A truck with "Rocky Mountain Office Supplies" written on the side of it drives down the road. We then go inside the truck to see the trucker, Mack, singing.

[ music ]

MACK: ♪ High and low I've traveled ♪

♪ Far and wide I'd go ♪

♪ From the desert tracks to the mountainside ♪

♪ I'll bring you this traveling show ♪

MAN (over walkie-talkie/radio): Big boy, this is little boy. How'd things go down at the chicken coop?

MACK (into walkie-talkie/radio): Weigh-station inspector needs to learn some adult words and a bit of hygiene, but he waved us through. The cargo is secure. Looks like a clean sh*t from here.

MAN: Roger that. Little girl will take point on your front door. See you at the drop stop, Mack. I'm clear.

[Car drives next to truck. Woman in car and Mack nod at each other.]

[Car drives in front of truck]

[car is flung violently into the air and lands on the road in front of truck]

[crash]

MACK [swerving]: Son of a bitch. (into walkie-talkie/radio) You see that?

MAN: Little girl is down. Repeat, escort two is down.

MACK: I know, Sherlock. What the hell h*t us?

[he pulls up some very high-tech looking GPS system projected in front of him]

MACK: We need to go to alt two, alt two.

MAN: Nothing over our shoulder. Back door's clear. Protect the cargo at all costs.

MACK: S.H.I.E.L.D. region CT, this is Agent Mack. We are under att*ck from an unseen I-don't-know-what.

WOMAN: Agent Mack, advise nature of thr*at, over.

MACK: What in the holy name of...

[the truck starts to fly upwards]

MACK: S.H.I.E.L.D. region CT ... oh, hell, I can't explain.

[he starts to drop]

MACK: Oh no!

[crashing sound]

[truck is shattered, on f*re]

[excavator and men in military fatigues pull apart truck]

[men unload truck]

[man takes torch to locked door with S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on it]

[hissing, sparking]

[circle in door falls in, we see a man sitting there]

DR. HALL: Are we there yet?

[BOOM. AoS title card.]

INT: Bus training room aka the cargo hold area with a punching bag set up. Ward is making the punching bag his bitch.

[grunting, punching]

WARD: You know you're late.

SKYE [entering, coming down the stairs: I'm tired from the morning's workout. I thought I was joining S.H.I.E.L.D., not 24 hour fitness.

WARD: It's called relative strength training, starting with the basics. And next time, you do 15 push-ups for every minute you're late.

SKYE: Fine, Mr. Fun machine. Better than pull-ups. I don't ever want to do another pull-up again.

WARD: You find yourself hanging off the edge of a building 20 stories up, you're gonna want to do at least one.

WARD: Stand here. Jab cross, like this. 10 minutes. [Skye starts punching, quite pathetically] You know the hardest part about boxing?

SKYE: Getting punched in the face?

WARD: Keeping your hands up.

SKYE: Why do I even have to do this? I'm sure Fitz-Simmons' supervising officer didn't make them do this muscle stuff.

WARD: You said you wanted to be a field Agent, like Coulson. Well, if you'd like to switch disciplines... [calls to Simmons, who is in the lab a few feet away with Fitz] Hey, Simmons. What did your S.O. give you guys for morning drills?

[spraying sounds as Fitz uses a lysol can]

SIMMONS: Oh, atomistic attribute drills. Yeah, we'd name the mechanical, chemical, thermal ...

FITZ (jumping in): Electrical properties of materials.

SKYE (talking over Fitz, to Ward): Okay, okay. They made your point.

WARD: There will come a moment when you have to commit to this or bail. [he holds the punching bag for her] Every field Agent has a defining moment. Ask Coulson. When you have to make the hard call to either dedicate yourself to this or to curl up in a ball and run.

SKYE: How can you run if you're curled up in a ball?

WARD: It's my job as your S.O. to make sure you don't die before then. Come on.

SKYE: So what was yours, Agent Ward?

WARD: 10 minutes.

SKYE: Your defining moment? Come on, tell me. I want to know. I could get Coulson to give you some of that truth serum. You could spill your little heart out to me again.

WARD: You mean my level one overshare that miraculously got you to cooperate? I hate to tell you this, rookie, but we don't have a truth serum.

[beep]

MAY (over intercom): Changing course, briefing in three.

FITZ: Ah, looks like we're on the move.

MAY: S.H.I.E.L.D. 616 with new orders. Set for Colorado air field North.

INT: Bus lounge area/briefing room.

COULSON: A few minutes ago, a S.H.I.E.L.D. transport was att*cked while carrying a priority red protected asset off route 76 near Sterling.

SIMMONS: Priority red? [ whistles ]

COULSON: The asset was Canadian physicist Dr. Franklin Hall, known for his work—

SIMMONS (talking over Coulson): Oh, no, not Frank.

FITZ (talking over Coulson and Simmons): Dr. Hall? He was our chemical kinetics adviser our second year.

