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WHO: Kate Bishop and Skye
WHERE: Kate's apartment
WHEN: 11/21
WHAT: Bombshells beginning to slowly drop.
WARNINGS: Spoilers for Breaking Bad, Agents of SHIELD, and recent Hawkeye. Mentions of drug use and narcotic creation.

[It's difficult to forget the first words that Skye said to Grant Ward when he first arrived. The fact that Ward's arrival signaled to Kate that there was something going on with Jesse really spelled out a lot of stuff for her at the time. It also made things clear on another level not long after: Skye tended to get herself in trouble. Not all of that trouble was her fault, and Kate wouldn't dream of blaming any of it on her. But some of it, like the hacking, was definitely Skye's stubborn determination.

That was the reason she had finally bit the bullet and instead of skirting around looking into the meth availability in this world, she asked Loki to look into it. Before long, he procured a little bit of the blue meth, and Kate knew that things wouldn't go well afterward. While she knew that, intellectually, there was some part of her that was dragging her feet. Jesse's willingness to still involve himself with the drugs was apparent. More than that, she's also extremely aware of Jesse's willingness to lie to Skye. Skye's spiel about keeping drugs away from Jesse, that he shouldn't have to deal with that, and everything else had been more than illuminating. In fact, it was too illuminating.

But drag her feet she did. The arrival of Hank Schrader made it obvious to Kate that she couldn't keep doing that. She knows there is a good chance that Hank will be limited, but "limited" doesn't mean "can't scream his accusations" ... especially with the group of people here. With Loki's help, Kate has been trying to be cautious about this. Throwing Schrader into the mix makes that harder. She might be cautious, but it doesn't mean he will be. She already knows where that ends, and like Loki's pointed out, the distributer remains unknown. Whoever it is could have a particularly violent penchant for revenge. (They always did in Breaking Bad; five seasons of binge watching is enough to tell her to watch her head there.)

So, here she is now, taking things differently. There is a way to control this, she's certain, but she also knows that with the potential for things to escalate quickly, it would be completely unfair to keep Skye in the dark. She's done it for too long.

The dinner itself goes as smoothly as it can. Kate tries to keep herself from looking tense, and she sticks on a local reality TV show to keep the two of them entertained (by way of making fun of it). By time they've plowed through pad thai, spring rolls, and a mess of noodles and vegetables, Kate reaches for the remote and clicks off the TV, and she slouches into the couch, looking somewhat uneasy.]

Hey ... ready to hear why I tried to lull you into a sense of comfort with food?

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I have to admit, you've got me kind of worried, now. What's up?

Sometimes, I do just need the company. [After all, it's been almost a month since Billy left, and Kate's really feeling his absence. It's not something that she would openly admit, but she doesn't mind telling Skye. Of course, this might be the last time she confides in Skye about anything.

She drags a hand back through her hair. Where does she begin? How does she begin?]

But you're right to be suspicious. Look, there's something I've been keeping from you. About Jesse. [Which she considers letting it hang there, but Kate doesn't want it to seem like she slept with him or something.

Boy, that would be awkward.]

How much do you know about him? About ... his life before he got here? [About his life now. She lets it hang there.]

... Is this about the drugs? I know he's an ex-drug addict, Kate. We've had this conversation. But he can't get high here.

I ... have a photographic memory. I wouldn't forget that.

[That's her way of saying: I remember the conversation. Kate's lips drift downward and she glances away uncomfortably.]

It's connected to drugs, but not in the way you think. You've never been suspicious of ... I don't know, anything to do with him? [Kate doesn't want to ask, "Have you really not hacked anything with him?" She had done the same for her, after all, without asking. But maybe she trusts Jesse more.

It's likely she trusts Jesse more.]

[She trusts Jesse, yeah. But it's not just that-- he's her boyfriend. She loves him. She can't just go around hacking his stuff whenever she has doubts. That would be a massive invasion of privacy-- and once she crosses that line, there's no coming back from it. She has to resist the temptation.]

... No?

[Well, that's not strictly true. She thought he was a car thief when they first met, since his ride was so good. But then he explained to her that he got the money from rich grateful patients who insisted on paying him. She believed it. She doesn't want to bring that up now, though-- something about Kate's tone makes her feel more than a little protective of Jesse.]

Not the fact that he has ... a large amount of money at all times despite working at an imPort run school? [It's a guess that he's showing his money. In her viewing of the show, it's not like Jesse ever did a good job of hiding what money he had. She doubts that's the case here.] Or that he's friends with a guy who's obviously an ambulance chasing lawyer? [That he has a lawyer. That's her next words. She's tried to trace this backwards, but ... it's hard. For Kate, it's obvious, but she's privy to the information.]

Or that he seems to work a lot more than what makes sense? [That one comes out a beat later, as she's trying to search for scraps.] Are you really going to tell me that you don't find him suspicious at all?

Jesse doesn't have that much money. What are you talking about?

[The clothes and the cars are the biggest giveaway-- but Skye doesn't pay attention to designer labels, and she doesn't know about his second car. The first was explained away.]

And Saul's not actually a bad guy. I mean-- he's kinda seedy, sure. But he's not as bad as he seems. You just have to get to know him.

Jesse works OT at the hospital because he has this-- this stupid hang up about saving people. He wants to do good for the community, Kate. I don't know what you're trying to imply here, but you've got the wrong impression. He's a good person.

