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chapter fourteen

(April 28th, 2017
Unknown, Classified)

    HIS HAND WAS freakishly real. He could see the indents of his knuckles, the pattern of his skin shaped around the bone. When he flexed it, he felt everything move━his joints, his tendons, his bones, coming together to form a fist with nails that even scraped his palm like it would do every day. He raised it up and with a surprised chuckle, he flung it forward.

     Smack!

    "Ow!" Daisy clutched her nose as she stumbled back, shocked. Her expressions were set on, eyes watering even with the pain of being punched head-on into her nose. She felt it, brows furrowing to mutter, "Okay, I definitely felt that."

    "I'm nothing if not thorough," offered Leith, fixing his stance on the mat. The mat was a perfect feel of a slippery, and yet tight grip. Perfectly real.

    Daisy rolled her shoulders and raised her fists, "All right, my turn."

    She charged. Leith jumped to action, dodging her first swing and her second. She flung up a sharp kick that he side stepped before grabbing and tugging her forward. But she anticipated his move, using strength in her core to hoist herself up and twist. He let go in surprise and groaned in annoyance when she gripped him around the shoulders.

    "Why?" he complained, supporting an elbow to his collarbone. And man did it hurt━everything about this place terrified him by how authentic it was.

    "Tap out?" offered Daisy, smug, landing another hit.

    "Nope━" Leith grunted as he let himself fall backwards. Both of them landed, painfully on the mat, but it allowed Leith to hinge Daisy's legs off him and roll out of the way. She tried to kick him, but he blocked it, getting back up onto his feet. She followed, flicking her hair off her face. "Yep, definitely hurts, which is sort of scary━whoa, hey!"

    He barely had enough time to dodge when Daisy came back at him. He blocked her knee and huffed when she punched him in the gut. Leith rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm to twist, keeping her still as he finally landed a punch of his own to her side.

    Daisy rammed her hip into his, knocking his footing off. As Leith fell to the ground, she grinned down at him, "Bobbi taught me that."

    Leith groaned, "You have a boney hip."

    He waited for the moment she stepped closer to counterattack. Leith swung his legs out, sweeping her off her feet as well. Both of them had been trained by the Cavalry, so, of course, both Leith and Daisy weren't one's to give up a fight even when on the ground. Melinda May taught them both to use whatever environment they were in, and whatever was in it. It made sparring between the two of them long, exhausting, but also great and rewarding (and a few bruised bones).

    Back onto their feet, they went back and forth, sparring a few punches, kicks, and swift moves that nearly made the other get disarmed until they returned with one of their own. Daisy managed to grab Leith's shoulder and somersaulted him over with her, the both of them back onto the mat.

    He knew that move back to front, grabbing her leg before she could lock them and rolled them over and over, like an Australian crocodile trying to kill its prey. She tried to kick him in the jaw, but Leith took her ankle and gave a final roll, pressing his knees against the back of hers to keep her on the ground.

    Leith patted her back, "Good try."

    Daisy flipped him off. He gasped, horrified, but it was the perfect distraction for her to fling up her heel and strike him in the cheek.

    She twisted over and flung up her leg━it would've been a perfect, end-shot that might've left Leith with a concussion and an angry Clara, but before the blow could hit, Daisy's leg stopped mid-air.

    She frowned at it, a little upset she didn't get the chance to completely knock Leith out.

    Like a child winning an argument in favour of their parents, Leith laughed in her face, pointing a mocking finger.

    Then, just like that, Leith's eyes opened up. He took a breath, squinting at the light above him from the Zephyr lab. He could still feel the pain━invisible bruises from Daisy's kicks and punches, making Leith groan and raise a hand up to the headset fixed to his skull.

    Out of nowhere, a face appeared in his view of the light. Leopold Fitz raised questioning eyebrows, a little eager in expecting a response. Leith waited, still trying to register being back in reality. When he didn't get one, Fitz hunched his shoulders, "Well?" he prompted.

    There were a few things Leith could've said. Some using colourful words, others not, some out of shock, disbelief, terror, but what instead came out of his lips as he sat up and turned to Daisy beside him: "Seriously? A heel to my cheek?"

    Fitz sighed, exasperated but not surprised. He shuffled around Leith to start to take off the headset, fingers moving with a delicate touch to his work. Meanwhile, Daisy arched a brow at Leith and retorted, "You punched me in the nose before a mutual start!"

    He rolled his eyes, "You're just upset because I won."

    Daisy reached out to smack him. Leith shrieked and Fitz let out a frustrated, "Be still, both of you! This is some serious high-tech that I do not need either of you to muddle up! Bloody hell..."

    Across the other end of the lab, Simmons returned Clara and Coulson back to reality as well. Roy blinked, shaking her head and turning to the ex-director with a look on her face that seemed as if she was a kid visiting the North Pole. "The Jaffa cakes tasted real, Fitz━actually real!"

    "Oh, spiffing to know you chaps had an absolute blast at morning tea!" muttered Daisy moodily, still massaging her nose. She said these words in a posh British accent.

    Simmons made a face, "Oh, horrible accent," she said, unclipping the headset from Clara as well.

    "What did you think, Coulson?" Fitz removed the headset from Leith and moved onto Daisy. Leith stretched out his sore jaw.

    Coulson looked━unlike the rest of them━rather shaken. Leith's joking manner fell away as he realised what he must be thinking. May was stuck in a simulation similar to this━a complete simulation that Radcliffe had under control. Who knew what she was going through within it. "Unbelievable," said Agent Coulson despite it, taking a deep breath to shake the chills he had crawling up his spine. "It's like the real thing. I could even smell the tea. But I━I felt strangely cold, though."

    "Well," Fitz set down Daisy's headset. Simmons turned off the simulation and started to pull apart the chords attached. In the corner beside the doorway, Leith noticed Mack still standing exactly where he had been before he went into the Framework. He pursed his lips, knowing that scowl on his face all too well. "I tried to make the simulation as real as possible," continued Fitz very quickly, "and since you always leave the air-con on in the base, I exaggerated it. Kind of like a silent protest."

    "That was so realistic!" exclaimed Daisy, taking off her blood pressure glove without anyone's approval. Simmons threw her hands up a little, sighing in annoyance, but let her be. Leith smiled at her reaction briefly. "I mean, you know, except for the whole stopping my leg in midair thing."

    "Eh," Leith stood up off the chair, stretching, "I think it would pay out a little differently in real life."

    Clara rolled her eyes, "Obviously," she said, "Daisy would have you down the first minute." She took off her medical attire herself, stepping out of the chair and towards Fitz to aid in packing up.

    Daisy grinned and pointed at her as she went, happy. Leith scowled at his sister who smiled mischievously in reply. 

    "You all hate me," complained Leith dramatically. He pouted at Jemma, hoping she'd have his back, but instead she just patted his arm and passed him without a word.

    "So," spoke up Mack from the door. He pushed off the wall, the only one in the room without a light-heart. His serious tone immediately seemed to dim everyone's smiles and jokes, "you can feel in there?"

    "Yeah, well, it's the Framework," said Fitz, watching him approach the centre table with a wary eye. "It's an immersive sensory experience."

    "It was designed as a training exercise," piped in Roy helpfully, propping her elbows on the table beside Fitz, "a way for agents to practice sparring or jungle insertions and the like without actually breaking their ribs every bloody time."

