...SHIT

Why is Sky here? It's still too early, did the plot change? Fuck!

"Well Ward you got what you wanted, you said you'd give us intelligence on Hydra if you talked to me, and here I am, so start talking," says Sky in the same voice Shield agents are told yo use when they interrogate prisoners

This is very bad.. this is very bad. The whole plan was to follow the plot and escape in the transport van, just rip out of the handcuffs and I'm free to do whatever I want, now that probably wont happen. FUCK.

Think, Think! What do I say?

Breathe, keep calm, don't let anything show on your face. Keep the poker face, do NOT Screw up.

*Ding*

[ Quest Generated ]

[ Quest: Negotiation ]

[Goal: Negotiate better-living conditions

Time limit: 10 min

Reward:200p and Lowest Level Mystery Box

Accept Quest: Yes/No]

What the...

"Well.. Ward.. Why aren't you saying anything?" Sky asked me with narrowed eyes

Okay let's do this, the plot is already screwed, and I get 2 weeks worth of points if I succeed.

"It's good to see you Sky. Yes I'm willing to give you information, for a price of course" I look at her for any reaction

She frowns "For a price? Do you think you are in any position to negotiate with us? After all you've done"

"Actually I'm in the perfect position to negotiate, I'm sure Shield isn't having it easy right now, you desperately need info on Hydra to get the upper hand. The only reason I haven't been tortured is because Coulson knows I won't talk, its part of my training" I smirk at her while laying on the bed

"Shield doesn't torture people Ward, we are not psychopaths you and Hydra" she says resolutely

I stare at her with a dumbfounded look on my face.

"You.. You don't know.. This is surprising.. I was sure Coulson would tell you" I was genuinely surprised at that

"Tell me what Ward?" She is getting angry her mask is falling apart too easily

"Shield is an Intelligence agency, I'm not sure you understand what that fully means Sky.

I don't know about right now, but before Shield fell, the goal was to acquire intelligence or finish the mission by any means necessary. I know for a fact that both Coulson and May have taken part in a torture interrogation, I mean come on, 'The Battle of New York' was partly because Fury wanted to play God."

Sky looked shocked for a moment then calmed down, someone must have told her something on the earpiece, I'm betting its either Coulson or May.

"Okay what do you want in return?" says Sky with a blank look

Someone's learned to lower their heartbeat and control facial features. Doesn't matter really, she will probably get angry again soon

"I am assuming we are in a Sheld base, a big one too, probably one of the main ones" checking for reactions, bingo, people always underestimate what the eyes can tell you

"If so that means there will be a lot of Agent quarters, I want to move inside one of them, in exchange I will provide you with a mid-level piece of intelligence. you can't say no, if you do there will be no other chances"

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Sky scowls and opens her mouth to yell at me then stops. She stays quiet for a while, probably getting orders on what to say.

"What do you mean by 'mid-level'?"

"I have arranged all of the important information on Hydra in low, mid and high level, all of it will be useful for you, oh the room must be filled with normal necessities and you can't ask for more on this deal" I answer, I'm being very polite here, pissing them off wont get me anything

"If I can't change the terms it isn't a negotiation anymore."

"I know right, but this is the deal, if you take it there will be more information in the future if you don't, you lose a lot of vital info on Hydra." I look at her right in the eyes as I give the ultimatum, this is stupidly risky, but I need to send a message, they are the ones that need the info, they need to compromise, they might all want to kill me but they can't, killing me would result in casualties because they don't have the info I have, and Sheild being the 'good guys' can't let that happen

In the show Ward was desperate to get Sky to trust him, he literally gave out info for free, just in a delusional attempt for her to love him again. I don't give a shit about that, now that the plot is kinda screwed at least the little things, I have no reason not to make myself comfortable until I'm free.

"We agree, now start talking" Sky looks like she just ate a lemon

[ Quest: Negotiation- Complete ]

[Reward:200p and Lowest Lvl Mystery Box ]

Sweet

I stand up "Excellent, let's see since this is our first deal I'll give you one of the better ones. You guys know that Hydra has a lot of gifted right?"