SIMMONS: Yeah, he's so enthusiastic about science, we just adored him. We can rescue him, can't we?

COULSON: He's one of ours. We're gonna try.

WARD: And the attackers?

COULSON: Invisible.

SKYE: Wait, invisible? [ laughs ] Cool.

[Ward gives Skye A Look]

SKYE: But terrible.

Outside, the Bus crew walks down a road in the dark in what the screen tells us is Sterling, Colorado.

SKYE: Dr. Hall was an asset?

COULSON: One of a few select scientists S.H.I.E.L.D. has been protecting, people our enemies would love to get their hands on. We keep them hidden, keep them on the move.

SIMMONS: Which is why Fitz and I were so lucky to have him.

COULSON: We don't have him anymore.

SKYE: And what does priority red mean?

COULSON: It means security should have been... [he sees the truck carcass] heavy.

Outside by the wreck of the truck. Mack is sitting in the open back of a car. Coulson and May are by him. The rest of the crew is ambling around.

MACK: It was pretty damn scary, and I don't spook easily, boss.

MAY: Nothing in the air from above?

MACK: Nothing over our shoulder, but what's scary is they knew our route. They were waiting for us.

COULSON: Are you saying they were working with somebody inside S.H.I.E.L.D.?

MACK: Sorry to say... it had to be.

SIMMONS (calling from far-ish off): Fitz, what am I seeing here?

FITZ [walking to her with Skye]: Well, I'm not wearing the full-spectrum goggles I designed, so [chuckles] no clue.

[ Skye chuckles ]

FITZ (to Simmons): Let me have a look. Come on.

SIMMONS: No, whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait! Don't move. Wait a second.

[she throws some dust in the air and it moves around in funky patterns]

[whooshing]

[the rest of the crew walks up]

SKYE: What the hell?

SIMMONS: I think the electro-static field scanner activated some...thing.

[the dust gets mildly violent]

[clanging sound as gravel/dust hits metal behind them]

COULSON: Okay, can we deactivate it? Now?

[dust/gravel gets more violent]

FITZ: You have to increase the density!

SIMMONS (talking over Fitz): I tried, Fitz, but ...

[beeping as Fitz fiddles with it]

MAY: Fitz!

[beeping]

[zap sound as the thing fries]

[dust calms down]

FITZ: Whoa. [ sighs ]

[Simmons picks a small glowy blue thing off the ground with tweezers]

SIMMONS: That did all this.

SKYE: What is that?

COULSON: Something big.

INT: Bus lab

[whirring as a machine manned by Fitz examines the thing Simmons picked up previously]

COULSON: Either someone cracked our comm system, or Dr. Hall's movements leaked from inside S.H.I.E.L.D.

MAY: You really think we have a mole?

COULSON: I think you should go through the communication logs, rule it out. We'll work the tractor tread that we found on the scene.

SKYE: I can do that instead of pull-ups. I can upload an image of the tread pattern, check to see if there's any sort of—

WARD: Already done. Matched it to a 2010 model. Found a list of purchasers within a 500-mile radius, narrowed down to those with priors, financial troubles, or propensity for risk-taking. Three suspects.

[beep. screen displays three suspects]

COULSON: Who may have sold their construction equipment to the kidnappers. We'll ask.

[Ward walks off]

SKYE: Hey, so, Ward said a funny thing. He said that you guys don't have a truth serum.

COULSON: Did he? Ward said that?

SKYE: Yeah.

COULSON: Interesting.

SKYE: Yeah.

[Coulson walks off]

SKYE: Hey, wait ... 

MAY [handing Skye a stack of files]: Hey.

SKYE: Do you want me to bench press this?

MAY: Read it. Every communication out of HQ since they decided to transfer Dr. Hall.

SKYE: Hang in there, Doc. It's gonna be a while.

Outside, in what the screen tells us is Barnroof Point, Colorado.

[man rides a horse]

COULSON: Excuse me.

[horse neighs, stops]

MAN: Who the hell are you?

COULSON: A concerned citizen who happens to be a member of a giant bureaucratic organization that's tracking your every move.

MAN: I haven't done anything wrong.

COULSON: Of course not, but you sold your excavator to some people who did. And you're hiding out here until things cool down because you know it. I just want to know who paid you.

[man pulls a g*n]

MAN: Paid me enough not to answer any questions like that.

[Ward, coming up from behind, knocks him off horse and grabs g*n]

[ Man grunts ]

[g*n cocks]

WARD: Feels like the old west.

MAN: They gave me money for my equipment. That's all. I never saw a face. I never heard a name.

COULSON: And how did you receive this money? They write you a check?

[man points to satchel. Ward shakes it. Gold falls out.]

[clanging noises]

WARD: Paid you in gold? Now it really feels like the old west.

INT: Bus lab

[scanner noises]

SIMMONS: It looks like this because it's a doré bar. It means it was made at the mine rather than in a refinery. It's only about 92% pure. The cowboy got cheated a bit.

