2015 ― The Playground

Skye and Audrey were at the gun range in The Playground. Skye was shooting, and Audrey was observing as her S.O. When Skye was done shooting, Audrey pressed the button for the target papers to be brought over to them to see how she's improved and how she can help her improve more.

"I imagined they were all... well...-" Audrey cut her off.

"...-You can say his name, Skye. I promise I won't crumble into a million pieces," Audrey said with a small smile on her face. "But, you should imagine they're all targets. Don't get cocky; this is step one. It's all about...-" Skye cut her off.

"...-Control, I know," Skye said as they were both continuing to talk over each other.

"...-Over your body and mind," Audrey said.

"Don't forget your mind," Skye said as she shook her head.

"In the field, you need to maintain control—whatever the situation. Hostages, bombs about to go off...-" Skye cut in again.

"...-So, what you're saying is that what I just did was puny and sad," Skye said. Audrey grabbed Skye's arm to look at her fitness watch to see her heartbeat.

"61 beats per minute. Consistent the whole time, not that puny," Audrey said as she turned around to grab a bigger gun. Skye was fine at shooting a pistol, but Audrey needed her to be comfortable shooting anything.

"Speaking of not so puny..." Skye trailed off when she saw the gun.

"Yeah, I want you to get used to this. It's a sniper rifle. My favorite," Audrey said, which made Skye laugh. Audrey sighed again as she thought back to her last two years at The Academy, when she and Grant were competing with each other to be the best sniper and the loser had to do whatever the winner said. Audrey won and she made Grant take her out for drinks after graduation. She sighed as she shook the thought from her head. They weren't those people anymore.

She was starting to think they never were.

"Pardon me. Uh, just one quick question. You went to S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, right?" Hunter asked. Audrey had been so lost in thought, she didn't see Mack and Hunter approach, and Hunter was pushing a cart. His question was directed toward Skye.

"You didn't. If you did, you would have known better than to shoot us," Audrey said as she looked at him. Coulson told Hunter that Audrey and May savored holding grudges, and he definitely wasn't smart to shoot them.

"Apology number 470. I am very sorry, Agent Fury," Hunter said.

"Don't be sorry. Just wait," Audrey said, which made Hunter sigh.

"Uh, well, we just have a little wager. Uh, so, did you?" Mack asked as he looked at Skye.

"Go to the Academy? Yeah, no," Skye said. Hunter let out a groan as he hung his head.

"Alright, well, have fun with the inventory. And remember, Koenig likes them neat. Oh, and uh, none of those euro sevens with the lines through them. It drives him crazy," Mack said as he walked away.

"Coulson said you were a field agent, with a badge and everything," Hunter said.

"Technically, she is. She still didn't go to the Academy like the rest of us, though," Audrey said.

"It's more like a work-study thing. The badge I had for like a day before S.H.I.E.LD..." Skye imitated an explosion to refer to HYDRA's attempted takeover.

"You know, Hartley, she loved her blade and hated guns. Idaho, if on a job someone ended up dead, he'd go to church and light a candle. He said it balanced the karma. See, I knew them, what they'd do, and not do. So, us being workmates and all...-" Audrey cut him off.

"...-Let me see if I'm understanding you. You come into our team, you come on our mission... you shoot us, but have the nerve to ask if we're the ones who can be trusted? I see why Bobbi divorced you," Audrey said as she rolled her eyes.

"Low blow, Fury," Hunter said. Audrey shrugged, she didn't care.

"Audrey, it's okay... he's just wondering if I've ever taken anyone out," Skye said.

"Have you?" He asked.

"Not that I know of," Skye said as she walked away from him. Audrey tapped on the glass.

"Don't you have inventory to get to?" She asked and Hunter sighed.

"I suppose now I do," He said as he walked back over to his cart. "Good afternoon, ladies," He said, and then he walked away. Audrey had set up the sniper for Skye, and she pointed at it.

"Practice, I want you to get used to the recoil," She said. Then they heard a door close. When they looked over, Coulson was headed up to his office. "And for the record, experience doesn't make it any easier to cross someone off," She said and then she gestured to the sniper. "Now come on, let's shoot."

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Audrey Fury found herself back in The Vault with Grant Ward. Coulson came and told them that Donnie Gill, the kid that made the ice machine at the Academy last year, was now on HYDRA's radar for recruitment, but Coulson wanted to find him before HYDRA did, so he asked Audrey to talk to Grant again since she is the only one he'll talk to.

"Well, they're not exactly what you would call welcoming. They don't give you a choice," Grant said.

"So what do they give you? Money? Threats? Torture? A combo platter of all of the above?" Audrey asked.

