chapter four
{ unedited }
THE DAYS FOLLOWING COULSON'S KIDNAPPING WERE NOTHING BUT HECTIC. The plane was overrun by S.H.I.E.L.D agents and Ash was forced to stay hidden in Skye's van to avoid any questions. That was on May's orders, the woman who was now her supervising officer. May seemed to hate that as much as Ash did. At least, Ash assumed so. It was hard to tell when the woman never showed any signs of emotion.
They were growing bored being stuck in this confined place. It was no better than the containment room. Actually, it was worse with there being less space and a stink that Ash couldn't quite place.
The others were back after a mission that, yet again, Ash was left out on. There was a briefing going on that Ash could hear only parts of with their powers still messing up. From what they understood, they'd basically kidnapped someone to help with finding Coulson.
Ash threw the small ball that was in their hands up when the voices started to become distant and caught it with the other, repeating this over and over in hopes of curing their boredom. They were tempted to walk out of the van and cause a scene just for the sake of it but pushed that urge aside. They couldn't help anybody if they were locked up in a military base.
They found it interesting how different this world, this organisation, was from the one on their earth. Even the Time Bureau were more lenient than these agents were. They still treated everyone with respect unless they do something to break it. Ash couldn't believe they were saying this but they were starting to miss even that organisation.
Ash turned to the van door when it opened, having to lift themself up to see who it was considering they were lying across the floor at the back. "Hey, cowboy," Skye grinned as she slid into the seat, slamming the door shut. Ash rolled their eyes at the annoying nickname that had stuck since Ash had gotten out of the interrogation room. "Ready to break out of here?"
"Oh, thank god," Ash sighed as they got up, pulling themself to the front seat. "Thought I was gonna die from boredom." They turned to Skye with a grin once they were comfortable, the woman watching with an amused look.
"Let's go, cowboy."
° ✩ • ☽ ° ✩ •
Skye was in a cafe trying to hack her way to find out how to find Coulson while Ash ordered as much as they could with the money they found in Skye's van. They ordered two muffins, one blueberry one for them and one chocolate one for Skye with and an espresso coffee for themself.
Ash had been handed their coffee with the muffins in a small bag when Skye grabbed onto their wrist, pulling at them gently to leave. With a wave and a smile goodbye, Ash left the money on the counter before letting Skye lead them away.
"For you," Ash said, pulling the muffin out and handing it to Skye. She took it with a thanks but was hardly paying attention to it as she kept looking over her shoulder as if scared she was being followed. "Where to, boss?"
"Boss?" Skye asked as the two came to a stop outside a magazine stall. She picked one up from the stand after putting the muffin she was holding prior back in the bag that Ash was holding. Ash stood behind her, peering over her shoulder to see what she was looking at. Having four extra inches on the woman, it was easy to do so.
"Your earth, your rules. I'm clueless out here. Who's that?" They asked, jutting their chin to the picture of a man on the phone on the page Skye was looking at.
"Lloyd. He might be our way in. But first..." Skye trailed off as she turned to a window display not far from where the two were standing and Ash followed her gaze whilst drinking from her cup of coffee. "We're going shopping."
"We have no money."
"I...we'll figure something out," Skye shrugged. "Let's go." Ash was startled when their cup was grabbed from their hands and whined when Skye threw it in the bin beside them.
"My coffee!" Ash whined as Skye dragged them to the shop, looking back at the bin with a pout. They didn't care if they bumped into anyone, they were too upset over losing their drink.
"Stop being a baby," Skye laughed, "we have work to do."
"You wouldn't be saying that if I threw your muffin away," Ash grumbled but still tore their eyes away from the bin and on the shop they were about to enter.
Close to a half hour later, Ash was in a black suit with a white dress shirt, the black tie loose around their neck. The blazer was kept unbuttoned, their hands in their pockets as they followed behind Skye. Ash wanted to stay in their previous clothes but Skye had insisted this was necessary for the mission and even bought tinted sunglasses to match. Skye had told Ash to go all out so they did exactly that. They even managed to sweet talk a customer assistant to style their hair for them in the way Nate styles his. It was reminding Ash of their missions with the Legends.