    "Yeah, you can still feel pain while inside," went on Fitz, "that's why I stopped the simulation━" he gestured a hand out to Leith, "━before Daisy could kick you because..."

    "Painful," nodded Mack. "Got it."

    "So, May's locked up somewhere, but being held in a virtual reality like this?" frowned Coulson, still looking a little bewildered. "What? To keep her placid?"

    "Radcliffe said she was in the Framework," said Mack thoughtfully. He sat down in one of the chairs, hands clasped together.

    "Yeah, but this is a contained prototype," explained Fitz. "It's got limited simulations."

    "If Radcliffe said he built a world," said Simmons, "he must have built a separate, more powerful version."

    "But if it's separate, how will we find it?" Leith crossed his arms.

    "Run a search," answered Fitz simply, though they were sure it was far from that. "Try and locate traces of the source code. I might be able to locate where Radcliffe is running his new version, and━"

     "And that's where we'll find May," finished Coulson. Fitz nodded, propping his hands on his hips.

    There was a knock on the lab door. Everyone glanced over at Davis who poked his head in, locking gaze with Coulson to say, "Sir, the GPS signal we're tracking on the Director's suit? We've locked in on the location."

    "Where?"

    Davis made a face, "Nome, Alaska."

    It was such a random place in the world to hold the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. prisoner that it made Leith suspicious. But at the same time, was also perfect. Nome, Alaska? Who would ever guess that? But perhaps it was the simplicity it took to find him. Nothing every just happened that quickly, and that easily. Radcliffe would know about the tracker in Director Mace's suit, and Leith would bet he'd never keep that information to himself.

    But they landed down to check it out. Leith spent most of his life in the mountains and in Chicago, both very cold places. But stepping out into the snow-coated landscape of Alaska, Leith was shivering even in his S.H.I.E.L.D. issued winter gear. But he was glad, too. This was the first time he had been let out on field for a mission after Nadeer's explosive reveal about his past, but they needed every agent they had on deck, and Leith was guilty to feel so excited about Mace going missing, but he had a little skip as he jumped off the ramp of the Zephyr and into the snow. It crunched under his boots, and the wind seared at his cheeks, burning them a chilly red.

    Leith shone his torch towards the warehouse that looked abandoned a few acres in. Nothing seemed as if it was inhabited by Radcliffe and the Watchdogs and their leader, but no one could ever be too sure in this job.

    "Anyone on Santa's naughty list?" Leith tried to joke.

    "You," offered Daisy, but it was weak.

    "Fair enough."

    Together, Leith, Daisy, Mack and Coulson surged through the heavy snow towards the abandoned warehouse. It took a good forty minutes to reach the entrance, and Leith was glad for something other than snow to walk through. He kicked sleet off the wooden platform and shone his torch into the cracks, trying to see before they entered. The warehouse door was broken━it seemed to have fallen off a few years ago, leaving a gaping, dark hole where trucks used to veer in and out.

    "No sounds, nothing," muttered Mack, cautious. "Coulson, I don't think━" but the man was already stepping inside, careless.

    Leith shared an exasperated glance with Mack, but the three of them followed.

    Being inside only slightly sheltered them from the freezing weather. The wind howled through the cracks in the rotting wood, sounding like devilish ghouls. The warehouse was large, dark and practically empty━dark shapes loomed in the shadows, but none of them were a threat (unless old, rusted machinery could now grow arms and shoot guns).

   "Huh," said Leith sarcastically, giving his torch a wide search, "cozy. What do you think, Coulson...?"

    His words faded away to see Coulson standing over a pile on the floor. Leith walked over, and his teeth clenched together at the sight of the Director's suit, damaged and discarded. He knew this would be the case, but it still made him scoff in frustration.

    "Couslon."

    They glanced over. Mack and Daisy had been searching around, looking for anything suspicious or helpful towards finding their missing Director. So far, they had come up with nothing, until they came up with something very, very strange and very creepy.

    Leith and Coulson made their way over, and both of their eyes widened at where Daisy and Mack shone their torches. It was a wall━an entire wall covered in photos, newspaper clippings, maps, string and notes. By it stood a table full of stationary, and even more photos in need to be put up. Leith picked one of the photos, and held it up against the wall, his mouth going dry at the identical comparison to the picture of Coulson already present.

    The entire wall was filled with these photos of him. Places where Coulson has been, photos of him when he was younger, when he was older, photos from newspapers only just recently. Notes were placed beside of even where he had parked his car, even where he went for lunch, even where he attended school.

    A horrible feeling settled upon all of them.

    "What the hell is this?" breathed Coulson, pale and horrified.

    Daisy swallowed harshly. "It's ..." she was so shocked, she could barely speak. "You."

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(April 28th, 2017
The Zephyr, Classified)

     THERE WAS ONLY one time that Clara had managed to get a nice photo with May where she was actually smiling. It was a small smile. One that was meant for only Clara in such a small moment. She said no to the photo, but Clara wanted to celebrate the return of her and Simmons, trying to give her something to begrudgingly smile about after Andrew's accident. May was hard to decipher on the every day, but when she was going through something, she was even harder. Roy's had her moments where she's wondered whether May truly even liked her━times she's snapped at her, and told her things in a tone that made her want to cry. But that was who May was━that was the way she let Clara know she cared about her; giving her advice, making her stand back up on her feet. 

     Clara had gone to May when she was working━they had that in common. When they went through something, they always went into their work. People advised Roy to not bother her, but Clara didn't listen to them. She had walked up to May with a tea and the blanket she always gave her and placed it, folded up neatly on her desk with the tea beside it━there not to use, but as a message. Like May had done for her when she returned after her father died, falling asleep, exhausted anywhere but her own bed, Clara returned the favour. 

     She kept doing it, quiet and subtle━for May to see when she returned to her room late at night, or when she'd be training alone in the gym, during her lunch break ... until one day, May took it and said to Clara before she left, "Here," and gave her the tea she made, "I'll make my own." And they sat down together, to which Agent Roy got a smile out of the woman who never smiles, and despite her grumbles, managed to grab a photo of them━because Clara wanted to make that moment last forever. 

      Agent Roy found a mother in someone she never thought would be so gentle under such a harsh exterior. A tough love for someone who never thought she'd appreciate it. But Clara did appreciate it━she appreciated it so much. 

     And now, out there, somewhere, May needed a blanket and a cup of tea to tell her to keep going. To stay strong, and stubborn, and keep fighting for them to find her. Clara was going to find her. 

      She had that blanket draped over her legs right now, with a cup of tea, to keep herself strong to search for someone else. No matter his lies, and his unsuccessful attempts, Mace had become one of them. He might not be an Inhuman, nor was he the best Director S.H.I.E.L.D. has ever had, but he cared about them, he cared about his job, and he cared about doing what was right, and in essence, that was what the Director was meant to do. And he got taken doing what he's always tried to do: help. And now, they were going to help him. 

     A team that trusts, is a team that triumphs. 

    They were all too prideful and loyal to Coulson to admit Director Mace was right about that. 

     Right now, Clara took a sip from her tea, gazing at what was being scanned to her from the ground. She was helping Daisy search by her instruction for anything that could give them a connection between Coulson and Anton Ivanov as to why the Watchdog leader had a creepy wall full of everything there is to know about Phil Coulson. 

     "We got many maps, much red string, wow━" let out Daisy, sort of impressed, "━even the blueprints to an old quintet. Man, is this guy thorough."

