Skye's POV
I got out of the taxi, smoothing out my pink dress and feeling my curled hair as I walked forward to the front door. This was the nicest I could ever remember looking. Hydra having never splurged on clothes for me...
A waitress stopped by me with a tray of Champaign, so I took one with a mumbled, "thank you."
The waitress walked away and I headed deeper into the party, sipping on my Champaign and taking it all in.
"Hors D'oeuvre, Madame?" My eyes went wide at the way he addressed me, but I took some sort of skewer off the tray and continued walking, until a man's voice stopped me.
"Who are you?"
I quickly turned around to face the man. He was an older gentleman - I noticed a younger one striding over when he saw that I was being addressed.
"Oh, apologies for his manners. He knows very little English."
"Oh, that, uh, that's – what, whatever."
I waved away the apology, extending my hand to the older man for a handshake.
"Skye."
He slowly reached out and shook my hand.
"Qasim Zaghlul."
"Big fan. You built half of Dubai, including the Arabian Blade!" I said, listening to the voice in my ear as the man gave the tiniest of smirks. "I love that building, it's super sci-fi. Where's your wife..."
"Wife's name is Nadrah," May told me quickly.
"...Nadrah? Is she staying at home with the boys?" I added as May filled me in on his twin sons.
The man nodded his head and told me what a pleasure it was to meet me.
"The pleasure is mine," I hastily answered, touching him lightly on the arm as I laughed and turned away.
"I could get used to this, people. It's like Siri if it worked!" I told May and anyone else who was listening in on the other end.
"Skipper to Bravo, I got eyes on top dog. The eagle is landing on it."
"What are you doing?" Simmons asked, confused.
"Uh, sorry, I – I don't know. I see Quinn, I'm gonna go talk to him." It's not like Hydra really taught me how to use radio/earpiece talk! They had wanted to train me to eventually not need anyone talking in my ear; so I never spoke to anyone during their simulation tests.
I headed off towards Ian Quinn, making sure to position myself in his path.
"I mean, that and it's effective on the industrial average," he was saying as I joined his group. I laughed along with his friends; trying to blend in.
"That was good," one of the men said.
"Yeah, right? Ian Quinn. I'm your last minute party crasher. Skye," I interjected, introducing myself and shaking his hand.
"Oh," he said, chuckling. "Wow. Great to meet you." He turned to address the others in the group around him. "This is Skye, she's a member of The Rising Tide. They're a group of hackers."
They all looked at me. I gave a little wave, not used to the attention.
"She's gotten some pretty big secrets out to the public," Quinn added.
"I prefer "Hacktivist". I'm glad you've heard of their site - but just to be clear, I'm not actually a member of the group. I've just used their site to post a few things in the past," I clarified, not wanting to be associated with The Rising Tide - yes, I had used their site to release a few articles I had found while sifting through Hydra's records that I had felt important for the public to know, but I definitely wasn't a member of Miles's group.
"I read your posts. We think very much alike, more freedom of information, less government infringing on everyone's rights, I'm a fan," Quinn said, raising his brows when I told him that I wasn't involved with The Rising Tide as closely as he had thought.
"That explains the invite. This is a tough party to get into!" I said.
"Not as hard to get into as the encrypted back channel you contacted us through to request the invite."
I laughed, feeling a sense of pride.
"You have got to show me how you did that, I mean, if you sign on," he continued.
I looked to the others, then back to him. This totally threw me off.
"Sign what, now?"
"I've been known to turn a few black hats into white hats. Not just for vulnerability analysis, but for very creative thinking." I stared at him.
"A-Are you offering me a job?" I had definitely not been expecting that!
"Well I didn't invite you here for your pretty face, doll. I didn't know you had a pretty face. Yes, I want to hire you - before The Rising Tide or someone else snatches you up!"
He walked away from the group, leaving me looking shocked. My earpiece crackled and I heard May's voice.
"That seemed to go well."
"Yeah, it did."
Once again, I turned my back to the other people standing there, feeling slightly uncomfortable in such a large crowd.
I took another drink as the people at the party started to clap. Quinn had gone up to a platform in order to address them all.
I tuned him out as he welcomed his shareholders and started talking about how government agencies were guilty of halting the development of new technology for everyone but themselves.
I looked around making sure that everyone was watching Quinn before I began to move away towards the house.
I entered and headed down a hallway, looking for a signal for the compact Fitz had given me. I stopped outside a set of double doors but when I pushed on them, they wouldn't open.
"It's locked, but there's no lock!" I exclaimed. If it hadn't been for the open hallway that I knew was behind me, I would have been sent into a panic, flashing back to all the times Hydra had kept me imprisoned in rooms that only opened from the outside. I shivered, despite the warm weather.
