Episode 11: The Magical Place
Pt. 1

A man opened a small metal case. Inside was a metal device with a blue stone in the middle. It almost looks like a wrist cuff.
"100% premium grade Chitahuri metal, as rare as it gets," he said. He looked up at a woman who was sitting at the table across from him.
"How did you get your hands on this, Vanchat?" she asked.
"It's what I do," he told her. "Find any scrap that no one else can offer it to people who fully appreciate my efforts."

The woman looked at the artifact with a smile.
"Hm, I appreciate the hell out of them." She set the artifact back into the case and closed it. "You can name your price." He was about to speak when they both heard a beeping sound. They looked over to see a flat black disc slide under the door and into the room.

When it stopped, they saw a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the disk.
"Is that a Roomba?" the woman asked. The beeping stopped and a bright white flash filled the room blinding them all. May and Ward rushed into the room while they were unable to see. One of guards got a good enough look at Ward to throw a punch, but he was nowhere near landing it. Ward and May fought against the guards, one of them took a chair to Ward's back and Vanchat took the opportunity to run.

May saw him go and got to her feet quickly, following after. Ward finished off his guard and followed after May and Vanchat. Vanchat had a gun in his hands. He turned towards may and she ducked into a doorway, just as he fired.

After the shots stopped, May stuck her head out. Vanchat had run away and was now going down the stairs. May looked over the railing of the steps down to Vanchat.
"Fitz-Simmons, he's heading your way."

Inside the van, Fitz-Simmons looked nervous as Skye watched.
"We've never done anything like this before. Are you sure?" Simmons worried.
"It's time, Simmons," Fitz said. "Embrace the change."

Vanchat ran through a hallway. There was a whirring noise and Vanchat stopped short. Ahead of him were all of Fitz-Simmons' drones. Their bright lights turned on, blinding Vanchat. Vanchat lifted his gun and fired on one of the drones, clipping on of them. He continued running to the elevator. The doors opened and he ran into it, hitting buttons.

The elevator doors closed just as Ward reached it.
"Skye, you're up!" Skye started typing on her laptop. Impatiently, Vanchat hit another button impatiently. Nothing was lighting up or happening.
"Here, let me get that for you," Skye murmured.

Suddenly, the elevator began to shoot upwards. The Vanchat moved himself to the back of the elevator and pulled up his gun, preparing to fire. He was deposited on the roof where he was met by two helicopters and a dozen S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, all pointing their guns at him. A bunch of red lasers pinpointed on Vanchat's neck.

May came up behind him and took the gun out of his hand. When he was disarmed, Victoria Hand appeared from behind the agents.
"Mr. Vanchat. We're hoping you could help us find a friend."

Ward sat in the lab, holding a paper towel to his shoulder.
"Impressive," Simmons remarked as Sara used a swab to clean Ward's wound. "You actually managed to reopen all your stitches."
Ward rolled his eyes, "Let's just hope Vanchat can lead us to Centipede."
"Well, the Chitahuri metal he was selling is an exact match to what Centipede used for their device," Simmons said.
"We find Centipede, we find Coulson," Ward murmured.

Suddenly, Fitz got loud from the back of the lab.
"Don't ask questions, Agent Kob!" Sara instantly looked over to the conflict. "Just get me the five-millimeter injector. That's an order."
"Yes, sir," Kob said. He left the lab and Fitz walked over to his sister.
"Honestly, how many agents do they think they can cram onto this plane?" Fitz grumbled.
"It's only gonna get more crowded," Sara sighed. "We're set to pick up more men when Agent Hand dumps Vanchat off at The Fridge."

Simmons shrugged, "I think it's good they're here. We need fresh eyes. It's been 36 hours since Agent Coulson was taken and none of us have gotten any rest."
"Oh, joy!" Fitz said sarcastically. "Agent Hand is giving another briefing!" Simmons turned to look at the big monitor in the lab. Hand was in the planning room with May beside her, talking to various people.
"You know, Sara," Fitz said, looking at her. "You could pull…"
"No," she cut him off. "I'm already getting looks. I don't need more."

Ward straightened, looking at her firmly.
"What type of looks?" Sara ignored the question as they started walking up the stairs. They walked into the planning room, weaving their way through a lot of people.
"The burnt remains recovered at the site are believe to be those of Agent Trainee Michael Peterson," Hand was saying.

