The idea was simple. The execution would be hard. Coulson knew that much. When Director Fury had left the plane, he had put a lot on Coulson. Had put it all on Coulson. Phil hoped he would live up to his own expectations.
It had been 3 days since they arrived at the Playground. 3 days since Jemma Simmons had shown him to Fitz's bedside. 3 days since she had spoken a word, or left his room.
Coulson was getting nervous. He didn't like that feeling. Sitting in his office upstairs on the plane, he went through Romanov and Hill's reports of the events in DC. Finding out this way that his old friend Sitwell had been HYDRA had pissed him off. Made him rethink a lot of conversations he had had with the man. It made him rethink a particular conversation in a dinner near two and a half ago, where he and Sitwell were trying to figure out an approach to General Ross, to deal with the fallout from Brooklyn when Banner and Blonsky had torn a good number of streets apart. The plan to send Stark to go to Ross had surprised Sitwell. Maybe now, Coulson knew why.
Putting down Hill's report Coulson looked over at the box Fury had left him.
"Director?" Agent May's voice cut through the silence near the top of the stairs.
Phil looked around over his shoulder, turning his chair slightly to the right.
"Agent Koenig is at the ramp again. Muttering about some signal or other."
"Signal?" Coulson asked.
"I can't pick it up on channels, I don't know what he's talking about." May replied.
Coulson got up from his chair and put Hill's file with Romanov's, pausing, he looked to the file under them, Cap's. He had skimmed it, and Coulson knew there were a few gaps missing.
Taking his jacket off the back of his chair, Coulson followed May down to the ramp of the plane.
"Agent Coulson… sorry," Koenig said deferentially. "Director Coulson"
"What is it?" Coulson asked, cutting Koenig off.
"That beeping I mentioned earlier? We figured out it was an incoming signal." Koenig said excitedly.
"Who is it?" Coulson asked.
Koenig paused.
"Well?" Coulson pressed.
"See," Koenig started. "The thing is, it is going to two places. Here. Two places here. Somewhere in the medical wing, and your plane."
"My plane?" Coulson asked with an edge to his voice. Phil turned to May and said flatly, "Find it. Don't answer it."
May turned back to start a search of the plane.
Coulson gestured to Koenig to lead him on.
"Take me to the medical wing."
When they were a few feet away from the ramp Coulson turned his head and said to May.
"Don't tear her apart."
Coulson stalked through the halls of the supposed secret base.
"Director? Ah, director?" Koenig called out.
Coulson looked back over his shoulder.
"It's this way sir," Koenig said, gesturing to the double doors to his right.
As they made their way down the new hallway, Coulson saw the medical bays start to appear, some of the equipment looked rather old.
"You said 'we' before," Phil said.
"I'm sorry?" Koenig asked.
"You said 'we traced the signal'".
"Oh, that was me and Agent Poots, err, Agent Skye. The medical equipment is messing with our attempts to narrow down where the signal is coming from, but we know it's here."
Coulson looked around the med area. He didn't like the feel of the area, he kept getting the creep of bad memories.
As they approached what would have been a nurses station in any normal hospital, a voice called out.
"Hey Billy!" Skye called out as she jogged up to the two men.
"What is it?" Coulson asked.
Skye paused to catch her breath.
"I managed to differentiate the scan for the signal," Skye said to Coulson and Koenig. "Weed out most of the equipment."
"Good," Coulson said.
Skye reached back into her laptop bag, pulling out her laptop and another odd hand held device that Phil hadn't seen before.
"What's that?" Coulson said pointing to the device in Skye's hand.
"Oh, neat!" Koenig said excitedly, clasping his hands and rubbing them together. "You made a- what did you make?"
"I raided a closet I found downstairs. It had a bunch of old transistors and radio parts. I figured if we can't narrow in on the signal with our current equipment, we might as well try something old."
"So what did you get?" Coulson asked.
"I don't know, I haven't turned it on yet."
Coulson leveled a look at Skye.
"But I can turn it on now." She said sheepishly.
Skye turned a knob on the side of the device and the three were met with a screech of sound. Skye toggled a couple of the switches and turned another dial, the screeching leveled out to a pattern of beeping. As she moved the device left and right the beeping increased and decreased. The three headed down the right corridor.
As they went down the hallway they passed a few empty rooms, the beeping increased. The screen on the device began to crackle to life with static.
Skye quirked an eyebrow at the screen. "Wasn't expecting that," she said.
Coulson glanced down to the screen as he continued down the hall.
"Why are we going towards Fitz's room?" Coulson asked.
"Huh?" Skye said. She looked up as they reached the door of Fitz's room.
As they looked in the window they saw Fitz lying in the hospital bed, wires leading from his chest and forehead. Jemma Simmons sitting by the bed, her hand clasping Fitz, silently crying.
