At the same time, inside the building destroyed by the explosion—
"Is this… a laboratory?" Simmons looked around at the wreckage.
The load-bearing columns were blackened and cracked from the blast, and the air still carried the scent of burnt metal.
A large pool of slimy residue clung to what was left of a charred corpse on the floor.
Putting on white rubber gloves, Simmons bent down to inspect it.
Melinda, who was examining the scorched equipment nearby, replied calmly, "It's registered as a self-rehabilitation center."
She frowned, kicking at a melted console. "But this place has state-of-the-art motion-sensing security systems. No rehab center would ever need that."
"So, a secret lab," Simmons muttered, using tweezers to collect tissue samples and thick mucus, sealing them in a sterile box.
The corpse was fused into the floor — cooked and melted by extreme heat.
"Was the explosion deliberate?" Simmons asked. "Was someone targeting the hooded hero?"
Melinda shook her head. "I don't know… but this isn't as simple as it looks."
Meanwhile, inside the Blackwing jet's interrogation room—
"Centipede," Skye began, crossing her arms.
"It went viral online and then suddenly vanished. I only started investigating again when the rumors resurfaced. That's how I traced it to that building that blew up."
Coulson smiled faintly. "Thanks for your cooperation, Ms. Skye. Now… tell us the name of the hooded man."
"I don't know his name," she said defensively. "I just filmed him. I was there all day!"
"He's in danger, Ms. Skye," Coulson pressed. "If you really want to help—"
"Then you should let me go!" Skye shot back. "If he's in danger, I'm the one who should warn him, not you!"
Coulson sighed, taking half an orange from Kai and eating it casually.
"Looks like she's still not ready to cooperate—or she just doesn't trust us."
He turned to Kai. "Any ideas?"
Kai leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "We can't hurt her."
"I knew it!" Skye grinned victoriously. "You might be with them now, but deep down, you're still a hero."
Ignoring her, Kai continued, "Since we can't hurt her, and you want answers—just use Veritaserum."
Skye's grin vanished instantly.
"Verita—what? Are you kidding me?" she sputtered. "You're not actually going to drug me, right?"
"Eat an orange?" Kai offered lazily.
"To hell with your damn oranges!" Skye snapped, spinning away.
Outside the interrogation room—
"She's still not talking?" Ward asked.
Coulson picked up a case and replied, "No. And she's more valuable than you think."
"Valuable?"
"Yeah. We don't know her real name, and yet she cracked S.H.I.E.L.D.'s firewall twice with just a beat-up laptop. That's rare."
Coulson opened the case and pulled out a syringe filled with a clear fluid. "So, let's find out what she knows."
Ward nodded and followed Coulson back inside.
Inside again—
The moment Skye saw Coulson holding the syringe, she panicked.
"Wait—wait, you can't do this!" She darted behind Kai like a frightened cat.
Coulson offered her a mild smile. "I'm sorry, Ms. Skye, but there's a lot we can do."
He handed the syringe to Kai. "Like… earn your trust."
Skye's eyes widened. "You can't seriously—"
But before she could finish, Kai casually jabbed the syringe into Ward's arm.
Ward blinked in disbelief. "What the hell, man?! What are you doing?!"
Kai just handed the empty syringe back to Coulson and walked out.
Coulson, smirking, turned to a dumbfounded Skye. "Relax. That was QNB-t16 — a new truth-inducer formula. Lasts one hour."
He gestured at the now-dazed Ward. "You don't trust us? Then ask him anything you want."
With that, Coulson followed Kai out.
Back in the common area, Coulson handed Kai a cold bottle of soda. "You know, I had a feeling we'd make a good team."
"She's really that important?" Kai asked, unscrewing the cap.
"Absolutely. A hacker who breached S.H.I.E.L.D. with a single laptop? You don't meet people like that every day."
Kai took a long sip and gave him a look. "You're too obvious. You handed me the syringe just to see what I'd do — while telling her to 'trust us.'"
He smirked. "If it were me, I might've actually used it on her. Would've saved a lot of time."
"You wouldn't." Coulson smiled knowingly. "You're a real hero, Kai. That's why I gave it to you."
"Using an inducer on Agent Ward breaks S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol," he added. "But you're not S.H.I.E.L.D."
"I'll take the blame."
Kai rolled his eyes. "You want me to take the blame, huh?"
Coulson chuckled. "Tell you what — as compensation, how about we grab some barbecue tonight? There's a new place in Los Angeles I've been meaning to try."
Kai sighed, tossing the empty bottle into the trash. "Fine. But you're paying this time."