Shouldering a person out of the way, Ward pulled Sara up to the holocom. May shot him a look, ignoring Sara completely.
"Other physical evidence has proven scarce. Nothing related to Mr. Po, his Centipede associates, or their location has been found."
"Any progress with Vanchat?" Ward asked.
Hand shook her head, "Nothing actionable, Agent Ward. But I have my best interrogator in there right now."

With a tap of her fingers, the feed from the holding cell appeared on the monitor behind them.
"Vanchat will talk, and rest assured, when he does, not a single stone will be left unturned until we take down Centipede."

A sudden alarm went off and May's attention was immediately turned to the holocom while she worked on it.
"We have a security breach," Hand said.
"Someone's hacking the system." May looked at Hand, took a deep breath, then looked away annoyed.

Skye looked up as the door to her bunk was opened. She smiled at Hand.
"Just in time. Can you override this?" she held up the bracelet that was still around her wrist. Hand tilted her head to the side and Skye caught sight of a disapproving Ward and May behind her. Sara was there too, looking apologetic.
"What do you think you're doing?" Hand asked.
"The money trail's our key to finding Coulson," Skye shrugged. "I just need to gain access to Vanchat's financials and from there, I should be able to trace Centipede's payment and then hack into their account."
"You're the consultant," Hand stated. "The one who shot Agent Sitwell."
"Technically, that wasn't me…"
"I want you off this plane immediately."

Hand turned and quickly walked away, leaving a confused Skye behind. She passed by Ward and May.
"Wait, what?" Skye asked. Skye hurried out of her bunk, passing by Ward and May to reach Hand. "I know I'm not some badass field agent like May or Ward, but this is what I do. You can't just kick me off this mission." Hand stopped and looked down her nose at her. "Look, I will do whatever you say. All this protocol crap doesn't matter to me. All that matters to me is Coulson."
"Well, "all this protocol crap" matters to me. You're a distraction and you're gone."

The Agent turned to go away, but this time Sara spoke up. Skye looked hopefully at her.
"Agent Hand, I know Skye's methods are unorthodox, but she is a member of this team. She can help."
"Are you pulling rank, Agent Reyes-Fitz?" Hand turned around, arms crossed and a glint in her eyes. Sara backed down, looking away. "Agent May, your professional opinion, will this girl be of any use to us on this plane?"
"No."

Skye looked at May with a look of betrayal and both Ward and Sara were speechless. May glanced at Sara and they had a quick silent conversation, one that Skye knew she would never know about..
"Increase her restriction level," Hand ordered. "Confiscate her laptop and phone, then have her delivered to debrief."
"I'll do it," Ward offered. "I'm her S.O." Hand nodded and then turned away. Ward looked down at Skye, then started away in the opposite direction. Skye took a moment just to stare with shock at May, who just gave her a stoic expression.

Ward and Skye walked down the spiral staircase into the cargo hold.
"It's clear May has an axe to grind with me, but that was way out of line" she moaned.
"No one knows what's in May's head except May and quite possibly Sara. Don't worry. Coulson will make this right when he gets back."
"I can find him, Ward," Skye mumbled.
"I believe you," Ward nodded. "I've seen firsthand what you can do, even without S.H.I.E.L.D. resources."

A thought crossed Skye's face, but she dropped the expression when Fitz-Simmons walked over.
"Hang on, hang on," Fitz said. Simmons walked up to Skye, holding up a brown paper bag. "We made something for you."
"You made me a sandwich?" Skye asked.
"Yes, it is that…" Simmons lied. Fitz spoke very quietly.
"It's a satellite phone, damper resistant. You get one shot before the bracelet shuts it down."
"So only call in need of emergency."

Skye frowned at them.
"What do I even need this for?" she questioned. "I'm going to be spending the next three days in a S.H.I.E.L.D. broom closet getting debriefed."
"That's right," Ward nodded. "A few agents are coming here to pick you up for debriefing…" he waited until one of the new people on the plane passed by then lowered his voice. "… In exactly 12 minutes."

Realization dawned on Skye.
"Good luck." The other three walked away from Skye and she turned, starting down the cargo bay ramp. She passed by a worker looking longingly at Lola.
"Don't touch Lola," she warned. He quickly pulled his hand back, looking guilty.

Coulson was lying on his back, getting the back of his neck massaged.
"Can you feel that?" his massage therapist asked.
"Don't stop," he managed to get out. A young man entered the cabana holding a tray of tropical drinks, wearing a big smile.
"Listen to him. Who order this?" Coulson sighed happily and closed his eyes.

