Puerto Rico

"There are three million people on this island, and I won't let HYDRA turn them into collateral damage."

- Phil Coulson

Puerto Rico, officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is an unincorporated territory of the United States of America, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.

Arrival to San Juan
Phil Coulson decided to separate his senior S.H.I.E.L.D. agents into two groups, one to protect Raina in Vancouver and the other to accompany him to San Juan and destroy the hidden city underneath. Coulson took took a Quinjet with Bobbi Morse, Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons, and Alphonso Mackenzie to travel to Puerto Rico.

Coulson and Morse went to San Juan while the other agents waited for them in the Quinjet. Morse checked that they had not been followed since arriving to the country, and Coulson seized the opportunity to ask her about local food, specifically, fried plantains typical of Puerto Rico, that he wished to try once their mission would be completed.

Morse received a message from Diego, her contact in Puerto Rico, telling her he was going to be late, as he always was. Coulson asked if they trust him, and Morse answered that given he was a politician, he could never be trusted, but in practice, they could trust him to some degree, given Diego liked her. At least, Diego would provide them with architectural plans and would keep the local police department away from them.

Coulson's attitude, who stopped at a post to try on some hats, shocked Morse, given they were about to destroy an ancient extraterrestrial city, and explained that she wanted to make sure that Coulson's intentions were to destroy the weapon that was supposed to lie within its temple, instead of recovering like Nick Fury would do. Coulson said that he was not Fury, and when asked the reason Fury appointed him as Director. Coulson explained the reason for that, even the reason for the existence fo S.H.I.E.L.D. was to protect people, and he would not let HYDRA hurt the people in San Juan as collateral damage.

Morse and Coulson walked towards the Castillo San Cristóbal, where Morse pointed that Fury would have a number of acceptable losses, a phrase that Coulson hated, so his number of "acceptable loses" was zero. Coulson's reason to bring Fitz and Simmons to Puerto Rico was to assess the structural integrity of the temple and minimize collateral destruction. Morse was surprised to hear that, especially comparing it with what Fury would say.

Morse acknowledged that while dealing with HYDRA, maybe Coulson needed to use something stronger, and Coulson revealed that was precisely the reason he brought Morse with him. Morse then noticed Diego coming towards them, and went to speak to him.

Breaking a Silence
Alphonso Mackenzie, Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons waited in the Quinjet in the outskirts of San Juan, preparing the equipment needed to locate, access and evaluate the hidden city. Mackenzie grew tired of the awkward silence between Fitz and Simmons, and leave them alone to check the landing gear, despite Fitz's attempt to make him stay.

Fitz and Simmons realized they needed to talk to each other, Simmons tried to explain that despite their relationship had been uneasy since her return from her undercover mission, the reason for leaving was not Fitz's current status. Fitz then asked her to let him speak, because he needed to say many things and he still had difficulty with the words.

Fitz reveal his plan to leave the laboratory and let Simmons run the Science division alone, instead working inside the Bus with Mackenzie. Simmons asked him the reason, and despite Fitz said that she was more capable than he was, he also explained that it was uneasy to work with her, and instead preferred to work for her in the garage.

Infiltration into Castillo San Cristóbal
Bobbi Morse and Phil Coulson discussed how to enter the Castillo San Cristóbal, to the only access point to the hidden city that was not under the sea. Morse and Coulson consulted a series of plans that Diego obtained from the city archives, that were older than the city of San Juan itself.

Coulson and Morse went to one of highest points of the fort to compare the map with the satellite spectrometry of the hidden city, and figured out that the vertical shaft that would serve as an access point was located in the deepest part of the fort, just below a garrison in a sentry tower inaccessible to the public.

Coulson ordered Morse to contact Diego again, in order to help them get their equipment to the garrison. Morse asked Coulson about his theory of how HYDRA planned to release the true power inside the Obelisk, given that nobody could even touch the artifact, but Coulson acknowledged that maybe somebody was able to touch it.

Extraction Briefing
Phil Coulson received a call from Melinda May at the Bus, who informed him that the extraction mission to retrieve Raina from Vancouver was successful, as HYDRA did not send a big contingent to kidnap Raina, despite Agent 33 took point of their operation.

May revealed their theory for HYDRA's attempt to kidnap Raina, as according to her, she could touch the Obelisk without being harmed, and would lead its holder to the temple. Skye believed Raina, and was open to reveal her many details, just as Coulson had predicted. Coulson asked May to make sure that Skye continued to talk to Raina, in order to obtain any valuable information about the temple, and ended the conversation.

