𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍|
— Port of Piraeus, Athens, Greece.
—10:45 a.m. May 1, 2015.

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐍𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 had gone on longer than any of them had expected; consequently, their patience had thinned out. It had taken over two weeks to even narrow down the lists of suspects in the area and Wes was more than pleased to discover that their target wasn't a ten-year old ghost. Perhaps he had just been seeing things that evening after all. Instead, their target was a burly, ex-military figure who seemed to be double-dipping in his spy agencies.

Wes looked down at his phone to ensure that he had indeed seen the target walking down the street. He'd grown out his hair, but the facial recognition software identified the man as one Maximus Sinclair. Once part of the Marine Corps, Sinclair had eagerly been recruited both by S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA for his achievements. He'd defected from both early on and instead traded state and national secrets to the highest bidder, which often included weapons and security codes with the negotiations.

"I'm going in." Wes notified his team without the option of debate.

Rhodes was the first to voice her concern. "Davis, Pierce said not to engage!"

"If I don't step in now, we're gonna lose him again," Wes insisted, drawing closer to the target.

"I repeat. Do not engage!"

He ignored her warning and turned off his comm. However, even the slight delay provided Sinclair enough time to board the cruise ship scheduled to leave the port within the next ten minutes. Wes made an attempt to push his way past the security at the boarding gate; however, the woman at the front shook her head and tried to get his attention.

"I'm sorry," Wes apologized, "But I really need to get through. It'll only be for a—"

"Ah, an American." The woman rolled her eyes before repeating her previous request, this time in English. "Your passport and boarding ticket, sir?"

"If you'd just let me pass—"

"I'm afraid that I can't let you on board without a ticket, sir." It was clear he wasn't getting past her anytime soon.

"If you'd just—"

"There you are!" It wasn't the woman who interrupted him this time. Instead, Rhodes approached with a charming smile on her face and wrapped her arms around his. "I told you not to wander off."

"You know this gentleman?" the woman raised an eyebrow.

Rhodes nodded her head. "We were running late, and my husband here thought that if he ran ahead, he could delay the boat." She laughed at the thought while Wes looked at her as if she were insane. She ignored him and continued, "See, he thought that since we were on our honeymoon, we had all the time in the world to get ready and the boat would wait. Now don't we look foolish?"

"Your tickets then, madam?"

Rhodes politely held up a finger asking for time before rummaging through a purse that Wes didn't even realize she had on her persons. As if by magic, she pulled out a pair of passports and boarding tickets. "Here they are."

The woman nodded her head and once satisfied with the documents, returned them to their owners. "Welcome aboard and congratulations to the both of you Mr. and Mrs. Smith!"

"Thank you very much," Rhodes said with a sweet smile and proceeded to lead Wes toward the ramp; however, she paused and called back over her shoulder. "Oh, ma'am? Our butler is running a bit late. He should be here in a few minutes with the proper documentation and our luggage if it's not too much to ask to wait?"

The woman understandingly nodded her head. "I'll have someone alert the captain of the delay. It usually takes a few minutes to go through the final preparations."

"Thank you again," Rhodes called over her shoulder before turning toward Wes with a self-satisfied grin.

"What are you doing?" Wes whispered between grit teeth.

"Saving your life," she retorted, all prior friendliness gone and replaced with the usual hostility, "You were drawing unwanted attention and just about to blow your cover."

She motioned with her head toward the deck. Wes glanced ahead and noticed that Sinclair had indeed been watching the entire interaction. He slowly nodded his head, begrudgingly agreeing; however, there were still several questions on his mind.

"How'd you get tickets?"

"Theo is actually like really good at hacking into stuff," she said sarcastically, "Who knew?"

"The passports?"

"Also Theo."

"Fine, but what about the cover story?" Wes asked. "Did you have to go with the married couple?"

"Would you have preferred a scandalous affair?" she asked rhetorically. "It was the easiest and most believable cover story. Now smile and act like you don't have a stick up your ass twenty-four-seven."

Wes frowned at her last comment. "You're loving this, aren't you?"

"Oh, I'm just overjoyed." She rolled her eyes. "I just love jumping into action with no plan. It's my favorite pastime."

"I get it," Wes snapped, but quickly placed a fake smile on his face as the couple they passed gave them a pair of odd looks.

