Aboard the Airbus –
Coulson asked, "Noise? What do you mean by noise?"
Fitz explained, "Literal noise. It's saturating every S.H.I.E.L.D. communication channel."
"It could be signal interference, or maybe it's some kind of encoded data."
Coulson turned to May, "Would you care to explain?"
"We find out you're a traitor, the plane goes haywire, and we lose comms all at once."
May shook her head, "I don't know what's going on. I wish I did."
"You have to trust me."
Coulson replied, "No, I don't."
Suddenly, a new voice broke through the static—Garrett's, "Can you hear me?"
Fitz furrowed his brow, "Where's this signal coming from?"
He quickly pinpointed the source, "It's very close."
Garrett's voice crackled through again, "I'm under attack—enemy aircraft on my six, over!"
Coulson recognized the voice, "Garrett?"
"Yeah, Coulson—it's drones! They're shooting at me!"
"Repeat, S.H.I.E.L.D. drones are tailing me, and they're not exactly friendly. Do you copy?"
Coulson responded, "Copy that."
"Garrett, what's going on?"
"We've lost control of the plane."
Flying evasively, Garrett replied, "How should I know? Just tell me you've got weapons on board—I'm heading your way."
Without hesitation, Coulson grabbed a freeze round and fired it at May, knocking her unconscious. He turned to Fitz, "Fitz, can you manually reroute the guns to the weapons control room, bypassing the system?"
Fitz nodded, "If the cables are long enough, I can."
Coulson nodded, "Get on it. Killer Bee, assist him."
"Once it's done, decrypt that signal. I want to know what we're dealing with."
"I've had enough surprises for one day."
Fitz and Killer Bee immediately got to work. Coulson secured May with specialized handcuffs and carried her to Ward's interrogation room.
Ward, seeing Coulson walk in with an unconscious May over his shoulder, asked in confusion, "What happened?"
Coulson answered, "She's a sleeper."
"I mean the traitorous kind of sleeper."
Ward looked baffled, "Wait, what are you talking about?"
Before leaving, Coulson added, "She's been reporting on our movements."
As the door closed, Ward glanced at May's unconscious form with intrigue.
So, there's another mole in Coulson's team? Interesting.
If May's Hydra, just like me, this might turn out better than I thought.
Fitz and Killer Bee finished their modifications quickly. Fitz reported, "All set, sir!"
Coulson sat at the control station and radioed, "Garrett, what's your position?"
Garrett answered, "I'll be right above you, ten o'clock. Are the guns ready?"
"Almost."
The top of the Airbus opened to reveal two turret-style machine guns.
Fitz warned, "He'll need to pull up, sir!"
"Garrett, pull up!"
Coulson, unconcerned, responded, "He knows what he's doing."
Killer Bee, standing behind Coulson with his longsword, watched as Coulson took control of the guns.
As Garrett approached, he pulled his plane up just in time.
Coulson opened fire, destroying one drone instantly.
With Garrett's skilled flying and Coulson's pinpoint shooting, the second drone was quickly taken down.
"Nicely done!"
…
In the command center of S.H.I.E.L.D., a technician monitored the wreckage of two downed drones and reported to Hand, "The drones have been destroyed. Agent Garrett is still alive, and he's docked with S.H.I.E.L.D. 616."
Another agent chimed in, "I suggest we send more agents to take them down directly."
Hand shook her head, "Unnecessary."
"We couldn't seize control of Garrett's plane remotely, so the plan was to destroy it."
"But since he's with Coulson now, we'll take them out together once they land."
"Keep the plane intact."
Turning to one of the agents nearby, Hand asked, "Agent Shaw, anything to add?"
Agent Shaw hesitated before replying, "Sorry, it's just… hard to accept that we're targeting people we once called friends."
Hand stepped closer, her expression cold and resolute, "That encrypted message changed everything."
"You understand that, don't you?"
Shaw nodded grimly.
Hand addressed the entire room, "We pledged allegiance to each other."
"Today is a test of that loyalty. Any hesitation will lead to only one outcome—death."
…
Meanwhile, Garrett's plane successfully docked with Coulson's aircraft, and he boarded safely.
In the control room, Fitz was busy decrypting a message. When Coulson and Killer Bee entered, Fitz explained, "It's a simple repeating message—semantic coding."
"I need to identify the mnemonic. Give me a minute or two, and I'll crack it."
Garrett joined them, his voice loud and frustrated, "Can I ask the question we're all thinking?"
