Alexander Pierce strode into the SHIELD headquarters with barely contained fury etched across his features.
He genuinely hadn't expected Nick Fury to be such a formidable target. To eliminate him, Pierce had deployed not only a specialized assassination squad but had also authorized the use of heavy weaponry and explosives.
He'd even activated the Winter Soldier, who had been in cryogenic storage for years.
And still, Fury had escaped.
When the bombed vehicle—which remained structurally intact despite the devastating assault—was brought to his attention, Pierce finally understood exactly how much funding Nick Fury had embezzled over the years!
Even military tanks aren't that durable.
But Pierce couldn't afford to dwell on such financial improprieties now.
His assassination operation had failed catastrophically. Not only had Nick Fury survived, but he'd been rescued by Harry Osborn's Green Goblin persona. Even worse, the Winter Soldier had fallen into Osborn Industries' custody.
This cascade of disasters immediately sent Pierce into crisis management mode.
If Nick Fury returned to SHIELD, everything would change irrevocably.
Pierce understood his former subordinate's psychology perfectly. After surviving an assassination attempt, Fury would inevitably suspect internal treachery within SHIELD, and it wasn't impossible that he'd trace the conspiracy directly back to Pierce himself.
To prevent this outcome, he had to act swiftly before Nick Fury could reestablish contact with SHIELD personnel.
Pierce rushed to SHIELD headquarters with a tactical team, immediately drawing the attention of numerous personnel.
Agent Hill, the deputy director, assumed Pierce was seeking Nick Fury and stepped forward helpfully.
"Mr. Pierce, the Director isn't available at the moment."
"Of course I know he's not here," Pierce replied with calculated composure.
His steely gaze swept across all the agents present. Although he'd officially retired, his reputation within SHIELD remained substantial.
Not to mention that most of the agents present were actually Hydra operatives who followed his leadership. Moreover, his gracious transition of power to Nick Fury in previous years had earned him considerable respect from genuine SHIELD personnel as well.
"There will be no more Nick Fury, Agent Hill," he said with practiced indifference, shaking his head gravely.
"What?" Hill looked genuinely stunned.
Pierce immediately handed her a classified document, and before Hill could review its contents, he announced, "Nick Fury has been confirmed to be a high-ranking Hydra operative."
"How is that possible?" Coulson interjected with obvious disbelief.
Pierce immediately adopted an expression of profound regret. "If I could avoid believing it, I would. After all, I personally promoted Nick Fury to the directorship of SHIELD. Who could have anticipated that he would conceal his true allegiance so effectively?"
For someone like Coulson, who was one of Nick Fury's most trusted subordinates, accepting Pierce's claims remained extraordinarily difficult.
"I have comprehensive evidence," Pierce said simply, gesturing toward the documents in Hill's hands.
The information contained within was a careful mixture of truth and fabrication—though it could be argued that most of it was actually accurate.
The documents detailed virtually every classified research project that Nick Fury had conducted in secret.
That paranoid director believed his activities were completely covert, but within an organization like SHIELD—which was 80 to 90 percent Hydra—how secretive could anything truly be?
In reality, Pierce had been closely monitoring Nick Fury since his first day in office.
Agent Hill was horrified as she reviewed the files.
She had participated in many of these projects personally, but there were numerous others she'd never known existed.
"These represent all the research that Nick Fury conducted behind our backs," Pierce explained. "And where are the results of these studies? If they're not within SHIELD, then where could they be?"
The implication was unmistakable.
The name Hydra flashed through everyone's minds, while the actual Hydra operatives feigned confusion and concern.
At this moment, the high-ranking agents within SHIELD who had already received Pierce's preliminary contact immediately demonstrated their support, standing behind him with serious expressions.
"Deputy Director Hill, regardless of whether Director Fury is actually Hydra or not, we must detain him first and conduct a thorough investigation. If he's innocent, I'm confident he'll be able to provide reasonable explanations for these research programs. If he genuinely is Hydra, then we absolutely cannot tolerate his presence!"