"Well, damn. You clean up nice." Ash smiled at Skye once they walked out of the shop, having been the one to take the longest. That was only because Skye told them to change into the new clothes before they left for a plan she had in mind that Ash had no clue about.
"Thanks. You're still in your normal clothes."
"Mhm, all part of the plan. Let's go." Skye started to walk away with a destination in mind and Ash trailed behind without a clue on what's going on. "Oh, quick question," Skye turned to face them, "can you drive?" Ash shook their head. "Okay, great. Follow my lead when we get there."
"Get where?" Skye didn't answer and started to walk faster away from them. "Skye! Get where!?"
Apparently, Skye meant somewhere with valet parking. Their eyes narrowed at the scene in front of them as the dots started to connect. "I can't believe you!" Skye exclaimed angrily and Ash forced their attention on her as they got closer to the cars. "How could you go home with that woman on my birthday!?"
"You're overreacting," Ash sighed, feigning a tired tone as a man got out of his car and left without waiting for a valet. "That's not even what happened."
"Oh, so now I'm making things up?"
"You're putting words in my mouth is what you're doing," Ash said as Skye got in the driver's seat and they quickly slid into the passenger one. As soon as the doors were closed, Skye was driving off with a laugh. "A little warning would've been nice," Ash grumbled, hitting their head back against the seat.
"You did great. What's with that smile?" Skye asked, sparing Ash a glance as she drove. Ash was smiling, yes, but it looked like they were about to cry too which didn't make any sense to Skye.
"Just reminded of missions on the Waverider. The ship from back home," they explained briefly at Skye's confused look. "Just missing home, I guess." Ash noticed how Skye pursed her lips and put on a happy tone to lighten the mood. "Stealing a car, huh? I like it."
"Didn't think you'd approve."
"You kidding? This is the most fun I've had in weeks." That much, sadly, was true. "What's the plan now, boss?"
"We're going to give a CEO a little visit."
The drive didn't last very long. Skye had put her hand too close to the GPS when making sure Ash had the right address and it had gone into lockdown. "Damn it," Skye cursed with a sigh before parking.
"Fucking hell, that bracelet is annoying."
"Yeah, you're telling me," she scoffed. "We just need a Plan B. Anything like this happen on any of your missions on, what was it called, the Waverider?"
"Surprisingly no."
"Surprisingly? They went wrong often?"
"They went wrong all the time. One of us ended up on the moon once." Ash's brows knitted together when Skye seemed to have a look of realisation when looking at something in front of her. They followed her gaze and was quick to shake their head when spotting the plastic barrels. "No, no. Please don't tell me you're going to do what I think you're about to. Skye, don't even―"
"Hold on tight." Ash gripped onto the dashboard as the car shot forward, slamming into the water tanks. Ash flew back into the leather seats, groaning. They probably should've worn their seatbelt.
"Roadside assistance," a voice spoke, bringing Ash out of their dazed state. "We see you've had an accident."
"Yeah," Skye said, "can you send somebody to tow me back to my house?"
"Of course. I'll dispatch someone right away. Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm good." Skye waited until the call disconnected before turning to Ash. "I have to hear that moon story sometime."
"When we're out of here, sure. You're crazy, y'know that?"
"I've been told." Ash laughed as they turned to face her, Skye already looking their way with her chest heaving with every breath she took. Ash figured they were probably the same. "You complaining?"
"Not at all."
° ✩ • ☽ ° ✩ •
The car had been towed to this CEO Lloyd's house and Ash was waiting by the door as Skye talked to the worker. Ash was unsure of how Skye got this address but they weren't looking to find out. "So, you sure you don't want me to take it to the dealer?" The man asked as Skye signed the papers he handed to her. He looked back at Ash who rose a hand in greeting with a smile but he quickly looked back at Skye, gulping. Ash's smile dropped, a small pout coming over their features.
"No, thanks. I got a guy."
"Alright. Thank you," he said as he took the papers from Skye and got back in the van. Skye tossed Ash the garage door opener and held her hand up slightly, gesturing for Ash to wait until he left. With a nod from Skye, they clicked the button and let the doors open.
"Oh, damn," Ash muttered as they turned to the garage full of fancy and surely expensive cars. "You'd think the guy would have an alarm system with this many cars, holy fuck. He's an idiot."
