As Killer Bee's concert wrapped up, Coulson received a message on his phone. He made his way backstage and found Killer Bee.
"We've got a mission. We need to head to the airport."
Killer Bee raised his hands, gesturing the number twelve.
Coulson nodded, "I know. We'll arrange for you to continue later."
Killer Bee grinned, "GO!"
The entire team quickly boarded a vehicle and headed to the airport.
Soon, they arrived at the airport and boarded a waiting Airbus. With May piloting the plane, the rest of the team gathered in the command room.
May's voice came over the intercom, "S.H.I.E.L.D. Order 616, heading to Northern Colorado Airport."
Coulson pulled out a tablet, displaying the mission details.
"A few minutes ago, a S.H.I.E.L.D. convoy escorting a high-priority target was ambushed on Route 76 near Sterling."
Skye, curious, asked, "What's a high-priority target?"
Killer Bee also looked at Coulson, awaiting an explanation.
Instead of answering, Coulson tapped on the tablet, bringing up the profile of their target.
"The target is Canadian physicist Dr. Franklin Hall. He's known for his research on—"
Before Coulson could finish, Simmons gasped, "Oh no!"
Fitz, reading the information, exclaimed, "Dr. Hall? He was our chemical kinetics professor in sophomore year."
Simmons added, "Yes, he was so passionate about science. We really liked him."
"Can we save him?" Simmons asked with concern.
"A scientist, huh?" Killer Bee mused.
Coulson nodded, "He's one of ours, so we'll do our best to rescue him."
Ward, standing nearby, asked, "And the attackers?"
"They're invisible," Coulson replied, turning to leave.
As Coulson walked away, Skye called out, "Wait, invisible? That's so cool!"
Ward shot Skye a look, and she quickly corrected herself, "I mean, that's terrible."
Killer Bee then asked, "Is it an invisibility technique? Like the ones used by ninja from the Hidden Mist?"
Ward, intrigued, inquired, "Do you think ninjas are involved?"
Killer Bee shook his head, "I'm not sure what happened on-site, so I can't confirm if ninjas are involved. But I do know that some ninjas can turn invisible using their techniques."
Ward pondered this. If ninjas were involved, it would complicate matters.
"Let's hope ninjas aren't involved. We haven't heard of ninjas kidnapping scientists before," Ward said.
…
In Sterling, Colorado-
As evening set in, Coulson and his team of seven arrived at the scene on Route 76.
Coulson explained, "Dr. Hall is one of the top scientists under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s protection. The enemy is eager to get their hands on these scientists, so we constantly hide and move them."
"There's a possibility that the enemy hired ninjas to assist. Killer Bee, we'll need your help to determine if there are any signs of ninja involvement at the scene."
Killer Bee responded confidently, "You got it, leave it to me."
The team quickly reached the site, where Agent Mike, who had been injured in the attack, was still present after receiving medical attention.
Coulson approached and introduced himself, "Agent Mike, I'm Agent Coulson, in charge of this case. Can you tell me what happened here?"
Mike looked at Coulson and said, "Yes, sir."
May asked, "Was there anything in the air?"
Mike thought for a moment and replied, "No, nothing above us. And nothing on the flanks either."
"But the strange thing is, they knew our route. They were waiting for us."
Coulson frowned and asked, "Are you suggesting that someone inside S.H.I.E.L.D. is working with the enemy?"
Mike shrugged and replied, "I'm afraid so. It's the only explanation."
At that moment, Killer Bee approached Coulson and said, "Unfortunately, there are no signs of battle or chakra usage at the scene. If the attackers didn't erase the evidence, then it's safe to say there were no ninjas involved."
Hearing this, both Coulson and May breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Killer Bee seemed intrigued, wondering what kind of invisible attack this could be if it wasn't a ninja.
It seems that there are quite a lot of interesting things in this world.
Just then, Simmons called out, "Fitz, what is this?"
Fitz responded, "How would I know? I'm not wearing my full-spectrum goggles."
As Fitz and Skye approached, Fitz said, "Let me see what you've found."
"No, wait—don't move," Simmons cautioned.
Simmons grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and tossed it into the air. Instead of falling, the dust swirled in strange, erratic patterns.
Skye was astonished, "What's going on?"
Coulson and Killer Bee also came over to investigate.
Simmons explained, "It looks like the electrostatic field scanner has been triggered."
Coulson asked, "Can we shut it down? Do it now."
After some quick adjustments by Fitz, the readings on the device spiked before the strange phenomenon finally stopped.
Simmons crouched down and used tweezers to pick up a small, gyroscope-like object from the ground.
"This is the culprit."
Coulson took the object and examined it closely.
Skye asked, "What is it?"
Coulson studied it and replied, "Big trouble."
Back in the lab on the plane, Fitz began analyzing the device they found.
Coulson spoke up, "Either someone cracked our communication system, or the information about Dr. Hall's transfer was leaked from the inside."
May asked, "Do you really think we have a mole?"
"I think you should check the communication logs, just to rule out the possibility," Coulson suggested.
"We'll also examine the tread marks from the towing equipment found at the scene."
Skye volunteered, "I can help with that. I can upload the tread images and see if—"
Just then, Ward approached and interrupted, "We've already identified it. It matches a 2010 model vehicle."
"We've narrowed it down to a list of buyers within a 500-mile radius," Ward continued, pulling up a list on the screen.
"We've focused on those with a criminal record, financial difficulties, or a tendency toward risky behavior."
Then Ward operated the machine and the information of three people appeared on the screen.
"There are three suspects."
Coulson added, "They may have sold their equipment to the kidnappers. Let's go have a chat with them."