COULSON: Can you determine the mine based on the impurities?

FITZ: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. We've done that already. It's from the Dacey mine in Tanzania, which is owned by—

COULSON: Quinn Worldwide. I'm sure you studied the C.E.O. in your chemical engineering classes or saw him on the cover of Forbes ... Ian Quinn.

Overhead sh*t of the Republic of Malta

EXT: Quinn's place

QUINN (into phone): We can't just pluck it from the ground like a potato. It needs to be extracted from the ore and enriched. I know. You know, tell him this investment paid for that ridiculous yacht of his and that he'll thank me at the shareholders meeting.

INT: Some room in Quinn's place

QUINN (to guard) : Why is he tied up?

DR. HALL: Quinn.

QUINN: Does he look like a thr*at?

[handcuff unlocking sound]

QUINN (to Hall): I'm sorry about these guys. [ laughs ] Welcome to Malta, Frank. [ chuckles ]

HALL: You know, it's one thing to steal my ideas, Ian, but stealing me?

QUINN: First of all, I never stole your ideas. We've always agreed information should be free.

HALL: It's amazing how much money you made off free information.

QUINN: Secondly, think of this as a rescue mission, Frank. In fact, in a moment, I think you'll be thanking me. My staff intercepted a communication about the movement of a certain asset, and when I deduced that asset was you, I couldn't pass up on the opportunity. It's a little out of my comfort zone, sure.

[Quinn gets up, goes to cabinet]

[cabinet opening sound]

[liquor in bottle sloshing]

HALL: Malta. You're not stupid. S.H.I.E.L.D. can't come after you here.

[glass clinking]

QUINN: Not just S.H.I.E.L.D.

[uncorking sound]

QUINN: I am now a naturalized citizen of this fair country. Stunning beaches, beautiful tax laws, and a deep-seated hatred of outside forces telling them what to do.

[pouring sounds]

HALL: Sounds like your dating profile.

QUINN: [ laughs ] Right. I moved my entire operation down here. Bought the old prime minister's estate. It's not really my style, but it had this huge underground facility, so I figured, hey.

HALL: Always been a stubborn bastard. Now you've finally found a place where the watchdogs can't touch you.

QUINN: Not without [their two glasses clink in a cheers] breaking international law. (after taking a sip) Ahh. But more importantly, old friend, they can't touch you.

[pulls out a thingie that looks like the thingie Simmons found earlier]

QUINN: Recognize the design? We were barely old enough to drink when you sketched the blueprint. That's just a miniature prototype. A theoretical machine powered by a theoretical substance. Frank, you were right.

HALL: You found it?

INT: Bus lab

FITZ: Gravitonium. It's an extremely rare high-atomic numbered element.

SIMMONS: That powers the device. It's so extremely rare that most people didn't believe it existed, much less the theory that an isolated positive charge—

FITZ: Would turn the flow from isotropic—

SKYE: Guys, high-school dropout here. How does the device work again?

SIMMONS: Well, Gravitonium distorts gravity fields within itself, causing an undulating, amorphous shape.

FITZ: Which causes these, um... [gestures to screen] wiggly bits here, but when an electric current is applied, the Gravitonium solidifies. And those gravity fields erupt, randomly changing the rules of gravity around it. Well, so, now you can imagine what would happen to a big rig at 100 kilometers per hour. Or, uh, well, you could just remember, 'cause we saw it already, didn't we?

SIMMONS: Yeah, and guess which genius published every theory about Gravitonium and possible applications ... years go?

SKYE: Dr. Franklin Hall.

SIMMONS: Yes.

FITZ (at the same time as Simmons): Correct. And Dr. Hall attended the University of Cambridge at the same time as Ian Quinn.

SKYE: Coulson may be off on this. Quinn is a notoriously good guy. His charity endowment's something like $8 billion.

SIMMONS: Yes, with money made from leeching the earth of its resources. Looks like he's dug up another.

INT: Quinn's place

QUINN: 20 years, 12 mines, 6 continents, but, yes, I finally found it. And now [laughs] we get to play with it. [ chuckles ]

HALL: Do you remember in all our talks on Orchard Street the part where it's very, very dangerous?

QUINN: Everything powerful is dangerous. But I'm not gonna convince you with more talk ... talk of 50% shares, talk of Nobel prizes. No, not you. You... will just have to see it.

[door whirring open sound]

[we see a big version of the thing]

QUINN: I built a full-size generator, but I need you to tell me how to control the gravity fields. You can complete your life's work. I plan to do this with or without you, but I know you. I know you'd want it done right. Now's the moment when you thank me.

INT: Bus briefing room

COULSON: The man's a prisoner, and it's up to us to get him out.

WARD: We've checked the specs. There's no way into Quinn's compound without a large S.H.I.E.L.D. strike force or a man inside. He's got neodymium laser fencing surrounding the property.

COULSON: They'll never allow a strike force into Malta. Plus, this weekend, Quinn worldwide's got its annual shareholders gathering. We'd risk global outrage, but ...

