Saving Grant Ward

Chapter Twenty-Seven

A/N: Hey guys, trying something new in this chapter. There's a part in Grant's perspective, I just felt like it fit to see his thought process. I might do this a couple more times, but it's not going to be regular. Let me know what you guys think! His part is going to be in bold 😝 also, quick shoutout to Lexis_Winchester for her amazingly kind words❤️❤️❤️ I know I say this almost every chapter, but thank you all so much for the support, it means so much to me

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Grant and I decided we weren't going to wait twenty-four hours and hope the hackers showed up in the bar, so we drove straight to their apartment.

"Does that count as another near-death experience?" I asked Grant as I drove.

"Definitely."

"Woo! 175! We gotta do something special when we get to 200."

Grant shook his head like I was crazy, but this time he didn't smile like he normally did. He seemed upset.

"So do you think the hackers sent us to that gang on purpose, or on accident?" I asked, trying to break the silence.

"They live around here. How could they not know that was a dangerous area? They did it on purpose, and they're going to pay for it."

I didn't respond. He was right, they probably knew the dangers of the docks at night, but they didn't seem like the kind of people to try to get us killed.

After a short drive (I was speeding), we arrived at their apartment.

"Are we gonna knock or just go in?" I asked.

"Take a guess," said Grant, not waiting for me as he marched into the building. He seemed mad, and I worried I might have to keep him from attacking Tess and Marco.

We had gotten a warrant with the mission file, so we could get into their apartment, but I got the feeling Grant would've gone in even without one.

We waited outside the door for a second, making sure there weren't any obvious signs of danger, then Grant kicked down the door.

"Going somewhere?" he asked, drawing his gun and pointing it at Tess and Marco, who were standing just inside the door with two suitcases each.

They looked completely shocked.

"What?" asked Grant, "Surprised to see us back alive after you sent us into the middle of the gang turf? Well guess what, that gang's now beat up and in jail and my partner and I are alive and well, so by all means, try something so I can show you just what happens when you try to mess with us."

Tess and Marco slowly raised their hands in surrender.

"Smart choice," barked Ward, motioning for me to handcuff them.

"What are you going to do with us? Lock us in some dirt cell? Our movement still lives! Information should be free! There are others like us, and they will not give up! You cannot keep hiding things from the world and expecting to get away with it!" yelled Marco.

"Mm hmm, you keep ranting," I mumbled, leading Tess out the door while Grant took Marco. Then I asked Grant, "Would you rather stay here and search their apartment or take these two back to the Triskelion?"

"Triskelion. I want to personally escort these two to their dirt cells."

I shook my head. We loaded Tess and Marco into the back of our car, then Grant climbed into the driver's seat. I gave him a look.

"I want to get back as soon as possible. That means my driving, not yours," he said.

I almost argued, but I could tell by Grant's tone that he was very upset, so I let it go. I didn't want to say anything in the car because of Tess and Marco, but I was definitely going to ask him why he was so mad once we were safely in the plane.

It wasn't a long drive, but it was still a sketchy drive. Even without many other cars on the roads, I had to hold on for dear life. I called Coulson to ask him to send someone to process the apartment, and the few minutes I only had one had for balance were literally terrifying.

I mean seriously, he was trying to tell me to find middle ground on reports, but he couldn't find any between stationary and high speed chase?

We loaded Tess and Marco into the cargo section of the plane, making sure they were secured and couldn't get up. Then we settled in the cockpit and took off.

"So Grant..." I started once we were safely in the air, "What's up?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the night sky outside the cockpit windshield.

"I mean you seem really, really angry. Why?"

"They almost got us killed!" he yelled.

"There is literally nothing new about that in our day-to-day experiences. So what's different about this time?"

Grant took a deep breath like he was about to tell me something, then changed his mind.

"It's nothing, really. I just can't believe our covers got blown. We've never had our cover fall through like that, and I don't like that a bunch of hackers were the ones to see through us. I'll be fine. Stop worrying."

"Grant, I am never going to be able to stop worrying about you."

"Samantha, I'm fine. Really. Why don't you get some sleep for the rest of the flight? It's going on midnight."

I eyed Grant suspiciously, not believing him but realizing I wasn't going to get anywhere else.

"Alright... but promise you'll wake me up if you need me."

"Promise."

"And promise me you won't earthquake me awake."

Grant put his hand in front of my face and crossed his fingers. "Promise."

"Oh whatever," I said, laughing and shaking my head as I tried to get comfortable. I hadn't realized it, but I was honestly feeling exhausted. I was out cold in a few minutes.

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She noticed.

Of course she noticed, Samantha noticed everything, every little change in my behavior. I just couldn't help it. That cop was flirting with her, and I was pissed.

It had never come up before. Samantha and I were always playing a couple, married, engaged, or dating. No one had ever flirted with her in front of me before.

Besides, this cop wasn't flirting with Kayla or one of our other covers. He was flirting with Samantha.

The minute I saw him looking at her I wanted to walk over and punch him. I didn't care if he was on SHIELD's side.

Samantha didn't even notice he was flirting. I wasn't sure whether that was a relief or if that made it worse. All I knew was a I was jealous, and then I was mad that I was jealous.

I wasn't supposed to be feeling things. I was an enemy agent. I was Hydra. I was going to have to betray everyone in the end, and Slater would never join Hydra.

Would she?

No. She constantly risked her own life to avoid killing anyone. She felt empathy and emotion for everyone she met, in every situation. It was a huge weakness.

But it was also why I was falling for her.

In the plane, when she asked what was wrong, I almost told her. I almost spilled the secret I'd been keeping for over two years, and then I chickened out. I could tell she didn't buy my excuse about being bothered by having our cover blown, but to my relief she didn't keep arguing. My heart soared when I was the reason her face lit up with laughter and happiness.

Garrett was the only other person I could talk to, the only other person who I was close to. But he would kill me if he found out. Or worse, kill her.

I couldn't tell him. But now, I worried I wouldn't be able to make the right choice when Garrett told me it was time to come out of the shadows. I had been compromised by one girl. My loyalties were divided, and eventually, I would have to make a choice.

But hopefully that wouldn't be for a while.