Phil looked at the device in Skye's hand, the screen was flickering, and the beeping had become a constant tone.
"Turn that off," Coulson said quietly.
Placing his hand against the door, Phil looked through the small window in the door at FitzSimmons. Pushing the door open, Coulson stepped in to the room.
"Jemma?" Phil approached Simmons.
Going up to the back of the chair, he put his hand on her shoulder. He expected Jemma to tense up. She didn't.
Skye and Koenig entered the room, Koenig starting to have a look around, trying to find the end point for the transmission.
Skye went over to Simmons' side. She crouched down to look at her face.
"Simmons?" Skye said.
Jemma Simmons didn't move her gaze from Fitz face, didn't move a muscle.
"Simmons," Coulson started.
"He's too still."
"What was that?" Coulson asked softly of Simmons in response to what he thought was a whisper.
"He's too still."
Skye squeezed Simmons' hand, getting her attention.
"What are you doing with that?" Jemma asked, her voice rough.
"We're trying to find the receiver for a transmission that we can't identify," Skye said.
"Strange thing to use," Simmons said out of hand.
"New tech wasn't working," Coulson pointed out. "Skye had to MacGyver something old school."
Simmons took her hand from Skye and started to fidget with something under her cardigan.
Skye looked up to Coulson across from her.
"She was doing that any time I looked in on them the last 2 days," she said.
"Who would know to reach anyone here?" Simmons asked quietly.
Coulson looked to Koenig who had stopped poking around and was looking to Simmons fidgeting hand on her sweater.
"What do you have for a necklace?" Keonig asked a bit loudly.
Simmons leaned forward and grasped Fitz' hand tighter with her left hand, with her right hand she reached under her cardigan into her blouse and pulled out what looked like an old army compass.
"That's—," Koenig started.
"It is what it looks like, Agent Koenig," Jemma said. "And it is what it isn't."
Phil Coulson looked at the compass intrigued, it looked kind of familiar.
"Where'd you get that?" Phil asked.
"When did the signal start?" Jemma asked.
"On and off over the last few days," Koenig said.
"Before or after Nicholas Fury brought Fitz and I here?"
Koenig canted his head and chuckled, and split out in a grin on his face. "About then – did you just call Director Fury 'Nicholas'?"
Simmons opened the compass, and and moved it left to right in her palm, testing for magnetic north. In the cap of the compass, Coulson noted, was a picture of Fitz, one he has never seen before. Simmons turned the compass upside down and fiddled with the side buttons and winder. A static noise like an old radio started to sound in the room.
"To any agent receiving this, I am trying to locate Agent Simmons, Science & Technology, level 4. To any agent…"
The voice sounded old, but familiar to Coulson.
"Gran?" Jemma asked in surprise.
Coulson shook his head quickly in shock. "Gran.? Gr- Gran?"
"Who is this?" the voice turned hard, authoritative. "Identify yourself."
"This is Director Coulson of SHIELD, who the hell are you?"
"What," the voice said somewhat perturbed. "The girl just called me 'Gran' for her health. I'm her bloody grandmother, you berk. Mr. Coulson, Steve spoke highly of you. What are you planning to do with my organization?"
"Your organization?" Coulson asked. "Simmons, I've read your file, your grandmother passed away 6 years ago."
"That's true," Simmons said. "My dad's mum. My mum's mum is supposed to be resting in DC."
Simmons said the last bit with an edge to her voice.
"What's your grandmother's name, Simmons?"
"Peggy," Simmons said.
Keonig coughed.
Skye looked to Keonig questioningly.
"Billy?" Skye said. "Why do you look like you might pass out from shock.?"
"Oh dear," Billy said. "I don't even know where to start."
"Agent Keonig," Jemma said evenly. "I'd rather you didn't."
"I want to know how your grandmother was able to send a signal to you using a compass, a signal that is also going to my plane!" Phil said. "I know you're upset about Fitz , Simmons but there could be a real security issue here."
"Hardly," the voice on the other end of the compass/radio said.
"I thought Agent Tripp being the grandson of a Howling Commando was cool," Agent Keonig said. "But this is so much cooler! Peggy freakin' Carter!"
"Who?" Skye asked, still crouched next to Simmons.
"Part of the triumvirate," Coulson said. "But history doesn't remember her. She, Howard Stark and the Colonel started SHIELD out of the SSR after the war. She was a the Cap's girl, or so the stories went. She was also a bit of a…"
"Bit of a what?" Skye asked.
"Bad mother fu—," Simmons started to say.
"Jemma Simmons!" Agent Carter called out over the radio.
Phil Coulson leaned against the footboard of Fitz bed. This was not going to be easy, the idea was simple, the execution was going to be a pain in the ass.
Coulson looked over to Simmons who managed to look sheepish at being scolded by her Gran.
"You and I are going to have a conversation later that you're not going to like."