     "He wasn't ex-airforce, nor an ex-agent..." muttered Clara, scrolling through the many monitors. "Though somehow he found classified blueprints."

     "He's got some spy skills up his sleeve," commented Leith. The comms connection butted in and out every now and then due to the storm, so he sounded more robot than human. "That's some serious Criminal Minds linking we got here."

     From somewhere, Mack groaned, annoyed, "I regret getting you to watch that."

     "Oh, wait, hang on━" Daisy shuffled forwards. Clara arched a curious brow, "━I'm taking a picture of this, Roy, tell me you got it." Just seconds after she said it, Clara received a message showing a dark picture of what looked to be some facility. 

     "Yes, I got it!" she said. "Turning up the brightness now ... Wait, this is interesting. That's looks like a mining facility━" Clara transferred it over to their tracking system, and watched the name on the sign be scanned for a match. It didn't take long for them to get one. She clicked on purchase history, and the results were interesting. "Daisy, get a look at this." She sent this back over and expected the small gasp of interest from her friend.

     "This is why I don't have Facebook," meanwhile, Coulson was saying. "Not subtle. This is a message. He wants me to find something here. But it's just a bad episode of This is Your Life."

     "Your life and his," said Daisy.

     "Come again?"

     "There's a picture of a mining facility," explained Clara. "Daisy found the picture but I happened to find the real secret of all this━" she held up her hands with a grin, quite proud of herself, "━I know, I'm a genius. But that mining facility? Ivanov purchased it last year."

    "It's the only thing here that ties back to him," said Daisy. "Does it tie back to you, too?"

     There was a small pause, before Coulson sighed. "Yeah."

     They didn't receive much of an explanation after that. Clara waited for him to say something else, but he never did. Daisy had to speak up, confused, "Uh ... Earth to Coulson? Do you know what this means?"

     He didn't exactly give an answer to that, either, he just said, "It means we're going to Russia."

     Clara was confused by this, but she didn't question it. "All right," she said. "I guess I'll let Davis know."

     She tapped out of comms and searched for Davis. He was showing pictures of how well his wife was going in her pregnancy to other new cadets, and Clara really hoped after this, he'll get to see her and be there for the birth of his son. Meanwhile, the others boarded the Zephyr for flight. Clara noticed Mack head for the lab, ready to try out the Framework for himself. Roy let Davis know of the change of course, and was soon back off to the lab, knowing full well Mack's experience wasn't going to be sunshine and daisies. He hated this sort of thing, and everything that has happened was brewing underneath the surface between him and Fitz. Clara didn't want them to be alone if something happens.

      Her experience inside it the first time had been insane, just seeing the lab around her, but now with it by far more improved, she was stunned. It was scary to see how real everything was, to feel the table underneath her fingers as she had a quick morning tea with Coulson━to the point that the crumbs of her food tasted perfect to its real world counterpart. For a second there, Clara had thought that she was just back at the base, enjoying an early morning tea with Coulson before a day of work, not at all like she was inside a virtual reality Fitz had created. 

      She couldn't begin to think what Radcliffe had done with it. 

     Reaching the lab, she peaked her head inside to see Mack already in the simulation. He didn't look happy even with his eyes closed━constantly troubled. Clara looked around, meeting Fitz's gaze by the laptop, "Hi," she greeted, slipping inside, "I'm back."

      "What happened on the ground?" asked Simmons.

     "We're going to Russia," explained Clara. She told them what they had found, and Fitz turned up his nose. She very much agreed. "How long has Mack been in?"

      "Not long," Fitz sighed. He glanced at his friend, hesitant. "I have a feeling he won't be too happy."

     Roy pursed her lips. She came to stand beside him, "You weren't the one who made this to trap people," she told him simply. 

     Simmons sighed and checked her phone. She stood up from her desk, "Everyone's back on board. I'm going to go see Leith, you two going to be all right?"

     Fitz and Roy watched her walk to the door, confused, "You say that like we won't be?" muttered Fitz. 

     Simmons just arched a brow at them. Roy shared a dubious glance with Fitz as she left, wondering what on Earth she meant. He just shrugged, making a face that caused her to chuckle, shaking her head. 

     They waited for Mack to have a good amount of time in the Framework. Clara felt the Zephyr take flight again towards Russia as she chatted aimlessly with Fitz, cleaning up the lab. She felt like she had taken a step back in time for a short moment, right to the lab back at the Academy. It made her smile to herself. Glancing back at Fitz working, she could see that quite a lot has changed, but at the same time, hasn't.

     An idea struck her and Clara leaned against the sink, smirking at him, "I want to go on a holiday."

     Fitz scoffed, not realising what she meant, "Don't we all?"

    She rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Fitz," she said. 

    He glanced up, "What?"

    Clara raised both brows, trying to get him to understand. When he did, his lips parted in a soft, oh. His ears went pink and he cleared his throat, looking back to his computer. "I━uh━well━yeah. But where's the time?"

     "We'll figure this out," said Roy, and she believed it. "And after that, let's go on a break. Go somewhere summery, with a beach."

     Fitz pointed at her, knowing exactly what she was joking about. She hid a grin. "Hey, you know I have the body of a eleven━of a twelve-year-old."

     "You do not," she scoffed at him and walked back over. "I keep telling you. But fine, we don't have to go to the beach. But somewhere nice, you know? Somewhere we can just spend time alone━we bloody need it. Australia's nice."

     "It's too hot."

     Clara rolled her eyes and kissed his temple in passing. "Then let's go back home."

     Fitz didn't look up from his readings, "Too cold."

     Roy sent him a look. "You're impossible."

     He just hummed, attention now completely back onto his work. Clara rolled her eyes again, but let him be with a small, loving smile set upon her cheeks. 

     A few more minutes passed until Mack finally emerged from the Framework. Fitz brought him back, both wary and eager to hear his response. Clara glanced over, hesitant a little herself, especially when she heard him sigh and take off the headset without help, muttering a, "I like my video games as much as you, Turbo," he passed the headset off and Fitz took it, unplugging it from the set-up, "but this ... this is too much."

    Clara adverted her gaze. They expected a response from him like this. Mack was truthful, and he was humble, and he was blunt. He always spoke what he thought was right, but it didn't always mean it was the good thing to say. 

    "Yeah, well," muttered Fitz, who detached Mack from the blood pressure monitor, "it's not a bloody Oculus Rift. It's a training exercise."

     Mack took a deep breath. Clara quietly unclipped the oximeter from his finger. "Yeah, well, I doubt it's helping May run a triathlon."

    But when he said that, she frowned up at him and let out a warning of: "Mack."

     It set Fitz off anyway. He turned back to his friend, muttering a sharp, "That's not how I meant it."

     Mack frowned at him, "You built a Matrix prison, and now May's stuck in it like Brainscan."

     "The Framework is a tool," stated Fitz sternly. "That's all it is━a tool."

     His friend hummed, not believing him. It made Roy purse her lips and hug her medical equipment, knowing it wasn't her place to step in, but she was desperate to stop the argument brewing like a kettle about to boil. Mack stood up, giving Fitz a pointed look and saying, "Like A.I.D.A. was a tool?"     

     Fitz set down his equipment harshly. He glanced at Clara to say, can you believe him. Roy hung her gaze, telling herself not to get involved again and again. She didn't know where she stood. She knew Fitz never meant to hurt anyone, but putting all the blame on him for what Radcliffe has done, Clara didn't think he deserved that, at all. But he was the closest person━the closest in relation to what happened, and it seemed that Fitz was all anyone could blame. 

