Fitz thought for a moment and said, "It might take some time. The lab's security level is pretty high."
Ward suggested, "Maybe we can bring Skye in. With her skills, we can cut down the time significantly."
Realizing the urgency, Coulson nodded, "Bring her in."
Ward quickly ran to the interrogation room, pushed open the door, and entered.
"Skye, we need your help with something."
He unlocked her handcuffs and brought her to the command room.
When Coulson saw Ward with Skye, he said, "Skye, work with Fitz to hack into the bio-lab's network and surveillance."
"May, you protect them."
"Ward, Killer Bee, you two come with me to the bio-lab. I've already contacted S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in San Francisco. They'll meet up with us and help with the operation."
Hearing Coulson's orders, the agents nodded, "Yes."
Killer Bee drew the sword from his back and said, "I could probably take them down myself."
Meanwhile, Skye started working on the computer, hacking into the bio-lab, which had cut its connection to external servers.
…
Outside the bio-lab-
Coulson stood next to S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Lance Hunter and said, "This lab has seven levels—five above ground, two below."
"The two underground levels are storage, and the first four above ground are for research. The fifth floor is labeled as maintenance."
"But the fifth floor uses half the building's electricity."
Lance Hunter joked, "Unless they're running the world's largest vacuum cleaner up there."
Coulson chuckled, "Or it's where they're researching the Centipede virus."
"Have your B and C teams enter through the tunnels and secure the lower levels."
"Warn them that the Centipede serum is highly explosive."
"Understood."
"And where are we going in?"
"The roof."
As they wrapped up their conversation, the vehicles stopped outside the bio-lab. The building's lights were off.
Coulson and Lance Hunter got out of the car, staring at the building. Coulson gave the order, "Prepare to move."
A team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents disembarked from the vehicles and began following the plan.
…
Inside the lab-
Orochimaru opened his eyes and licked his lips, "Looks like we have some intruders. Kabuto, go deal with them."
Kabuto suddenly appeared in the lab and respectfully said to Orochimaru, "Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
…
Back on the aircraft-
Skye was fully focused on hacking, and after some effort, she finally gained control of the lab's surveillance.
"We've got control of the cameras. Let's see who's in the lab."
As Skye spoke, dozens of surveillance feeds appeared on the command room's large screen.
At first, the cameras showed normal scenes, but soon, some of the feeds revealed something that shocked the team.
May's eyes widened, "It's the Sound Ninja! We need to get Coulson out of there, fast!"
At that moment, Coulson, Ward, Lance Hunter, and Killer Bee had reached the roof and were about to enter the building when May's voice came through their earpieces.
"Coulson, this isn't a Centipede base. The Sound Ninja are inside. Abort the mission!"
Hearing this, Coulson immediately stopped and radioed, "Halt the operation."
A thought flashed through Coulson's mind—had they been set up?
Just then, Kabuto suddenly appeared in front of Coulson and smiled, "Why are you here? Are you backing out of the agreement?"
"Though with just this few people, you might not stand a chance."
Meanwhile, B and C teams, who had entered through the underground tunnels to secure the area, had been knocked out by the Sound Ninja Four. They were tied up in pairs with ropes.
Seeing Kabuto, Killer Bee drew his twin swords and positioned himself in front of Coulson, ready for a fight.
Coulson awkwardly smiled and said, "Kabuto, if I said this was a misunderstanding, would you believe me?"
Kabuto smirked and replied, "Why don't you explain what's going on? I'm quite curious how you found this place."
After hearing Coulson's explanation, Kabuto realized it was indeed a misunderstanding. After all, they had only taken over the building today, and much of it wasn't fully set up yet.
"It seems it really is a misunderstanding. We just took over this building today," Kabuto said.
"However, even though it's a misunderstanding, there should still be some compensation. How about this: $1 million for each S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. No problem, right?"
Kabuto then glanced at Ward, Killer Bee, and Coulson before continuing, "Considering our history with the Cloud Ninja here, I won't count you four in."
Lance Hunter blinked in surprise and quickly pressed his earpiece.
"Calling B-Team, C-Team," he said, but there was no response. He looked at Coulson and said, "B and C teams are not responding."
This outcome didn't surprise Coulson. Since the area had fallen into the hands of the Sound Ninja, it was already a miracle if the two teams were still alive.
"Kabuto, since we're all friends here, could you maybe lower the price a bit?" Coulson asked.
Kabuto adjusted his glasses and replied, "Lord Orochimaru ordered me to take care of all intruders. It's only because of our relationship that I'm letting you ransom them instead."
"Coulson, don't make this harder for me."
With a sigh, Coulson realized that knowing the Sound Ninja's new base was valuable information in itself. The $30 million could be seen as the cost of that intel, and he believed Director Nick Fury wouldn't object.
"Kabuto, I agree," Coulson said.
"But I don't have that kind of money on me right now. I'll arrange for the $30 million to be delivered later. Could you release my people in the meantime?"
Kabuto smiled, "For your sake, I'll release them now. But make sure the payment comes soon, or there will be consequences for the delay."
Coulson nodded apologetically, "Thank you."
Kabuto waved it off, not minding too much.
Coulson glanced at his team and gave the order, "Retreat."
The four of them rappelled down from the roof to the ground below.
Outside the building, 30 tied-up S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had been left by the Sound Ninja Four. Coulson shook his head in frustration at the sight.
The team moved forward, untying and waking up the agents. Once everyone was ready, they all got into their vehicles and retreated.
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