Birds of a Feather | | Leo Fitz Book One

Chapter 63

Asia sat on the cold floor of the dining area, knees hugged tightly to her chest, rocking slowly back and forth, hand covering her mouth and tears slipped down her cheeks. She couldn't stop mumbling, "This isn't right, this isn't right." Even with her jacket on, she felt chilled to the absolute bone.

Jemma had just confirmed it while she stood over Agent Koenig's dead body. Ward had done it, Ward had killed him. That, paired along with the message Skye had left that Leo found...it all confirmed the truth that she couldn't allow herself to believe. That Ward was HYDRA. He had been hiding in their team this entire time, watching them, studying them, reporting on them. And now he had Skye.

The brunette agent pushed the palms of her hands against her closed eyed, trying to alleviate the pressure she felt building up in her head, letting out a groan. It just couldn't be. He wasn't the enemy...he was...he was Ward. One of her best friends. The guy she had competed neck and neck with in school. The guy she had made time to meet up with whenever they happened to be in the same city. The guy who always remembered her a birthday and sent her a text every year exactly at midnight to wish her another year older.

"This isn't right, it can't be," Leo objected, voicing her own thoughts as if they were psychically linked. "You know how I know this can't be right? Because Ward is our friend. Maybe Agent Koenig was the traitor."

"Fitz..." Jemma objected softly, reaching out for him but he backed away from her outstretched hand.

"No!" He objected again. "Someone is...someone is trying to trick us, to turn us against each other. We don't even know that it was Skye who wrote that message!"

But they did. Even though it was carved with a jagged knife, the pattern in the shapes of the writing matched Skye's letter for letter. Asia banged her head against her knees three times. This couldn't be. It just couldn't be. How could someone who she knew, who she trusted intimately, with her very life, be with HYDRA? It wasn't possible. It'd be like finding out her old team worked for the enemy. It just wasn't possible.

"Based on the...on the findings," Jemma began again, looking down at the body. "It couldn't have been....no one else could have lifted him into that ceiling. It was Ward, Sir," she said, turning to Coulson. "As much as I regret saying it, Ward did this."

Asia let out another sob. She knew Simmons couldn't be wrong. She was far too smart to misidentify the cause of death. But part of her mind just couldn't let her believe it...all she could do was think back to all the times they had spent together. He was the one who she first experienced zero gravity with, and both of them had puked their brains out the first time. It had been the best laugh. He had been so loyal to SHIELD, so thorough in his training. He had been there every time she had needed him, every time either of them were in critical condition, the other could be found waiting outside the operation room, or, at the very least, have the other showered with obnoxious balloons with passive aggressive statements, making fun of one another for taking a bullet. And now...now he was HYDRA.

He was HYDRA and he had Skye. Oh God. Asia gulped again, inhaling like she had forgotten how to breathe. He had taken Skye. And she knew he was HYDRA, the message made it clear enough to see that.

In a burst of outrage, Leo shoved a tray full of tools off of the table and it clattered to the floor, causing Asia to look up with a start, tear stains covering her cheeks. It was so rare to see an outburst such as this from Leo Fitz, to see him at a state of such anger, such emotion. The man slammed his balled fists down on the counter as if the only way he could possibly get his hurt out was through physical rage.

"Okay, that's enough," Coulson barked, throwing his hands up in the air. "I understand this is...this is difficult. Believe me, I do. I trusted Ward as much as any of you. He was part of our team. But behaving like this won't change the fact that not only did we discover he's with HYDRA, but also the fact that Skye knows the man she walked out of here, hand in hand with, is the enemy. She's in danger and getting her back has to be our priority right now. We need to take all our hurt, all our rage, and focus on finding her. Because right now, she's out there, playing him like he played us."

But Leo couldn't move from the position where he was, hunched over the table, balled up fists shaking. And Asia couldn't quite bring herself to let her knees come away from her chest. She felt like she needed to keep herself balled up or everything would shatter.

