"Alright, I'll talk, I'll talk."
Ward calmly watched as Vanchat finally caved, then closed the ceiling hatch in the interrogation room. It seemed his approach to interrogation was the most effective.
…
Meanwhile-
Selene brought Skye to Charles base. Stepping off the helicopter, Skye couldn't help but be amazed.
"Wow, in a place as expensive as New York City, having a space this huge must've cost a fortune."
Selene smiled, "Our boss didn't pay a dime for it."
Skye was momentarily speechless, unable to understand how such a prime piece of real estate could be obtained without any payment—even Tony Stark wouldn't just gift something like this.
Just then, a werewolf guard approached Selene respectfully, "Miss Selene, Lord Charles is waiting for you both in the meeting room."
Selene nodded, "I'll take her there right away."
Turning to Skye, she said, "Follow me; Mr. Charles is expecting us."
Selene led Skye to the door of the meeting room. Pushing it open, Skye saw Charles Doyle sitting on the couch, casually sipping coffee.
"Boss, I've brought Skye."
Charles set down his coffee cup and looked over at Skye beside Selene, saying, "So, Skye, come on over and sit."
He gestured to the couch, and Selene then left the room, closing the door behind her.
Skye slowly took a seat on the couch and glanced at Charles Doyle, thinking that he looked even more handsome than his photos online.
Charles looked at Skye and said, "We received your request, and we've decided to accept it. But there's one thing I need to confirm with you."
"Skye, you've offered yourself as the payment for this mission. Since this is the first time we've accepted such a form of payment, I want to confirm it with you."
"Once the agreement is signed, you'll be part of my organization, meaning your life is no longer your own but under my control."
"Though I won't demand anything extreme from you, your rights and responsibilities will belong to me."
"In exchange, I'll give you what you're looking for."
Skye nodded, "Other than myself and my computer skills, I don't have anything else of value."
Then, with a self-deprecating laugh, she added, "Who I work for doesn't matter, as long as I can learn about my parents."
Charles smiled, then waved his hand, producing a contract.
"In that case, sign your name here."
Skye took the contract, reviewing the terms carefully. After confirming there were no hidden traps, she signed her name.
…
Elsewhere-
On the moving aircraft, Agent Hand addressed the team in the control room.
"Vanchat's intel was useful. We're tracking down known buyers of Chitauri metal globally. The largest buyer has a warehouse in Sydney, which is where we're headed."
She looked at the assembled agents and continued, "This is our chance to take down Centipede. Everyone, gear up."
Ward spoke up, "What about Agent Coulson?"
Hand looked at him and replied, "If we're lucky, Centipede might be holding him in Sydney."
"Dismissed."
As the agents began to file out, Hand called, "Agent Ward, stay here."
Hearing Agent Hand's words, Ward stopped and looked at her.
She began, "First, your friend Skye gets off the plane without reporting in. Then, Vanchat nearly flies out of the interrogation room. Do you have a problem with me?"
Ward shook his head, "No, Agent Hand."
"Your people couldn't get answers, so I stepped in," he explained.
Hand replied, "Without my permission."
After a brief pause, she added, "Congratulations."
"Thanks to your 'unique' interrogation techniques, our strike teams are conducting searches all over the globe."
She looked him in the eye and continued, "But here's the question—why?"
Ward was puzzled, "What?"
Hand gestured to the screen in front of her, which displayed markers for SHIELD agents' global actions, and said, "This is unprecedented, this level of mobilization to rescue an agent with Level 8 clearance, requiring so many resources."
Then, looking directly at Ward, she added, "I've been receiving calls all day. Director Fury, Commander Hill—everyone wants to be kept in the loop."
"Frankly, I don't understand it."
"No agent is that important."
Ward replied firmly, "Agent Coulson is that important."
With that, he turned and walked away.
…
Elsewhere-
"Aaah!"
Coulson cried out in pain as a Centipede soldier shocked him with a specialized stun baton, torturing him while he remained strapped to the machine.
As the electrical shocks paused, Coulson looked at Po and said, "SHIELD will find me before you break me."
Po calmly replied, "SHIELD?"
"The Clairvoyant will keep them at bay."
With a wave of his hand, Po ordered the shocks to resume.
"Ugh... Ahhh..."
As Coulson screamed in agony, Raina, standing nearby, spoke up, "He doesn't look so well."
Po turned to the woman at the door, "Raina, why did it take you so long to get here?"
"I was attending to someone else," Raina replied.
Po, hands on his hips, looked at her and said, "I keep telling the Clairvoyant about your powers of persuasion."
"So use them here—help me break him."
Raina objected, "I don't believe in using brute force to get people to do what I want."
"He's not cooperating," Po argued.
Raina dismissed his excuse, "Because he's being tortured."
Po explained his stance, "Pain is the only way to make him submit."
"It's the Clairvoyant's directive; he's told me so."
"See?"
Po pulled out a specialized communicator just as a call from the Clairvoyant came in.
He answered it, saying, "Yes, not yet."
"I'm just beginning the interrogation."
"My methods are sound."
"I assure you…"