The Tales of a New S.H.I.E.L.D. | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. [BOOK 1]

Chapter 9: What They Become

The Bus settled in the open field, parked alongside S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Quinjet. Inside the cargo hold, Coulson, Monica, and Fitz-Simmons made their way in.

"Let me know as soon as you can get us down into the tunnels safely," Coulson instructed.

"Of course," Simmons replied earnestly.

"Yes, sir," Fitz added, acknowledging the command.

May intercepted their path. "HYDRA hijacked our plane with Ward on board and threatened to blow up the Bus."

"They came for Raina." Monica inferred.

"Whitehall's demand was for Raina. He said nothing about Skye," May informed her.

"So Ward called an audible when he saw her on the plane," Coulson deduced.

"Or had his own agenda the whole time. He told Skye he was keeping his promise."

"There's a silver lining, it's that she's probably still alive," Monica remarked, hoping that she was alive. She knew Skye was tough; she'll definitely make it through.

Coulson turned his gaze toward Bobbi as she ascended the ramp into the cargo hold.

"Agent Morse, HYDRA knows the alien city's here and they're coming our way. If any of their agents are ex-S.H.I.E.L.D., they'll contact Diego for local intel. Reach out again. Make sure he doesn't tell them about the fort entrance," Coulson instructed Bobbi.

"Copy that," she acknowledged, about to speak, but Coulson anticipated her concern.

"We'll do everything possible for Mack. But right now, we have to stop HYDRA from getting The Obelisk into those tunnels," Coulson affirmed, understanding her unspoken words.

With a heavy yet determined heart, Bobbi acknowledged his words with a sad smile before walking away. Coulson watched her depart, a sense of heaviness lingering in the air.

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Elsewhere, Trip entered the Command Center where Sam Koenig was working on the table, bringing in some old retro tech. "I found four. Cutting edge Howling Commando technology, circa 1945," Trip announced, placing a small box on the table.

Excitedly, Koenig responded, "Oh, 10 would be better. Without the D.W.A.R.F.S. scanning the tunnels, we don't know what's down there."

"We know electronics don't work," Trip reminded him.

"Yeah, I know. That's why we need mechanical detonators for the bombs," Koenig agreed, and examined the devices. "Look, I'm sorry. These are awesome. Dum Dum Dugan would be proud. I don't want to sound ungrateful." He handed the detonator back to Trip who packed it away.

"The good news about going old school is that these babies are immune to EMPs and electronic jamming. The bad news –"

"You can't trigger them remotely," Koenig finished.

"We'll start the timers and run like hell. Pick four spots and I'll make them go boom," Trip concluded, devising the plan.

Koenig sighed and stood up straighter and looked down at the holotable. "Okay. Well, Agent May says this is ground zero for The Obelisk and whatever apocalyptic stuff it's supposed to do."

He marked an X with his finger on the holotable map. He made three more Xs on the table marking the areas where they should set the bombs."So if we plant explosives around it..."

He mimicked an explosion with his hands above the room on the map.

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Meanwhile, Monica and Fitz-Simmons found themselves in the interrogation room, Fitz and Monica sat at the table while Simmons paced, pondering Mack's fate amid the complexities of alien technology. "Getting into the city and moving safely about doesn't seem nearly as hard as finding a way to save Mack."