- "Our mission, collect intel on any foreign Inhumans and uncover the insider so that we can track them back to Malick."
- ―Phil Coulson[src]
The Infiltration into the Symposium on Alien Contagion was an attempt by S.H.I.E.L.D. to connect one of the Symposium on Alien Contagion delegates to Gideon Malick.
Background[]
- "I'm less interested in the Symposium than I am with the intel we can gather there. We need to know if any of these countries are harboring Inhumans."
- ―Phil Coulson to Glenn Talbot[src]
Like its predecessor, the Advanced Threat Containment Unit, created following the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., was infiltrated by HYDRA, leading to the assassination of its head Rosalind Price.[2] The agency was eventually cleared of its HYDRA sleeper agents thanks to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s effort. President Matthew Ellis decided to keep the agency running, which would act as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s public face.[3] However, HYDRA leader Gideon Malick learned the identity of the new head of the ATCU: Glenn Talbot. As a result, Malick ordered the kidnapping of Talbot's son George so he could blackmail him.
In an attempt to gather the international community around a same position regarding the Inhuman Outbreak, President Ellis organized a Symposium on Alien Contagion which would be hosted in Taipei, Taiwan. Suspecting that Malick was influencing at least one of the delegates, S.H.I.E.L.D. decided to infiltrate the conference: Phil Coulson would take part in the talks, posing as the expert Sean Lundwall, while a team led by Melinda May would search through the rooms of the delegates to find evidence of their connection to Malick, or at least whether they were hiding Inhumans.[1]
Infiltration[]
- "I've acquired a list of the delegates rooms. Those rooms are only accessible with a full palm print."
"So, how are we supposed to get in? Do you want us to cut their hands off?"
"We won't need to cut off any hands, but I will need to shake a few." - ―Phil Coulson and Lance Hunter[src]
Carl Creel helps S.H.I.E.L.D. to infiltrate the Symposium on Alien Contagion
Using the delegates' palm prints acquired by Phil Coulson, a S.H.I.E.L.D. team comprising of Melinda May, Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter infiltrated the rooms of the different delegates while they were attending the conference. While they searched through the delegates' belongings to find any proof of connection with HYDRA leader Gideon Malick, Hunter noticed that Carl Creel, who had accompanied S.H.I.E.L.D. to Taipei, left his position. Therefore, Hunter, who distrusted Creel, decided to chase him.
May intercepted an encrypted message sent by Australian delegate Ellen King to her delegation, instructing them to move "him." May told Morse to go to and check King's room as Hunter had left. Morse moved to the room and discovered documents regarding Eden Fesi, an Inhuman in the Australian Threat Unit's custody. However, Morse could not find any connection to Malick or HYDRA.
Lance Hunter is threatened by HYDRA operatives
Meanwhile, Hunter found a truck guarded by armed men. Once he sneaked into it, Hunter discovered a Suspension Gel chamber with George Talbot incapacitated within. Hunter attempted to warn May and Morse about his discovery, but he was knocked out from behind by Creel. When he regained consciousness, Hunter was surrounded by the guards, who were in fact HYDRA operatives. However, they were quickly defeated by May and Morse who had figured out Hunter was in trouble.
Carl Creel arrives to release Phil Coulson and Glenn Talbot
Hunter provided May and Morse with weapons, notably Bobbi Morse's Battle Staves, so that they could fight back against HYDRA. May decided to leave and find the truck where George was imprisoned while Morse and Hunter decided to enter the Symposium's building where Coulson had been betrayed by Talbot, and Talbot himself had been betrayed by Malick. As a result, Talbot and Coulson were imprisoned and on the verge of being executed, but they were rescued by Creel, who had not turned on S.H.I.E.L.D. but had simply knocked Hunter to maintain his cover.
Glenn Talbot interrogates a HYDRA operative to know where his son is
As another HYDRA operative arrived in the room, Creel remained behind to fight him and ordered Coulson and Talbot to flee while they were still handcuffed. Meanwhile, in the conference room, Hunter and Morse encountered another operative, who was taken down by Morse. Another enemy arrived but was killed by Creel. Instantly after, Coulson and Talbot arrived and Creel released them from their cuffs. Talbot then violently asked a HYDRA operative captured by Morse to find out where his son had been taken.
Coulson ordered Morse and Hunter to track down Malick while he and Talbot would try and find George. At this moment, May returned to the Symposium's building, driving the HYDRA truck and safely returning George to his father.[1]
Aftermath[]
- "We're in the belly of the beast."
- ―Lance Hunter[src]
Having been told to track down Gideon Malick, Lance Hunter and Bobbi Morse successfully infiltrated Anton Petrov's plane, in which Malick was traveling as well. This enabled S.H.I.E.L.D. to discover the location of the Russian Inhuman Sanctuary created by Petrov and his rogue faction of Russian ministers. S.H.I.E.L.D. would later infiltrate this Sanctuary and end the project so that Malick could not get his hands on a large group of Inhumans.[4]
Due to his conversation with Malick after he had been betrayed by Glenn Talbot and arrested, Phil Coulson began to suspect that Malick was actually reporting to an unidentified superior.[1] Indeed, unbeknownst to S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA had successfully brought back the ancient Inhuman Hive from Maveth[5], who they would soon encounter themselves.[6]
Using the intel found in Ellen King's room, S.H.I.E.L.D. successfully organized a mission to release Eden Fesi from the Australian Threat Unit.[1]