Suddenly, he gasped awake as something was waved under his nose. He looked around where he was, but his eyesight was blurry and doubled. There was a mannequin dressed in a suit with glasses on standing against the wall. There was also a young Asian man standing in the room as well.
"It seems you passed out," said Edison Po remarked.

Turning his head around, he tried to find him. His head was in some sort of device, a ring of blue light around his head. Coulson looked to left and saw Po sitting there, having a drink. Coulson panted heavily, looking away.
"Tell me, what did you see?"
"I saw… Jordan… Hitting that game winner over Russell in the '98 finals."

Disappointed, Po lowered his eyes.
"So clutch," Coulson continued.
"Agent Coulson, we're gonna turn the machine back on and open your mind. It's time to stop fighting it. If you don't, you won't survive the process."
"I'll let you kill me before I give you anything. Seems you have a taste for that anyway. Murdered Mike Peterson in front of his own son."

Po angrily got out of his chair and walked over to Coulson.
"Mr. Peterson chose that end. We gave him his life and his child unscathed. You're just upset because that man's death hit so close to home. Seeing a boy lose his father at such a young age. As you did. As your daughter did. A defining moment."

Coulson said nothing, just stared at him.
"The Clairvoyant saw that."
"I hate to break, but your telepathic friend is a fraud. Otherwise, he'd know all these answers and I wouldn't be here."
"It's true, this is strange. My friend can see that you died. You went cold. Your heart was torn to pieces. What the Clairvoyant can't see is what happened after. How they brought you back from the dead. For some reason, Agent Coulson, you're different. Now, why is that?"

Saying nothing, Coulson merely gave him a little grin. Po smiled back and shook his head.
"So, we have to do this the hard way." Po stepped away and Coulson's smile dropped. The young Asian man walked towards Coulson, extending some sort of device that had electricity running at the tip of it.

Skye sat in an internet café, her right arm behind the back of her chair. She typed one-handed on a laptop. She held her right arm as far away from her as she could. In the search box she typed: BANKING CORPORATE STRUCTURE.

Hitting enter, she crossed her fingers. There was a beep and then the S.H.I.E.L.D. LOGO appeared on the screen. The computer beeped more and the word: LOCKDOWN appeared under the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo. Skye looked around the café and all the computers went down with the logo and LOCKOUT message. People in the café began grumbling about the disruption. Skye grabbed her purse and walked out.

Skye stood next to a magazine rack looking at one of the magazines. She rifled through it quickly then seemed to find the article she wanted: Wealth & Capital. The article she read was entitled: "INVESTORS' OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS QUESTIONED" with a byline of "IF THE SEC HAS LLOYD RATHMAN RIGHT IN THE CROSSHAIRS, HE'S ABOUT TO GET A BAD DAY."
"Hey, Lloyd," Skye murmured.

Glancing up she locked eyes with something and grinned. She was looking at a nice leather jacket. She walked up to the window looking in at it and could see her reflected grin off the glass.

An SUV pulled up into Valet Parking. The drivers' side door opened, and Lloyd Rathman got out, talking on his cellphone Bluetooth.
"That's what I said. Yeah."
"One second," the valet said. Rathman nodded and left his car.
"Of course, I love truffles. But no on that. What an idiot."

Rathman walked past a pillar to the building he was entering, Skye appeared from the opposite side. She was wearing the leather jacket and put a cellphone to her ear.
"No, sweetie, listen to me. It was a private jet. Of course, there was wi-fi. He should've at least texted you back."

While she faked talking on her phone, she walked around to the front of Rathman's SUV to the driver door. She opened the door, sat in the driver's seat, and tossed her bag and cellphone into the passenger seat. She put her foot on the gas and drove away.

Simmons' eyes widened as she saw someone injecting some blue liquid.
"No, that's too much. I know the Night-Night rounds no longer affect the Centipede soldiers, but all we want to do is disable them, not kill them." The lab tech nodded at her words and walked away as she did the work herself.

Fitz looked up at her from the other side of the table.
"I'm good with either, frankly," he said.
"Fitz, you don't mean that. Those soldiers are just men who –"
"Who could smash your skull open with a single punch?" Sara threw over her shoulder.
"But they're being controlled. Centipede is making them fight against their will."
"Well, they took Coulson, and I don't care what we have to do to get him back. We need to bring him home," Fitz muttered.

Ward glared at the monitor, leaning his head on Sara's shoulder.
"What's this guy doing, lulling Vanchat to sleep?" he growled. She squeezed his hand lightly, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. He gave her a small smile before standing up straighter."I'm going in. You know what to do."