     "What are you trying to say?" demanded Fitz to Mack. "That all this is my fault?"

     "What I'm saying is, if you didn't build a killer robot or a virtual world," said Mack, getting frustrated already, "this year would've been much easier for us. Now," he added at Fitz's scoff, "whether you like it or not, that's the reality."

     "I'm trying to help people, Mack," muttered Agent Fitz, storming back to his desk and angrily fixing the headset into its case. 

     "I know you're not a bad person, Fitz," Mack followed him, ignoring the clench in his jaw, "but this ..." he gestured back to the monitors, "gear has been used for some really bad things. You've got to think about the implications of what you create."

     Fitz slammed the case lid down at those words. Clara swallowed harshly, trying to keep her focus on what she was doing and stay quiet, but she was swimming in suffocating waters. "Electricity is used to execute criminals," snapped Fitz. "Does that mean we also shouldn't use it to power our hospitals?"

     Mack let out a noise of objection, "That's not the same thing, and you know it."

     "There's always risks involved in science," went on Fitz angrily. "That doesn't mean that we don't pursue it anyway."

    "Okay, you know," Mack snatched up his jacket, "the line between scientist and mad scientist is paper thin." He threw it over his shoulders, grumbling, "And right now, you're starting to sound an awful lot like━"

     Both Fitz and Roy knew where Mack was going with this. Clara couldn't take it anymore. Before she could stop herself, she snapped, "Mack!" at the same time as Fitz let out a harsh, "Don't."

     The mechanic went silent. He didn't expect the glower Fitz sent him. "Don't even say his name," said Fitz. 

     Mack clenched his jaw, but zipped up his jacket. Fitz took a deep breath to calm himself down, and Clara watched him continue to pack away his equipment with a sad breath. 

     Through the door, Simmons returned. "Hey, guys, just to let you know ..." she faltered at the tension in the room. Her eyes went wide, shooting between the three of them, and slowly it dawned on her the conversation just gone. "Erm ..." Jemma tapped her fingers awkwardly on the handle. "Just came to let you all know that we've cloaked and have entered Russian airspace. T-minus five minutes to the drop zone."

     Mack nodded a thank you. He went to leave, but a final thought crossed his mind, and so he stopped right by Fitz's desk. He didn't care that his friend did not give him a glance, and said to him, "You're one of the smartest people I know. I really hope you figure this one out."

     And with that said, he followed Simmons back out of the lab. Roy stayed inside, anticipating the moment Fitz slammed his hand angrily down onto his desk and stormed off to the other side of the lab, and she knew he wanted some time alone. 

     Mack joined the ground team in searching the location on Russian soil. Clara didn't have the best feeling over this━over any of this. It felt like some sort of game; one that they barely knew the rules to play the right moves, and so they were losing before they even got the chance to win. And with Radcliffe in possession of the Darkhold, there was a high possibility that maybe they physically were. 

    (Clara missed the days when their worst problem was Daisy caught red-handed sleeping with a most-wanted hacker). 

     After Fitz and Mack's argument, Agent Roy waited a respectable amount of almost an hour before deciding to approach Fitz again. He was where she assumed he would be, locked away in the quiet, lonesome satellite room off the large command centre and cockpit, more than desperate to find the Framework source. 

     "Hey," Clara knocked lightly on the entrance before stepping inside. Fitz gave her a brief glance, sifting through the codes on his laptop. "How's it going? You have a match?"

     "I'm searching fragments of code across all lines of communication," he answered, gesturing her to come over and look. Clara did as he asked, walking around to hover at his shoulder and peer at the satellite map he had spread out across his screen. Fitz's words were stiff, Mack's words still haven't left his system. "Now, it was going slow at first, but once I found the right fragment..."

     He spaced back through and there, popped up a tab with an exact code━just like that. Clara gasped, proud and shocked that Fitz managed it so easily. But she was glad for it━he deserved a win after earlier. "Yes!" She squeezed his arm, grinning down at him. "There it is━we're going to find them!"

     Fitz made a face, "Let's not run before we can walk," he typed a quick code amongst the top, one that Clara only slightly understood, but never to this level. "But all I need to do is trace the source, and ..." he pressed enter. A few seconds passed, before they zeroed in onto a specific spot upon the map: "Sever farm in China."

     Clara smiled, "There we are. Wonderful!"

     But something else seemed to have caught Fitz's eye. He suddenly learned forward back towards his laptop, and Roy faltered, confused. "Hold on a minute ... no ..." up on the monitors came plenty of locations━more and more and more━tabs upon tabs upon tabs all across the planet. Fitz's shoulders slumped. "That's not right."

     He stood up and Clara quickly followed, stepping around his chair and out of the room into the centre, stopping by his side to stare at the thousands of tabs that filled up almost every monitor they had. Agents started to lean back, confused and startled, turning back to Fitz, expecting an answer he did not have.

     Simmons marched up to them, brows knitted together with a dreaded, "What's going on?"

     "The Framework," breathed Fitz, unable to believe it. "It appears to be pinging from multiple sources ... Mobile phones in Atlanta, a military base in Norfolk ..."

     A horrible feeling settled in the pit of Agent Roy's stomach as she started to understand, "Wait ... does this mean...?"

     Her words were cut off as Fitz snatched up his tablet and marched off. She shared a short, irritated glance with Simmons before calling after him, "Fitz!" They followed him up the platform to the centre, not met with any answers as he typed furiously away on his screen, glancing back and forth between his tablet and the monitors. The tabs were growing. And growing. And growing.

     The ground team arrived at perhaps both the best and the worst time. Coulson led the group of them into the command centre and stared, wide-eyed at the scene. He soon frowned. Daisy, Mack and Leith came to a stop around them, startled and confused.

     "What the hell is this?" demanded Coulson. 

     "The Framework code," cursed Fitz, "and it's worse than I feared. We traced where the data is being processed. It's everywhere."

     "What do you mean everywhere?" asked Leith, a little pale as he pointed to the monitors. 

     "The code is piggybacking off on the processors of devices from all over the world. It's like SETI, only you don't opt in."

      "Oh, my god," muttered Daisy. "If━if Radcliffe is using this much processing power, the Framework reality could be━"

     "Massive," finished Simmons gravely. 

      Clara's fingers flew up to her lips, anxious. She eyed each tab that came in, more and more and more. A mobile phone in rural Western Australia, a sever bay in Utah, a computer in Athens. More and more and more and more until it was impossible to notate any. 

     "So, you can't track its origin?" Coulson turned to Fitz, and he shrugged, a little taken aback by his sharp tone. 

    "N━not yet," answered Fitz. "It doesn't stay on any one device long enough."

     "How is all this even possible?" Clara asked him in a low murmur. 

    Fitz met her gaze, the blue filled with dread. "'Cause Radcliffe has the Darkhold," he told her. "Anything's possible."

     "Well, find it," ordered Coulson. Fitz turned to him, surprised. Clara pursed her lips, knowing his words were only harsh because he was so distressed about May. But she could see the way Fitz almost crumbled with the sudden pressure. "Find something. We don't leave our people behind."

     Agent Roy watched Coulson leave. She pursed her lips and gave Fitz's arm a comforting squeeze before deciding to follow. 