MAY: If we go in alone ...

COULSON: S.H.I.E.L.D. can disavow us, claim ignorance.

MAY: Without a man inside, it's impossible, unless you're immune to pulse laser emissions.

FITZ: If we had a monkey, we could get in.

SIMMONS: Ugh, Fitz!

FITZ: If we had a small monkey, he could slip through the sensors and disable the fence's power source with his adorable little hands.

SKYE: I could go in.

WARD: Drop me in the hills outside of Valletta. I'll spend a few weeks establishing a cover, gathering intel—

COULSON: Hall doesn't have a few weeks.

SIMMONS: And to restate, any Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. caught on Maltese soil can be sh*t to death with b*ll*ts—

FITZ: Yeah.

SIMMONS: —legally.

[phone tapping sounds continue through scene as Skye types on her phone while the scene goes on, even while she's talking]

SKYE: Not me. I could go in.

WARD: Skye, this is serious.

COULSON: Wait. What are you saying?

SKYE: Well, I'm not an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., so I can go in without breaking all these stupid rules.

SIMMONS: International laws.

WARD: This isn't something the Rising Tide can hack, Skye.

FITZ: Did you hear the deadly lasers part? Without a brave monkey—

SKYE: You said you could go in with a man inside.

MAY: And you want to be that man?

SKYE: Fitz-Simmons loved the guy, and he needs help. They could be torturing him, or worse, making him do strength-training.

[typing stops]

WARD: But you don't have the background or clearance or experience with any of this.

SKYE: I know. [shows phone] But I've got an invitation. Well, technically, it's an e-vite.

Bus flies through the sky. Plane sounds.

INT: Coulson's quarters on the Bus

COULSON: I understand your concern, but we don't have a lot of options.

WARD: Hey, I'm impressed. She just wrangled an invitation on her phone using insider back-channel voodoo in minutes. But sending her in with no training, you're taking a huge risk. I know Director Fury felt he owed you after you sacrificed yourself.

COULSON: And my card collection.

WARD: He gave you some autonomy, but Skye on a covert op?

COULSON: Are you worried about her safety or her loyalty?

WARD: Both. The Rising Tide is the reason she got an invite. Who knows how many protocols she violated?

COULSON: That's her job ... ignore protocol, find connections and back doors that nobody else can see. Something else is bothering you.

WARD: [ sighs ] She's holding back, sir. She says she wants to be an Agent, but she won't commit. She doesn't listen, makes jokes.

COULSON: Were you hard on her?

WARD: Sure. I tried playing nice, too. I need a new strategy.

COULSON: Try no strategy. Stop thinking like an operative, start thinking like a person. Maybe Skye will let that person help her.

WARD: Help her what?

COULSON: Help her think like an operative.

INT: Bus training room

[Ward points a g*n at Skye] 

WARD: Now, again, slowly, what's first?

[Skye does a move, ends up pressed against Ward]

WARD: And then?

SKYE: Then things are moving too quickly. I'm a proper southern girl. [ southern accent ] You'll make me untidy.

WARD: Twist the thumb, palm the barrel. [twists out away from her]

SKYE: Ow.

WARD: You're gonna die and leave us hanging out to dry, you know that? You're going in with no self-defense skills—

SKYE: I have a few tricks up my sleeve.

WARD: You need muscle memory, fundamentals, the tools to turn yourself—

SKYE: Into a whole bag of tools?

WARD: How did you learn computer science without committing yourself to it?

SKYE: C.S. comes naturally to me. I'm sorry I'm not naturally whatever you are.

WARD: You think this came naturally? I had a brother who b*at the crap out of me ... me and my little brother ... for nothing, for eating a piece of his birthday cake. I had to learn to protect us the way I am trying to protect you. That was my moment. You asked.

SKYE: Sorry. I didn't mean to push. [b*at] [holds up g*n] But I did manage to take this.

WARD [taking g*n back]: Getting the g*n is one thing. Pulling the trigger ... that is another. [points g*n at her] Now, again, slowly, what's first?

INT: Bus briefing room

COULSON: Skye will walk in the front door. The only external access point to Quinn's underground facility is from a beach cove. A two-man extraction team could slip in there, but it's not easy. Fitz-Simmons.

FITZ: The perimeter is surrounded by a 20-foot-high neodymium laser grid. Touch it and you're toast.

COULSON: d*ad toast. The only way to disable the grid is to crack the system and trigger a reboot. This would give the team three seconds to cross. Of course, Quinn's too smart to allow any wireless access on his property.

SKYE: That's where I come in.

SIMMONS [holding up compact] Yes, working compact — holds up under x-ray.

FITZ: Desert rose to match your complexion. But ... oh, what's this? A readout, okay? Turns green if you're in close enough proximity to a computer to gain wireless access.

SIMMONS: When it does, you just drop this nearby and walk out. We'll do the rest. Easy as pie.

