Hydra's List

"Sir, is there anything else you need?" William forced down his nerves and turned to ask.

Pierce smiled, picked up the now-empty bottle, and said, "Tell someone in the service department I'm out of liquor. Have them bring me another bottle of whiskey."

"Yes, sir." William's heart nearly leaped out of his chest. He hurried out of the office. That had been way too close, but thankfully he hadn't been caught. He glanced at the glass in the trash bag. He'd successfully stolen Pierce's fingerprints!

A few days ago, Coulson had taught William how to steal fingerprints. First, you needed an original fingerprint—in other words, the target's fingerprint. People left fingerprints everywhere in their daily lives: on glasses, doorknobs, or even the phones they carried around.

Once you had the original fingerprint, you needed to preserve it intact. The professional method was to dust it with fingerprint powder, which made it easier to see.

But that stuff was hard to find. Even S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't have much of it. The simplest method was to use clear tape.

Clear tape was readily available and easy to carry around. Stick it over a fingerprint, then peel it off gently, and you'd get a complete copy.

The next step was to photograph the fingerprint. The best method was to process the image and print it with a laser printer, but that was too much trouble.

Coulson taught William a more convenient method. All he needed was a small bottle of silicone, an iron ring about the size of a finger ring, and a lighter.

First, place the iron ring on the tape to keep the fingerprint in place. Then pour the silicone over it, making sure it didn't spill out of the ring.

Now came the crucial step: hold it all over a flame and heat it. Even with a powerful lighter, it would take a while.

Once the silicone had completely hardened, peel it off the ring, and you were done. William had a feeling he'd seen this method in some other movie, but he couldn't remember which one.

The USB drive that Sombra had breached had most of its security programs destroyed. He didn't have to worry about Hydra catching him. He only had to get past the final, second-level password to uncover its secrets.

Now that he had a fingerprint copy, all he needed was a computer!

There were plenty of computers at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, the Triskelion, but they were all connected to the building's main system. Every move he made would be monitored. He knew the USB drive couldn't be discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra.

After wandering around for a long time, he found a dusty storage room full of discarded computers. Some were completely broken, but a few looked like they might still work.

The place was such a mess that he knew hardly anyone ever came in. He hurried inside and locked the door.

The computers were old, but they could still boot up, and they could read data.

William plugged in the USB drive. With a ding, a purple light came on. That was the color it had turned after Sombra breached it, which meant it was safe now.

To be honest, he had no idea if the fingerprint he'd found was the right one. But all he could do was give it a try.

The familiar Hydra opening animation appeared. The fingerprint was correct. At last, the hidden storage space revealed its true face—Ghost File!

"What a strange name..." William opened Ghost File in confusion. It contained only one spreadsheet. He opened it, and the first thing he saw was a list of names.

Hydra's list!

It contained the names of many people, all of them members of Hydra.

At the very top was the Hydra agent hidden in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s shadows: Alexander Pierce. There was no need to say much about him. On the surface, he was a senior S.H.I.E.L.D. official responsible for liaising with the World Security Council. In reality, he was Hydra's boss.

Next came that bald guy, Sitwell. He was a Level Six agent in S.H.I.E.L.D. and Pierce's most loyal subordinate. He'd had quite a few scenes in the movies and hadn't seemed like a bad guy. Who would have guessed he was Hydra too?

Brock Rumlow, leader of a S.H.I.E.L.D. tactical team and an elite agent. He'd clashed with Captain America several times and would one day become Crossbones.

John Garrett, a Level Eight S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with extensive clearance. In reality, he was Hydra's Clairvoyant, embedded in S.H.I.E.L.D. and providing Hydra agents outside the agency with all sorts of intelligence while sabotaging S.H.I.E.L.D.'s work.

Grant Ward. William had complicated feelings about him—both love and hate. In S.H.I.E.L.D., Ward had seemed so much like a hero. Who would have thought he'd turn to the dark side? The Clairvoyant had recruited him and had him go undercover, waiting for the day S.H.I.E.L.D. fell.

There were many more names, some of which William had never heard before. It seemed Hydra had already eaten away at S.H.I.E.L.D. until it was riddled with holes. Eighty percent of the entire agency's members were Hydra.

Besides the Hydra agents inside S.H.I.E.L.D., William also saw the names of some Hydra members outside the organization.

Daniel Whitehall, originally Reinhardt. Red Skull's subordinate and a Hydra scientist. After World War II, he was sent to prison, but was released under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Project Paperclip. He used Inhuman organs to regain his youth and spent his time researching Inhumans and the Obelisk.

"Reinhardt, why don't you grab a hammer?" William couldn't resist making the joke, then continued reading.

Sunil Bakshi, Dr. Whitehall's subordinate, was skilled at interrogation and brainwashing. William couldn't remember much else about him, except that he had an interesting accent.

One name on the Hydra list caught his attention.

Gideon Malik, Hydra's last leader and one of the World Security Council's members, was a mysterious man. He knew all about Hydra's history and records, and worshipped the ancient Inhuman Hive as a god. After going to great lengths to bring Hive back, he discovered that what he'd found wasn't a god, but a demon!

"William, you've successfully completed the hidden mission: Mission: Impossible. Congratulations, you've earned an experience reward. You've received: Loot Box x1, 400 gold coins."

Just as William finished reading the entire Hydra list, Athena's voice rang out.

No wonder Hydra had been willing to destroy the entire Skull Gang just to cover up the secret of Ghost File. Who could have guessed it contained a list of Hydra agents?

From S.H.I.E.L.D. to the world at large, from the World Security Council to the United States Congress, every Hydra member's name had been recorded. If this thing leaked, Hydra would be exposed completely, and the whole world would be plunged into unprecedented chaos.

William had actually considered giving Ghost File to Nick Fury. With this list, Nick Fury could deal with all of Hydra, preventing the later fall of S.H.I.E.L.D., Project Insight, and even the return of Hive—along with all those disasters.

But he immediately dismissed the idea. He couldn't imagine what kind of impact and changes it would bring to the Marvel Universe if Hydra were exposed in full right now.

A butterfly in the tropical rainforest of the Amazon River basin in South America might flap its wings, and two weeks later, a tornado could hit Texas in the United States.

If Hydra's list were exposed, it could change the entire Marvel Universe!

He didn't dare take that risk. William's advantage was that he knew the plots of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in advance and knew what was about to happen. If the whole world changed as a result, he would lose that advantage forever.

No. He couldn't give Hydra's list to anyone!

He'd decided to protect Ghost File and keep anyone from finding it. There were plenty of names on the list he'd never even heard of, and they could give him a new advantage—one that would let him take the lead in the Marvel Universe.

After putting Ghost File away, William carefully stepped out of the storage room. He looked this way and that, like a thief, and only started to leave once he was sure no one had seen him.

Just then, Coulson appeared in the hallway. He'd seen William come out of the storage room.

"William, what are you doing here? I've been looking all over for you!"

The Green Giant is about to make his debut~