Hostage-taking

In short, Pierce had become deeply suspicious, but fortunately, he was a formidable figure of his generation and had not yet descended into total panic.

He had made up his mind. There were only two things to do now. First, continue steadily advancing Project Insight, which could eliminate every threat, and strive to bring it online ahead of schedule. Second, call on all personnel to conduct self-inspections and mutual inspections to ensure the ideological purity of those within the organization. Everyone was to resist Corruption, never be tainted by it, strive to become good Hydra cadres and agents, and draw a firm line between themselves and Umbrella Corporation imperialism.

However, Pierce's changes were merely a side effect. The real purpose of this whole performance had been to dispel Nick Fury's suspicions, and so far, it seemed to be working fairly well. But that did not mean Evenson could rest easy.

They were still in that conference room that had been used as a set. After the director called cut and the cameramen had already shouldered their cameras and left, the actors from before did not depart. Instead, they remained behind to discuss what to do next.

"How could this happen? How could something like this happen?!" Stephanie still looked badly shaken. Though she had received an elite education since childhood, she was Malik's precious daughter and had always been protected thoroughly. This was the first time she had ever experienced something so dangerous.

When Evenson informed her that they had caught a S.H.I.E.L.D. spy here and that Nick Fury had begun paying attention to this place, she had nearly been scared out of her wits. Fortunately, Evenson had pounded his chest and assured her that it was no big deal, that he had already figured out how to handle it,