"They're good at convincing people. You told me that," Grant said.

"And it remains true. You got suckered right in," Audrey said. Grant shook his head.

"No. I was never loyal to HYDRA. I was loyal to Garrett, but I realized that I was loyal to the wrong person. I should've been more loyal to you," He said. Audrey decided to ignore that last part, but she couldn't ignore how it made her feel internally. Mainly because she was thinking, yes, he should've been more loyal to her. But he made his choice, and he chose wrong.

"Well, seeing that Garrett was HYDRA, I don't see much of a difference. So, Garrett is the reason you're a cold-blooded killer?" She asked.

"I don't blame him for the choices I've made," Grant said.

"Right, right... I remember you blamed your brother for that. Or wait... was it your parents? I seem to have short-term memory loss," Audrey said.

"My family tore me down. Garrett built me back up the way he wanted," Grant said.

"We're all aware of who your family is, Grant. Not only are they respected, but they're also pretty much loved," Audrey said. She never bought into that crap, because she didn't think that Grant would lie about his older brother forcing him to be cruel to their younger one.

But now she couldn't be too sure.

"Well, every family has its secrets. You should know that because yours does too," Grant said as he stood up from leaning against the wall and started to walk forward. He had his arms folded across his chest, and Audrey noticed that his arms were bigger. He wasn't flexing on purpose, but he was more muscular, his muscles popping in all the right places.

"Snap out of it, Audrey," She yelled at herself.

"You ever wonder why...-" Audrey cut him off.

"...-You know what?" She said as she loudly cleared her throat. "I'm sorry. I slipped up and talked to you like the Grant who used to be my friend. Let's stay on task," She said. Grant nodded.

"You make the rules, Rey," He said.

"And I remember one of my rules being you're no longer allowed to call me that," Audrey said. Grant held his hands up in fake surrender before crossing them back over his chest.

"HYDRA's protocol on gifteds is pretty straightforward. An acquisition team is sent out to convince or capture the gifted. If those two options aren't possible, then they'll take them out," Grant said.

"Even if the gifted don't pose a threat?" Audrey asked.

"A gifted that refuses HYDRA is a threat. And threats are taken care of quickly," Grant said. Audrey scoffed as she shook her head.

"That's the difference between S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA," Audrey said.

"And that's why HYDRA will win. Because while a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is considering right and wrong; HYDRA's already taken the shot," Grant said and Audrey shook her head. "Deep down, Audrey, you know I'm right," He said, but she remained quiet. "If you're tired of talking about this, we can talk about something else," He said.

"Hmm, alright. I'll play along. What would you like to talk about Grant?" She asked.

"I meant it when I said I missed you," Grant said. Audrey rolled her eyes.

"I don't want to talk about us," She said as she shook her head.

"Why not? I promised you honesty," He said. Audrey stood up from the chair and shook her head again.

"And I told you that if it's anything besides the intel that I need, I walk," Audrey said as she headed for the stairs.

"Audrey, wait!" Grant called out. Audrey took a deep breath as she stopped walking, but she didn't turn around. "I've been honest with you; now be honest with me. If you tell me the truth, I promise I'll never bring it up again, but you have to come over here. I don't want them overhearing," Grant said. Audrey slowly turned back around and walked over to the barrier. She was close, but not close enough for the lasers to start pulsating.

"What, Grant?" She asked.

"Look at me," He said in a lower tone. Audrey slowly lifted her gaze until she met his and she felt her breath hitch in her throat. She hated that she felt all the same feelings that she used to feel whenever she looked into Grant's eyes, normally right before they kissed.

"What... Grant?" She whispered. Grant heard her voice break as she whispered.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me the truth...-" Audrey cut him off.

"...-Out of the two of us, I'm not the one who lied to the other," Audrey snapped.

"I never lied about my feelings for you, and deep down, I know that you know that. I loved you then, and I still love you now. Tell me the truth, Audrey... Do you still feel the same about me? If you tell me the truth and I know it's the truth, I promise never to bring it up again, and next time you come down here, it'll be strictly about intel," Grant said. Audrey let out a shaky breath. She wanted to break her gaze from Grant, but she couldn't; it was all pulling her in and she knew her answer.

"Yes, Grant... I still love you," Audrey whispered. Without another word, she turned around and practically ran up the stairs and out of the vault. Grant nodded his head to himself in his cell, and he was grateful for her answer, and he knew she was telling the truth. She still felt the same way that he did. That gave him hope.

Hope that maybe he could fix things.

