Pierce spoke passionately, his voice hoarse from shouting, then watched as Fury slowly poured a cup of coffee, took a sip, and looked at him as if to say, "I'm listening. Please continue."
Pierce fell silent.
Seeing the strained face of his former leader, Fury held the coffee and said quietly, "What do you want us to do? Declare war?"
"The White House and the military won't choose that path."
"No one knows who this ruler is. The unknown is the most terrifying thing. You know that better than me, Pierce."
"We're all the same."
Fury's voice was full of sarcasm. "We use force to fight for interests and achieve our goals. When we find a huge disparity in power, we become as obedient as sheep and try to win them over."
"The core logic is self-interest."
He looked at Pierce, his one eye glinting with indifference and suspicion. "So, what is your purpose?"
Pierce was silent.
The crisis had made him lose his usual composure, and Fury, the master agent, had caught his mistake.
Thinking quickly, Pierce sighed. "Someone wants to explore the powerful secrets of that ruler of Madripoor. He caused millions of people to starve, get sick, and become maimed in an instant."
"They don't have much time to wait."
Fury immediately understood, his initial guess confirmed. Otherwise, he couldn't figure out why Pierce would risk so much to investigate.
However, Pierce then changed the subject, his expression serious. "But one thing I didn't lie about: a large number of HYDRA agents are hidden under the ruler. I don't know what methods the other side used to expose my information. You know their style—I'm in grave danger, and I need help."
Fury stared at Pierce's calm face with his one eye.
"I need a list," Pierce said.
"After I'm safe," Fury replied.
"I have a safe house only I know about."
Pierce thought for a moment. He knew this was Fury's final condition and nodded in agreement.
In the square of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Trident Building, Fury led Pierce toward the parking area.
After only two steps, they both stopped. Pierce's expression became one of extreme fear, and a few drops of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.
Right in front of them, a figure had suddenly appeared.
A brown coat with a white collar, casual black jeans, and high-heeled boots. Her long green hair blew in the breeze, and her charming, delicate face made it impossible to look away.
Especially her slightly squinted, beautiful eyes, which seemed to have a magical quality.
Her pink lips curled into a smile, and she stood less than fifteen meters from Fury and Pierce.
The person who came was Ophelia. Her slender hands were in her coat pockets, and her tone was gentle, elegant, and dangerous.
Fury's right hand was under the belt of his black trench coat, and he stared at the woman in front of him with caution.
He glanced around with his peripheral vision. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of agents coming and going, yet they all seemed not to notice the mysterious woman who had suddenly appeared.
As for Pierce, his body was stiff with fear.
"It's nice to see you again, Mr. Pierce. I never thought that before facing death, you'd turn to the one person you're most vigilant and cautious of."
Pierce felt a chill down his spine.
Before he could speak, Fury cut in with a low voice. "Ms. Viper, this is the United States."
The meaning was self-evident.
Viper didn't seem surprised that he knew her. She tilted her head slightly and glanced at the bald, one-eyed man with a puzzled tone. "And what does that change?"
"Pierce is a member of the World Security Council. He has many friends behind him. I think the one behind you wouldn't want to see a dispute between our two countries."
Fury knew Viper was playing dumb, but no matter what, he couldn't let Pierce be killed in front of him.
As he said, Pierce held a high position and had worked for many years. The interest groups behind him could not be underestimated and could even affect some of the United States' decisions.
Not to mention their personal relationship, Fury was unwilling to see the consequences.
"America? Compared with God, isn't that a little unworthy of mention?"
Ophelia shook her head slightly, but the two men still believed that the United States had a certain deterrent effect on her dear master.
But their difference in understanding determined this line of thought. Ever since Leon gave her power and knowledge and awakened her small universe, she understood that the so-called "strongest country" had technology that was small and fragile.
She knew that if she wanted to, given a certain amount of time, she could wipe the entire American plate from the Earth.
"What's more..."
Weng...
A green light and shadow cut through the air like a thread, and Ophelia's figure suddenly appeared in front of the two. She reached out and grabbed Pierce's neck, lifting him off the ground.
Pierce weakly grabbed the hand that was pinching his neck. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't break free, and his old face began to turn red.
Fury reacted and pulled out his pistol, aiming it at Ophelia's temple. But then his expression turned grim because he realized he couldn't move.
An invisible force seemed to be holding his body in place.
His one eye stared at the woman's delicate profile, and a huge wave of shock was set off in his heart. Viper, the person who had caused turmoil in Madripoor and eventually taken control of it, was a person S.H.I.E.L.D. had a file on.
Although her identity was questionable, a lot of information about her past activities had been collected.
The data indicated that Viper was a master poisoner with top-level combat, firearms, and other abilities.
But all of that was within the realm of possibility. The speed she had just shown, effortlessly lifting Pierce—a man nearly six feet tall and over 300 pounds—and the strange ability that held him in place were not things an ordinary person could do.
These were all abilities Viper had never shown in her past.
Hidden?
Absolutely not. During the crucial power struggle in Madripoor, Viper did not display these powers. She had made a deal with Wolverine, Logan, and with his help, she had succeeded.
