Redback Widow II | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. [9]

The Writing on the Wall

Philidelphia, Pennsylvania

"Here, I'll take the shift. You've been watching for the past two hours," I said, and Trip nodded as we switched spots. I watched as a painfully familiar shady-looking man walked into the airport. "Asya and Trip here. We've got eyes on the prize. I've got a clear shot and a trigger finger that needs some love," I reported. "No. Stand by and wait for your orders," May ordered. We trailed after Ward, hiding behind displays in an attempt to not be spotted.

"Director, say the word. We can end this," Trip said. "The senator wants him alive," Coulson denied. "What do you want?" May asked. "Bring him in...by any means necessary," Coulson ordered. "Copy that," I said.

Ward lifted his shirt, revealing a chain of bombs wrapped around his stomach, before eying us and signaling that he was aware we were following him. "Damn. I don't know how, but he knows we're onto him. He's got a dead man's switch and enough C-4 to take down the block. He's on the move," I reported. "Do not engage. He's not bluffing. Keep an eye in the sky, May. Have agents Hunter and Morse in position at the next stop. If we can't bring him in, at least we can see where he's going," Coulson ordered. "Well. There goes our ride," I muttered, pulling the comm out of my ear as Trip did the same. "Then how do we get back?" He asked.

"We are going on a road trip. I have the coords, it's just a matter of getting there,"

-

"Have you ever driven one of these before?" I asked Trip, who was sat in a very tense position. "I've flown a Quinjet. How hard can this be?" He asked. "Quinjets are user-friendly. An old, rickety camper-van that we borrowed? Not so much," I said. We had been on the road for several hours, and it was late at night. "Here. We can crash there for the night," I said, pointing at a sad motel in the distance.

We pulled into the parking lot, parking and climbing out as I put in my contact. "Hello! Can we rent a room for the night?" I asked as an employee approaches the desk. "Certainly," after paying, she gave me the keys and I went back outside, holding the keys up for him to see. "Room 1025," I said, checking the tag on the keyring. "I seriously doubt this place has over a thousand rooms," he said.

"I didn't choose the room number," I scolded playfully as we crossed over to the door, after I grabbed my duffel, of course. It unlocked with a click, creaking open as we stepped inside. I dropped my duffel on the bed, unzipping it and pushing aside my sniper rifle pieces to access the clothes at the bottom. "Huh. I thought all you kept in there were weapons," Trip said, peering over my shoulder. "This is what comes with me on missions. I've got enough stuff in here to keep me alive for a month," I said, stepping aside for him to look inside.

"How many times has this thing saved your life?" He asked. "Uh, few dozen, probably," I admitted. "How many brushes with death have you had?" I noticed we were standing very close together, and I could feel the heat of his breath on my face. "Too many to count," I said. "Do you have a thing for dying?" He continued.

 "More like death has a thing for me," I countered. "More than me?" He replied. "I don't know, maybe," I said, connecting our lips. Quickly, this kiss became deeper and more passionate, my hands sliding under his shirt as his slid under mine. I moved away from his mouth, moving towards his neck, but avoiding leaving any visible marks.

He tugged at my shirt, pulling it off as I did the same to us. Let's just say the rest of the night went fairly well.

-

"To answer the question on everyone's mind, no, I'm not crazy. I know in the past few months, it may have seemed like I was leading you on some kind of fool's errand, chasing after strange carvings and artifacts. At times, I questioned it myself...wondering if I was chasing windmills, trying to solve some unsolvable puzzle. But the pieces are coming together. 

"The puzzle's taking shape. The bad news--HYDRA's trying to solve the same puzzle, and they have more resources. The good news--we now have a piece they don't have. Everything we've been doing, it all...leads here.

"Our job--find it before anyone else,"