Resurrection - Chapter 26
When things go wrong, they really go wrong, especially if your opponent his armed with alien weapons. Director Coulson is faced with the ultimate decision: to save one of his team members he must sacrifice another one, and it's not a choice he's prepared to make.
Chapter 26
In just seconds the entire world had changed, nearly as much as if the magnetic poles had actually, finally reversed. Everything known was now pointing in the opposite direction. Up was down, and down was sideways. Phil no longer held the upper hand, and he honestly wasn’t even sure he’d been dealt into the game. He might have lost May, and now he faced losing Skye. Even re-finding Audrey couldn’t balance the ledger.
“Skye,” he yelled involuntarily.
“Good. You seem to care about this little girl. That should make things easier.” Phil lowered his weapon a little, taking time to fully evaluate the situation. As the scenarios raced through his mind, each one seemed to end with the same result.
He could have Kadeem try to take out Gross from the backside, firing through the window, but a million things could go wrong, and they all led to the injury or death of Skye irrespective of the end result for Gross.
He could have Chuck and Anthony open the back door, but that only brought the same likely outcomes, and it might also destroy or damage the nuralizer in the process.
He could attempt a shot himself, but that seemed even less likely to result in a positive end.
In short, Gross had seized the initiative, and at least for the moment Phil was left to play by a new set of rules. “Weapons down,” he said, commanding his team to back off for the moment.
“Very good, Coulson. Wise move. Now, let’s talk about that ride out of town, shall we?”
Skye said nothing, and she wasn’t struggling. Phil suspected she was playing for time and trying to find an exploit, but he couldn’t imagine what she could do to change things. Very slowly and deliberately Gross came through the door, adjusting his grip on Skye until he could easily steer her. “We’re going to wait right here, and you’re going to provide a car,” Gross commanded. “If you screw around, I’ll start removing body parts.”
Phil looked directly at Skye, trying to envision her thoughts, but her face was a complete blank, sharing neither hope nor fear. Come on, Skye. Show me you’ve got a plan. There’s got to be a way to fix this.
Skye’s mind was running at warp 9, considering and discarding ideas by the bushels. Each one, with minor variations, seemed to end in the same way, taking her to a place she’d been once before and she knew there was no miracle drug waiting this time. Finally, unable to come up with any immediate plan, she decided to move on.
“Don’t, Phil. This isn’t about me. It can’t be about me. Take me out of the equation.”
Predictably Phil wasn’t ready to write off one of his team, even though he understood what she was saying. “No,” he replied, almost without thinking.
“Yes,” she responded. “I’ll take my chances. Nobody else needs to die. Nobody, Phil. Just…just let him go.”
Phil wasn’t sure what Skye had planned, but he assumed she had something in mind. It was clear she wanted to move Gross away from the nuralizer, so that much made sense. Beyond that, he was completely in the dark. Okay, I guess we’ll have to let her play out her game.
“Stand down,” Phil said loudly, suggesting to everyone on the team that he had something more planned. Gross seemed to relax slightly…but only slightly.
“Good choice. Now, about that car.”
“I have one parked right outside. In fact, there are two. You can take your choice.”
“Interesting, but I’m not really interested in climbing into a SHIELD vehicle with a tracking dot in place and likely some sort of kill switch attached to the ignition.”
Phil smiled, still trying to gauge Skye’s intent. “Nope. Neither of them belongs to SHIELD. One is a Mini Cooper, but I’m betting you’ll prefer the Ferrari.”
“Well, that is a step up. I guess we’ll have to see about that. Now, let’s start walking nice and slowly towards that door…well, that hole where there used to be a door.”
Skye didn’t seem to be particularly reluctant to be steered towards the door, although she was taking small steps, somewhat impeding their progress. Gross didn’t seem to be concerned, or at least he didn’t complain. Skye began to see a possibility, but it required a whole lot of things to work, and a major dose of luck.
“Where do you think you’re going,” Gross said as Coulson began to walk in front of them.
“Well, I know where the car is, and I don’t think you want a bunch of armed people behind you. We could easily drop you well before you could squeeze the trigger.”
Gross frowned for just a moment, and then smiled. “Good point. I think perhaps we’ll just pause right here,” he added, stopping Skye from continuing. “Good. Now, I think let’s have everybody put down their weapons and you can all walk in front of me.”
Kadeem looked at Phil, uncertain what he was supposed to do. His face spoke for him. Play along, or challenge him? “Let’s do what he says,” Phil said, and reluctantly Kadeem put his handgun on the floor. Kadeem nodded slightly, reminding Phil that Trip was on the floor behind the crates. He got a wink as a response.
“Good. Now, let’s have you walk on outside.” Gross frowned. “There’s another team outside, right?”
