Resurrection - Chapter 27
With one agent down (Melinda May) and possibly never to return, Coulson begins to fear he's about to lose another. Bennett Gross seems to hold the winning hand, and there are no more cards to be dealt. It time to call and see what happens.
Chapter 27
With Skye stuffed into the passenger seat, Gross turned his full attention to Coulson, assuming that she couldn’t move to the driver’s seat (true) and that she couldn’t effectively try to escape (also true). “Don’t try to follow me,” he said as he began to back his way around the front of the car. “If you do, I won’t hesitate to kill her, and,” he added with a grin, “you haven’t got anything that can keep up with me anyway.”
Coulson wasn’t sure what Skye had in mind, but to this point she seemed to be somewhat content with the situation. Her being inside the car did mean that Gross could no longer easily hear anything she said, and that was an integral part of her plan. As Gross stepped in front of the car, his entire attention focused on Coulson and the other members of the SHIELD team, Skye quietly issued instructions.
“Phil. Draw on him. Force him to fire at you. Do it now!”
For the slightest moment Phil froze. I can’t draw that fast. He’ll shoot, and the blast will likely get David or Jae. They don’t have any protection, and they’re not close enough to be covered by mine. He didn’t look, but assumed that Kadeem likely didn’t have a pod either since Trip had been wearing it.
“Phil. Now! Do it!”
Gross was now nearly past the front of the car and about to move behind far side. Without thinking further, Phil reached for the gun in the middle of his back, and Gross immediately squared his aim and triggered his blaster. An explosion of red light completely obscured the front of the car and the noise was deafening. Phil immediately turned to inventory his team, finding everyone intact.
As the light burst dissipated they could see Gross lying on the ground against the building behind the car, and he wasn’t moving.
“Skye!” Phil yelled, immediately running towards the car. “Skye!”
“I’m fine,” she said, her voice coming through the comm. link in his ear.
As the dust began to settle, Phil walked slowly towards the car, trying to comprehend exactly what had happened. He pulled open the door and Skye got out, falling directly into his arms, the two of them holding on to each other, a crushing hug that celebrated their continued existence.
“What happened?” Phil finally asked, still uncertain how Skye had anticipated the result.
She almost giggled, and then looked up at him with a big grin on her face. “He was wearing a really fuzzy shirt…flannel or something…and I was able to pull off my pod and stick it on his shirt. The velcro held it. He fired into the cone, and it rebounded.”
Phil replayed her words, and suddenly her little stumble getting into the car made perfect sense. “I knew he only had the blaster,” she added, and I waited to make certain the pod had stuck to his shirt.” She looked back into Phil’s eyes. “I’m glad you trusted me enough to draw…because there was no Plan B.”
Slowly the team gathered around them, but Phil was still focused on the real mission. “Kadeem, take the nuralizer and get it back to the bus. David, Jae, see what needs to be done for the rest of them. At least a couple are just wounded.”
Then he thought of something else. “Chuck…Anthony. You can pull your explosives, and then drive around to this side. I need you to collect everything you can. The weapons and anything else go back to the bus. Any money you find gets boxed up for the locals to deal with. Check the cars carefully…they were loading them up for a get-away when we blew that door.”
After issuing those instructions Phil turned around to face Skye again. Without either of them speaking they immediately resumed their hug. Once again they had both survived a brush with death.
* * * * *
“It’s all ready to go,” Sir Basil said, gently setting down the nuralizer on the table. “The modification is complete, and I’ve checked to see that it’s emitting the proper beam.”
“So, what’s next?” Phil asked, believing he already knew the answer.
“Well,” Basil said quietly, “somebody needs to shoot Agent May.”