     Clara shuffled along, shadowing Coulson until he noticed she was behind him. She clutched her hands together, waiting patiently for him to turn around. "Clara?" he asked her, expecting her to come with some news or a question. 

     Roy glanced around them carefully before she stepped forward and hugged him. 

     For a second, Coulson froze. Then, he gently rubbed her back, grateful for her support. 

      "We're going to find May," she told him. "We'll find May, and we'll find Mace."

      Coulson held her for a few moments, silent and gentle. Clara rubbed his back, too, feeling safe in his arms━she wondered whether he felt relieved when she hugged him, too. Clara often wished she helped Coulson, and was there for him like he has been constantly for her. 

      After a short while, he pulled away and nodded to her, straight to business━though she knew he appreciated it. "Go help Fitz. He needs you right now."

     Clara's eyes fixed on him as he stepped back into the communications room, alone. Fitz disappeared behind the glass, brooding over his computer with his shoulders tense and slouched. 

      Night turned into morning. Hours they seemed to drift aimlessly until the early morning sun started to stream across the clouds, searching for May and Mace's location. Clara helped where ever she could. She gathered information for Daisy, checked on Fitz, giving him some tea and biscuits that he barely touched, scowling at his laptop. She sat down with Leith in silence, managing a short nap against her brother's shoulder that Simmons joined at about two in the morning. 

     Is the life of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent: sleepless nights, near death experiences everyday and the laws of the world completely changing and dragging the mat right from under your feet. 

      She stirred awake at around four in the morning, head lifting off her brother's shoulder. He hadn't moved from his spot, still trying to take in this news of the Framework with a deep breath. He looked tired, like he had barely even gotten a minute of sleep, too busy brooding with worry. He had wrapped blankets around them, keeping the both of them warm. It was moments like these that people often forgot Leith was capable of━that despite everything, he was a gentle and caring soul.

     Simmons was still asleep, taking this chance to have a break from it all, curled up beside Leith, the three of them tucked away from the rest of the command centre. 

      So, softly in a whisper, Clara met her brother's tired, dreary gaze and said:

      "We'll figure it out."

      "Radcliffe seems to have built an entire world," Leith locked eyes with her. She sighed, slouching. "For what? To trap Mace and May? Himself? It's something way more than that. I've been up this entire time thinking about it."

      He was right. Clara hated how he was right, because it made the sinking feeling already in her stomach stoop even lower. All of these sources, coming together to form something so big━all across the world ... what had he created? A life? A different life? Rooms upon rooms? Cells upon cells? Or something even more sinister━something sinister in a way that it didn't seem sinister at all. 

     She went to say something else, but Daisy drew their attention with a wave of her tablet, "Okay," she began, starting to pace in front of the group, her face quite solemn, "so, we think we found the next clue in this fun, little game. Ivanov mentioned his SVR unit being tortured and executed and that he was gonna do the exact same thing to us. So, I looked up SVR detention centres connected to the unit found on the dead agents' uniforms." Upon one of the monitors not taken up by the continuous Framework code, a location expanded for them all to see. "And this one right here was a front during the Cold War for a submarine base."

    Mack hummed in interest, holding a cup of coffee to keep himself awake. "And since we know Ivanov has a submarine, like all good Bond villains..."

     "I'm James Bond," Leith murmured, rubbing his eyes. He gently nudged Jemma awake, who sat up, palm pressed to her forehead. He whispered the news Daisy had under his breath for her to catch up. Clara managed a small smile at the two of them. It made her think of someone else, alone in the communications room. He was exactly where he had been when she fell asleep, and it made Clara suspect Fitz hadn't slept a single wink this entire time. He was still there, slouched over his computer, not even taking a minute to care for himself. 

     "We're already en route to the base in Krasnoyarsk Krai," nodded Daisy and she returned to the group. Coulson took her place up at the front. 

     "Let's assume the enemy knows we're coming," he told them. "They've been baiting us this whole time. We may face strong opposition ... trap doors, sharks with lasers ... who knows? It doesn't matter. What matters is getting our people back, so let's get ready."

     "All right," said Simmons, taking a deep breath to wake herself up. She dragged her hands down her cheek. "I'm going to make some tea. You want some?"

     "Coming," Leith stood up, "because I'm ready to drop. Clara?"

     She glanced at the two of them, Leith with his hand gently rested on Simmons's back, as if ready to catch her if she stumbled in her sleepy stupor. But she shook her head, figuring she should go and see Fitz━she knew he needed her; it was a feeling she's grown accustomed deep within her. Like whenever he was upset, angry, frustrated or just in need of her to be around, there was a tug deep in her chest━a desperation to see him, either way. 

      Like no matter what, they knew where the other was: they were going to find them. 

     "No..." murmured Clara as an answer, standing up herself. She folded up the blanket, hugging it close to her chest. "I need to chat with Fitz. See you guys in the cargo bay."

     Agent Roy━as she walked towards the secluded room Fitz sat himself in━remembered the days on the Bus, fresh-minded and naive, coming into Fitz's bunk, or he into hers, with a bowl of popcorn and a promise of a movie night none of them managed to stay awake through. They've come a long way even from then, but she felt like she had taken a swift step back in time, hovering by the door of the room to say to Fitz:

    "We found where they're keeping the Director and May." He glanced at her, and at those words, she saw him sigh with relief, eyes growing a little red just at the thought of a happy ending to all of this. Clara sent him a soft smile. "We're already en route to the location."

     He closed the lid of his laptop and let out a long, exhausted sigh. Her smile faltered. "We're going to save them," said Clara, determined.

     Fitz sat up again, looking drained. "What if we can't?" he asked her, voice cracking a little in his despair. Clara's shoulders fell. "What if May suffers from permanent cognitive dysfunction? Or cerebral atrophy?" He shrugged, growing tearful. "Or she dies?"

     "Fitz━"

    "We don't know the adverse effects this could have on her brain," he went on, growing more and more worked up. "I did it to her! A.I.D.A., the Framework ... Clara ..." Fitz looked so broken, so torn apart with blame it shattered Clara's heart. "M━my fingerprints are all over these murder weapons." He took a shuddering breath, "Mack was right."

     He turned to his hands, leaning forward into them onto the table. Clara's brows knitted together, her throat tightening just at the sight of him so stressed. 

     She surged forwards and gripped his shoulders with a tight squeeze. "Hey, hey," Leaning in, she kissed the top of his head. "Just breathe, okay?" Clara set her chin amongst his hair, gently wrapping her arms around him for a hug. She felt him take another deep, trembling breath. "Just breathe, I'm here ..." One of his hands reached up to grab hers, holding on tight as he leant into her arm. 

     Agent Roy sighed, moving her chin to settle on his shoulder instead, right by the crook of his neck. They sat there for a few moments, just in a sombre, but tender silence until she said, "Mack is right about some things. You do need to think about the implications of the things you create. But what he isn't right about? Is how any of this is your fault. What Radcliffe has done with your ideas, and your genius, and your tender care to protect everyone in the name of something terrible does not make it your fault for creating the genius in the first place."

     Clara stepped away to crouch down. Fitz's eyes watched her as she settled her hand on his heart, one of her favourite things about him. "Nothing you make will ever be made without the love in, and the goodness of your heart, Fitz. Don't let Radcliffe corrupt that."

     She tugged the closest chair over so she could sit down upon it, their knees so close they interlocked. "Wrongs have been committed," she said, "now, we make them right." Then, Roy smiled, the next word coming out of her lips like muscle memory: "Together."

