Garrett stepped in front of Coulson, Ward, and May, positioning himself just out of Coulson's reach—even if Coulson made a move, it wouldn't matter.
With so many assault rifles aimed at them, Coulson had no chance—unlike Captain America, he didn't have a shield to rely on.
Coulson spoke, "Those three guys on your team—they asked the wrong questions, didn't they?"
Garrett nodded, "Before today, secrecy was everything."
Ward glanced at Garrett and blinked knowingly, then asked, "So, are you going to kill us?"
Garrett answered, "I wasn't planning to."
"If I wanted you dead, I'd have done it a long time ago."
"Phil and I go way back—since Fury was teaching us tactical maneuvers, we were friends."
He gestured with his hands, mimicking tactics, "Clearing corners, checking high and low—remember that, Phil?"
Coulson replied, "Fury's going to bury you."
Garrett nodded, "Maybe."
"But he's already turning over in his grave."
"He must've figured out our secret, so the big boss took the necessary steps."
"No wonder we're finally stepping out of the shadows—it's been surprisingly convenient."
May asked in surprise, "Big boss?"
Garrett chuckled and said, "Yeah, the top of the chain."
"We were doing pretty well, waving the S.H.I.E.L.D. flag with pride. Looks like it's about to change color now."
Coulson spoke up, "For Hydra?"
"You actually believe that nonsense?"
"Spreading death and destruction?"
Garrett responded, "I'm not exactly a devout believer."
"Let's just say I see which way the wind blows and adjust my sails."
"You should do the same."
It was clear that Garrett was still trying to recruit Coulson, especially since he held their lives in his hands at that moment.
Coulson, however, refused, "I'd rather die than pledge allegiance to Hydra, you son of a—."
Garrett sighed, "I hate to say it, but you've been working for Hydra this whole time."
"Looks like you've left me no choice. Too bad—I considered you a friend."
"When I heard you were alive, I was genuinely happy."
Coulson retorted sarcastically, "Happy enough to torture me for three days to find out how."
Garrett explained, "It wasn't easy for me either, Phil. I'm serious."
Coulson shot back, "No, John. You're insane."
Garrett sighed again and turned to May, "I know you'd follow him to the ends of the earth, so I won't even bother inviting you."
Then he looked at Ward, "Ward, you were my protégé. If you voluntarily switch sides, there's a high-ranking position waiting for a specialist like you."
"Otherwise, your life ends here."
Ward stared at Garrett, gritting his teeth, "You'll pay for everything you've done. I'll make sure of it."
Ward was betting on Killer Bee's return. He knew Garrett's apparent victory was temporary, knowing that Garrett and his men would be no match for Killer Bee.
So, Ward continued his act, pretending to be the loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
Garrett smirked at Ward, "I like you, kid."
Ward had given him a subtle signal earlier, indicating he didn't want to blow his cover yet. Garrett was fine with keeping an ace up his sleeve.
Just as Garrett prepared to give the order to kill May and Coulson, the lights in the control room suddenly went dark.
...
Fitz had abandoned his plan to hack the system. Instead, he rigged explosives, planning to blow the central core sky-high.
Knowing his technical skills wouldn't be fast enough, he opted for the quicker solution.
As the first blast echoed, Killer Bee glanced at Fitz, "That's it?"
"I thought it'd be more dramatic."
The next moment…
BOOM!
Flames erupted from the control center, and the deafening explosion shook the entire building.
...
In the control room, the violent tremor knocked out the lights. Coulson and May immediately launched their attack.
Coulson went after Garrett, while May took on the Hydra strike team.
But Coulson quickly realized he was outmatched.
"You... you injected yourself too."
Garrett landed a powerful punch on Coulson's face, "Perks of switching sides."
Garrett pinned Coulson to the ground, straddling him and pulling out a knife, ready to strike.
Coulson strained with all his might to hold him off.
Ward surveyed the chaos but chose not to assist Garrett. Instead, he fought alongside May, taking down the Hydra agents.
May picked up Coulson's dropped ice gun and fired several shots at Garrett.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Garrett was hit and collapsed unconscious. Coulson pushed him off and sat up, gasping for breath.
Before he could catch a full breath, the door burst open with a loud crash!
"Drop your weapons! Don't move!"
Simmons ran in and threw her arms around Coulson.
Looking at Agent Hand leading the strike team and Simmons hugging him tightly, Coulson finally spoke, "I'm not Hydra."