Steve hesitated, then asked, "Do you think he found anything?"
Hawkeye stopped at the door and glanced back at Steve, a trace of weary resignation in his eyes.
"Knowing him, if he hadn't found anything, he would've sent me a reply telling me not to listen to outsiders stirring up trouble. He didn't. Isn't that clear enough?"
Steve fell silent for a few seconds, then nodded slowly.
"...Fine. Let him worry about it."
What he failed to notice was that Hawkeye's steps toward the end of the corridor were much heavier than usual. Despair filled his face, its sharp lines worn by years and missions.
If they really had been killing and burning for Hydra, how could they possibly put things right?
S.H.I.E.L.D., director's office.
Nick Fury stared at the encrypted screen before him, his brow knotted even tighter than usual.
The knuckles of his right hand tapped twice against the desk. The sound rang out in the spacious office.
The screen was packed with nearly twenty years of S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel transfers, mission approvals, resource allocation signatures, and one name that appeared far too often at the bottom of those signature fields: Alexander Pierce.
Fury nudged his black eyepatch up and leaned closer to the screen with his one remaining eye, scanning it line by line. His expression barely changed, but the two fingers tapping the desk picked up speed.
Then he stopped.
At the bottom of the screen was a file marked "Top Secret—Director-Level Access Only." An inconspicuous note on its cover read: "Initial framework of the Insight Plan drafted by: Alexander Pierce."
Fury opened the top-secret file and studied it for a long time, piecing together the key players.
At last, he slowly leaned back in his chair. His lone eye stayed fixed on the screen for