Director Nick Fury wasn't at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters. Instead, he was leisurely drinking coffee by himself in a small seaside café. Though he pretended to admire the view outside the window, anyone could tell from his troubled expression that he wasn't in the best of moods.
He'd set up this little shop as a safe house many years ago, back when he was still an agent. He'd thought he'd never have to use it again!
Who could've guessed he'd end up using it today after all? Nick Fury was waiting for someone. Maybe this was the only place he could feel comfortable having a private conversation. Unfortunately, after today, this place probably wouldn't be safe anymore, either.
How ironic! Ha! No one would believe it if he told them! The director of S.H.I.E.L.D., an organization dedicated to protecting the safety of Earth, was worried about finding somewhere secure to talk!
Just as Nick Fury was starting to grow impatient, a spirited woman in a tight-fitting outfit suited for combat, her hair cut short, pushed open the café door and walked in. The person Nick Fury had been waiting for was Maria Hill, a Level Nine S.H.I.E.L.D. agent!
In Director Nick Fury's eyes, Hill's abilities were beyond question. Her combat skills, leadership, and organizational abilities were all top-notch. Otherwise, she wouldn't have reached Level Nine at such a young age.
Though Hill often questioned his decisions and didn't blindly follow his orders, which meant she wasn't exactly one of his loyal subordinates, Nick Fury had surveyed S.H.I.E.L.D. from top to bottom. She might be the only one capable of helping him deal with this mess.
He'd also considered Coulson and Melinda, but their clearance levels weren't high enough, and their abilities were too specialized. They probably wouldn't be up to the task... In the end, he realized that Maria Hill was his only choice!
"Director, what did you need me for?" Hill warily surveyed the café. Only after she found nothing amiss did she walk over and stop beside Nick Fury's table. She knew that if the director had asked her to meet him here, he must have some secret assignment for her.
"You're finally here! Take a seat. Don't worry, this place is still safe for now. No one will overhear us." Nick Fury waved for Hill to sit across from him.
Hill sat stiffly in the chair opposite him. Nick Fury pushed aside the coffee in front of him, placed both hands on the table, and laced his fingers together. He gazed at Hill with his one eye, lost in thought. After a long silence, he took a deep breath and spoke again.
"Hill, can I trust you?"
"Just give me the order, Director!" Hill replied without committing herself.
If he'd asked her to come here, he must have an important task to give her in private. As long as it didn't go against S.H.I.E.L.D.'s principles, she'd do everything in her power to see it through!
"Good!" Nick Fury nodded, then took an elegantly designed diamond ring from his pocket and slowly slid it across the table toward Hill.
"Director? What do you mean by this?" Hill was startled! She scrambled to her feet. Once her initial shock passed, her eyes sharpened, and she stared coldly at Nick Fury.
What was he trying to do? He'd asked her to meet him at a little café, then given her a diamond ring? Was he proposing to her? Give her a break! When had she ever shown the slightest sign of being interested in him? How could anyone like this... this black-haired one-eyed man?!
"Sit down, Hill... This isn't what you think it is!"
Nick Fury was taken aback by her reaction. Then he suddenly understood.
Hill must have gotten the wrong idea. His face even flushed a little, an unusually embarrassing moment for him! If Hill had misunderstood and accepted the ring, that would've been a disaster. But luckily! Luckily!
"Then what are you trying to do?" Hill sat back down and frowned at the ring on the table. You invite a woman here out of the blue, then hand her a diamond ring without explaining anything. Any woman would get the wrong idea! How low could your social intelligence be?
"Here's what happened..."
Nick Fury recalled the deal Annie had made with him. After using her mind-reading ability to uncover Pierce's deepest secrets, Annie had bundled them up and used magic to transfer them all into Nick Fury's mind.
In that instant, Nick Fury had seemed to become Pierce. In less than an hour, he'd raced through Pierce's entire life, like watching a fast-moving reel of film. He'd learned everything Pierce had encountered, discovered his secrets, and found out who he really was. It was a name Nick Fury would rather not remember—Hydra!!!
At first, Nick Fury hadn't wanted to believe it. He couldn't accept that Pierce was one of Hydra's senior members. He couldn't believe Hydra had infiltrated all of S.H.I.E.L.D. so thoroughly, either.
But after thinking it over, he came to terms with it.
Before meeting Pierce, the little alien girl Annie had probably never even heard the word Hydra, had she? And the memories were real, too. There was no way they could have been fabricated. Many of them showed secret conversations between Nick Fury and Pierce back before Nick Fury became director. Little Annie had probably still been a single cell back then! She couldn't possibly have made those things up. So maybe it really was true!
"Hydra? How is that possible? Wasn't it wiped out ages ago?" Hill knew what Hydra was, and what the name meant. Her expression turned grave. At last, she understood why the director had summoned her here in secret. S.H.I.E.L.D. might not even be S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore!
