S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, Director's Office.
Director Fury was discussing the details of his rough draft of the "Hydra-Hunting Plan" with Maria Hill, Melinda May, and Phil Coulson.
A plan could never go straight from the draft to perfect execution.
Even if the one who made it was Fury, there would always be many flaws when it was put together in a rush. Intelligence alone could not avoid that completely.
That was why he needed people he trusted, like Coulson and the others, to help him check for loopholes and see what still needed to be fixed.
More heads meant more strength.
Knock, knock, knock—
The office door was suddenly rapped on.
"Who is it?" Fury waved his hand, shutting down the projection of all documents at once, and asked toward the door.
"It's me, Pierce." came the reply.
Everyone inside the office glanced at each other with different looks, all spotting the same surprise in each other's eyes.
They already knew Pierce was also Hydra. For him to suddenly come here at this moment… did he find out something?
Fury made a hand gesture, telling them to stay calm and not jump to conclusions yet, then answered the door:
"Come in—"
As soon as Fury spoke, the office door opened and Pierce walked in.
But he didn't come in alone. He made a "please" gesture toward the hallway, clearly inviting someone else in with him.
Following his lead, a striking woman in black leather, with golden wavy hair, walked in confidently. She gave a friendly nod toward the desk.
"Director Fury, Agent Hill, it's been a while…" she greeted with a smile.
"Miss Stephanie?" Hill was surprised. She hadn't expected to see a familiar face at this time.
As the daughter of the former North American representative on the World Security Council, Stephanie was naturally someone Hill knew.
The two of them had no private friendship, but they had met many times before.
Fury was the same—he had also seen Stephanie in some major events.
But for Coulson, May, and the other agents, this was their first time seeing her.
After Stephanie entered, Pierce closed the office door and smiled.
"Since you already know each other, I don't need to introduce her. Miss Stephanie has something she wants to discuss with you, Fury, so I brought her here."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Fury gave a small nod, then turned to Coulson and the others. "You all can step outside for now, we'll—"
"No need. Let Agent Coulson and Agent May stay. They're not outsiders, it's fine." Stephanie waved her hand with a smile.
Hearing her call out both Coulson and May by name, Fury's brows rose slightly. A strange feeling stirred in his heart.
The World Security Council was indeed the higher authority over S.H.I.E.L.D., but it did not have direct command over its operations.
Which meant Fury had never reported S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal personnel list to those council members, much less handed over the full roster.
That was why, while the World Security Council might have heard of famous agents like Natasha or May, they wouldn't necessarily recognize them on sight.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secrecy was airtight.
Even council members often couldn't tell who was who. So why could Stephanie, the daughter of a council member, identify them so clearly?
She should never have met them before. That much was obvious from the way Coulson and May had no idea who she was when she walked in.
Fury wasn't the only one who noticed this detail. Hill, May, and the others all felt something was off.
Pierce caught their reactions, but only smiled faintly, unfazed.
Since Stephanie had already said what she did, Fury couldn't just brush her off over such a small matter. "All right then, may I ask why you're here, Miss Stephanie?"
"You've all gathered here… don't tell me you're plotting something against Pierce?" Stephanie suddenly said, completely off-topic.
Her words made everyone's hearts skip a beat!
But they were all seasoned agents, used to walking through storms. With outsiders present, even if their hearts were shaken, their faces stayed calm.
So their expressions only showed ordinary surprise, as though they couldn't understand why Stephanie would joke like that out of nowhere.
Fury followed the act, chuckling lightly. "Miss Stephanie, you really do have a sense of humor…"
Stephanie, however, smiled faintly. "I'm not joking. Director Fury, since you've already figured out that Pierce and Garrett are suspicious, don't you think my showing up at this time is just as suspicious?"
This time, no one could keep up the act. Their composure cracked.
If Stephanie's earlier words only felt odd, now it was basically the same as putting her cards on the table.
She had named Pierce and Garrett, and she had called out Fury's suspicion of them. The meaning behind that was obvious.
