The Sandwich Incident/ The Hub

Mick stepped into the briefing room after being paged, with Ward and May each wearing a very serious expression, which meant Coulson's mission wasn't going quite as planned. "How bad is it?" Mick questioned. 

"He's been captured," Ward said with a huff. 

"I thought it was supposed to be a quick in and out?" Mick frowned.

"They were well prepared," May sounded furious. "Think you're ready for combat?" 

Mick pondered briefly, before nodding. "Powers or no?" 

"Not unless it's dire," May said sternly. 

"Deal," Mick smirked. "Can I at least use my Spider Fangs?" 

"You mean those two batons you carry around?" Ward seemed unimpressed. 

"They're a lot cooler than you think," Mick grinned. "I'll also have a Night Night Gun."

"Seriously? That's why you'd pick over a Desert Eagle?" Ward was exasperated.

"I bet I can get a higher KO count than you," Mick held out his hand with a sly grin. 

"You're on," Ward smirked shaking Mick's hand. 

"Are you finished?" May rolled her eyes. "Coulson is waiting on us." 

Moments later, with an amazing breech by May, the team split up diving into the vast corridors of the underground bunker. 

"Four!" Ward's voice came over the comms followed by a few grunts.

Mick tried to tune him out as he did under a guard, then slammed his electrified rod like saber into the guards back, sending him staggering into the wall, before collapsing to the ground. "Four!"

Gunshots echoed through the hallway, causing Mick to duck behind the wall for cover. There was a strange silence, then Mick peaked out to see why, only to see May standing there triumphantly. "Eight," the smirked as Mick shook his head, quite impressed. She then opened the door, launching something. "Coming?" She asked as Ward joined up with them. 

"I was wondering what you guys were up to," Coulson smiled proudly as he and Agent Shaw stood between May and Ward, who lead the way to the exit, with Mick close behind to protect from any straggling henchmen. 

Ward then climbed a ladder spinning the handle then pushing the metal round door out, climbing out and making sure everything was clear before reaching his hand down. 

"This part is going to be cool," Coulson said to Shaw as they climbed the ladder. 

The bitter cold was quite harsh, but it was better than the stuffiness of the tunnels below. "Everyone on," May stepped onto a large sled, Mick and Ward positioning Coulson and Shaw between themselves and May. 

"We're clear!" Ward called out. 

"Where are the dogs?" Shaw seemed quite confused. 

"Dogs?" Coulson smirked. "Don't be ridiculous." 

The sled lurched forward into the steady snow falling moving at a brisk pace by the wires that they had left attached to levers on the Bus.

Mick sat with Fitz in the lab, awaiting Simmons to be done with a paranasal extraction. "How did things go?" Fitz asked before taking a sip of his drink. 

"May is a beast," Mick sighed before taking a drink. 

"Well you don't get the nickname Calvary if she wasn't," Fitz smiled. 

"Yeah but to double up on both Ward and I?" 

"If it makes you feel better, I was betting on you," Fitz's smile faded. 

"Yeah, and now you owe me ten bucks!" Skye glanced over her tablet, opposite of the table than Mick and Fitz. 

"You jerk," Mick glared as Skye smiled. 

"Simmons bet on Ward!" Skye said as Mick hung his head. 

The doors opened from the lab, Coulson walking out with Shaw and Simmons behind him. "Oh good, you're done with that paranasal extraction," Fitz grimaced. 

"You're stronger than me," Mick said with a nod at Shaw who smiled politely, rubbing his nose. 

"Do you want us to analyze the data?" Fitz asked as Coulson walked right passed them. 

"That won't be necessary," Coulson said as Skye jumped up. 

"I can mine the chip!" She cheered.

"Nope," Coulson continued forward. "This one is classified." Ward and May walked into the lounge. "Level eight clearance." 

Skye looked around in annoyance as everyone seemed to just accept that statement, and watch Coulson walk into the briefing room with only Shaw. "So you're all just going to accept that?" Skye barked as Ward seemed curious as to where this would go. 

