Coulson and the others returned to Heaven's will's secret base. Although McNair had warned him beforehand that Ward was Hydra's mole, he could not possibly believe it all at once.
On one side were comrades he had lived and died alongside day after day; on the other was an outsider who had long been in competition with them. Even under these extraordinary circumstances, it was not hard to choose whom to trust.
Besides, Coulson's judgment of people could not be that terrible, could it? He had mistakenly trusted John Garrett, but Garrett had been a seasoned old hand from the same class as him. Ward, on the other hand, was not exactly a rookie, but his seniority was still shallow. How could Ward possibly fool him so easily? Not to mention that Coulson had personally selected him for this team!
But reality gave Coulson a solid slap across the face. Skye's message was discovered, and almost at the same time, Koenig's body was found. Once the surveillance footage was recovered and Simmons completed a preliminary autopsy report, Coulson could only cover his aching face and stand silently to one side.
Fitz was the first to explode. He had always regarded Ward as a good friend, even an older brother. When Ward returned, Fitz had sincerely been happy about it. But what he received instead was merciless betrayal, and he immediately lost control of his emotions.
Only after the pain in Coulson's face gradually subsided did he manage to calm Fitz down, then quickly assess the situation. First, Ward was Hydra's mole, which meant John Garrett should still be alive. In contrast, Victoria Hand was likely in grave danger.
Although Ward had said upon his return that Victoria Hand had been detained by the Black Badge Division, given his current identity,