2015 ― The Playground
Audrey Fury was sitting and watching the security cameras of Grant in his cell. Every morning, he's been waking up and doing a series of workouts. Mainly just push-ups and other makeshift workouts he can do in his small space. Audrey was thinking it was no wonder he was so jacked. She hated thinking about how good he looked. "5:30 on the dot, every morning," Jemma Simmons' voice interrupted her thoughts. Audrey turned around and looked at her. "But there's no clock, no light, no way he can know what time it is,"
"You've been watching him?" Audrey asked.
"Every day before I left, every day since I got back. I don't know how you do it. Going down there, talking to him," Simmons said. Audrey almost wanted to say, easily... but she couldn't tell Simmons that she missed the side of Grant she fell in love with. He dropped them in the ocean. She couldn't tell anyone how she truly felt.
"The sacrifices we make for valuable intel, right?" Audrey chose to say instead. "So, Jemma Simmons undercover at HYDRA," Audrey said. She kept reminding herself she needed to go catch up with Bobbi. She couldn't believe it, her entire friend group from the Academy was finally reunited again.
All except Caleb.
"I thought I was a dead woman at least four times," Simmons said.
"I'm glad you're not," Audrey said.
"Me too... be careful with him, Audrey. I know you've known him a lot longer than I have and you were in love with him... I just don't want him to hurt you again," Simmons said. Audrey smiled at her.
"Thanks, Jemma," She said. The doors opened and May came in as an alarm was going off. "May, what's happening?" Audrey asked.
"There's been an attack on the U.N."
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"Sir, this wasn't us, was it?" Trip asked when Coulson walked into the room where Audrey, Skye, and Sharon were already waiting. Then they all followed him into his office. HYDRA attacked the U.N., but they were claiming to be S.H.I.E.L.D., so now they were under fire again.
"No, this is HYDRA looking for revenge. Best guess? Daniel Whitehall had his people impersonate S.H.I.E.L.D. to put the world's attention back on us," Coulson said.
"So much for staying in the shadows," Audrey said.
"Somebody bring this from home?" Coulson asked as he held up a coffee mug that had a cat on it. None of them responded, so he put it down. "I want you four scouring government channels, see what we're up against," Coulson said.
"On it, sir," Trip said as they started to leave.
"Skye, Audrey..." Coulson called out for them, and they turned back around. "This means the alien writing...-" Skye cut him off.
"...-Backburner," Skye said and Coulson nodded.
"Just until we get this under control."
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"S.H.I.E.L.D. is a terrorist organization, and they should be treated as such," Audrey was in Coulson's office with him, and they were watching Grant's brother, Christian Ward, on TV.
"Is that what you plan to speak about at the U.N.'s emergency session tomorrow?" The news anchor asked.
"What I plan to do is lay out a proposal for a multi-national police force that will target those suspected of ties with S.H.I.E.L.D., using any and all means necessary," Christian said.
"Anyone suspected of ties? And who determines that? Belgium will never accept this proposal. It destroys the very idea of citizen's rights," The Prime Minister of Belgium, Julian Beckers, said.
"Mr. Beckers, if you want to welcome S.H.I.E.L.D. at your borders with open arms, be my guest. But this infestation needs to be exterminated," Christian said.
"One, I don't want to relocate to Belgium. Two, he almost makes Grant seem like the bearable one," Audrey said as she rolled her eyes.
"Are you surprised?" Coulson asked.
"Not really. Grant never talked much about his brothers, but it wasn't hard to figure out that Christian is an asshole from the little he would tell me. And Christian has never cared about S.H.I.E.L.D. before, there's no way he didn't know Grant was part of it," Audrey said.
"He's never cared about it this openly before," Coulson said.
"Yeah, but Hunter said Talbot was working with a senator who had deep pockets. You think it's Christian?" Audrey asked.
"I do," Coulson said as he switched the screen to the map that shows where they have secured S.H.I.E.L.D. facilities and loyal agents around the world. "Months rebuilding, and these are a few operatives here, not many more out there. If Senator Ward's proposal passes...-" Audrey cut in.