"Eh, check for a keypad," I heard Fitz suggest through my earpiece.
I leaned to the left side of the door, then the right, looking.
"Nothing. I can't see any keypad for me to hack."
"Wait, you can hack a keypad?" Fitz asked in surprise.
"Of course! But I can't find one!"
"Is there a reception desk?" May cut in.
I glanced to my right and saw a small desk set up in the hallway. I walked towards it.
"Okay, yeah," I told them when I got to the desk. But what was I supposed to be looking for? I had never seen a set up like this at any of the Hydra bases I had been kept at! Damnit! I can't fail my first real assignment! I had thought I would be able to do this easily, but forgotten to take into account how little I still knew about the world outside of Hydra! Was I becoming like Ward? Thinking that I was better than I actually was?
I got to the desk, looking down at it glumly. "Well, now what do I do?"
"What are you trying to do?" I barely caught myself in time to not jump as I looked over to see Quinn staring at me. I slowly set down my glass and stared at the desk.
"Just...looking for a pen!" I said, chuckling nervously as I took one from a cup and held it up to him. "Here we go." I laughed again, but from the fake smile on Quinn's face, I could tell he was not buying what I was selling. "Got to write down all those good ideas, you know what I mean? Of course you know what I mean. You probably have like 10 pens for all your ideas," I said, beginning to ramble like a lunatic. If I get out of this alive, I am definitely training harder! I clearly am not as good at this undercover stuff as I thought. Fighting, sure. But my acting really sucked right now.
"What are you really doing?" Quinn demanded to know.
I paused, as I suddenly realized something. I may not be good at lying, but there were ways that I could spin that weakness into an advantage.
"All right. I'm busted. I was trying to get a glimpse behind your office doors, see how things really operate." I said, more confidently.
He took a few steps closer to me and reached out a hand - sliding one of my soft curls through his fingers.
"I invite you here as a guest, yet you treat me like another corrupt institution, looking for trade secrets to leak online?" He backed up, letting the strand of my hair fall back into place as he put his phone near his mouth. "Security."
"No, no, no, wait!" I said, trying to keep calm as I focused on the plan that had come to me.
He lowered the phone down.
"It's just with all these la-di-da people, you have to be so guarded, so careful. What you say, what secrets you reveal..." I leaned down to the desk, using the pen to write something down on the notepad that was there. "And...I was hoping that you and I could be honest with one another. If you know what I mean."
I held up the piece of paper I had been writing on - which now said: SHIELD is listening.
His face turned serious as he nodded his head in understanding. I guess having to deal with Hydra's love for mind games was a good thing? I thought, trying to see the silver lining as Quinn led me past the doors I had been trying to get open just moments ago.
"My office had less space, more wheels. Wow. A view of the ocean and the pool!" I had to admit, this room was amazing!
"Not a bad place to do business," Quinn responded.
I paused and handed my earpiece to him as part of my plan - and watched as he dropped it into the champaign glass. I just hoped the others wouldn't freak out when they noticed my audio feed had cut out!
"Much better. Haven't felt that "someone's watching my every move" feeling since I failed my driver's test," I said, sighing as I secretly thought about the real answer being the day I had escaped from Hydra.
"You want to tell me what the hell is going on?" said Quinn, picking up the glass and looking at the earpiece. "Shield got to you?"
"They picked me up in L.A., I helped them in a crisis, and now they want to recruit me," I said, continuing to use as much of the truth as possible to help me sound believable.
"Of course they do," Quinn said, setting the glass back down.
"So, I played along, talk about inside info, I have a bunk on their plane. I've been gathering intel, biding my time until I could become useful. I thought this qualified," I fibbed, finding I was a lot more relaxed and comfortable - and more importantly, convincing, using half-truths.
"Why would they trust you with a covert operation like this?"
"Something about Shield not breaking international laws. They had no other options, whereas I like to keep mine open," I said, joining him on the couch with a sly grin as Quinn started to let his guard down - looking at me in a manner that made me want to squirm when he slid himself closer to me. I watched his hand nervously as he slowly let it drift onto the exposed skin of my leg. I inwardly cringed as I thought wistfully of the jeans I had been wearing until Simmons all but forced me into the dress I was currently wearing.
It wasn't that Ian Quinn was ugly; he was quite attractive now that I thought about it, but after everything Hydra's men had done, it was hard to think of being physical with anyone. Especially not a man like Ian Quinn, who was clearly working on the wrong side of the law.