"What the hell is going on?"
"I just got attacked by S.H.I.E.L.D. drones!"
As Garrett glanced at Killer Bee standing beside Coulson, his eyes registered a flicker of recognition, though he kept his reaction hidden.
Coulson shook his head, "We don't know either."
"We don't even know where this plane is headed," Coulson said.
Garrett replied, "I saw your flight path—you're being led straight to the Hub. That's where those drones came from."
Thinking of who was in charge at the Hub, Coulson muttered a name, "Victoria Hand."
Fitz, startled, asked, "Hand? No way."
Garrett raised an eyebrow, "No way what?"
Killer Bee, arms crossed, added, "Clairvoyant."
Garrett blinked before saying, "Didn't Ward kill that guy?"
He knew that he was the real Clairvoyant and had suspected that his exposure might have prompted the drone attack. Hearing Coulson's team suspecting Hand gave him relief—he hadn't been fully exposed yet.
But why would they think the Clairvoyant was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent? Why would the Hub attack him?
Coulson explained, "I don't believe the person Ward killed was the Clairvoyant. I think he was just an unwitting decoy—meant to stop us from digging further."
Garrett internally smirked, 'Nice call, Coulson. That guy was bait.'
Outwardly, he protested, "Wouldn't that be a bit much just to throw us off?"
Coulson pressed on, "The Clairvoyant is a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Using high-level clearance, always staying one step ahead of us—like they have psychic powers."
Garrett's eyes narrowed, "You think Victoria Hand is the Clairvoyant?"
Coulson nodded.
Garrett chuckled, "Not to argue, but that doesn't add up. I worked with her in Lisbon—tough as nails, a buzzkill at parties—but you think she's capable of this?"
Coulson countered, "She did just try to blow you up, didn't she?"
Garrett raised his hands, "No argument there. She's definitely crazy. But doesn't that prove she's not the Clairvoyant? If she's been hiding in plain sight, why expose herself now?"
At that moment, Fitz exclaimed, "Sir, I've cracked it."
Coulson turned toward the screen and read the message aloud:
"Step out of the shadows. Walk into the light."
Garrett stepped forward, staring at the screen with wide eyes. He was more shaken than anyone.
"My God…"
As everyone watched in shock, the screen displayed the final, chilling words:
"HYDRA!"
Suddenly, everything made sense to Garrett—why his plane was attacked, why control of Coulson's plane was stolen. It was all because HYDRA had awakened. The message was a signal to activate sleeper agents within S.H.I.E.L.D.
But with Coulson, May, and especially Killer Bee onboard, Garrett knew he couldn't risk revealing himself. He played along, feigning the same disbelief.
Killer Bee's expression grew serious. He saw an opportunity to get closer to the cold storage facility he needed to secure.
Fitz, confused, asked, "But… wasn't HYDRA wiped out after World War II?"
Coulson nodded, "Exactly. That's when S.H.I.E.L.D. was created."
Fitz pressed, "And now they're back?"
Garrett muttered grimly, "HYDRA always rises from the dead."
Coulson added, "Cut off one head, and two more will take its place."
Garrett joked, "Heads? I thought it was tentacles."
Coulson remained firm, "Heads. Cut off one head."
Killer Bee smirked, "Doesn't matter. We'll cut them all."
Fitz suddenly pointed out, "Sir, this message came from inside S.H.I.E.L.D."
"It's definitely a trigger for sleeper agents within our own ranks."
Coulson narrowed his eyes, "Hand must be one of them."
Garrett spoke darkly, "They're targeting level 8 agents—taking control. No telling how deep it goes."
Fitz frowned, "If it's everywhere, it's very deep."
Coulson looked directly at Garrett, "Do you understand what this means?"
Garrett sighed, "Yeah, it means we're screwed. We can't change course, and we don't know what's waiting for us at the Hub."
"Frankly, I say we blast a hole in this plane and parachute out. Live to fight another day."
Coulson glanced at Killer Bee, "We can't do that. Killer Bee just got back, and I haven't reported him to the Hub. If we land, we might catch them off guard."
"But if they hit us with a missile mid-air, that's—"
Fitz interrupted, "Sir, Simmons is at the Hub. We have to rescue her."
Coulson nodded, and Garrett grimaced, "Damn. Triplett's there too."
He sighed. "Our odds aren't great, but with Killer Bee on board, I'm not worried about the landing. The key is making sure we don't get shot down before we get there."