While Coulson was talking to May, Bobbi Morse tried to make Diego help them, but he refused to descend to the garrison, as he was afraid of a local legend about it, that had named the place as "La Garita del Diablo" or The Devil's Sentry.

La Garita del Diablo
Alphonso Mackenzie, Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons descended to the garrison of the Castillo San Cristóbal in order to open an access point to the hidden city, and Simmons began commenting the legend of "La Garita del Diablo" or The Devil's Sentry. Simmons explained that while the whole fort was built in the 18th Century, that tower was built in 1634, and since then it had the fame of being haunted.

Mackenzie used a Mouse Hole to open an entrance to the hidden city, revealing a deep hole to the surface. Mackenzie exclaimed he was not scared of ghosts, but asked Simmons for clarification about the legend. Simmons told that, according to the legend, several of the guards in the sentry tower went missing never to be seen again. Simmons claimed the legend seemed ridiculous, though Mackenzie compared it to an extraterrestrial city.

Phil Coulson and Bobbi Morse arrived at the garrison to check their progress. Fitz and Simmons were unable to decide which of them should answer, making Coulson to tell them to start talking, no matter which one of them. Fitz said that they were ready to deploy the D.W.A.R.F.s, and activated three of them to descend through the whole.

Coulson asked about the time it would to fully survey the tunnel and locate the temple inside the city, and Fitz tried to explain it would depend on several factors, but was unable to find the appropriate words. Mackenzie, who usually helped him in these cases, turned a blind eye to make Fitz request Simmons' help.

Simmons helped Fitz, asking if he wanted to speak about the tectonic stress levels, and then again about the structural integrity of the tunnels. Mackenzie guessed the temple would be distinctive enough to recognize it upon seeing it, but Simmons explained they depended on the data sent by the D.W.A.R.F.s.

Suddenly, the D.W.A.R.F.s got disconnected inside the city, and Fitz determined that the tablet still worked, the D.W.A.R.F.s were the ones that were disconnected upon arriving.

Sentry of the City
Alphonso Mackenzie prepared to descend towards the Kree City under Castillo San Cristóbal, through the hole of an estimated height of 100 feet. Mackenzie was not scared of heights, despite he could not say the same about the dark.

Phil Coulson handed Mackenzie a handgun, just in case, and asked them to fix the D.W.A.R.F.s, that were previously sent through the hole and went offline. Leo Fitz theorized that all electronics could have been jammed inside the city. Coulson told Mackenzie to make three pulls on the cable if he needed help, and Fitz started to Mackenzie down the hole. Mackenzie reached the bottom of the hole, and though he could not use the radio to contact, he yelled at the hole, obtaining an answer. Mackenzie noticed the D.W.A.R.F.s were on the ground, and touched the symbols at the entrance, This triggered a reaction that slowly transformed Mackenzie into a guardian for the city, starting with displaying the Words of Creation in his hand.

Hearing Mackenzie's screams of pain, Coulson ordered to lift him. Worried, Jemma Simmons explained that the D.W.A.R.F.s did not read any sign of life in the city. Once he was finally lifted, Mackenzie was removed from the harness while he continued to scream and tremble.

Bobbi Morse, extremely worried, tried to make Mackenzie talk to her, while Simmons quickly examined him searching for wounds or signs of blood, to no avail. Coulson approached Mackenzie once he stopped screaming who, with his last remaining strength, told him to run before succumbing to the transformation.

Mackenzie's eyes turned red and he started attacking his friends with superhuman strength. Morse tried to reason with Mackenzie while dodging his blows. Morse retaliated, but her attacks were ineffective, so she dodged Mackenzie again to retrieve her battle staves.

Mackenzie grabbed Morse and began to strangle her. Meanwhile, Fitz threw an I.C.E.R. to Coulson, who promptly shot Mackenzie, but the bullets did not affect him. Morse tried to reason with him, but he was only distracted as Coulson grabbed his own neck.

Simmons then attacked him with a suitcase, and Mackenzie's blow almost made her fall through the whole to a certain death. Coulson was able to catch her, while Fitz retrieved a handgun and pointed at him. Fitz tried to reason with him again, as his handgun was real and would kill him. Coulson ordered Fitz to shoot, but Morse used her battle staves to electrocute Mackenzie, seemingly knocking him out.

Mackenzie fell through the hole, and Coulson ordered to seal the tunnel. Morse, in tears, asked what would happen to Mackenzie, but Coulson replied that was not Mackenzie anymore.