"He did say it was level eight," Fitz shrugged as he returned to his drink. 

"And we're not level eight, so it's not ours to deal with," Simmons said taking a seat near Fitz. 

"Right, but this is normally the part where we all stand around the holocom and we learn about stuff," Skye fussed, slamming her tablet closed. "I mean, aren't we all, on the same team?" 

"Please don't go off on a socialist rant again," Fitz groaned, as May held back a chuckle. 

"S.H.I.E.L.D.S. whole infrastructure is based on the hierarchy and compartmentalization of intelligence," Simmons explained as Skye rolled her eyes. 

"If everyone knew everything the whole organization would be vulnerable," Ward patted Skye as he walked to grab a drink. 

"I hate it too, but some things are better left secret," Mick said as Skye glared in disappointment.

"Fine, but if I just fought my way out of an underground Siberian prison I'd kind of want to know what for," she huffed. 

"Coulson's got you used to the plane, the way we do missions here. The Hub, is different," May said grabbing a drink before heading back to the cockpit. 

"Hub? What's the Hub?" Skye demanded and answer. Ward shook his head as he took his drink to his bunk, while Fitz and Simmons followed suit. 

"The Hub is a base, there's a lot of operations carried out from there," Mick said with a sigh. 

"Does that mean the Avengers are there?" 

"No, it's SHIELD only. To be honest it'll be my first time here too."

"Where is it?" Mick shrugged as Skye seemed disappointed.

"I've only been to a few bases, Sandbox, Triskelion, and now the Hub."

"That's pretty boring Spiderboy," Skye teased as Mick rolled his eyes. 

"Better than you, Wristband," Mick teased as he stood up to leave the lounge as Skye glared playfully.

Mick was blow away by the sheer size of the Hub. The Bus fit inside a hanger that had room for at least three of them if not more. The interior was like that of the Sandbox, sleek, black, holoscreens, glass doors, and dozens of agents walking around in the same black suit with black ties, shoes, and white shirts. "Huh," didn't expect it to be so big," Mick gasped as Skye seemed to share the same sentiment. 

"I didn't realize Big Brother was so big," she muttered. 

"If you think this is cool, wait until you see the Triskelion," Simmons smiled. 

"Why's everyone in the same suit?" Skye asked noticing even Fitz and Simmons dressed differently. "Well, except Trenchcoat here," she pointed as Mick, who was in fact wearing his black leather trench coat with the Recluse emblem on the right shoulder and the Shield logo on the left. 

"This is my uniform," Mick smirked as Coulson turned to him rolling his eyes. 

"You're going to need this," Coulson handed Mick a new badge that read level seven. 

"A promotion?" Mick asked as Coulson raised his brows. 

"Don't push it," Coulson said leading them into the main entrance, then to the desk. Everyone the swiped their badges, except Skye, who never received one. 

"When do I get one?" Skye asked as she followed everyone passed the security guard. 

"See that bracelet?" Coulson said as Skye frowned. "That's your badge, and it means you have a long way to go before getting to level one." 

"Copy," Skye sighed. "So does that mean no computers? I could easily run a search for the redacted files on my parents!" 

"Skye," Coulson sighed. 

"But this would be the kind of place they'd keep them!" 

"I'll look into it, you just have to trust me," Coulson said as he paused glancing around the hallway trying to get his bearings. "Right now we have more pressing matters." 

"Agent Coulson?" A darker skinned man man with a bald head and thin glasses walked up to the team. 

"Agent Sitwell," Coulson said with a nod. 

"Glad to see you're feeling better," he reached out shaking hands with Coulson. 

Mick glared at Sitwell, he had an uneasy feeling. Most of SHIELD was like that for Mick though. His history with then had always been quite shaky. The only agents Mick actually trusted were the ones on the Bus. He struggled to trust Director Fury as well. He hated the secrecy of SHIELD, but at the same time he understood it. 