"...-It'll be a witch hunt," Audrey said.
"Every military organization on the planet will have a license to kick our operatives' doors down and shoot them on the spot. I can't let that happen," Coulson said as he looked at Audrey. She nodded, she knew what he was saying.
"I'll talk to him... I'll see if he has anything that can help us stop his brother," Audrey said as she started to leave the room.
"And Audrey..." Coulson said, which made her turn back around. Keep the focus on his family. Not yours," He said and she nodded.
"Trust me... my evil mother is the last thing I want to talk about."
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Grant looked up when he heard footsteps, Audrey's footsteps. He always knew when she was near. He was always happy to see Audrey, and he hadn't seen her in a while, so he was happy she was there. Audrey on the other hand always had mixed feelings about seeing Grant. All of her emotions overwhelmed her at the same time and it was hard.
"We need to talk about your brother," Audrey said as she sat down.
"Which one?" Grant asked. He has two brothers, Thomas Ward, the youngest, and Christian Ward, the oldest. Grant is the middle child.
"Christian. The senator," Audrey said.
"Christian," Grant repeated. Audrey could hear the venom laced in his voice. He turned away from her for a moment before turning back around. "Why? What happened?" He asked.
"I just need basic information... his habits, places he frequently visits, stuff like that," Audrey said.
"You need to stay away from him. He's not what he seems," Grant said. Audrey noticed how his tone shifted. His voice slightly raised, but if she wasn't mistaken, she heard genuine concern. That made her stand up. "He always has an angle, and if he thinks that you can lead him to me...-" Audrey cut off.
"...-This isn't about you, Grant," She said.
"Isn't it? Don't you remember what happened at the well, what he made me do? He gets joy from one thing. Hurting people. So, tell me, please... does he know I'm here?" Grant asked. Audrey could see Grant was genuinely nervous and didn't want Christian to know where he was. She took a deep breath before speaking.
"That's not how it works, Grant; you answer my questions, remember?" She said.
"And I always do. I always tell you the truth, but if Christian knows that I'm here...-" She cut him off again because something he said triggered something inside of her.
"...-You always tell me the truth?" Audrey asked.
"Yes," Grant said and she scoffed. "I promised you I would never lie to you, and I haven't, Audrey. I'm locked in here. I lost you. I have nothing else to lose and no reason to lie to you," Grant said. Audrey knew that was true. Grant wasn't going anywhere and he gained nothing from lying. He took a deep breath and shook his head. "What is this really about?" He asked.
"I need information about your brother, his people, and his connections," Audrey said.
"Is this about your mother?" Grant asked and Audrey fell quiet. "Because I wasn't lying about her. She's alive and she's...-" Audrey cut him off.
"...-She's a murderer. You forgot to mention that detail." Audrey snapped and Grant nodded.
"You found her," He said. Audrey took a deep breath, but before she could say anything, a non-transparent white barrier came up between them. Audrey immediately whipped around to see Coulson standing there.
"He didn't give us what we needed on his brother," Audrey said.
"Trust me. He gave us more than you think, and you're slipping off track, Audrey. Stay on mission," Coulson said before he walked out. Audrey rolled her eyes when he left. She wasn't slipping off track, at least she didn't think he was. Grant kept changing the conversation and she was redirecting him. She needed to find Sharon.
And she wanted to go to the gun range.
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"And then he told me I was slipping off track. It's not true," Audrey said as she and Sharon were waiting for their paper targets to make their way down the line toward them so they could see their shots. Sharon could tell Audrey was extra frustrated.
"Audrey... I am saying this as your best friend who loves you, very much," Sharon said and Audrey rolled her eyes.
"You agree with him?" She asked.
"Only a little bit. I don't think you're completely slipping off track, but... you do let your guard down more than you think when you're in there, and I don't blame you. Obviously, I know a lot more about your history with Ward than Coulson does," Sharon said and Audrey sighed. When her paper was in front of her. She had perfect shots. A few shots to the heart, and a few to the head.
