Their moment of peace didn't last long, before Coulson's voice called out to both of them, summoning them to the back of the aircraft. Asia made sure the autopilot was set for the correct course, before they climbed out of their seats and slid into a different set, in the back of the aircraft. As they sat down, it was very clear that lines had been drawn. Ward and Kara sat on one side of the aircraft, Coulson, Hunter, Leo, and Asia on the other. Leo's leg pressed flush against her own, and she could feel his shaking just ever so slightly. She pressed her own leg back against his, closing her eyes for a moment and feeling the soothing cold that radiated outwards from her and into him.
"So," Coulson said, glancing down at his watch. "I believe our mole should be in place by now. And yet. Mike's eye hasn't given us an inside view." He looked over at Ward, neutrally. "Why do you think that is?"
Ward sighed, shaking his head. "I thought there was supposed to be trust here?" He asked. "Bakshi set up a meeting with some of the higherups in Hydra. He is making sure that everything is in place so they don't suspect a thing." He looked at them as if this were the most obvious thing. Asia saw Leo's fists clench out of the corner of her eyes. "Bakshi has clear instructions. He is going to act just as he used to...before." Ward finished.
"Before he was brainwashed?" Hunter scoffed. "Oh yea, that's awful comforting," he rolled his eyes, sharing a glance with Asia who pressed her lips into a thin line, with a subtle shake of her head. He looked back at Ward, eyes narrowed. "Very, very comforting."
Coulson held up a hand, silencing the banter. "Any questions?" he addressed the group. No one spoke up, no one uttered a word. Better that way, honestly. They couldn't survive long without fighting, if they were speaking, Asia knew that much. She wasn't about to push their luck with a snarky remark.
So they all leaned back, sitting in silence. And then, as it always does, the storm broke. Or, putting it truly in perspective, Ward broke it wide open. Surprise, surprise.
"So, Fitz..." Ward said, trailing off, a grin sliding over his thin lips. Asia's eyes narrowed as she stared at him. If looks could kill, he'd be flayed alive. Leo looked up at their old teammate, silent. The smirk still on his face, Ward continued, "How have you been lately?"
Asia's body tensed in place, legs uncrossing, feet planted flat on the floor. She'd kill him. She'd kill him right now. She wanted to feel the pulse disappear beneath her hands. But she couldn't move, she didn't want to leave the man beside her, the one in so much pain. Leo looked down at his lap, squeezing his hands open and shut, holding his eyes tightly shut, trying to keep it out, trying to not let the emotions get to him. But it was no good.
He bolted up out of his chair, lunging forward at Ward, fists balled tightly, ready to swing. Asia and Hunter were up in a split second, both wrapping their arms around Leo, holding him back, while Coulson shouted for all of them to all calm down, to just remain calm. Leo's arms were still trying to swing as Asia pulled him to her, holding his face in her hands, forehead to forehead, looking him in the eyes. She took a deep breath in, nodding, not breaking eye contact. Everything else around them just seemed to fade away, until it was just the two of them, no sounds, no violence, just the two of them, foreheads touching, cold pulses moving through their bodies.
Then she shook her head, just ever so slightly. "It's not worth it," she whispered. "He's not worth it." Leo blinked, then met her eyes again, and nodded. The two broke apart and Asia turned to face Ward again, eyes narrowing once more. Sure, it wasn't worth Leo getting hurt. But for her to get her knuckles a little bloody? Yea, that'd be worth it.
"Agent Monroe," Coulson's words cut through her thoughts. "Agent Fitz, Agent Hunter. Sit down, now. That's an order."
Asia blinked, and then her face melted into a flat line. She blinked, looked up at Ward, then turned and sat back down, Leo sitting beside her, Hunter on his other side. Asia was quiet, but Leo needed to make sure that Coulson understood what they were thinking, what this was putting them through.
"Bakshi, sir?" Leo shook his head, frowning. "He's....he is..he is. He's just like Ward. He will...um...he'll double cross us." He pointed right at Ward and shook his head, then pulled his arm back to him, crossing his arms over his chest. "The second he's back with Hydra, he'll double cross us all over again." Asia tried to ignore the frown of hurt on Ward's face.
