Renegade Rising || Leo Fitz Book Two

Chapter Twenty

Asia was on the ground, hunched over Trip, hands pressed over his shoulder and arm, clearly coated in blood, when Coulson entered the room, gun raised. "Coulson," she choked out, tears running down the side of her face. "Trip needs help, we, we need to help him," she managed to say, her words catching in her throat. She knew this was bad, very very bad. Despite Trip's bulletproof vest, a bullet had caught him in the arm, and one right between his neck and shoulder. If they didn't get medical attention soon....oh God, she didn't want to think about it. One of her oldest friends, one of the truly good people on this planet, Jemma's love.....she couldn't let this happen.

"He's going to bleed out, Sir," Fitz said from where he had begun installing the transceiver. He couldn't move, watching Asia pressing frantically on Trip's wounds. And what was going on inside Asia's head was even worse.

Inside her head, she was back on the kitchen floor of her family home, blood all over her hands, her body, as she tried with no avail to put pressure on her parent's wounds, even though they were long beyond saving. And now, here she was again, pressing over the wounds of someone she loved, blood coating her hands, her fingers, latching onto her skin. She could see it all so clearly, the warm wooden floors, the cupboard she had crawled out of, the SHIELD agents storming in, guns raised, her parents' lifeless eyes. It was all so real, as if this moment in time didn't really exist, it was just that moment forever, endlessly, breaking her heart over and over again. Her hands were shaking in front of her, covered in Trip's blood, her parent's blood...there was so much blood... "Monroe," one of the agents in her family's home shouted at her. "Monroe, snap out of it!"

Suddenly, she jolted away from Trip, Coulson's voice cutting through crystal clear. She wasn't stuck back there, in her past, she was in the building surrounded by her team and towers of electronics. But the blood was still all over her hands. She shoved her back against one of the towers, feeling the hum beneath her skin, trying to ground herself back to where she was, the here and now.

"We need to stop his bleeding," Coulson said, looking over at her. "You've done a good job so far Monroe, you put pressure on the wounds, that helped. But we need to find something else to stop this." He shrugged off his jacket, pressing the fabric over Trip's bullet wounds. The agent groaned, his breath coming out shaky.

Suddenly, one of the workers they had freed from HYDRA's captive stumbled into the room. "Um, excuse me," he said, quietly making his way over to the four of them. "I'm sorry to intrude, I heard the yelling. I, um, I'm a doctor. I can help," he announced, crouching down. "Just, um, give me a moment here," he dropped a satchel off his shoulder and pulled out a small medical kit.

Asia was still so stunned she could barely even take account of what was happening around her. All she could focus on was her breathing, keeping herself where she was, in the present, in this scene.

"Luckily," the man with the long, scraggly, lightly greasy hair began, "This first bullet in the arm is a through and through. Quick fix. This is other one, that's going to be a bit more difficult. But we can make it work. Hand me that scalpel please." he pointed at his bag. Coulson grabbed it and handed it quickly to him, assisting the doctor in work as best he could.

Fitz turned to Asia, brow furrowing. She looked so...lost. And she never looked like that. As long as he had known her, except for that moment when the Bus was shutting down, and now, she had always known exactly where she needed to be. She had a presence. He started to take a step towards her, but Coulson whirled to face him. "Fitz, our time is running out. Get that transceiver installed, now." As much as he wanted to stop, to help her, he had an order. He turned back to his task at hand, making quick work of the time he had left.

"Alright, we're nearly finished," the man said, "This bullet here," he pointed down at Trip's arm. "Is holding open the wound. We have to be quick, and careful. But we may still pull this off, Phil." And just like that, the room froze. Fitz looked over his shoulder. Asia looked up, surprised. Coulson had never said his name. All throughout the night, none of them had referred to him by his first name. So...how. "Oh wow, I'm sorry," the guy chuckled. "Should not have said your name, should I? I figured you wouldn't have recognized me from that photo I left for her. But now I've gone and messed that right up." He grinned down at Trip's arm as he spoke, almost as if he was afraid to look Coulson up in the eye.