Though, if I was being honest, there were nights where my mind drifted off into the realm of possibilities when I thought of Steve or Tony and the others, but I made sure to quickly disregard those thoughts whenever they popped up! It was crazy to even think such things might be possible. As if any of them would be interested in someone like me! Assuming they ever forgave me for running away after they had helped me so much!
"You're saying they wanted to rope me in because I pose a genuine threat?" I looked at Quinn with curious eyes; thinking that he may have a point.
"Yes, and fit their profile."
"Profile?" What was he talking about?
"Sure. You're a criminal. You have a warrant somewhere," I guess I probably did considering how many agencies I had hacked while searching for any information on who I was before Hydra had taken me.
"Probably," I said, scoffing.
"Specialized skill set," he continued, scooting even closer to me.
"I try to stay humble, but fail," I grinned.
"No family," I frowned at this and lowered my eyes for a moment. None that I can seem to find...
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit a nerve, but that is what these people do. Shield," he said, leaning in close as he started playing with my hair again. "They prey on fear and loneliness and desperation, and then they offer a home to those who have no one else to turn to. I can offer you something better."
Was he right? It did seem to describe what had happened to me over the last week or so. But they seem to genuinely care! But I was lying to them everyday...and for all I knew, they could be doing the same to me...was Shield just another version of Hydra?!
"Stay with us, there's no secrets, no lies and no agenda. You're free to do what you do without big brother watching over you." I sighed; liking the sound of that. I also couldn't help but sigh again as Quinn ran his hands through my hair, smirking as he noticed how I seemed to like it. I couldn't help myself, I'd never had anyone play with my hair like this before! Wow, no wonder Natasha didn't want me to stop when I had played with her hair!
"But first, you have to tell me exactly what agenda Shield sent you in here with." I blinked as his words reminded me of why I was here and what I was supposed to be doing. Ward and Coulson were counting on me, and even if they did turn out to be just like Hydra, I wasn't, and I certainly wouldn't, be the cause for their death at the hands of Quinn's guards if I could prevent it.
"Well, they wanted me to do whatever it took to get in here," I said, opening up the purse I had been given and pulling out the compact - opening it up to see that the dots on the left side of the mirror were red.
"Get in here and...?" Quinn prompted, stroking one of his fingers down the side of my cheek.
The lights on the mirror suddenly went green as I pretended to be fixing the eye liner that Simmons had made me put on. I wasn't exactly faking it when I rubbed some of it out; not being used to wearing makeup and finding it a little uncomfortable.
"Bat my eyes," I told Quinn as I closed the compact and set it on the table, leaning slighty into him in the hopes that he wouldn't think much about the compact. "Get you talking," I continued to say as I looked into Quinn's eyes. I could see the hungry gleam in them and knew that I was playing a very dangerous game - but I didn't have many options at the moment.
"No, you can't be the only angle. Shield's thorough enough to know about me and my exploits. It takes more than a pretty face to disarm me," Quinn said, though I could tell that he was resisting the urge to kiss me, which I was grateful for.
We looked up as a large man entered the room.
"Sir, we have a security breach!" He informed Quinn. Shit! Quinn got off the sofa quickly.
"Oh, the timing on that was perfect," I said with a small laugh.
Quinn let out a sigh as he picked up the compact and broke it in two, then threw the pieces down to the floor. I watched anxiously as he turned to the large man, patted his chest, and then pulled out his gun and pointed it at me.
Quinn pushed me against the wall with one hand holding my neck and the other holding the gun to my head.
"Don't you get it? Shield's against everything you stand for. They're Big Brother!" Quinn said, trying to make me see reason, but instead, his words reminded me of what Ward had told me earlier.
"Maybe. But they're the nice Big Brother who stands up for his helpless little brother when he's getting beat up because he ate a piece of cake that he wasn't..." I started rambling, half of my mind focused on trying to decide if I could risk using my powers or if I should just take his gun and hope he didn't call my bluff. Quinn was looking at me lost. "You know...you kidnapped a person!" I argued back at him.
Quinn got upset when I said this, stepping back and releasing me. "I set him free! I saved him!"
I massaged my neck, knowing that a bruise was most likely already forming and hoping that it healed before anyone on the team ended up seeing it.
"And I could've saved you," Quinn said, almost looking sad.
As Quinn raised the gun at me, the ground below us began to rock, causing everyone to lose their balance. Quinn got even more upset as he looked at me.
"Tell me what they're doing!"
I remained silent, schooling my face to look scared and helpless while my mind raced down the list of my possible escape options. Quinn lowered his voice and put a soft lilt to it. "Tell me what they're doing. You have to talk. You have no other way out of this." He laughed as he aimed the gun at my face again. "You're expendable to Shield. They sent you in here with nothing."
