Work had been going nonstop since the closing of the rift. Fitz had spent more nights in the lab with Patten than he had with his new wife. On the flip side, Jemma had spent a lot of time with Yo-yo and Mack while she struggled with her recovery. It was all hands on deck trying to get supplies to build Yo-yo a set of prosthetic arms, as well as researching where to find more Gravitonium. The problem was, any known sellers had long since gone into hiding after the Hydra uprising. The biggest one, Cybertech, was dismantled and its scientist had gone into hiding. This is what Mick and Daisy had been assigned to research. They also had other motives in seeking Cybertech before any others. Cybertech was tied to Centipied, which was tied to John Garret as a means to keeping him alive while he was slowly dying. The strange thing was every scientist they searched all had signed death papers, as if someone came in and just wiped them all out.
"There's no way this is a coincidence," Daisy huffed as she pulled up another file.
"I mean, Hydra slaughtered countless people in the uprising," Mick shrugged.
"But these guys all worked for them," Daisy fussed.
"I mean, does it surprise you though?" Mick frowned seeing another deceased scientist in the results. "Can't give away secrets when you're dead."
"I guess it shouldn't," Daisy shrugged. "What's the name on that coroner report?"
"Uh, hold on," Mick started clicking around until he found the typed name. "Murray Jacobson, why?"
Daisy groaned as she pulled up several more coroners reports on the others. "Either this guy had been quite busy working with Hydra, or these are fake." Mick looked up as Daisy sent the files to the big monitor, all had the coroner signature, Murray Jacobson.
"Okay, so what does that mean?" Mick asked as Daisy smirked.
"It means I'm going to do some digging on this guy, and you're going to get Coulson," she said as Mick rolled his eyes. "Unless you want to play on the darkweb?"
"No," Mick quickly replied. "I'm not doing that ever again." He shuttered remembering the many conspiracy rabbit holes he found himself for hours the last time he messed around with that.
"Didn't think so," she smiled as Mick set off.
He set off to the office they had set up for Coulson, and much like when they stationed at the Playground, he was hardly ever in it. Mick began wandering around, passing the lab to see Fitz working hard on a prototype pair of arms for Yo-yo with the few things Jerren could send them from Stark's spare parts. Unfortunately, it wasn't working as well as they wanted. Mick then passed by Medical, where he fortunately found Coulson and May checking up on Yo-yo and Mack.
"What'd you find?" Coulson asked as he stepped out of Yo-yo's room.
"Some very suspicious death reports," Mick said as May looked intrigued. "There was thirty or so all signed by the same guy in the same year."
"So Hydra was killing off any loose ends?" May sounded rather callous.
"See, that's what I thought too," Mick said. "But Daisy seems to think the guy faked all of those deaths."
"She's not usually wrong with her hunches," Coulson stated as May shrugged.
"But how would he get away with that?" Mick asked as Coulson nodded.
"Guess that's the question we need an answer to," Coulson said with a smirk. "Where's she at now?"
"Mission control," Mick said.
They all walked back in as Daisy had twice as much pulled up on the main screen as she had before, ranging from a series of coroner reports, to photo's of a man, as well as a map of Louisiana. "Took you long enough," Daisy muttered.
"What is all of this?" Coulson asked as Daisy stood up, ready to explain.
"This is the long list of scientist that were supposedly murdered by Hydra," she said as several facial shots and personal information popped up on the main screen it's a flashing red deceased at the bottom of each photo. She then switched over to several photo's that had a man who's face was always covered. He seemed to be a pro at avoiding pictures.
"This guy," she pointed at an image of a man with a hat mostly covering his face. "I believe to be one, Doctor Murray Jacobson."
"Wonder if he's got training to avoid camera's?" May asked as Daisy nodded with a half grin.
"I was wondering the same thing," Daisy said. "So I did some digging. This guy also had connections to a few other points of interest. Not just the scientist from Cybertech, but also another RND lab, Hightower Inc."
"Spencer?" Mick asked as Daisy shook her head.
"Turns out, she went missing around the same time as these guy's all died," Daisy said as Mick grimaced.
"Then we take a trip to Baton Rouge to figure out what's going on," Coulson said as Mick took in a deep breath.
"It's been quite some time since I've been back," Mick wasn't exactly thrilled about going back now. "I wonder if Patten is going to want to come, maybe he could see his family maybe even Millie too?"
"We're going to need him here with Fitz," May said quickly. "He keeps Deke from driving him crazy."
"Sounds fair," Coulson said. "You know how I like having a full team though, so we'll need Mack if we're not bring Brent."
"You can tell him then," May teased as Coulson rolled his eyes.
