- "Get May on the line. They need to reroute to our safe house in Bruges."
- ―Phil Coulson[src]
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium.
History[]
HYDRA Ambush in Belgium[]
Setting the Trap[]
In 2015, HYDRA members Daniel Whitehall and Julien Beckers, the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, orchestrated a ploy to attract S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to Belgium, convincing them that the country would be a safe heaven for them
In order to set the event into motion, Whitehall ordered mercenary Marcus Scarlotti to attack the United Nations Headquarters disguised as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, to turn the public trust against the former agency.[1]
Senator Christian Ward's Proposal[]
Senator Christian Ward gave an interview to WHiH World News about his position regarding the attack suffered at the United Nations Headquarters. Ward condemned S.H.I.E.L.D. for the attack, describing it as a terrorist organization that should be prosecuted and punished.
Ward revealed his intention to lay out a proposal at the United Nations, for the creation a multi-national police force in order to target all members of S.H.I.E.L.D., either confirmed or suspected.
Julien Beckers, Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, expressed his concern that the proposal did not respect citizens' rights, as it may target innocent people, and assured that his country would not accept Ward's proposal.
Ward taunted Beckers, saying that he was free to welcome S.H.I.E.L.D. in his country, but assured that the former agency was an infestation, and as such, it needed to be exterminated, before continuing with the debate about his proposal.[1]
Assault at the Safehouse[]
Director Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. ordered a team, led by Agent Noelle Walters, to find Julien Beckers, the Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and protect him from a HYDRA mercenary team led by Marcus Scarlotti, as Coulson was led to believe that Beckers was Scarlotti's next target following an attack against the United Nations Headquarters.
Walters arrived to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House in Bruges, founding Beckers already there. Surprised as many of her agents had been unsuccessfully searching for him, Walters asked Beckers how he found the place. Beckers had followed some of her agents, whose bodies were on the ground in another room, as Scarlotti had already killed them.
However, before she could react, Walters was disarmed by Scarlotti and his mercenaries, and left by Beckers Walters to the mercy of Scarlotti, who intended to kill her slowly. Walters resisted, head-butting him, and Scarlotti regretted having to kill her quickly.
Scarlotti stabbed Walters with a Splinter Bomb. She promised that HYDRA would never defeat S.H.I.E.L.D. while the weapon petrified and disintegrated her body.
Lance Hunter entered the safehouse as a distraction in order to buy some time for Melinda May and Bobbi Morse, who needed 90 seconds to take positions and attack the safehouse. Hunter offered the mercenaries a drink and offered his services as a fellow mercenary while Scarlotti and his men pointed their guns at him.
Hunter revealed that he knew the exact locations of two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, before confessing he was just distracting them. Morse and May crashed through the windows, and while Hunter and Morse fought the mercenaries, May went on to chase Scarlotti, who tried to escape from the ambush.
Scarlotti was cornered in a room, and disarmed May with his Rope Dart Knife to confront her. Scarlotti skillfully used his weapon against May, but a bad move gave May some advantage, as she was able to break the tip of the weapon and use it as a knife against him.
Scarlotti, confident that he would defeat May, started to choke her with the chain of the weapon, but she was able to turn the tide and use the chain to trap him, knocking him unconscious.
Meanwhile, Morse and Hunter coordinated themselves in fighting the rest of mercenaries, defeating them one by one. Hunter saved Morse's life by kicking one of the mercenaries in the path of a Splinter Bomb that had been thrown at Morse. Morse thanked him for saving her life.
Once all the mercenaries had been killed or defeated, May called Coulson at the Playground, informing him that six agents had died in the mission. Coulson then asked her to get home safely.
Hunter prepared his belongings to leave S.H.I.E.L.D., due to the discomfort of having to work with his ex-wife, acknowledging that S.H.I.E.L.D. had always been Morse's place instead of his. Morse explained that S.H.I.E.L.D. was not like before anymore, so she was still trying to find her own place.
Morse said her goodbyes reminding him not to die, something they used to tell each other, but as she left the room, she also told him to stay if that is what he wanted.
Glenn Talbot giving his condolences
May, Hunter and Morse waited at the safehouse for the arrival of Glenn Talbot and his soldiers, who had already arrested Beckers at the border, and proceeded to take the mercenaries into custody. Talbot, burying the hatchet against S.H.I.E.L.D., gave his condolences for the lost of the six agents.[1]
