Alexander Pierce asked with a friendly smile, " Nick, where are you going?"
Nick Fury immediately pointed his gun at him, saying with a menacing look, " Pierce, stop pretending! I've seen through your disguise!"
"This is no time for jokes, buddy!" Pierce frowned, his expression displeased. "I have important things to discuss with you! I don't have time for banter!"
Upon seeing this, Nick Fury's expression shifted. " Special Operations Team agents!"
He swept his sharp gaze across the scattered Special Operations Team standing in a circle around him, and said in a deep voice, " Alexander Pierce in front of you is a HYDRA remnant hiding within S.H.I.E.L.D..!"
"For justice, for peace! I, in my capacity as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.., now order you to take him down immediately!"
Everything around was quiet...
The Special Operations Team members remained armed and aimed at Nick Fury and his two companions.
Alexander Pierce's lips curled into a half-smile as he looked at him.
Nick Fury and his two companions:...
Phil Coulson and Melinda May exchanged a glance, speechless, their hearts heavy with sorrow.
Phil: I never imagined the entire Special Operations Team was made up of HYDRA members!!!
Melinda: I don't think I saw Brock Rumlow!
Phil: Crossbones? Isn't he HYDRA?!
Melinda:... Uh, I think he's more of a villain than Alexander Pierce!
Phil: Agreed! Rumlow's face doesn't look like a good person at all!
Melinda: Agreed! Who wouldn't mark a good person with a big 'X' on their chest?!
His trusted subordinates exchanged glances behind his back, while Nick Fury faced Pierce and dozens of Special Operations Team alone.
Pierce stood among the Special Operations Team members, looking at his dark, aged face, and chuckled softly, saying, " Nick, you're still as impatient as ever..."
He suddenly spread his arms wide and laughed loudly, "Do you think I would bring others to surround you?"
"Give up the fight, you've already lost!"
" The Rat Prison will be your final destination for the rest of your life!"
Nick Fury narrowed his eyes and said in a cold voice, " Pierce, we've known each other for over twenty years, you should know my personality very well..."
"Okay~" Pierce shook his head regretfully. "What a pity!"
He raised his right hand and waved it forcefully, shouting, "Kill..."
Nick Fury's one eye widened in shock. He quickly dropped his pistol, raised his hands, and shouted, "Wait!"
Phil and Melinda, who were behind him, broke out in a cold sweat.
"Hehehe~" Pierce laughed contemptuously, " Nick, everyone fears death, and you're no exception!"
"Surrender! You're a rare talent, I don't want to kill you like this."
"..." Nick Fury paused for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "You're wrong, Pierce! I am not afraid of death!"
"But Coulson and May cannot die because of my mistake!"
"I'll trade a secret for their chance to stay alive!"
"Oh?" Pierce raised an eyebrow, a look of inquiry on his face. "What secret?"
Nick Fury glanced at the Special Operations Team around him, shook his head, and said, "This secret concerns the safety of the entire world; it must not be known to a third person other than you and me!"
Standing next to Pierce, Special Operations Team 1 leader Robert Chambers hurriedly advised, "Don't trust him, sir!"
"It's okay, Chambers, I understand!" Pierce patted him on the shoulder, then looked at Nick Fury: " Nick, don't try anything funny."
"Tell me the secret, or die right now!"
"Choose one of the two!"
Nick Fury's one eye flickered, and his expression gradually became hesitant.
Meanwhile, on a distant rooftop, Hawkeye, with his Crimson Eye activated, kept a close watch on Alexander Pierce and Nick Fury's movements.
Through the Headset, Yelena urged impatiently, " Commander Barton, they've started a standoff! When do we begin our operation?!"
"Wait!" Hawkeye said in a deep voice.
Yelena panicked. "But Xiao Bai has already leaked Nick Fury's dirty secrets all over the internet!"
"This is terrible! She'll laugh at me to death when I get back!"
The White Queen smugly announced over the microphone, "No need to wait to go back, Little Yelena, my work is already done!"
"Huh?!" Yelena exclaimed in surprise, "How could it be so fast?! Xiao Bai, you cheated!"
"Hmph hmph hmph~" The White Queen smugly hummed, "A trivial matter like this, why would I need to cheat?!"
"I am the White Queen's mouthpiece!"
"Ah!!!" Yelena yelled angrily, "Then this round doesn't count! We haven't even started yet, and you've already ended it!"
At that moment, Hawkeye suddenly said, " Yelena Team, prepare to move out!"
"Received!" x 4
Yelena hurriedly called out, "Received!"
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, first floor, corner of the staircase.
Nick Fury was still hesitating when Phil Coulson and Melinda May, who were behind him, seemed to receive some kind of instruction and moved slightly toward the wall.
Pierce frowned slightly. "Don't even think about stalling for time, Nick!"
"Speak, or die!"
"Choose one of the two!"
"Now! Immediately!"
Nick Fury's lips curled slightly, and he shook his head with a smile, saying, " Pierce, I choose the third option..."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the second-floor floor slab near the stairs suddenly cracked.
The next second, the floor suddenly collapsed.
'Boom!'
Pierce and his Special Operations Team had no time to dodge and were buried under the falling debris.
The billowing dust instantly filled the surroundings, temporarily acting as a smoke bomb.
Immediately afterwards, three figures leaped down from the second floor and quickly arrived beside Nick Fury.
" Nick, sorry we're late!"
Nick Fury patted the leader's arm and laughed, "No, Zieg, you've come at the perfect time!"
Then, he turned to Phil and Melinda, who were leaning against the wall to avoid falling rocks, and said, " Coulson, May! We're retreating!"
"Cough cough cough!" Through the smoke and dust, Pierce coughed violently, urgently commanding, "Don't... cough cough... let them... cough cough... escape!"
"Everyone... cough cough... aim at the stairs... cough cough... fire indiscriminately!"
The three of them, Zieg, changed their expressions, each picked up one person, and strode uphill.
It only took two or three steps to turn the corner of the first and a half floors.
The upper half of the staircase leading to the second floor disappeared as the second-floor slab collapsed.
They bent their knees and jumped, grabbing the second-floor stairs with one hand, and easily climbed up.
The next second, countless bullets struck the spot where Nick Fury and his two companions had been standing.
The lower half of the staircase on the first floor was riddled with bullet holes.
Immediately afterwards, with a loud 'bang,' the entire first-floor staircase collapsed.
"Cease fire!" Pierce suddenly ordered.
The intense gunfire ceased abruptly.
Nick Fury was put down by Zieg. He walked to the gap in the stairs to the second floor, leaned down, and said, " Pierce, you won this time... but next time I'll pay you back with interest!"
Pierce, using his hearing to pinpoint the location, pointed to the second floor and ordered, "Second floor, fire!"
The Special Operations Team immediately shifted their guns to the direction of the second-floor staircase and began another round of firing.
At that moment, the two members of the Special Operations Team at the back exchanged a silent glance and simultaneously moved their guns toward Pierce's back.
Bang! Bang! Bang!