Arrival of the Bus
Melinda May, Antoine Triplett, Lance Hunter, Billy Koenig and Sam Koenig arrive to Puerto Rico in the Bus, having successfully tricked HYDRA into thinking they had destroyed the plane after Grant Ward took Raina and Skye from it.

Phil Coulson, Bobbi Morse, Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons return to the Bus following their unsuccessful incursion into the hidden city underneath San Juan. Coulson tasked Fitz and Simmons to devise a way into descending to the tunnels safely.

May went to talk to Coulson about Skye's kidnapping, clarifying that Daniel Whitehall only demanded to hand Raina over. May guessed that Ward had his own plans for Skye, given that he said he was keeping his promise, so Coulson deduced he was taking Skye to meet her father, so there was a possibility that she was still alive.

Coulson informed Morse that HYDRA had discovered the location of the city, so it was likely that their ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would contact Diego, so Coulson ordered her to contact him again and make sure he would not reveal the entrance below Castillo San Cristóbal.

Coulson assured Morse they would do everything possible to help Alphonso Mackenzie, who infiltrated the hidden city and then fell through the entrance, but he needed her to focus on stopping HYDRA from entering the city with the Obelisk.

Mechanical Detonators
Antoine Triplett retrieved four mechanical detonators developed for the Howling Commandos in order to trigger an explosion and destroy the temple inside the hidden city, and presented them to Sam Koenig.

Koenig regretted not having more detonators, as without the D.W.A.R.F.s, surveillance of the tunnel was unavailable. Triplett pointed that at least they knew electronics did not work. Koenig did not wanted to sound ungrateful, as he knew that they needed the mechanical detonators, and even Dum Dum Dugan would be proud of them.

Triplett said that the detonators were immune to electromagnetic pulses or electronic jamming, but they could not be remotely triggered, so they needed to start them manually and run. Koenig chose four spots surrounding the temple, to plant the explosives and make the city collapse around it.

Guardian of the City
Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons started to discuss ways of infiltrating the hidden city safely, especially after Alphonso Mackenzie's attempt, where he acted like having being possessed. Simmons said that devising a way to enter may be easier than learning how to help Mackenzie.

Fitz mistook her comment as a way of cheering him up due to his friendship with Mackenzie, but Simmons explained that with extraterrestrial technology and biology in play, anything could have happened to Mackenzie. Fitz apologized, acknowledging Simmons was right, and said he had been thinking self-defense.

This time it was Simmons who mistook Fitz's comment as a way to remind her about his own hurt feelings, and Fitz explained that maybe the city had felt that Mackenzie's initial incursion was a threat, and it could have reacted the same way the Obelisk did when a person touched it.

Simmons theorized there were other possibilities besides the city having killed Mackenzie, such as having controlled him to do its own its bidding, becoming some sort of guardian. If that was the case, there was a possibility to save him.

Trust Tested
Bobbi Morse entered the garage of the Bus looking for a thumb drive containing critical information, as Alphonso Mackenzie would have surely hid it there. Lance Hunter arrived looking for Morse, and noticed the thumb drive despite she tried to conceal it.

Hunter had already heard what happened to Mackenzie inside the hidden city. Morse blamed herself for not being able to save her friend, but Hunter assured her it was not her fault, given that Mackenzie was not himself once he emerged from the hole, and she did what needed to be done.

Morse believed Mackenzie was dead, as he was infected inside the city, and then fell off a hundred-foot drop, so she would cry mourn her friend for over a week once they completed their mission. Hunter embraced Morse to cheer her up, saying that Mackenzie was one of the best people he knew, and one of the few he trusted, of more specifically, one of the few he did not fully mistrust.

Morse received a message from Diego to set a meeting, and ask Hunter to accompany her. Hunter, speaking of himself in third person, seized the opportunity to reveal he noticed the thumb drive despite her efforts to hide it. However, given that he wanted to trust her, Hunter said he was assuming that the information it contained had nothing to do with him, and went to retrieve his weapons before going to the meeting in San Juan.

Right Decision
Phil Coulson and Melinda May talked about the boarding of the Bus and the kidnapping of Skye. Coulson was convinced that May did the right thing, despite she wanted to kill Grant Ward as soon as she saw him. May said that killing Ward would have prevented HYDRA from knowing the location of the hidden city, or to have taken Skye or Raina in. However, her actions saved six agents.

Besides, Coulson was sure that Skye could take care of herself, as thanks to May, she was now a full-fledged field agent, smart, tough and capable, who would take any chance to survive and escape.

