Providence Base-
At this moment, May had already parked the Airbus in the hangar, and the team was gathered once again.
Fitz looked at Coulson and said, "Ward's phone has been unreachable. I'm really worried about him."
May also glanced over, concerned. Because Lorelei hadn't charmed Ward, their romantic relationship had remained intact.
Coulson looked around at his team, finally letting his gaze linger on Triplett for a moment before speaking, "Though I don't want to share this, you all have the right to know."
"Ward is a Hydra agent."
The room fell silent as the entire team froze in shock. After three seconds, Fitz shouted, "No, that's impossible!"
"Ward can't be Hydra—I don't believe it!"
Simmons quickly added, "Exactly! Back at the Hub, he firmly chose to stand with us."
"If he were Hydra, he would have acted with Garrett back then."
Fitz speculated, "Was it because Hydra attacked the Fridge? Did Ward have no choice but to defect?"
May didn't say a word, instead fixing her eyes on Coulson, waiting for him to continue.
Coulson sighed and shook his head, "According to partial footage recovered from the Fridge's security cameras, it was Ward who helped Garrett breach the facility's doors."
"Agent Hand was most likely killed by Ward."
This revelation left the team in stunned silence.
Coulson then shifted the topic, "But justice found them. Later, a group of ninjas discovered their location and eliminated Garrett and his Hydra team."
"After taking over the Fridge, Garrett's team destroyed the surveillance cameras in the Cyro Prison. We couldn't identify which ninja village was responsible. The Fridge was looted, but thankfully, the prisoners inside weren't released."
"Oh, and Ward was decapitated by a single strike."
May clenched her teeth and said, "He got off too easy."
Her anger was palpable. Ward's betrayal filled her with fury—her lover, a Hydra agent, an undercover operative in her life. The thought of it made her sick. Recalling her past moments with him only made her stomach turn.
Coulson glanced at Killer Bee, then at Triplett.
If anyone could be suspected, Coulson's greatest doubts lay with those two. If Ward could betray them, Triplett—also Garrett's protégé—wasn't beyond suspicion.
As for Killer Bee, Coulson wondered if the ninjas at the Fridge were from the Hidden Cloud. But since ninja swordsmen also came from the Hidden Leaf, the Akatsuki, and the Hidden Mist, he couldn't jump to conclusions.
Though no one wanted to believe it, they had to accept that Ward had been a Hydra agent—and that he was now dead.
The team exchanged discreet glances at Triplett. As Garrett's other protégé who had spent so much time with Ward, could he also be Hydra? After all, Ward's act at the Hub had been convincing. Triplett wasn't beyond suspicion.
At that moment, Koenig approached and said, "Everyone, don't worry. We'll need your cooperation for the next steps in the process."
Coulson raised an eyebrow, "Process?"
Koenig nodded, "Yes."
…
Providence Base - Interrogation Room —
Koenig soon led the team into a room where a peculiar machine stood in the center.
"You only need to answer a few questions," Koenig said.
"These are psychological analyses—unrelated questions."
Coulson glanced at the machine and said, "A polygraph."
Koenig gestured toward the equipment and replied, "The legendary polygraph, Agent Coulson."
"This beauty measures skin conductance, oxygen consumption, micro expressions, brainwave biofeedback, pupil dilation, voice index, and 96 other reference data points."
"Fury designed it himself. He wanted a polygraph even Black Widow couldn't fool."
Fitz, intrigued, asked, "Did he succeed?"
Koenig chuckled, "What do you think Fury would say?"
Coulson sighed and said, "Alright, let's get this process started."
"The sooner we complete this, the sooner everyone gets their lanyards."
Killer Bee looked at the machine in front of him, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Does the consultant need to participate too?"
Killer Bee wasn't particularly worried about the device. For ninjas, many of these measurements—micro expressions, pupil reactions, oxygen consumption—could be controlled or masked, especially with the aid of chakra.
If a ninja couldn't manage such things, how could they infiltrate other villages to gather intelligence?
Coulson looked at Killer Bee and said with a smile, "No, I trust you."
"If ninjas were working for Hydra, this world would have no hope left."
But Koenig interrupted, "No, Coulson. Everyone except you has to participate."
Coulson turned to Koenig and said firmly, "Killer Bee doesn't need to."
From Coulson's perspective, if ninjas ever sided with Hydra, the outcome would be far worse than the current situation. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would stand no chance, and even Nick Fury would undoubtedly perish.
Moreover, if Killer Bee had ill intentions, the team wouldn't have made it this far—they would've been dead long ago.
And even if the machine detected something suspicious, what could they do? It would be better if the polygraph found nothing, because if it did, Killer Bee could instantly wipe out everyone in the room without breaking a sweat.
As the two seemed ready to argue, Killer Bee casually interjected, "I'll take the test."
"Besides, I'm curious about this thing."
Seeing Killer Bee agree, Koenig grinned and said, "Excellent. Let's start right away."
He turned to the others, "Who's going first?"
The rest of the team avoided eye contact, nervously waiting for someone else to step up. Killer Bee, however, smiled and said, "I'll go first."
Koenig nodded and said, "Alright, then we'll start with you. Everyone else, step outside."
The team left the room as Killer Bee sat in the chair, securing the equipment.