"Your level sevens can join in the briefings," Sitwell said eying Mick before looking over to Ward and May. 

Mick looked back at Simmons and Fitz with a shrug as they smile politely. "See you soon," he said hopeful as Skye glared angrily. 

Mick followed Coulson eyeing everyone he passed until they reached the briefing room where they saw her, black hair with deep red highlights, her all black attire, including her glasses. Her sharp facial features added to her intimidation factor. 

"Agent Hand," Coulson said with a nod, reaching his hand out. 

"Agent Coulson," she sounded intimidating, yet reached her hand out politely. "So glad to put a face to the name." 

"Likewise," Coulson said with his usual cool tone. "These are Agents May, Ward, and Bellouve." 

Mick looked over as Ward and May nodded, then quickly followed suit. 

"Great, now that we've gotten that over with, here's what you can know," Agent hand turned, clicking a remote flipping the screen behind her into a rather crude drawing of a device. "The intel you recovered from Agent Shaw tells us that a separatist group from South Ossetia has built a weapon called Ezbittometer."

"The Overkill Device?" Ward questioned as Mick raised his brow staring at him in confusion. 

"A little dramatic for my taste," Hand said with a stone face. "I imagine something was lost in translation. We've intercepted chatter that tells us they plan to use the weapon in the next 24 hours to declare their independence from Russia and Georgia." She clicked the remote again as a much larger looking weapon appeared in grainy looking photos. 

"We believe it creates sonic vibrations powerful enough to trigger weapons from a great distance. Anything from the missiles on a helicopter to a nuclear warhead sitting in its silo," Hand said as Coulson took in a deep breath. 

"Grand," Coulson groaned. "So, if we move on them, they could use our own weapons against us."

"That's why I need a three-man team to sneak across the disputed border undetected, break into the separatist stronghold, and disable the weapon in the next 24 hours. And you have two people who fit my bill." Hand said as Coulson turned to look at his three agents standing there, accepting the fact they were chosen. 

"No problem," May said stoically, Mick simply frowned but nodded accepting his fate. 

"I was in Georgia during the incursion in '08. I still have contacts on the south Ossetian border," Ward sounded fairly excited about this mission. 

"Good, you'll need them," Hand said coldly. "Only one catch, we don't have specs on the device, so I need someone on the team who can identify and dismantle it on-site."

Mick shared a glance with May and Ward. "Then why us? We're not tech people," Mick said staring at Hand trying to figure out her plan. 

"No, you don't mean," Ward's eyes widened as he turned to Coulson. 

"You want my all of my guys?" Coulson said as both he and May stared skeptically.

"Yes, I was thinking Fitz, Bellouve, and Ward," Hand said as Mick tried hard to hide his annoyance. 

"Ward and I could handle it just fine," Mick snapped as Hand raised a brow. "Leave Fitz out of it."

"We need to recover the device," Hand said sternly. 

"What Agent Bellouve means is," Coulson stepped forward. "They'll be ready shortly." His eyes were locked on Mick's pleading for him to just agree. 

"Right," Mick grunted. 

"Thank you for your cooperation," Agent Hand said with a scowling smile.

"You can't be okay with this!" Mick barked as soon as they were outside of the restricted area, seeing the others sitting in a large cafe style area. 

"Mick's right Boss," Ward said with a frown. "Fitz hasn't even passed a field test." 

"Orders are orders," May said reluctantly. 

"I'm aware of that," Coulson said as he watched Fitz fighting with a concession machine. "That's why I'm going to trust you two to keep him safe." 

"Coulson," Mick growled. 

"I get your disdain for the way SHIELD's methods, but you have to trust the system," Coulson said firmly as Ward looked at Mick curiously. 

"I'll do it, but I'm not happy about it," Mick grumbled. 

"You've got the night off to prepare," Coulson said as he looked back to Fitz. "I'm going to break the news to him."