Driving the SUV, Skye reached over, hitting buttons of the SUV's GPS. After hitting a few buttons, once again the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo appeared.
"Damnit!" she exclaimed. She pulled over to the side of the road and parked the car. "Okay, Skye, just need a Plan "B"." She sighed deeply and scrunched up her face, trying to think.

Looking over to the right and saw something. She looked at the rearview mirror where the buttons for OnStar and SDS. She quickly put the car into drive and slammed on the gas pedal. She came upon a red light and cut the wheel, sending the car crashing into some water barrels. She panted from the impact as there was a beep from the car.
"Roadside assistance," said a woman's voice. "We see you've had an accident."
"Yeah. Can you send somebody to tow me back to my house?"
"Of course. I'll dispatch someone right away. Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm good."

A door kicked open and two guys led Coulson into a dungy room. This one also had a mannequin in it, a female one to dress like a '40s housewife. The young Asian and another man drug Coulson inside and threw him against the table. Coulson groaned, blood dripping down his face onto his clothes.

The young Asian guy picked Coulson up from the table and threw him down on the bed. He chained him up then walked out with the other guy. Coulson glanced around then pulled something out from inside his sleeve. A tiny pair of tweezers. He used to them pick the handcuff lock.

Inside the box, the door to the holding cell opened and Ward spoke to the interrogator.
"Agent Hand needs you, says it's urgent." The man nodded and walked out of the holding cell while Ward walked in deeper. The agent closed the door and Ward sat in one of the chairs. He sighed deeply at Vanchat. "Time to talk."

Vanchat smiled and lowered his head.
"The names of all your buyers," Ward continued. "Alphabetically would help."
"I'm not telling you a bloody thing," Vanchat hissed.
"That's how you want to play it?" Ward grabbed the seatbelts on the chair and strapped himself in. He looked to the camera and nodded.

Fitz-Simmons and Sara exchanged glances.
"Rochambeau?" Fitz asked. The girls nodded and they turned to each other, holding up their hands to play rock, paper, scissors.
"Rochambeau," Sara said. Simmons showed rock while Fitz and Sara showed scissors.
"Scissors!" Simmons chirped. She moved her hand, making her rock crush their scissors. Simmons turned to the holocom in the lab and began pushing buttons.

The tiles of the ceiling began to pull away in the holding cell and Vanchat looked up at the blue sky. After a few more were removed, Vanchat got launched into the air. The only thing that kept him from being sucked out was his grip on the table. He screamed in fear and attempted to get back to his feet with no luck.
"I've got all day," Ward leaned back in his seat.

Vanchat's grip slipped, and he grabbed at something lower down. His legs were high in the air. He panted, trying to hold on tighter. He took a shaky breath.
"All right! All right! I'll talk! I'll talk!" Ward nodded, pleased.

The door to Coulson's room slowly opened and a guard walked in, bringing a tray of food. He stopped when he saw the bed, the blankets covering up Coulson's body. He walked over and set the tray down on a set of drawers then moved toward the bed.

Pulling the covers down, he found a '40s housewife mannequin under the blanket. He turned to alert someone, but his legs were kicked out from under him. Coulson crawled out from under the bed. He grabbed the guard in a choke hold and didn't let go until the man stopped struggling.

Opening a door, Coulson ran out of the room. He stopped when he got outside. All he could see was a deserted town, complete with various mannequins, in what looked like a desert.
"The town that the bomb forgot," a voice said.

Coulson looked over to see Po standing there. He was holding an ice-cream cone.
"It was built in the 40s for nuclear testing, but when the cold war ended, the town was spared."
"Not exactly prime real estate," Coulson said.
"Mm, true. There's nothing but desert for hundreds of miles. But I really like it. It's nice here."

In defeat, Coulson walked up onto the porch, knowing he wasn't going anywhere.
"The children are always playing…" Po went back to eating his ice-cream cone and Coulson rushed towards him. A guard appeared from the corner and grabbed Coulson by the throat. "… yet never make a sound."

He looked to Coulson, who was being held up by one of the Centipede soldiers. His feet were no longer touching the ground.
"Shall we get back to it?" he questioned. He threw away what was left of the ice-cream cone away as Coulson began to feel like he was going to pass out.

Skye held onto a clipboard as a tow truck driver unloaded the SUV she had crashed.
"So, you're sure you don't want me to take it to the dealer?" the Truck Driver asked.
"No thanks," Skye shook her head. "I got a guy." She handed him the signed paperwork and headed inside the house with her shopping bag.

