Purpose Achieved

Purpose Achieved

What were they supposed to do after finding that Inhuman? Was that even a question? Of course they would deal with him. That bastard had caused them so much trouble, made him unable to eat or sleep, his liver trembling in his gut. How could he let him off easy? Sitwell immediately said, "We can make him 'comply.' If he refuses, we'll make him disappear."

"Then Nick Fury will drag us out and wipe us out in one sweep." Pierce waved his hand impatiently. "Nick Fury is an old fox. He might be waiting for someone to go looking for that Inhuman. When that happens, it won't be so easy to smooth things over like it is now."

Would Nick Fury simply let an Inhuman involved in Level 10 clearance and the exposure of Hydra go unchecked? Pierce believed that with ten thousand percent certainty. Based on what he knew of Nick Fury, that Inhuman was surely surrounded by Nick Fury's watchers by now, waiting for Hydra agents to seek him out so they could follow the trail and catch them all in one go.

And even if the agents sent to watch him were all Hydra members, it would be useless. If that Inhuman died or vanished for no reason, those people would be lucky if Nick Fury did not personally pump them full of three pounds of truth serum. And when they started talking, they would expose far more than one or two people. Perhaps not a single member lurking within S.H.I.E.L.D. would escape.

Besides, going after him now had no meaning at all. Other than venting their anger, whether he lived or died had nothing to do with the grand plan they had been preparing for so long. It would only hand Nick Fury a pile of clues for nothing. The loss outweighed the gain.

The moment he thought of Nick Fury, Pierce's head began to ache. He had personally promoted and recommended that man to become Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., so he knew all too well just how capable and resourceful he was. Things had been fine before. Hydra had not been exposed, so those methods had nothing to do with him. But now Hydra had been uncovered, and it had already reached the part under his control. Only then did he realize that Nick Fury was truly difficult to handle.

When he had first learned that Nick Fury suspected there was something inside S.H.I.E.L.D., the thought of assassinating Nick Fury had flashed through his mind. But it lasted only an instant, because after Nick Fury died, he could not find anyone suitable to take over the Director's position. Of course, he could put one of his own people or some yes-man in the seat, but did those people possess Nick Fury's ability? Not at all. That was precisely why he had promoted Nick Fury, someone who was not one of his own, to become Director in the first place.

Hydra could now be said to be parasitic on S.H.I.E.L.D. The stronger S.H.I.E.L.D. was, the more nourishment Hydra absorbed, and the stronger it became. If S.H.I.E.L.D. collapsed, Hydra would lose its nourishment, and Pierce's years of planning would go down the drain. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s current strength was inseparable from Nick Fury's personal abilities. Under his leadership, S.H.I.E.L.D. had operated efficiently and consistently achieved outstanding results. This was also what gave Pierce the confidence to keep sparring with the bureaucrats of the World Security Council and maintain S.H.I.E.L.D.'s various extraordinary privileges.

In Pierce's heart, no one was more qualified for this position than Nick Fury. If someone else took over, they would certainly do worse than Nick Fury. By then, even if Pierce could talk circles around the committee, it would be useless. Even spitting blood would not help. The committee and other departments would surely carve up S.H.I.E.L.D.'s authority and weaken it in every possible way. And weakening and dividing S.H.I.E.L.D. was the same as weakening Hydra.

So for now, Nick Fury's position as Director still had to be protected. Only when Hydra had fully matured, broken free of its shell, and no longer needed S.H.I.E.L.D. to provide nourishment would it truly be time for Nick Fury to die. For now, it was still too early.

Pierce rubbed his temples. "All right. The most important thing now is stabilizing the situation. Stop talking about anything else. As for that Inhuman, hmph." Pierce snorted disdainfully. "Once our great cause of revival succeeds, wouldn't it be up to us whether we flattened or rounded up a mere Inhuman?"

"Yes, sir." Sitwell prepared to leave. "I'll go make preparations for what comes next."

Pierce stood as well and instructed him, "Agent Sitwell, if you botch this matter and leave behind any loose ends, then I will have no choice but to throw out someone important enough to be a scapegoat." At that, Pierce reached out and straightened Sitwell's suit collar. "Who do you think that scapegoat will be?"

Who could be an important enough scapegoat? Looking left, right, up, and down, it seemed that only he was suitable. Cold sweat immediately broke out on Sitwell's forehead, and he hurriedly promised, "Yes, I... I understand, sir. I guarantee there will be absolutely no mistakes."

Pierce waved him away, and Sitwell hurriedly left. Only then did Pierce, who had suffered this unprovoked disaster and been thoroughly set up, finally breathe a sigh of relief. Hydra's early exposure had truly made him nervous, but fortunately, after his maneuvering, the matter had not implicated the part under his control. His main task now was to drag things out. As long as he delayed until the plan succeeded, victory would be his.

Nick Fury had also been set up, but he had learned of Hydra's existence ahead of time because of it. However, he had gravely misjudged the situation. Hydra within S.H.I.E.L.D. was not one or two people, but a huge group, and even Minister Pierce, whom he trusted greatly, was one of Hydra's people.

He was now busy conducting an internal review of S.H.I.E.L.D. He did not need to worry about interference from the World Security Council, disrupting S.H.I.E.L.D.'s normal operations, or alerting the enemy. He believed that before long, the mole hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D. would be dug out, without even realizing it himself. When that happened, perhaps he could make good use of the spy. At least, that was what he believed for now.

As for Evenson, the instigator and mastermind behind the entire incident, he was at home slurping instant noodles. In truth, his goal had long since been achieved.

When Coulson and Melinda had come looking for him, he had already realized that since S.H.I.E.L.D. had discovered him, how long would it take for Hydra, its twin in all but name, to find out as well? Yet he could not directly tell Coulson, "There's Hydra inside your S.H.I.E.L.D., a whole lot of Hydra. Your minister is their top leader." Even if he said that, they would not believe him.

So, to keep that pack of mentally fanatical, extreme lunatics with no bottom line from dragging him away to stare at a flickering television while listening to brainwashing recordings and forcing him to comply, he might as well frame them and expose them. That way, they would have no time to come after him. Even if they wanted to, they would have reservations and not dare to do so.

As for whether Pierce would fly into a rage out of humiliation, disregard everything, and try to kill him, Evenson did not think it was very likely. A man capable of keeping an old fox like Nick Fury completely in the dark, pushing an extreme plan like Project Insight through layer after layer of approval, and getting Helicarriers into the sky should not be so emotionally driven in his actions—unless someone shone an idiot aura on him.

So this was merely a measure of self-protection, and it had not taken much effort. He had only killed a few gangsters guilty of every crime and a police chief who had taken bribes and broken the law. Besides, after their deaths, they had managed to throw two super organizations, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, into a frenzy. They should have considered it the highest honor.

P.S. Today's fantasy featured recommendation means an extra chapter. There will be another tonight.