Spyen sat in the tight surveillance van with too many agents inside. The tight van did little to dilute her residual emotion from her conversation with Ward. On the way to the drop site, Skye had filled Spyen in on the mission details. They were going to capture Creel. While Skye was working on her laptop, May handed Spyen and Hunter ICERS and Hunter wasn't too fond of the choice of weapon.
"ICERS? Great, How did we get stuck with a nonlethal option?"
"Coin flip. Trip called tails." May wasn't joking. Sometimes Agents of SHIELD needed to have a little fun.
"Just getting word from the lab. Fitz might have something we could use to neutralize Creel's powers."
"Best news we've had all day." Hunter still didn't like the ICER idea.
Spyen looked over Skye's shoulder to the laptop and saw a red dot pop up on the grid.
"Raina's tracker just popped. Creel's here."
Spyen readied her weapon as May radioed Trip, "Trip, are you in position?"
"Locked, loaded, and looking...Found him. He's got the package."
Skye activated the hidden camera they had set up earlier, "Looks like Creel is talking to the guy with his back to him." Spyen had seen this same technique countless times. It wasn't very inconspicuous any longer.
Coulson's voice was in everyone's ear. "That's his HYDRA contact."
Spyen slightly stiffened when Coulson said HYDRA. Skye glanced over at her sister when she noticed a changed in her posture.
"The deal's going down. Skye?"
Skye went back to work at her computer, "Running facial recognition now. Let's put a name to that face."
"Let the exchange happen. Skye and Hunter follow the new player. Spyen and May stay with Creel. Everyone copy?"
Skye glanced at her sister waiting for Spyen to object. Spyen locked eyes with Skye, "Copy that."
May readied her weapon, "Copy."
Skye closed her laptop, "Copy."
Spyen suddenly pulled in a breath when she heard the fire of Hunter's ICER. When a bullet hit her she let out a gasp of shock before her vision went black.
***
Spyen sat in the chair that was stationed in front of Ward's cell, but she hadn't said a word since she came into the vault ten minutes ago. Ward was getting anxious by her lack of conversation. The HYDRA agent sat with his hands at his sides willing the agent to open up to him. Spyen had honestly gone down into the vault to have a bit of quiet while she thought. She was trying so hard to remember what happened from before her accident and she didn't want Skye our Coulson to see her in that way. Somehow being in front of Ward comforted Spyen.
Ward eventually stood up, "Don't think too hard, you might hurt yourself."
Spyen looked up from her thought and ceased the biting of her nail, "Why did I have a reaction to the word HYDRA?"
Ward gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Maybe it was the context of the word? What was the conversation?" Ward was trying to get details about anything HYDRA related.
Spyen rolled her eyes, "Nice try."
Ward changed the subject. "I didn't think I would see you again so soon."
Spyen caught onto Wards tone, "What is that supposed to mean?"
Ward took a step forward, "You are more company than Skye is."
Spyen sat forward, "What do you know about me from before I became an agent to Fury?"
Ward was confused by the question but answered with fluidity, "I know you were orphaned the day you were born. I also know that you and Skye are sisters."
It was amazing to Spyen at how confident Ward was.
She stood from her chair. "And you didn't care to say anything?"
Ward kept his stance, "I knew you wouldn't have reacted well."
Spyen folded her arms across her chest, "How would you have known how I would have reacted. You don't know me."
"I know more than you think."
Spyen narrowed her eyes, "Tell me this. If I were to walk into HYDRA's hands right now, would they shoot me or welcome me with open arms?"
Ward gave a small smile with bright eyes but didn't get to respond. The vault door opened and Skye walked down the steps with a mask on.
"Coulson wants everyone upstairs for mission prep."
Spyen heard her sister, but she kept her eyes on Ward, "Give me a minute."
"Now, Spy."
Spyen swallowed, but walked as close to the invisible barrier as she could, "Shoot or welcome?"
"Spyen."
Spyen ignored her sister, "Which one Ward?"
Ward gave another smile, "Welcome to HYDRA."
Spyen straightened her posture with slightly wide eyes. She bit her tongue and walked out of the vault brushing past Skye.
Spyen swallowed her findings and followed Skye into the Commons room without a word. When Coulson laid eyes on the sisters he went right into action.
