So Long

Chapter 4: Interferences

"So you headed out to meet with Dr. O'Leary?" Agent Coulson prompted, clearly eager to get on with the story.

"Yes," Ward replied, his expression stoic as he thought back to the last time he had seen the team's wayward hacker.

"Skye set up communications, warning me that the television tower not far from here might mess with the signal once the distance between us increased. But she also said it wasn't a big deal and that she would be able to fix it." He gave a small laugh at that, bewildered at the faith he had still had in the young woman at that point. However, he quickly continued his report as he saw the tense expression on Coulson's face, knowing that his superior was more interested in facts right now than in his hurt feelings.

"After that I left for my meeting with O'Leary and with the heads-up Skye had given me, I wasn't overly concerned, when there started to be more and more interferences in the radio signal the closer I got to my destination. Skye assured me she was working on it, that she would somehow reroute the signal through another channel or use the satellite connection to stabilise it; lots of technical explanations I didn't really care about to be honest," Ward admitted freely. He had never taken much of an interest in the more scientific aspects of his missions beyond the basics he had picked up during his operative training.

"When the signal broke off completely, I already had eyes on the meeting place, so I decided to proceed with the mission, trusting Skye to deal with the problems on her end alone. But the target never showed. I waited at the café for twenty-seven minutes before I went back to the hotel, as Dr. O'Leary failed to turn up. I guess you just can't rely on people to keep their word anymore."

"And Skye was missing when you came back?" Coulson was still standing in front of Ward with his arms crossed, listening closely to the agent's explanations. The resentment in the younger man's voice wasn't lost on him, but he preferred to remain objective and take all possible explanations into consideration before making a decision.

"Yes," Ward nodded, still bitter about the memory. "Usually I would have waited a lot longer for a meeting like this, but as the radio signal never came back up, I grew slightly concerned. But when I came back here, there was no sign of a break-in. The room still looked the same as I had left it and the only things different – except from Skye missing – were this," he pushed the now-useless SHIELD bracelet a few inches across the table, "and that thoughtful note she had left to let us know she was quitting."

"Any ideas where she went or why now?" Coulson asked, his eyes darting to the other agents in the room as well.

"No," Ward replied, shaking his head in defeat. "To be honest, I didn't see this coming at all – just like I didn't see it coming the last time she betrayed us – and I have no idea where she would go or why she would even do this to us."

The rest of the team looked about as clueless as Ward, until Fitz finally spoke up, trying to come up with a plan.

"Well, I don't really have an answer to either of those questions yet, but maybe once I've analysed the data from Skye's tracking bracelet, and figured out with what method it's been disabled, that could give us some clues as to what she might be up to. I'm sure Skye's disappearance wasn't completely without a trace after all."

The young engineer looked confident that he would be able to find a lead on their missing team mate, but Ward suddenly objected, his voice cold.

"Whatever you find, Skye can't be our priority right now. She obviously wanted to leave, so what does it matter how she did it? I say we let HQ handle her and focus on finding Dr. O'Leary instead. If his information on Centipede is even half as valuable as he claimed, it could finally mean a breakthrough in that case. We can't let that slip through our fingers; we have to figure out why he never showed up to the meeting he himself requested."

"But surely we have to start searching for Skye as well, right?" Simmons suddenly chimed in, looking from Ward to Coulson and back again.

"What for?" Ward asked sharply, visibly startling the coy scientist. Completely oblivious to the surprised looks he was receiving from the entire team now, he quickly continued, explaining his objections.

"Skye bailed on us. She left me hanging out in the field and for that she quite frankly doesn't deserve that we spend even another minute on her. And let's say we do find her, what does that accomplish? She would just talk her way out of any serious repercussions again like she always does; just like she talked her way back onto the team the last time she betrayed us. I don't know what it is about her, but somehow she just makes you want to believe her, to trust her, no matter what she did and right now we simply cannot afford to fall for her damn doe-eyes again."

Finally becoming aware of the fact that his anger was getting the better of him, Ward broke off and took a deep breath to compose himself. He glanced over at Simmons, who looked back at him with an understanding expression on her face, before he started again, a lot calmer this time.

"What I'm trying to say is, Skye made her choice and we need to focus on the mission now. We have to try and catch up with O'Leary as long as there is still a trail to follow; we wasted enough time already."

He looked straight at Coulson now, waiting for his superior to approve his proposed course of action. The older agent seemed to ponder the situation for a moment, deep in thought, until he finally nodded.

"Ward is right. We will not forget about Skye, but we cannot just abandon the operation, either. We'll return to the Bus and see if we can get a hold of the good doctor again."

Following their leader's command, the rest of the team quickly packed up and got ready to move. Before Coulson himself could leave the room, though, May held him back once more. She waited for the others to clear out before speaking.

"Do you think he's right? That Skye really left on her own?" The look on her face was uncertain, as the usually so guarded agent hadn't yet decided what to think of her team mate's disappearance.

"That would be a definite 'no'," Coulson answered immediately, an uneasy smile on his lips. "Whether Skye left by her own choice or not, I'm not completely sure yet, but I find it hard to believe that she could have pulled this off by herself. I want you to check if the Rising Tide might be involved in this, starting with Skye's known associates."

"Miles Lydon?" May asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, him and everyone else from the group we can link him or Skye to."

"But he's been tagged," Agent May pointed out, causing a wry smile to form on Coulson's lips.

"So was Skye. It seems those bracelets are not as unbreakable as we thought they were." Looking back at the now empty room, the agent took a deep breath, trying to clear his thoughts.

"We have to find her, May. I know that this team means a lot to Skye and if she really chose to leave without warning or explanation... I'm sure that she must have had a very good reason to do so. And if she didn't chose to leave... then we're risking her life with every second we waste standing here talking." A determined look on his face, Agent Coulson finally headed out of the hotel room, set on leaving no stone unturned until he had found his team's rookie, whether she wanted him to or not.

To be continued...