Chapter 3: Eye Spy

Ok, so now that Aurelia is going to go into S.H.I.E.L.D, the chapters may or may not be getting longer, since it's a chapter per episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Just a heads up!

Have fun!

LittlePond

Chapter 3: Eye Spy

Unfortunately, this plan of Whitehall's involved me getting gagged, put under and getting shipped to Minsk, Belarus.

HYDRA always had a flair for the dramatic.

According to my orders, I had to go under the alias of Kennedy Montogmery, the 23 year old daughter of Special Forces agents Rose and David Montgomery, who were killed in the field, along with a lot of unimportant details I was sure I had to relay later on.

Who knew whether the story was true, but really, who cared?

But I had to dye my hair brown for the mission, which was a pain.

So it was understandable that I was extremely uncomfortable bound and gagged under someone's hotel bed.

"You should've stayed in bed," a woman's voice sneered as I came to.

Thankfully, I was underneath the said person's bed, so I could see only hear the sounds of a fist fight I longed to be apart of. Even through their bonds, my fists still shook with anticipation of an attack, despite that that the two people had no clue I was here.

From what I could hear, things got really serious when I heard something like a table fall over and something sharp penetrate a wall.

Silently I muttered, "Damn," and continued to hum yet another Taylor Swift song, 'I Knew You Were Trouble.'

After several crashes, the room grew voiceless save for the brush of shoes on carpet- the dispute was over.

"May, I told you not to do this."

Whoever May was was silent for a few moments, "I decided to put matters into my own hands."

I took this as my cue to start getting attention.

Wriggling against my bonds  I managed to hit the bed above and called out, "Hey! Anyone there?"

The noise of shoes against carpet sounded like the claps of an aged clock tower, and a middle aged man pulled back the blankets.

He had hazel eyes and stubborn mousy hair, as if it was fighting the effects of ageing, not to mention a very kind smile. "Hi," he grinned with an American accent.

I attempted to wriggle out of my gag so the man pulled me out from the bed like a parent moving old toys for a garage sale.

Once I was out I answered, "Hi. It would be great if you told me how in the hell I got here."

The suited man nodded, and looked back to an Asian woman who with a single glance I could tell was armed, dangerous, and had a heart of stone.

"If I had answers, I'd give them. My name is Agent Phil Coulson, and this is Agent Melinda May. Perhaps you'd like it if we took you in?"

Would I like it if they took me in? That was the whole point of my mission!

I shrugged, and put a piece of brown hair behind my ears, which I was adjusting to. "Well, I'm up for anything that has to do with a shower and a change of clothes."

Idiots. Who knew how many lives that they'd destroyed. I should smite them down right here and now, screw the mission. But a simple glance down at the exotic gun in Coulson's hand was enough to stay my hand.

Even I had no clue what it'd do.

"They?" Melinda May asked, arms crossed and stepping forward.

I almost chuckled at their idiocy. If only they knew the identity of just what was in their midst, how much misery that I'd caused them. I didn't even feel a tad sorry.