WARD: Or it will be if you stick to the plan.

[g*n cocks]

SKYE: Got it. Plan, green, drop, walk... pie.

MAY (aside, to Coulson): I don't want to question your orders, sir.

COULSON: Good.

MAY: But I've already seen far more combat than I bargained for. This two-man extraction team? It's exactly the kind of action I was hoping to avoid.

COULSON: That's why you're not on it.

MAY: Specialist work is different from field work, believe me. When was the last time you—

COULSON: Hall's one of ours, and he's in trouble. I need two men to get him out. Ward makes one. So that's why I'm going in. You forget ... I saw plenty of action with the Avengers.

[he walks back towards main group]

MAY: And you died.

COULSON: All right, team, suit up.

Establishing sh*t of the Republic of Malta

EXT: Quinn's place. Skye gets out of a car. She looks fabulous!

[heels clicking on stone]

Outside, on maybe a patio? Lawn? General exterior of Quinn's place?

[indistinct conversation throughout outside party scene]

SKYE [taking flute of champagne]: Thank you. [sighs] 

WAITER: Hors d'oeuvre, madame?

SKYE: Mmm.

QASIM (to Skye): Who are you?

MAN: Oh, apologies for his manners. He knows very little English.

SKYE: Oh, that, uh, that's... what...  whatever. Skye.

QASIM: Qasim Zaghlul.

SKYE: Big fan. You built half of Dubai, including the Arabian blade. I love that building. It's super sci-fi. Where's your wife...

INT: Bus briefing room. May stands over lots of holo information.

MAY (into comms device): Wife's name's Nadrah.

Back at Quinn's place. All of Skye's stuff is here. All of May + Fitz-Simmons's stuff is in the briefing room, unless in italics, in which case it's over comms device.

SKYE: ...Nadrah?

MAY: Twin sons.

SKYE: She staying at home with the boys?

FITZ: How's she doing?

MAY and SIMMONS: She's good.

SKYE: The pleasure is mine. [ chuckles ] [walks away from Qasim] (into comms device) I could get used to this, people. It's like Siri, if it worked. Skipper to Bravo. I got eyes on top dog. The Eagle is landing on it.

SIMMONS: What are you doing?

SKYE: Uh, sorry, I ... I don't know. I see Quinn. I'm gonna go talk to him.

QUINN (to companions): ...I mean, that and its effect on the industrial average. That was good. 

SKYE: [ laughs ] Yeah, right? Ian Quinn. I'm your last-minute party crasher. Skye.

QUINN: Oh. [ chuckles ] Wow. [ chuckles ] Great to meet you. Um, this is Skye, a member of the Rising Tide. They're a group of hackers. They've gotten some pretty big secrets out to the public.

SKYE: I prefer "hacktivist." I'm glad you've heard of our site.

QUINN: I read it. We think very much alike ... more freedom of information, less government infringing on everyone's rights ... I'm a fan.

SKYE: That explains the invite. This is a tough party to get into.

QUINN: Not as hard to get into as the encrypted back channel you contacted us through to request the invite.

SKYE: [ chuckles ] That's sort of where I live.

QUINN: You've got to show me how you did that ... I mean, if you sign on.

SKYE: Sign what, now?

QUINN: I've been known to turn a few black hats into white hats, not just for vulnerability analysis, but for very creative thinking.

SKYE: A-are you offering me a job?

QUINN: Well, I didn't invite you here for your pretty face. I didn't know you had a pretty face. Yes, I want to hire you before someone else snatches you up.

MAY: That seemed to go well.

SKYE: Yeah. It did.

[ applause ]

QUINN [up at a podium]: Many of you shareholders have been with us for years, and I see a few new names here, but I want to thank you all for traveling so far to this beautiful country and, well, for slumming it at Shaba Tal-Banar.

[ laughter ]

QUINN: This country where we are allowed to pursue progress and profit without the stranglehold of regulations that are now choking our world. The United States government, the R.U., the DRTC, S.H.I.E.L.D. ... these are just a few of the institutions that are guilty of halting the development of new technology for anyone ... except themselves.

The beach. Ward and Coulson, panting, are dragging a raft ashore. Quinn's dialogue in italics is over the other scenes, and the stuff not in italics is back at the party tableau.

QUINN: We dare defy them with a new idea, they steal in and sweep it out from under us. But not today. You're all aware of what Quinn worldwide has been able to do with basic minerals, let alone uranium or plutonium, despite these unjust restrictions that weigh the scales in the other guy's favor.

[Skye starts to walk off]

QUINN: Well, today, I'm announcing something new ... an element that could balance those scales, and I mean that quite literally. 

INT: Gravity generator room. A machine, controlled by Hall, puts a roiling mass of gravitonium into the generator.

QUINN: Imagine if you could control gravity, if instead of drilling for oil, it rose up to greet you. Imagine if you could move a super t*nk's worth of cargo with a swipe of your hand. Well, we will do this and more.