Edited 2014-11-22 06:38 (UTC)

Skye, I like him. [It's said firmly.] That's why I didn't tell you about this ... [She waves a hand in the air awkwardly. Kate clearly means some vague point in the past.] ... Any of this sooner. But that doesn't make him a good person. What he's up to means that he's walking down a very, very dangerous path.

[The same path as Walter White. The thing is that Jesse didn't have to cook here. He tried quitting before. She knows that. She's seen it. But here he is, cooking, putting that meth out there. And he's far enough along to know the consequences of these actions, and he's not stopping.

In fact, the only reassuring thing is that it's not Walter White here. It's Jesse. It's only Jesse. That means that whatever he's up to, it ... might be less violent without an outside force.

(Then again, Saul is here.)]

And more than that, it really sucks that there's someone else lying to you like this. That you really think he's working overtime. Why don't you call and see? Pay him a visit? Bring him lunch? Does he ever call you on these overtime shifts? Send you a text? Does he tell you about who he helps? You're really sharp, Skye. Look at what's in front of you.

Whatever crime it is you think he's committed, whatever you're investigating-- you're wrong. I'm serious. You've got the wrong guy.

I'll prove it. Just tell me what it is you're looking for, what evidence you need. I'll prove it's not him. Clear his name.

I'm not—[she begins but cuts off after a moment. Kate's fingers curl in to her hands and bite into them. It's not hard enough to break the skin, but the tension is overwhelming. Skye is smart. Kate knows that. Skye is smart.

But she also cares about Jesse. And what Kate knows is that Jesse is capable of not doing this.]

I looked into this because I found out about your relationship, and then you hacked the network. I had to confirm ... something. [Vague. Damnit, Bishop. You're also sharp. She sighs.] Because what he's involved in could involve you, and if it involved you, you wouldn't be given a deal. With the imPort-related tensions right now, you would be an example. You and Jesse would both be, and given your history, no one would believe that you somehow didn't know about this.

[In a way, she's irritated with Jesse. Jesse knows about Ward, and he's still kept this from Skye. In a way, she really wishes she was ripping into Jesse for fucking up. That would be easier.]

The important thing, Skye, is that Jesse cooks meth. I don't know how large his operation is here, or who he's working with beyond Saul, but he's cooking meth. That's what he's doing in his "overtime." That's where his money comes from. That's why he has a lawyer. His lawyer is an expert in laundering money so it looks legit. Though I don't know that he's looking legitimate here ... [That's thoughtfully trailed off on at this point.]

If you want to prove that it's not the case, go ahead. [It's added tiredly at the end.] But you won't.

What.

[It's spoken flatly, without a question mark. After a beat:]

You're out of your mind. Look, okay, first of all-- Jesse isn't even capable of cooking meth. He failed high school science. Second of all, why would someone who's so concerned with helping people want to put a drug out on the streets? It's out of character. Third of all, drugs ruined his life and killed his last girlfriend. There's no way he'd get involved with that again. Fourthly, [she's getting worked up now, punctuating her words a lot--] assuming that what you're saying is even true, Jesse would have to have thousands of dollars. No, millions. There's just no way. I would-- I would know. And besides, I've already asked him about-- about tons of this stuff. He knows about my past with... with shitty lying douche-bags. He wouldn't lie to me. Not about this. I would know.

Skye. Look into it. Do you want whatever happened with Ward to happen again? Because it's happening. And frankly, I shouldn't be the one telling you this. He shouldn't be cooking in the first place, but he is. He is lying. He is hiding things from you. And what he's doing is making a drug that's addictive, that he's harmed himself with, even though he had an opportunity to do things differently. [How does she say this? How does she lay it out any more clearly?]

There's a guy who just got here. Hank Schrader. He's ... he has his suspicions about Jesse. It's only a matter of time before this gets worse, and with his particular brand of meth floating around, Schrader will have the dots laid out for him to connect. Why else would it be here?

Either way, what Jesse does ... he lies. He lies, and it gets people hurt. And I want to stop that. For both him and you.

How dare you. He is nothing like Ward. You don't-- you don't know the first thing about him.

[She stands up then, grabbing her bag.]

We're done talking about this. [She walks over to the door and grabs the handle roughly, yanking it open. But before she leaves, she looks back at Kate over her shoulder.]

And for the record, this Hank guy? Nearly killed Jesse this week. When all Jesse was trying to do was heal him. Some cop. And if you don't believe me? You can look it up on youtube. There's a record.

[And then she leaves, slamming the door behind her.]

[Schrader had gotten into a fight with Jesse already? All that tells Kate is that she was right to act, and that it's possible that either he came in with a gun or something powerful enough to act on his own. She'll check the video. She has to check the video.

But instead, she sends Skye a quick text. That has to happen first. Skye has to do this. Skye has to see it for herself. No amount of "I watched AMC's Emmy Award Winning Breaking Bad" is going to help here.

With the text sent off, she searches for the video. Just great.]

[Skye makes it out the door and about a whole three houses down the street holding off the impending breakdown she can feel rising in her chest, angry tears threatening to overflow until she finally loses the battle and sits down on the sidewalk just to cry, holding her head in her hands.

She stays like that for a while, just letting it all out and angry-crying until she can get her breathing under control again, before picking herself up and heading home.

It's not true. It can't be.

But something in her heart tells her that there's a chance Kate might be right. She wants desperately for that not to be the case. She has to prove it. She can't let this happen to her a third time. She can't. She can't.

She means to turn on her computer when she gets home, but all she does is fall into bed and pull the covers over her head to sleep.]

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