Saving Grant Ward

Chapter Sixteen

Grant slept all the way back to the Hub. Even as the sunrise shone through our front windscreen, he stayed out like a light in the seat beside me. I brought us in for a landing at the Hub, then turned to him.

"Hey," I said, voice quiet as I reached out to give Grant a gentle shake. If he hadn't had a bullet wound in his shoulder, I would've gotten some payback for the earthquakes he liked to wake me up with. For now, though, that would have to wait. "Wake up. We're back."

His eyes opened immediately, although he certainly didn't look completely awake. He groaned and shifted in his seat, then grimaced and grabbed his shoulder. I frowned.

"Come on. We need to get you to medical before my stitching gives out."

Grant rolled his eyes, but he didn't protest. I snagged the picture off the dash and the two of us grabbed our gear, then headed off the plane. Just like before, we had an agent waiting for us. This time, though, it was a much friendlier face.

"Phil! Hi!"

"Agent Slater. Agent Ward. Good to have you back," said Phil Coulson, our welcoming committee, with a little smile. I returned it as Grant and I came to a stop in front of him.

"Good to see you again," I said. "But what's the occasion? I thought you were off on a mission of your own."

"That mission ended," he said. "Now I'm here to pick up the orb you two brought back."

My smile immediately dropped, although Grant didn't seem to share my disappointment. He nodded in my direction.

"Samantha's got it."

I shot him a look, but not with much heat behind it, since he still looked pretty rough. I turned back to Coulson.

"I do have it, but I'm not handing it over until we get some answers," I said. Coulson raised an eyebrow, but I continued. "Last time we dropped off the orb and no one gave us any information. This time, we almost died getting a second orb, identical to the first, and I want to know what's going on. Sir."

The last word was a bit of an afterthought, but it didn't seem to bother Phil much. Grant, on the other hand, let out a heavy sigh from beside me.

"I'm sorry about her, Sir. Slater, just give him the orb."

"No."

"Slater-"

"It's alright." Grant and I both turned to Coulson, who had a faint smile on his face as he looked at me, then between me and Grant. "I've been assigned to go with Agent John Garrett to investigate another report like the orbs you two have been chasing. I don't see why there wouldn't be room on that op for another two capable agents. I'll get you the files and keep you in the loop if you're willing to keep chasing these things all over the world."

My mouth dropped open, halfway to shouting "Deal!" at the top of my lungs before I remembered it wasn't my call. I glanced over at Grant, but he was still staring at Phil. To my relief, he gave Phil a nod.

"We'd be honored, sir."

"Good," he said. "That girl you caught in Costa Rica started talking. We've got a lead on an orb in Málaga, Spain. We're going to collect as much additional information as we can, then go. Wheels up by tomorrow morning, with more specifics to come."

"We'll be ready," Grant replied. I turned to him with raised eyebrows.

"You got shot not twelve hours ago. From the look of it, it's not exactly going to be healed by tomorrow morning."

"I'll be fine," he said. I narrowed my eyes, but Coulson jumped in before I could respond.

"Report to medical anyway. Get it checked, get cleared. We'll send you more details on the op as we have them." Grant nodded, although he didn't look thrilled, and Coulson turned to me. "I'll take that orb from you, Agent Slater."