Arrival at the Theater
Grant Ward took Skye to the Ponce de León Theater in San Juan, that had been established as the base of operations for HYDRA in Puerto Rico. Upon arriving, Skye started to check exits, numbers of men, their weapons, assessing all the tactical needs for a potential escape route.

Ward noticed Skye doing it, and was impressed on how much she improved as an agent, asking about her marksmanship. Skye told him to hand her his weapon, and she would show it to him. This capacity of self-control under pressure was recognized as Melinda May's teaching.

Skye pointed that as one of the differences between S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA, while S.H.I.E.L.D. agents trained for self control, HYDRA members wanted to control everyone else. Ward claimed his lack of loyalty to HYDRA again, saying that his orders were just to bring Raina, and taking Skye with him was his own idea.

Skye reminded him that the last time he tried to kidnap her, things did not ended well for him, as he spent months imprisoned after that, but Ward was only concerned about keeping her promise. Ward opened the door to a room where her father was waiting for her, and Ward leave them alone to speak in private.

Father-Daughter Reunion
Skye and her father met for the first time since she was a baby, and he was too nervous for finally being reunited with his daughter. He noticed how Skye tilt her head, similar to how her mother did, and got emotional despite having promised himself he would not.

He started the reunion again greeting her daughter and introducing himself as Calvin "Cal" Zabo, offering Skye to sit down with him. Skye refused, and he did not want to sit down at the moment due to his nervousness. Zabo thanked her for meeting with him, and Skye confronted him saying she was kidnapped at gunpoint.

Zabo apologized and confessed his nervousness, due to being a long desired moment for him, finally reunited with his daughter. Zabo also explained that he had always thought about that reunion as something more familiar, even with cookies and flowers, but not there.

Zabo also remarked Skye's beauty, and asked her about what she knew about him. Skye coldly told him he was a monster and a murderer, and Zabo, despite admitting those facts, wanted her to understand his motives, as he lost her, his daughter, and his whole world fell apart.

However, Zabo lost control of himself while explaining that she was taking from him, frightening Skye. Realizing he frightened his daughter, Zabo calmed down and explained that he had not always been a monster. He started telling about his past when Skye was born in China, as her mother was Chinese. He worked in a clinic where people liked him, and both him and his wife were so happy for the birth of her daughter.

Skye asked what happened then, and he emotionally apologized for not being there for her, to protect her, to teach her or to sing her until she fell asleep. However, he assured Skye that he was there now for her, and would take care of her. Skye asked her father to get her out of the theater, but he clarified that he wanted her to stay, aswhat would happen in the hidden city was her destiny.

Skye got angry for that words, as it was contradictory to apologize and then kidnap her and forcing her to be there with HYDRA. She attempted to leave, but there were soldiers at the entrance. Skye asked her father to tell them to allow her to exit, but he approached them and told them to continue with their guard as if never had happened, saying it was just a misunderstanding.

She then confronted her father for working for HYDRA and Daniel Whitehall, making him to be one of the "bad guys". Zabo got angry, yelling that he did not work for Whitehall and he could never do it. He calmed himself, and explained that he just needed Whitehall to find her and put "all the pieces" together.

Zabo started to reveal what happened to her mother, explaining that she was special, but not in the way used to describe a beloved one, she was actually special, being a "gifted", descending from a line of people with gifts, so Skye also had one too, and Zabo intended to bring her to the hidden so she could receive it.

According to Zabo, the gift was her birthright, and would involve a transformation, but Skye wanted to know what happened to her mother. He started saying how they met, helping him with his work in the clinic, especially with the translations from Chinese. One day, a group of men identifying themselves as S.H.I.E.L.D., who were actually members of HYDRA, took her, despite Zabo's attempts to fight, saying that she was dangerous due to her gift.

Zabo continued telling how he left Skye with people he trusted to search for his wife in Europe, but once he found her, Whitehall had already vivisected her, taking her blood and organs, and dumping her corpse into a ditch like garbage. Both father and daughther saddened with the story, and Zabo touched her daughter for the first time to confort her, humming a song that Skye recognized, as it was the song her mother used to sing to her when she was a baby.

Skye asked what happened to her them, but they were interrupted by a HYDRA operative, who announced that Whitehall demanded to see Zabo. He asked for a moment with a gesture, and once left alone again, Zabo promised her daughter that he would answer all her questions later, but first he had to kill Whitehall, the man who destroyed his life, claiming that was his best day ever. Skye burst in tears as her father left.

