Before We Begin, Does Anyone Want to Get Off?

Pierce strode into the S.H.I.E.L.D.. base with a dark expression.

He truly hadn't expected that, given how much he valued Nick Fury, they had not only dispatched a small assassination squad but also brought out all sorts of weapons to take him down.

They even deployed Winter Soldier had been frozen for many years.

But he still managed to get away.

Finally, when the car that had been bombed but whose outer frame hadn't been significantly altered was brought before him, he realized just how much money Nick Fury had embezzled!

Oh shit!

Even tanks aren't that durable, are they?

However, Pierce is no longer in the mood to worry about trivial matters like funding.

His assassination plot failed. Nick Fury not only survived but was also rescued by the Green Goblin Harry Osborn, and even the Winter Soldier fell into the hands of the Osborn Corporation.

This series of unexpected events immediately put Pierworth in a panic.

If Nick Fury were to return to S.H.I.E.L.D.., everything would change.

Pierce knows his former subordinate too well. After an assassination attempt, Fury will inevitably suspect that there is a mole within S.H.I.E.L.D.., and it's not impossible that the investigation will actually trace it back to him.

Therefore, he had to act quickly before Nick Fury could make contact with S.H.I.E.L.D..

Pierce arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D.. with a team of people in a hurry, which immediately attracted a lot of attention.

Agent Hill, acting as deputy director, assumed Pierce was looking for Nick Fury and immediately stepped forward, saying:

"Mr. Pierce, the chief is not here right now."

Of course I know he's not here.

Pierce remained as steady as a rock.

His serious gaze swept over all the agents present. Although he had retired, his reputation within S.H.I.E.L.D.. was still quite high.

Not to mention that most of the agents here are Hydra agents who are already subservient to him, his handover to Nick Fury was something that happened in the last few years, and the real S.H.I.E.L.D.. agents also have great respect for him.

"There will be no more Nick Fury, Agent Hill."

He shook his head indifferently.

"What?" Hill was taken aback.

Then, Pierce immediately handed her a document and, without waiting for Hill to look at it, said to himself, "Nick Fury has been confirmed as a high-ranking Hydra agent."

"How is this possible?"

Coulson looked utterly astonished.

Pierce immediately said regretfully, "If I could, I wouldn't want to believe it either. After all, I personally promoted Nick Fury to the position of Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Who would have thought he would be so well-hidden?"

That's true, but for someone like Coulson, a close associate of Nick Fury, it's still hard to believe what Pierce said.

"I have sufficient evidence." Pierce didn't say much, only gesturing to the documents in Hill's hand.

The items inside are half real and half fake; in fact, you could say most of them are real.

Because the materials contained almost entirely of Nick Fury's clandestine research.

That Egghead Fury thought his actions were very secretive, but in an organization like S. H. I. E. L. D., where eight or nine out of Hydra members are S.H.I.E.L.D., how secretive could he possibly be?

In fact, Pierce had been closely monitoring Nick Fury from the very first day he took office.

Agent Hill was horrified by what he saw.

She was involved in many of these projects, but there were also many she was unaware of.

"This is all research that Nick Fury did behind the backs of all of us, and where are the results?" Pierce retorted, "Not at S.H.I.E.L.D.., where are they?"

The answer is self-evident.

The name Hydra flashed through everyone's mind, while the real Hydra members were puzzled.

At this moment, the high-ranking agents within S.H.I.E.L.D.. who had already been contacted by Pierce immediately set an example, standing behind Pierce with serious expressions.

"Deputy Director Hill, regardless of whether Director Fury is truly Hydra, we can only detain him for now and conduct a thorough investigation. If he is innocent, I believe he will be able to provide a reasonable explanation for these studies. If he really is Hydra, then we will show no leniency!"

Humans are easily swayed by popular opinion. When the majority of the group believes that Nick Fury is Hydra, even if he isn't, it's hard to clear his name.

Those who weren't Hydra agents were initially confused, but seeing that most of them were already standing behind Pierce, they stopped thinking about it and followed.

Agents only need to obey orders.

Moreover, Pierce is first and foremost the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D.., and a member of the Security Council; how could his words be false?

Nick Fury isn't Hydra, so is Pierce Hydra?

If Pierce was truly Hydra, why would he pass the directorship to Fury, and now he's stepping in to eliminate any obstacles?

Isn't this unnecessary?

It doesn't make sense logically.

Therefore, Pierce's appearance immediately convinced most of the agents that Nick Fury was Hydra agent.

Pierce's gaze swept over everyone like a camera, silencing anyone who harbored doubts or wanted to speak up for Nick Fury.

Even though Hill, Coulson, and others didn't believe it, there was nothing they could do about it now.

Because Pierce's men had already pressed guns against their foreheads.

"I believe that after Nick Fury has been operating within S.H.I.E.L.D.. for so long, there must be other spies among you all."

"I'm sorry, but you were all Nick Fury's most trusted agents. For security reasons, we have to conduct a full investigation into you."

"Take them away!"

At Pierce's command, several agents immediately led Coulson, Hill, Natasha, Barton, and others to the solitary confinement cell.

Strictly speaking, Pierce's treatment of them didn't quite qualify as that of prisoners, which led many to believe that Pierce was genuinely just eliminating traitors.

In an instant, Pierce regained most of the power in S.H.I.E.L.D..

However, he did not let his guard down.

Because Pierce knew better than anyone that the secret agents weren't the hardest to deal with; the real challenge was dealing with the so-called Super Hero.

Especially Captain America!

