Cold as Ice

Chapter Sixteen

Season One, Episode Nineteen: The Only Light in the Darkness

Part One

Garrett was dead, killed by Ward's hand with two shots to the back of the head. If I was being honest with myself, I was happy that he was dead, as morbid and cruel as it sounded. Although he deserved to spend the rest of his life locked in a tiny cell, I knew that he would still have some reach, no matter where he was. There was still a possibility that he could've gotten someone to hurt Skye, Coulson, and myself. If Garrett was still alive, I would never feel safe. There would always be the looming threat that he would come to get me, that he would experiment on me as others had. That wasn't something that I ever wanted to go through again. I couldn't.

Ward was going to be okay, Simmons was able to patch up his wounds to the best of her ability and make sure they wouldn't get infected so long as he didn't reopen them. It was a relief to know that he would be okay, that the fight at the Fridge wouldn't cause any permanent damage, aside from a few scars, which Skye had commented would make him look badass.

Koenig, on the other hand, was much less happy about the arrival of a new agent, another person that he had to keep accounted for. It was clear that he wasn't happy about any of us being there, aside from Coulson, but we were a team. So instead of outright kicking the rest of us off the base, he was going to test us in a lie detector that even Romanoff wasn't supposed to be able to beat. The thought of which caused my skin to crawl with anxiety. Although Skye and Coulson knew the darker parts of my past, I wasn't sure if I wanted Koenig to be able to ask me whatever he wanted, but I was willing to do it for the team.

"Melanie, if you could sit still, please," Koenig spoke, causing my leg to stop bouncing almost instantly. I felt the anxiety growing within me as I sat still in the chair, my eyes flickering between each mechanism of the lie detector. He had already explained, to the entire team, what it would be taking account of and it was the only thing on my mind. "Are you ready?"

"Sure." I nodded my head at his question, trying to keep my composure.

"I'm going to start with some easy questions to establish a baseline." He paused for a moment, looking up at me to make sure I understood. "What's your full name?"

"Melanie Renee Porter."

"Your parent's names?"

"All I know is that their last names are, or were, Porter. I never knew my parents." He didn't speak for a moment, watching the screen before nodding his head, accepting my answer.

"Where did you grow up?"

"At Saint Agnes, an orphanage in New York. I lived there until my teen years, then I ran away."

"Have you ever committed any crimes?"

I nodded my head, causing him to raise his brows as a signal for me to speak. "Assault, vandalism, and theft. Being on the streets wasn't a great time in my life."

"Okay then, what is your eye color?"

"Green."

"Have you ever been married?"

I struggled to fight back a laugh at the question, finding it slightly ridiculous. At the stern look on Koenig's face, I finally responded after a few moments. "No."

He flipped the page in the notebook sitting in front of him before continuing his questions. "What is the difference between an egg and a rock?" I hesitated, unsure as to what answer he wanted. "Just say whatever comes to mind." He commented, sensing my hesitation.