“Yup.”
“Okay. Let’s have you call them off, and then you can put your gun on the floor too.” Skye could barely see Phil but gave a slight, nearly-imperceptible nod suggesting she wanted him to play along.
“David, we’re all coming out. I need you and Jae to put down your weapons and stand back.” Then he turned back to Gross. “You know you’re not going to get away with this. We will find you…wherever you go…and we will take you in…or out.”
Gross smiled and laughed. “Oh…I have no doubt you’ll try. But there are lots of us on the loose. Let’s see. Jeremy, the guy with the electrical powers is out there. And I’m sure there’s at least another dozen. I don’t think you’ll have the manpower to get us all.”
Coulson shrugged. “Whatever. Just know that you’ll always be looking over your shoulder. Now, let’s get this over with, shall we?”
Gross apparently wasn’t aware of Trip, but Phil wasn’t counting on that. Kadeem started walking towards the door, obviously not happy with the situation. Phil put his gun on the floor, kicked it aside, and then started taking the same walk, allowing Gross the satisfaction of seeing him apparently thwarted in his desire to win.
Gross began moving again, and Skye was working around a little adjusting her position and allowing her hands to gather in front of her. When Phil stepped through the opening he was about 5 yards ahead, far enough that he could talk quietly without Gross hearing him. “I have an icer and another gun.”
Skye heard his voice and smiled inwardly. “The gun,” she said very quietly as she coughed, using that spasm to further adjust her body position. Gross seemed unconcerned, focusing on the gradually expanding view as they neared the doorway.
“The Ferrari is right there,” Phil said, pointing to the red Berlinetta. “The keys are in it.”
Gross grinned, thinking for a moment about the likelihood that anyone would be able to catch him in a lesser vehicle. Very slowly he worked his way across the pavement, backing towards the car and always keeping Skye between him and the rest of the team. When they reached the car, he spoke to Skye.
“You’re going to open the door, and then get in. If you try anything stupid I will kill you.” He took another look at Coulson, standing across the pavement next to the doorway. “We’re going to leave. If you try anything she will die. Once I’ve gone far enough I may set her free. Then again, I may not. I suggest you behave yourselves.”
For the first time he finally released his hold on Skye, allowing her to move a little. She seemed to turn awkwardly, falling a little as she tried to get the door open. In an effort to stabilize herself she reached out, putting her hand on Gross and then recovering. “Sorry,” she said. “I’m just a little…frightened.” Saying no more, she pulled the door all the way open and slid into the seat.
Chapter 26
In just seconds the entire world had changed, nearly as much as if the magnetic poles had actually, finally reversed. Everything known was now pointing in the opposite direction. Up was down, and down was sideways. Phil no longer held the upper hand, and he honestly wasn’t even sure he’d been dealt into the game. He might have lost May, and now he faced losing Skye. Even re-finding Audrey couldn’t balance the ledger.
“Skye,” he yelled involuntarily.
“Good. You seem to care about this little girl. That should make things easier.” Phil lowered his weapon a little, taking time to fully evaluate the situation. As the scenarios raced through his mind, each one seemed to end with the same result.
He could have Kadeem try to take out Gross from the backside, firing through the window, but a million things could go wrong, and they all led to the injury or death of Skye irrespective of the end result for Gross.
He could have Chuck and Anthony open the back door, but that only brought the same likely outcomes, and it might also destroy or damage the nuralizer in the process.
He could attempt a shot himself, but that seemed even less likely to result in a positive end.
In short, Gross had seized the initiative, and at least for the moment Phil was left to play by a new set of rules. “Weapons down,” he said, commanding his team to back off for the moment.
“Very good, Coulson. Wise move. Now, let’s talk about that ride out of town, shall we?”
Skye said nothing, and she wasn’t struggling. Phil suspected she was playing for time and trying to find an exploit, but he couldn’t imagine what she could do to change things. Very slowly and deliberately Gross came through the door, adjusting his grip on Skye until he could easily steer her. “We’re going to wait right here, and you’re going to provide a car,” Gross commanded. “If you screw around, I’ll start removing body parts.”
Phil looked directly at Skye, trying to envision her thoughts, but her face was a complete blank, sharing neither hope nor fear. Come on, Skye. Show me you’ve got a plan. There’s got to be a way to fix this.
Skye’s mind was running at warp 9, considering and discarding ideas by the bushels. Each one, with minor variations, seemed to end in the same way, taking her to a place she’d been once before and she knew there was no miracle drug waiting this time. Finally, unable to come up with any immediate plan, she decided to move on.
“Don’t, Phil. This isn’t about me. It can’t be about me. Take me out of the equation.”
Predictably Phil wasn’t ready to write off one of his team, even though he understood what she was saying. “No,” he replied, almost without thinking.
