May sneered, "Did you really protect him?"
"Unfortunately, you killed the wrong person."
Ward looked puzzled. Just then, Coulson opened the interrogation room door and entered. He spoke directly to May, "Fitz has repaired your dedicated line."
"If there's anything you can do to fix this mess, do it now."
"Things can't get any worse."
At that moment, the Airbus had already reached the underground hangar beneath the S.H.I.E.L.D. base and was descending vertically.
May moved to the cockpit, preparing to use her private line to contact Nick Fury, "I'm under orders not to do this with anyone else around."
Suddenly, the plane lurched.
The aircraft had landed in the underground hangar, where S.H.I.E.L.D. agents armed with specialized weapons were targeting and destroying its defensive gun turrets.
Coulson ignored May's protests and snapped, "They're attacking our weapons."
"Call Fury right now, or I'll be the first to throw you out."
Seeing the seriousness in Coulson's expression, with no hint of joking, May dropped her objections and began the contact procedure.
Meanwhile, Ward had been freed and entered the command room. Looking at Skye, Fitz, and Garrett, he asked, "Sir, what's going on?"
"Who's attacking us?"
Garrett pulled Ward aside and said, "It's a long story."
"Come on, I'll fill you in."
He led Ward away, muttering, "Seems like Agent Hand had some prophetic powers. Let's just pin it on her for now."
Ward blinked, realizing they were framing Agent Hand for their current predicament.
…
In the cockpit-
"This is Agent Melinda May," she announced.
"Voice command, Protocol One Emergency."
"Protocol One Emergency."
After a few rings, the line connected, and a man's voice answered, "Hello."
May paused in surprise and asked, "This is a direct X-10 encrypted line to Director Fury. Where is he?"
The voice on the other end calmly responded, "Director Fury is dead."
Unaware of Fury's recent reappearance, the operator was relaying old information.
May's eyes widened as she turned to look at Coulson, who also froze in disbelief.
Suddenly—
Bang!
Rat-a-tat-tat!
"Agh!"
May let out a cry as bullets shattered the cockpit's reinforced window, one of them striking her.
With her hands shackled and caught off guard by the sudden attack, May had no chance to evade. Coulson quickly grabbed her and pulled her down to take cover.
Outside, S.H.I.E.L.D. strike teams were focusing their assault on the cockpit. Even the command room wasn't spared, with all windows shattered by gunfire.
Coulson led the team to a safer area away from the windows. Except for the small window openings, most of the plane's structure remained bulletproof.
Ward turned to Garrett and asked, "Is it true about Fury?"
Garrett replied, "He used to be my and Coulson's supervising officer. Trust me, he's proven more than once that he's not easy to kill."
"But this situation doesn't sound great."
Looking at the others, Garrett added, "Is there anything on this plane you don't want them to get their hands on?"
Fitz glanced at the two but said nothing.
In the medical area, Coulson carefully removed the bullet lodged in May's arm using tweezers.
May broke the silence, "Phil, that was Fury's private line."
Coulson focused on extracting the bullet as he muttered, "Looks like it's true."
"That leaves just you and me. Unless you're also reporting to someone else."
May replied firmly, "I'm not."
With the bullet out, Coulson placed it in a tray and began dressing the wound.
"Then tell me everything. Fury's gone."
May finally opened up, "Fury knew you'd bring me onto your team. He asked me to keep an eye on you."
Coulson paused, surprised. "Keep an eye on me? For what?"
"Any signs of physical or psychological trouble. I reported back to him regularly."
"That's all it was."
The realization dawned on Coulson. He looked at her, his voice tinged with hurt, "You knew about Tahiti all along, didn't you?"
May's evasive glance confirmed his suspicion.
"How could you do this to me?" Coulson asked, disappointment heavy in his tone.
"After everything we've been through. All the missions we've done together…"
May interrupted, "He made it clear I couldn't tell you."
Coulson shook his head, bitterness growing in his voice.
"Bahrain. I stayed with you after that mess."
"When I built this team, I gave you a second chance."
May revealed the truth, "I'm the one who built this team."
Coulson froze, shocked, "What did you say?"
May responded, "I evaluated the candidates, then submitted my recommendations to Fury."
"Only then did he give you the list to consider."
Coulson's face showed his shock, realizing how much he had been manipulated, "What kind of people, May?"
"Someone to heal your body, a technician who could rebuild your brain, and, when necessary, an operative who could take you down."
"But I didn't do it for Fury. I did it for you. To protect you."
"I…"
"You matter to me. A lot."
"When I heard you died…"
"You might not believe me, but everything I've said is true."
"And I have nothing to do with Clairvoyant or Hydra's schemes."
She glanced at her wound.
"Maybe this bullet can prove my loyalty."
Coulson stared at her, lost in thought, before finally speaking, "I want to believe you, but you've been playing on my trust all along."
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