12832/Who moved the damn targets

Who moved the damn targets
Date of Scene:	19 September 2022
Location:	Gun Range: Triskelion
Synopsis:	Ward helps a conflicted Daisy deal with the added responsibility of leadership. But who's moving those gun range targets, damn it?
Cast of Characters:	Daisy Johnson, Grant Ward

---

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Another day, another training at the gun range.

It's Daisy's day on the range. Mondays. It's great, really. Just after a nice weekend she gets to come here and shoot stuff up (targets). Maybe vent a little too. It's also annoying because it starts way early in the morning and anyone that knows Daisy knows that she ain't no mornin' person. But here she is. 0800 sharp. Shotting stuff up.

Of course that her posture isn't that great today. Foot a bit too much to the side. The support hand on the gun not exactly primed like she was taught in recruit. Almost as if something was on her mind.

And she frowns. "Someone's been messing with those targets..." she mutters as she gets another lousy score.

Grant Ward has posed:
"Yeah that's the problem. Someone has been coming down here and moving the targets just a little bit to the left." Agent Grant Ward, up bright and early and ready to take on the world with a fake smile and his wonderful personality all ready to spread joy. The agent pushes himself off the doorway from which he was leaning upon and let's out a soft sigh as he makes his way towards Daisy. "Now where should we begin."

It was not as if she asked for instruction, but sure as hell she was going to get it. His steps brought her up behind her and she felt a kick to the outside of her foot. His hand reached up to pull out an earplug from her right ear. "Straighten that foot for starters."

He remained where he was standing, muttering his next direction. "Don't hold it like an egg. Grip it tight. Tell it where it is going to shoot. Again."

He offers her the earplug and pats her lightly on the shoulder.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Grant Ward. Thorn in Daisy's side, first hard crush when she got in SHIELD and her senior officer back then. Things had changed since that time. It had certainly been a simpler time but now things were different. Better? She wasn't too sure.

Daisy gives him a look, then a face when she notes that soft sigh that signifies he's getting into 'teacher' mode. Grrr.

Not that she fights the kick and even adjusts her foot, hips shifting so she is in a better posture. "Have you ever boiled an egg, Ward?" there. That rebellious little streak of hers coming back up. "Wait, not sure I want to know.."

She brings the gun up and shoots. Better this time but still not as good as she usually does. She sighs.

Grant Ward has posed:
Eyes narrowed, Grant watches where the shot lands and gives the slightest of replies with a soft noise. It was not even really a word. More like a /Eh..better. You are getting there/ type of a sound. He studies her once more, looking at her posture and foot placement. Eyeing her grip on the gun. "Slow inhale, don't hold your breath. Shoot on the exhale..slow and controlled.."

He raises a brow. "And yes. I have boiled an egg before. And I have determined it needs more then 5 minutes in the water for your information." Clearly Ward accepts his cooking failures with open arms.

"Your mind seems elsewhere. I mean granted it is 8:00 and honestly I am impressed you are up and functioning." It was evident to not only Daisy, that Ward still had a relationship with the woman that was run on subtle jabs and sarcasm. "Should we have some coffee and try again after?" He looks to her with a slight and seldom seen smile.

"Seriously though. Relax your shoulders. Turn your hip a fraction more. Slowly squeeze on the exhale." Agent Grant Ward expecting nothing short of perfection.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"You are a true genius of the kitchen." Is that a praise? The sarcastic tone is telling. Daisy does smirk though and her aim gets a bit more focused. She exhales, lining up another shot.

All until Grant says her mind is elsewhere.

It's sorta true, which just makes her more infuriated. So when she shoots it's good there's no one near the targets! Because it goes wide. She lets out a 'bleh' and shakes her head again.

Nope, he didn't get perfection.

But she then finally asks, "So, when did you figure out when you were a good leader?" she asks after a bit of mulling over.

Grant Ward has posed:
He was about to give more feedback her last shot down range, but it was her question afterwards that caught him a little off guard and caused him to change his direction. "What?" He takes a moment to process her question and moves to lean again the rail in front of the shooting range, now facing the other agent.

