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CARTER, OLIVIA AND Coulson's team sat on a patio, chilling by the pool. Everything sounds so luxurious until you consider the fact that they were holing up in an unimpressive motel.
They flipped through the stack of files they retrieved from Cybertek. "Did you know Garrett wasthe first Deathlok? He was patient zero." Phil asked Olivia, who was sipping on a cool lemonade, her bare legs dipped in the cold pool. Carter sat right by her side, crunching on chips.
She pushed her shades to meet Coulson's eyes, "Makes sense, he started Project Deathlok way back in 1990."
Her eyes went round in defense as the team turned their heads at her, "That's all I knew. I was busy playing happy family with Pierce in 1991 and was in and out cryofreeze from 1992 onwards. Hydra didn't exactly trust me after 1991–"
She halted.
There was an awkward pause that filled the atmosphere. The group didn't press further, knowing it was something related to the agent's Hydra days.
She felt hot breath hovering her ears, it was Carter. Olivia plastered a smile in return and held onto the arms that were slung around her neck, appreciating the comfort he was giving.
Sensing the elephant in the room, Skye changed the topic, "Guys, we've been looking at all this backward. Garrett doesn't just want GH-325 for his Centipede soldiers. He wants it for himself so he can become a real, live boy again. And if he happens to create an army of programmed super soldiers for Hydra along the way, triple bonus points."
"How do we know Garrett didn't do that to Ward, too? Maybe he's been programmed." Fitz suggested.
"Fitz, when are you going to stop clinging to the idea that Ward's the victim and not the perpetrator? I'm sure Olivia could..." Jemma rushed off, trying to convince Fitz. She trailed off subtly, trying not to offend the ex-Hydra double agent.
Olivia swiped her concern away with an assuring nod.
"When I see something that tells me I shouldn't with my own two eyes. We don't know all the facts." Fitz tried.
"I can show you what Ward is doing right now if you'd like. You can see with your own eyes, that he's doing Hydra's dirty work, willingly." Olivia sighed, sharing a sad look with Fitz, who obviously couldn't digest the harsh truth about Ward yet. This must be how her friends felt while she flipped on SHIELD six months ago.
A small reminder tugged at the back of her mind. Steve. Bucky.
"When are you going to settle that mess?" Her head nagged.
She thought back to the pictures Jessica forwarded, Bucky in Bucharest, plums in his hands.
"He's paranoid, never staying in a place for long. His nightmares never stops, some nights he screams so loud I could hear it from where I'm standing." Jessica said, her voice low.