When Audrey closed the door to the vault behind her, she sank to the ground as tears came from her eyes. She tries to hold herself together while she's at The Playground. Whenever she needs to cry, she normally sneaks onto the Bus and goes to her old sleeping pod to cry there, but she couldn't help it. She sobbed outside of the door, but this time without the panic attack; it was just her tears. She hated that she felt this way, she hated herself for not being able to control it; she hated that she couldn't turn it off. It made her feel broken and like something was wrong with her.

She didn't understand how she could still love him after everything.

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Once Audrey pulled herself together, she returned to Coulson's office for a briefing. They found a lead on Donnie Gill and wanted to get to him before HYDRA did. "Maribel del Mar. Anchored in the port of Casablanca. It's a privately owned cargo ship. It was supposed to cast off this morning but didn't. It's frozen in ice." May said.

"An iceberg in the Middle East? Gill's not subtle," Trip said.

"Trip, how long until you can have the bus in the air?" Coulson asked.

"15, tops," Trip said.

"You heard him. You've got 15 minutes to gather your gear," Coulson said. Everyone started to disperse to grab their things, but Hunter wasn't done.

"Excuse me, but Gill wasn't hard to track. If HYDRA is looking for him, they'll find him," Hunter said.

"The asset said HYDRA would be ready to take him out if they can't capture or recruit him," Audrey said as she looked at Coulson and May.

"Which is why we have to beat them to it," May said.

"I'll coordinate from the bus. Down to 14 minutes, let's get moving,"

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Audrey, Sharon, Skye, and Hunter were putting on parachutes. Trip wasn't going to land the bus where the ship was, so they were going to jump out of it. Audrey didn't know why Hunter kept getting paired with them. She's Skye's S.O., and Sharon is her best friend and field partner, they didn't need another addition in the field, especially because she doesn't trust him after the shooting incident.

"Your first jump?" Hunter asked as he looked at Skye.

"Second. The first one was with Coulson, Audrey, and Lola," Skye said. She saw Hunter's confusion at the mention of Lola. "It's a car... it flies...Yeah, this is my first," Skye said. Audrey laughed while shaking her head. She was strapping Skye into her harness, making sure it was secure.

"If you're scared, it's alright," Audrey said.

"I'm not scared," Skye said as she cleared her throat.

"Skye, we're jumping out of a plane from thousands of feet in the air; it's okay to be nervous. I was nervous about my first jump. My S.O. pretty much had to push me out of the plane herself," Audrey said, making Sharon laugh.

"I remember when you told me that," Sharon said.

"Who was your S.O. by the way? I mean, your dad was Coulson's... was he also yours?" Skye asked. Audrey shook her head.

"Natasha Romanoff was my S.O. That's why I'm the second-best spy underneath her. She taught me everything," Audrey said as she shrugged.

"That's so cool," Skye said.

"The nice thing is, this is the scariest part; the build-up. Once you actually jump, it's not so bad," Sharon said. Audrey nodded in agreement and Skye turned her watch. Audrey noticed that her heartbeat was at 75 beats per minute.

She was definitely nervous.

"Once you jump, physics takes over," Hunter said.

"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks," Skye said.

"Trip says two minutes out," May said as she and Coulson came to join them in the cargo hold. May was strapped up and ready to jump as well, but Coulson was staying on the plane. He walked over to the lever to open the cargo hold doors.

"Remember, Donnie Gill is a gifted. He could be a formidable weapon for either side. Let's make sure it's ours," Coulson said.

"Maybe we shouldn't refer to people with powers as weapons," Audrey said as she put her helmet on. Coulson looked at her and nodded, then she followed May to the open door. Sharon, Skye, and Hunter followed behind and once Trip got to the drop spot, Coulson gave them the green light.

And they jumped.

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When they landed on the boat, they weren't sure if they had beaten HYDRA there or not, but their answer came when two guards walked out of the door they were closest to, and Audrey immediately shot them down. "Coulson, we're not alone," May said.

"Not what I hoped, but not unexpected. Proceed, let me know when you have eyes on Gill," Coulson said.

"Copy that," May said as she walked down the stairs, then she looked back at Audrey and nodded.

"Skye, you cover the door, okay?" Audrey said. Skye nodded as Audrey and Sharon followed May down the stairs.

"Skye, protect the exit route," May said. Skye and Hunter nodded their heads.

"Roger that," Skye said as they walked off. Sometimes, Audrey hated having Skye go by herself in the field, but she always had to remind herself that she is a good S.O., who was also trained by the best, so she knows Skye can handle herself. But Skye is her responsibility, and if something happened to her, Audrey wouldn't be able to forgive herself.

