Retrograde

Chapter seven: Defining drinks

"You can't be serious."

"Deathly." Coulson smirked.

"Funny enough, that's the exact word that came to mind when you mentioned how you plan to infiltrate this base."

Gonzales was confused. Coulson had allowed himself to be captured to prove he wasn't a threat and was in full control of himself despite what had happened to him. If that was still the case then this definitely wasn't the way to go about convincing him of that.

"It won't be deathly if we don't die. Besides, May is the best pilot I've ever seen, she can handle it."

"The best pilot in the world wouldn't be able to handle missiles tearing their plane apart!" Gonzales yelled, hoping to shake some sense into the Agent.

He didn't look deterred.

"Like I told you, their missiles won't touch us. Only the surrounding decoy plane."

Gonzales took a minute to gauge if Coulson really had gone mad. Staring at him, he saw the determination on his face.

He sighed "If you think this will work, then you have my support."

Coulson resisted the urge to fist pump. Honestly, he had only half thought this approach would work.

"On two conditions. One, that you open the toolbox."

He had thought about using that as a bargaining chip before coming here, so he wasn't taken off guard. He was ready to serve the box on a platter if it meant taking down Hydra and helping the people being experimented on.

"Done. You have my word." Coulson nodded "And the other?"

"That you don't put my people at risk. I'm not prepared to sacrifice them for this."

"Not a problem. I have my own people who are more than willing to do so."

"Then we have a deal. The mission is a go." He said, almost reluctantly.

"Thank you Robert."

"Don't thank me yet. Your plan isn't a sound one Coulson."

"I know. But sometimes you need to have a bit of faith."

————

Ward came out of the bathroom, dressed in his change of clothes.

He ran his hand over the material, specifically the part over his chest that sported a S.H.I.E.L.D emblem.

Never thought I would wear this again, he marvelled at how different it felt to wear it after everything had happened.

After becoming a criminal in the organisations eyes.

It somehow felt heavy, like the expectations of his former team that he would betray them again had manifested themselves into a tangible weight.

"What? It's not your style?" Skye scoffed and he looked up to see her watching him.

He felt the weight lifting and smirked.

"I have a reputation to uphold. I can't be seen in just anything." He joked, trying to sound arrogant.

Skye tilted her head to the side to fully appreciate the view. She took in the way the shirt nicely hugged his arms, or to be exact his muscles, along with the almost see through effect the material had on his stomach.

"I wouldn't worry about it." She grinned, knowing how much of an understatement that was.

His lips pulled to the side and he shook his head "Thanks."