“Yes,” she responded. “I’ll take my chances. Nobody else needs to die. Nobody, Phil. Just…just let him go.”
Phil wasn’t sure what Skye had planned, but he assumed she had something in mind. It was clear she wanted to move Gross away from the nuralizer, so that much made sense. Beyond that, he was completely in the dark. Okay, I guess we’ll have to let her play out her game.
“Stand down,” Phil said loudly, suggesting to everyone on the team that he had something more planned. Gross seemed to relax slightly…but only slightly.
“Good choice. Now, about that car.”
“I have one parked right outside. In fact, there are two. You can take your choice.”
“Interesting, but I’m not really interested in climbing into a SHIELD vehicle with a tracking dot in place and likely some sort of kill switch attached to the ignition.”
Phil smiled, still trying to gauge Skye’s intent. “Nope. Neither of them belongs to SHIELD. One is a Mini Cooper, but I’m betting you’ll prefer the Ferrari.”
“Well, that is a step up. I guess we’ll have to see about that. Now, let’s start walking nice and slowly towards that door…well, that hole where there used to be a door.”
Skye didn’t seem to be particularly reluctant to be steered towards the door, although she was taking small steps, somewhat impeding their progress. Gross didn’t seem to be concerned, or at least he didn’t complain. Skye began to see a possibility, but it required a whole lot of things to work, and a major dose of luck.
“Where do you think you’re going,” Gross said as Coulson began to walk in front of them.
“Well, I know where the car is, and I don’t think you want a bunch of armed people behind you. We could easily drop you well before you could squeeze the trigger.”
Gross frowned for just a moment, and then smiled. “Good point. I think perhaps we’ll just pause right here,” he added, stopping Skye from continuing. “Good. Now, I think let’s have everybody put down their weapons and you can all walk in front of me.”
Kadeem looked at Phil, uncertain what he was supposed to do. His face spoke for him. Play along, or challenge him? “Let’s do what he says,” Phil said, and reluctantly Kadeem put his handgun on the floor. Kadeem nodded slightly, reminding Phil that Trip was on the floor behind the crates. He got a wink as a response.
“Good. Now, let’s have you walk on outside.” Gross frowned. “There’s another team outside, right?”
“Yup.”
“Okay. Let’s have you call them off, and then you can put your gun on the floor too.” Skye could barely see Phil but gave a slight, nearly-imperceptible nod suggesting she wanted him to play along.
“David, we’re all coming out. I need you and Jae to put down your weapons and stand back.” Then he turned back to Gross. “You know you’re not going to get away with this. We will find you…wherever you go…and we will take you in…or out.”
Gross smiled and laughed. “Oh…I have no doubt you’ll try. But there are lots of us on the loose. Let’s see. Jeremy, the guy with the electrical powers is out there. And I’m sure there’s at least another dozen. I don’t think you’ll have the manpower to get us all.”
Coulson shrugged. “Whatever. Just know that you’ll always be looking over your shoulder. Now, let’s get this over with, shall we?”
Gross apparently wasn’t aware of Trip, but Phil wasn’t counting on that. Kadeem started walking towards the door, obviously not happy with the situation. Phil put his gun on the floor, kicked it aside, and then started taking the same walk, allowing Gross the satisfaction of seeing him apparently thwarted in his desire to win.
Gross began moving again, and Skye was working around a little adjusting her position and allowing her hands to gather in front of her. When Phil stepped through the opening he was about 5 yards ahead, far enough that he could talk quietly without Gross hearing him. “I have an icer and another gun.”
Skye heard his voice and smiled inwardly. “The gun,” she said very quietly as she coughed, using that spasm to further adjust her body position. Gross seemed unconcerned, focusing on the gradually expanding view as they neared the doorway.
“The Ferrari is right there,” Phil said, pointing to the red Berlinetta. “The keys are in it.”
Gross grinned, thinking for a moment about the likelihood that anyone would be able to catch him in a lesser vehicle. Very slowly he worked his way across the pavement, backing towards the car and always keeping Skye between him and the rest of the team. When they reached the car, he spoke to Skye.
“You’re going to open the door, and then get in. If you try anything stupid I will kill you.” He took another look at Coulson, standing across the pavement next to the doorway. “We’re going to leave. If you try anything she will die. Once I’ve gone far enough I may set her free. Then again, I may not. I suggest you behave yourselves.”
For the first time he finally released his hold on Skye, allowing her to move a little. She seemed to turn awkwardly, falling a little as she tried to get the door open. In an effort to stabilize herself she reached out, putting her hand on Gross and then recovering. “Sorry,” she said. “I’m just a little…frightened.” Saying no more, she pulled the door all the way open and slid into the seat.