"Just when I think you're stepping up to lead the team, you start pulling this shit again." Rhodes ignored the looks and continued the argument.

"Alright, I'm sorry," Wes apologized half-heartedly, "but could we go someplace a bit more discreet to discuss this?"

Rhodes paused before nodding her head in agreement. "This way."

The second they were alone, Rhodes dropped Wes's arm and pushed him aside to make some space between them. Within the maze of the ship where every hall below decks looked the same, it didn't take long for Wes to get lost; however, Rhodes seemed to know exactly where she was going. She stopped in one of the halls that looked like all the others, picked the lock to the door, and stepped inside.

Wes's eyes widened at the sight that awaited them. Williams greeted them with a wave, but Wes's focus remained on the couple knocked out and tied up in the corner of the room. "What is going on here?"

No one actually explained. Rhodes glanced over at the ropework and nodded her head in approval. "Nice job, Theo."

"Thanks!"

"Seriously," Wes repeated his question, "would somebody explain what's happening?"

"Oh, that's the real Mr. and Mrs. Smith," Rhodes explained.

"You weren't making up the names in your cover story? That's incredibly reckless—"

"More reckless than charging ahead without your team?" Rhodes asked. "This was a last-minute arrangement, it was the best that we could do with the time restraints."

"So what do you plan to do with them then?" Wes gestured to the couple.

"Keep them locked up here," Williams explained as if it was just that simple.

Wes pinched the bridge of his nose. "Was there anything about the cover story that you made up?"

Rhodes nodded her head. "Yeah, Mr. Williams isn't pig-headed and stubborn. That's just you."

Wes frowned at the retort, but decided to focus on ironing out the details of their modified mission. "So the butler?"

"A real person," Rhodes agreed, "Theo took him out back at the resort, which is why it took him so long to catch up."

"Let's just take out Sinclair and get off this ship before we leave the docks," Wes suggested as he walked toward the door.

"That might be a bit difficult now." Williams sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

Wes turned his head, but kept his hand on the doorknob. "And why is that?"

"We left half an hour ago," Williams replied.

Wes shot Rhodes an accusatory look. She shrugged as if she could fool him into believing she was innocent. "It's a big boat. Very easy to get lost."

"If I never have to work you people again, it'll be too soon," Wes muttered under his breath. He inhaled and tried to remain calm. "So what do you propose we do now?"

"Get close to Sinclair," Rhodes suggested, "Learn what we can before he knows we're S.H.I.E.L.D., have Pierce rendezvous with us at the next stop, and take Sinclair out once we have back-up."

Knowing he didn't have any other choice, Wes nodded his head in resentful agreement. "Fine."

"But for this to work, we have to seem believable with our cover story," Rhodes warned, "One slip-up and it's over."

"I know how the spy industry works, Rhodes," Wes snapped, "I'm just not overly thrilled with the parts you've picked to play."

Rhodes scoffed. "It's like you're afraid you'll actually fall in love with me or something."

Wes quickly denied her statement. "No, there are just a lot of uncontrolled variables at play."

"Alright, fine." Rhodes nodded her head before extending her hand. "Then let's make this simple with a rule-of-thumb that no matter what happens, we don't fall in love with one another."

"Never crossed my mind." He shook her hand without hesitance. However, neither party was willing to let go first. They just stared at one another, the look in each other's eye growing more competitive by the passing second. Williams looked uncomfortably between the pair of glares and cleared his throat to break the tension.

"Great, we can get started tonight," Williams suggested. The two snapped out of their staring contest and looked over at him confused. He clarified, "It's not much, but I discovered Sinclair had dinner reservations this evening and took the liberty of seating you at one of the tables in the surrounding area."

"Wonderful," Wes spoke between grit teeth and placed a pained smile on his face. "Any other surprises?"

"Um..." Williams hesitated, "I didn't have time to grab our luggage from the resort so we're gonna have to make do with what we have on hand."

Wes closed his eyes, turned around, and took a deep breath. He was currently trapped on a boat with no supplies, limited information, and a very dangerous criminal. Out of every possible thing that could have gone wrong, he was almost certain nothing else could add to what had already occurred. Whatever hospitable feelings formed between the team at the beginning of the mission were uprooted, leaving a growing pit of animosity behind. The strength of his mental walls increased and once more he determined that he worked better alone.