"This ring was made for me by Annie. It's... a strange piece of magical equipment. There are only two of them, and I'm giving you one. It can detect whether someone belongs to Hydra within a ten-meter radius. If they do, it gives off a faint rainbow glow, just like real diamond reflections. If they don't, it won't react at all!"
Nick Fury was quite pleased with this simple, practical way to identify Hydra members. It could only tell whether someone belonged to Hydra, not whether they were part of any other organization. But that was enough! Besides, it was discreet. Who would suspect a person wearing a diamond ring? Wasn't it perfectly normal for a diamond ring to reflect rainbow light?
This magic was so useful. He'd been wondering whether he should get Coulson and the others to persuade little Annie to train a few mages for S.H.I.E.L.D. or write some spellbooks.
Tsk! That idea probably wasn't easy to pull off. Little Annie was such a slippery customer. If they didn't offer her something good enough to tempt her, she probably wouldn't agree.
He just didn't know what she liked besides aircraft. He'd have to get Coulson and the others to ask her when they had time. S.H.I.E.L.D. had deep pockets; surely they had something else she'd like?
"You're saying this ring can identify Hydra members?" Hill picked up the diamond ring skeptically and held it up to the sunlight.
What amazed her was that it didn't refract even the faintest rainbow glimmer under those conditions! What was it made of? Even glass would refract beautiful rainbow light in the sun, wouldn't it? This thing really was something extraordinary!
"If it can identify Hydra members, why don't you launch a direct assault and wipe them out in one fell swoop?" Hill thought that if the ring was this useful, there was no point waiting. They should mobilize their forces and eliminate those damn Hydra members at once!
"That won't work, Hill... At least half the people at headquarters are Hydra members! How can I act rashly under those circumstances?" Nick Fury shook his head.
At first, he'd thought the same thing. But after he'd toured headquarters under the pretext of an inspection, he'd completely abandoned the idea.
As he'd wandered through the different departments, the rainbow glow from the ring on his hand hadn't stopped once... What did that mean? It meant Hydra members were everywhere in S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters! Maybe it would be more accurate to call it Hydra Headquarters now.
Besides, the ring could only detect Hydra members within ten meters! S.H.I.E.L.D. had so many people and so many branches around the world. Was he supposed to check them all one by one?
Forget whether he had the time. Even if he did, did he think Hydra members were idiots? Would they really give him the chance? If he made a move and let them catch on, they'd rebel immediately!
At that point, S.H.I.E.L.D. would be wiped out in an instant. Nick Fury would become a traitor to S.H.I.E.L.D.—and might even end up being blamed for the fate of all humanity!
"It's really that bad?" Hill could hardly imagine it. Half the people she fought alongside and worked with were Hydra members?
The terrible situation made her shudder. She'd rather face an enemy in direct combat than have to watch out for a bullet that could come from behind at any moment! It was terrifying! Who could she trust now? She was beginning to understand the director's predicament.
"Director, give me the order! What do you need me to do?" Hill lowered her head and thought for a moment, but couldn't come up with a good plan. Then, seeing the diamond ring on her hand, she suddenly understood something... Maybe this thing was the key to turning the tables!
"Good! Looks like you understand. Then tomorrow, I'll transfer you to the New York Branch to take charge. You know what to do, right?"
Nick Fury thought that since S.H.I.E.L.D. was already riddled with holes from top to bottom, he might as well send Hill to take over one branch first. She could gradually clear out the Hydra members there, then use that branch as a foothold. They could either launch a major assault or slowly squeeze them out, pulling Hydra out of S.H.I.E.L.D. bit by bit!
"Understood, Director!" Hill nodded. With this remarkable ring, identifying and cleaning up a branch would be a piece of cake!
All she really needed to worry about was how to go about it. Until the director had finished making his plans, she had to take control of the entire New York Branch without alerting Hydra. She'd have to think carefully about how to manage that, but it probably wouldn't be too difficult.
"All right, head back for now. I'll sign the transfer order tomorrow." With the matter settled, Nick Fury nodded, picked up his coffee, and took a sip, signaling that Hill could leave.
Hill didn't say anything else. She put the ring on her ring finger and walked straight out of the café. It was only once she was outside that she realized she might have seen an identical ring on the director's hand. After all, the two rings were so distinct that anyone would notice they were a pair!
So what would the other people at S.H.I.E.L.D. think if an unmarried woman like her wore a ring just like his? That Agent Hill had latched onto the black-haired director? That they'd secretly gotten married?
Oh, God! That was even scarier than Hydra!
Hill quickly pulled the ring off her finger, suddenly at a loss. Why did they have to make the thing look like a ring? That black-haired one-eyed man had to have done it on purpose, right? No way! She'd never wear a ring identical to his. She'd find a jeweler first and have them wrap something different around it. In any case, she wasn't going to wear a ring that looked just like his. Absolutely not!
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