would always be Hydra now. He had to be.

Because if she stopped seeing him as Hydra, she would start seeing him as her old friend again. And then it would be much, much harder to kill him.

"Your cut ties don't matter here. You were in Hydra. And you're Grant Ward. You must have some sort of connection," Coulson continued on, playing towards his ego, which they all knew too well that he had. Asia smirked through her lens. Bait, meet hook. She knew Ward wouldn't be able to resist, just as well as she knew the back of her hand. Training beside someone for years didn't leave you without an impression.

"I never met them," Ward shook her head insistently, but there was a gleam in his eye. He didn't know them personally, but he definitely knew someone who did. Asia recognized that look, she knew that look. She had seen it many times before, back in school. Just the slightest hint of recognition.

"We both know you know better than that," Coulson shook his head, and then he sat silently, waiting.

"You know," Ward began, sighing and leaning back, settling into the chair. "The last time I suggested we get the team back together, you called me...what was it? A deluded son of a bitch, I believe."

Coulson mulled that over more a moment. "Things change," he replied finally, linking his fingers on the table in front of them. "I tried the stick last time, this time around I'm offering a carrot," he let the sentence hang in the air, studying Ward's furrowed brow, as he, too, stared back in silence. "You get me into Hydra. Then you go free. I'll put you through the TAHITI program, wipe the old Ward away, and you're free."

"I happen to like who I am," Ward shook his head. "Doesn't sound all that much like a carrot to me, wiping my memories." He narrowed his eyes, leaning forward on the table.

"It should," Coulson studied him, head tilted just ever so slightly to the side, before he nodded in the direction of Asia, sniper on high. "You're a traitor, and a murderer, so if you don't agree to my terms, then you won't be leaving here at all, frankly." Asia adjusted her grip one more time on the rifle and prepared herself. One wrong move from the man she saw in front of her, and she would pull the trigger without a second thought.

Asia did half expect Ward to try and bolt. She anticipated. But in a great turn of events, he didn't. He sat there, arms crossed over his chest. He kept his gaze leveled on Coulson, waiting for the other shoe to drop. There had to be a catch. There was no way this went down this easily.

So Coulson continued to speak. "I'm taking a huge chance on you, but you're taking just as big of a chance. You could have run away. Left Kara here to fend for herself. You could have turned your back, again, but you didn't. And I like to think that means there could still be some good in there, somewhere. That Garrett, and Hydra, and your family, that they didn't squash all of the good in you. The Tahiti program, it would erase all that bad, and leave you with the good. You would be free to be the man you've always wanted to be. Live the peaceful life you want to live."

Ward leaned back in his seat, thinking for a moment, thumb brushing over his lip. Then he leaned forward, arms on the table, a grin cracking over his lips. "I might know a guy."