"Not sure who 'they' are. All I know is I've been captured for a while. Moving from place to place. Oh! I forgot, the name's Kennedy Montgomery."

~~~

Apparently, I had been placed in the apartment of Akela Amador, a former S.H.I.E.L.D agent with a prosthetic eye, forced to perform several acts of treachery. 

Now, both Akela and I were being interrogated in separate rooms.

Except, I would've preferred Coulson, who not only seemed a lot nicer than May, but a lot more talkative; the first few minutes of the interrogation were spent staring.

It felt too much like a certain franchise about sparkly vampires.

"Remind me again why I have to do this?" I asked, twirling a lock of chestnut hair and leaning back in my chair. 

As far as May was concerned, I was an innocent hostage. Not that I had been taken hostage all. May sighed, "We need to make sure we can trust you." 

I almost guffawed at that, but I kept it stuck in my head.

The room I was in was definitely an office,  several old things dotted across the shelves, including a model of a cherry red car. "Why not just take me home now?"Now it seemed as though May was the one being interrogated. 

"We have our hands full, in case you haven't noticed."

Feeling the chill of the handcuffs they'd given me as a precaution I grinned. 

Finally, the female agent took a seat across the warm oak desk, showing some signs of comfortableness, "What's your name?" The agent very well knew my name, and she knew it too.

I leaned further back into the rather comfortable chair, "You know what my name is." The repulsive S.H.I.E.L.D agent only stared at me intensely, whose heat could to melt metal. Sighing in defeat, I answered, "Kennedy Montgomery." 

May pulled out a tablet from seemingly nowhere, and punched it into a keyboard.

"Date of birth?" 

"4th of April." 

The agent looked as if she'd rather hand herself over to HYDRA's prisons, rolling her eyes as she entered in more information. "Family?" she questioned. Time to bring out the fake life story. 

"An uncle, 2 aunties and 3 cousins," I answered, sitting straighter and tearing my gaze away from the model car. 

"Parents?" 

I attempted to be an actress, put on my best haunted face and stare off into the plane's windows, "They were Special Forces agents, killed in action when I was 19." 

"Sorry to hear that," she scowled. Gripping the back of my chair through my handcuffs, I answered through gritted teeth, "I'm sure you are."

At last, Melinda picked up just who I claimed my parents to be. "Did you say Special Forces?" Grinning in satisfaction, I answered, "Yep. They trained me in a few things." Well, if Special Forces counted as HYDRA and 'a few things' was the skills of one of the best assassins ever recorded. "Like?" May prompted, eyebrow curved with interest. Grinning, I gave a censored list, "Martial arts, fencing, shooting, knives. The usual."

The agent looked impressed, and I was this close to trying to rip the metal that bound my wrists to twist her throat.

"And what were you doing prior to being captured?" 

"I was on my way to a lecture after my shift at this local dojo when some idiots somehow stopped my car. There was a scuffle, but they injected me with some tranquilliser. So here I am," I sighed, putting my right leg over my left and crossing my arms, a petite grin dripped on both of our faces. 

"We'll see what Coulson thinks of this training you have."

Once our interrogation had concluded, May unleashed me from the office. Unleashed at her side, since I still wasn't trustworthy enough apparently.

The plane itself was lavish, as far was planes went, especially the room in which we stopped in. The room was walled with glass, but didn't contain much; only a desk that was a touchscreen and a larger television sized display unit. 

And by that desk was Agent Phil Coulson. 

"How did things go with Akela?" May asked, her voice stern as before, but it had slightly softened, more rubber than granite.

"Decent. We've got a lead on her handler. How's the new girl? Kennedy?" Coulson questioned, essentially ignoring my existence. Not that I expected any less. She nodded, seeming to enjoy the ignoring game, "Better than expected. Her parents were Special Forces agents, they trained her in a few things." 

At last, Coulson turned to me, "Like?"

I shrugged, gripping the material of my jacket in anticipation, excitement and a little fear. The guy did die a few months ago, who knew if he going to start the freaking zombie apocalypse? 