Coulson looked over at Leo with an even gaze. "Of course, Agent Fitz. That is a possibility, and not one which was far from my mind. That's exactly why Agent Peterson is joining him on this interview, posing as his bodyguard. And that's exactly why we will be able to see and hear the entire thing go down." He kept his composure, his gaze even. He looked over at Agent Monroe for a moment, studying her. She was looking back up at him, no signs of her powers slipping through. The temperature in the space was still the same, the ice still climbed the walls. He couldn't see his own breath. He wondered what it was that kept her so composed. Kept her from slipping. Was her desire to not let Ward see her weak, that strong?
Suddenly, the screen in front of them lit up, Mike's line of vision coming through brightly for all of them to see. He was climbing up the steps to a private aircraft, the side of which had Echidna painted on it. A cover company, how smart, Asia thought with a roll of her eyes. There was a guard at the top of the stairs, and then a second inside, in front of another smooth, wooden door, wearing a black suit and sunglasses, even though he was inside. When the guard saw Bakshi, he nodded and stepped aside, pressing the door open inwards, allowing them entrance. Mike followed Bakshi into the room, looking around to give them a wide view of what he was seeing.
The interior was plush, a creame color, with honey brown wooden accents. Large, plush, business style chairs lay out in front of them, providing plenty of spacious legroom. Currently, two older men and one woman, all dressed in suits, sat inside, looking over papers. They all stopped and looked up when the two entered. One of the men, with white hair and a sharp widows peak, stood up, stepping forward to shake Bakshi's hand. So it was beginning.
The six people in the back of the Quinnjet all moved towards the front of the plane to get a better view of the screen and what exactly was going on.
"Let's see how your man holds up under questioning," Coulson said, directing the statement towards Ward and Kara.
Kara crossed her arms defensively over her chest. "He's held up to worse than this, he'll hold," she said with a sharp nod, looking Coulson directly in the eyes. Asia was nearly certain now that the raven haired woman had a hand in Bakshi's brainwashing. Interesting choice, for someone who had been through the same exact thing.
"I know Strucker has been experimenting on powered individuals," Bakshi's words cut through any thoughts Asia might have previously had, her eyes training on the screen with ferocity. They were finally about to get some good intel. "I believe with a compliance upgrade, Mr. Peterson here, well, he could be of use to him," Bakshi grinned like a cat at the old man whose mouth was open in a mix of surprise and intrigue.
"You want to....to give him to me?" List, the old man, asked in surprise.
And there was that grin from Bakshi again. "Consider it a sign of my good faith," he purred, pleased by List's reaction.
"This wasn't a part of the plan," Coulson said angrily, his heated gaze turning on Ward, who had his hands raised in mock-surrender. "What is he doing?"
"It's fine, it's fine, he's getting us to Strucker. Isn't that what you wanted?" Ward asked, a look of incredibly fake confusion crossing his face.
"Bastard sold us out!" Hunter exclaimed, eyes wide, looking back and forth between Coulson and Ward. "Once a bloody traitor, always a traitor."
The events which occurred next happened in a matter of seconds. Ward leaned forward and grabbed a gun out of the holster on Leo's side, pointing it at Hunter. Hunter drew his own and pointed it at Ward. Coulson drew his and pointed it at Kara. Kara drew a knife and held it to Leo's throat, Asia squeezed her palms, the knives of her wristlets unsheathing, pressing the blade of one flush to Kara's jugular, pulling out a pistol with her left and and aiming at Ward.
She made eye contact with Leo and gave him a look of reassurance. Then she turned her gaze on Kara. "Put the knife down," she hissed. "Or I will drain the life from your body, and trust me, you don't want to find out how." She didn't let the ice flow from her body just yet. No need to play her trump card just yet. Kara looked over to Ward, in question of what she should do.
"Put the gun down," Coulson said evenly to Ward. "You're both outnumbered. You really want to fight this fight?"
"This is the only way," Ward said, nodding towards the screen. "You wanted an in, I'm getting you an in."
"Put the gun down, now, Ward, don't make me tell you again," Coulson repeated.
"Do you want to get to Strucker or not?" Ward tried to plead one more time.
"Fitz, you alright?" Hunter asked, his gaze flickering towards the scientist for one moment, gun not leaving its aim at Ward's chest.
"Just peachy," Leo replied in a sarcastic tone, eyes looking down at the knife then back to Asia.
