Coulson's arms came up around her instinctively. He looked down, surprised. "You're hurt too?"
James cut in. "Skye found your location and pushed in before we arrived. She did good."
His eyes moved to Skye, honest but firm. "She still needs more close-combat training."
James looked back at Coulson sighing. "Phil, Yes we're hiding something. I was about to tell you before this happened. But we'll talk about it when we get back. First we'll catch Garrett."
Coulson looked at him. "You're sure you want to tell me?"
"Yes," James said. "I wanted to tell it to you straight. But there were still loose ends. Now things are about to get settled, but it still needs a little preparation."
He tightened his grip on Coulson's arm. "Let's get you home."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leaving two teams and a helicopter to lock down the area, James, Phil Coulson, and Skye returned to the base with a small commando in tail.
In the helicopter, May pushed a live video feed to James's screen to the interrogation room.
They could see John Garrett talking to Victoria Hand.
"Agent Hand," Garrett said, "I didn't expect you to deliberately target Phil's team."
He didn't know his earlier text had been intercepted. So now he had the breathing room to stroll in and chat.
"You know the Director handed this plane to Phil," Garrett continued. "That's complete trust. He's the only Level Eight who gets that kind of treatment."
"I didn't target anyone," Hand snapped. "The reason I didn't broadcast every detail of their last mission was because their team had… a leak. I didn't say anything."
She leaned forward, irritation clearly visible. "And James Gibson is an Avenger. His capability is above Hawkeye and Black Widow. Even if he was left behind, he can withdraw without a problem."
Garrett chuckled. "You're wrong. His capability is like Tony Stark's, primarily Technologically dependent. Without his armor, even with good marksmanship, he'll be hopeless."
He tilted his head. "You can blame him for being unpleasant. You know he's here by invitation of Director Fury's."
Victoria's face tightened. "Even so, it doesn't justify detaining a Level Eight. I'll have to report this."
Garrett was driving a wedge. Coulson's field team was a threat, being far too effective. Taking Coulson had cost Centipede their momentum, cost them valuable assets, and forced them to make a move. Ward's people are now scattered, forced into hiding.
James watched the feed and smiled.
Garrett was still in the dark of Ward's capture.
But he'd see it in a minute.
—
The helicopter touched down. James led his people back onto the BUS.
Garrett had already stepped out of the interrogation room.
Then he saw Grant Ward.
For a moment, Garrett froze, but snapped instantly to continue his facade.
"Supervisor?," Garrett said, loud enough for the room, "what happened? Did he kidnap Phil? No wonder I couldn't reach him."
Ward grinned, enjoying it. "Heh. How would you know, idiot?" His voice lifted to play into the act. "Long live Hydra. Cut off one head, two more grow back. We'll meet again soon, when the roles are reversed."
Garrett showed a face of anguish. "I misjudged you. I never should've brought you into S.H.I.E.L.D. You—"
He let anger carry the line, convincing, and shaking.
James and the team watched the act at play.
Garrett turned toward Coulson, showing an act of regret. "Phil… if I hadn't been tied up, I never would've sent him. How are you feeling?"
He expected Coulson to respond. Maybe even make light of what happened
Instead, the room stayed strangely quiet.
Garrett finally noticed the expressions around him, too many people were smiling, that felt more like a mocking.
"What?" Garrett asked, feeling suspicious of everyone.
James started clapping, in a slow steady rhythm.
"That was a great act," James said. "You two work like you rehearsed it. No need to discuss anything, just walk in and deliver a whole emotional scene."
Garrett's smile strained. "James… what are you talking about?"
James's tone stayed light. "A simple question for you. Can I call you, the 'Clairvoyant'?"
The words landed like a weight.
Garrett's heartbeat would've spiked, but he kept himself composed, not showing any weakness.
James continued, still calm. "Doesn't matter if you deny it. No matter how cautious you are, you leave evidence. We just have to sweep it up thoroughly."
He walked into the interrogation room and came back out, with Victoria Hand.
Victoria still looked furious. She glanced at Coulson. "Since you recovered him, I'm returning to HQ. I'll be giving my thorough report."
Coulson gaved a polite smile, then looked to James.
"Alright," he said. "I'll lay out the full chain of events."
He spoke clearly, to the whole room.
"Coulson arranged to meet Garrett. The person who actually met him was Grant Ward. Ward destroyed the parking-lot surveillance and took Coulson. No one can dispute that."
Victoria's eyes narrowed. "What's your point?"
James didn't answer directly, kept building it up like a case file.
"In the following days, we worked through leads. When we requested HQ for intel support, Garrett applied to assist, and the Director sent Victoria Hand here with him."
He held Victoria's gaze. "I opposed it. But the Director called it an opportunity. So I accepted, on one condition: command remained with me."
Only James's team understood what "opportunity" meant.
Garrett, now, was starting to realize too.
"The two of you arriving made us less flexible," James continued. "So we moved Skye out early. She's more useful outside your line of sight."
He gestured to Skye, still injured in combat kit, standing upright with a stubborn energy.
"We fed her the leads. She moved independently which resulted in Coulson being located quickly."
Victoria's voice tightened. "You were guarding against Agent Garrett."
"Yes, we are," James said, simple. "Because Centipede believes the Clairvoyant can read minds. But that part is a myth."
He looked at everyone, letting the room feel the reality of what he was saying.
"The Clairvoyant doesn't read minds. He has access to intelligence of Institutional memory. He's part of S.H.I.E.L.D., a level Eight agent, John Garrett. That's why he knows what he knows."
