Kidnapping of Lance Hunter

The Kidnapping of Lance Hunter was an abduction executed by Alphonso Mackenzie out of fear that Hunter would endanger the infiltration of Phil Coulson's S.H.I.E.L.D. by agents loyal to Robert Gonzales. It was followed by a failed attempt to convince Hunter to switch sides and join Gonzales after the two met on the Iliad.
==Background==
In the aftermath of its collapse, S.H.I.E.L.D. was rebuilt into two different factions which initially did not truly interact with each other: one faction, led by Phil Coulson, had been officially sanctioned by former Director Nick Fury and was established in the Playground; while the other was run by Robert Gonzales working with board members from the Iliad. Although Coulson was unaware of the other S.H.I.E.L.D., two of his agents, Alphonso Mackenzie and Bobbi Morse, were actually working undercover for Gonzales in an attempt to retrieve the Toolbox.Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 2.14: Love in the Time of HYDRA
However, their job was rendered more difficult due to the fact that Morse had restarted her relationship with her ex-husband Lance Hunter.Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 2.08: The Things We Bury Morse considered informing Hunter of her real allegiance and bring him in, but Mackenzie advised against it out of fear that Hunter would side with Coulson.Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 2.12: Who You Really Are In parallel, Hunter grew suspicious of the relationship between Morse and Mackenzie,Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 2.11: Aftershocks especially when Morse mentioned "backup" during a confrontation against Vin-Tak.
==Kidnapping==
In the aftermath of the Skirmish at the Playground, Lance Hunter decided to confront Alphonso Mackenzie in the cargo ramp of the Bus, detailing the reasons he had to question the existing relationship between Mackenzie and Bobbi Morse. Although Mackenzie tried to reassure him, Hunter remained convinced that the two of them were up to something, forcing Mackenzie to assault him, choking him until Hunter lost consciousness.
Mackenzie quickly took Hunter to a safehouse, handcuffing him in the bathroom and informing Morse of his actions. Meanwhile, Morse covered up for Mackenzie's absence, pretending to Phil Coulson that she did not know where Hunter was. Mackenzie tried to appease Hunter, but to no avail, as Hunter refused talk with him, mentioning the lies that Mackenzie had told him before.
Mackenzie then decided to reveal his true allegiance to Hunter, and took him aboard the Iliad, so he could meet the leaders of the other S.H.I.E.L.D. faction led by Robert Gonzales.Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 2.13: One of Us Hunter was introduced to Gonzales and his board of advisors, who explained that they wanted to remove Coulson from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s leadership, accusing him of having been led astray by the consequences of his resurrection, which had culminated in the Search for the Kree City during which Antoine Triplett had died and Skye had acquired superhuman powers.
Remaining loyal to Coulson, Hunter was shocked when Morse joined in, taking the side of Gonzales and his faction of S.H.I.E.L.D. While Hunter was left alone in the meeting room of the Iliad, Mackenzie was sent back to the Playground, claiming to Coulson and Melinda May that Hunter was trying to drown his broken heart in alcohol after Morse ended their relationship.
Hunter later had a face-to-face conversation with Morse, and urged her to leave their lives as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents behind him and start over. Morse refused, and Hunter, knowing that he could not change his mind, declared that he would escape and asked Morse not to stop him. Morse agreed not to, but warned him that everyone else on the Iliad would try. Therefore, Hunter took down two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents trying to arrest him and fled through the ship. Although puzzled when he realized that he was aboard an aircraft carrier, Hunter quickly reacted and used an evacuation pod to escape from the ship.Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 2.14: Love in the Time of HYDRA
==Aftermath==
Lance Hunter's escape brought some dissenssion within Robert Gonzales' faction of S.H.I.E.L.D., as Agent Tomas Calderon accused Bobbi Morse of having purposefully let her ex-husband escape. However, Morse retained Gonzales' confidence, who asked her what they should do next. Morse advised to focus on the bigger threat of Phil Coulson instead of Hunter, which would eventually lead to the attack on the Playground, during which Coulson would be forced to flee. In the aftermath of this attack, Hunter was able to reunite with Coulson and permanently allied with him, agreeing to work under his orders as a true S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 2.15: One Door Closes
Despite what Alphonso Mackenzie had done to him, Hunter eventually decided to forgive him after the two S.H.I.E.L.D. factions agreed to work together.Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 2.19: The Dirty Half Dozen Although Hunter found it hard to forgive Morse as well, he later proved that he still deeply loved her when he came to rescue her from the ambush Grant Ward and Kara Palamas had planned for her.Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 2.22: S.O.S. Part Two
==References==
Category:Events