Jemma walked over to Asia carefully and put her hands under her arms. "Up you go, love," she said softly, helping the other agent stand, wiping a tear from her own face once they were both upright. To see how deeply this affected all of them filled Jemma with an unending sorrow. Agent Monroe, who she had only ever seen in a state like this after she was tortured, seemed to be falling apart at the seams at the knowledge one of her partners was a traitor. And poor Fitz wasn't much better off.

Asia wanted to smile at Jemma in thanks but she couldn't make herself. She couldn't make herself do anything but rub fiercely at her face to steal away the tears. She hated the idea of anyone seeing her this way. She hated the idea of being weak, of being vulnerable.

"Fitz," Coulson said calmly over to him and placing a hand firmly on his shoulder and turned the scientist to look at him. "I need you to get the comms up and running again. Anything Ward may have disabled to keep us from tracking the plane, I need running. Do you think you can do that?"

Leo slowly forced his eyes up to look at Coulson, before giving him the smallest of nods.

"Good," Coulson said with an affirming nod of his own. "Skye wouldn't walk out of here with him without a plan. The only problem is, we need to find her before Ward figures her out. So the sooner we're up and running, the better. Asia," he turned to the other agent, and his face fell. It was difficult to look at her like this, standing there with bloodshot eyes and tearstained cheeks, fists clenched, trying to still stand up straight but her whole body still shaking. "I want you and Agent Triplett to go prepare a jet. Ok?"

"Yes, Sir," she replied in a shaky voice, but she couldn't quite make her feet move.

"Hey Tic Tac," Trip said calmly to her, causing her to look over at him. "We got this. We'll tag team it, be done in 5 minutes," and he flashed her one of those genuine, never failing, Agent Trip grins. He steered her out of the room, not that it took much effort.

The monotonous task of preparing the aircraft was good, it was easy. It helped Agent Monroe not think for a moment. She needed that, she needed a moment to just...not think. It was so much easier to just do, to just focus on a task and not let her mind swallow itself up with its own thoughts, not let herself be eaten alive. She was prepping the cockpit when Trip walked up behind her, placing a soft hand on her shoulder.

"Fitz located the Bus," he said with confidence. "It's in Los Angeles. He wants us to head back inside and meet in the office again for a quick briefing before we head out."

Straightening from her hunched over position, Asia numbly followed Trip out of the plane and back into the base. She thought he might have been speaking to her, but frankly if he was, she didn't hear a word of it. She entered the office with Trip, where Coulson was already waiting for the two ops agents.

"Agent Monroe, I hope you're fairing better now," He said with a tight lipped smile. The only response he got from her was a quick nod. "Alright then. Fitz got out systems back up, not that any of us are surprised there. The Bus is currently parked in LA, and we're going to need to be ready for anything when we get there. Skye must be stalling for time somehow, but that time won't last forever. It's up to us to get there before that time runs out."

Suddenly, the screen in front of them started to flash red with a warning alert. "God Damnit," Coulson muttered under his breath. "Perimeter has been triggered. Multiple units on the ground are moving in on our position." He turned to Trip and Asia. "When it rains it pours," he said sarcastically, heading out the door. "Follow me," he called over his shoulder, grabbing a rifle from a shelf against the wall and indicating the other two to do the same.

Following Coulson up the hall, the three took positions at the end of the corner, peaking around at the barricaded main entrance. This, this Asia felt used to. Once again she could perform an activity so normal to her that she didn't have to be filled with dread, didn't have to think about all the worst possible outcomes, didn't have to think about how she had missed all the signs.

Moments later, Jemma and Fitz came running up behind them, each holding a night-night gun. "What's happening?" Jemma hissed in whisper.

"Unknown combatants surrounding the perimeter," Trip explained softly to Jemma, noting she had been smart enough to come with a weapon.

Fitz sighed. "If it's not one thing, it's some bloody other," he said, exasperated. Asia couldn't help but feel that he was too, too right.