Mick sat in his bunk, polishing his spider fang saber, hanging his head in massive frustration. "How's the scar?" May asked standing outside his door. 

"I'm fine, it's all healed now," Mick's tone was somber. 

"I'd take the mission so you don't have to," May said as Mick glanced up with only his eyes. 

"No," Mick's tone didn't shift. "I'm going to protect our team." 

"You know you can't use your powers," May's tone was just as stoic as always. 

"Only in emergencies," Mick said as May stepped in. 

"I wouldn't use them at all," Mick looked up at May curiously. "I don't trust them either." 

"Why?" 

"I have my reasons," May said with her typical secrecy. 

"Glad I'm not the only one," Mick said with a smirk. May walked away without another word. Mick thought back to his days of being considered AWOL and trailed Davis in while working with Wren Hightower. He then reached for his phone, scrolling over to Patten's number. 

"Mick?" Patten answered quite confused. 

"Yeah," Mick smiled hearing his old friends voice. "How's everyone holding up?" 

"We're good," Patten sounded tired. "We were told that you were on a top secret team." 

"Yeah, level seven," Mick said sarcastically.

"Congrats, Davis would be jealous. He's finally made six," Patten said. "How's that Coulson doing?" Mick's eyes widened. How did Patten learn about Coulson? "I'm level seven too." 

"Makes more sense now," Mick sighed with relief. "Coulson is Coulson." 

"How's things with Skye?" 

"We're still just friends," Mick sounded distraught unintentionally.

"I meant how's her training," Patten corrected.

"Oh," Mick shook his head. "Yeah, she's doing fine. Finally stopped saying bang when she pulls the trigger." 

"That's great. Is everything ok out there?" 

"Yeah," Mick sighed. "I was just a little homesick. I knew I could call you without raising any flags." 

"I'm always here for you man," Patten said as Mick leaned back in his bed, a little more at ease. 

"I'm glad. You guys stay safe," Mick said. "I'll be in touch."

Mick walked groggily into the briefing room, seeing Ward as awake as ever, and a rather stern looking Coulson. "Glad you decided to join us," Coulson snapped as Mick shook his head. 

"We need to disable the overkill device by 0600 tomorrow in order to prevent the separatist attack," May began the debrief. 

"Once you signal S.H.I.E.L.D. the extraction team will get you guys out," Coulson said looking over at Mick and Ward. 

"That's a very small window," Mick groaned rubbing his eyes. 

"It's all we've got," Coulson frowned. "Listen up, I expect you both to protect Fitz." 

"Yes sir," Mick and Ward said simultaneously. 

The door opened once more, seeing Fitz with Jemma and Skye standing outside. "More moving and less talking!" Fitz teased. "Time is not on our side."

"You've got that right," Mick sighed. 

"We'll see you tomorrow," Fitz smiled as Ward lead the way to the keep. 

"Shotgun!" Fitz called as Mick rolled his eyes with a grin.

The drive was extremely long, bumpy, and frankly awkward. Mick managed to sleep until daylight, only waking up in spurts to hear Fitz telling a rather strange story of Jemma in a vacuum tube. From the look on Wards face in the rear view, he wasn't all that impressed with the story either. Fitz however seemed quite smiley, which Mick figured was due to him talking about Jemma. The Jeep came to a stop which forced Mick to truly wake up stretching once he climbed out. 

"Do you have the beacon?" Ward asked as Fitz reached into his pocket continuing to tell his story and laughing at the details. 

"Come on bud," Mick grabbed the beacon, which pulled Fitz back into focus. "This where you want it?" Mick knelt down after Ward nodded. 

"Thanks," Ward half smiled. "Now listen, my contact is Uri Dubrovsky. We'll pay him to get us across the border."

"Sounds promising," Fitz muttered. 

"We'll be fine as long as you pay attention," Ward sounded annoyed. "When we go back, but he doesn't like new people. So, keep your mouths shut and your heads down."

Mick simply saluted with a frown, and Fitz looked a little nervous. "And your sure this is a good plan?" 