"Yeah, he is," Skye chuckled in agreement as she walked in and Ash followed behind her. "I'm gonna get changed, I'll give you the number to ring. Tell them you're with LAPD and need to speak with Mr Rathman." Skye spun around, turning to look up at Ash who forced themself to a stop, looking down at her. There was barely any space between the two left. "Make something up but get him to come back, alright? He needs to come here for this to work."
"Okay, I got it."
"I mean it, cowboy, this has to work." Ash's stress of getting something wrong faded away with the use of the nickname and they saw how Skye was biting back a smile.
"If you're trying to be serious can't you at least use my name?" Ash sighed, fighting back their own smile when Skye's giggles hit their ears. "But it'll work. Don't worry. Weren't you in a hurry to get changed?"
"Right," Skye nodded. She took a step back from them and looked around for a notepad. Once finding one, she scribbled down a number and handed it to Ash. "Go call. This doesn't work without him."
"Yeah, I've got it," Ash said as they took the paper from Skye and made their way into the house, whistling in appreciation the further they walked in. They were a long way from their tiny loft in Central City. They spotted a phone on the table near the front door and dialled in the number Skye had scribbled down, holding it to their ear.
"Lloyd Rathman's office," a woman spoke once the call connected. Ash's eyes widened by how quickly that was and cleared their throat quietly before speaking.
"This is the LAPD. I need to speak with Mr Rathman. We've recovered a stolen vehicle registered in his name." Ash hoped that was a believable enough excuse to get the man to come back home so Skye could do whatever she was planning.
"Oh. Was it damaged?"
"Yes, ma'am. We have two officers waiting at his home, ready to take a statement. How long do you think it'll take Mr Rathman to get there?" Skye walked out of the garage and Ash's eyes narrowed when they took in what she was wearing. It seemed familiar but they couldn't place why.
"He'll be on his way now." Ash pulled their attention from Skye who made her way into the room Skye had gone into.
"Okay. Thank you, ma'am. Have a good day." Ash placed the phone down before following Skye's steps. This must've been the man's office, Ash realised as they looked around. Skye was looking through some files on the desk and Ash stayed by the door, leaning their back against the frame. "He's on his way back now."
"Is now a good time to hear that moon story?" Ash wanted to say yes but heard the locks on the front door clicking, indicating the man was already here. They were surprised he got here so quickly but if they were him, they'd probably be here this quickly if one of their cars had been damaged. "Another time," Skye said as she walked to the door where Ash was still resting, pointing to them threateningly and they held their hands up in surrender to that, a smile gracing their face as they followed Skye to the corridor. They made sure to drop it as the frazzled man came into sight.
"You're in a lot of trouble, Mr Rathman," Skye spoke using a stern tone as the two stood in front of the man. Ash made sure to stay back, leaning against the wall as Skye took the lead.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Agent Melinda May with S.H.I.E.L.D." Though that did put some understanding on Ash's familiarity with the outfit, they still couldn't help it reminded them of someone else that they still couldn't place. "This is my partner, Agent Fitz." Ash jutted their chin up when he looked to them, trying to not smile in greeting like they normally did.
"Look, clearly there's been a misunderstanding. I'm a legitimate businessman."
"S.H.I.E.L.D has evidence your company has been siphoning funds into an offshore account for some very bad people." Ash had no idea if that was true or not but still nodded when the man looked their way, trying to be as convincing as they could.
"My clients' business is their business," Lloyd said, not buying into Skye's taunt.
"Well, my business is catching those guys, and if it turns out you've made a profit from just one of them, S.H.I.E.L.D is prepared to freeze all of your assets."
"I'm calling my lawyer," Lloyd scoffed, holding his phone to his ear.
"Do that and my offer's off the table.," Skye said quickly and he paused, phone still held to his ear. Ash turned to Skye, equally as confused. They wished that Skye wasn't wearing glasses so they could at least guess what she was thinking or trying to do. But, with her wearing them, Ash was as lost as Lloyd.
"What offer is that?"
"Immunity... you walk. Free and clear. S.H.I.E.L.D doesn't touch a single asset. Not even your party boat in Key Largo." Right, that did seem to make the most sense since, in actuality, Skye and Ash couldn't do anything about this. They weren't S.H.I.E.L.D agents. They would probably never be.
