"I wouldn't dream of harming her; I'll take good care of her," Raina said smoothly.
"But if you want her back, that's not impossible. You just need to offer yourself in exchange."
"As long as you come, I'll release your girlfriend. I'll allow you to bring one person from your team—Skye, Fitz, or Simmons—to help escort her. However, if you call in S.H.I.E.L.D. backup, we'll kill your loved one."
"And remember, any signs of electronic devices, communication equipment, or surveillance, and the deal is off."
"The time is set for an hour from now, on the closed bridge section in Oakland. If you don't show up within the hour, I'll consider the deal canceled."
With that, Raina hung up, leaving Coulson seated and wondering why they wanted him specifically.
Could it be related to the physical enhancement serum he'd received, or was there another reason?
Soon, Coulson gathered his team and briefed them on the situation.
"They want to trade me for Audrey and have already set the time and place."
Fitz burst out in anger, "Those brutes—they kidnapped your girlfriend!"
Simmons looked puzzled, "What could they want with you? To study the enhancement serum in your system?"
Ward was furious as well.
Just this morning, Coulson had opened up to him about his former love, and by nightfall, she had been taken...
"Sir, how could they have known about Audrey? Do they truly have the ability to foresee things?"
Coulson glanced at Ward and shook his head, "I'm not sure."
Ward spoke up, "We can't let them get away with this. We've beaten them before."
Coulson replied, "We have no other choice. Their instructions were specific. I called HQ and told them to stand down."
May asked in disbelief, "Stand down?"
Ward interjected, "Then we'll go in ourselves."
Skye suggested, "Maybe we could ask for help from Killer Bee and his team."
May agreed, "Or at least bring in a specialist rescue team."
Coulson shook his head, "There's not enough time—Killer Bee's team won't make it in time."
"And they prohibited all electronic devices, communication, or monitoring signs, or else they'll call off the exchange."
"So I'm going to hand myself over to bring Audrey back safely."
Skye protested, "We can't just give up our leader!"
Coulson responded, "Luckily, we have ways of tracking without electronics."
"I'll try to stall for time. May, Ward, you both come to back me up at the right moment."
Fitz added, "Simmons developed a scentless marker. My detector can track it like a bloodhound, even from 50 kilometers away."
Coulson nodded, "After the exchange, you'll be able to track me."
"With the three of us, I believe we can handle this mission successfully."
Seeing Coulson's resolve, the team fell silent, recognizing the depth of his feelings for the woman he loved.
Soon, Coulson's team set out in two vehicles toward the designated exchange point.
As they arrived at the bridge, May turned to Coulson, "At least let me escort you to the exchange."
Coulson replied solemnly, "They explicitly forbade you and Ward from accompanying me. They're clearly cautious of our strength."
"Fitz and Simmons need to monitor the tracking signal, so Skye will come with me to retrieve Audrey."
"If anything goes wrong, I need you here to lead the team."
"Is Ward in position?"
May took a deep breath, "Yes, he's in place."
"I don't like this."
Coulson chuckled, "If you did, that'd be a real problem."
With that, Coulson unfastened his seatbelt, stepped out of the car, and Simmons applied the scentless tracking solution to the back of his hand.
Fitz said, "The moment the exchange is over, I'll activate my tracker. No matter where they take you, we'll find you."
Coulson nodded, then turned to Skye, "Skye, once the exchange is done, take Audrey and leave immediately."
Skye nodded, "I will. But we're not letting anything happen to you, sir. You're our leader."
Despite her disagreement, Skye hoped things wouldn't go south for Coulson.
He glanced at his hand and said to Skye, "Let's go."
Coulson and Skye walked toward the exchange site, while Ward, positioned on a rooftop far from the bridge, held his sniper rifle ready.
In the middle of the bridge, two concrete mixers were parked on each side. A black sedan approached from the opposite end and stopped at the designated spot.
Raina stepped out, accompanied by a Centipede soldier, and they moved near the concrete mixers, positioning themselves in Ward's blind spot.
"Damn it," Ward muttered, shifting his line of sight only to see that Coulson and Skye were also now out of view.
Raina greeted Coulson, "Agent Coulson, it's finally good to meet you."
"Your girlfriend is quite lovely, especially when she plays the cello," she added, glancing at Skye.
"And you must be the hacker girl. This is our first meeting, I believe."
Coulson said with a grim expression, "Consider yourself lucky."
Raina smirked, "I'm glad you kept your word and came to make the exchange."
Coulson countered, "At this range, I could easily take you down."
Raina laughed, "Unfortunately, my boss doesn't care about either my life or your lover's."
"If I die, she won't survive either. And her death will be even more agonizing. After all, she's a female hostage. I trust you understand that, Coulson."
Knowing this might happen, Coulson had only tested her resolve without real intent to act.
He stepped closer to Raina, "Let's proceed with the exchange."
Raina shifted slightly closer, making a signal toward the car. A Centipede soldier exited, opened the car door, and led a bound Audrey out.
She saw Coulson and, tears streaming down her face, whispered, "Coulson…"
Coulson gave her a reassuring smile.
Watching from the car, Simmons sighed in relief, "Thank heavens, I could hardly bear it."
May instructed, "Prepare to activate the comms and tracking devices."
Raina, however, swiftly injected a toxin into Coulson's side, causing him to collapse, weakened. A nearby Centipede soldier hoisted him up.
Turning to Skye, Raina said, "Audrey's all yours."
True to her word, she allowed the Centipede soldier to hand Audrey over to Skye. Supporting Audrey, Skye turned to walk away, realizing she could do nothing more.