"Hydra was a secret research division founded by the Red Skull, John Schmidt, during the Third Reich. It became Hitler's most powerful instrument, unleashing countless bloody conflicts during World War II.
During the invasion of Norway, the Red Skull discovered the Tesseract and used it as an energy source to develop advanced weapons, pursuing his ambition to rule the world.
In its later years, Hydra broke away from the Third Reich and became independent. Armed with its advanced weapons, it briefly brought nearly half the world under its control.
To turn the tide, the Allies had no choice but to establish the Strategic Scientific Corps. With the ingenuity of Howard Stark and Dr. Erskine, they created the Super Soldier, Captain America, to fight Hydra.
In the end, Captain America thwarted Hydra's scheme to rule the world, along with the Red Skull. The remaining members either served S.H.I.E.L.D. and the American government through Operation Paperclip or enjoyed sentences of several hundred years in special prisons."
Alexander Pierce recounted the history of his own organization's rise as if describing a heinous enemy. Nick Fury listened with a blank face, his mind in utter turmoil. If he had to describe how he felt in two words, it would be, "Motherfucker."
Oh, God. Hydra's top dog had just outed himself!
But Nick Fury still managed to put on an expression that suited his persona and asked, "Why are you bringing up an organization from the history books now? Has it risen from the ashes?"
"Risen from the ashes? Hah. Hydra doesn't rise from the ashes." Pierce glanced at Nick Fury, saw that he was reacting as expected, and continued, "Hydra never actually fell. It merely disappeared from public view—or became part of us."
Nick Fury's expression froze. He desperately wanted to look outside and see which direction the sun was coming from. This was too bizarre. Had Hydra turned on itself and sidelined Pierce, its top dog, leaving him to go down in flames and take everyone with him?
After taking a deep breath, Nick Fury settled on a second possibility: a parallel universe. Just as Agent Coulson from another world had said, this world had plenty of things his world didn't, and had missed out on plenty of events.
For example, the World Trade Center's twin towers still stood in his world, and the American government hadn't become embroiled in a war with the Graveyard of Empires. Nor had it wasted trillions of dollars in funding.
So it made sense that some people and their relationships might be different, too. That was why Coulson had left a warning with his files: they were for reference only and couldn't be trusted completely. The Alexander Pierce in his world might not be Hydra's leader.
If that was the case, though, their conversation really did deserve to be classified as a top-secret matter. If the World Security Council learned about it, a budget cut would be the least of their worries. They might even dissolve S.H.I.E.L.D. altogether.
Watching Nick Fury's face, Alexander Pierce also let a worried expression show. "Actually, before you became director of S.H.I.E.L.D., I found signs of espionage within the organization. The spies had already gained enough influence that they had to be dealt with. To flush them out without worry, I promoted you—the person best suited for the job—and put you in charge of growing S.H.I.E.L.D. while I went behind the scenes to uncover the traitors."
"But I miscalculated. The spies embedded in S.H.I.E.L.D. had put down deep roots and formed a network among themselves. An investigation was impossible. Even with all my efforts, I could only cut off a few minor branches. At one point, I even wondered whether you, the director I'd personally chosen, were one of them."
The best way to clear yourself was to turn the accusation back on the other person. Unlike the action-oriented Nick Fury, Pierce excelled at that.
"Fortunately, you were there. Under your leadership, S.H.I.E.L.D. grew rapidly, and their influence grew along with it. But as they expanded, they also exposed a great deal. For instance, I discovered they all belonged to the same organization: Hydra. And it wasn't just people inside S.H.I.E.L.D.—senior officials in the American government might be involved, too. Even within S.H.I.E.L.D., which we're responsible for overseeing, some Hydra agents have yet to be identified. You can imagine how deeply Hydra has infiltrated the world."
"I've compiled everything we've uncovered so far into these files. They're in your hands now. What to do with them is your job as director."
As he spoke, the exhaustion on Alexander Pierce's face was no act; he'd stayed up all night putting the files together. "I'm old. Mending the relationship between the World Security Council and S.H.I.E.L.D., and investigating spies within S.H.I.E.L.D.—all of that has taken a tremendous amount out of me. I don't have the drive or the time to fight them anymore."
"And as director of S.H.I.E.L.D., you're more capable than I am. I don't have your nerve. You're willing to risk crippling or even disbanding S.H.I.E.L.D. to expose Hydra's agents. I could never do that. Now, bring out that liquor you've been saving. I haven't relaxed like this in ages."
Nick Fury flipped through the files in his hands. Alongside Hydra's history and other details, the very first profile on someone embedded in S.H.I.E.L.D. was remarkable: John Garrett, a Level Eight agent with the Hydra codename "The Clairvoyant." He had also appeared in the files Coulson had left behind.
As for why Pierce had singled out John Garrett as a sacrificial lamb, there were two reasons. First, he needed a high-ranking figure to make the accusation convincing. If the files only named a bunch of low-level field agents, nobody would take them seriously. Second, Garrett had become increasingly insubordinate. Perhaps he was growing ambitious, or perhaps he wanted to replace Pierce as Hydra's top dog. Lately, he'd been acting like he would take orders, but not answer a summons.
Pierce couldn't let that stand. Where would it leave his authority as the top dog? He had to make an example of Garrett and use his sacrifice to settle the wavering minds of the others.
Nick Fury picked up the files, got to his feet, and locked them in the safe in his office. Then he went to the liquor cabinet, took out a bottle and two glasses, and poured one for himself and one for Pierce. Watching Pierce drink half his glass before leaning back on the couch and closing his eyes, Nick said earnestly, "You've worked hard all these years."
"Maintaining world peace is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s responsibility. It was why the organization was founded in the first place," Pierce said wearily. "I've stepped down as director. The only thing I can do now is help you maintain good relations with the World Security Council. The burden on your shoulders is still heavy."
Nick Fury said, "In that case, I'll need you to put in a little extra effort with the World Security Council over the vampire cleanup."
At that, Pierce couldn't help giving a bitter smile.
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