"A variety of martial arts, shooting, fencing, a few others. The usual." 

Coulson looked impressed, nodding several times abruptly, and taking a step closer. I almost took a step back. "Maybe if you stick around you could become one of us," he suggested, giving me my ticket in. Should I accept the offer, I'd remain in S.H.I.E.L.D and complete my mission. 

"One of you? Like, part of this super secret boy band?"

The subject of my mission smirked, "I wouldn't say that, but the Avengers however..."

"Coulson," May said sternly, trying to put a cork to the open bottle of champagne. "Right, of course," he agreed, nodding abruptly again. To my right a boy and a girl, who had a glint in their eye  that screamed that screamed of intelligence. 

Coulson grinned as if the two's presence had infected him too, "Kennedy, meet Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz."

I held out my hand, grinning as much as I could tolerate surrounded by these pests, "Kennedy Montgomery." The girl, whose hair was an adorable shade of mousey brown and identical eyes grinned and shook it, her voice had a lovely British accent, "Jemma Simmons. Biochem."

Lucky.

What I would give to be a scientist, and Jemma was a biochemist, no less. That was like the epitome of my scientific dreams! 

The formally dressed boy next to her held out his own hand, and his voice had an accent too."Leo Fitz. Engineer," he introduced, shaking my hand, his blazer and sweater brushing against each other.

Damn, these two were really making it hard for me to hate them.

Letting go of Leo's hand, I turned to both of them as they led me out of the glass room and down a set of metal stairs, footsteps clattering on each slab. "So you're scientists?" 

As much as I loathed to admit it, I was reasonably comfortable amongst the two, S.H.I.E.L.D or not. What was I thinking? Comfort amongst my enemies? 

"Of course. And you are?" Leo scoffed as we entered another glass room, much bigger than the previous room, and a laboratory. It was identifiable by the gorgeous microscopes and other breathtaking equipment that I was ashamed to admit that I didn't know of.

Cryptic answers were the key here; Jemma and Leo weren't scientists in nothing, and at this age. "Trained in a few things. Also studying in Forensics," I answered, going along with Whitehall's plan.

Jemma slid on a lab coat with S.H.I.E.L.D's grey logo across the room and gasped, "I've always wanted to meet a forensic scientist! What do you specialise in?" Finally, someone who spoke my language! Wait, she's S.H.I.E.L.D. This is probably a facade. She's S.H.I.E.L.D, I reminded myself. 

Leo, who was putting on an identical coat asked, "Forensic scientists specialise?"

British, scientists, and adorable. Were they trying to make my job harder?

Jemma set about braiding her hair, a skill that I also wanted to learn, scowling, "Of course, Fitz!" I laughed softly, slightly giving in to my humanity, and listed the areas in which I claimed to specialise, "Molecular biology and firearms examination."

 Leo almost dropped a pair of glasses with a set of LED lights on either side, "Woah." 

Jemma, who I now realised had been setting a work bench up, clapped her hands in approval,  "And that should be all!"

I looked up in interest, "All for what?" She grinned and answered, "Eye surgery," she pressed a finger on what must've been a comm, "Sir, we're ready for you down here."

Within moments, Coulson trudged down the steps and by the scientist's and I's side. My stomach churned at the sight of him- he was a freak of nature. He died, fair and square, and yet here Coulson was, walking and talking and doing regular S.H.I.E.L.D monstrosities.

 It wasn't right. And the reason had to be sought out.

"Ward's on site so we don't have much time," Coulson reported, looking down on Leo and Jemma. Leo looked down in  disbelief, "To remove her eyeball." 

The 'her' in question was Akela Amador. Apparently, her prosthetic eye allowed her to be monitored constantly with a kill switch that would kill  should she not complete a task her handler sent.

Sounded fun.

Jemma remained as uncertain as Leo, "Ocular surgery isn't really my field of expertise." Coulson shook his head, "We've got no choice. There's a kill switch inside Akela; could be a poison could be an explosive. Either way if Ward's caught, they'll kill her instantly," he answered worriedly.