     The word made the corners of his lips tug upwards without fail. Fitz covered her hand over his heart with his own, picking it up to kiss her palm. He set it down upon the case of his laptop, starting to play with her fingers gently. His thumb brushed over her ring finger thoughtfully. "You know ..." he began, voice barely louder than a murmur, "if Radcliffe is operating out of this facility, there may be some Framework hardware there. If ... if I could tap into that directly, then ..." he sighed, shrugging a little, but Clara could see the inner workings of his brain restart up━a great idea was coming, just like always, "... maybe I could find the key to shutting it down for good."

     Roy's smile brightened. Leaning in, she kissed him sweetly. "There he is," she whispered against Fitz's lips. 

✲══〖✰〗══✲

(April 29th, 2017
Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia)

     THE BASE sat on the edge of a cliff, hovering over a cold, ruthless ocean that hasn't been commandeered in years. Stone to stone, the old submarine base was just like any other 'evil lair' (as Daisy described) they've been to over the years. Dark, seemingly impenetrable, and looking like it was taken right out of the Cold War; still with old cameras, old propaganda, even graffiti on the sides saying very colourful things about certain officials in places where the perpetrators were sure no one would ever find. 

      They couldn't find an easy way in, that was for sure. The place was boarded and barricaded in strong stone and concrete exteriors. They had to find a secluded area behind the main entrance, and blow a hole right through the back wall. 

       "Boom!" commented Leith as Mack fired the explosion.

     "Dramatic," added Clara, stepping over the rubble and into the dim, dark hallway of the submarine base. 

     Leith raised his gun beside her, checking down the dimly lit corridor. An entrance like this━they were expecting company. They key was to split up, and get to their positions as quickly as possible━but most importantly, to find May and Mace, end the Framework, and get the hell out of here. (Easier said than done, of course). 

      Fitz and Simmons joined them, all three scientists carrying cases of equipment for Fitz, and Clara with her own emergency medical━who knows what state their team could be in?

      Pounding of footsteps came from the left. Clara glanced over just in time to see a Watchdog drop at the strike of Coulson's ICER. Not wasting one moment, he turned back to the rest of them and said, "Communications rom at sub-basement━Fitz-Roy-Simmons."

     They nodded. Fitz fixed the grip on his gun, "On it."

     "Davis," Coulson gestured to the pilot standing close. He looked different covered in tactical gear and holding a high-class ICER that (of course), Fitz had designed himself. "you're with them."

     They went to leave, but Coulson called Clara back with a, "Roy."

     She glanced over her shoulder, brows raised, "Yes?"

     "Stay on comms," he told her. She nodded again. "Be ready for medical at any time, all right?"

      "Of course," she said. Coulson pursed his lips, looking a little worried. Roy replied with a small, encouraging smile━she'll be okay, and they'll find May. He understood, and their small exchange passed as Agent Roy rejoined Fitz, Simmons and Davis, heading down the dark corridor the opposite to everyone else. 

      As they disappeared into the shadows, Coulson continued, "The rest of us will fan out, search this place top to bottom for Director Mace and Agent May. Stay on comms. Be sharp. Morales, you're with me."

      Leith took a deep breath. He turned to Mack and Daisy. He held up his hand and clasped Mack's own for good luck. "Stay safe, big guy."

     "You too."

      "See you guys back on the Zephyr," smirked Daisy, playful amongst it all. Leith had to admire her for that. 

      "See you around," Leith called after her, "Agent Quake."

     She flipped him off as she rounded the corner. 

     And with one final glance and nod to Mack, Leith rushed down the hallway adjacent. 

     It was always dangerous going off by oneself━especially in a situation like this. But they had little choice. Leith gripped his gun tight, relying on more than just his eyes to see. He listened to the sounds around him, trying to hear footprints that weren't just his own. Breaths that weren't in sync with his, even the shuffling of clothes or the cocking of guns. 

     The weather outside made it damp and humid in here. It wasn't long before Leith was warm in his suit, and considering how freezing he had been earlier, it was an alarming change. It made his palms sweaty, and he quickly wiped them on his legs before fixing up his stance. 

      Reaching a door, he pressed his back against the wall, letting out a long, gentle breath. Closing his eyes, he let himself shift his subconscious to check his surroundings. Doing this without someone watching his back was dangerous and made his stomach bounce with nerves, but it was the best way for Leith to truly know how many were in the dark before he burst in. 

      He felt part of him float away into the waters of the energy around him. When he opened his eyes again, he could see himself against the wall, eyes closed and concentrated━wow, did he always look so constipated? That was not hot, at all. Jemma lied to him. 

     Off topic. 

     Leith could hear things better here. He could sense things━there seemed to be more than just hearing, sight, taste, touch and smell in this dimension. There was something above what the average human conscious could understand. Fitz always spoke of the Fourth Dimension, Leith sometimes wondered whether that was where he ventured each time. 

      He could hear the Watchdogs inside the room, feel the pounding of feet of others five hallways across. Leith was so aware of everything, he could even hear the sound of a spider spinning her web in a top corner. 

     Counting six hostiles inside the room, Leith returned to his body and didn't wait another second. He kicked the door open and fired the first across the room. The second was to his left, right in attacking distance. Leith anticipated the rise of his gun and disarmed him with a quick, painful twist of the Watchdog's wrist. He threw him in front of him to block the next round of fire, and when they noticed they had struck one of their own, they stopped and shouted━this gave Leith enough time to shoot the next. They dropped, out cold. 

      Letting go of the injured Watchdog, who clutched the wound to his shoulder, Leith charged the fourth. Using the momentum, he wrapped one arm around his shoulder and swung his legs up and across, kicking the friend he had stationed beside him and dislocating the others arm in the process. Landing back on his feet, Leith flipped him over harshly onto the ground, deciding he'd get back to him as the sixth ditched his gun to attack him hand-to-hand. 

     Scuffling, Leith received a hit to his jaw and a second to his abdomen. He replied with grabbing the Watch dog's arm and slamming her against the wall. She gritted her teeth at the pain, and Leith demanded, "Where are you keeping the Director and Agent May?"

     She spat out blood onto the floor. Looking into his eyes, she snarled, "Like I'd tell you, freak━"

      Leith slammed her again. He knocked her head a little harsher then he meant to against the stone. "Tell me," he threatened, "or I'll show you exactly how much of a freak I am." 

     The Watchdog chuckled. She was dazed, but conscious enough to say, "You'll find them exactly where we'll keep you. Though," there was a bloody grin on her face, "I wonder whether you'd even know it."

      "You're way to cryptic to be a Watchdog," Leith pulled her away and she stumbled to a nearby desk. "Seriously? You should've taken up Art History, or English, or something? But instead, you've just thrown your life away to this?"

     She steadied herself, still determined to take him on in the state she was right now. "I have a degree in Natural History, actually━"

     Leith took a page out of Daisy's book. He swung on one leg and roundhouse kicked the Watchdog right against her jaw. She hit the stone, and he stood over her unconscious body, shaking his head, "That wasn't an invitation to talk."

     "Is this one?"

      The Russian accent told Leith all he needed to know. He glanced around and set his jaw, seeing Ivanov standing at the open doorway. 

