Six hours later, Coulson was aboard the Lemurian Star, only a few hours away from Zephyr One's distress call.
Coulson was standing in the bridge, acting the part of a U.S. Security expert to no less than five countries. Talbot, also representing the United States, was doing the talking, while Coulson provided commentary and suggestions off camera. It was still too early to leave the shadows in front of the greater international community.
"Obviously this was a massive breach in security," Talbot started, gesturing wildly to computer logs and timecards.
"Yes and we're very interested in making sure it doesn't happen again." Coulson whispered into his earpiece.
"How do we know other forces haven't been infiltrated?" Came the firm voice of T'Challa, the new ruler of Wakanda, an up and coming force in worldwide affairs.
"We're working on it." Talbot shot back,"Until then double down on your safety protocols."
One by one the screens faded to black, and Coulson sighed and walked outside, watching as the battleship pulled the remains of the aerial assault craft out of the water. He hadn't heard from May in over 24 hours, since he had approved of the mission in their New York headquarters. He only needed to look down for proof that she could handle herself, but was worried nonetheless.
His phone beeped in his pocket. Curious, he wasn't expecting any messages. He pressed his thumb over the screen and it came alive with a repeating message in short and drawn out beeps.
He smiled.
Fitz counted at least a dozen parachutes on the Zephyr's remaining sensors.
He had hard-coded a Morse code distress signal when their first batch of communications had gone out. Now they were getting responses. A United States Navy aircraft carrier had quickly changed course and offered their services and May sent back their current latitude and longitude. Additional ships were being sent to pick up the wreckage and recover the traitorous pilots.
As much as May wanted to immediately turn around and extract the team on the ground, it simply wasn't feasible. They already had had to drop down to lower altitude and poor Fitz had been running around the plane making emergency repairs for the past two hours. They were lucky they had sealed off the lower sections before the missile hit, or else the entire plane would have depressurized. Even still Zephyr One had taken a serious hit. May hoped HYDRA didn't know about the three agents on the ground they had dropped off earlier. And that if HYDRA did, that the three Inhumans could take care of themselves.
Simmons was pouring over Daisy's last recorded location with Fitz kneeling in the background working at a panel as she tried again to simulate the Inhumans' progress and their condition based on their bio readings.
"If worse comes to worst, they only have enough time for twelve hours," she said, her head in her hands. "It's been four since we were attacked."
Fitz put down the wrench and looked up.
"They'll be fine." He started coolly.
"No they won't!" Simmons nearly screamed. "The last reported temperature from her laptop before we went and got our Comms blown out was nearly twice as cold as the average temperature of the area! The one we prepared for."
"Well, then they've found him right? Gill was all about making things cold."
"I don't think they'll be able to capture him if they're cold, dead bodies," came the matter of fact response.
Fitz looked at his tablet for the list of remaining repairs, before setting it down. He almost responded before he got a look at the expression on her face. Her pose was ragged, her pale skin several shades darker. He rose shakily to his feet, his charred shoes crossing the lab strewn with debris and sat down next to her. Fitz gingerly put an arm around her and sat quietly while Simmons rested her head on his shoulder. Their coats were both tattered, partially burnt, and their hair was equally messy. Still they remained the most attractive person in the world in the other's eyes.
"I know you're worried. We just have to trust them. I'll get us flying back soon Simmons." Fitz whispered into her ear, before continuing, "and your synthetic fiber design would keep them warm even if the temperature was five times as cold."
"I hope you're right."
"I've always been right."
Lincoln's hand cackled with the charge as he brought them down on either side of the man's abdomen. He gasped awake, and tried to move away. A task he found difficult with his own rope, ice pick, and gun having been melded together and stuck deep inside the ground by Joey. There was no chance of him being knocked over or him moving away. He was chained sitting up, his hands behind his back and his legs straight out in front of him, the black outlines standing out against the white surface.
"Where's Tom?" the agent gasped out, still straining.
"He didn't make it." Lincoln was stone cold.
There were few times Daisy had been scared in her life and this was one of them. Lincoln's face was lit up and shadows formed at crazy angles from the lightning arcing all across his body. The death hadn't been his fault, HYDRA had left their agents under prepared for the climate and Daisy's ICER rounds had stopped the shivering that had kept them clinging to life after contact with the below-freezing ocean. Hypothermia had secured his death before Daisy had even fished him out of the water and and restrained him. But the casualty meant only one person was left to give up much needed information and Lincoln was feeling the pressure.
Joey stepped up, "Why are you here?"
The lone HYDRA agent strained for breath and shook slightly, still recovering from the shock.
"Why are you here," Lincoln repeated.
"I'd think the restraints are big part of that," their captive looked up with a bloody smile, nothing left to lose.
"Now listen here-" Lincoln started forward, arms glowing bright as he gripped the man's collar and lifted him as much as he could with the restraints. "-either you tell us right now or we kill you, leave your body in the ice, and figure it out on our own!"
He considered for a moment before clamping his mouth shut as Lincoln slammed him back into the icy ground.
Daisy held out a hand gesturing for both of them to stand down, "We need him alive."
She had finished going through his personal belongings and his ID. "Hey, hey, Alex? We're looking for someone, we're not here on some mission against HYDRA."
"Is that so?" Alex questioned.
"I don't care if you have a base out here, I don't care what twisted research you're doing. You're suffering under the same effects we are judging by your equipment. Just tell us what you know. And we'll make sure your people find you."
"The problem with that, unfortunately-" a retching cough broke up his response, "is that maybe you're not here for me, but, I'm here for you." He jerked his body suddenly against the restraints.
Lincoln and Joey surged forward drawing their guns.
Daisy didn't hesitate when she saw what rolled out from under the agent's jacket towards his hands. They hadn't checked him thoroughly enough.
Lincoln didn't even have a chance to react when he saw Daisy's glove focus on him through his visor before he and his fellow S.H.I.E.L.D. agent were blasted backward skidding far across the ice.
If Daisy could have heard that distinctly she would have heard the pin of the grenade pulled, and the HYDRA agent's quiet last words to himself, head bowed in the snow, as his slumped form blew up with her standing an arm's reach away.
Lincoln hit the ground back-first, almost skipping across the ground until he sliding to a stop. He stared blankly at the monotone sky, before jolting upright, trying to rush back to Daisy, unbelieving what had happened.
He staggered over, falling more than once. "Daisy!" He called out, moving away from the blood splattered ground where 'Alex' had been. He kept calling until a familiar voice muttered back weakly from behind a snow bank.
"You look cute when you're worried." said Daisy, clutching at her side on the ground.
Lincoln knelt down and pulled out the med kit from his pack, instinctively patching her wounds. Her body suit had been shredded by the shrapnel, but it had absorbed most of the shockwave. "That was really stupid." He chided.
"Yeah," she winced, gritting her teeth.
Lincoln shushed her gently and put a blanket over her. "You'll be back on your feet in no time."
Joey appeared in the edge of his vision. Lincoln felt a pang of guilt for not checking on him first, but justified it by thinking it had been better to go towards the most injured first as a medic.
"You okay Joey?"
"I'd say I look better then her," Joey called back, before sitting down heavily with his pack. "There's a storm brewing nearby." he added, softly.
"Let's check there next and then we can leave." Daisy said weakly, "and that's an order."
Lincoln wanted more then anything to refuse. Her safety was more important than the mission, and right now she needed a medical evacuation. But if they didn't recover Donnie Gill, HYDRA would, and for everyone's safety it was more important that they stay.
He reluctantly agreed.
A/N: Big thanks to AFangirlofSorts for beta reading through the newly revised story :)
And thank you, reader.