COULSON: This could have been a traumatic experience for Dr. Hall. He may not be the same when we find him, Ward. I'll talk him down. We don't want your personality to set him on edge.

WARD: Great time for humor, sir. My people skills are the least of our problems if Skye can't get us in.

INT: The corridors in Quinn's place

SKYE (into comms): It's locked, but there's no lock.

FITZ: Eh, check for a keypad.

SKYE: Nothing. What, you can hack a keypad?

FITZ: No, not over the phone.

MAY: Is there a reception desk?

SKYE: Okay, yeah. Well, now what do I do?

QUINN: What are you trying to do?

SKYE: Just [chuckles] looking for a pen. Here we go. [ chuckles ] Got to write down all those good ideas, you know what I mean? Of course you know what I mean. Probably have like 10 pens for all your ideas.

QUINN: What are you really doing?

SKYE: All right. I'm busted. I was trying to get a glimpse behind your office doors, see how things really operate.

QUINN: I invite you here as a guest, you treat me like another corrupt institution, looking for trade secrets to leak online. (into phone) Security.

SKYE: No, no, no, wait. It's just, with all these la-di-da people, you have to be so guarded, so careful ... [writing sounds as Skye writes something] What you say, what secrets you reveal. And... I was hoping that you and I... [she slaps pen down on table] could be honest with one another. If you know what I mean.

[she holds up a piece of paper to him that says "SHIELD IS LISTENING"]

INT: Bus briefing room

SKYE (heard over comms): My office had less space, more wheels. Wow, a view of the ocean and the pool.

QUINN: Not a bad place to do business.

MAY: Got the dispatch leaking Hall's location. User's an alias.

FITZ: Oh, can you trace the DHCP server—

MAY: Trace is running, but it'll take time. Our girl?

SIMMONS: I thought she was done for, but she's just sweet-talked her way into Quinn's office.

MAY:  How'd she manage that?

FITZ: Pbht! She probably just used her, um... [holds cupped hands up to chest] uh...uh... her, uh... ah, boobs.

SIMMONS: Ugh. That's the only explana—

[ static ]

SIMMONS: Oh my gosh. The signal's d*ad. Fitz!

FITZ: What ... I didn't. She must've ... Oh, lord.

INT: Quinn's room

[hiss as comms device shorts out in flute of champagne]

SKYE: [ sighs ] Much better.  Haven't felt that "someone's watching my every move" feeling since I failed my driver's test.

QUINN: You want to tell me what the hell's going on? S.H.I.E.L.D. got to you?

SKYE: They picked me up in L.A., I helped them in a crisis, and now they want to recruit me.

QUINN: Of course they did.

SKYE: So I played along. Talk about inside info ... I have a bunk on their plane. I've been gathering intel, biding my time until I could become useful. I thought this qualified.

QUINN: Why would they trust you with a covert operation like this?

SKYE: Something about S.H.I.E.L.D. not breaking international laws. They had no other options, whereas I like to keep mine open.

EXT: Fence outside Quinn's property. Sign says "DO NOT CROSS. LETHAL RADIATION." in Maltese and then English.

WARD: [ sighs ] Next patrol any minute now.

MAY: Skye's offline. Repeat, we've lost audio and vitals.

WARD: Abort is not an option, but if she's compromised—

COULSON: She's still our only way in to get to Dr. Hall.

WARD: And we're their only way out.

MAN (from afar): Beach is all clear. Let's move up the ridge.

INT: Quinn's room

SKYE: You're saying they wanted to rope me in because I pose a genuine thr*at.

QUINN: Yes, and fit their profile.

SKYE: Profile.

QUINN: Sure. You're a criminal. You have a warrant somewhere. 

SKYE: [ chuckles ] Probably.

QUINN: Specialized skill set.

SKYE: I try to stay humble but fail.

QUINN: No family. [b*at] I'm sorry. I didn't mean to h*t a nerve, but that is what these people do. S.H.I.E.L.D. ... they prey on fear and loneliness and desperation, and then they offer a home to those who have no one else to turn to. I can offer you something better.

EXT: Electric fence

[Coulson and Ward fight guards]

[ grunts ]

[Coulson and Ward win]

COULSON: Damn. A little rusty, I guess.

[Ward tosses guard's g*n into fence]

[sounds of it frying]

COULSON (into comms): Guys, clock's ticking. Where's Skye?

INT: Quinn's room

QUINN: You stay with us, there's no secrets, no lies, and no agenda. You're free to do what you do without big brother watching over you. But first, you have to tell me exactly what agenda S.H.I.E.L.D. sent you in here with.

SKYE: Well, they wanted me to do whatever it takes to get in here.

[purse unlatching sound]

[Skye pulls out and opens up the compact]

QUINN: [ chuckles ] Get in here and...?

SKYE: Bat my eyes. Get you talking.

MAY: We're in!

SIMMONS: She's done it!

MAY: Fitz, you're up.

