As Ward walked away, Skye turned to Coulson and said, "Hey, Ward mentioned something interesting. He said you guys don't even have any truth serum."
Coulson smiled, "Did he, now?"
Skye nodded, "Yeah, that's what he said."
Coulson chuckled, "Interesting."
Turning to Killer Bee, he said, "Killer Bee, let's take a trip."
Coulson and Killer Bee began walking away, and Skye called after them, "Wait…"
At that moment, May approached, carrying a large stack of files. She handed them to Skye without a word.
Skye looked confused, "What, am I supposed to use these for weightlifting?"
May, in her usual cold tone, responded, "Read them. These are all the communications from headquarters after the decision to transfer Dr. Hall."
Without further explanation, May walked away, continuing her work.
Skye glanced at the tall pile of papers in her hands and muttered, "Looks like this is gonna take a while. Hang in there, Doctor."
…
Colorado, Barn Mountain-
A man dressed as a cowboy rode his horse along the mountain trail.
Coulson was waiting on his path and greeted him, "Hello."
The cowboy pulled on the reins, stopping his horse, and asked, "Who are you?"
Leaning casually against his car, sunglasses on, Coulson replied, "Just a citizen who happens to work for a large government organization that's been keeping an eye on you."
The cowboy raised his hands, "I haven't done anything wrong."
"Of course not," Coulson replied, "but the people who bought your excavator did. And you know it, which is why you're hiding out here. I just want to know who they are."
At that, the cowboy suddenly pulled a double-barreled rifle from his horse and aimed it at Coulson, saying, "They paid me to keep quiet."
Swish!
A flash of white light appeared, and the rifle was neatly sliced in half from the handle. The cowboy was pulled back with a long blade pressed against his neck.
The man froze in shock, staring at the severed gun in disbelief. He quickly raised his hands in surrender, realizing he was no longer a threat.
Ward then emerged from behind and commented, "This has a real Old West vibe to it."
The cowboy, still shaking, stammered, "They just bought my machine, that's all. I don't know their names or what they look like."
Coulson asked, "How did they pay you? Did they give you a check?"
The cowboy pointed to a bag on his horse. Ward grabbed it, dumping the contents on the ground. Ten gold bricks clattered onto the dirt. Coulson picked one up, examining it.
Ward remarked, "Paying in gold bars? Now it really feels like the Old West."
Killer Bee, still holding his sword, asked, "What do we do with this guy? Do we just take him out?"
The cowboy's face turned pale with fear. Coulson shook his head, "Let him go. But we're confiscating your gold for our investigation."
The man waved his hands frantically, "Take whatever you want, just don't kill me."
Killer Bee withdrew his sword, sheathing it behind his back.
As they got back in the car, Killer Bee looked at Ward and asked, "What's the Old West?"
Ward thought for a moment and said, "It's a part of American history from over a hundred years ago, with cowboys and frontier culture. After this mission, I'll recommend a few movies that'll help you understand it better."
Killer Bee nodded, "Sounds good to me."
The car started up, and soon Coulson and his team were back on the plane. Handing over the gold bricks to Simmons, Coulson said, "Check these gold bricks."
Simmons took the bricks, placed them on the lab table, labeled them, and began scanning them with her instruments.
"These are actually alloy ingots, which means they were mined but not refined. The purity is only about 92%. That cowboy got ripped off a bit."
Coulson turned to Simmons, "Can you trace the impurities to identify the mine's location?"
Fitz immediately chimed in, "We can. We've already analyzed the material, and this gold came from the Daisy Mine in Tanzania."
"The owner is Quinn Worldwide."
Upon hearing the name, Coulson commented, "You probably learned about this company in chemistry class or saw its CEO on the cover of Forbes."
"Ian Quinn."
…
Meanwhile, in Malta-
Ian Quinn was on a phone call, giving orders to his subordinates:
"We can't just dig it up like potatoes; it needs to be extracted from the ore and refined."
"I know. Tell him it was this investment that bought him that ridiculous yacht."
"He'll thank me at the shareholders' meeting."
Ending the call, Quinn handed his phone to his secretary and walked into another room.
Opening the door, he saw Dr. Hall tied to a chair. Quinn asked,
"Why is he tied up? Does he look like a threat?"
Hearing Quinn's voice, Dr. Hall with his back facing him, smiled, "Quinn."
The black bodyguard immediately took out a knife and cut the ropes binding Dr. Hall.
Quinn, apologizing, said, "I'm sorry they treated you like this."
After the bodyguard left, Quinn pulled up a chair, sat down in front of Hall, and smiled, "Welcome to Malta, Hall."
Dr. Hall turned to Quinn and said, "Stealing my ideas is one thing, Ian, but kidnapping me too?"
Quinn, still smiling, responded, "First of all, I didn't steal your ideas. We've always believed in the free flow of information."
Dr. Hall replied, "The money you've made exploiting that information is astounding."
Quinn continued, "Secondly, think of this as a rescue mission, Hall."
"In fact, you'll be thanking me soon."
"My people intercepted a communication about transferring a high-value individual. When I figured out it was you, well, how could I pass up the opportunity?"
"Although, it's not exactly in line with my usual style."
Quinn stood up, walked to a cabinet, and pulled out a bottle of whiskey along with two glasses.
Dr. Hall, now on his feet, glanced around the room and remarked, "Malta."
"Smart. S.H.I.E.L.D. can't touch you here."
As he poured the whiskey, Quinn replied, "Not just S.H.I.E.L.D."
"I've actually obtained citizenship in this beautiful country."
"Charming beaches, alluring tax laws."
"And a deep-rooted hostility towards outside interference."
Hall chuckled, "Sounds like your dating profile."
Quinn laughed as well, "Yeah."
"I've moved my entire business here. I even bought the former prime minister's residence."
"It's not quite to my taste, but the underground facilities are impressive."
"So I thought, why not buy it?"
As Quinn finished pouring the drinks, he handed one to Hall.
Hall accepted the glass and remarked, "You've always been a stubborn bastard. Now you've finally found a place where the authorities can't touch you."
Quinn raised his glass, "And it doesn't violate any international laws."
The two clinked glasses and took a sip of whiskey.
Quinn then added, "More importantly, your old friends can't reach you either."
Reaching into his pocket, Quinn pulled out a miniaturized version of a gravitonium device and placed it on the table.
"Remember this little thing?"
As Hall picked it up, Quinn continued, "You designed this back when we were much younger."
"This is just a miniature sample—a hypothetical machine powered by hypothetical material."
Quinn, with a gleeful expression, asked, "Franka, you found it, didn't you?"