Garrett laughed, dismissive. "Nice story. But you can't accuse me based on a theory. You have no evidence, no incident tied to me, nothing concrete to prove your words."
Victoria looked torn, Garrett's denial matched her instincts. 'You don't accuse a Level Eight without proof.'
James didn't flinch.
"I detained Agent Hand to allow you maximum freedom," he said. "and you did what we expected of you."
He looked toward Fitz.
"You sent a message, and unfortunately for you, we have full control of what goes in and out of this plane. Fitz?"
Fitz lifted a tablet and tapped a few commands.
The intercepted message flooded the screen, sender ID, routing, and timestamp.
Then the sender's number appeared.
Everyone in the room could see it.
Garrett froze, then forced a question out.
"So, you suspected me from the start," he said. "You baited me into a trap. ~sigh Fine, what gave me away?"
James stared at him with unblinking eyes.
"You don't need to know," he said flatly. "You're under arrest."
He had Garrett and Ward secured in the interrogation room, then turned to Raina.
"You can go," James said. "You weren't much help this time, but we'll still cut you loose. Your prior actions get wiped from the immediate record, but your file will stay flagged to us. Don't waste this chance."
Raina looked at him with gratitude, then left the Helicarrier under escort.
She had her own next step, back toward Skye's biological father. James let her walk away because Skye's fate mattered. Raina was a key piece, whether she liked it or not.
Once she was gone, James returned and ordered everyone to pack up and prepare to depart with Agent Hand.
Then James, Phil, and Victoria moved into Coulson's third-floor office.
"Agent Hand," James began, direct as always, "we've had some friction, but Phil and I have always trusted you."
Victoria went quiet, then answered with control. "I'll admit I've had opinions about certain members of your team. But I've always done my work for the mission. I never meant to target anyone."
Coulson smiled lightly. "We never doubted that. The reason I approved of you coming here is because there are things you need to know, and the opportunity to do that was rare."
He looked at James.
James handed her a flash drive.
"This," James said, "is a list of Hydra assets inside HQ."
Victoria stared at it like it might bite her. Confusion flashed in her eyes, then disbelief.
"You're saying S.H.I.E.L.D. has been swarmed by Hydra?" she asked. "That's impossible."
"Nothing, is impossible," James said. "They seeded themselves after World War II. Started as 'scientists' then they grew, into every layer of S.H.I.E.L.D.. They also have people in the World Security Council."
His eyes stayed steady. "Alexander Pierce is Hydra. He's one of the heads."
Victoria stood up, shock breaking through her discipline. "That can't be."
"Yes, it is," James said. "and only a few people know. We need to handle this ourselves or the whole organization breaks apart."
Coulson's tone hardened. "Hydra's focus is Project Insight. Fury slowed the weapons rollout. But now they've accelerated construction. We don't know the final scope of their plan."
James continued, "Which means we may have to move sooner."
Victoria's mind was already racing. "Then, can we even get the manpower to do this?"
"We will," James said. "But not the normal way."
He leaned forward to emphasize. "New York has been cleaned. We're building an assault force there. That becomes the main strike force to clean up HQ."
He tapped on the flash drive. "Your mission is to gain control from the inside. Prevent Hydra from getting the three Helicarriers airborne. Right now their people are scattered throughout the underground factory. They're choking off the Director's influence there."
Victoria exhaled, still fighting her disbelief. "I'll… think about it."
"This is not a suggestion," James said, voice calm but edged. "If you fail, S.H.I.E.L.D. will collapse. And you know the military and every intelligence agency on the continent has been waiting to carve us up."
He didn't soften it.
"If our tech and resources get scattered, the world would fall into chaos. S.H.I.E.L.D. gets branded a traitor overnight."
Victoria hesitated. Agents were trained to doubt. Even when the truth was screaming in their face.
James saw it.
"The Avengers will aid Fury," he said. "We don't care about politics, power games, or hierarchy. You know that."
Victoria's eyes widened. "The Avengers will be involved?"
"A part of them," James said. "Captain America is at HQ right now. Hydra will target him. He still doesn't know what's inside with him."
Victoria's concern sharpened. "Then the Captain is in danger."
James shook his head once. "He's Captain America. A World War II Veteran Captain America. This isn't beyond his line of work, and Romanoff is with him. He'll be fine."
Victoria finally nodded, a decision clicking into place. "Alright, I'm in. I'll contact you when I get back."
"Agent Hand," James said immediately. "Keep your distance from anyone who you don't fully trust. Quietly build a team of people who aren't Hydra loyalists. Even if a few Hydra slips in, it won't matter."
He kept his voice steady. "Before the operation, we'll give you the signal. If you acted before everything was set in place, they'll get alerted and tell Alexander Pierce. Wait until the mission starts, by then, it'll be too late for them to escape."
Victoria inhaled to steady herself. "Understood."
Then she asked the practical question. "How do I receive your signal?"
"Route encrypted data transfers through the Helicarrier system," James said. "It's secured, encrypted, and monitored by Athena."
Victoria nodded. "Understood."
She left with her people.
James was ready to finally talk to Coulson, but first he had Simmons patch him up. Skye had already been treated and changed out of her combat gear.
James found her and gave her a look, approval without softness.
"You did well," he said. "You looked like a bonafide agent. Still needs a little more training though."
Skye's brows lifted. "That's it? I did 'well'?"
James's mouth twitched. "You did awesome."
He gave her shoulder a quick squeeze. "And when we're on leave, I'm buying you a real meal. As a reward for the good job."