"Okay, I guess I can admit I'm not always completely objective, but Couslon knew that, and he still makes me go in there and talk to him anyway, so whose fault is it really?" Audrey asked and Sharon laughed.
"You're the only one Ward said he'd give intel to. Trust me, Coulson sent me down there first, and all Grant did was keep the conversation on you," Sharon said.
"You were never going to tell me that?" Audrey asked as she raised an eyebrow.
"I didn't want to hinder your healing process... which is already being hindered by each conversation you have with him," Sharon said and Audrey sighed.
"What am I supposed to do, Ronnie? I can't just make myself stop loving him. Trust me, I've been trying, and if I could just turn it off, I really fucking would, but I can't. So where does that leave me?" Audrey asked as she threw her hands in the air.
"You're going to grab your gun and we're going to start shooting again," Sharon said as she put the goggles back on.
"I'm serious, Sharon," Audrey said.
"So am I. I'm not asking you to fall out of love with Grant, Rey. I'm asking you to stop punishing yourself for it. You can't control it, and healing is a process. You're not just going to get over 10 years of betrayal in 3 months, it's not possible. So, pick up your gun, I'm going to get a new round of targets and we're going to shoot, again," Sharon said.
Audrey smiled at her friend as she nodded. Sharon has always been good at telling her what she needs to hear. And since she knew she would have to go back to the Vault since they were dealing with Christian, she needed to get her stress out.
"How's Steve? Have you talked to him lately? I've been meaning to, but I know he's looking for Bucky and I just don't know what I'd do if I called and they found him," Audrey said. Sharon looked at her with a sympathetic smile.
"Yeah, we checked in a week ago. He and Sam haven't found Bucky yet, they're still looking. I think they're over in Europe now, and Audrey it's okay, Steve's not angry at you if that's what you're worried about," She said.
"It's still not fair, though, to him. He's my friend, and it's not his fault or Bucky's fault what happened to him after the war. I just don't know what to say to him," Audrey said.
"He told me the same, that he's not sure how to talk to you anymore. He doesn't want you to feel like him searching for Bucky means he doesn't care about you or what you went through," Sharon said. Audrey shook her head as she looked at her friend.
"I know... I know. How are things with the two of you?" Audrey asked.
"We're friends, Rey. Just friends," Sharon said, and Audrey smiled as she put the ear protection cuffs on.
"If you say so, Ronnie," Audrey teased and Sharon rolled her eyes.
"Let's just shoot."
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Coulson was now speaking with Grant's brother, and Audrey came back to the vault to talk to Grant, but this time she turned the cameras off so no one could watch them, even though nobody would be. May was out on a mission with Bobbi and Hunter, Trip was probably with Mack and Fitz on The Bus, and she knew Sharon wouldn't spy on her. Coulson was gone too. "You're back," Grant said when he heard her coming down the stairs. "Camera's off. Does Coulson know...-" She cut him off.
"...-Coulson's out. He cut us off last time, but now nobody's watching," Audrey said as she came face-to-face with him. "It's just you and me."
"Is Coulson talking to Christian?" Grant asked, but Audrey didn't answer. She's never seen Grant squirm like this. So he's either telling the truth about Christian, or he doesn't want Christian to tell the truth about him. "You can't trust him. He'll smile, bare his soul. It is all manipulation. He is a master at it." He said, and then he sighed. "Look, I know what I am. But my brother... he's worse." He said.
"Is that who you learned it from?" Audrey asked.
"Audrey! Listen to me, out of everything I've done. I've never once manipulated you. The only thing I ever lied to you about was who my loyalties lied with, but you, anything I've ever told you during our friendship, during our relationship, it was never a lie. I'm telling you the truth. You see that now, don't you? I never lied about how I feel about you, I never lied about your mother, you just didn't give me the chance to tell you...-" She cut him off.
"...-I know... and despite every instinct in my body telling me not to. I'm giving you a chance now. And I want to know everything," Audrey said. Grant nodded his head.
"Your mother killed people, yes. But everything she did, Audrey, she did because she loved you. I can't fault her for that." Grant said, and Audrey scoffed.