Humans are creatures prone to herd mentality. When the majority voices within a group believe that Nick Fury is Hydra, even if he's completely innocent, he cannot exonerate himself.
Those agents who weren't Hydra operatives were initially confused by these revelations, but when they observed that most personnel were already supporting Pierce, they abandoned independent thinking and followed the consensus.
Agents follow orders.
Furthermore, Pierce was first and foremost the former director of SHIELD and a current member of the Security Council. Could his statements possibly be false?
If Nick Fury isn't Hydra, then is Pierce Hydra?
If Pierce were Hydra, why would he have transferred the directorship to Fury, only to emerge now to eliminate obstacles? Wouldn't that be completely unnecessary?
The logic didn't support such a scenario.
Therefore, when Pierce appeared with his accusations, most agents immediately accepted that Nick Fury was a Hydra infiltrator.
Pierce's gaze swept across the assembled personnel like a surveillance camera, causing everyone who harbored doubts or wanted to defend Nick Fury to remain silent.
Even though Hill, Coulson, and others refused to believe the allegations, there was nothing they could do at this point.
Because the operatives led by Pierce had already aimed weapon muzzles at their heads.
"I suspect that Nick Fury, having operated SHIELD for so long, must have planted additional spies among all of you," Pierce announced.
"I apologize, but you were all Nick Fury's most trusted agents. For security reasons, we must conduct comprehensive investigations of each of you."
"Take them into custody!"
At Pierce's command, several agents immediately escorted Coulson, Hill, Natasha, Barton, and others to detention facilities.
Strictly speaking, Pierce's treatment of them couldn't be characterized as prisoner abuse, which convinced many observers that Pierce was genuinely eliminating traitors.
In mere moments, Pierce had regained control of most SHIELD operations.
But he didn't allow himself to relax.
Pierce understood better than anyone that these agents weren't the most challenging adversaries—the truly difficult opponents were the so-called superheroes.
Especially Captain America!
But he still wanted to attempt maintaining the current status temporarily, to see if he could keep Captain America working for him—transforming Nick Fury's Avengers into Hydra's Avengers, and making Captain America into Hydra's captain!
So he summoned Steve Rogers.
At this moment, Captain America, who had recently concluded his conversation with Ben, was lost in contemplation.
He remained unaware of recent developments, and when he saw Pierce occupying Nick Fury's office, he was genuinely surprised.
"This is our first meeting, Captain," Pierce said with calculated warmth.
Captain America frowned with obvious confusion. "I thought Fury had called for me."
"There is no more Fury—he's Hydra," Pierce sighed heavily, then settled into the chair with apparent exhaustion, completely ignoring the shocked expression on Captain America's face.
"I made a terrible mistake. I failed to recognize Nick Fury's true nature and handed him the power. I never suspected he would be a traitor."
"It was because of him that we discovered almost no intelligence about Hydra remnants over the past seventy years—because he'd been feeding information to them all along."
"It's because of him that SHIELD's interior is no longer secure. Anyone could be a Hydra spy planted by Nick. Everyone is in danger, and no one can trust anyone else."
Have you betrayed me too, Nick Fury? Or... is this person standing before me the real Hydra operative?
Captain America clenched his fists in anguish, lowering his head as mental torment consumed him.
I genuinely can't determine which one is telling the truth!
"I realize this is difficult to accept," Pierce said, observing the bewildered and confused expression on Captain America's face. Believing he was making progress, he continued, "Because after you awakened, the first person who made an impression on you was Nick Fury. It's like imprinting—you subconsciously consider him reliable. But he orchestrated all of this from the beginning."
"Then can I trust you?" Steve asked pointedly.
At this moment, he recalled Ben's earlier words with crystal clarity.
The world has become complicated.
This is no longer an era where you can simply charge forward with your shield raised. Sometimes you're filled with confidence and ready to accomplish great things, but you don't even know who the enemy is or where they're hiding.
What's the purpose of the super-soldier serum?
