Phil runs down the corridor, trailing Fitz. The young man had refused to give any details until they went to the place where Jemma disappeared. Phil isn't even sure at the moment where that is as he follows the scientist. As the make their way through their base, places are crossed off Phil's list of possibilities. And when they head toward a section of the sub-basement, his stomach starts to drop.
Sure enough, Fitz yanks open the door that leads to the big rock from Gonzales's helicarrier that they know nothing about. Mack stands next to the case containing the object, tablet in hand. He's almost glaring at the device in his determination to pull something from it.
"Report," Phil orders.
"We're still trying to figure out what happened," Mack says while turning the tablet's screen toward Phil.
A security feed begins to play and shows Jemma running some sort of test on the rock. As she turns to leave, the case opens and the rock… melts. It splashes out of the container like a wave, engulfs Jemma, and then slides back, returning to its original form. There's no trace of Jemma anywhere; she appears to have been absorbed inside the large stone. Phil tries to form a question, but his mouth just hangs open. He turns his attention back to the rock and studies it for a minute. Someone, more than likely Mack, has secured the container once more and reinforced the enclosure. The black monolith remains still and solid, as if mocking Phil's brain, which expects any second now for the rock to dissolve and wash around the inside of the clear box.
"It's my fault," Fitz said softly, guilt heavy in his tone.
"Turbo," Mack replies gently. "We've been over this."
"I knocked it open, Mack," Fitz argues.
"Fill me in on what you're talking about," Phil asks.
Fitz sighs and runs a shaky hand through his curly hair. "Earlier this evening—well, late afternoon I guess—I was in here with Simmons. I was telling her about my plans for tonight, and I leaned against the case. I knocked it open. I let it out."
Mack shakes his head. "You shouldn't have been able to do that. This thing was sealed tight when I left this afternoon. Didn't you say that Simmons was in here working by herself?" Mack asks, and Fitz nods. "She said she wanted to drop probes down into the box. She must have opened herself before you came in here, just closed it without locking it when you walked in, and it was loose still."
"But then why didn't it suck her up then?" Fitz questions. "Why did it wait?"
"You're attaching sentience to a rock," Phil warns. "Let's take things one step at a time. Mack, are you getting any readings of her?"
The engineer shakes his head. "Can't pick up a heat signature or anything else, but the rock is pretty damn impenetrable. And even you ordered me to, sir, no way I'm opening that case up again."
"Probably for the best right now," Phil concedes, despite Fitz's small, helpless sound. He takes the tablet from Mack's hand. "Fitz, set up a passive scan that will monitor the situation. I don't want to set anything off again."
"Yes, sir," the scientist answers as he moves to the nearest computer and starts writing a protocol. "Simmons's probes have been running this whole time. The computer is analyzing the data we have."
"How long will that take?" Phil asks.
Fitz studies the screen a moment before saying, "Four hours minimum."
Phil nods. "We'll meet back here at six in the morning. Full team meeting. Until then, get some rest. Have a feeling we won't sleep much once we get the data back."
"Sir—" Fitz tries to argue, but Mack walks up and loosely wraps a hand around the other man's upper arm.
"We can't do anything right now," he tells Fitz. "Let's get some rest, and we'll come back to it with fresh eyes in a little bit."
"I'm not going to be able to sleep," Fitz warns even though he lets Mack tug him towards the quarters section of the base.
"None of us will," Phil mutters as he leaves and heads towards his own living space, separated from the rest of the crew. When he walks in the door, he smells coffee. Anna gives him a small smile, an attempt to hide her worry, and hands him a mug. "I just gave everyone orders to sleep," he says.
"Oh, I can—"
Phil grabs the mug from her hand and gulps down two large swallows. She's left out cream, a sign she knows he'll have to work tonight. His heart twists at how well she knows him and his life. He still hates that he's dragging her down into this with him, but he can't imagine trying to survive all of this without her beside him.
"What happened?" she asks as she takes a sip from her own mug.
"Jemma's missing." He describes the video of her being sucked in by the now-solid stone. "Fitz is running some scans. We'll start in on it once the computer is done crunching data." He sits on the couch, and she joins him, pillowing her head on his shoulder. They sit quietly as Phil skims through the report Mack typed on the tablet. "They had a date," he says.
"Hmmm?" Anna hums.
"Fitz and Mack. It says they left to go to a restaurant for dinner."
"'Bout time," Anna comments sleepily. Phil puts his tablet down on the coffee table next to his mug, pulls her coffee cup from her hand before she spills it on herself, and sets it down next to his. He then maneuvers their bodies so they're stretched out on the couch. "I can stay up with you," she murmurs into his chest.
"I know you can," he tells her before kissing the top of her head. "But one of us should sleep right now."
He listens to her breath even out and feels jealousy that she can rest right now. His mind races as it comes up with contingency plans and weighs the merits of calling either May or Maria, or maybe even both of them. He can't do this alone, if for no other reason than his crew is disappearing on him. He's going to have to call in some assistance, and his stomach knots as he worries that might be more trouble than help.