"Is this the part where you tell me that everything you did is because you love me?" Audrey asked. Grant decided it would be best for both of them if he didn't answer that question.
"The people who died in the Nigerian village, they weren't villagers, they were HYDRA agents. They'd found you and your mother." Grant said.
"What about my father? Is he alive too?" Audrey asked.
"No, from what I heard, the Agents killed him," Grant said. Audrey nodded her head as tears started to form in her eyes.
"Why...?" She asked.
"I don't know... but the HYDRA agents were trying to take you from your mother, and she lost it, tore up the whole village and everyone in it," Grant said.
"How? What is she?" Audrey asked.
"Whatever she is, she lost her entire family in one day, and she cracked. But now, she wants to put that family back together. I can help with that. I can take you to her." Grant said.
"How? Where is she? And why is she with Skye's father?" Audrey asked.
"The connection to Skye's dad I haven't figured out yet, but I've got connections. People I can talk to will track her, and they can find out what the connection to Skye's dad is...-" She cut him off.
"...-What connections? What people? Raina's gone," Audrey said, and Grant laughed.
"I'm resourceful," Grant said.
"Then tell me what you know. Isn't there anything else?" She asked as a few tears fell down her cheeks. "If you really love me like you say you do, please don't keep this from me," Audrey whispered.
"No, there isn't anything else... but we can find him together, I promise you, baby," Grant whispered to her. He hated to see that she was crying, but Audrey nodded her head as her face immediately went stoic; she couldn't let the fact that he used that nickname get to her.
"Thank you for telling me everything you know. It's time we get you out of here." Audrey said, and that made Grant perk up.
"Really?" He asked.
"Really. You're being transferred, Ward. Your brother wants you in his custody, and we're going to give him exactly what he wants." Audrey said. Grant's eyes widened as he shook his head.
"Audrey, don't... no, Rey, please," Grant said, and Audrey shook her head.
"It's already done," Audrey said.
"Audrey. I know I screwed things up, okay? I know I ruined us, but please, do you really hate me that much?" Grant asked.
"No, Grant! And that's the problem. I don't hate you at all. Despite every single despicable thing you've done, I love you too much, and it's killing me. And you want to know why? Because every time I have a good memory, a bad one is right there to ruin it, and knowing that you're here makes all that pain and all that love feel overwhelming. I can't do this anymore, Grant, I can't." Audrey said as real tears started to fall from her eyes this time.
"Audrey..." Grant said in a softer tone, but she couldn't look up at him; she just kept crying.
"There are days where I miss my best friend, or I miss my boyfriend, and it feels so lonely, and I can't talk to anyone on the team about how I feel because none of them will understand. The only person I can talk to is Sharon, but I can only talk about it so many times before she'll probably get sick of me too. And I can't talk to you either, even though you're the one person I always want to turn to when things are bad. You...-you ruined everything." Audrey cried.
Grant let out a shaky sigh when Audrey was done because he felt terrible. He did ruin everything, and he knew that. He ruined their relationship, and it killed him. To hear Audrey say that he's the one person she always wants to talk to, and she can't do it, and he only has himself to blame for it. He ruined them; he ruined her.
And he hates himself for it.
"I know... baby, I know. I'm so sorry, Audrey... please, please... don't do this." Grant said. Audrey wiped her eyes enough for her to look up at Grant, and she felt terrible. She could see the fear in his eyes when it came to Christian, and she didn't want to hand him over, but it was out of her hands, Coulson did the deal, and she couldn't do anything about it.
"I'm so sorry, Grant, I really am, but it's not my call."
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"I struck a deal with the senator. He'll reverse his anti-S.H.I.E.L.D. proposal in exchange for his brother." Coulson said. Audrey, Sharon, and Skye were in his office with him as he was on the phone with May. She didn't feel good about this. Audrey has never seen Grant scared, but he looked truly terrified when she told him that Christian wanted him in his custody.
"Long time coming, and Audrey?" May asked.
"I got everything I needed." She said.
