X marks the spot

Nothing Personal

"Play it again." Coulson ordered, hand resting on the couch that Jemma sat on, a look on his face that was trying to conceal his mixed emotions. "It's the same, every time sir." Fitz said, hand on his face, exhausted and confused.

"Fitz." The man in question slammed his hands down on his chair as he turned to the monitors and computer. "As I said, all internal camera feeds were erased. But, the hanger's landing assist system, is separate. The camera tracks movement. So, after we left, everything's normal, until." He paused as he played the feed again, this time later in its run. "This." The group watched as May left the BUS, luggage in hand. "An entry log has May leaving the building a few minutes later through the same door. Only her" Simmons finished.

"And then, this." Fitz sped up the feed to then show both Skye and Ward walking onto the ramp. "Holding hands." Coulson spotted. "And a few minutes later, the plane takes off. But that is all we've got."

"Where are they going? And Koenig? And Aaron?" Coulson listed his questions, Jemma suggesting that he must have gotten onto the plane somehow. "There's no other way in or out?" he queried, but Tripp quickly shot the idea down, informing both him and the group that the blast door and hanger were the only exits.

"Both are undamaged. So, they weren't attacked, or running away. So, why?" Coulson asked the question that was on everyone's mind. It was Tripp's turn to be shot down, the agent first suggesting that maybe Koenig had orders, which Fitz quickly shot down with a "who?" also pointing out the fact that there wasn't really anyone around to give orders. Simmons argued that those didn't explain why everything seemed normal, why their phones were still there or why May had just upped and left.

"May left because I told her too. I was mad, and I was mean." He confessed, guilt starting to build in the older agent. Although, that had almost instantly turned into a defensive anger when Tripp 'suggested' that they didn't need her. "I'll make us some food." Jemma said, sensing the brewing tension in the room, and in a desperate bid to be free of it as well, Fitz followed.

Pancakes was what Simmons was looking for, while the kitchen was Fitz's destination, one that he would never reach, and one that Simmons would soon grow to hate. Fitz was stopped when he saw the difference of the two pictures. Noticing a spanner to jam the system. He investigated it, yanking the spanner out and allowing the slider to finish its job. Only to have his face morph into both confusion and horror as the sign read "WARD IS HYDRA". The writing itself having been carved in by a knife or an instrument like one.

Meanwhile, Simmons had gotten the ingredients that she had needed, and just as she was heading out the room, noticed blood near the light switch. One that lead up. And it was there that she spotted it, Agent Koenig's body above her. And her scream was what jolted Fitz from staring in disbelief at the sign, and also the other two.

As Fitz ran to his best friend, another yell and a loud bang on the door stopped him, he placed his ear to the door and heard some laboured breathing, slowly putting the pieces together. "Aaron?" He asked, a cough was his response, and it was then that he realised that it was indeed his friend. He tried the door, again and again and again, palms starting to sweat with all the chaos around him, heart thundering in his chest.

"Fitz!" Coulson yelled out as both him and Tripp arrived at his location, hearing him yell Aaron's name as he was trying the door. "Sir, it – it's locked and- "he continued to ramble as Tripp had his turn on the door, finally resorting to kicking the door. Which opened on the second. The three froze for a moment, Aaron laid there in a growing pool of his blood. Skin an almost ashen pale, eyes unfocused. Tripp was the first to break out of his shock, sliding to the young boy's side and placing his hand other the wound. He would've liked to pretend that he was stopping the blood, and to a certain degree he was, but overall. The man's efforts were wasted.