So the answer was simple.
It was most likely an ability given to her by the person behind her.
As Fury's brain worked rapidly, he secretly regretted that his trump card required him to use the old-fashioned pager hanging on his tactical belt. He was stuck.
Ophelia's eyes flashed with a dark green light, and her invisible Psychokinesis rushed into Pierce's subcortex. A microchip stained with blood broke through the skin and slowly floated in front of her.
"Very good technology. But I wonder if it comes from your so-called S.H.I.E.L.D., or from your own HYDRA technology."
Fury, who had been deep in thought, suddenly widened his one eye and looked at Pierce in disbelief.
He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
Fury was a suspicious man. He didn't trust anyone, not even his most trusted subordinates. Pierce was the same, but Fury had never suspected that his former boss and old friend was a member of HYDRA.
HYDRA... what an old name.
Since the end of World War II, a large number of HYDRA agents had been arrested and executed, and the organization had seemingly disappeared for decades. Fury had long thought that HYDRA had been buried in the long river of history. This was why he hadn't believed Pierce's previous statement that Viper was HYDRA.
After all, the department he led had been hunting and killing HYDRA for countless years until it was officially declared that there was no HYDRA left. He had witnessed it himself.
But now, Viper was saying that Pierce was HYDRA.
Fury naturally didn't want to believe it, but he knew that Viper had no need to lie. As he connected the dots, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his heart was in turmoil.
He thought of an even more terrible reality.
Fury's eyes were filled with a terrifying cold light, and he gritted his teeth.
Ophelia pulled out Pierce's mental defense chip, and her immense mental power unscrupulously read Pierce's memory. All the secrets buried in his heart were exposed.
After Browse his memory, Ophelia couldn't help but laugh. She turned her head and looked at the bald, black man who was fixed by her Psychokinesis. After a moment's consideration, she withdrew her power.
Fury's tense body suddenly relaxed.
Ignoring his physical and psychological shock, he put down the gun, his expression serious and cold. "Are you HYDRA, too?" he asked in a low voice.
"Hmm."
"My situation is bad?"
"Very bad." Ophelia tapped her chin.
Fury took a deep breath, his expression calm again. "What do I need to pay?"
Smart people don't beat around the bush. Fury knew he had to pay a price for the information he needed.
Ophelia truly admired this dark-skinned bald man. No wonder Pierce was afraid of him.
"I saw a very interesting project that was shelved in this old guy's memory: the Pegasus Project."
Hearing the name, Fury's eyes moved slightly. He knew what this woman's purpose was.
"You know the chip behind your neck can't protect your brain," Ophelia said lazily.
Fury's heart went cold. This woman was completely ruthless. He immediately said decisively, "Tesseract."
"After the development of the Pegasus Project's light-speed engine was stalled, we secretly continued our research."
"It seems you have a lot of good things here." Ophelia smiled happily. The Tesseract... a magical thing like that, she was sure her master would like it very much.
"We can cooperate."
Fury said without hesitation. The situation was extremely complicated. Even if he had to pay a higher price, he still needed outside help to clean up S.H.I.E.L.D. from the inside. The other option was to change his cards or call in people, but that would also take time.
"I like your cleverness."
Ophelia was more than satisfied. After spending so much time with Leon, she understood that her young god wasn't interested in complicated things at all. He was just a lazy guy. She and Melina were basically in charge of formulating the territorial development plans.
With her strategic vision, she had guessed Leon's intentions from the actions in Madripoor. The Earth was just an anchor for Leon. His true purpose was beyond Earth. The Earth was more like a basic training ground for talent.
Ruling the Earth?
There was no need for that. It was best to maintain relatively stable development, which was in line with current interests. It would be good to have a reliable partner. At the very least, it would prevent some boring and stupid people from causing trouble and looking for death.
The black, bald man in front of her was clearly a good partner.
Having made a decision, Ophelia let go of her hand. With a thump, Alexander Pierce fell to the ground, his hand on his neck, blushing and coughing continuously.
Ignoring the old man, Ophelia put her hands back in her coat pockets, her slightly narrowed eyes showing her happy mood.
"Kacha."
Fury's ears perked up at the sound of breaking glass.
In the next moment, the atmosphere of the entire square changed instantly.
The agents and clerks who had been coming and going suddenly noticed the presence of Ophelia and the other two.
Especially when they noticed the gun in Fury's hand and Pierce sitting on the ground in despair, all the agents immediately drew their guns and aimed them at Ophelia, the stranger who had suddenly appeared.
Alarms sounded in the building.
But before the agents could take another step, Ophelia's beautiful eyes flashed with a green light, and a powerful wave of Psychokinesis washed over the entire Trident Building like a tide.
Boom!
Whether inside or outside the building, most of the agents were instantly frozen in place, unable to move.
Only a small number of agents had no idea what was going on. They found their companions frozen in strange poses. Everyone was confused.
"Quick! All agents in Area 1, act immediately!" a voice blared from a loudspeaker.
(End of Chapter)
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