I turned to Jemma and whispered, "Who's Ward?" Jemma turned to me and answered, "Another agent. He's a Specialist, so he's not the best socialist."

I turned my attention back to Coulson, who was walking out, I was about to ask where the hell he was going, but Leo did that for me. "Where are you going, sir?"

Sir. Such formality. I never called Whitehall 'sir.' As the lab doors closed behind him, he answered, "To find whoever's fingers on the trigger."

Take me with you.

The woman who must've been Akela Amador lay on the work bench that Jemma had set up. She had braided her ebony hair, cocoa skin flashing against the fluorescent lights. From what Leo- Fitz, as he liked to be called -said, they were going to try and remove her prosthetic eye, and disable the kill switch which could kill us all, Akela most certainly.

"I may need your feedback during the operation," Jemma asked shakily, clearly nervous, "Which means I have to inject an anaesthetic into your eye rather than putting you under."

Akela somehow didn't seem to be bothered her eye was going to be removed with chances of her dying the process.  I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, afraid of the woman's fate.

I didn't exactly want to be exploded via a prosthetic eye.

Jemma tried again and again to inject the anaesthetic but couldn't do it. Part of me pitied the biochemist, but another part, the majority, grinned in satisfaction. Of course S.H.I.E.L.D agents didn't have the stomach for this. They should've let the HYDRA assassin do it.

Akela seemed to share my frustration, and held the needle in Simmons' hands, "Let me." I would've had shaking hands in Akela's situation, but her hand was steady and calm as she directed the serum into her eye. 

Beside me, Fitz whimpered, looking as if he was going to faint. I didn't blame him. 

"Well then, this is going to lovely." 

I claimed to be a forensic scientist, but the sounds of an optical operation were pure horror. All I could hear for several minutes were the squelches of muscles, gurgle of blood and the whisper of wires.

Fitz shared the feeling, looking away out of the lab and squinting, "Please tell me it's out already." Jemma contemplated her answer, and moving the torch on her head so it shone directly in my eye. "Thanks a lot, Jemma."

"It's, mostly out." 

Just to be sure, I kneeled up, just to sneak a peek at the goings on of the operation.

I'd prefer not to describe what I saw. Even for my eye, it was enough to twirl my stomach like a ribbon in a gymnast's hand.

Half coughing, half gagging I caught Akela's stare, no sign of fear on her face. Whoever trained her must have done well, if she wasn't intimidated at all.

"What's wrong?" Akela asked, who seemed more bored than anything. She would be a fantastic assassin if someone gave her the opportunity. The biochemist grinned, a bittersweet grin, "Nothing."

She proceeded to pull. Out. Akela's. Eyeball.

Fitz next to me stared at the organ, mouth agape and eyes wide open, frozen. Jemma continued, "But Doctor Fitz needs to step in now, this is his area of expertise." I elbowed the engineer, once, twice, three times, but he remained statute. 

"Fitz!" Simmons repeated sternly, which seemed to do the job.

He moved around the bench and held the eye, hand frozen along with his face. I remained on the opposite side of the benchout of harm's way, since I knew nothing of optometry or how to disable a kill switch.

Best to not interfere, if you catch my drift.

Still in shock of what his gloved hands held, Fitz began, "Alright then. Most likely both power source and kill switch are located within the eye itself so, how to disconnect without triggering the kill switch?" 

I had to admit, Fitz was good, that or I didn't understand engineering, which was probably why.

Jemma moved to my side of the desk and whispered, "Should we help him?" I shrugged, trying to keep up my cover, "Maybe, but I'm not exactly a genius mechanical engineer." 

After a few seconds of thought, Fitz exclaimed, "Oh! I know what to do, I just need to clarify one thing." Jemma strolled to Fitz's side; these two seemed to be as close as the twins. "Do we want to know?" I chuckled, though my smile was instantly extinguished when faced with Akela's ice stare.

Simmons looked up, "Your commentary is much loved, Kennedy." 

It was so weird to be called Kennedy instead of Aurelia. Kennedy was so much more, common and normal, unlike Aurelia. "You know you love it," I chuckled again, crossing my arms.

