"Don't respond. It's a trap!"
Maria Hill rose from the sofa at once, her expression icy. Before the agent could react, Melinda May, standing nearby, sprang up with almost reflexive speed. She issued the agent an order. Though she still did not understand what was happening, instinct told her that Maria Hill had yet to reveal some crucial information. "Don't respond. Don't let Zephyr One return, and don't reveal anything about the Lighthouse Base's location," Melinda May said. "Tell Zephyr One to continue its patrol mission."
"But the Lighthouse has already begun guiding its flight path. That's standard procedure." The agent was startled. Though he also had no idea what was going on, he understood that Melinda May and the unfamiliar agent did not want Zephyr One to return to base. "Even without guidance, the flight records can lead Zephyr One in for a landing. We've already detected Zephyr One approaching us. Based on its current course, it will reach the airspace above the Lighthouse Base in twenty minutes."
"Shut down the Lighthouse. Do not open the landing pad," Maria Hill said. If a massive aircraft like Zephyr One docked on the surface, it would inevitably be spotted by satellites or patrol planes. That was why the Lighthouse Base had a landing pad built beneath the lakebed. Whenever Zephyr One needed to take off or land, a passage large enough for vertical takeoff and landing would open above the pad. "Cut off all outside communications and seal every blast door. We need a plan. Agent May, I need you to activate the Lighthouse Base's central computer and select the extraterrestrial invasion response protocol."
Melinda May was puzzled. She had never seen any emergency protocol documents in the Lighthouse Base's old 1980s computers. Yet Maria Hill was so certain that May