"Okay, what we know. We think HYDRA is trying to recruit Donnie Gill. Most likely scenario, HYDRA's looking for another weapon."
Coulson caught onto Spyen's eyes before he continued, "From what we've been able to piece together, Donnie Gill had limited powers when he entered the Sandbox, but—" Coulson gestured to the video of Donnie manipulating water to form an ice sculpture.
"While there, he was taught to control, amplify those powers."
Spyen let out a sigh as Hunter spoke, "Lovely, and who do we have to thank for that? SHIELD or HYDRA?"
Coulson gave a small shrug, "Your guess is as good as ours. HYDRA has scientists embedded at the base. Explains how they took it so quickly."
Spyen slowly took a seat next to Fitz as Mack spoke, "A friend of mine was stationed there, said it got bad fast."
Trip looked up at Coulson, "Is that when Gill escaped?"
This information wasn't at all new to Spyen. She had known the Sandbox had been compromised.
"I don't know. What I do know is Creel wasn't an isolated incident. I've been told Gill's next on HYDRA's wish list."
"Told by who?" Spyen glanced over at Fitz as he spoke.
Coulson nodded, "I have a source."
"A source you trust?" Trip was concerned.
Coulson nodded, "Very much so. Now, I want us to bring Gill in before HYDRA gets their hands on him. Fitz, you know him better than any of us. Got anything to help us narrow the search?"
Fitz was suddenly nervous being put on the spot, "Uh, well. The la-last time I saw him we was, um..."
Mack tried to coax the scientist, "Angry? On drugs? Friendly? Sleepy?"
Fitz perked up, "Yeah!"
"Sleepy?"
"No, What-the one- go back one." Fitz looked up for help.
"Friendly?"
Fitz nodded, "Friendly. Um...Uh...He had trouble making friends." Fitz didn't look as if he was happy with how he responded.
May let out a soft sigh, "Anything else?"
Fitz gave a slight shrug and kept his voice low, "I don't know, maybe ask Jemma if you have a contact number for her."
It hurt Spyen that she couldn't say anything to Fitz about Jemma's whereabouts.
Coulson gave a small nod, "Okay, and if you think of anything—"
"We'll work on it." Mack was Fitz's anchor at the moment.
"May, you lead the search to find Gill. Let me know as soon as you have something." Coulson looked up from May, "Spyen a word."
Spyen glanced at Skye before she followed Coulson up the steps and into his office.
Spyen swallowed her nerves as Coulson shut the door. He walked into the room and leaned on the desk without saying a word. He looked at Spyen expectantly.
Spyen pulled in a breath, "Sir, I don't know what this is about."
Coulson leaned over his desk and tapped at the tablet. From behind Spyen was the recording of the conversation she had had with Ward not a few minutes ago as well as the first time she spoke to him. Spyen's eyes went wide and she shook her head, "I can explain."
Coulson didn't give any indication of how he was feeling about the situation.
Spyen pulled in a breath, "I recovered my file from the Triskelion's archive and I found my SHIELD acceptance papers. And I, uh, I think you know the rest." Spyen bit her cheek and waited for Coulson to say something. Spyen half expected for the man to shoot her. It was a full minute before Coulson spoke, but it wasn't the words she was expecting.
"Simmons will most likely be on this raid, if what I got from her is correct."
Spyen was grateful for the change of topic, "Who else knows about Jemma's cover?"
"Agent May and Skye."
There was a moment of silence before Spyen asked the question that was on the tip of her tongue, "Why aren't you kicking me out, or detaining me?"
Coulson pushed away from his desk, "Detaining you?"
Spyen swallowed, "For technically being HYDRA."
Coulson's expression never faltered, "You said you were loyal to SHIELD and I trust that and I hope you trust us enough to think of this base as a safe place."
Spyen let out the breath she was holding and nodded, "I do. Thank you."
Coulson gave a slight sigh before continuing on to the mission, "I would like for you to say here while the team retrieves Donnie. I do not want you in the field."
Spyen gave a single nod, "I understand, but if I could come and just say on the Bus. I'm sure you could use as many field agents as you can get." Spyen figured she was pushing the envelope.
Coulson let his shoulders sink before he let out a sigh, "I can't let you do that, Spyen. If you were once HYDRA then I can't let you anywhere near them."
Spyen let out a sigh, "I understand."