The flight was quick, which was a relief, and thanks to cloaking they could discreetly land Zephyr One on the Fair Grounds. Mick was the walking map guiding the team to downtown Baton Rouge to the newly renovated Hightower Inc. building. Mick went inside with Daisy following him, both disguised in LSU attire, hat's, tee's, even jeans with the Tigers signature purple and gold stripes down the side. Mick was right at home as it was a tradition for him to catch Tiger football games when he wasn't too busy, even Fitz was curious enough to watch a game or two with him.
"Do you have an appointment?" The sweet young receptionist asked as Mick and Daisy walked in.
"No," Mick said as he leaned on the desk as Daisy set a small silver USB looking device near the computer and pulled out her phone. "I was hoping to see Miss Hightower. We go way back."
"I'm sorry, but Miss Hightower is on vacation. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"I haven't been able to get her on the phone either," Mick frowned. "Do you know if Spencer is okay?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't give you any information on Miss Hightower," the receptionist was clearly getting flustered. "If you give my your name, I may be able to get her to contact you when she returns."
Mick glanced at Daisy for a moment, receiving at 'buy more time' glare. "Look, I really need to talk to her. My name is Jerren Bennet, we used to date. I need to tell her something extremely personal."
The receptionist looked at Mick skeptically then down at her computer, then back up at Mick, then at Daisy before shaking her head. "I'm really sorry Mr. Bennet, she's truly not here."
"It's fine, we'll just call her and leave a voice message," Daisy chimed in, much to Mick's relief. "Thanks anyway."
They turned to leave when the elevator doors opened, and a man with spiked dirty blonde hair and a muscular build, headed out the door. They shared a curious glance, then Daisy whispered "According to the data I just stole, that's the guy running the place while you're friend is MIA."
"Then we'll just talk with him," Mick said as they set off after him.
He walked a few blocks before going into the River Center parking garage, which was where Coulson, Mack, and May had the cars parked. "Guy took the elevator to the third floor, we're taking Mick's webs up," Daisy said over the comms.
"I'll be watching then," Coulson replied. "Please don't let anyone see you Bellouve."
"It's not like anyone even remembers Recluse around here anymore," Mick grunted.
"That's not the point," Coulson said, as Mick could just hear him rolling his eyes as well.
"Man, that guy is doing pretty well for himself, isn't he?" Daisy said as they caught him walking up to a brand new Audi M3.
"I'll take point, just in case he freaks out," Mick said as Daisy rolled her eyes.
"Just because I don't have powers doesn't mean I can't kick his," Daisy stopped as Mick placed a finger over her mouth.
"Language, dear," he smirked as Daisy bit his finger.
"Are you by chance Dr. Jacobson?" Daisy called out while Mick growled shaking his finger due to the pain.
"What's it to you?" The man replied in a non Louisianan, yet city-esk, accent.
"We just had a few questions for you," Daisy said as the man reached into his car.
"I wouldn't if I were you," Mick threatened as the man slowly stood up, revealing the gun in his hand.
"I don't take orders from anyone," the man grunted, pointing the gun at them. "Especially not wannabe cops!" He opened fire, causing Mick to pull Daisy down, and slip down beside the concrete rail for cover. A few more shots fired, then the sound of his engine and tires echoed through the garage.
"That went well," Coulson's voice came over the comms.
"Tell me about it," Mick huffed.
"We'll stop him, you three just get down here," Mack said firmly.
Within a matter of moments, Coulson picked Mick and Daisy up in the Charger, then quickly raced down seeing Mack with the Suburban blocking the Audi's only escape route. They climbed out of the car as did the man in the Audi.
"Mr. Jacobson, we just want to talk," Coulson called out.
"I don't talk to pigs or punks!" The man replied harshly. "Now get out my way, or I'll move you!"
"Anthony, Candyman, Caine?" Mack said in disbelief, which seemed to surprise the man, as he lowered his gun. "No way. Is that you Candyman?"
"Mackmillions?" The man answered as he and Mack eased closer to each other.
"What just happened?" Daisy asked as Coulson shrugged.
"Whatever it is," Coulson smirked. "It's good for us."
"Tony and I go way back," Mack said proudly as the team walked over towards the two.
"Sorry about shooting at you guys," Tony said as Mick and Daisy shook their heads.
"We're used to it," Daisy sneered.
"So who are you with these days?" Tony asked.
"Still with SHIELD," Mack replied.
"That surprises me," Tony said rather reluctantly. "No one admits to that anymore. Especially not now that it's been Blacklisted."
"Yeah well, we know the truth," Coulson said as Tony shrugged.
"Truth doesn't trump emotions now days. That's why Miss Hightower went into hiding," Tony stated. "Friend of hers, Mrs. Brent called, let her know a friend of hers was on the most wanted list, and they'd be coming to question her about him."
"That'd be me," Mick said plainly. "Really, it's all of us, but Mrs. Brent would be Millie Brent."