"Yea what of it"

"But do you know HOW?" I point out

She opens her mouth to retort but quickly shuts it and just keeps quiet after that, they scolded her over the earpiece, HA

"Hydra's protocol on gifted's is straightforward, an acquisition team is sent out to convince or capture the gifted, if those two options aren't possible, then they will take him out." I try my best not to laugh at her

"Even if the gifted doesn't pose a threat?" asks Sky

"A gifted that refuses Hydra is a threat, and threats are taken care of quickly. They convince them by threats, blackmail, and in rare cases brainwashing. It's not done often, it's a lot of work, and some people aren't susceptible, the main method they use is called 'The Faustus Method' it's usually used on high-value targets"

"Like you?" Sky asks before she can stop herself

"No I wasn't brainwashed with 'The Faustus Method', whenever Hydra brainwashed a specialist like me, they take all their memories away, they become killing machines like the Centipede Soldiers" I answer calmly

"Wait you said you weren't brainwashed by the 'The Faustus Method', do you mean you were brainwashed in another way" Sky asks eagerly

There is a little hope in her voice interesting, I'll play it off see what happens.

"Yes, that's right, not that it matters now, anyway there's .."

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?" yells out Sky

"Does it matter if I was brainwashed, it's not like things can go back to the way they were, so what's the point of even thinking about it, I moved on."

"When and How were you brainwashed, how do you even know you were brainwashed" she presses for the intel

Perfect, I'll mess with them, make it believable, maybe I'll be free even earlier than I thought judging by her reactions, didn't think she would actually believe a word I say

"Sighh, what do you know about my childhood and Garrett"

"So you're blaming Garrett" andd she is back to her old tune

"Do you want to know or not?" I reply to her coldly, and she goes back to interrogation mode

"I don't know anything in particular, Garrett picked you up from Juvie and trained you to be a psychotic killer" shrugs Sky

"I was 16 when Garrett found me, I was raised in an abusive home, doesn't matter what the news says the Ward family is rich and full of monsters, except my little brother, everybody else tortured me, and forced me to beat my younger brother.

In 1999, I ran from the military academy to which I was been sent, stole a car, drove over a thousand miles home, and set fire to my parent's house to get some petty revenge. What I didn't know at the time, was that my older brother Christian was inside and came close to burning to death in the fire. Christian survived and had me arrested by the police and pushed for the courts to try me as an adult to get the maximum punishment.

Then Garet found me broken, took me to a mountain, left me to survive 6 months with just my dog. Then came back and trained me for 5 years, in 'special tactical training'. I'm an idiot for never figuring it out until now, take a teenager into a mountain isolate him for almost 6 years, train him to kill, put your values and principles in him, be a father figure to the abused kid and boom, you have a loyal minion. On my final day Garet ordered me to kill my dog, the messed up thing is that I did it, all because it might be a weakness, from there it was the Sheild academy for me and here we are."

Sky stayed quiet for a while "That still doesn't explain how you figured out you were brainwashed in the first place"

"Ahh that, about 2 weeks ago I tied to commit suicide, I guess it was whatever's left from the brainwashing, so in my last attempt, I ran into a wall that's when Grant Ward you knew, died. When I woke up everything was a lot clearer, so I started meditating, bit by bit I went through all of my memories, everything multiple times, it was extremely obvious that something was not right, there were a lot of signs that Shield should have noticed"

"Like what?" sky asks genuinely curious right now

"My spy scores from example, even my mission reports, I have never failed a mission, Ever! I followed every order to a T, I never questioned about the missions or what I did was good or wrong, I just did it, that's not how normal people operate," and everything went quiet I'm guessing even the monitor room is in deep thought right now

"It's better for you to forget about all your interactions and relationships with Grant Ward, he died when he decided to go headfirst into a wall, I am not him, and I am being kept prisoner, I will give information and you will make my life easier, you screw with me and I keep information that may save your lives or the lives of others.

Now let's finish 'The Faustus Method' puts people in a hypnotic trance in which they are given subconscious suggestions. There is a failsafe command

'Take a deep breath. Calm your mind. You know what is best. What is best is you comply. Compliance will be rewarded'

If the person they are loyal to dies, someone else with the failsafe comment will take control, I suggest you check your agents for brainwashing and use the failsafe to capture/rescue gifted's.

I did my part of the deal, I expect to be moved within a day, that's enough time for you to get a room ready" I sit down and start meditating

Sky says nothing as she stands up and turns the Laser Barrier to opaque.

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