Coulson tightened his expression before turning his back. Spyen licked her lips before she reluctantly walked from the office. She felt shameful as she walked down the steps and back into the Commons. Skye came up to the bottom of the steps and Spyen shook her head.
"I'm staying here."
Skye pursed her lips, "I'm sorry."
Spyen shook her head, "It's fine. I can't go on every Op."
Skye watched as her sister slowly left the area.She observed how Spyen walked and carried herself and couldn't help but noticed the difference from her posture to a trained SHIELD agent's posture.
***
Spyen was far too old to have a tantrum, but she honestly felt like letting one out. She let out an exasperated breath and pulled her arms to a defensive position. She was still fuming about not being able to go on the mission. Spyen punched at the standing bag in the middle of the training room and watched as it shook at her pressure. She punched at it repeatedly. After a few more moments of pointless punches, Spyen dropped her hands and let out a breath.
She pulled herself from the padded mat and looked down at her knuckles. She didn't tape her hands and she now had bruises coating her skin. She shook her head before she walked from the training room. She padded down her sweated skin as she walked around the base. She was en route to her room, but she suddenly got a feeling in her stomach that something wasn't right. Spyen followed her instinct and it led her to the hallway where Ward's vault door was stationed. She came up to the door and found it slightly ajar.
Spyen let out a breath and quickly pushed the door open. She heard Fitz's voice as she descended the steps, "But I can't be because of you, because of what you did to me! I'm damaged!"
Spyen walked into the situation and saw that Ward was having trouble breathing.
"Fitz! What are you doing?"
The scientist pulled the tablet away from Spyen as she tried to get it away from him. Ward sat on his bed and tried to get his words out.
"Donnie—Donnie—Donnie Gill. That's—That's why Skye—"
"No! I'm not—I-I don't, uh—" Fitz was trying to keep the tablet away from Spyen as he spoke, "I don't answer, uh—"
"Fitz. Listen to me. Listen. You," Ward let out a gasp through his words, "They don't know what they're walking into."
As Fitz was distracted by Ward's words, Spyen pulled the tablet from the scientist's hands and allowed the oxygen to fill the cell.
Ward pulled in a much-needed breath and quickly let out his information, "Donnie didn't escape the Sandbox. He took it for HYDRA. They recruited him. They brainwashed him to do their dirty work. And by the sound of it they're going to re-trigger his programming if they can."
Spyen's eyes went wide as she looked to Fitz, "You have to go warn the team."
Fitz glanced between Ward and Spyen before he let out a breath and escaped the confining vault.
Once the threat of Fitz was gone, Ward let out his breath.
"Thank you."
Spyen shook her head and looked up at Ward, "Don't thank me. What you did to Fitz and Simmons was—" Spyen halted her speech and Ward stood from the bed.
"I know. But Garrett expected me to put a bullet in their heads. I did them a favour."
Spyen's expression contorted, "A favour? Fitz can't form a coherent sentence and Jemma is gone. Some favour that was."
Spyen turned her body away from Ward and went to leave, but the HYDRA agent took a step forward.
"I'm sorry."
Spyen bit her cheek in anger and turned back to Ward, "You should be telling Fitz and Simmons that. Not me." Spyen just now noticed the tone in Ward's voice. "You're genuine."
Ward gave a nod, "I am."
Spyen tilted her head, "From what I hear from you, that's an odd gesture."
Ward narrowed his eyes slightly, "And you believe them? What they are saying about me?"
"Well, you're locked in a vault. So, I think that has to say something."
Ward came closer to the barrier with low eyes; "I don't want you to see me in that way."
Spyen furrowed her brows, "What?"
"I want you to form your own opinion about me."
Spyen was confused by Ward's words; "I don't even know why I'm still talking to you."
Ward gave a small smirk; "Because I believe you're subconscious wants you here."
Spyen pulled in a breath and was about to scold the HYDRA agent, but her phone in her pocket distracted her. She bit her lip as she answered Skye's call.
"Donnie has been put down. Jemma's cover is maintained and we are on our way back."
Spyen turned her back to Ward, "Copy. Thanks for the update."
The conversation was short and when Spyen turned back to Ward, her emotion towards him had changed.
"I'll give you a chance. But just one."
Ward gave a smile, "That's all I need."
Spyen let out a breath before she gave Ward one last glance as she left the vault.