"I don't think I want to know any more than I have to," Tony said as Mick shrugged.
"Do you know where Spence went, or what happened to Millie for that matter?" Mick asked as Tony shook his head.
"She just left me a note saying I'm in charge until further notice, and to burn the note," Tony replied.
"That sucks," Mick huffed.
"Is that why you tracked me down?" Tony asked skeptically.
"Not really the whole reason," Mack answered. "We're hoping you can tell us about a man named Joseph Gette, since you signed his death certificate as Dr. Jacobson."
"Uh," Tony stammered. "Not sure I have anything I can tell you about him."
"Come on man, we just need to know if he's alive," Mack said as Tony seemed very uneasy. "You know me, if it wasn't world ending level importance, I wouldn't get in your business."
"He's alive," Tony said reluctantly. "He's actually one of the RND guys working in the tech lab."
"Is there any way you can get us an audience with him?" Coulson asked as Tony seemed even more reluctant. "We are in desperate need of Gravitonium, and he's the last guy who knew anything about the stuff."
"I'll see what I can do," Tony frowned.
It was late afternoon before they heard anything from Tony. He managed to convince Dr. Gette to meet with them on the levee, under one condition, only Mack. While everyone was unease about this, Mack was quite confident. Good news was, Mick could scout from the top of the River Center and make sure nothing happened to Mack. Mick watched through a pair of binoculars as Mack spoke to the man. Things seemed to be going well, despite how fidgety Dr. Gette was. He stood up quickly, walking away briskly as Mack and Caine walked away from him in the opposite direction.
"Sounds like the last of the Gravitonium was on a ship called the Principia, and it went down somewhere in the Pacific, no wreckage though," Mack said as Mick slid down the building heading to the parking garage to rejoin everyone.
"No wreckage?" May questioned. "That can't be right."
"Looking it up now," Daisy replied.
"I'll get Fitz and Brent on it too," Coulson stated.
The team converged on Zephyr One, Mick this time riding with Mack, Tony, and May, while Coulson had left with Daisy. With the Suburban parked in the hangar, they all headed for Mission Control. Coulson was standing by the screen pouring over the images sent over by Fitz.
"Fitz has done a heavy scan using the best sat feeds we have, and turns out Gette was right. There is no wreckage anywhere," Coulson frowned.
"Freighters don't just disappear Coulson," Mack said firmly.
"This one did," Coulson replied, brushing his hands across his face. "Any other connections you can think of?" He glanced at Tony.
"All I knew is Cybertech had the stuff, what happened from there is beyond me," Tony replied. "Even then, I only knew that because of the stories I heard from the people forced to work with it."
"So we're back at square one," Coulson groaned.
No sooner than he said that they received transmission from the Lighthouse. "Guys, can you hear me?" Fitz's voice came over the speaker.
"Yeah," Coulson responded. "Sounds like you found something?"
"Yes and no," Fitz stated. "It was brought to my attention that if the ship was indeed struck by lightning, the surge could have activated the Gravitonium on board."
"So the reason there's no wreckage is because the ship is in the air?" May asked completely skeptical.
"I know it sounds crazy, but it's the theory we're working with," Fitz said.
"Figures," Coulson frowned. "We lose a boat, and the last place we would look is the sky."
"Who would look for a flying freighter?" Daisy asked.
"Wouldn't that have come up on some radar scans or something?" Mick asked, just as skeptical as May.
"Shouldn't it pop up on at least the jet's flying through the area?" Daisy asked.
"Not necessarily," Fitz stated. "Patten is running some scans now based on weather patterns and the jet stream from the last known location. We'll let you know when we find something."
"Good work you guys," Coulson said as he turned to May. "We need to get wheels up ASAP."
"On it," May said as Tony looked around.
"Guess there's no getting off the plane now?" He asked as Coulson shook his head.
"Sorry, you're stuck with us for now," Coulson headed toward the cockpit.
Once Fitz sent the potential coordinates, May upped the speed so they wouldn't lose it. Much to everyone's disbelief, there was the Principia, floating among the clouds as if it belonged there. It had some damage, more than likely from multiple lightning strikes judging by the burns on the hull and shattered glass. May brought them as close as they could safely get, then Coulson pulled Mick, Mack, and Daisy to board the ship with him. They used a holding pod to fly down and land on the Principia. The doors opened, and the thin air hit them immediately.
"We need to take caution," Coulson said firmly. "These will help to regulate our oxygen intake." He handed them each a small container with a thin mouthpiece. "Don't wait more than five minutes between breaths, but also, this is the only tanks we have, so conserve as much as you can. We are on a thin timer here, we need to get in and out in no more than thirty minutes or we risk facing oxygen deprivation."
"Sounds great," Mick said already feeling the dizzying effects of the low oxygen rate.