His arm was sticking out defenseless as he pointed it at me; thinking that I was weak; so of course, I proved him wrong by quickly disarming him as I went with the non-power version of my escape plan.
"They taught me a few things," I said as I pointed the gun at Quinn and his guard. Well Hydra did...but Shield could too if I chose to stay...
"Kids got balls!" the guard said, sounding impressed as he suddenly looked me up and down.
"Thanks but, yuck," I told him as I saw the lust in his eyes.
"But, do you have what it takes to pull the trigger?" Did I? Hydra had taught me how to use all kinds of weapons - and how to fight without them - and how to use the powers that they knew of - but I had thankfully avoided ever killing anyone...my eyes went wide as I suddenly realized that I didn't want to start now...Some super-powered assassin I turned out to be! Can't even kill. I sent another silent thank you to the universe that I had managed to rid myself of Hydra; not even wanting to contemplate what new horrors they would have come up with in order to bend me to their will when the time had arrived for me to kill for them and I wasn't able to.
"Nope," I said, tossing the gun to the ground and out of their reach before leaping off of the balcony behind me and into the pool below.
I hopped out of the pool, running past the frightened guests; noticing a helicopter heading off in the distance - Quinn must have fled.
I paused as I saw a couple of security guards appear from a flight of steps, and turned to run the other way. Another guard was coming up from that way though, blocking my escape. Before I could release my wings and fly up out of their reach, the two behind me latched onto me, pinning my arms to my side.
"Ya know, I don't think the bossman would mind if we had a little fun with you before we handed you over...what d'ya think boys?!"
I shivered, guessing what the guard had in mind and not liking the grins on his friends faces. I was just about to break the two men's arms who were holding me, when I saw Ward appear behind the one in front of me. He elbowed him in the face then hit him hard enough to knock him out.
The other two guards released me and turned to fight Ward; who didn't seem to need my help in taking them out.
"Are you hurt?" I shook my head, not noticing the way he paused to watch a few droplets of water run down my chest as I heaved a sigh of relief.
"Thanks, definitely didn't want to find out what their definition of "fun" was...in my experience it never is!" I said, not able to help the shiver that ran down my spine. Ward looked at me sharply, reading between the lines.
"Just follow my orders. I'll get us out of here," he said, thankfully not choosing to comment about the guards.
He took my hand gently and lead me towards the house; where after a few minutes of searching, we finally managed to locate the lab where Coulson and Dr. Hall were. We pressed our faces against the little window on the door. My eyes widened as I saw the two men arguing while Coulson dangled in the air. I watched in surprise as he shot his gun into the window below the Dr.'s feet, sending him falling into the Gravitonium device thing...you know what I mean.
The undulating black mass enveloped Hall in slow motion, eventually covering his body and face. Once that happened everything in the room fell back into its proper place with gravity returned to normal – including, to my relief, Coulson.
We opened the door and entered the lab. We all looked at the device. The undulating black mass was still as it was, no bigger after having absorbed Hall, and the rings slowed to a stop. I shot a look to Coulson, then glanced back at the device.
Later on that night; after we had safely loaded and unloaded the Gravitonium, I changed into my workout gear and went to go let out my frustrations on the punching bag. I hit hard, not knowing that Ward was watching me from above at first. When I did though, I didn't lighten up. I had almost been forced into a situation that was all too familiar to me during my time spent with Hydra's guards - and I had come to the realization that by constantly downplaying my abilities, I was actually making myself weaker for real. I would need to find a way to get in extra practice when I was alone, otherwise I actually would be useless to the team if I was ever sent in undercover again.
"You and your brothers, where'd you grow up?" I asked Ward as he came down the stairs and joined me at the bag.
"Massachusetts, mostly," he answered, holding the bag so that it stayed in place as I continued to punch; careful now so as not to punch right through and hit Ward on accident.
"A house?"
"You didn't?"
"Let's just go with the simplified answer of no..." I said, letting out a deep sigh. "Never had a family, and certainly never had any friends I could hope to call family." I hit the bag again. "Hoping for something and losing it hurts more than never hoping for anything.
"We won't turn our back," Ward said, looking at me with a strange look in his eyes.
"Doesn't matter. I made my choice. I want this. Bad!" I said, continuing to hit the bag. "And I know there's a truth serum," I added, hoping to lighten the mood.
"Whatever you say, Rookie."
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In-Line Comments
- let me know what your thoughts are so far! Unfortunately haven't had any feedback yet so not sure how the story is turning out so far and where my readers are at in terms of understanding whats going on with my plans for the story overall and want to check in to make sure that it's understandable?!