Second Romanoff (An Aos story)

Rise and Shine

~Winter's pov~

"Go on. Let's get it over with. Tell me that I can't be trusted anymore" I said as May walked in.

"You forget that I was Hydra in the Framework, too. I know how this works. I made decisions I regret" May replied.

"This isn't the Framework, and truthfully...I don't regret it" I told her "Just how it had to be done"

"Well, I'm not asking you to apologize for it" She said and put a file on the desk "I'm asking you to embrace it"

...

"What's your conclusion?" May asked.

"Well, we know that Hale went after Gravitonium, so unless she's experimenting with artificial gravity, I think she's trying to build a weapon" I answered.

"But why does Hale want Coulson?" May asked.

"I don't know" I said "If we can determine Hale's target, then we can infer Coulson's role, we have a lot of intel on file" as I stood up from my seat "...I just need a few hours' access to the computers and the labs. I can figure it out" she sighed "I can't help when I'm locked up in this cell" the door opened and Daisy walked in.

"Not a chance" Daisy replied.

"I suspected you were listening in" I said to her.

"Yeah, and, of course, your solution involves us letting you out"

"I'm only trying to help, Daisy" I told her.

"She's still on our side" May added.

"Don't defend her, not to me"

"There's not a lot of team left here, so let's hold it together" May told us.

"We had to seal the rift shut" I replied.

"By any means, no matter how sadistic" She answered back.

"Ok, well. Would you have agreed to do it?" I asked her.

"Never"

"Well, then, I didn't have a choice" I snapped back, she raised her hand and quaked me throwing me into the wall.

"You didn't have a choice?" She asked "You drugged me, you restrained me, and you cut into me"

"I don't feel good about it, either, but in a few hours, the town up there would've been affected, as well, so...I'm sorry" I answered, holding my head in pain "I don't need your forgiveness. I just need you to trust me"

"You are not leaving this room. You work for the Red Room.

"No, I don't" I snapped back.

"Yeah, well we don't turn on our own here"

"Do you want me to recount all the times that you did?" she didn't say anything.

"We'll figure out another way to track Hale down, we've done it before" Daisy said and walked over to the door.

"And it was a trap" May spoke up.

"It'll be different this time"

"Yeah, 'cause you've got your powers back, and they've got the Gravitonium. We already sealed one crack in the Earth" I told them "Doesn't take a fortune teller to see how easy it would be to make another one" and she walked out "Are you listening to me? Daisy!" May walked out as well, closing the door behind her.

...

I heard the door, I sighed "Again, I can't do anything while I'm locked away in this dungeon" I said, as the door closed "Like a...hideous, freckled stepchild"