The Battle of the Sorcerer Supreme

"Did Squad Three find anything?" Fury asked, watching his finest technicians work themselves to the bone.

"No, sir."

"Nothing at all? There should at least be some sign or trace, shouldn't there?" He couldn't accept such a sudden change without the slightest clue or warning. The door suddenly opened, and a woman walked into the room.

"Hill, tell me what you found."

"Sorry, sir. All traces have been erased," Maria Hill replied. "It was cleaned up too thoroughly. It's downright eerie."

"That sounds like an excuse to me."

"I'm sorry. I'll try harder."

"Everyone, keep working!" Fury shouted. "I need answers."

Beep!

He glanced at his watch and frowned. Fury went to his private quarters and activated the communications device. "Minister."

"Director, you need to calm down. Stop sending agents everywhere. You're wasting resources."

"You already knew?"

"Was I not supposed to know?"

Nick Fury frowned. "The situation is—"

"I know the situation, and I know why this happened. That's why I told you to stop wasting time," Ian said as he sent him a large number of files. Fury quickly read through them, and as time passed, his expression grew increasingly grim.

"You've known about this all along?"

"Yes."

"How long?"

"Since I took over."

Fury clenched his fists. He had just learned that Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. so deeply, but that wasn't even the worst part.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"There was originally an operation intended to control Hydra and put it to use for us. You would have been informed once the operation was complete."

"So what? If I can't know this information, then what's the point of being director?"

"More powerful forces are playing a game behind the scenes, Director," Ian explained calmly. "Besides, some information is beyond your clearance until the time is right."