May, Audrey, Hunter, and Sharon entered through the door that the guards Audrey shot came out of. May signaled for Audrey and Sharon to go one way and for Hunter to go the other way. "May, Audrey, Hunter, Sharon, do any of you have eyes on Gill,"

"Not yet," Audrey responded.

"Target is talking to HYDRA," Hunter said.

"End that conversation, now," Coulson said.

"Copy that," Hunter responded. As Audrey, May, and Sharon were stationed, Audrey got a look at who Donnie was talking to. Her eyes widened as she turned to May.

"Wait... is that Simmons?" Audrey whispered. Only Coulson and May knew that Simmons was undercover in HYDRA, but May knew there was no point in continuing to lie to Audrey now, they were looking at Simmons.

"Yes," May said. Then she pointed her icer at Hunter, because he was about to shoot Simmons, but May shot him instead. Simmons took off running from Donnie and as he was chasing her, Audrey shot out a pipe, the gas stopped Donnie from running after her.

Audrey wasn't dumb, it didn't take her long to put together that Simmons is undercover because she knows Jemma would never willingly be loyal to HYDRA. What she didn't understand was why Coulson didn't trust her enough to tell her. Donnie froze the pipe Audrey shot and continued chasing Simmons.

"What am I hearing?" Coulson asked.

"Agent May shot me," Hunter said.

"You did shoot us first, so it was deserved," Audrey said.

"Repeat," Coulson said.

"May shot me," Hunter said.

"Man, I wanted to be the one," Trip said.

"Simmons is here. Repeat, Simmons is on-site with HYDRA. Do we maintain her cover?" May asked.

"Yes, maintain her cover," Coulson said.

"What about the primary target?" Hunter asked.

"If we can't take him in, we take him out. Do you copy?" Coulson asked. Audrey immediately thought about what Grant said and she realized, they are no better than HYDRA. Grant told her that if HYDRA can't capture or recruit, then they kill. Audrey looked him in the eyes and told him S.H.I.E.L.D. was different, but now Coulson just gave them the same order.

It turns out they aren't so different after all.

"Copy that," Hunter said.

"Copy," May said.

"Copy," Sharon responded. Coulson noticed that Audrey hadn't said anything.

"Audrey, do you copy?" Coulson asked.

"Yeah... copy,"

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May, Hunter, Sharon, and Audrey scoped out the entire ship but couldn't find Donnie or Simmons. They made their way towards the exit, and they didn't know that Donnie had just iced. Back at The Playground, Fitz had gone down to the vault because he wanted to know who Audrey's 'asset' was and he wasn't expecting Ward. But, Grant did tell Fitz that Donnie had already been brainwashed by HYDRA when S.H.I.E.L.D. took him to the Sandbox after the ice machine incident at the Academy, and he took the Sandbox for HYDRA when S.H.I.E.L.D. fell. Their plan was to reprogram him, which they did.

"The exit is this way," May said as she led them down a hallway. When she got to the door, she noticed that it was frozen over. "Ugh, it's frozen,"

"Let me," Hunter said. He started to shoot at the door, but it wasn't working. Then Audrey noticed that the whole ship around them started to turn to ice.

"We're trapped," Audrey said.

"The threat's been neutralized. HYDRA doesn't have him," Skye's voice came through the comms. Since she was outside of the ship, she shot Donnie with a sniper, which caused him to fall overboard into the water.

"And Agent Simmons?" Trip asked.

"Her cover's been maintained. She's safe for now. They're leaving empty-handed, but we're not."

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When they got back on the Bus, Audrey was looking for Skye. She had taken Donnie out before he could ice the entire ship and trap them there, so they were able to find a way out. "Trip, have you seen Skye?" Audrey asked.

"Upstairs," Trip said. Audrey nodded before making her way up. She found her in the command room, sitting on the table and typing on her laptop. She saw a direct parallel to herself. The last time Audrey sat on top of that table, she was in there with Grant. She quickly shook the thought from her head.

"What are you doing in here?" Audrey asked.

"I don't know... it reminds me of before," Skye said. Audrey nodded her head.

"Although Coulson should probably get the glass replaced if we're going to take her out regularly," Audrey said as she walked further into the room.

"I've been monitoring Moroccan Law-Enforcement channels. They still haven't found Donnie Gill's body yet," Skye said. Audrey nodded, she understood what this was about. It was Skye's first kill. The first kill is always the hardest, especially when it's someone you could've helped.

"Are you okay?" Audrey asked.

"No. I get why Coulson kept what Simmons was doing from us," She said as she hopped off the table. "I understand he's protecting her and making sure no one compromises her mission, but... did you know?" Skye asked. Audrey shook her head.