~~~

Not much happened after that.

Fitz and Jemma- Simmons as she was called by everyone else- helped Akela recover, putting a cover of her now useless eye socket. Coulson returned from wherever he had gone and May remained exactly where she was.

Wherever she was.

That woman was less social than I was.

I found myself on the plane's second floor, directly above the science labs, overlooking the several cars that were stored here, among them a larger version of the red model car back in the office. The aircraft had long since landed, and several men and a car awaited Akela, some in suits, others in tactical gear. 

Directly below me, Coulson and Akela strolled out.

Even from this distance, I could see Akela stiffen at the sight of the night clad agents, hands in pockets or around triggers like awaiting tragedies. The change in the agent both baffled me. 

The removal of an eye? Akela could do it without flinching. 

Injecting an anaesthetic into your eye? No problem! 

Walking to a bunch of suited men? No way in hell.

Coulson looked from the men and back to Akela, "You'll get a fair trial. I plan on testifying, I know people. You deserve a second chance."

What crap. He was S.H.I.E.L.D; I wouldn't even trust a freaking blood oath from such monsters. My stomach threatened to empty itself at the sound of those words. 

Akela answered, the light glistening on the metal cap over her eye, "You already gave me one. Doesn't matter how it plays out from here, I'm free. Thank you." Below me, I heard the sound of footfalls approach the duo. "Good luck," Coulson farewelled before moving to go up the stairs, directly where I stood. 

It was not in either of our best interests that Coulson find me eavesdropping, so I hid behind a cupboard as he walked past, and revealing myself just in time to hear the conversation between May and Akela.

"What happened to Agent Coulson?" Akela asked as they walked towards the ebony assembly, "He's different." From this distance, I couldn't tell whether or not May was bluffing, but I was willing to bet my life she was. 

"Well, he's loosened up a bit. He nearly died before the Battle of New York." Thankfully, Akela wasn't letting this go, so just before they took her into the car, she  asked, "But what did they do to him?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Nevermind," Akela sighed, before entering the car, disappearing until who knew when.

~~~

Whoever Skye and Ward entered the plane too. And it was time for me to meet them. Well, Skye at least, since Ward was nowhere to be found. Clearly Simmons had been right when she said that he wasn't the best socialist.

I guessed I'd have to wait a little longer until I met this Agent Grant Ward.

Coulson, being the formal S.H.I.E.L.D scum he was summoned me to his office, where Skye was already waiting. Her hair was the same shade mine had been dyed. Skye's matching fawn eyes glinted as she asked, "Who's this?"

Was that a territorial tone I heard?

Coulson shrugged, swinging in his brown leather chair, "A girl we picked up when May decided to go after Akela. Skye, this is Kennedy Montgomery, Kennedy, this is Skye." 

No use of last name noted. Perhaps Skye didn't have one. 

I did something I wouldn't normally do; I meekly lifted a hand and practically whimpered, "Hi."

However degrading it felt, it had to be done. Once I had gotten my information and was out of here, I didn't want to be recognised later on. Or maybe when I was deployed to kill one of them.

"Hey," she answered, and turned to Coulson, "How long is she staying?"

Coulson walked over to a shelf that stored a few more old things and an odd pair of glasses. Why a S.H.I.E.L.D agent would have that, I have no idea.

"Until we drop her off," he answered. According to HYDRA, home was the base not  far from here. But my actual home was far away in Sokovia. 

"Unless she decides to stay." If he only knew just what he was inviting on board, the fool.

Skye was less than impressed. "Stay? What are we? A lost dogs home?" 

I crossed my own arms and sighed, looking out a window, "I'll pretend that that wasn't an insult."

"Kennedy's parents were both Special Forces; she's trained, and well. Plus, she's studying Forensic Science. She's useful." Skye brought her eyebrows together in fierce judgement, "Like me?"

Instantly, my mind whirred as to what Skye's talent could be that attracted S.H.I.E.L.D's attention. I wondered if HYDRA had been after her too, maybe they hadn't been able to get to her fast enough. We were human after all.

"So what's your thing? Archery? Super sneaky?" I asked. I wondered of she'd notice I was listing the key skills of Avengers Hawkeye and Black Widow.

Coulson did, since he tried to cough down a laugh. Skye didn't, or  just didn't care to express my stellar referencing, "Hacking, actually. I was a member of the Rising Tide."

"Who?" I asked in sincere confusion. Skye clenched her teeth and tightened the arms which she'd crossed, "Have you been living under a rock? The Rising Tide." I probably shouldn't mention that I'd been in Mumbai the past month, and the 3 weeks before that I was in Vienna, so American news wasn't exactly on my radar. 

"Right. The Rising Tide, of course." 

First impressions were really my forte.

Most likely out of anger, Skye exited the room, her stomps audible as she made her way down. Faintly, I heard the sound of a car door slam. Coulson chuckled, "So? Want to go home? Have some shawarma?"

Was he serious? I just blatantly pissed off one his recruits and he didn't even blink? That was S.H.I.E.L.D for you, no consideration whatsoever.

The next line gave me physical pain- "Actually, this S.H.I.E.L.D thing seems pretty cool. Got a spare spot?"

"I always do. Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D, Kennedy."