     Down in the sub-basement, Fitz-Roy-Simmons and Davis arrived at their destination. They made it down with little trouble, which Clara didn't want to strike as odd, and cling onto the little good luck they received, but she knew better than that. She stayed on high alert as they entered the room filled with old and new computers and server bays, all of them lit and running. They hummed loudly in Agent Roy's ear, and she tugged at one, hating the way they seemed to pound her brain. 

     Fitz frowned, setting down his bag and unzipping it. He glanced around the room, confused. "This can't be Radcliffe's Framework setup," he said. "It's too low-tech."

     "Yeah," said Davis sarcastically, keeping guard on the door, "way too low-tech."

     Fitz sent him a scowl to say, not needed. 

     "Maybe we can still find something useful anyway," offered Simmons, peering at the old monitors crammed onto a desk in-between two last century server bays. 

      Fitz sighed, tugging out his laptop, "I'll copy any data I find on the system." He gazed up at them, face bathed in the glow of the blue lights. "We should take some of this equipment back to the base for further examination as well. Anything could be the key we're searching for."

     Clara managed a smile, happy to see him back to his usual, problem-solving self. "Right, and while you're at it━"

     The comms cut her off, "We have an A.I.D.A. sighting on the lower levels of the base."

     All four of them froze. Slowly, they shared a glance, stomachs dropping with both dread and confusion. Fitz's breath hitched, "A.I.D.A.'s here?" he murmured.

     The idea seemed crazy. Why would A.I.D.A., an intelligent artificial life force, make herself so easily spotted when she had the programming to do otherwise? It struck Clara with a horrible feeling, one that made her frown at her hands with a deep concern. Something was up━something wasn't right. And if A.I.D.A. attacked those agents, they wouldn't be able to put up an ounce of a fight. She'd slaughter them. 

     Fitz knew the look on her face, "No," he told her immediately. 

    Clara didn't listen. She clenched her hands and started towards the door. "You do this, I'll find A.I.D.A."

     He watched her go, incredulous, "Oh, what, you're gonna go take on a killer android?"

     She frowned at him, raising her hands knowingly. 

     Fitz wasn't reassured, "Still."

     "I'll be fine," she told him. "Androids are made of plenty of energy━it'll be like breaking a piñata." Fitz continued to stare at her, and Clara sighed, "Fine. I'll take Simmons and Davis with me."

     He slumped, still quite dubious. In a whisper, he said, "Concern only slightly lessoned."

     "Rude," scoffed Simmons in passing.

     "Thanks," said Davis from the door. 

     Roy propped a hand on her hip, "We can't let her escape, Fitz. And with Leith and Daisy occupied, I'm the only Inhuman here that might just have a chance at taking her on. She could be the lead we're looking for."

     He knew she was right, but that didn't make him feel any less anxious. She could be powerless, or have all the bloody power in the world, invulnerable and unstoppable, and Fitz would still feel something tug inside him to see her walk away without him to help her. He was always going to be worried, always going to want to protect her.

    In the end, he sighed. Closing his eyes briefly, he gritted his teeth. "All right. Just ... Be careful," he told them. "Please," he added, his gaze lingering on Roy. She nodded, telling that she will come back to him, as always.

    As Clara turned her back and motioned for Davis to follow, Simmons sent a final look at Fitz to promise him: I'll keep an eye on her. 

     And together, the three of them travelled down to the lower levels of the submarine base. It started to get cooler as they did, getting closer to open waters of a cold ocean. Clara could hear the waves outside, crashing against the rocks and drifting around them like they were inside a fallen wreckage decoration in a twisting, writing fish bowel. 

     Agent Roy ignored how much her heart raced. Bullets wouldn't worked if they bumped into A.I.D.A., and all that they could really rely on was her powers, but it felt better to have Davis and Simmons on either side. 

    The lower levels were the darkest━visibility was low in a maze of support beams, edges dropping off into deep water, and old machinery. One wrong step, and that could be it. Clara had no idea how she was going to see A.I.D.A. amongst all of this. 

     She had to admit, there was some part of her that was begging for a confrontation. All of her bitter feelings, all of her suspicion and anger over what Radcliffe and A.I.D.A. have done, rose up to the surface, making Clara determined to find that android no matter what in this dark. To find her, fight her, and win. 

     In the end, they split up, being able to cover more ground that way. As Clara searched and searched with no end, that feeling in her stomach started to sink lower and lower. Being close to the ocean didn't help━she felt like it was swallowing her up all over again, making it hard to breathe and her heart race to keep her blood pumping and oxygen running, just enough to reach that surface with Fitz unconscious in her grip. 

     She was surprised no one else had come down. A.I.D.A.'s sighting should've been an alert within the entire team. But so far, it seemed Clara, Simmons and Davis were the only ones searching the cold dark. 

     Meeting back up with the others, Roy checked the looks on their faces in anticipation, but they just looked breathless and tired. "Anything?" she asked. 

    Simmons shook her head while Davis said, "No luck."

    Clara sighed. She placed a hand to her forehead, "We've been running all over this place. It's a bloody labyrinth."

     Davis agreed, "Pray we don't run into the Goblin King."

     Simmons's brows jumped as if to say, yeah, no kidding. She tapped her comms mic, "Can anyone hear me? Has anyone spotted A.I.D.A.?" No response. They've been receiving no response for a while now. Simmons threw her gaze up to the ceiling in her annoyance that disguised her concern. "Still no response."

     The alarms barred. A red siren flashed across their faces, and Simmons's eyes widened. Roy's hand dropped from her forehead, knowing exactly what this meant. "No, no, no," the bio-chemist cursed. "The submarine." They broke out into a run. "She's escaping!"

     They made it to the submarine deck, but they were too late. It was already off, treading through the water and leaving ripples in its wake. Roy shook her head, frustrated with defeat. 

    Footsteps echoed behind them. Looking over their shoulders, they saw Fitz rush towards them with his laptop still in his hands. He eyed them anxiously, but Clara shook her head with a sigh, "We're too late."

     Fitz skidded to a stop, breathing heavily. He looked over at the submarine, as if immediately declaring it all his fault. Clara pursed her lips. "Well, I gathered what I could from the communication room. Who knows what the others have found."

     "Have you heard anything from them?" Roy approached him, frowning. "We've been trying to reach them."

     "Yeah, me too," Fitz looked absolutely exhausted from running with all his equipment. "Comms have been wonky, going in and out."

     Clara's frown deepened, that sinking sensation hitting her all over again. Comms were out. They were separated. A.I.D.A. had been here. She's escaped. And now, they were all coming back together, too late, out of breath, and in the dark for at least a good hour ... perhaps she was being farfetched, but ...

    Fitz recognised the gaze she held, "Clara?" he went to ask her gently, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw three figures walking in through the door. Coulson and Mack. Roy breathed out a sigh of relief, until she saw Mace limp between them.

     "Director Mace!" they cried, horrified. Roy rushed towards him, checking him over and appalled at his wounds. 

     "We've been trying to reach you," added Simmons, horrified. 

    "He needs medical attention," Coulson told Clara. "We need to get him out of here."

     Another voice joined them, "Finally!" Daisy rushed over, her brow coated with sweat. "I've been looking for you guys everywhere!"

      "Is that Mace?" Leith wasn't long after her. He looked bruised, as if he had survived a long fight. There was blood from a cut on his cheek. He saw their Director, and he paled. "Bloody hell."

     Fitz then noticed someone missing. "Where's May?"

     Coulson pursed his lips and shook his head. "She's not here..."