But he still wanted to try and see if he could maintain the current situation for the time being, keep Captain America working for him, turn Nick Fury's Avengers into Hydra's Avengers, and turn Captain America into Captain Hydra!

Therefore, he summoned Steve.

At this moment, Captain America, who had just finished talking with Ben, was filled with many thoughts.

He was still unaware of what had happened, and when he saw Pierce in Nick Fury's office, he was stunned.

"This is our first time meeting, Captain."

Pierce said.

Captain America frowned and said:

I thought it was Fury looking for me.

"There's no Fury anymore. He's a Hydra." Pierce sighed, then slumped wearily into his chair, completely ignoring the surprised look on Captain America's face.

"I made a mistake by not seeing Nick Fury's true colors and handing him the position of director. I never imagined he would turn out to be a traitor."

"It is because of him that we have found almost no intelligence about the remnants of Hydra in the past seventy years, because he has been tipping off Hydra."

"It is precisely because of him that S.H.I.E.L.D.. has long since lost its purity. Everyone could be Hydra spy planted by Nick Fury. People are all on edge and cannot trust anyone."

"Even you have betrayed us, Nick Fury? Or... is this person before you the real Hydra?"

Captain America clenched his fist in surprise, lowered his head, and his mind was filled with painful screams.

"I really can't tell which one is real!"

"I know it's hard for you to believe," Pierce said, seeing the confused and bewildered look on Captain America's face. Thinking there was hope, he continued, "Because after you woke up, the first person who impressed you was Nick Fury. It's like the Duck Effect; you subconsciously think he's reliable. But he was just planning this all along."

"Then can I trust you?"

Steve countered with a question.

At that moment, he recalled once again what Ben had told him before.

The world has become more complicated.

These days, it's not an era where you can just charge forward with a shield. Sometimes you're full of ambition, eager to make a name for yourself, but you don't even know who the enemy is or where they are.

What's the point of injecting a whole bunch of serum?

He clenched his fist, but didn't even know who he was going to hit.

Upon hearing Steve's words, Pierce realized that getting Captain America to work for him was probably out of the question.

He concealed the murderous intent in his eyes, turned his back, and didn't immediately turn against Captain America, not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't defeat Captain America.

"I believe time will tell, Captain."

"I hope so..."

Captain America turned and left, and the next second after he stepped out of the office, Pierce immediately picked up the phone and dialed the Special Task Force.

"Arrest Captain America and the other Avengers immediately!"

Unlike the other deceived and misled agents, the Special Task Force led by Crossbones is actually entirely subordinate to Hydra.

Therefore, upon hearing Pierce's order, they did not hesitate to pick up their weapons and head towards Captain America's location.

Inside the elevator.

The tall Steve stood in the middle, surrounded by several groups of people dressed in different styles.

The elevator stopped several times, first as members of the Special Task Force squeezed in, and then several employees in suits walked in.

In the process of going back and forth, Steve realized that he was surrounded.

These people appeared perfectly normal, but at this sensitive time, Steve still sensed something was amiss.

Crossbones instinctively placed his hand on the gun on the outside of his thigh. The other Special Task Force members were visibly nervous, with sweat beading on their foreheads.

Those agents in suits were incongruously wearing combat boots, clearly indicating that the suits were just a disguise.

He understood immediately.

These people came for me.

Now Steve understood that while he didn't know if Nick Fury was trustworthy, Pierce was certainly not.

Were these people who came to arrest him truly Hydra, or merely agents following orders?

Steve didn't know.

He had long since lost the ability to distinguish between enemies and friends.

At this moment, he recalled his conversation with Ben not long ago.

At that time, he asked Ben how to completely eliminate all Hydra.

Ben said: Become Hydra.

At first, he thought Ben was also Hydra agent, but after Ben's explanation, Steve finally understood what he meant.

Only by becoming Hydra can one fight Hydra in the same way as Hydra.

If I became the leader of Hydra, would I still worry about not being able to obtain the list of all Hydra members?

If the members of those Hydra's den knew that even Captain America was one of their own, they would probably immediately haile him as king, make him the Captain Hydra, and lead Hydra to greatness once again!

And all he had to give was a single, casual remark.

Hail Hydra!

"Actually, the Hydra people are all very simple-minded," Ben's voice seemed to still echo in Captain America's ears.

"Everyone there believes they're well hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D.., and with so many factions, even important figures won't know exactly who every Hydra member is to avoid being wiped out. That means they're unsure of your identity either, Captain."

"And more importantly, no one will believe the real Captain America would say that, unless you really are Hydra."

That's why when Steve uttered "Hail Hydra," it was so devastating to the real Hydra.

Steve had never considered this method before Ben suggested it.

But he couldn't do it.

He couldn't possibly say that, he couldn't possibly say, "Hail Hydra!"

The Captain America of today is not the Steve Rogers who returned from Avengers: Endgame after experiencing numerous crises and witnessing the world crumble.

He had been rescued from the ice just a few months ago.

World War II, Hydra, Nazi...

Those things have become distant history for modern people, but for him, they were things he had only experienced not long ago.

In comparison, the past few months have felt like a magical dream from which I can't wake up.

In his subconscious, the war never ended. He could hear the sounds of gunfire and the cries of agony whenever he closed his eyes; he could see his fallen comrades, Bucky, Peggy...

How could you say that?

How could he betray himself, betray those who died?

Steve swore that even if he died, even if he died outside, even if he jumped out of the elevator, he would never say "Hail Hydra!"

So he closed his eyes and exhaled a deep breath.

When I opened my eyes, they were filled with determination.

Let's fight then.

I've already died once, anyway.

He thought.

"Does anyone need to get out of the elevator before we begin?"