On the other side-
Not far from the Airbus, Garrett was piloting a small plane.
Enjoying music and sipping coffee, he was suddenly interrupted by an alarm. Checking the radar, he noticed two drones tailing him.
He calmly put down his coffee, picked up his headset, and reported, "Control tower, this is S.H.I.E.L.D. E3. I have two drones following me."
"Are they friendly?"
"Over."
"If they get any closer, they'll hit my jetwash."
However, static was the only response from the other end of the line. Garrett took off the headset with a puzzled expression, "What's going on?"
The next moment, both drones launched missiles at his plane.
Seeing the missiles on the radar, Garrett jolted in fear. He immediately switched to manual control, pulling off a series of high-level maneuvers: vertical climb, cobra roll, and a loop-the-loop.
The precise tactical moves caused the missiles to collide with each other, narrowly saving him from danger.
Glancing at the S.H.I.E.L.D. insignia on the drones, Garrett was momentarily stunned.
What... what is this?
Could his identity as the Clairvoyant have been exposed?
No—he had to probe further.
…
On the Airbus-
Coulson looked at May and said, "Drop your weapon."
"Coulson—"
"Drop your weapon, and kick it over to the stairs."
"May, hurry up!"
"Now!"
May took a deep breath, thought for a moment, and then surrendered her weapon.
Coulson descended from the upper level, instructing, "Step back, over there."
Following the command, May moved as instructed.
Now, with Coulson and Killer Bee surrounding her, Coulson asked, "Where did you redirect the plane?"
May explained, "I didn't change the course—I swear!"
Coulson pressed, "Don't lie to me."
Fitz shouted, "Stop pretending! The plane already changed direction!"
Killer Bee also asked, "What's going on?"
May responded, "Headquarters can override autopilot control. They can send us wherever they want."
"Let me check the controls—I can confirm—"
Fitz yelled, "Don't even think about it!"
Coulson agreed, "Until you give us a full explanation, you're not going anywhere near the controls."
He wasn't willing to risk letting May touch anything. If the plane crashed, even with the serum-enhanced durability he had, the altitude would ensure certain death—and even Killer Bee wouldn't survive.
May shouted, "It wasn't me!"
Seeing her refusal to confess, Coulson changed tactics with another question.
"Why do you have an encrypted line?"
Fitz added fuel to the fire, "And after I found it, you shot at me!"
May glanced at Fitz and said, "Everyone, calm down."
Coulson, furious, demanded, "Answer me. Now!"
Stepping forward with the intent to fire, Coulson's eyes narrowed.
Seeing this, May quickly exclaimed, "It's a dedicated line—to Director Fury!"
"That's the truth."
Coulson hesitated, "Director Fury?"
"I haven't been able to reach him for weeks."
Killer Bee asked, "You've been reporting to him?"
"Not about my movements, right?"
In Killer Bee's mind, his whereabouts were far more critical than Coulson's—after all, he was a ninja from the Hidden Cloud.
Both Coulson and Fitz exchanged a glance at Killer Bee before turning their focus back to May. The idea wasn't entirely implausible.
May responded, "I can't say more than that."
Fitz, still furious, shouted, "Stop pretending!"
Coulson, both amused and angry, repeated, "You can't say more?"
May explained, "I'm following orders!"
"Fury will explain everything."
Fitz, still bitter about being shot at, snapped, "Oh, is that an order, too? Shooting at me? A bullet to my head?"
Coulson suddenly realized, "Wait—we're not going to Fury."
May, her eyes reddening, shook her head, "I don't know where we're going."
"Now I can't contact Fury—because Fitz cut the line!"
Fitz shouted, "Killer Bee told me to cut it!"
"And someone was communicating with the Clairvoyant—the real Clairvoyant!"
Killer Bee added, "I didn't trust whoever was reporting to the Clairvoyant, so I told Fitz to sever the connection."
May turned toward Fitz, "You were there, too. Care to explain why you were messing with the satellite cables?"
With the accusation directed at him, Fitz stammered, "That's not important right now!"
"Don't try to pin this on me!"
Coulson turned to Fitz and demanded, "Fitz, explain yourself."
Seeing his stern look, Fitz explained, "I was trying to contact Simmons at the Hub."
Coulson's eyes widened, "Did you need an encrypted line for that?"
"Why all the secrecy?"
Fitz shouted, "What do you think!"
"You wouldn't let me and Simmons study the drug that saved your life and mine."
"Simmons just wants to figure out what that stuff is!"
"Even a Lazarus Pit couldn't do what that drug did."
Hearing this, Killer Bee perked up, clearly interested. The high praise for this mysterious drug suggested it was a valuable resource worth considering.
May, shocked, exclaimed, "Fitz?"
"Who else did she talk to about it?"
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Coulson immediately moved toward the lab door.
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