"Good. We'll touch down in Belgium soon. We'll try to get to Beckers before Whitehall's team does." May said.
"I don't have to remind you that if he's killed, the U.N. will come after us, no matter what the Senator says or does," Coulson said.
"We'll be in touch."
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"Listen to me." Grant Ward spoke. It was now Coulson who was down in the vault talking to him. "You can't trust him." He said about his brother.
"Three and a half weeks," Coulson said. Grant made a confused gesture. "I sat in this chair every day for three and a half weeks, and you never said a word. But now you want to talk? Well, it's too late." Coulson said.
"Everything I told Audrey was true. You know that. I haven't given you one bad piece of intel. Is that worth nothing?" Grant asked.
"You will never see Audrey again," Coulson said, and that hurt. The sentence hit Grant like a ton of bricks, and he didn't like it.
"I thought we were rebuilding trust, Coulson. I can help you. I'm still part of your team." Grant said, and that was where Coulson ran out of patience.
"My team? You th...-" He cut himself off as he gathered his thoughts and this time, he stood up. "...-You are not nor will you ever be on my team. You dropped Fitz-Simmons out of a plane. You murdered Victoria Hand and Eric Koenig. You broke my best agent and not just her heart; you actually broke Audrey. You betrayed every one of us; you deluded son of a bitch. The only reason you're alive is that you were of use. And the only reason you're being transferred is that your brother is of more use." Coulson snapped at him.
Grant had tears in his eyes, mostly because of Audrey and because he wanted to be nowhere near his brother. "Was this his idea or yours to put me on trial? Hmm?" He asked, and he laughed a little. "It's a good story. A man brave enough to have his own brother executed for his crimes. Oh, Christian will milk that for all it's worth. And the trial should wrap up right before the midterms." Grant said.
"Your brother saw the same angles. Maybe you two are more alike than you think."
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"Vincent Beckers is Julien's grandfather." Jemma Simmons was explaining to the team. Trip went down to the vault to get Coulson because he wanted May, Bobbi, and Hunter to find Julien Beckers before HYDRA did, but now they're finding out that Julien's grandfather was HYDRA. "We believe the HYDRA connection stayed very much alive."
"We found the travel records for Beckers and Whitehall, and...-" Audrey cut in.
"They've coincided at least 12 times over the last five years," Audrey said.
"That doesn't make sense," Fitz said.
"Yeah, why would HYDRA be targeting one of their own operatives?" Mack asked. But they weren't targeting him, and Coulson put that together very quickly.
"We've been played. Get May on the line. They need to reroute to our safe house in Bruges." Coulson said. Trip started to track their flight, and he pulled up the map.
"Sir, May's team is en route." Trip said.
"Oh, no... Whitehall didn't just want to turn the world against us. He used Beckers as a prop to make our operatives believe his country would provide safe haven, but it's a trap. They'll be fish in a barrel." Coulson said.
They were able to get a warning to May that they would be walking into an ambush so that they could come up with a plan.
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Coulson went down to the vault to get Grant; they were about to take him to his brother. As Grant was marched out through the playground, Audrey couldn't even meet his eyes, it hurt too much, but of course, Grant had to say something as he passed her. "Rey... I love you." He said. Sharon and Bobbi protectively stepped in front of Audrey to shield her from Grant.
"If I ever see you again... I'll kill you," Bobbi said. But Grant was still trying to look at Audrey, so the guards covered his face. Then the girls turned to Audrey.
"Are you okay?" Bobbi asked. Audrey shook her head; there was no point in lying. She wasn't okay, and she was tired of pretending that she was.
"No, I'm not..."
Meanwhile, outside
When Grant got inside the transfer vehicle, he turned and looked at Coulson. "Tell Audrey this doesn't change anything. I'll keep my promise." He said, and then they closed the doors behind him. Coulson didn't know what he was talking about, and he didn't care; he just wanted Ward out of his sight.
And he was hoping with Ward gone that Audrey would finally be able to heal.
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am i the only one with hurt feelings over audrey and grant's
second conversation when they weren't being monitored?
don't forget to vote/comment.
xoxo.