Shock

Nick Fury felt his scalp prickle. He gave Natasha a look, and the two left the room together, returning to the room where Mercer and Carter were.

They stood in the doorway for a long time before finally recovering their senses. Still dazed, Natasha asked, "Fury, do you think he was telling the truth?"

Nick Fury's already dark face grew darker still.

He dared not dwell on it, but with the facts staring him in the face, he had no choice.

Hydra had started infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D. seventy years ago?

S.H.I.E.L.D. looked fine on the surface, but Hydra had long since burrowed into it.

Nick Fury dared not think too closely about how many dirty deeds Hydra had committed under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s name.

If Mercer hadn't intervened, if Hydra hadn't made a move first, how long would it have taken to uncover this?

And what consequences would it have brought?

A wave of belated fear washed over Nick Fury, and his gaze took on a strange cast as he looked at Mercer.

It was one thing for a high school student with an utterly ordinary background to possess such extraordinary abilities, but why did he know about something like this?

He clearly had no ties to S.H.I.E.L.D. Aside from a slight connection to Carter, Mercer had never had anything to do with anyone in the agency.

"Project Insight?"

The words suddenly surfaced in Nick Fury's mind, reminding him of the information about the future Mercer had given him.

"Project Insight won't work."

That meant Hydra had been exposed by that point.

If they had been exposed during Project Insight, could it mean Hydra had successfully used the project to kill those who might threaten the country and the world?

Nick Fury looked at Mercer in bewilderment and astonishment. Even with his keen eye, he couldn't see through the young man before him at all.

He wasn't the only one. Natasha and Carter were also deeply shocked.

They had thought Hydra had merely survived. Never had they imagined that S.H.I.E.L.D., its sworn enemy back then, had actually been infiltrated.

None of them could have imagined such a thing.

"Fury, what do we do next?" Carter asked.

He was the director, after all. At a time like this, they should follow his lead.

"We hold our position for now. Fortunately, only the four of us know about this. Natasha, go back in and stage his death. Make sure it looks like that Hydra member poisoned himself, then spread the news. We'll pretend we don't know anything," Nick Fury said.

Hydra undoubtedly already knew they had captured one of its members.

Now Nick Fury and the others needed to feign ignorance. That would give them an advantage in their next moves.

They still didn't know where the enemy's members were placed, after all. Recklessly declaring war would do them little good.

Natasha nodded in understanding and immediately went to carry out the task.

As a top assassin, she had little difficulty staging a death scene.

"Carter, keep a closer eye on Rumlow's movements for a while. Their attempt to assassinate Mercer failed, but they might try again. Stay alert," Nick Fury continued.

Carter nodded.

"Finally, Mercer, on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D., you have my sincerest thanks," Nick Fury said earnestly. "If you hadn't told us all this, and we'd only found out later, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

Mercer accepted his thanks. With a casual smile, he waved a hand and said, "It's nothing. They came after me. I told you because I hoped you could handle it."

"Rest assured, we'll take care of this. No one will come looking for trouble with you again."

Nick Fury reached out to shake Mercer's hand, gratitude written all over his face.

He had spent half his life in S.H.I.E.L.D. and watched it grow step by step into what it was today. There was no way he would simply let it be eaten away from within.

Mercer nodded calmly. He believed Nick Fury could handle this.

No one who rose to that position was ordinary.

Mercer wouldn't need to worry about what happened next.

He had just stepped out of the safe house when Carter and Natasha caught up from behind, calling his name.

"What is it, ladies? Anything else?" Mercer raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

The two women exchanged a glance, then Carter spoke first. "We'd like to invite you to join S.H.I.E.L.D."

Mercer's brow furrowed slightly. He was about to refuse when Natasha spoke before he could.

"We're not asking you to join so you can help us purge Hydra. It's just that wherever you want to go in the future, having S.H.I.E.L.D. credentials could make things easier."

Carter nodded and added, "Exactly. Think of it as a free pass. If you need to travel somewhere, you can even requisition a S.H.I.E.L.D. jet. They're much faster than passenger planes."

At that, Mercer didn't refuse. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. It was a pretty good suggestion.

"What level of clearance would I have?" he asked.

"Level eight," Carter said, giving Mercer a meaningful look.

"Level eight?"

Mercer was somewhat surprised.

A level-eight S.H.I.E.L.D. agent would have served the agency for at least ten years. Only a tiny minority of its members held that rank.

And Mercer would start at level eight?

Nick Fury's intent in recruiting him was clear. If S.H.I.E.L.D. ran into a problem it couldn't solve in the future, he would surely want Mercer to lend a hand.

Still, the choice lay with Mercer. S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't force him.

One more friend was better than one more enemy. After considering it briefly, Mercer nodded. "All right. Get my credentials ready and send them to my house."

Suddenly remembering something, he turned back. "Oh, right. You both know my address, don't you?"

Carter and Natasha nodded awkwardly. What embarrassed them was that Mercer had never told them, yet they knew.

With Mercer on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s watch list, there was no way they hadn't investigated where he lived.

"All right, then it's settled."

Mercer nodded, summoned Lockdown in his mind, and drove home.

Watching him leave so decisively, Carter and Natasha exchanged a glance, each seeing the helplessness in the other's eyes.

"He left so quickly, without another word. Are we really that unappealing?"

Unfortunately, Mercer couldn't hear those words.

The thought hadn't even crossed his mind. Right now, he just wanted to go home.

On the way back, Mercer stopped to buy some cola and fried chicken.

Though his net worth was now in the tens of millions, his tastes hadn't changed. Cola and fried chicken were the perfect late-night combination.

With his right hand full of fried chicken, Mercer opened his front door, looking thoroughly satisfied.

The instant the door opened, a figure darted at him from the side like a phantom, a vicious strike whistling toward his face.

Mercer didn't panic in the slightest at the sudden attack.

Even without turning on the lights, his enhanced body let him adjust easily to the darkness. With his free hand, he effortlessly caught the incoming fist.

His attacker hadn't expected Mercer to react so quickly. They tried to pull their fist back for another attack, only to discover that Mercer held it firmly in place. It was as though it had been embedded in a stone wall, utterly immovable.

Feeling the texture beneath his fingers, Mercer gave a soft murmur of surprise.

"A metal arm?"