After speaking, Coulson left the command room without lingering and returned to his office.
May soon followed, her expression calm as she asked, "Are you okay?"
Coulson, sitting by the window and gazing at the clouds outside, replied, "Let's skip the part where you pretend to care how I'm feeling."
"What do you want?"
May looked at him steadily and said, "I need to confiscate your weapon."
Coulson turned to her, baffled, "Can you tell me what possessed you to come up with that idea?"
May responded seriously, "Fury is dead."
"It's painful, and we haven't even had a chance to mourn him."
Standing up from his chair, Coulson firmly declared, "That's unnecessary. I'm convinced he's still alive."
"Even the ninja believe he's hard to kill—that only strengthens my resolve."
May said calmly, "Coulson, we've seen how powerful the ninja are. Do you really believe Fury would be hard to kill if they came after him?"
"The truth is, Fury never appeared in front of Charles. Why deceive yourself?"
"This feeling you have, your belief that he's reaching out to you…"
"Phil, it might not be faith. It could be something else."
Coulson stared at her and asked, "Something else? Everyone else believes Nick Fury is alive, but you don't?"
May's expression hardened as she answered, "Hydra."
Coulson frowned in confusion, "Hydra?"
She nodded and elaborated, "These thoughts, this belief, they could have been implanted in your mind, along with memories of that beautiful island."
Coulson's disbelief was evident, "Is that so?"
"You came here just to tell me this?"
"That's impossible—Fury himself gave the order."
May calmly countered, "True, but the Tahiti Project wasn't personally handled by him."
"The one who truly oversaw your procedure may be the one responsible for…"
Coulson raised his hand, cutting her off, "Wait, wait."
"What did you just say?"
"Someone else is behind this?"
"Who is it?"
May shook her head and replied, "I don't know."
Coulson raised his voice, "Who?"
"Tell me!"
May shouted back, "Phil, I don't know!"
Coulson, visibly frustrated, said, "You don't know?"
"Let me guess—Fury knows."
May nodded, "Yes, he knows. And if he doesn't tell you, there's no way you'll figure out who's responsible."
"Your actions might indeed be compromised by Hydra."
"That's why Fury put me here—to keep an eye on you."
Coulson stared at May, "I'm not handing over my weapon. Are you going to try to take it from me?"
May shook her head.
Coulson responded, "Good."
"Now get out of my office."
May took a deep breath, gave him one last look, and left.
Once outside, she didn't simply let things be. She went straight to find Killer Bee.
On this plane, the true powerhouse was the consultant Killer Bee. If things really went wrong, in May's mind, only he could turn the tide.
She expressed her concerns to him, "Killer Bee, I'm really worried…"
Killer Bee pulled a lollipop from his mouth, grinned, and said, "I know what's eatin' ya, but I still believe Fury's alive."
"And if that place turns out to be a Hydra stronghold, I'll take care of it. You just need to protect Simmons and Fitz."
"Also, you don't have to land right at the coordinates. Drop us off further away—we can approach on foot. No need to worry about them blasting us out of the sky."
May nodded, "That's probably the best plan. I'm counting on you, Bee."
Killer Bee chuckled, "Leave it to the great Killer Bee—you can count on me!"
…
Elsewhere-
The Fridge – Cryo Storage Facility –
Ward, escorting Garrett in handcuffs, descended from the rooftop helipad. As they moved away, the transport plane that brought them there took off immediately.
Garrett commented, "This building has a hundred floors. The only way in is from the rooftop."
Ward scanned the surroundings, then guided Garrett toward the entrance door.
Two heavily armed S.H.I.E.L.D. guards stood inside. One of them spoke, "State your name and purpose."
Ward replied, "I'm Agent Grant Ward. You should recognize him."
"Hand already gave the clearance."
The guards exchanged glances before one said, "We received direct orders. No one is permitted entry without Hand herself present."
"Where is she?"
Ward smirked, "Where do you think?"
"She's off meeting with every high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agent still breathing. War's broken out—haven't you noticed?"