Proceeding in Secret

Proceeding in Secret

Was S.H.I.E.L.D. unnecessary? Of course not. But that did not mean the World Security Council had no opinions about S.H.I.E.L.D., especially in this relatively peaceful world.

"Fury, no one thinks S.H.I.E.L.D. is unnecessary, but..." Pierce turned to face Nick Fury. "The World Security Council is running out of patience with S.H.I.E.L.D. They fly into a rage over the slightest issue. You consume the largest budget of all intelligence agencies, yet do the same work as the others."

To be honest, although S.H.I.E.L.D.'s role was crucial, in this era without extraterrestrial life or the Avengers, its duties did overlap with those of several other agencies. Other departments did much of what S.H.I.E.L.D. did, such as the CIA and the National Security Agency. What they did was largely no different from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s work. Though S.H.I.E.L.D. had the best results among them, it also consumed the most funding. It was like equipping one soldier with three primary weapons, with S.H.I.E.L.D. being the biggest and heaviest one.

Pierce turned toward Nick Fury, raised the phone in his hand, and continued, "You found an evil organization that should have been wiped out sixty years ago in some tiny gang no one had ever heard of. Then, because one operation did not go perfectly, you concluded that it had infiltrated the government and S.H.I.E.L.D. That claim is no easier for the Council to believe than the document in my hand. Do you know what they'll think?"

Nick Fury said nothing. He merely rubbed his nose and turned his head aside, as if sulking. Pierce continued, "They'll think you're making a mountain out of a molehill, creating trouble where there is none. They may even think you're lying, deliberately inventing an imaginary enemy so S.H.I.E.L.D. can gain more attention and authority."

S.H.I.E.L.D. already possessed enormous authority: top priority over intelligence, all kinds of exemptions, and the ability to conduct sovereignty-ignoring black operations anywhere in the world, domestic or foreign, without even filing a report. The government then had to clean up the aftermath. The State Department had complained to Congress about this more than once.

So it was not only the World Security Council. The government itself also had its grievances with S.H.I.E.L.D. Some people even believed S.H.I.E.L.D. was a harmful product of a system lacking transparency and oversight. The CIA in particular believed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s authority and funding should be cut, and that it should be placed under the CIA's command. Of course, no one paid any attention to that proposal.

And now, while none of the other agencies had received even the slightest intelligence, Nick Fury had suddenly dug up Hydra, which should have been dead for years, from a tiny gang. Then, based on just one operation, he concluded that Hydra had infiltrated the government and S.H.I.E.L.D.

They would practically take it for granted that Nick Fury was playing both arsonist and firefighter. They would believe this so-called Hydra was merely a product of Nick Fury's imagination, fabricated to prove the necessity of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s excessive privileges and seize even more power, while giving it an excuse to evade government oversight. What, you want to oversee me? Sorry, I suspect you're Hydra. Please come with us.

"Listen." Nick Fury finally spoke after a long silence. His expression was exceptionally grim, and a terrifying gleam shot from his one eye. "I don't give a damn what the Council thinks. I only care about the truth. What I want most right now is to crush every single one of those Hydra bastards threatening world security."

"Really? Don't you think I feel the same way?" Pierce walked over to Nick Fury and stared directly into his eyes. "What are seven or eight people in a tiny gang? I care about the big picture. You and I both know how powerful Hydra once was, but now we know practically nothing about it. So if we want to deal with them, S.H.I.E.L.D. must first ensure that it is not constrained in any way."

"That's why I want an internal review. There may be more than one Hydra spy lurking within S.H.I.E.L.D. This is an absolutely unignorable threat," Nick Fury said loudly.

They said that knowing yourself and your enemy meant victory in every battle, but now the situation was exactly the opposite. S.H.I.E.L.D. knew very little about Hydra as it existed now, while a spy within its own ranks was constantly passing information to Hydra. How the hell were they supposed to fight like that?

"The impact of a few spies cannot compare to the impact the Council could have. And Hydra isn't our only enemy." Pierce raised his voice as well. "A large-scale review would inevitably have to be reported to the Council for approval. They may use that as an excuse to conduct a thorough inspection of S.H.I.E.L.D. That alone wouldn't be a problem. But it would severely disrupt our normal operations, perhaps even bring all our work to a complete standstill. You know how much damage that would cause."

Whatever Pierce's motives, the Council would absolutely be happy to conduct a thorough inspection of S.H.I.E.L.D. And what would a bureaucratic inspection look like? First, they would take over S.H.I.E.L.D.'s highest authority and restrict the movements of every agent. Even routine missions would be handed over to other agencies. Then they would go through the archives from every past year, reading everything whether they were supposed to or not. S.H.I.E.L.D. would be completely paralyzed during that time. And given those bureaucrats' sense of time, this inspection probably would not be finished in less than half a year. By then, before Hydra was dealt with, other terrorist organizations might have already turned the world upside down. Half a year—who knew, maybe that big bearded guy would be flying planes again by then.

A large-scale review had only been Nick Fury's inclination to begin with; he had not made up his mind. After hearing Pierce's words, he truly began to hesitate. "What do you suggest? Just let it go?"

If you can really leave it alone, I'll run naked around your office right this second. That was what Pierce thought, but he said, "Doing nothing is definitely not an option, but there's no need to make such a big fuss. We can conduct the review in secret, discreetly and in batches. It may take longer, but it won't affect normal operations. More importantly, it will let us bypass the World Security Council."

Pierce had finally revealed his true purpose. After considering it, Nick Fury genuinely thought it was a good idea. A small-scale covert review would not need to be reported to those professional bureaucrats on the Council, nor would it greatly affect normal operations within the agency. This low-profile approach might even lull Hydra into a false sense of security, making it easier to uncover who the spy was. And with this kind of covert operation, even if they identified the spy, they did not necessarily have to expose him immediately. If they could use him to feed Hydra false intelligence, then wipe them all out in one stroke, wouldn't that be even better?

"All right. We'll do it your way." And just like that, Nick Fury had fallen into Pierce's trap.