"It's the only one we've got," Ward stated as he led them around the gas station, seeing the pumps clearly marked out of service. 

"Then let's hope it works," Mick said trying to sound more reassured than he felt. 

They walked into the bar, seeing a lot of men sitting around watching soccer on the few TV's, all speaking in Russian. Ward walked over to the bar, which caught the attention of everyone there. He then began to order in Russian. Mick grabbed Fitz with one hand, as guns began to point at the trio. 

"Don't shoot!" Fitz held his arms up in surrender. 

"So now what?" Mick asked only to see Ward give a sympathetic look, surrendering himself. Mick the rolled his eyes, as the men took them and tied their hands together, leading them to a back room. 

A few moments of silence passed as Mick finally let his annoyance get to him. "Great plan Ward," he grumbled. 

"Not that I'm complaining, but why didn't they just kill us?" Fitz asked as Ward focused on listening to what the men were saying as best as he could. 

"Sounds like they're waiting for their boss," Ward frowned.

"Perfect," Mick groaned to Ward's annoyance. 

"Well I don't see you coming up with anything!" Ward barked. 

"I would've been perfectly content taking out the goons!" 

"That would've gotten Fitz killed!" Ward barked.

"Not necessarily," Mick snapped back looking at Fitz, then thinking about how much they were outmatched. "Ok, fine, you're right." Mick rolled his eyes. 

Fitz cleared his throat as a muscular looking woman walked into the room wearing a soccer jersey, and a very angry scowl. "I heard you were looking for your friend Uri, and Uri was friends with separatists. Are you separatist?" Her accent was very heavy, but her voice was also seemly nice. 

Fitz and Mick turned to Ward as that's who the woman was focused on. "No. We're here to stop them," he said firmly. "Just trust us, all we need is to get across the border." 

Cheers erupted from the other room as the woman held a look of frustration. "You're making me miss my game!" She groaned. "You're wasting my time, so let me be clear. You've given me no reason to trust you, and trust is everything to me." The woman glanced at the man behind the bar, who then grabbed his gun, walked in and aimed at Ward first. 

"Please," Mick spoke up. "We'll do anything." The woman glared at Mick momentarily. Then a flash came from the bar, followed by a loud zap, then angry groaning. 

"I can fix that!" Fitz pipped, as both Ward and Mick gave him a shut up glare. 

"You can fix our power?" The woman asked with doubt. 

"I'm pretty good with these kinds of things, just show me where the problem is," Fitz said confidently. They untied the trio and led them to a spot in the back of the bar, with the floorboards pulled apart. 

"If these two try anything, shoot them," the woman said as Mick and Ward stood by cautiously. 

"Looks like it's gonna be hard to get this way, do you have any way I can get in there without having forfeiting one hand?" Fitz asked as he examined the wiring under the floor. 

"Vladimir, lift up the boy," the woman said as the barkeep grabbed Fitz by the ankles. 

"Yeah, that'll work," Fitz grunted as Vladimir lowered him into the floor. 

"The name is Marta, if you need any tools just let me know," the woman sounded quite pleased that Fitz was so willing to help them. 

It wasn't long before the bar erupted with cheers, as the power returned. Mick and Ward seemed quite pleased that Fitz bought them some level of affection, as Marta called the guns off their backs. 

"Someone get this man a drink!" Marta called as she led them to the bar. 

Fitz smirked as they set the shot with heavy salt around the rim before him. He quickly downed it, smiling. Fitz then glanced between Mick and Ward then back at Marta. "Let's talk business." 

"Let's," Marta said with a smile, with Fitz following her into an office alone. 

"Ten bucks this doesn't go well," Ward nudged Mick. Mick smirked as the two discretely shook hands. 

It wasn't long before Marta and Fitz walked out of the office, both with a triumphant smile, leaving Ward and Mick confused as to why. Marta lead them to a covered transport truck, and paid the driver to allow them passage in the back. The boys climbed in thanking Marta and then were on their way. 