"Brent sent over the schematics of the ship, so we need to make our way to the cargo hold without any detours," Coulson said firmly as they set off.
Walking on the ship was as eerie as you could imagine. Every step brought a creak, the wind rushed through the broken glass and torn metal causing an uneasy moaning sound, making the ship not only feel like a ghost ship, but sound like one as well. The truly unnerving part was when they passed by the crew. Their remains were all huddled together, embraced, clearly terrified of the happenings. There were a few apart from the group, but they were probably trying to keep everyone calm and together from their positioning.
"This is terrible," Daisy muttered.
"I can't even imagine what must've been going through their minds," Mack stated.
"It's heartbreaking for sure," Coulson added. "Nothing we can do for them now."
"Is it just me, or does it seem like someone is watching us?" Mick asked as he shivered, stepping over a few limbs of the deceased.
"It's just you Webby," Mack said as Mick shook his head. "We have to be getting close, right?"
"Should be just ahead!" Coulson said as they climbed down a ladder into an extremely dark room. Even the four flashlights couldn't hold back the dread filled darkness, yet they pressed forward until they came to the eerie pale light emanating from the floating orb of Gravitonium.
"Shouldn't there be more of it?" Daisy asked looking around hoping to see more than just the basketball sized orb.
"According to the logs, there should have been," Coulson seemed bewildered. "Maybe someone beat us to it?"
"Who else would've found this thing?" Mick asked.
"Maybe your friend General Hale?" Daisy said as Mick shrugged.
"How do we move this stuff?" Mack asked looking around for anything that could contain the Gravitonium.
"We need some kind of box," Coulson said as Mack picked up a heavy metal box with a foam liner. "Yeah, that'll probably work."
"What happens to us when we box that stuff up?" Mick asked as Coulson looked at him with an unsure expression.
"We run, and hope we get off the ship before it falls into the ocean below," Coulson said which caused both Mick and Mack to breathe uneasily.
"Great, two of my least favorite ways to die in one package," Mack grunted. "Falling, and drowning."
"If my last encounter with the stuff has any bearings, the ship should stay in suspended for ninety seconds," Coulson said as Mack eased the box up.
"Ready for the fastest sprint of your lives?" Mack asked as everyone nodded. He closed the box around the Gravitonium and the ship lurched hard, shaking them all off balance.
"Timer's started!" Coulson called out as they began running back to the ladder.
They sprinted by the crew, only to be ambushed by one of the Assassin's robotic soldiers. It fired at them relentlessly, pinning them down behind a table.
"We don't have time for this!" Coulson yelled in a slightly panicked state.
"Don't worry," Mack cocked his shotgun axe. "I'll take care of it!"
"No!" Daisy said realizing what would happen if they left him behind.
"You're not doing this alone," Mick pulled his saber from it's hilt. "You two go, I'll make sure we don't go splat."
Daisy and Coulson both seemed reluctant, but they nodded when Mack stood up drawing the fire of the assailant. "See you soon," Daisy muttered as Mick nodded.
He then jumped up, brandishing his blade, drawing the robot's focus from Mack. It moved quickly, blocking both Mick and Mack's swings with ease. "Webby, duck!" Mack called out as Mick dropped down without hesitation. Mack then fired two blast into the robot, knocking it backwards. Mick then used the opportunity to jam his blade through it's chest as it fell toward him, sending sparks flying all around them.
"Smooth Mackmillions," Mick smirked as Mack rolled his eyes.
"Only Caine is allowed to call me that," he stated as Mick shrugged. "Let's bag this thing and get out of here before any more show up."
"Why keep it?" Mick asked as Mack tilted his head.
"We could use the parts," Mack suggested as Mick realized he must mean for Yo-yo.
Without a moment to lose, the two used everything they had to reach the deck, Mick shot several webs catching the pod and holding on to Mack as they floated in mid air as the Principia fell from under them. With some careful maneuvers from May, Mick and Mack landed safety in the cargo hold of Zephyr One, followed by the return of Daisy and Coulson. "Can we not do that again?" Mick sighed, relieved to not be falling to oblivion.
"Come on Webby, you don't think that was fun?" Mack smirked.
"It certainly wasn't my favorite," Mick said as Daisy walked over to him, embracing him tightly.
"You're both crazy," she exclaimed before embracing Mack as well.
"Probably," Mack stated causing Daisy to laugh.
"What's with the tin can?" Coulson asked pointing at the busted up robo soldier.
"Figured we could use the scraps," Mack shrugged.
"Maybe we can get some intel off of it too," Coulson said glancing at the machine. "Like who commissioned them, and why."
"My money is on Hydra," Daisy said pointing at the mask.
"But who is left to control them?" Mick asked as Coulson sighed.
"That's what we have to figure out," Coulson said remorsefully. "We'll drop off Caine and get to work."