"And if I say no?"
"You spend the next five years in the fridge."
"The fridge?" Both Ash and Lloyd asked in confusion but Ash was in a whisper, pretending they didn't say a thing when Lloyd looked their way.
"It's worse than it sounds."
Lloyd looked between the two before lowering his phone from his ear with a sight. "Alright, what do you want?"
"Follow me to your office. We've got some work to do." Skye went first with Lloyd behind her and Ash trailing behind the two. They really had no idea what they were doing here but, honestly, this was a lot better than being stuck in a van or a containment room. As soon as the three got into the office, Ash stayed by the door and Skye forced Lloyd into the seat, telling him exactly what she wanted from him.
"You want me to hack into a Swiss bank account?" Lloyd asked for confirmation, sounding as confused as Ash was sure they looked. They never really did understand this hacking thing. That was Zari's expertise, even if Ash did love hearing her talk about it. They never understood a thing and, from just hearing what Skye was telling Lloyd, they don't think they ever will. "Yeah, well, letting you in that door is a crime. Come to think of it, how do I know you're not just some criminal? In my experience, a federal agent shows a badge."
"You want to see my badge." Skye nodded with a hum and Ash watched curiously as she picked up Lloyd's phone and held it to her ear. "S.H.I.E.L.D protocol six alpha victor." Hearing an alarm beep, Ash understood then why Skye did that. To get locked out and S.H.I.E.L.D logo to pop up. Lo and behold, it was showing when Skye turned the phone around to Lloyd. "There. That's my badge."
He took the phone from her while rolling his eyes. "Great. Just got my high score in Tiny Wings."
"S.H.I.E.L.D's been watching you for quite some time, Mr Rathman. You're a prime exploit ... the gambling, the divorces, that money pit in the Caymans. You're even behind on your child-support payments."
"Ugh, that's a clerical thing. My ex knows that."
"But does David know that?"
"David thinks I'm a cool dad." Ash was starting to feel very useless here without saying a thing or doing a thing but they had nowhere else to go. They were stuck here with Skye until she got whatever she wanted from Lloyd which caused them to be here in the first place.
"David thinks you're a jackass. You got to fix that, Lloyd. Kids need someone they can look up to. Now...start typing."
"PD security!" Ash jumped when the door next to them was kicked open, turning to it with wide eyes. "Don't move! That's it. Nice and easy. Keep your hands where I can―ugh!" Ash had grabbed his arm midsentence and flipped him onto his back, picking the gun up from the floor and tossing it to Skye.
"On the ground!" Another officer yelled as he walked in, this time the gun pointing to Ash who held their hands up instantly. Skye took the lead with this one, flipping the man on his back next to his partner and taking his gun from him. She held it out to Ash who shook their head, not wanting a weapon on them. Skye shrugged and threw it to the opposite end of the room.
On Skye's command, Ash was tying the officers down to the chairs in front of the desk as she told Lloyd what to do. "Sorry," Ash apologised when the second officer flinched, "is it too tight?"
"No, it's fine," he muttered, not looking down at Ash. Still, Ash loosened the rope slightly before focusing their attention back on Skye.
"Lloyd. What is happening here?"
"Yeah..." he trailed off, turning to look up at Skye. "Account history. Where is that?"
Skye sighed, turning to Ash. "Untie one of them. Switch 'em out with Lloyd."
"Put this took so much effort!" With one glare from Skye, Ash bit back their complaints. "Fine. I've got it." So, the second officer had been switched with Lloyd since he had looser ties and Ash was tying Lloyd to the chair while seated on the floor.
"Thing is, I have an assistant that does all this for me," Lloyd explained, looking down at Ash who really couldn't care less as they focused on the knots they were doing.
"That's it." Ash peered over the table to see Ske looking over the guard's shoulder to the screen in front of the two. "
"So, this Vanchat...is this the guy you're trying to bust?"
"No, we already have him in custody. What I wanna know is who's recently paid Vanchat a lot of money. I backtrack those payments to the buyer's account and get a record of all the purchases she's made, maybe use it to track her down. Click there." Ash leaned onto the table as Skye got closer to the computer. "Hello, Raina. Let's see what you've been up to. Print that."