FITZ (talking over May): Oh, mother of all things. Move, move, move! Uh...

Outside fence

MAN (over guard's walkie-talkie): We have a man down. Hostiles on the east ridge!

[ g*n ]

COULSON: Aah! We need a reset here, Fitz! [ g*n ] Fitz!

SIMMONS: Saying his name repeatedly does not increase productivity!

FITZ: Okay, go!

SIMMONS: Oh, maybe it does.

FITZ: System rebooting in two, one, now!

[ grunts as Coulson and Ward throw themselves past temporarily down fence ]

[g*n fizz out against fence]

COULSON: I'll look for Dr. Hall down in the lab.

WARD: I'll get Skye.

INT: Quinn's room

QUINN: No, you can't be the only angle. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s thorough enough to know about me and my exploits. It takes more than a pretty face to disarm me.

[door opens]

MAN: Sir, we have a security breach.

SKYE: Oh, the timing on that was perfect.

[ Quinn sighs, shatters compact, pulls g*n on Skye ]

INT: Basement of Quinn's place

[door opens]

COULSON: Dr. Hall. Agent Coulson. We have an exit strategy.

HALL" S.H.I.E.L.D.?

COULSON: Yes, sir. Let's get you out of here.

HALL: I'm sorry, Mr. Coulson. I'm right where I'm supposed to be.

COULSON: I'll be honest, our strategy did not take into consideration you saying that.

INT: Bus briefing room

[beeping as May taps around on computer and computer screen shows a pic of Hall]

MAY: [ sighs ] Oh, no.

INT: Quinn's basement

COULSON: Look, I don't know what Quinn is promising you, but—

HALL: An opportunity.

COULSON: We can't let Quinn have control of this. It's too dangerous.

HALL: We can't let anyone have control of this. That's why I'm here ... To bury it at the bottom of the ocean, with him.

MAY: Coulson. The leak came from ...

COULSON: Dr. Hall. Yeah, I'm getting that.

HALL: All petitions, embargoes in the world couldn't stop Ian. He grows more powerful every day. And then I get word he's found this.

[generator crackling]

HALL: I'm sorry, Mr. Coulson. I had to make a choice.

[generator crackling]

[clatter as shelves open, things fall around, etc]

COULSON: Something tells me that wasn't the "off" button!

[slam as he goes flying into a wall]

[blackout]

INT: Quinn's basement. Coulson comes to.

COULSON (into comms): Guys, we need to talk.

INT: Bus lab

MAY: Lost you for a minute. We're aware of the problem, sir. Hall wanted Quinn to kidnap him?

FITZ: Yeah, why would he do that?

SIMMONS: What is wrong with him?

COULSON: Quinn built a gravity generator, like the one we found but bigger. Hall knew Quinn would need him to control its raw power, but Hall just wanted to unleash it.

SIMMONS: The one we found was 2.5 centimeters in diameter. It stopped a semi. How big are we talking?

COULSON: 12 feet. It'll definitely take down the entire compound.

SIMMONS (at the same time as Fitz): It'll sink the place.

FITZ (at the same time as Simmons): No, it'll do more than that.

COULSON: Work a solution. I'll disconnect the power before things get...

[he realizes he's standing on the ceiling]

COULSON: ...crazy.

HALL: They can't help you. Soon, it'll reach an exponential acceleration state. I'm sorry.

[generator whirring, crackling]

COULSON: My team's here ... good people. 

HALL: Sworn to protect all mankind? That's what I'm doing, I promise ... making things right. [chuckles]

[pouring sound as he pours liquor into a glass]

[clatter as shelves open, things fall around, etc]

[generator whirring, crackling]

INT: Quinn's room

[Quinn slams Skye against a wall and pulls a g*n on her]

QUINN: Don't you get it? S.H.I.E.L.D.'s against everything you stand for. They're big brother.

SKYE: Maybe, but they're the nice big brother who stands up for his helpless little brother when he's getting b*at up because he ate a piece of cake that he wasn't—  you know, you kidnapped a person!

QUINN: I set him free! I saved him! And I could've saved you.

INT: Corridors of Quinn's place

WARD: This place is massive. Where am I heading?

MAY: Southwest corner. Ward, tell me you've got things covered on the ground. I can't do a damn thing from out here.

WARD: I'm working on it.

INT: Quinn's room

QUINN: Tell me what they're doing! Tell me what they're doing. You have to talk. You have no other way out of this. [ laughs ] You're expendable to S.H.I.E.L.D. They sent you in here with nothing.

[Skye pulls the g*n maneuver Ward taught her earlier]

QUINN: Ah!

SKYE: They taught me a few things.

MAN: Kid's got balls.

SKYE: Thanks, but... yuck.

QUINN: But do you have what it takes to pull the trigger?

SKYE: Nope.

[jumps out the open window]

[splash as she hits the pool]

QUINN: Get her.

[rumbles]

[something hits floor, shatters]

QUINN: Hall. We have to evacuate. Get the chopper. Now!