You clench your fists, but you don't even know who deserves to be struck.
After hearing Steve's response, Pierce realized that convincing Captain America to work for him was probably impossible.
He concealed the murderous intent in his eyes and turned away. He didn't immediately move against Captain America—not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't defeat him in direct confrontation.
"I believe time will provide you with the answer, Captain."
Captain America turned and departed. The moment he exited the office, Pierce immediately grabbed his phone and contacted the tactical team.
"Apprehend Captain America and the other Avengers immediately!"
Unlike other deceived agents, the tactical squad led by Crossbones was entirely affiliated with Hydra.
Therefore, after receiving Pierce's orders, they picked up their weapons without hesitation and moved toward Captain America's location.
In the elevator, the tall figure of Steve Rogers stood in the center, surrounded by several groups of people dressed in different uniforms.
The elevator stopped multiple times. First, members of the tactical team squeezed inside, followed by several employees wearing business suits.
As the compartment filled with bodies, Steve realized he was being surrounded.
These individuals appeared normal, but given the current sensitive circumstances, Steve detected something suspicious.
Crossbones subconsciously positioned his hand near the sidearm on his thigh. The other tactical operatives were obviously tense, with perspiration visible on their foreheads.
Those agents wearing business attire were equipped with combat boots, making it obvious that their suits were merely disguises.
He understood immediately.
This group is here for me.
By now, Steve had realized that while he didn't know whether Nick Fury could be trusted, Pierce was definitely untrustworthy.
Are these people who were ordered to arrest me the real Hydra operatives, or are they simply agents following orders?
Steve couldn't determine the truth.
He had long since lost the ability to distinguish between enemies and allies.
At this moment, he recalled his recent conversation with Ben.
He had asked Ben how to completely eliminate all Hydra operatives.
Ben had answered: Become Hydra.
Initially, Steve had suspected that Ben was also a Hydra infiltrator, but after Ben's explanation, Steve finally understood his meaning.
Only by becoming Hydra could you fight Hydra using Hydra's own methods.
If you became the leader of Hydra, would you still worry about not obtaining a complete list of all Hydra members?
If the operatives within this serpent's nest knew that even Captain America was one of them, they would probably immediately crown him their king, make him the Captain of Hydra, and follow him toward renewed greatness!
All he would have to sacrifice was a few simple words:
Hail Hydra.
"Actually, Hydra operatives are quite straightforward," Ben's voice seemed to echo in Captain America's memory.
"Each of them believes they're perfectly concealed within SHIELD, and there are numerous factions. To avoid total exposure, even important figures don't know the identity of every Hydra member. This means they're uncertain about your allegiance, Captain."
"And more importantly, no one would believe the real Captain America would say such a thing, unless you were actually Hydra."
It was precisely because of this psychological dynamic that when Steve uttered "Hail Hydra," it would be so devastating to genuine Hydra operatives.
Steve had never considered this approach until he heard Ben's strategy.
But he couldn't do it.
He couldn't bring himself to say those words, couldn't force himself to declare: Hail Hydra.
Today's Captain America wasn't the Steve Rogers who had experienced multiple crises, watched civilizations crumble, and returned from the quantum realm with hard-won wisdom.
He had been freed from the ice only months ago.
World War II, Hydra, the Nazis...
Those events had become distant history for modern people, but for him, they represented recent experiences.
In comparison, the events of recent months felt like a surreal dream from which he couldn't awaken.
In his subconscious, the war had never truly ended. Whenever he closed his eyes, he could hear gunfire and anguished cries; whenever he closed his eyes, he could see his fallen comrades, Bucky, Peggy...
How could I possibly say such a thing?
How could I betray myself and everyone who died?
Steve swore that even if he died here or had to leap from this elevator, he would never utter the words "Hail Hydra"!
So he closed his eyes and exhaled deeply.
When he opened them again, they blazed with absolute determination.
After all, I've already died once.
"Before we begin," he said calmly, "does anyone want to get out?"