At this moment, Simmons and Triplett were brought into the command room by Hand.
Hand turned to one of the agents and said, "Report the situation to me."
"Yes, ma'am."
"What's the status?"
The agent immediately responded, "Ma'am, we searched the plane but found nothing."
Agent Shaw added, "They were on board when the plane landed."
The agent explained, "We're conducting a thorough sweep of the aircraft. They must have slipped away somehow."
Hand immediately issued an order, "Search every tunnel and post two teams in each corridor. Capture anyone you can find."
"You are authorized to use lethal force."
The agent acknowledged, "Understood, ma'am."
Hand turned toward Agent Jacobson, "You were right. We should have shot down the plane earlier."
Upon hearing this, Simmons blurted out, "Are you insane?"
"How can you say something like that?"
Hand turned to face Simmons and responded, "Hydra won't show mercy, and neither can we."
Simmons stepped forward, her voice rising, "Coulson can't possibly be Hydra!"
"He's a good man, our friend!"
Hand shouted back in frustration, "He's a liar!"
The room fell silent as Simmons, stunned by Hand's outburst, quieted down.
After a tense moment, Hand continued, "Agent Blake came to me with his suspicions."
"He claimed Coulson and other Level 8 agents were conspiring on something."
"And then Coulson sent him on a mission that left him in the ICU."
Simmons quickly countered, "Coulson would never do something like that!"
Hand dismissed her defense, "Agent Jacobson, tell them about Coulson's crimes."
Agent Jacobson, standing behind Hand, stepped forward and recited, "He recruited known enemies of S.H.I.E.L.D., defied direct orders on multiple occasions, and violated international law."
Hand added, "And during the mission to rescue our esteemed Professor Hall, the professor ended up dead because of him."
"Failing to report his apprentice Akela Amador's crimes, the same technology used on her was later adapted for the Deathlok program."
"You must know exactly what he's been involved in."
Simmons, unwavering, responded firmly, "You helped us rescue Coulson from the Clairvoyant."
Hand countered, "But when we finally found the brain-dead Clairvoyant, he was shot dead by Coulson's own man, Ward."
"It left us no chance to interrogate him for information."
"Everything adds up now, Agent Simmons."
"Has Coulson ever kept anything from you?"
At this, Simmons thought of the mysterious serum Fitz had injected into Coulson, and a flicker of hurt crossed her face.
Hand pressed on, "The worst mistake we can make now is underestimating Hydra. They hide in plain sight, earning our trust and sympathy."
"They turn us into versions of themselves."
"If we hesitate, they strike."
"If we want to survive, we must learn to strike first."
…
Meanwhile-
Fitz, accompanied by Killer Bee, crawled through a ventilation duct and emerged in a storage room.
In the hallway outside, a heavily armed tactical squad patrolled the area.
Fitz cracked open the door slightly, observing the large number of operatives, and cursed under his breath, "Damn it!"
He turned to Killer Bee and whispered, "The control center is at the end of this corridor. There's no other way around."
"There are 12 tactical squad members out there—Level 5 infantry, standard body armor."
"This is my ice pistol."
"I'll need you to handle them, but please, no fatalities."
Killer Bee glanced at the pistol Fitz offered and shook his head, "Not my style. You keep it to defend yourself."
Drawing his twin blades, he grinned and added, "Knocking them out? Leave that to me."
Fitz nodded and moved behind the door as Killer Bee signaled, "Open it!"
Fitz swung the door open, and Killer Bee charged forward, engaging the nearest squad member with a fluid motion.
Using the flat side of his blades, he struck precise, measured blows to each soldier's neck, rendering them unconscious without causing serious harm.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Three operatives collapsed instantly. The sound of their bodies hitting the ground alerted the rest of the team, who spun around and raised their rifles.
Swish.
Swish.
Swish.
In a blur of speed, Killer Bee appeared behind them.
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
"Ah!"
He took care of three more operatives with swift, calculated strikes.
Another squad opened fire.
Rat-a-tat-tat!
Bullets sprayed down the corridor as Killer Bee sprinted along the wall, dodging effortlessly. He closed the gap and subdued them with ease.
Though the rapid-fire of assault rifles might have been formidable, to a shinobi of Killer Bee's caliber, they were sluggish. His training in the ninja world, where swift and deadly techniques ruled, rendered conventional firearms almost trivial.
Nine of the twelve operatives were now down.
Before the remaining three could react, Killer Bee struck again, leaving all of them unconscious.
The entire battle lasted less than ten seconds, ending with no effective resistance from the enemy.
Killer Bee opened the door where Fitz had been hiding and smiled, "All done. Are you ready to hack into the system?"
Staring at Killer Bee, who had just taken down a 12-man tactical team in mere seconds, Fitz's mouth opened in disbelief before he managed to ask, "No fatalities, right?"
Despite being aware of a ninja's prowess, witnessing this level of efficiency firsthand left Fitz in awe and unease.
Killer Bee nodded, "Just knocked them out."
Fitz sighed with relief, pulled out explosives from his backpack, and headed toward the control center at the end of the hall.