Diego's Signal
Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter went to San Juan for a meeting with Diego, Morse's contact in Puerto Rico. Morse saw Diego from afar and realized that something was wrong, given that Diego had arrived early to their appointment, and he was wearing a suit, things that he never did.

Hunter did not understand why that meant anything, but they saw how two HYDRA operatives met with Diego. Morse believed that Diego was selling the HYDRA operatives out, being his presence and appearance a signal for Morse.

Diego approached their location, and despite Hunter was worried that they had been compromised, Morse trusted Diego enough to stay at that point. She kissed Hunter to pose as a couple when the HYDRA operatives passed by their side, and Diego handed Morse a piece of paper with an address in San Juan for HYDRA's base of operations.

Change of Plans
All the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents aboard of the Bus prepared the gear needed to destroy the temple inside the hidden city underneath San Juan. Jemma Simmons informed that Leo Fitz and herself thought that protective Hazmat suits would hinder the city's ability to sense intruders.

Melinda May explained that she would place the bombs with Phil Coulson and Antoine Triplett, while Fitz and Simmons coordinated their efforts from the entrance of the city inside Castillo San Cristóbal. Triplett asked Sam Koenig about his brother Billy, and Koenig joked about his brother, fooling Triplett into thinking he was a robot, and had to recharge his batteries due to his circuits having been fried. Triplett, not seeing what was funny about that, said he knew what he was trying to do.

Coulson approached Koenig, and ordered both him and his brother to return to the Playground, in order to implement the Theta Protocol if their mission in Puerto Rico did not go as planned. Koenig tried to reply, but Coulson asserted it was an order.

Bobbi Morse called Coulson, in order to inform him that she and Lance Hunter discovered that HYDRA was already in Puerto Rico, having established a large number of operatives in the Ponce de León Theater. Coulson wondered why HYDRA chose that place, but as Koenig superimposed the map of the hidden city over San Juan, they realized the theater was practically over the temple. Fitz and Simmons explained that S.H.I.E.L.D. had a Plasma Drill that could easily drill the rock over the city, so HYDRA surely had it too.

Coulson asked if Skye or Grant Ward were in the theater, but she had no evidence of their presence, though there were at least twelve HYDRA soldiers inside. Coulson told Morse to wait for them, as May and him would go to assist them.

Coulson then informed the rest of agents in the Bus about HYDRA's plan to reach the temple, so he and May would go to San Juan and assist Morse and Hunter.

True Allegiances
Grant Ward, Calvin Zabo and Raina were called to Daniel Whitehall's presence, who thanked each of them for their contribution in achieving his goals.

Wards delivered Raina, just as his promised; Raina was able to slowly earn Whitehall's trust despite his doubts, and Zabo's knowledge of the Diviner allowed them to reach that "historic moment". However, Whitehall wondered what was Skye's role in their plans, just as armed soldiers brought her to their presence.

Ward explained that he took her as a hostage to make sure that S.H.I.E.L.D. did not attack after taking Raina from their plane. However, Whitehall confronted him for his order of not shooting down the plane, and he had to counter that order.

Whitehall said he had a theory for Skye's presence. Agent 33 open the briefcase containing the Obelisk and asked Skye to pick it up. Skye defiantly refused, but the guards pointed their guns at him. Zabo discreetly nodded at Skye to let her know the Diviner would not hurt her, and prepared a scalpel to defend her daughter.

Skye grabbed the Obelisk and it began to glow, and then used it as a weapon against one of the guards, while her father killed another with the scalpel. Ward grabbed his weapon and sided with Skye and Zabo, but they were quickly overwhelmed but all the HYDRA guards in the room. Whitehall approached Skye, and said that he hoped she was as special as her mother.

Raina took back the Obelisk from Skye's hand, and Whitehall addressed to Zabo, confessing that he did not recognized the day he entered his office at the HYDRA Laboratories. Zabo threatened that he would kill Whitehall and his men if his daughter had not bee there, so Whitehall had one more reason to be glad that she was there.

However, Whitehall could not understand Ward's motivations, and Raina revealed that he was in love with Skye, and thought that he helped her to fulfill her destiny, she would be able to see him whom Ward really was. Whitehall jokingly said the it was sad that Skye would not fulfill her destiny, or that Zabo would not get his vengeance for the death of her wife.

Whitehall ordered his men to secure the three, and warned them about Ward, as he was one of the best killers, though he revealed his intentions of brainwashing Ward into his service.

Trivia

 * Puerto Rico translates into "Rich Port" in Spanish.