"'Doing nothing' isn't quite accurate," Schiller replied.
He opened his mouth, hesitation showing on his face as though he did not know how to phrase it. "I know you want me to provide some evidence, so you can pin the blame for this on S.H.I.E.L.D."
"After all, Russian spies fall within your jurisdiction, while Hydra falls within S.H.I.E.L.D.'s. When the KGB used Hydra to rise to power and exposed all this to mock you, both sides wanted to accuse the other of incompetence."
Mark narrowed his eyes. "So Nick Fury really did..."
Schiller first shook his head, then nodded, then shook his head again. In the end, he said nothing.
After that, no matter how Mark questioned him, Schiller remained silent. Mark understood that he had probably struck upon the crucial point.
So he grew even more desperate for an answer, repeating his question over and over or looking for other openings to make Schiller speak.
Schiller stayed silent for some time, nearly exhausting Mark's patience before he finally asked, "Aren't you a CIA investigator? Interrogation isn't supposed to be your job. Why are you wasting your time tangling with me here?"
Mark stood before Schiller with his arms folded, seemingly hesitating over whether to answer that question.
During an interrogation, constant refusal and pressure were not entirely beneficial. Appropriate compliance and answers could help make the subject talk. Therefore, agents often used answers to insignificant questions to encourage the subject to keep speaking, until they eventually leaked their intelligence.
"I was originally a field agent, but because of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s operational failure, the United States' international reputation was damaged. The CIA also came under enormous pressure because of it, so I was ordered to pursue this matter with everything I had."
Before saying that, Mark had made sure he was