"Great. So are we done here? Lloyd asked and Ash shrugged when he looked their way, not having an answer for him. He rolled his eyes as he looked away from them and at Skye who was watching his every movement.
"One last thing," Skye answered with a smirk and Ash already knew Lloyd was going to be cursing Skye out for as long as he lived when she made her demand.
° ✩ • ☽ ° ✩ •
Skye had somehow managed to talk Lloyd into giving them one of his fancy cars and Ash was cursing his cowardice as they felt like they were going to puke as soon as they got out of the car into the desert town they had arrived in. Skye seemed like a great person, sure, but she could not drive. Ash was hunched over, hands on their knees as they tried very hard to not puke in front of the pretty lady.
"Got creepy?" Skye asked as she rubbed Ash's back, looking around at the statues before back down at Ash. "You okay? You don't look so good."
"With your driving can you blame me?" Ash huffed as they stood upright. "I'm alright. Let's find Coulson." The town got creepier the more they walked round and Ash physically shuddered when seeing a mannequin family sitting around a table inside one of the houses.
"You shouldn't be here," a voice spoke behind them and Ash spun around, standing in front of Skye.
"Run," Ash said when spotting the modified man running towards the two. "I can handle this." Ash was really hoping their powers would fire up again. Skye looked like she wanted to protest but, with one look from Ash, she was off. Ash turned to the man, holding up their fists as they got in a battle pose. If they didn't have their powers, they'd beat them with their fighting.
All whilst fighting him, they were reminded of their training sessions with Oliver when he did get back after five years. It had taken a lot of convincing for Ash to get the man to train them the way he had been trained but he eventually gave in and Ash was thankful for that as they kept up with the punches being thrown at them by the modified man. When Sara had come back, she had taken over Ash's training and Ash used one of her moves to knock the man to the floor, punching him unconscious for good measure before running off to find Skye.
They came to a halt when seeing another modified man running to Skye and the team from the Bus. Ash wasn't sure how or when they got here but they had to admit, the team looked pretty cool walking together. At least, they would've if they hadn't noticed the man coming right for them.
Ash ran to the man, grabbing his arm from behind and kicking his feet out beneath him, flipping him onto the ground and placing a firm foot on his chest when he tried to get up as they looked up at the team. Ash kept their foot on him as they smiled at the team in front of her. "Hey, guys! You look badass."
"Duck!" Skye yelled. Ash side-stepped, missing the punch by an inch. Ward took over for them, running the man into one of the houses whilst five more came out to fight them.
"Look for Coulson, we can handle them," Ash said as the five came charging for them. They hated to admit that Ward―even with all his faults―was a good fighter and with him by their side, they should be able to hold all the modified soldiers back until Coulson was found.
Ash really hoped they could.
° ✩ • ☽ ° ✩ •
Skye and May had managed to bring Coulson back to the plane and all the S.H.I.E.L.D agents went their separate ways so Ash was no longer bound to Skye's van. Though, on the way back whilst Ash told Skye the moon story, the woman offered for Ash to sleep in the van instead of the containment room and Ash took her up on it. They were sure it would be a lot more comfortable and warmer.
However, Ash wasn't staying there tonight. They had passed Fitz-Simmons on their way to their destination with the scientists asking if they could draw their first sample of blood but Ash had pleaded to leave it for tomorrow instead since they were tired. Grudgingly, the two let them go and that led Ash to where they were now; the cockpit.
Ash knocked on the wall when they walked in to alert May of their presence before making their way further in. "Can I stay here?" Ash sunk into the seat next to May, eyes set on the clouds outside without waiting for an answer. It wasn't quite like home but it was similar. If they closed their eyes and focused on their thoughts clearly, they could imagine Sara next to them navigating the Waverider, full of smiles and laughs.
May turned to Ash ready to say no but when she saw the tears silently falling down Ash's face, she knew better. So instead she stayed silent while Ash got lost in the memories of their home with the hope that one day they could return there.
° ✩ • ☽ ° ✩ • ─── NOTE
...its been eight months
shit chapter im sorry but
again if someone is willing
to help like in the note
earlier i would appreciate
it and will tag you in
any chapters you write in
and in the info of this
book