"That like your gun, is a loaded question. There are times when I don't think I am. Very few leaders ask to be leaders. And there are some who are not happy with anything less than being the leader."

He tilts his head to the side and narrows his eyes in thought, taking in the woman before him a moment before speaking. "A leader's number one goal is to complete the task with minimal casualty. And in attemtping to do so, they find themselves disliked at times. Hated even. Spoken about behind closed doors or in the Triskelion cafeteria about how uptight they are and hard to work with." Is he talking about himself? She does recieve a small wink with those words.

"Truth is Agent Johnson, you can't let others tell you if you are a good leader or not. They will always have something to say. There is never a decision I make that I do not question...but a decision has ot be made and a good leader is able to weigh the pros and cons of their decision in a split second."

He gives her a quick nod of her head. "What's bugging you Daisy? Need to talk?" As cold and direct as he could come across, Grant Ward had and still continued to have a soft spot for the former Skye.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
That Daisy got the mighty Ward to falter in his training is enough to get Daisy to get one of her trademark mischievous little grins to her expression. She did use to delight herself in ways she could get Ward to lose his composure. Sometimes she won, sometimes she lost. It sort of throws her back to that time but her expression quickly sobers up because the question wasn't intended to disrupt Grant's thought processes.

It was an actually serious question.

Daisy hears and offers a small nod. "What you are saying is I shouldn't care whether others think me good or not. But that's not an easy thing to accomplish.." she lifts her shoulders in a shrug, pulling out the mag from the gun and getting another clip in.

She points it at the target, "Fury put me in charge of a special unit. A bit off the books.." she explains. "It's a lot of responsibility and I am not ..., sure about being up to the task." there she said it.

So she shoots a few more shots to get some noise in the room. At least these ones hit the target even if they aren't perfect.

Grant Ward has posed:
Finger go to his ears when she fires off more rounds, his eyes looking to the target and actually giving an affirming nod. "Better. Maybe you just have to not think when you shoot."

Ward is careful in choosing his words when he replies, making sure he is giving the best advice he can to her. He had always been and would be protective of Daisy and he knew his words would be taken to heart by the fellow Agent. "What I am saying is, you cannot let what other people think effect your confidence and judgement. Fury put you in that position because he knew you could handle it. He knew you were the one to make sure the taks that unit will be assigned to accomplish will be met with success and minimal loss."

His hand moves to rub slowly across the back of his neck before speaking again. "Daisy. I have always busted your ass harder than anyone. And I will continue to do so. Not because you need it..well you kind of do, but because you have the potential to be one of the best Agents and leaders SHIELD has ever seen." Was Grant Ward showing a soft side? Be still my heart.

"Fury sees it. I see it. And I think deep down you see it as well. It is a huge amount of responsibility, no denying that. But you are ready for that. And those in this unit are going to look to you for guidance and direction. And even when you are unsure, you have to give it and do not show indecision."

He let's out a small laugh. "And you are going to mess up sometimes. I have. I just leaveit out of the reports. Nobody is perfect Daisy. But you are perfect for this position."

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"I am good at not thinking.." See? Daisy can take a joke. She gives it one last shot for good measure and it hits closer to bullseye. Heh, getting better at least! Maybe it's the pep talk.

She looks at Ward after, putting the gun down and arching a brow. "You are saying I need my ass being busted?" she snorts at that but she actually knows what Ward is talking about. She lets out a sigh. "Yea, high expectations... It means the fall can be harder too."

It's true, the higher an Agent gets, immaculate record, all the A+ statistics on scores the higher the fall. The higher it will be felt by those behind once their failure becomes known. But it's not as if any of them needs to worry about falling, or being a traitor to SHIELD, right?!

"Not show indecision, like I am showing now?" She grins, "I will let you all out with you and then get decisive." a wink and she picks up the gun again. "Wait..." and she looks at Ward, "Are you saying you -lie- in your reports Agent 'I am so perfect' Ward?" that amuses her for some reason.