INT: Quinn's basement

[generator whirring]

[grunting]

[g*n cocks]

HALL: All I had to do to get access to Quinn's lab was drop little clues, create a puzzle for him to solve. Quinn likes to feel smart.

COULSON: So you leaked your location. Why not try reasoning with him?

QUINN: You can't reason with an addict, and he's addicted to exploiting opportunities. He never gives a thought to the friends, ecosystems, future generations left ruined in his wake.

COULSON: Like Agents Fitz and Simmons, your former students? I've got them in my ear right now, telling me you're not a bad guy. We could've worked with you on this.

[generator whirring]

[grunt as gravity shifts, Coulson bangs against wall]

HALL: S.H.I.E.L.D.? S.H.I.E.L.D. is just as guilty of the same thing! Experimentation without thought of consequence! Your search for an unlimited power source brought an alien invasion.

COULSON: Fair point. 

HALL: T-this element is far too powerful for you, for him, for anyone! I don't have to tell you that. You're feeling it now.

[ panting ]

[clatter]

EXT: Quinn's place

[chopper noises]

[indistinct conversation, shouting]

[Skye runs, panting]

[Guards grab her]

SKYE: No, no. No, no! Please, please!

[Ward att*cks guards] 

[ grunting ]

[splash as one gets punched into pool]

[Ward wins]

[ panting ]

WARD: Are you hurt?

[Skye shakes her head]

WARD: Just follow my orders. I'll get us out of here.

INT: Basement

[clattering]

[punch]

[Coulson grabs the g*n]

HALL I see the future, Mr. Coulson, and it's a catastrophe.

COULSON: I just see a lot of people in trouble.

[he pulls a wire. Nothing happens]

COULSON Nothing. Fitz-Simmons? I tried to cut the power. It's still going.

FITZ (at the same time as Simmons): You need to find a catalyst.

SIMMONS (at the same time as Fitz): Find some sort of catalyst. Something to create a chemical reaction in the core.

COULSON: It's not too late to do the right thing. Help me find a catalyst— 

HALL I am doing the right thing ... a completely selfless act. I know that history never celebrates what didn't happen. They'll call this a-a tragedy. They won't understand the good I did here.

COULSON: k*lling innocent people?

HALL: Saving millions. We have to live with the choices we make, but sometimes we have to die with them, too.

COULSON: I understand. You made a hard call.

HALL: Yes.

COULSON: And now I have to make mine.

[g*n]

[glass shatters]

[Coulson grunts, grabbing hold of something so he doesn't fall through the broken glass]

[ Hall screams, falls into generator ]

[generator whirrs]

[Skye and Ward barge in]

[generator is still]

INT: Coulson's quarters on the Bus. Coulson is talking to S.H.I.E.L.D. agent through a screen.

COULSON: Say it back to me.

AGENT:  Deepest level of the Fridge, unmarked vault, no access granted.

COULSON: And no recorded entry. I don't want it listed. I don't want it flagged for the slingshot. Anyone finds out, you're responsible ...  and suffering. Understood?

AGENT: Yes, sir.

COULSON: That's what Hall would've wanted.

[turns off screen]

COULSON: [ sighs ] Used to have this down. [g*n clicks as he tries to disassemble/reassemble it] Should be just muscle memory.

MAY [in doorway]: You're making a habit of it, sir.

COULSON: Trying. Guess I'm a little rusty.

MAY: Of these close calls, I mean. I don't enjoy running back end.

COULSON: You want off the plane? Go ahead.

MAY: I want in. Reporting for combat next time it's up.

COULSON: You committed to the cause or just watching my back?

MAY: Same thing. And you are a little rusty.

INT: Bus training room. Skye is punching, a lot better than she was before. Ward watches from the catwalk above before walking down to her.

[punching noises]

SKYE: You and your brothers... where'd you grow up?

WARD: Massachusetts, mostly.

SKYE: A house?

WARD: You didn't?

[stops punching]

SKYE: One house. The Brodys. [ panting ] [drinks water] I was 9. Sent me back to St. Agnes after a month. Said I wasn't a good fit.

WARD: Foster parents. Your first?

SKYE: My third. I had heard it before, but... this one was different.

WARD: 'Cause you wanted them to like you.

SKYE: Bad. I called her "mom" once... tried it out. [ sighs ] Guess it wasn't a good fit. [punching resumes] Hoping for something and losing it hurts more than never hoping for anything.

[Ward holds the punching bag. Punching stops.]

WARD: We won't turn our back.

SKYE: Doesn't matter. [punching resumes] I made my choice. I want this. Bad. And I know there's a truth serum.

WARD: Whatever you say, rookie.

[BOOM. S.H.I.E.L.D. logo end card.]

INT: The Fridge, ostensibly.

[gravitonium gets locked up.]

[a hand pushes out from it before disappearing back in it]
{"type": "series", "show": "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.", "episode": "01x03 - The Asset"}