Beginning of the End

Confession

"I know who the Clairvoyant is."

The moment those words came out of Ward's mouth, Coulson's eyes widened dramatically and looked at him.

"It's Garrett." Ward continued, leaving Coulson's mouth wide open.

Coulson didn't know what to think. Ward obiviously wasn't joking but... How could John be the Clairvoyant? he thought. He was a SHIELD agent for God's sake, they were friends. And he remembered everything that had been Centipede's doing. Akela, Mike Peterson, Chan, his torture... Could John, his friend for over two decades, be cruel enough to do all that? But then it hit him. If it was true, then how did Ward know about it? 

"And you know this, how?" he asked, with a low voice, afraid of the answer.

"Because Garrett put me on this team to spy on you." he answered, no longer being able to look at him. Coulson on the other hand didn't know what to think. He had half a mind to take Ward into custody but then he remembered what Ward had said and his promise of help. But first he had to learn something.

"Did he inform you of his every plan? Mike Peterson, Akela, my kidnapping?" he asked, praying that the answer was no.

"No, John never told me all of his plans. My orders were to infiltrate the team, gain your trust and give him intel about whatever he wanted to know . That's it. Nothing more."  Ward answered.

"Well you certainly achieved that." Coulson said bitterly but despite all the anger, hurt he felt, he knew he had to stay calm. 

"What is Garrett hoping to achieve with all of these?" He asked harshly.

"He is dying. Years ago, on a SHIELD mission he was critically injured. Ever since he has been trying to find a way to live without cybernetic body parts. He is trying to find out how you're still alive after being stabbed through the heart."   

This made sense. If what was done to him could bring him back from dead, then it certainly could keep Garrett alive and heal all of his injuries.

"Is that all?" he asked.

"No, his attempts to survive goes beyond the Centipede."

"How beyond?" They all had seen what the Centipede did and if there was more to it, he didn't want to think how terrifying it could be.

"Hydra." he said without waiting a second. Coulson looked at Ward weirdly. It was possible that the Clairvoyant was a SHIELD agent, considering all the things Raina knew about him and it made more sense than an actual Clairvoyant but Hydra?

"Ward, the HYDRA is-"

"inside of SHIELD." he said without emotion, his voice leaving no room for argument.

Coulson shook his head, not wanting to believe it and not just because it would mean SHIELD was actually a pawn but also because the man he considered to be his best friend and the specialist he grew to care for like a son were HYDRA too.

Coulson's jaw dropped and he took a step back. This was really worse than the Centipede. True to his word, he didn't say anything, only motioned Ward to continue.

"I had an abusive family as you know. My parents would beat the crap out of me and my siblings and my older brother would make me do it to them. When I started fighting back, they realised that they couldn't contain me so they decided to get rid of me as politely as possible. When I was 15, I was sent to military school but one day my brother, Thomas called me and told me something Christian had done to our sister and I snapped. I stole a car and drove back to our house and burnt it down when Christian was still inside." he said. He knew Coulson had known majority of this but he had had no idea about the connection.

"He survived and I was caught. That was when I first met Garrett, not after the academy. He told me that my parents and brother were pushing to have me tried as an adult. He told me that he was working for SHIELD and that I had two options. Either I could stay in juvie and face years of prison or I could go with him and he would teach me how to protect myself. I have chosen the latter and he broke me out of there. After that he took me to the Wyoming Woods with Buddy -a dog- and left me to live on my own. He came back six months later. This went on like this for five years." 

As Ward continued, it got harder for Coulson to fight the urge to throw up and the fact that Ward was talking about what Garrett had done to him like talking about weather didn't make it easier. 

"After I was accepted to the academy, Garrett ordered me to kill Buddy. And I-I couldn't do it so I shot at the air and he started running but then Garrett finished him off." Towards the end, his voice cracked a bit and a tear rolled down his cheek but he hid them both.

Coulson on the other hand was having hard time with keeping his face impassive. He suddenly remembered when Ward told him that his people skills weren't good. At that time he assumed it was because of his dedication to his job and the dangers of being a specialist would pose to those around him. Never, even in a million years, he would have thought the reason was isolation in woods for five years with a dog for companionship and only one person for human contact. 

"After the academy, he got himself appointed my S.O. and started to integrate me into HYDRA more though he made sure I never shared HYDRA's views so that I would never diverge from his goal. Our missions were usually HYDRA and wheter you share the views or not no one at HYDRA liked failure, Garrett even more so." he said.

"When he learnt you were still alive despite being stabbed through the heart, he sent me to infiltrate the team and learn how. But I can't continue. I owe Garrett a lot but I don't owe him the lives of anyone on this team." Ward finished.

Coulson's head was literally gonna explode. He had half mind to find Garrett and put a  bullet in his skull but he knew that this would achive nothing. So he did what he could and put Ward in a tight and warm embrace, shocked by this at first, Ward didn't know how to react first but then he hugged Coulson back.

"We can't keep this between us. Director Fury must know. A war is coming. Do you know who is Hydra or SHIELD among the Level 8 & 9 & 10 agents?"  he said after ending the hug.

"Some of them. Director Fury, Commander Hill, Agent Hand, Agent Blake, Agent Weaver, Commander Gonzales, Agent Romanoff, Agent Barton and Captain Rogers are among the highest ranking SHIELD loyalists. Agent Sitwell, Secretary Pierce, Dr. Strucker are the HYDRA heads who has the most authory and respect I know of." he said.

"Alright, I'll set up a meeting and we'll discuss what to do." Coulson said and put his hand on Ward's shoulder. "Grant, you did the right thing by coming to me. I'll make sure you won't be punished." 

Ward noded as a thank you and Coulson let him leave his office.