She rolled her eyes, seeing a large portrait done of Rathman in Warhol style. She walked past the picture and set her stuff down on a desk that had a computer on it. She looked at her bracelet then to a golf bag. She took out of one the irons and used the handle to dial the telephone.
"Lloyd Rathman's office," a woman said.
"This is the L.A.P.D.," Skye said. "I need to speak with Mr. Rathman. We've recovered a stolen vehicle registered in his name."
"Oh… was it damaged?"
"Yes, ma'am, we have two officers waiting at his phone, ready to take a statement."

As she was speaking, Skye looked around Rathman's office, spying a picture of him with a young boy in a soccer uniform. Son maybe?
"How long do you think it'll take Mr. Rathman to get here?"

Twenty minutes later, Rathman walked through the front door, stopping in his tracks when he saw Skye.
"You're in a lot of trouble, Mr. Rathman," she said.
"Who the hell are you?" Rathman asked. He was staring at her, confused. Skye pushed a pair of aviator shades up from her eyes, trying her best to act.
"Agent Melinda May with S.H.I.E.L.D."

The man crossed his arms.
"Look, clearly there's been a misunderstanding. I'm a legitimate businessman." Skye shook her head.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has evidence that your company has been siphoning funds into an offshore account for some very bad people."
"My client's business is their business," he said gruffly.
"Well, my business is catching those guys, and if it turns out you've made a profit from just one of them, S.H.I.E.L.D. is prepared to freeze all of your assets."

Slowly, Rathman pulled out his cellphone.
"I'm calling my lawyer."
"Do that and my offer's off the table." Skye was getting desperate at this point.
"What offer is that?" Rathman questioned.
"Immunity, you walk… free and clear. S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't touch a single asset. Not even your party boat in Key Largo."

Rathman pulled his phone away from his ear.
"And if I say no?"
"You spend the next five years in The Fridge."
"The Fridge?" he deadpanned.
"It's worse than it sounds." Rathman put his phone back into his pocket.
"All right, what do you want?"
"Follow me to your office. We've got some work to do." He followed her and as he did so, he pressed a button on his security system for a silent alarm.

Sara stood beside Ward in the Command Center as Hand spoke to a large team.
"We're pursuing every known buyer of Chitahuri metal around the globe. The largest has a warehouse in Sydney. We're heading there now. This is our chance to take down Centipede. I want everyone in full tactical."
"And what about Agent Coulson?" Ward asked.
"If we're lucky, Centipede's holding him in Sydney. Dismissed."

Lacing their hands together, Ward ushered Sara towards the doors.
"Agents, wait a moment," Hand called to them. They turned back, Sara glancing momentarily up at Ward in confusion. Hand eyed them, arms crossing over her chest. "First, your friend Skye left the plane and never arrived for her debrief, then Vanchat almost flies out of the interrogation room. Do we have a problem?"
"No, Agent Hand," Ward said. "Your man wasn't getting answers, so I stepped in."
"Without my permission…"
"He had mine," Sara cut in. Hand glowered at her.
"Well, congratulations. Thanks to you and your unique interrogation skills we now have active strike teams running raids all over the world. The question is, why?"
"Excuse me?" Ward asked.
"It's unprecedented, this kind of response for a Level 8 operative. The sheer manpower involved. I've been on the phone all day—Director Fury, Commander Hill—everyone wants an update. Frankly, I don't understand it. No single agent is that important."
"Coulson is," Sara mumbled.

Before Hand could reply, Ward led Sara out of the Command Center.
"No single agent is that important," Sara spat out as soon as they were in a secluded area. "God damn it Ward, what if it was Fury? Or Hill? She wouldn't hesitate to drop everything and go after them." Ward pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
"I know, Sara. I know."
"And come to think about it, I could be point on this mission…"
"But you hate lead, Sara," he reminded her. "You chose to stay away from this."

In defeat, Sara slid down the wall, sitting on the hard metal floor. She wrapped her arms around her knees, bowing her head. Ward leaned against the wall in front of her, watching her with concern. Before he could say anything, a throat cleared down the hall. Sara didn't move, but Ward turned in the direction of the noise.

May had her arms crossed with a stoic look on her face.
"You two. With me." At her commanding tone, Sara begrudgingly got up from the floor, trying to compose herself. Ward threw an arm around her shoulders, and they followed May to the cockpit.
"Did I tell you how beautiful you look today?" Ward murmured to Sara.

