i'm catherine cortez masto and i approve this message. narrator: 2013: joe heck votes to shut down the government, risking vital services for thousands of nevada seniors and veterans. but as federal employees like air traffic controllers worked 16 days without pay, joe heck continues to cash his paycheck... even as 244 members of congress refused their pay. joe heck says he deserves it.

? 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: big boy, this is little boy. how'd things go down at the chicken coop? 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 shot from here. roger that. little girl will take point on your front door.

son of a bitch. you see that? little girl is down. escort two is down. i know, sherlock. what the hell hit us? we need to go to alt two, alt two. nothing over our shoulder. back door's clear. protect the cargo at all costs. s.h.i.e.l.d. region ct, this is agent mack. we are under attack from an unseen i-don't-know-what. woman: agent mack, advise nature of threat. over. what in the holy name of...

oh, no! are we there yet?

i'm tired from the morning's workout. i thought i was joining s.h.i.e.l.d., not 24 hour fitness. it's called relative strength training, starting with the basics. and next time, you do 15 push-ups for every minute you're late. fine, mr. fun machine. better than pull-ups. i don't ever want to do another pull-up again. you find yourself hanging off the edge of a building 20 stories up, you're gonna want to do at least one. stand here. jab cross, like this. 10 minutes. you know the hardest part about boxing? getting punched in the face? keeping your hands up. why do i even have to do this? i'm sure fitz-simmons' supervising officer didn't make them do this muscle stuff. you said you wanted to be a field agent, like coulson. well, if you'd like to switch disciplines... hey, simmons. what did your s.o. give you guys for morning drills? oh, atomistic attribute drills.

ls. okay, okay. they made your point. there will come a moment when you have to commit to this or bail. ev 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. how can you run if you're curled up in a ball? it's my job as your s.o. to make sure you don't die before then. so what was yours, agent ward? inutes. 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. 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. may: changing course, briefing in three.

set for colorado air field north. a few minutes ago, a s.h.i.e.l.d. transport was attacked while carrying a priority red protected asset off route 76 near sterling. priority red? [ whistles ] the asset was canadian physicist dr. franklin hall, known for his work -- oh, no, not frank. dr. hall? he was our chemical kinetics adviser our second year. yeah, he's so enthusiastic about science, we just adored him. we can rescue him, can't we? he's one of ours. we're gonna try. invisible. wait, invisible? [ laughs ] cool. but terrible. dr. hall was an asset? 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. which is why fitz and i were so lucky to have him. we don't have him anymore. and what does priority red mean? it means security should have been...

y damn scary, and i don't spook easily, boss. nothing in the air from above? nothing over our shoulder, but what's scary is they knew our route. they were waiting for us. are you saying they were working with somebody inside s.h.i.e.l.d.? sorry to say... it had to be. fitz, what am i seeing here? well, i'm not wearing the full-spectrum goggles i designed, so [chuckles] no clue. [ chuckles ] let me have a look. come on. no, whoa, whoa, whoa! wait! don't move. wait a second. what the hell? i think the electro-static field scanner activated some...thing. okay, can we deactivate it? now? have to increase the density. i tried, fitz, but --

whoa. [ sighs ] that did all this. what is that? something big. ? harry's meeting clients from far away.? ? but they only see his wrinkles. ? ? better find a way to smooth things over. ? ? if only harry used some bounce, to dry.? ? yeah. ? ? he would be less-wrinkly and winning at life. ?? before fibromyalgia, i was energetic. i was active.

he also prescribed lyrica. fibromyalgia is thought to be the result of overactive nerves. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. for some, lyrica can significantly relieve fibromyalgia pain and improve function, so i feel better. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling, or blurry vision. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica. with less pain, i can be more active.

either someone cracked our comm system, or dr. hall's movements leaked from inside s.h.i.e.l.d. you really think we have a mole? i think you should go through the communication logs, rule it out. we'll work the tractor tread that we found on the scene. 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. coulson: who may have sold their construction equipment to the kidnappers. we'll ask. hey, so, ward said a funny thing. he said that you guys don't have a truth serum. did he? ward said that? yeah. interesting. yeah. hey, wait -- hey. do you want me to bench press this? read it. every communication out of hq since they decided to transfer dr. hall.

onna be a while. excuse me. who the hell are you? a concerned citizen who happens to be a member of a giant bureaucratic organization that's tracking your every move. i haven't done anything wrong. 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. you. paid me enough not to answer any questions like that. [ grunts ] feels like the old west. they gave me money for my equipment. that's all. i never saw a face. i never heard a name. and how did you receive this money?

n gold? now it really feels like the old west. it looks like this because it's a dor? 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. can you determine the mine based on the impurities? oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. we've done that already. it's from the dacey mine in tanzania, which is owned by -- quinn worldwide. i'm sure you studied the c.e.o. in your chemical engineering classes forbes -- ian quinn. 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. why is he tied up? quinn.

i'm sorry about these guys. [ laughs ] welcome to malta, frank. [ chuckles ] you know, it's one thing to steal my ideas, ian, but stealing me? first of all, i never stole your ideas. we've always agreed information should be free. it's amazing how much money you made off free information. 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. malta. you're not stupid. s.h.i.e.l.d. can't come after you here. not just s.h.i.e.l.d. i am now a naturalized citizen of this fair country. stunning beaches, beautiful tax laws, and a deep-seated hatred

sounds like your dating profile. [ 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. always been a stubborn bastard. now you've finally found a place where the watchdogs can't touch you. not without breaking international law. ahh. but more importantly, old friend, they can't touch you. 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. you found it? fitz: gravitonium. it's an extremely rare high-atomic numbered element.

