The Ambush at Hell's Harbor was an attempt by a pair of Chronicom Hunters Luke and Abel to kill Freddy Malick.
Background[]
- "The target is Wilfred Malick. If we succeed, there will not be any S.H.I.E.L.D. in the future, and those who have followed us here... will be out of time."
- ―Luke[src]
As part of their plan to use time travel to stop S.H.I.E.L.D. from existing, the Chronicom Hunters Luke, Cain, and Abel traveled to the year 1931 and planned to kill Freddy Malick,[2] unaware that they created an alternate timeline instead.[3] Not being informed of Malick's surname and history in HYDRA, Alphonso Mackenzie and Phil Coulson reasoned that the Chronicoms would be targeting Franklin D. Roosevelt at his campaign party that night.
However, as Jemma Simmons interrogated Cain, she learned the Roosevelt was not the target, rather Malick was. The Chronicoms attacked Malick after being given a vial containing a major ingredient of Super Soldier Serum by Viola, but Daisy Johnson and Coulson saved him. Mackenzie and Deke Shaw brought Malick to safety, driving him away. They asked where Malick needed to go,[2] and Malick told them he needed to make a delivery.
While Malick guided Mackenzie and Shaw to the drop-off point for the Serum ingredient, Coulson, Johnson, Simmons, and Yo-Yo Rodriguez interrogated Viola and figured out the contents of the vial. They asked where Malick was taking the serum, and mentioned hell, causing Ernest Koenig to realize that the delivery would be taking place at Hell's Harbor. Viola said the only way to arrive on time was to fly, so Coulson, Johnson, Simmons, and Rodriguez brought Koenig to Zephyr One and flew to meet Mackenzie, Shaw, and Malick at Hell's Harbor.
Once they were in range, Johnson reached Shaw on the two-way radio they had, and told Shaw about Malick's future. She ordered Shaw to kill him, and Shaw pointed his gun at Malick, despite Mackenzie's orders. However, Malick convinced Shaw not to shoot him.[1]
Ambush[]
S.H.I.E.L.D. arrive to stop the Chronicoms
- "We just secured the rise of HYDRA and the Malick Dynasty."
- ―Daisy Johnson[src]
Once Deke Shaw put his gun down, he noticed Luke and Abel and began firing on them. Shaw, Alphonso Mackenzie, and Freddy Malick took cover. Shaw complained about not having a weapon, so Mackenzie rushed over to Abel and managed to steal his Chronicom Rifle. However, when he could not get the weapon to work, he used it as a blunt object to push Abel down. He then resumed his cover. Malick took the Super Soldier Serum and left as Phil Coulson, Daisy Johnson, Enoch, and Ernest Koenig arrived and began firing at Luke.
While Enoch and Koenig searched for Malick, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents continued to take fire. Johnson planned on using her abilities as a distraction in order to escape, but Luke and Abel decided to leave and try again in a different time period when they realized their window to leave was closing. Coulson noticed that they had left, so they returned to Zephyr One.[1]
Aftermath[]
- "The kid we let live in 1931 had come back to haunt us in 1955."
- ―Phil Coulson[src]
Ernest Koenig found Freddy Malick, who pointed a gun on him. Koenig tried to get him to not follow through on the delivery, but Malick shot him and left with HYDRA. Enoch found Koenig, who reported that he had not been injured, and told S.H.I.E.L.D. that the timeline had been maintained. Phil Coulson then told Enoch to return to Zephyr One.
Coulson, Alphonso Mackenzie, Daisy Johnson, and Deke Shaw returned to the Zephyr, but Jemma Simmons had to close the door before Enoch could board the ship, just missing its jump in time. Enoch accepted a job as a bartender for Koenig.[1]
Malick successfully delivered the vial and ensured that the Super Soldier Serum will be created, which in turn resulted in the rise of HYDRA. Malick was able to restore his family's fortunes and eventually became a high-ranking HYDRA leader, infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D. following its foundation. He was approached by Luke who informed Malick that S.H.I.E.L.D. will destroy HYDRA one day and offered him the means to prevent it from happening.[4] Malick accepted Luke's offer and used the information from Chronicom Hunters to start Project Insight far earlier than it was supposed to be, in order to eliminate all potential threats to HYDRA.[5]