The Soldier and The Spy: Tess Danvers- Episode 1

Chapter 1

She had to do it now. The truck was bouncing erratically as it climbed the side of the mountain, jostling her aching bones and the throbbing bruises that covered her body. The second truck lumbered behind them, filled with the missiles she and her team had been trying to stop them from getting.

It had started off like any other op she'd worked, which to be fair wasn't many given that she'd only been with the agency about ten months, not including the year and a half of training at The Farm. Still she and her team had completed six operations in that time and all of them had gone relatively smoothly. Track down the target, usually an arms dealer, middleman, etc. Scope out the location, get the information they needed and take the target into custody. Or the morgue if things went sideways. This time had been no different. Coulson had sent them to Iran, to the city of Karaj where there was an arms dealer selling stolen missiles to whatever terror groups he could get in contact with. They'd found him quickly; Nicholas Hess had a taste for the finer things and had been staying in the nicest hotel in the city. They trailed him for a day and she'd waited with Vivienne until he'd left, followed by Nysa and Michael, to break into his room and copy his hard drive.

It had taken Tess barely more than a minute and she'd joked with Viv that she was getting so good at this 'spy thing' she didn't need a babysitter anymore.

They'd tracked Hess to one of the cities marketplaces and watched his meeting with a Taliban cell leader, Halef Selim. She didn't know what had happened to tick them off to her team's presence, or maybe Selim was just that paranoid, but as the meeting concluded two car bombs detonated. It had been chaos. Civilians running every which way, screams and smoke and body parts flung across the streets. She and Luke had hurled themselves out of the van, he made a push for their targets and she was pulling a little girl out of the way of the mob when someone had wrapped their arms around her; one of Hess' body men. She fought as hard as she could but every time she wriggled away he pulled her back, beating her down until he tossed her over his shoulder and hauled her towards a waiting truck, Hess already inside.

She was screaming in rage and fear when she saw Luke. He was sprinting through the crowd, franticbrown eyes locked on hers. She'd tried to throw herself out the back but they'd just pulled her in and began shooting as they pulled away; Tess was still screaming when the fifth bullet hit him. When he finally went down.

He'd died trying to save her and for what?

She was going to die now anyway. But not by their hands. They'd done enough; her feet had bled from the pipes they'd beaten her with, her ribs cracked so thoroughly even the lightest breath sent needle-like stabs through her chest. Her whole body was marred with bruises and burns, black and blue and purple. Her only grace was that she hadn't broken. Hadn't told them a damn thing, not even her name.

At first they'd kept her in an abandoned barn outside the city but when they feared her team was getting close Hess had sold her to them and taken off. He'd even smirked at her as he'd left. She'd gotten the last laugh though when she'd raked her nails down his face. It was deep enough to scar. For his part Selim took her gladly, and it took her two days of travel to overhear two of his men discussing where they were going; Arabic wasn't her strong suit but Nysa was a great partner to practice with. They were taking her to a compound in Afghanistan, somewhere hidden deep in the mountains around the Korengal Valley. Also known as the Valley of Death.

Tess wasn't going to make it there.

She'd decided it the moment she realized escape wasn't an option and rescue too improbable. She'd spent the past few days antagonizing them, hoping to bring them to the edge of rage so that when she made her move they would snap. She'd chosen her spot in the truck carefully this morning, huddling next to the bed so they wouldn't notice when she yanked on the bar. If she was lucky the truck behind them would kill her quickly. With one final breath she slid the bolt towards her, rolling off the bed of the truck as it slammed down onto the rough dirt below, unable to help crying out as the rocks pierced her skin. Frantic shouts echoed across the mountain and the truck she'd been hoping to roll under swerved to the right, crashing into a small boulder and slamming to a halt. She pushed herself to her feet and started running but she didn't get far before a hand fisted in her matted black hair and yanked her back. Her legs gave out and she fell to her knees, crying out as the man above her smacked her across the face before he began to drag her back, barking orders at his men.