that most people didn't believe it existed, much less the theory that an isolated positive charge -- would turn the flow from isotropic -- guys, high-school dropout here. how does the device work again? well, gravitonium distorts gravity fields within itself, causing an undulating, amorphous shape. which causes these, um... 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? yeah, and guess which genius published every theory about gravitonium and possible applications -- years go? dr. franklin hall. correct. and dr. hall attended the university of cambridge at the same time as ian quinn. coulson may be off on this. quinn is a notoriously good guy.

yes, with money made from leeching the earth of its resources. looks like he's dug up another. 20 years, 12 mines, 6 continents, but, yes, i finally found it. and now [laughs] we get to play with it. [ chuckles ] do you remember in all our talks on orchard street the part where it's very, very dangerous? everything powerful is dangerous. but i'm not gonna convince you with more talk -- % shares, talk of nobel prizes. no, not you. you... will just have to see it. 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.

now's the moment when you thank me. 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. they'll never allow a strike force into malta. plus, this weekend, quinn worldwide's got its annual shareholders gathering. we're risk global outrage, but -- if we go in alone -- s.h.i.e.l.d. can disavow us, claim ignorance. without a man inside, it's impossible, unless you're immune to pulse laser emissions. if we had a monkey, we could get in. ugh, 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. i could go in. drop me in the hills outside of valletta. i'll spend a few weeks establishing a cover, gathering intel -- hall doesn't have a few weeks. and to restate, any agent of s.h.i.e.l.d. caught on maltese soil can be shot to death with bullets -- legally. not me. i could go in. skye, this is serious. wait. what are you saying? well, i'm not an agent of s.h.i.e.l.d.,

international laws. this isn't something the rising tide can hack, skye. did you hear the deadly lasers part? without a brave monkey -- you said you could go in with a man inside. and you want to be that man? fitz-simmons loved the guy, and he needs help. they could be torturing him, or worse, making him do strength-training. but you don't have the background or clearance or experience with any of this. i know. but i've got an invitation.

i understand your concern, but we don't have a lot of options. 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. and my card collection. he gave you some autonomy, but skye on a covert op? are you worried about her safety or her loyalty? both. the rising tide is the reason she got an invite. who knows how many protocols she violated? that's her job -- ignore protocol, find connections and back doors that nobody else can see. something else is bothering you. [ sighs ] she's holding back, sir.

she doesn't listen, makes jokes. were you hard on her? sure. i tried playing nice, too. i need a new strategy. try no strategy. stop thinking like an operative, start thinking like a person. maybe skye will let that person help her. help her what? help her think like an operative. now, again, slowly, what's first? and then? then things are moving too quickly. i'm a proper southern girl. [ southern accent ] you'll make me untidy. twist the thumb, palm the barrel. gonna die and leave us hanging out to dry, you know that? you're going in with no self-defense skills -- i have a few tricks up my sleeve. you need muscle memory, fundamentals, the tools to turn yourself -- into a whole bag of tools? how did you learn computer science without committing yourself to it? c.s. comes naturally to me. i'm sorry i'm not naturally whatever you are.

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. sorry. i didn't mean to push. but i did manage to take this. getting the gun is one thing. pulling the trigger -- that is another. now, again, slowly, what's first? 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. the perimeter is surrounded

dead 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. that's where i come in. yes, working compact -- holds up under x-ray. 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. when it does, you just drop this nearby and walk out. we'll do the rest. easy as pie. you stick to the plan. skye: got it. plan, green, drop, walk...pie. i don't want to question your orders, sir. good. 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. that's why you're not on it. specialist work is different from field work, believe me. when was the last time you --

ward makes one. so that's why i'm going in. you forget -- i saw plenty of action with the avengers. and you died. all right, team, suit up. thank you. [ sighs ] hors d'oeuvre, madame? mmm. qasim: who are you? oh, apologies for his manners. he knows very little english.

skye. qasim zaghlul. big fan. you built half of dubai, including the arabian blade. i love that building. it's super sci-fi. where's your wife... wife's name's nadrah. ...nadrah? may: twin sons. she staying at home with the boys? how's she doing? both: she's good. the pleasure is mine. [ chuckles ] 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. what are you doing? uh, sorry, i -- i don't know. i see quinn. i'm gonna go talk to him. i mean, that and its effect on the industrial average. that was good. [ laughs ] yeah, right? ian quinn. i'm your last-minute party crasher. skye. oh. [ chuckles ] wow. [ chuckles ] great to meet you. um, this is skye, a member of the rising tide.

i prefer "hacktivist." i'm glad you've heard of our site. i read it. we think very much alike -- more freedom of information, less government infringing on everyone's rights -- i'm a fan. that explains the invite. this is a tough party to get into. not as hard to get into as the encrypted back channel you contacted us through to request the invite. [ chuckles ] that's sort of where i live. you've got to show me how you did that -- i mean, if you sign on. sign what, now? i've been known to turn a few black hats into white hats, y analysis, but for very creative thinking. a-are you offering me a job? 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. yeah. it did. [ applause ] 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

and, well, for slumming it at shaba tal-banar. [ laughter ] 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 e.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. 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. well, today, i'm announcing something new -- an element that could balance those scales, and i mean that quite literally.