     Clara's heart clenched, but she refused to give up━not now. "They must have her on the submarine."

      "Well, then we have to keep searching," said Daisy, determined. "We━"

     "We're pulling out," Coulson cut her off, and she and Clara stared at him, confused. How could they just leave? They were so close. After everything he had been saying, it seemed strange for Coulson to leave, just like that.

     "But, sir━"

     "We'll tend to our injured," Coulson told her, stern, "live to fight another day."

     With that said, he and Mack carried Mace away. Leith followed, wincing as he touched his cut. Roy, Simmons and Daisy all shared an uneasy glance, but shuffled after them away. Fitz and Davis were the last, and they left the base level in a sombre silence.

     But while they were in silence, Agent Roy's mind was going wild━and not with any reassuring thoughts. 

✲══〖✰〗══✲

(April 29th, 2017

The Playground, Classified)

     CLARA'S MIND had not gone silent at all during the trip home. She mulled over these thoughts as she tended to Mace's wounds, and passed him and Leith onto the rest of the medical team to rejoin Fitz in the lab. Simmons was with Clara's brother, Daisy was taking a shower, and Mack and Coulson were discussing the next step in rescuing May. Everything seemed normal, and yet Agent Roy felt the exact opposite of that. 

     She remembered the feeling she had just moments before she found Koenig's dead body, and discovered Ward was HYDRA the whole time, hiding as a wolf in their herd. She had that feeling now, and it troubled her beyond belief. Fitz was chatting, probably talking to her, but her mind was somewhere else. She couldn't stop thinking about how long they were in that base. They had been separated, off on their own with their own missions. A.I.D.A. was there, and then she wasn't. And then their comms suddenly stopped working, leaving them with multiple periods of time unaccounted for. Anything could of happened ... 

     Anyone could have been taken.

     They already had replaced one of their own with an L.M.D. Clara wouldn't put it past Radcliffe to grab another. 

     She stared at her hands with sudden fear. She could have been taken and swapped with an L.M.D.━would Clara even know?

     "Roy?" a hand waved in front of her face, and she was brought back to focus. Clara jumped, spinning to Fitz with the wide gaze of fear━like a rodent stuck in a small cage. He frowned, "Hey," immediately, his annoyance fell away and was replaced with concern. He placed a hand on her arm, "you okay?"

     She inhaled sharply, her theories making her stomach twist and churn. "How long were we in that base?" she asked him softly. His frown deepened. 

     "Pardon?"

    She pushed off the table to face him fully. "The timetable of this mission," she whispered, careful of anyone overhearing. They were alone in the lab, but that didn't reassure her. "It's bothering me. Coulson says he came straight down to the submarine dock after rescuing the Director. Leith says he got caught up fighting a couple of Watchdogs and Ivanov, but we heard the blast from Daisy's battle with Ivanov around that same time and long before she met up with us again."

    Fitz shuffled closer. He knew where this was going, but didn't want to admit it. "What are you saying?"

     "I'm saying..." her voice was barely louder than a murmur this time. She glanced anxiously at the hallway. "I'm saying that something doesn't feel right. There's a small gap of time in there that's unaccounted for when no one was in contact."

    Fitz thought about this. She saw his eyes drift off to the side. "Now that you mention it ..." he murmured, "... it was pitch dark when we left."

    They stared at each other for a few quiet━and yet deafening━moments as they started to fear the worst. At the trigger from Clara's computer, they both flinched. 

     Roy could hear her heart as she walked over to her desk and looked at the monitor. Reading it, she saw it to be a report from the L.M.D. blast door scanner system. Frowning, she muttered, "It's the blast door━the scanner."

    Glancing over at Fitz, she saw him stiffen, "L.M.D. detection?"

    "Yeah ..."

     "What about it?"

     Roy opened it up, and her stomach dropped so slow she thought she'd fall over from the weight. "It was disabled."

    "Disabled?" Fitz sounded very grave. "Recently?"

     He made his way to her, suddenly ashen-faced. Roy continued to try and read through it, shifting through the tabs. Fitz hovered over her shoulder, reading it with her. "And the system report was deleted from the record. Why would someone do that?" He crossed his arms. "By who?"

     "Not sure," she muttered as she tried to figure it out. "But lucky, my colour level means a copy of each report is sent directly to my inbox━" she got it up and opened the file, "━the system was accessed by ..." she trailed off, and her breath hitched. No. "By ... by Coulson ..."

     "Coulson?" Fitz's breath tickled her cheek as he stared at the report, too. "What would he want to keep from us?"

     She briefly met his gaze, feeling everything inside her twist and turn. She didn't want to think about it━to admit it, either, but Clara had a horrible feeling she knew exactly what he was trying to keep from them. Turning back to her computer, she opened up the camera feed. There, at the blast door, was Coulson and Mack holding Mace between them with Daisy and Leith at their sides. With it, was the bright red alert: L.M.D. DETECTED.

     She saw it coming, and yet still, she didn't want to believe it. Roy shook her head. She felt her throat closing up. Her eyes stared at Coulson, and then her brother, sick to the stomach. No ... No, no, no, no━ "Fitz," she managed, words stuck in the back of her throat. His hand brushed her arm, pulling her closer. "This ... this has got to be a mistake."

     "Wait, wait, wait, wait," his voice dropped to a whisper. He turned her so they stood face to face, both with their hearts in their throats. But Clara's heart felt more like bile. She wanted to throw it up. "Look, you said it yourself ..." his words were shaky, "... we were in there for a while. We were separated from them the whole time."

     Roy clutched his shirt tight, it didn't stop the way her hands trembled. "Oh, God ..." she croaked. She clenched her eyes shut. She needed to stay focused. She needed to keep herself calm. "Okay, okay, okay," she held one hand up as she tried to piece everything together. "A.I.D.A. was seen at the base, and ... tanks of gas. What kind of gas?"

     "They left a trail of clues..." realised Fitz. "They wanted to find Coulson."

    "And while we were downstairs ..."

     "They switched people out..." at his words, Roy glanced up at the ceiling, trying to stay levelled. "How many?" asked Fitz anxiously.

     Clara's gaze flickered back to her computer. Her stomach rolled: [ 5 ] LIFE MODEL DECOYS DETECTED. "All of them ..." something else crossed her mind as Fitz turned around, tugging at his ear. "Wait━Fitz ... Fitz ..." her eyes were growing tearful. "Simmons is with Leith right now━she's━she couldn't━?"

    His face fell even more. 

    Clara tugged at her cheeks, "Oh, god, Simmons. We━we have to get her━we have to━"

     "Shh," Fitz said urgently, taking her arm with a grip that told her that trouble was coming. She followed his gaze to the door, and they caught glimpse of four out of five of the L.M.D.'s: Mack, Coulson, Daisy and Mace, all hovering and conversing together outside the lab. 

     They were outside, Fitz and Roy were trapped in here, and Simmons and Leith were nowhere to be seen. 

✲══〖✰〗══✲

     a/n: *drumroll* HERE WE GO GUYS!!!!!! THE BEST AND IF NOT ONE OF THE MOST TRAUMATISING EPISODES OF AGENTS OF SHIELD IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!!! AND THEN WE HAVE THE FRAMEWORK!!!!!!!

     *laughs evilly*

     Was it obvious Leith was going to be an L.M.D? I feel like the foreshadowing sorta made it so, hehe. 

     oh Clara, u are not ready for the next few episodes I'm telling u right now.