While everyone had confidence in Basil’s work, and his knowledge of the alien weaponry, shooting a fellow agent, even if it meant potentially saving their life or restoring their health, wasn’t a concept to be taken lightly. Everyone in the room looked around, each of them meeting the gaze of the others, wondering who had the guts to do such a thing. Phil had always assumed it would be up to him, as the Director and also as the owner of May’s longest friendship. They went way back, and May had even promised to take out Phil if his T.A.H.I.T.I. treatment ever forced him over the edge.
But before he could speak, Skye picked up the nuralizer. “I’ll do it,” she declared.
“Are you sure?” Phil asked.
“Yes. She helped save my life.” She glanced at Phil and then at Jemma. “No, she wasn’t the only one. You all did. But…this is just something I need to do.” She turned to face Phil. “You don’t need this on your conscious if it goes wrong.”
“And you do?”
Skye smiled slightly. “No. I’d prefer that it work. It’s just…this isn’t something you can do. I’ll do it. She’ll understand.” She turned to Basil. “How close should I be? Where do I aim?”
“I’d say 3 or 4 meters distant. Aim for her head,” he said reluctantly. “Hold the beam for a few seconds, and then we’ll see what happens.” Skye walked slowly towards the med pod, vaguely remembering the hours she had spend in the same container. With great deliberation, she reached out and opened the door and then stood back, moving out into the hallway to gain distance and then brought the rifle-like weapon up to her shoulder.
Basil was watching from behind, holding on to Jemma and hoping it wasn’t too late. While he had confidence in his own abilities, this was a completely unproven therapy. Skye took careful aim, although at such short range it was more a case of pointing the whole barrel rather than using the sights. She took a deep breath, steadied her arm, and pulled the trigger.
The entire pod was filled with a purple light, although oddly enough there was no associated noise. The weapon hummed slightly as Skye held the trigger, silently praying…although not to any particular deity, that she was helping. After a few seconds, she released the trigger and the light immediately disappeared. Then she turned to Basil, her face asking the obvious question.
Jemma immediately dashed forward, pushing Trip and Phil aside to get to Melinda’s side. Nothing seemed to have changed, and she turned to face Basil. “How…how soon will we know?”
He walked slowly forward, stopping when he reached the door to the pod. “It may take a few minutes, not more than an hour…if it worked.”
Chapter 27
With Skye stuffed into the passenger seat, Gross turned his full attention to Coulson, assuming that she couldn’t move to the driver’s seat (true) and that she couldn’t effectively try to escape (also true). “Don’t try to follow me,” he said as he began to back his way around the front of the car. “If you do, I won’t hesitate to kill her, and,” he added with a grin, “you haven’t got anything that can keep up with me anyway.”
Coulson wasn’t sure what Skye had in mind, but to this point she seemed to be somewhat content with the situation. Her being inside the car did mean that Gross could no longer easily hear anything she said, and that was an integral part of her plan. As Gross stepped in front of the car, his entire attention focused on Coulson and the other members of the SHIELD team, Skye quietly issued instructions.
“Phil. Draw on him. Force him to fire at you. Do it now!”
For the slightest moment Phil froze. I can’t draw that fast. He’ll shoot, and the blast will likely get David or Jae. They don’t have any protection, and they’re not close enough to be covered by mine. He didn’t look, but assumed that Kadeem likely didn’t have a pod either since Trip had been wearing it.
“Phil. Now! Do it!”
Gross was now nearly past the front of the car and about to move behind far side. Without thinking further, Phil reached for the gun in the middle of his back, and Gross immediately squared his aim and triggered his blaster. An explosion of red light completely obscured the front of the car and the noise was deafening. Phil immediately turned to inventory his team, finding everyone intact.
As the light burst dissipated they could see Gross lying on the ground against the building behind the car, and he wasn’t moving.
“Skye!” Phil yelled, immediately running towards the car. “Skye!”
“I’m fine,” she said, her voice coming through the comm. link in his ear.
As the dust began to settle, Phil walked slowly towards the car, trying to comprehend exactly what had happened. He pulled open the door and Skye got out, falling directly into his arms, the two of them holding on to each other, a crushing hug that celebrated their continued existence.