Stephanie was Hydra too!
And worse—she likely already knew about Fury's "Hydra-Hunting Plan"!
Otherwise, why would she show up now and say such things?
But if she really was Hydra, how did she find out? Fury couldn't immediately figure out which link in the chain had failed.
Someone else did, though. Their face turned pale, because they suddenly realized where the problem was.
"…I'm sorry." Hill stepped forward, choosing not to hide it.
"Hill, you… you too?" Fury stared at her in disbelief.
The people he picked for the secret meeting were already the result of countless filters. He had cut out anyone with even the slightest doubt.
This was the team he was sure could not possibly be Hydra spies.
If even among this group there was a traitor, then no matter what plan he made, it was meaningless.
It meant Hydra's infiltration went even deeper than he had imagined.
But he had never expected… Hill.
"No, I'm not—" Hill tried to explain, but stopped. She realized that no matter what she said, it was useless now.
The fact was, she had done it. And if she were in Fury's place, she wouldn't believe any excuses either.
Stephanie smiled. "Don't misunderstand, Director Fury. Agent Hill isn't one of ours. She only felt that your move was too extreme, and it might cause a fierce backlash from the World Security Council."
"Agent Hill understands the Council's way of handling things better than you. If you really go ahead with this cleansing operation without filing a report, no matter the outcome, the Council will definitely resent you. They'll look for a way to get rid of you—their biggest problem."
"So when Agent Hill reported it, she was actually doing it for your sake. If you blame her, you're blaming the wrong person…"
Her stepping in to defend Hill only made Fury even more uncertain about what she was after.
Whether Hill was Hydra or not, Stephanie didn't need to explain anything.
Even if it had been a misunderstanding, wouldn't dividing their enemies be the best opportunity for Hydra?
But unreadable or not, it was clear this matter couldn't end peacefully.
Fury's voice turned cold. "Since you already know, and you still dared to come straight to me… I take it you've made your preparations and decided to act early?"
His eyes flicked toward the door. "If that's the case, then the outside must already be under your control, isn't it?"
Hearing this, Coulson and May's expressions both changed slightly.
May strode to the window, pulling back the curtain just a little to peek out.
She watched for a long while, but saw nothing unusual. Everything outside looked normal.
She shook her head at Fury.
Stephanie laughed at their reactions and shook her head. "Director Fury, you're too sensitive. Can't I come here with goodwill? Must it always be a fight to the death?"
"Goodwill? After Hydra has hidden inside S.H.I.E.L.D. for so many years, do you really think I'd believe in your goodwill?" Fury let out a humorless laugh.
Stephanie only kept her calm smile. "Let me correct you. Those hiding inside S.H.I.E.L.D. are only one branch of Hydra. They don't represent all of us."
"Their idea is to topple S.H.I.E.L.D., then use its structure to let Hydra rise instantly as an invisible ruler behind the scenes…"
Her "correction" didn't ease Fury's nerves at all—on the contrary, it deepened them.
Because it proved his worst fear: the Hydra spies inside S.H.I.E.L.D. were only one piece of the Hydra puzzle.
So how much more strength was still outside?
Now that Stephanie had shown herself as Hydra, then her father, Gideon Malick, must also be Hydra.
And everyone knew the Malick family had always been a family of dirty hands in North America.
Almost every major intelligence and special agency in North America had people from the Malick family.
Which meant not only the World Security Council, but also the key secret branches of North America had been completely infiltrated by Hydra.
And that was only the part they could see. How much was still hidden?
If those external forces worked together with the Hydra moles inside, could S.H.I.E.L.D. really win?
Even if Hill hadn't leaked the plan, could his "Hydra-Hunting Plan" truly succeed?
Fury felt a heavy weight in his chest.
But Stephanie didn't stop. She went on, "Their idea isn't the shared belief of Hydra. Many of us think that plan is terrible—including me. Because in our eyes, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s structure is far too fragile…"
Her sudden insult caught everyone off guard.
How had the talk turned into open mockery?
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