Speaking of Coulson, his situation was far from good. Although the overall war against Hydra had ended, something this massive was bound to leave aftershocks.
Thanks to decades of covert development, it was no exaggeration to say that wherever S.H.I.E.L.D. had spread, Hydra had spread just as far. Hydra members could be found in nearly every S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. Once the order to step out of the shadows and into the light was issued, those hidden Hydras immediately took decisive action, turning their guns on their former comrades.
The moment Project Insight began, S.H.I.E.L.D. University fell completely. The information command center was also sealed off. Victoria Hand, stationed there, had prepared in advance and gathered some subordinates who remained loyal, but she still had to disguise herself as Hydra and fight desperately.
Small battlefields like these could be found all over the world. Yet when all those small scenes were pieced together, it became startlingly clear that the scale of this conflict had even surpassed the great decisive battle in Washington.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were in dire straits, but Hydra members were not faring much better. They had been collecting two salaries and enjoying generous benefits, living rather comfortable lives. Then, with a single order from their boss, they were told to turn traitor and go wild. That would have been one thing, but not long after they began acting, they turned around and found their home base destroyed—and their boss dead.
One could imagine how speechless they felt. Um... could they just pretend nothing had happened and go back to the good old days when everyone loved each other?
Thus, they had no choice but to keep fighting—not for anything else, but simply so they could survive. Heh, saying it that way almost made them sound like the good guys.