"Don't worry," Asia replied, trying to sound as confident as possible. "If she moves a muscle, she's dead," she said the words to Leo, but she meant them for Kara. She wanted the woman to know she would do it. There would be no hesitation. Not when his life was at stake. She would kil her without a second thought if it became necessary.
"Strucker wants powered people," Ward continued, voice tight. "Bakshi alone won't get you to him. He's far too paranoid for that. But Deathlok? He's an easy in, and I think we're all aware that he can handle himself. You need to trust me." He looked at Coulson as he spoke, keeping his eyes trained on Hunter.
"'Trust you'? Coulson scoffed. "I should shoot you just for saying that."
Meanwhile, Leo's eyes had become trained at the screen which was now making a beeping noise that no one else seemed to notice. "Um, sir?" he tried to speak up, but both Coulson and Ward were paying too much attention to each other to notice his soft voice. The screen was showing Mike's targeting system come online, red circles glowing around List and the other two people in the plane. His weapons systems were ready to go.
"Sir!" Leo said more insistently. "Deathlok's targeting systems are..." He pointed a shaky finger at the screen, trying his best not to move and cause Kara's knife to press against his skin.
"Is that Deathlok's targeting system?" Hunter asked, his gun lowering just ever so slightly as his gaze drifted over to the screen as well, looking at the red dots appearing one by one. Asia didn't dare take her eyes off of Kara to look. She trusted that what her team was seeing was correct. She knew they were telling the truth, but for whatever reason it was, Mike was getting ready to obliterate anyone in that airplane.
"Um, yes, yes," Leo stuttered out. "His targeting system is live and he's, um, he's about to kill everyone on there!" he pointed carefully at the screen, getting nearly everyone's attention now. They all looked over, away from their weapons, and at the screen. All except Asia, who kept her eyes glued on the knife to Leo's throat.
"Doesn't seem like the worst idea on the planet, actually," Hunter pointed out with a small nod of his head, lower lip jutting out just ever so slightly as he mulled the idea over.
"No, we need them alive!" Coulson interjected. "Fitz, get him to stand down, now," he ordered, nodding at the screen.
Leo tried to move out of Kara's grip, but she certainly wasn't budging, not until Ward was going to give her the word. He glanced over at her, then over at Asia, then back to Coulson. "Um, yea, no, that's not going to happen," he said, flicking his gaze towards the blade at his throat.
"Let him go, Agent 33. That's an order," Coulson said calmly, though Asia could tell the stress was rising. It was for all of them. If Mike pulled the trigger, launched those rockets, it would be bad for all of them.
"My name is Kara," she spit out, not removing the blade. "And I don't work for you anymore," her gaze flickered from Coulson to land on Ward, waiting for his instruction.
"Sir," Leo interjected, "Weapons are hot, he's preparing to fire." Asia could see the sweat forming along the line of his forehead.
"Okay, okay, on the count of three," Ward said, addressing all of them, "We put our weapons down." He actually seemed to have a voice of reason, which frankly surprised the hell out of Asia. But if it would get Kara's blade away from Leo's neck, she would listen.
"Alright," Coulson agreed, "Three!" He announced, skipping one and two completely. Every agent lowered their weapons, Asia letting out a breath she hadn't entirely known she was holding as Leo turned to the keyboard below the screen, typing rapidly a message to Mike's live feed. Play along,the message read for all of them to see, and slowly, Mike lowered his weapons, turning the system offline. Leo let out a sigh, leaning against the seat in front of them. Asia pushed back her hair, taking a few deep breaths. That had almost ended much, much worse than it could have.
"Try anything like that again," Coulson turned to face Ward menacingly, "And I'll throw both of your asses of this Quinnjet at 40000 feet." Asia could hear the seriousness in his tone, and a chill ran down her spine. He wasn't playing around, not this time.
With a sigh, Asia walked back to one of the seats along the wall and strapped herself in, letting her head fall back against the wall as she stared up at the ceiling, exhaustion hitting her. She didn't realize how much energy she had spent just trying to keep her composure, to keep herself from unleashing an icy hell on their airplane.
She could hear the others talking from the front of the plane, discussing tailing List's aircraft as it took flight, Ward programming the GPS. Hunter and Leo sat up in the cockpit, and Asia just couldn't seem to make herself move.
And of course, to make matters worse, as she sat there, trying her hardest to not think about a damn thing, to let herself relax, let her energy return, Ward came and sat down, right beside her.