"No, I didn't know... only Coulson and May did," Audrey said.

"I'm scared for her. Simmons in HYDRA? She's a terrible liar," Skye said. Audrey laughed as she nodded.

"I know... I love the girl, but she is a terrible liar. But, a lot has changed since then. If she's maintained her cover for this long, it means she's gotten better at lying. She's good and she's not the only one," Audrey said. Skye looked up with a soft smile.

"Thank you, Audrey," She said. Audrey smiled back at her.

"And listen, I know the first kill is always hard, especially when it's someone you wanted to save. But, I've learned that compartmentalizing isn't the best thing to do. Let yourself feel your emotions, and then forgive yourself, that's what I had to do," Audrey said. She gently squeezed Skye's shoulder before she started to walk away.

"Ward wasn't your fault, Audrey," Skye called out after her. Audrey stopped in the doorway and turned around with a small smile on her face.

"I realize that now."

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After her talk with Skye, Audrey went down to The Vault to speak with Grant. Coulson showed her the footage of when Fitz went to the vault to speak with him, and Audrey felt terrible seeing Fitz panic the way he did. Coulson also asked her about the last time she went down there and what Grant asked her after he said he didn't want everyone else to hear because he knew they were being monitored. She told Coulson it was one of his attempts to get in her head and that she handled it.

That was only partially true, she didn't fully have it handled.

Grant stood up when he saw Audrey, but this time she didn't sit down; she remained standing. "Relieved it's not Fitz?" She asked.

"I'm happy it's you, and I'm happy that you're okay. I'm, uh... I'm glad I could help," He said as he turned back to the bed and sat down.

"You said HYDRA has a way of convincing people. Brainwashing, right?" Audrey asked.

"It's not done often, but it is done. It's a lot of work. Some people aren't susceptible. It's mostly used on high-value targets," Grant said.

"Like you?" Audrey asked. Grant shook his head as a small smile played on his lips.

"I wish I could say that's what happened, but I swore that I'd never lie to you. No, I was never brainwashed. Everything I did, good and bad... I did it of my own free will," He said. Audrey couldn't help it; there were tears in her eyes. She didn't think she'd ever be able to face Grant again without crying. "Do you believe I'm telling you the truth?" He asked. Audrey knew he was telling the truth, she could see it in his eyes.

"Yeah... I just don't know why. I don't know what you hope to achieve by...-" He cut her off.

"...-I don't hope for me. I hope for you. I know something, and I want you to believe me when I say it," Grant said as he slowly stood up. Audrey sighed as she shook her head.

"You said if I was honest with you that you wouldn't...-" He cut her off again.

"...-It's not about that, Audrey." He said as he stepped closer to the barrier. "I know that you were never interested in finding your biological parents, but your mother is alive and she's looking for you. Skye's father is also alive and looking for her, and someday, if you let me, I can take you to her," Grant said.

Audrey couldn't let it show, but she had the wind knocked out of her by his statement. Her biological mother is alive? She was wondering if her Dad knew. She still had her SAT phone with his direct line so she could call him, but her head was spinning. She tried to keep her composure in front of Grant, but she knew as soon as she left the vault, she was going to have another breakdown.

"We're done here," She said. Audrey practically ran up the stairs and out of the vault. Grant watched her with sad eyes as she left. He knew the information was going to be overwhelming for her. He just wished she would've stayed and allowed him to comfort her through it. Audrey closed the door and leaned back against it as she started to take deep breaths. She felt the panic attack coming and she was trying hard to push it down.

Sharon was coming around the corner to find her friend, and then she heard crying and heavy breathing so she sped up. When Sharon rounded the corner, she saw Audrey on the ground, covering her face with her hands and she was sobbing. "Rey! Oh my god, Audrey... Rey, what happened? Did he hurt you?" Sharon asked as she knelt in front of her best friend. Audrey moved her hands and wrapped her arms tightly around Sharon.

"No... he didn't...-he didn't hurt me," She whispered.

"Then what happened?" Sharon asked. Audrey sniffled as she pulled away from their hug and wiped her eyes.

"He said that... that my biological mother and Skye's... Skye's biological father is alive and they're... they're looking for us," Audrey said. Sharon's eyes widened, but before she could say anything, a new voice spoke. Skye had been coming around the corner, also looking for Audrey, and she caught the last part of what she had said.

"What!?"

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ah shit. things are about to get a lil hectic, maybe a lil romantic, 
but overall, crazy and overwhelming.

don't forget to vote/comment.

xoxo.