“What happened?” Phil finally asked, still uncertain how Skye had anticipated the result.
She almost giggled, and then looked up at him with a big grin on her face. “He was wearing a really fuzzy shirt…flannel or something…and I was able to pull off my pod and stick it on his shirt. The velcro held it. He fired into the cone, and it rebounded.”
Phil replayed her words, and suddenly her little stumble getting into the car made perfect sense. “I knew he only had the blaster,” she added, and I waited to make certain the pod had stuck to his shirt.” She looked back into Phil’s eyes. “I’m glad you trusted me enough to draw…because there was no Plan B.”
Slowly the team gathered around them, but Phil was still focused on the real mission. “Kadeem, take the nuralizer and get it back to the bus. David, Jae, see what needs to be done for the rest of them. At least a couple are just wounded.”
Then he thought of something else. “Chuck…Anthony. You can pull your explosives, and then drive around to this side. I need you to collect everything you can. The weapons and anything else go back to the bus. Any money you find gets boxed up for the locals to deal with. Check the cars carefully…they were loading them up for a get-away when we blew that door.”
After issuing those instructions Phil turned around to face Skye again. Without either of them speaking they immediately resumed their hug. Once again they had both survived a brush with death.
* * * * *
“It’s all ready to go,” Sir Basil said, gently setting down the nuralizer on the table. “The modification is complete, and I’ve checked to see that it’s emitting the proper beam.”
“So, what’s next?” Phil asked, believing he already knew the answer.
“Well,” Basil said quietly, “somebody needs to shoot Agent May.”
While everyone had confidence in Basil’s work, and his knowledge of the alien weaponry, shooting a fellow agent, even if it meant potentially saving their life or restoring their health, wasn’t a concept to be taken lightly. Everyone in the room looked around, each of them meeting the gaze of the others, wondering who had the guts to do such a thing. Phil had always assumed it would be up to him, as the Director and also as the owner of May’s longest friendship. They went way back, and May had even promised to take out Phil if his T.A.H.I.T.I. treatment ever forced him over the edge.
But before he could speak, Skye picked up the nuralizer. “I’ll do it,” she declared.
“Are you sure?” Phil asked.
“Yes. She helped save my life.” She glanced at Phil and then at Jemma. “No, she wasn’t the only one. You all did. But…this is just something I need to do.” She turned to face Phil. “You don’t need this on your conscious if it goes wrong.”
“And you do?”
Skye smiled slightly. “No. I’d prefer that it work. It’s just…this isn’t something you can do. I’ll do it. She’ll understand.” She turned to Basil. “How close should I be? Where do I aim?”
“I’d say 3 or 4 meters distant. Aim for her head,” he said reluctantly. “Hold the beam for a few seconds, and then we’ll see what happens.” Skye walked slowly towards the med pod, vaguely remembering the hours she had spend in the same container. With great deliberation, she reached out and opened the door and then stood back, moving out into the hallway to gain distance and then brought the rifle-like weapon up to her shoulder.
Basil was watching from behind, holding on to Jemma and hoping it wasn’t too late. While he had confidence in his own abilities, this was a completely unproven therapy. Skye took careful aim, although at such short range it was more a case of pointing the whole barrel rather than using the sights. She took a deep breath, steadied her arm, and pulled the trigger.
The entire pod was filled with a purple light, although oddly enough there was no associated noise. The weapon hummed slightly as Skye held the trigger, silently praying…although not to any particular deity, that she was helping. After a few seconds, she released the trigger and the light immediately disappeared. Then she turned to Basil, her face asking the obvious question.
Jemma immediately dashed forward, pushing Trip and Phil aside to get to Melinda’s side. Nothing seemed to have changed, and she turned to face Basil. “How…how soon will we know?”
He walked slowly forward, stopping when he reached the door to the pod. “It may take a few minutes, not more than an hour…if it worked.”