The corners of her lips turned up for a moment. He was trying to distract her, keep her calm, and despite the grim circumstances at hand, she decided to go along with it.
"No, actually, I don't think you did."
"Well, Agent Reyes-Fitz, you are absolutely gorgeous today." May turned away for a moment, glaring at them.
"No flirting."
"Was that flirting?" Sara asked Ward.
"Not at all," he answered. May sighed, turning back around. Ward leaned down to whisper into her ear.
"I think we deserve a vacation… Spain, just the two of us?"
"Mmm, will there be champagne?"
"And much more."

Her eyes darted up to his.
"Let's get Coulson and Skye… then I'll think about it." He moved his arm down from her shoulders and griped her hand. He lifted her hand to his mouth as they reached the cockpit. He pressed a kiss to it.
"We'll find Coulson, Sara. Don't worry about it."
"Get in here!" May called. Sara nodded at Ward and the two of them entered the cockpit.

Coulson lay on the table with the device around his head. He cried out as he was hit in the chest with a cattle prod. After several hits, it finally stopped, and he panted. Po sat next to the table, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s gonna find me before you break me."
"S.H.I.E.L.D.? Well, the Clairvoyant sees an end to all that." He waved to the man who was hitting Coulson and after a few more seconds of him being hit, Po stopped him again.

From behind Po, Raina spoke up.
"He doesn't look so good." Po turned to see her standing there.
"Raina, what took you so long?"
"I was tending to our other subjects."
"The persuasion skills I've spoken to the Clairvoyant so much about would be better served here with me, breaking this man."
"I would never use force to bend a man to my wishes."
"He's been difficult."
"He's been beaten."
"Into submission. The Clairvoyant requested it and will tell me to—"

His words were cut off when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and grinned at Raina.
"See?" He put the phone to his ear. "Yes?... No… Well, I've only just begun. My methods are sound. I assure you…" He looked at Rania. "Right here... Yes."

Lowering the phone from his ear, he passed it to Raina.
"The Clairvoyant would like to speak to you." Raina brightened considerably, taking the phone from Po. She stared at the man intently as she spoke to the Clairvoyant.
"This is Rania… Yes, I agree… Thank you. I'll put him back on." She handed the phone back to Po with a smile.

Taking it, Po spoke three words.
"Yes, I'm here." Suddenly, there was a high-pitched whirring sound and Po's body went stiff and silent. His hand dropped from the cellphone, but it remained in the air beside his face. Blue lines appeared on his cheek next to the phone and it spread across his face.

The phone dropped from his face into the waiting hand of Rania as he dropped dead on the ground. Closing the phone, causing the sound to stop, Rania walked further into the room to smile at Coulson. He looked at her hesitantly.

Sara relaxed beside May in the cockpit, Ward behind her. Sara stared out the window, deep in thought.
"Is there a problem?" May asked when Sara sighed quietly. "I'll never understand Victoria Hand."
"What don't you understand?"
"We just don't see eye to eye, May. I'm not trying to take her job. Yet she sees me as a threat."
"I don't get her either," Ward chimed in.
"Ward, Sara. I'm sure she's utilizing all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources to find Coulson."
"Not all of them."

May raised an eyebrow as Sara hunched down in her chair. She didn't want to be a part of the confrontation that was about to happen.
"You know, it wouldn't hurt to have Skye working an exploit. Why didn't you stick up for her?"
"Excuse me?"
"She has proven herself on multiple missions. She's a part of this twin. You let her get tossed."
"All I did was tell Hand the truth. Skye's does not use to use on the plane."

Almost immediately Sara knew what May was trying to say. She let out a relived breath but rolled her eyes when Ward got defensive.
"How can you say that?"
"She's not," May repeated. She glanced over her shoulder to the door then back out the window. "Not with all these agents here over her shoulder, monitoring her every move."

Realization dawned on Ward.
"You wanted her off the plane."
"Glad you caught up," Sara mumbled. He leaned forward, lightly punching her shoulder.
"Outside the system," May said. "That's how Skye works best." Ward nodded in understanding. "You don't have to assume the worst of me."

From over the intercoms, Agent Hand barked an order.
"Agent May, change of plans. Sending new coordinates now. We found their helicopter at a laboratory outside the Mojave Desert."
"Copy that, coordinates received." She shot Ward and Sara a look. "Hang onto something." She hit a button and they did a quick one-eighty spin in midair.