Coulson, Skye, and Fitz made their way to the second floor, where they found Ward and Killer Bee in the lounge. Killer Bee was seated on a sofa, engrossed in reading a book, while Ward noticed Coulson's arrival and excused himself.
"I'll be right back," Ward said to Killer Bee, who nodded, focused on understanding more about this new world.
As Ward approached, Fitz immediately asked, "Where did you put the 084?"
"Simmons took it to the lab. Why?" Ward replied.
"It's extremely dangerous," Fitz said, before quickly heading towards the lab.
Seeing Fitz so concerned, the group followed him. Upon reaching the lab, they found Simmons resting near the table where the 084 was placed. She hadn't begun working on it yet.
Simmons smiled as she saw everyone arrive.
"I'm glad everyone made it back safely," she said.
Ward then asked, "What exactly is going on?"
Fitz pointed at the 084 on the table and began explaining, "I mentioned before, this device operates on high-frequency oscillations, with its material composition being highly concentrated..."
Ward interrupted, "Fitz, in plain English, please."
Fitz took a breath and continued, "The energy source driving the 084 is similar to the Tesseract."
"This thing contains a lethal dose of gamma radiation."
Ward, puzzled, asked, "Gamma… so it's a nuclear weapon?"
Coulson, looking at the 084, clarified, "No, what he's saying is that it's far more dangerous than a nuclear weapon."
The group instinctively stepped back from the lab table, wary of the dangers posed by gamma radiation.
At that moment, May's voice came through the intercom, announcing that the plane was about to take off.
Once the plane stabilized in the air, Coulson gave instructions, "Fitz, Simmons, start working on the 084. I'm going to check in with May."
Leaving the lab, Coulson made his way to the cockpit. As he entered, he saw May piloting the plane.
"Circle over Peru for now," Coulson instructed.
"We'll determine our next steps shortly."
Coulson then contacted Hill through the cockpit's communication system.
"Is the 084 in your possession?" Hill's voice came through.
"Yes, it's on the plane," Coulson confirmed.
"Understood," Hill replied, "You can enter restricted airspace and follow the guidance to deliver the item directly to the Slingshot base."
Coulson then continued, "However, we encountered a ninja in the temple—a young one from the Cloud Village that we've never seen before."
"He's just a teenager, but his power is formidable."
"I suspect there's a teleportation array inside the Incan temple that connects to the ninja world. It's possible that when Ward removed the 084, it triggered the array."
"Right now, we're circling over Peru, but I request that the organization send personnel to secure the area around the temple."
"There's a significant presence of rebel forces nearby, and we've already taken out a hundred of their troops. I'm concerned they might try to destroy the temple."
"This site might be our closest link to the ninja world."
Coulson's report caught Hill off guard. She hadn't expected such a significant discovery while retrieving the 084 item.
She immediately responded, "Keep circling above the Incan temple. If the rebels attempt any destruction, initiate remote strikes. Protect that site at all costs."
"I'll arrange for a team to be flown out there to secure the area. They'll arrive within three hours. Do you have enough fuel to maintain your position?"
Coulson glanced over at May, who nodded, signaling they had enough fuel.
"We're good on fuel."
Hill continued, "Once we've secured the Incan temple, proceed to the Slingshot base."
"Understood," Coulson confirmed.
…
Back in the lab-
After Coulson left, Fitz couldn't contain his frustration.
"Are you insane? I explained everything in detail using proper British English!"
Ward shot back, "I was speaking about normal English."
Fitz sarcastically retorted, "Congratulations, Agent Ward, for managing to string together three whole words in a sentence: 'dodge,' 'run,' 'it could blow us to pieces.'"
Skye, watching them bicker, felt a little lost. This wasn't the team dynamic she had imagined.
As Coulson descended from the upper level, he approached Camilla and the Peruvian military police.
"Is everyone holding up?"
A soldier, still recovering, responded, "We've been hit hard, but we're alive. Thanks for saving us."
Coulson noticed the soldiers had locked away all their weapons in a secure case. Camilla, removing her jacket, looked toward the 084 in the lab and remarked, "But we've lost many people."
Coulson moved closer to her and said, "We'll make sure you get home safely."
Camilla, still eyeing the 084, asked, "With that thing on board, are we safe? We're close to a police airfield in Iquitos."
It was clear that Camilla wasn't ready to give up on the item, hoping to gauge Coulson's response.
However, Coulson firmly declined, "No, we're staying put for now."
"A large number of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are on their way. The Incan temple will soon be secured."
Camilla turned, a bit incredulous, "You've already retrieved the 084. Could it be that there's…?"
Before she could finish, she already realized there was more than just the 084 inside the temple.
Maybe the secrets of the temple are even more significant that the 084.
Seeing Coulson's polite but resolute smile, Camilla sighed in resignation.
At that moment, a soldier seated on the floor asked, "Sir, do you have anything to drink?"
Coulson replied, "There's some upstairs. It's pretty comfortable there."
Camilla helped the soldier up, then led her team to the upper level.
As they left, Coulson opened the lab door and saw Ward and Fitz still arguing.
"Is there a problem here?" Coulson asked, bringing the room to silence.
Ward shook his head, "No."
"Good. Ward, come with me. We need to have a proper conversation with the Cloud ninja, Killer Bee."