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1999- Juvenile Detention Center, Massachusetts
Grant Ward sat in the interrogation room, he was guessing, just waiting and he didn’t know what for. He may not have regretted his actions for a minute but that didn’t mean he wasn’t scared of what was going to happen next. Grant was shaking his hands against the metal handcuffs when a guard walked in. “You have a visitor.”
The blood in Grant’s body ran cold. Was his mother finally going to visit him. He couldn’t face Rose or Thomas right now after what he had done. Yes what he did was to help Rose and Thomas but he couldn’t face them looking like this. In prison clothes, hair a mess, as much as a five o clock shadow as a 15 year old could have. Just broken all together. It could be the lawyer that Grant was appointed but at this point he didn’t care about the legality of things, he just wanted Thomas and Rose safe.
A man walked in who looked to be in his late 20s or early 30s, he had a military style haircut and was dressed in dark clothes. The clothes seemed pretty casual, not one that a lawyer would wear. “Are you supposed to be my lawyer?” Grant asked sitting up straight, he might be in juvie but he still had curiosity.
“No, I’m not a damn lawyer, my name’s John Garrett.” The man said sitting downtown in the chair in front of Grant. “I got a call from a buddy of mine, the Quartermaster, A pissed off young cadet with off the charts hand-eye coordination who went AWOL, stole a car, drove over a thousand miles home only to try and burn the place down. I must say, I find a young man like that intriguing. Did you know your brother was in the house?” Garrett gave Grant a smile that wasn’t unkind but Grant couldn’t pin what it was.
“Yes, sir I did and I wish he burned along with the damn house.” Grant said, starting to get a little angry. This man was talking about him more as an object than an actual person. He wasn’t a fan of being objectified, his parents had turned him into a showcase for years he wasn’t taking that crap anymore.
“You have fire within you, reminds me of myself. I work for a secret organization that's always looking to recruit young men like you but honestly, I’d be happy getting you out of that hellhole you’re from.” Garrett said causing Grant to have a smile curve up his mouth. “I did some research on you, kid. Numerous hospital visits with broken bones but no investigation, showing up to school with cuts and bruises but no intervention.”
“Nobody questions the rich, sir. If you don’t mind my asking, what are you getting at with everything you’re monologuing?” Grant asked, eyeing the man suspiciously. People didn’t just come up to him and offer him things. That’s not how it worked for him.
“Listen, your brother is starting a petition to get you tried as an adult and I don’t want to see someone with your talent go to waste. So you can spend the rest of your life wallowing in a cell blaming your older brother or you can walk out with me and start over.” Garrett said looking at the young man. After a minute of silence Garrett got up out of his chair.
“Wait.” Grant said in an authoritative voice. “I want to walk out with you.” Grant said after a moment’s pause. For the first time in his damn life, he was going to think about himself and do something for his own health not Thomas’s and Rose’s. He was doing something on his own free will.
“I knew you were a smart kid.” Garrett said, pulling a pair of keys out of his pocket and unlocking the handcuffs.
“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, why are you doing this for me? You don’t even know me.” Grant said rubbing his wrists once the handcuffs were off.
“First don’t call me sir, that makes me feel old. You can just call me John. Secondly, good things do happen to good people, Grant and you are a good person, you just need some guidance. Plus, better me pick you up then whoever they would send as recruition.” Garrett said as Ward stood up, almost at Garrett’s full height and he was only 15.
“What do you mean by whoever else? Is there someone after me?” Grant asked, crossing his arms across his chest like it would protect him from the unknown danger.
“Forget I said anything, kid. No one's gonna hurt you, never again and if you stick with me I’ll make damn sure of that.” Garrett spoke before cracking the door open to the interrogation cell.
After Phil has picked up kids over the past few years, Romanoff and Barton, Garrett figured it was about damn time for him to do something to give back. Also after reading Grant’s file, he was terrified who Hydra would send after that kid. Skills like that, Hydra would make him comply in one way or another that Garrett didn’t want to think about anymore than he had to.
“Would it be strange to say that I trust and believe you saying that?” Grant said looking over at the older man who gave the boy a short chuckle. So different from the glances of anger that he had seen in the interrogation room and the perfect soldier he read those files on.
“A long time ago I would’ve said to trust nobody ever but I’m going to let you in on a little secret, the most you trust people, the easier this life thing gets on you.” Garrett said walking over to a desk. “Before I go any further with you, I need to make sure you’re on board with something a little traumatic.”
“What, do you want me to fake my death or something?” Grant asked with a chuckle thinking it be a joke to fake a death, that wasn’t a real thing people did. But when Grant was met with a deadpan expression from Garrett he now knew that was a real thing people did. “You’re serious.”
“You would still be alive to the rest of the world, but your family would think you’re dead and you would have to keep it that way.” Garrett explained. “The Grant Ward that you knew yourself as is dead and someone new walks out of here.”
“Okay. I’m dead.” Grant said simply. He didn't talk much. He never liked to talk in long elaborate sentences mainly because nobody ever listened. That is what writing was for in Grant’s eyes. After he graduated military school he was planning to go to college for English but that was shot to hell now considering the person he knew was dead.
“Don’t be so sad, kid, you and I are going to have fun. Think about this, you can have a real high school experience now.” Garrett said offering Grant a smile that was geuine and warm.
Grant didn’t respond, he didn’t feel like he had anything to say anymore but he felt like he could trust this guy.