"Two million Rubles?" Ward gasped as Fitz's eyes widened. 

"What," he seemed rather surprised by Ward's reaction. "Aren't they like Peso's?" 

"Eh," Mick shrugged, he wasn't good at foreign exchange either. 

"You should both be thanking me not ridicule!" Fitz pulled a small device from his pocket. "Pocket EMP." 

"So that's how you knew how to fix their wiring," Mick commented as Fitz grinned proudly. 

"Very nice Fitz," Ward said, as Fitz's eyes lit up. 

"Did that hurt?" Mick teased as Ward frowned. 

"I can be nice," Ward groaned, causing the other two to laugh. 

The truck came to a sudden stop, slinging the boys forward into the crates. "What's going on?" Fitz asked as Mick and Ward made for the back of the truck, leaving Fitz nestled in the crates. Gunfire echoed, as both Ward and Mick knelt down.

"Border patrol?" Mick asked as Ward tried to listen to the shouts. 

"Yeah, sounds like our driver wasn't as legal as we hoped," Ward said softly.

"So now what?" Fitz fussed. 

"Quiet!" Ward snapped as Fitz ducked down. 

"Maybe we can use the stuff in these crates as a distraction? Mick suggested as Ward carefully pried one open to see a large beer barrel. 

"It's crazy, but that might work," Ward started to lift the barrel, Mick helping. They eased it to the side, then shoved it under the cloth and to the ground. "When I fire, you get Fitz and run."

"Deal," Mick nodded. 

Moments later, beer was everywhere, Mick had Fitz in front of him, running into the desert, with Ward quickly following. Mick without thinking shot webs at the windshield of the perusing Jeep, which caused the driver to slam on the breaks, kicking up dust. 

"I thought you weren't going to use powers?" Ward called out. 

"It's an emergency!" Mick responded as they found an irrigation ditch with a large drainage pipe quickly ducking inside hoping that the dust covered their escape. 

Mick knelt down, back against the pipe, with Ward doing the same opposite of him. Fitz however paced nervously. "We can't stay here long, what if they use that device!" 

"We know, trust me," Mick exhausted heavily.

"But Marta and Vlad as well as all of the others are in danger!" Fitz exclaimed as Mick reached over covering his mouth much to Fitz's annoyance. Yells and footsteps could be heard from the road above them. Mick then covered his mouth with one finger as Fitz nodded. 

Hours passed as Ward and Mick continued to struggle to make a decent plan of escape. 

"We have less than twelve hours to deactivate that device," Fitz chimed in. 

"Yeah, and we're still being hunted," Mick groaned. 

Fitz began to pull something from his backpack, and unwrap it. "Is that a sandwich?" Ward asked with annoyance.

"Yeah, do you want some?" Fitz walked over and offered. Ward quickly grabbed the whole thing, throwing it into the water as Fitz stared in horror. 

"Are you bloody mad?" Fitz snapped. 

"You'll lead those dogs right to us!" Ward barked as Fitz looked at Mick, who had the same serious expression as Ward. 

"Just so you know I can handle my bloody self," Fitz sulked into the pipe deeper, muttering to himself. 

"Fitz, quiet," Mick snapped as Fitz stared at him furiously, then seemed to lose his frustration as dogs howled, and barked as they passed. 

"You think we can hijack one of those trucks?" Mick seemed desperate.

"That's a terrible plan," Ward said firmly. "Besides, how would be get past security at the facility?" 

"Maybe we can hitch a ride under the truck?" Ward smiled at this idea. 

"I have a Mag-sack, but it'll only hold two," Mick looked over at the sulking Fitz. 

"The delivery trucks seem to come in pairs, so maybe I can hook a different one?" Mick and Ward nodded. 

"Fitz, your with me, we need to move fast!" Ward said as Fitz followed reluctantly. 

"See you soon," Mick said with a smirk.

