Line of Fire

2x09; ...ye who enter here

"Hopefully this mission goes better than the last time I was in Canada," Mara muttered under her breath as she loaded bullets into a magazine. It was meant to be a private comment - well, mostly - but that was what got it noticed in the first place.

"Do I ask what happened the last time you were in Canada?" Hunter began, giving the brunette an unsure look. "Or was that meant to be rhetorical? I can never quite tell with you."

"The answer is no," Mara told him. She picked up another magazine and began stacking once more. "Not unless you have a bottle of Jack handy."

"Some other time then?" Hunter shrugged, only halfway kidding. "We can swap stories."

"Some other time," Mara agreed. And to think she actually might...It was a sharp change from how she'd started out only a month or so ago.

The pair spent the rest of the flight in silence, the only spoken words coming in the form of occasional overhead updates from their pilots. Looked like Skye was taking well to her flight training.

When they landed, May held Mara back as Hunter and Skye departed. "Just to let you know, I was against the idea of you joining us on another field mission, particularly after you disobeyed direct orders on the last one," May explained, fixing Mara with a particularly intense look.

"Yes, of course," Mara nodded, even though she wasn't sure why she was agreeing.

"However, the Director wanted you on this mission," May went on. "We have intel that your former partner might be here with Hydra and Coulson believes you're our best bet for taking him out." She paused, watching the change of expressions across Mara's face as she took it all in. "But the same conditions apply as last time. Don't-"

"Of course," Mara blurted, nerves forcing the words from her mouth just a second too soon. "...Um, thank you, Agent May."

~x~

Less than an hour later found Mara and Hunter racing through a large hotel on their way to find Skye. All they were able to discern was that she was locked in combat. And May? No one actually knew where she was. They hardly had a hold on Raina and chances were she was going to try to make a break for it the second they showed up. Things were not looking good and there was only one way Mara could think that they could get worse.

"Fancy seeing you here," A familiar voice called and Mara whipped around instantly. Aiden stood at the other end of the hallway, just twenty paces away from them. He tossed something back and forth between his hands and Mara figured out what it was just in time.

"Hunter, get down!" Mara cried, grabbing the other agent and throwing the two of them into the next bend in the hallway. Hunter barely had time to react before the explosion went off behind them.

"Bloody hell, your partner's mad!" Hunter exclaimed, eyes widening at the clearing smoke.

"He just really likes his explosives," Mara rolled her eyes. Then, nodding her chin down the hallway she told him, "Go! I've got this one."

"You sure?" Hunter asked. He leaned over Mara to sneak a look at Aiden's encroaching form. However, the way he was bouncing on the balls of his feet told Mara all she needed to know about which direction he planned to run. "That is Crossfire we're talking about."

"Go!" Mara insisted, pointing him away. "He was my partner once. I know how to handle him."

Hunter just nodded, taking off towards Skye once more, but not before calling out, "Good luck, mate!"

"Thanks," Mara muttered under her breath. She was probably going to need it.

The moment Aiden appeared around the corner, Mara was ready. She quickly disarmed him with a roundhouse that struck his wrist, but when she went for a second kick aimed at his face, he ducked under it. Instead of letting him sweep her legs, Mara jumped over him, using his outstretched arm to place him in a hold. Aiden stood, nearly taking Mara off her feet with the height difference between them.