Saving Grant Ward

Chapter Six

Just under three hours later, we landed in Costa Rica. Since we were in a SHIELD jet, we were able to land in a small clearing by the village, and we didn't have to deal with airports or cars or any other forms of transportation. Instead, Ward was able to set us down gently exactly where we needed to go.

Once we finished with all the landing procedures, Ward pushed a button to drop the cargo hatch so we could meet our contacts. He stood and walked out of the plane without a word to me, and I did my best to match his confident posture as I followed him.

A crowd of people were waiting for us as we stepped out of the plane. I could tell they were government personnel from the suits and guns they had, but the man in the lead still smiled as he walked forward to greet us.

"You must be the agents from SHIELD," he said, shaking Ward's hand and then turning to shake mine. 

"That's us," answered Ward. "I'm Agent Ward."

"Agent Slater," I said. I couldn't keep a small smile off my face at the sound of agent in front of my name.

"I'm Agent Vargas. Thank you both for coming so quickly," he said.

"That's our job," Ward said, nodding once. "What can you tell us about this thing you've found?"

"I'm afraid we can't tell you much. We have no idea what it is. We know it's about ten miles into the rainforest, but we don't have a specific location. The energy pulses seem to show up randomly, although we've been trying to find some kind of pattern or logic to them."

"Any satellite images or other information that might give us an idea of what this thing is?" asked Ward.

"Nothing. No one's been able to get a visual on it. All of our electronics short out whenever we get close to the suspected area. After the first few teams failed and had tech breakdowns, we decided it was time to call in the big guns."

"You made the right call," said Ward with a nod. "We'll grab our gear off the jet, and then we'll head out."

"Excellent. Thank you."

Ward turned and headed back up into the Quinjet, and I glanced one more time at Agent Vargas before following him. Knowing the Costa Rican government hadn't been able to successfully go into their home turf and find this thing made me a lot more nervous about our chances, SHIELD agents or no.

I grabbed my pre-packed backpack with all my gear, then headed back out of the Quinjet. Ward was busy shutting things down in there, since we didn't know how long it would be before we were back, which left me standing outside with Agent Vargas and the rest of his team. I turned to Agent Vargas, deciding to make the most of my time.

"So, Agent Vargas, you definitely know this area better than we do. Got any rainforest survival tips for us?"

Agent Vargas smiled. "The best advice I can give you in the time we have before your partner returns is this: don't provoke the wildlife, avoid insects, and most importantly, don't die."

I let out a breathy laugh, unsure whether or not he was trying to make a joke. Either way, I'd definitely try to follow the advice, but I'd been hoping for something a little more specific than "don't die".

"Thanks, Agent Vargas," I said with a smile. "I'll do my best to follow that advice."

He nodded and smiled back, so whether or not he was kidding, I'd apparently made a good impression. I turned back to the Quinjet to check on Grant, who was still rustling around in the cargo hold. I decided to go see if I could help him.

"Hey," I called, coming to stand beside him as he worked with some switches near the cockpit. "Anything I can do?"

"Yeah. Hold this for a second," he answered, dumping his incredibly heavy backpack into my arms. I grunted as I fought it and almost fell over, but thankfully he didn't see that part.