Mick laid in the sand under the stars, the second truck vibrating the ground. It was much later than the first, hopefully Fitz and Ward would be fine while they wait for him. He clicked the button activating the magnet, and a quick jerk, he was attached to the underside of the truck. It was a miserable ride, but finally the truck stopped. Mick peaked from the bag, seeing the rather large factory. He quickly detached from the truck, carefully rolling from under the tires. Ward and Fitz were inside somewhere. He sprinted passed a few guards as they patrolled, using the shadows to his advantage. 

He was alone now, so using his powers could easily take some stress from Ward and Fitz. With a flick of the wrists, he was up into the the railings, sneaking across slowly. There was a guard just ahead of him. He pulled the Night Night pistol from the holster, then fired. The guard began to fall as Mick webbed his feet in place, then rigged him upright, not to draw suspicion. He then continued forward, seeing two guards unconscious down below. That must've been Ward's handy work. Mick used webs to pull them up to the railing, so they wouldn't be seen. 

He made his way deeper into the factory, following the schematic, finally reuniting with Ward and Fitz at the core of the overkill device. He jumped down, starling Ward, but Fitz was focused on his disarming. 

"Did you ever hear from the extraction team?" Mick asked as Ward frowned. 

"No, did you?" Mick shook his head knowing that meant this wasn't going to end well. 

"What are you two muttering about back there?" Fitz asked, looking back briefly to smile at Mick before returning to his wire cutting. 

"So now what do we do?" Mick sighed. 

"We protect Fitz," Ward said solemnly, as the two nodded. "Why don't you let me finish cutting those wires, and you and Mick get out before it gets bad?" 

"What?" Fitz asked as he stood upright. "Do you think I can't handle myself?" 

"It's not that," Mick said sorrowfully. 

"You too?" Fitz barked. "That hurts, real bad." Fitz's temper began to swell. "I'll have you know, I'm plenty capable of protecting myself!"

"No one is saying you can't," Ward sighed. 

"But you're acting like it!" Fitz continued. 

"You don't have to prove yourself to anyone, just let us protect you!" Mick urged as Fitz stared at them in disbelief. 

"Do you both think Coulson told you to just protect me?" He glared at the two of them. "I'll have you know, he wanted me to protect you two as well!" 

Mick and Ward turned to each other, then back as Fitz with a new resolve. "Sorry," Mick and Ward said in unison. 

"Great, now that's settled, I'm getting back to work," Fitz remarked as Mick and Ward shared a smile. 

"By the way, this Night Night pistol is amazing," Mick said as Ward noticed it on Mick's hip. 

"Glad someone appreciates it," Fitz remarked as Ward rolled his eyes. 

"I appreciate the idea of it, it's just," Ward huffed. "Not my thing." 

A few moments later Fitz had the final wire in hand. "Get ready, cause they're about to know we're here," he warned.

"You sure you don't want a head start on the escape?" Ward asked as Fitz cut the wire without a second thought. The machine quickly lost power, as Ward pulled out the beacon, setting it down as it began flashing. Alarms in the factory, red flashing lights and all. 

"Brace yourself!" Mick called out, brandishing his saber, as electricity coursed and crackled around the blade. 

Guards began to pour in, as Fitz fumbled with the device in his hands. Mick quickly webbed a gun away from one, then slashed him, the electricity and force send him into a row of others. 

"Mick duck! Fitz, now!" Ward called out as Mick quickly ducked, as a pulsing beam fired from the machine in Fitz's hands. The guns in the guards hands began to glow, causing them to toss them aside before exploding. 

A guard then rushed as Mick, only to be met by Mick's blade, sending him flipping backwards. 

The ground then shook followed by a loud explosion as Mick and Ward turned back to see Fitz shaking his head. "Guess SHIeLD is already starting their attack!" Ward called out. 

"Then we need to get as far from here as we can!" Mick called out as Ward took point, fighting off guards with his bare hands. 

