Pierce's Argument

Pierce's Argument

A day had passed since the raid on the Deadlock Gang, yet Nick Fury had remained in his office without leaving. The outcome of the operation had left him deeply unsettled. While it confirmed that Hydra's resurgence was not a baseless rumor, it also proved that the situation was even more complicated and troublesome than expected. Hydra operatives had already infiltrated government personnel, and there could even be moles within S.H.I.E.L.D.

Troubled by these matters, Nick Fury had barely slept all night. The possibility of a Hydra insider within S.H.I.E.L.D. was extremely high. To dig that person out, an internal review was both unavoidable and necessary. But how broad should the review be? Who would conduct it? How long would it last? How intense should it be? Simple questioning and screening, or lie detectors and coercive interrogation together? And how could they avoid disrupting S.H.I.E.L.D.'s normal operations while carrying out the review?

There were too many aspects to consider. Then a knock at the door interrupted Nick Fury's thoughts. Before he could grant permission, the door was pushed open. Fury found that somewhat surprising, but relaxed when he saw who had entered. It was Alexander Pierce, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Minister. Like him, Pierce possessed Level 10 clearance, and Fury's appointment as Director had been inseparable from Pierce's support. The two also had a fairly good personal relationship. Since Pierce was both an old superior and an old friend, he naturally did not need to stand on ceremony.

Seeing Pierce, Nick Fury immediately went over to greet him warmly. "Hey, buddy. What brings you here? Aren't you supposed to be chatting with those guys from the World Security Council?"

In response to Nick Fury's teasing, Pierce answered naturally, "World peace can't be achieved by talking. It takes real action. But you look a little tired."

Nick Fury took out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses from the cabinet. After pouring them both, he picked up one glass and pushed the other toward Pierce. "That's the price of real action. You've heard about that matter too, haven't you?"

"If you mean Hydra, then yes, I have." Pierce picked up his glass and took a sip. "Also, is drinking during work hours really a good idea?"

A day had already passed. It was perfectly normal for a Minister with Level 10 clearance to know about it. After all, the highest confidentiality level was only Level 10; no one could keep it from him.

"Planning to report me?" Nick Fury smiled, then took another sip. "What do you think about this?"

Pierce set down his glass. "Surprised. Truly surprised. I thought I would only ever see Hydra's name in historical files for the rest of my life." Then he glanced at Nick Fury. "I won't report you, but if you get drunk, I'll hang you from the rooftop until you sober up."

Nick Fury took another sip and shot Pierce a provocative look, as if to say, You couldn't carry me anyway. "I'm shocked too. What shocks me even more is that Hydra may have planted eyes among government personnel, even within S.H.I.E.L.D."

Nick Fury revealed everything without reservation. He knew there had been spies planted internally, but he never could have imagined that the Minister standing before him was the biggest mole of all. After all, the idea of a company chairman being a corporate spy for another company was simply too absurd.

Pierce sighed with concern. "I heard about the operation's results. While we weren't paying attention, Hydra grew again." Then he added self-reproachfully, "I never expected something like this to happen while you and I were in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Seeing his old friend blaming himself, Nick Fury comforted him. "This isn't your responsibility. And it's not too late yet. They've exposed themselves now. Sooner or later, I'll wipe out every last one of those lunatics."

After hearing Nick Fury's words, Pierce's left pinky twitched involuntarily. "Good. This is your specialty. What do you plan to do?"

Nick Fury set down his glass. "First, purge the inside. We have to ensure internal security before we can talk about anything else."

Ensure internal security? Wouldn't that mean I'm finished? Pierce took out a phone and said, "I have a document here that I think you should look at. This is an electronic copy. The original is in the evidence room."

Nick Fury also took out his phone and scanned Pierce's. The document downloaded immediately. It was the very document Sitwell had forged at Pierce's instruction. Its contents were a police department operation plan. The police chief, who had been framed as a Hydra member and forced to poison himself, had planned to symbolically crack down on the Deadlock Gang in order to boost his record and move up another rank. The operation was scheduled for the same day as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s operation, though it was set for that evening.

Nick Fury read through it once and immediately understood the significance of the document. It suggested that those low-level thugs might merely have gone into hiding to avoid the police department's operation, rather than because someone within S.H.I.E.L.D. had leaked information. It could all have been a coincidence.

After reading it, Nick Fury set his phone aside. "You believe this document?"

Pierce smiled. "Honestly? I don't believe a single punctuation mark in it. But it's a good excuse, isn't it?"

"An excuse? An excuse for what?" Nick Fury asked, puzzled.

"An excuse not to conduct a full-scale review." Pierce finally revealed his purpose.

"Not to conduct a full-scale review? Why?" Although he had not made a final decision, Nick Fury was more inclined toward a comprehensive review. But since Minister Pierce was clearly opposed to it, he might as well hear him out first.

"Fury, you have to understand that S.H.I.E.L.D. is subject to oversight as well. Hydra has reappeared, and its people have even infiltrated government personnel and S.H.I.E.L.D. Such a major matter must be reported to the World Security Council. Do you know how they'll see it?" Pierce said.

Perhaps because people of action had always disliked politics, Nick Fury was visibly impatient after hearing that. "I don't give a damn what those bureaucrats think. They're all blind idiots. As long as they know the world's nuclear warheads are still sitting obediently in their warehouses, they think world peace means everything is fine."

"World peace. Yes, that's exactly the phrase. The world is far too stable right now. That's a good thing, but..." Pierce stood and began pacing around the room. "The military is valued most during wartime. Back then, no matter how much military spending increased, there would not be much objection. S.H.I.E.L.D. is the same. Only when the situation is turbulent is it most trusted. Hmph. I really miss the Cold War, when it felt like a world war could break out at any moment. That was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s golden age."

"So? The World Security Council thinks S.H.I.E.L.D. is unnecessary?" Nick Fury curled his lip disdainfully. "And I don't miss the Cold War."