Grant Ward has posed:
Did he just blush? Oh that ass busted comment camr out wrong and when she called him out on it, he actually blinked a few times and started to stammer, but thought better of it why she spoke. "The fall is always harder Daisy. Things go to hell and the first finger pointed is at the one in charge. It's how things go. Get used to it. Thick skin. No emotions. You hang out with Mr' Fun Machine a bit more and I can teach you how to do that." He winks to her and then continues after a small exhale.

His hands are raised in order to help explain and defend himself. "Okay let's clarify this. I don't /lie/ in my reports. There is just a certain way to relay the information of what happened to lessen the..how shall I put this: blow to my ego. It doesn't happen often Daisy. I mean look at me. Do I look like one who makes mistake a lot?" He is trying his best to not smile, but one does find its way to his face.

"Make you a deal Ms. Johnson. You can come to me anytime you need guidance or advice in complete confidence and I won't tell anyone, if you forget about the very /few/ times in my entire illustrious career of success and glory that I re-worded a very small amount of things a long time ago...last year...okay last month. God I can't lie to you."

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"No one calls you Mr. Fun Machine..." Daisy calls out to Grant and shakes her head at him, "Well ..., maybe Fitz." yea, she could picture Fitz ..., nah, she couldn't. So she shakes her head again. "Nope, no luck. Not even Fitz.." though she smiles. "But I get it, just show no emotions. Hard for me to do though because uh ..." Daisy *is* fueled by emotions after all. Her feelings towards her 'family' at SHIELD, her friends. It's hard to get that out of her.

"But I can try .."

As Grant then continues to bury himself by trying to explain what he does with the reports she smirks. "You mean you circle the truth." a nod. "I get it, I do the same." then she letting out a sigh. "I am trying to keep down on making more mistakes though.." harder said than done though!

She laughs at last though. "No, you can't lie to me at all. But you give good advice at least."

She picks up her gun and shoots. This time it hits the bullseye.

Grant Ward has posed:
When the bullet is fired and hits the bullseye, Grant widens his eyes and give her a nod of approval. "Well well. There you go. It would appear all you need to shoto straight is hear my voice boosting your confidence. I will make sure I make a small recording you can play on your phone before you have to shoot anything. Let me see, what can I put on there." He considers a moment and then says in a perfct Grant Ward delivery. "Daisy. You're good enough. Your're smart enough. And doggone it, people like you." He gives her another smile. "You're welcome."

He sticks his hands out to the side and shrugs. "I don't know what it is. I cannot lie to you. I have tried. Wait..no I haven't. Okay yes I have. See?!" He laughs slightly. "Let me try to lie right now..ready." He clears his throat and takes a small breath. "You look lovely this morning. Did you do something with your hair? I love that outfit." He bites his lower lip and then blurts out. "Argghh. You look sleepy and you may have slept in that." He winces and then adds. "I mean you're still kinda pretty. I mean you make it work."

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"I would put it all up on the internet and then you'd never be known again as the stoic Ward.." Daisy smirks up at Ward and finally puts the gun down, drawing down the ear muffs. "So be careful what you send me!" would Daisy dare to expose Ward?

Well, she was a hacker in the past.

"Thanks for the help though.." And she reaches up to pat Ward on the shoulder. "I could always count on you, even when I couldn't.." whatever does she mean with that?

"Practice time is done, time to go get serious. I will see you soon, yea?"

Grant Ward has posed:
His eyes drift to the hand as she pats him on the shoulder. "Yeah. Always count on me." His words are delivered slower as he seems to almost trying to decipher the deeper meaning in her words. However, he quickly moves on. Such things can be processed later. "Sure. Yeah. Yeah. You will see me soon. My door is always open if you need to talk about anything. Just leave your shoes on the mat at the door. You know the routine."

He gives her a nod and pushes himself off from the rail finally and reaches for the earmuff, putting them on and picking up the gun. His arms raise in a perfect stance and he fires off one round down range, striking the target, but not really that close to the center of it."

He sets the gun down, removes the earmuffs and turns to Daisy, pointing a finger over his shoulder. "Somebody moved the targets. I'll look into it."