"I'll stay behind you!" Fitz tapped Mick on the shoulder as they began to follow in the bodies Ward left in his wake.

Mick and Ward stood with Fitz between them as they faced what seemed to be an army of guards outside the factory. "Well, it was fun," Fitz said grimly.

"It's not over until it's over," Ward said sternly.

"I didn't ring any bells," Mick remarked. 

A large shadow then appeared over them, catching their attention. "The extraction team!" Fitz called out. 

"Nah, it's better," Ward smirked as wind from the propulsion brushed up the dust around them. "It's the Calvary." 

"You know she hates that right?" Mick said as Ward turned to him with a shrug and smile. 

The army of guards point their guns at the Bus, only to be launched backwards by the engines. 

"I'll never get tired of seeing that," Ward remarked as Mick and Fitz nodded in agreement. The hatch opened as a long rope ladder came down with Coulson standing atop, expectantly.

Once the three were inside the Bus, the hatch closed, Mick, Fitz and Ward all leaning against the wall, exhausted. "Thanks for the save, Sir," Ward exhaled. 

"We protect our own," Coulson said with a smirk. "That little thing caused all of our problems?"

"Yeah, it's cooler than it looks," Mick said as Coulson raised a brow. 

"If it wasn't for that machine and Fitz we'd have been gunned down before we could escape," Ward said admirably causing Fitz to smile. 

"He really had our backs out there," Mick said proudly. 

"Glad to hear it," Coulson took the machine from Fitz and began to walk away. As he did Skye and Jemma walked in smiling proudly. 

"I'm glad you're all alright," Jemma said, before focusing on Fitz. 

"Let's give them a moment," Ward smirked as Mick nodded, they only managed a few steps before Skye stopped Ward. 

"We'll talk later," Mick fist bumped Ward which caused Skye to stare at them curiously before focusing on Ward. He walked to the lounge alone, seeing May looking over a file. 

"Thanks for the save," Mick said happily as May glanced up and smirked. "Is it a fun read?" 

"It's a read," May said closing the file as Mick drew nearer. 

"Classified?" 

"It's a personnel file," May said as Mick nodded, fixing himself a drink. 

"Adding a new member to the team?" Mick asked as May shook her head. 

"Potentially," she stood up, leaving Mick alone.

Ward came by Mick's bunk after the debriefing with Coulson, his expression was quite curious. "I just wanted to say thanks for having my back out there." 

"No problem," Mick said as Ward watched him fixing his bed. 

"You seem like you're very cautious about trusting SHIELD.

"I'm always cautious about people who keep so many secrets," Mick sighed. "And it's missions like that one, that really brings out my trust issues." 

"I'm glad you trusted me enough to lead the mission," Ward said as Mick turned to him. 

"Just because I wasn't your biggest fan when we first met," Mick started as Ward smiled expectantly. "Doesn't mean I don't like you now. Sure your ego is annoying, but that doesn't mean you're not a good agent." 

"You're one to talk Webby," Ward teased as Mick glared at him. "You've had an untouchable air about you, and that bond with Fitz, Simmons, and Skye." 

"Yeah, your the one that jumped out of the plane to save Simmons, and protected Skye in the field." 

"It doesn't change how they feel about you," Ward said as Mick raised a brow. "They look up to you for protection, just as much as they do me." 

"I'd like to think if it came down to it I could be as strong as you," Mick said.

"I think you already are," Ward said. "Which is why I'm glad you and I are on the same team."

Mick stared at Ward curiously, only for Ward to smile. "Thanks, I think?"

"I'm just saying, I wouldn't want to fight against you," Ward patted Micks shoulder. 

"Ah, okay," Mick smiled skeptically. "I wouldn't want to fight you either after seeing your body count back there." 

Ward walked away without another word, as Mick climbed into his bunk. He was relieved to be home. He was relieved that this new team was beginning to feel like a new family. One that he didn't have to worry about being ripped apart. One that could protect itself from any threats that came against them.