Work Text:
Interviewer: Agent Isaiah Moore
Interviewee(s): Grace Ward, Simon Ward, and Hadley Ward
Interview Setting: Classified SHIELD Base, Sunday, August 24th
(Agent Moore would like the record to show that Agents Ward and Simmons are loudly and aggressively protesting this interview taking place at the current time)
0200 hours
I: Please state your full name and age.
GW: Grace Amelia Ward. Thirteen.
SW: Simon Elliot Ward. I’m nine.
I: Go on.
GW: It’s okay, Hadley.
HW: (INAUDIBLE)
I: Please repeat yourself, Miss Ward.
GW: Could you just give her a minute? Her name is Hadley Melinda Ward, she’s seven years old and you need to let her have some time.
I: Miss Ward —
SW: She’s not good with strangers, and you hardly gave us any time with our mom and dad before you brought us in here, and someone should check her hearing aids —
I: Mr. Ward —
SW: She’s scared and if she can even hear right now, she can hear mom and dad outside —
(Let the record show that Agent Ward is banging on the door and Agent Simmons is raising her voice with inappropriate language and threats of violence.)
I: Miss Ward, are your hearing aids performing at their optimal level?
(Let the record show that Agent Ward has made his way into the room and is gathering his children. Agent Simmons is currently having loud words with Agent Moore.)
(This interview has been delayed until a later date.)
—
Interviewer: Agent Sharon Carter
Interviewee(s): Grace Ward, Simon Ward, and Hadley Ward
Interview Setting: Classified SHIELD Base, Sunday, August 24th
(Agent Carter would like the record to show that the Ward children are present with their lunches, a fresh change of clothes, and some activities for entertainment, because they are children and not convicts. Agent Carter would also like the record to show that Agents Ward and Simmons have their lunches in the observation room because they are parents and not convicts.)
1300 hours
I: Is everybody comfortable?
SW: Yes.
I: Hadley, are your hearing aids working better today?
HW: Yes. I can hear better now. Uncle Fitz came and fixed them for me.
I: I’m glad. Can I ask you guys some questions about what happened last night?
GW: We’ll do our best to answer them.
I: That was a pretty official answer.
GW: I learned from the best.
I: Agent Hill says hello. Who wants to tell me about what you were doing this weekend?
HW: We were on vacation.
SW: Dad rented a beach house. Mom called it something else, though. Something fancier.
GW: Mom called it a villa. It was by the beach. He’s had it for a long time, I guess. It was supposed to be safe.
HW: Mama called it a safe house. But she said we shouldn’t call it that.
I: When did you get there?
GW: Thursday afternoon.
SW: We went swimming and walked on the beach and Dad and I got to throw the football for awhile on Friday.
HW: Mama taught us about some of the fish.
I: Sounds like you had lots of fun. When did you notice your parents’ behavior changing?
(Let the record show that Agent Carter is directing the question to Grace Ward, who pushes her siblings’ plates closer to them before answering.)
GW: Saturday morning. Dad got a phone call.
I: Did he say who it was from?
GW: No. I think it was Aunt Melinda.
I: Why do you think that?
GW: I don’t know. She’s always trying to protect us. Seems like she’d be the one to make that call.
HW: Miss Sharon, when do we get to see Mama and Daddy again? Are they eating lunch too?
I: They’ll come and get you in a bit. I’d like to talk to you for a little while longer.
SW: Finish your sandwich, H.
I: What happened after the phone call, Grace?
GW: They were really serious all of a sudden. Mom was starting dinner, but she turned off the stove and started putting food away.
SW: Dad was talking about getting in the car and leaving, even though we weren’t supposed to leave until the next day.
I: What did the three of you do then?
GW: Dad told us to go upstairs and get bags together. A change of clothes, books, toys, things to keep us busy on a car ride.
HW: I heard him say airplane.
I: An airplane was going to pick you up?
GW: I told you it was Aunt Melinda.
I: You were upstairs still? When the attack started?
GW: Do Hadley and Simon need to be in here for this?
I: They do. We can do this part quick, though. Just a few questions more.
GW: We were upstairs. We heard the back door slamming open and glass breaking. There were a lot of footsteps. We could tell there were people down there. Besides Mom and Dad.
I: What did you do next?
SW: Gracie told us to hide. She said we had to stay together and find a place to hide.
HW: She said it’d be like playing hide-and-seek, but we had to be quieter than normal. She said she would keep us safe.
GW: There was this little cupboard area above the closet. It was pretty high up, so I helped Simon and Hadley climb up there. When they curled up at the very back and covered up with some old blankets, you couldn’t even tell they were in there. I got them settled and then found the loose wall in the closet and hid there.
I: That was fast thinking.
GW: I was just protecting my family.
I: Did anyone come looking for you?
HW: Someone with loud feet came into the room and moved stuff around and then left.
I: Did you hear anything that happened downstairs?
GW: There was a lot of yelling. Crashing around.
I: Did you hear what happened to your mother?
(Let the record show that Grace Ward waits a significant amount of time before answering.)
GW: No. Dad led them away from the house and out onto the beach. We couldn’t hear the sound.
HW: What sound, Gracie?
SW: Sandwich, Hadley.
GW: It’s alright, H. Mama got hurt, remember, but she’s alright now.
SW: Because Daddy took care of her. He’s good at that.
I: Who came and found you?
GW: Uncle Phil. I waited until I heard him say our names. I climbed out and helped him get Simon and Hadley down.
I: When did you see your parents?
SW: Uncle Phil kept us upstairs for a few minutes. He asked us some questions, and wanted to check and make sure we weren’t hurt.
GW: He went downstairs and then came back up and said we were going to get in the van and go for a short ride. He said we’d meet Mom and Dad where we were going.
I: Did he tell you what happened?
GW: He told me. When Simon was in the bathroom and Hadley was picking toys. He promised it was through-and-through. She’d be fine.
I: He was right.
GW: She was yelling at Agent Moore last night. This morning, I guess. The first time we were in here. Dad kept saying she should go sit down, but —
I: She wanted to see you.
HW: Can we go find them, Miss Sharon?
I: I think we’ve talked enough for now. I’ll tell you what, you finish up your lunch and I’ll go get your parents, okay? They’ll come in and get you.
HW: Okay.
SW: Thank you, Miss Sharon.
(Let the record show that Agent Carter gives each child a hug before leaving the room.)
(Let the record also show that Agents Ward and Simmons enter the room more peacefully this time than the first time.)