Malick was not so easy to fool, especially with how slick he was, like an old fox.
Even the collapse of Project Insight had not exposed him, let alone now, when he still oversaw S.H.I.E.L.D. and had direct control over the entire organization in times of danger.
Malick could not be said to believe what Karn had told him about Wakanda. He would certainly need to see the intelligence himself before believing that such a country existed on Earth, a country of Black people whose technological level surpassed that of all white people.
Had it been anyone else, Malick would certainly have thought they were joking. But he had heard a little about the source of vibranium. It was just that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s current director was Nick Fury, who had established clearance levels for many classified matters. Malick only supervised S.H.I.E.L.D. and took over during crises, so it was difficult for him to interfere in its affairs without cause.
But Malick would definitely investigate Wakanda, and he would not overlook the secrets of Karn's company either. It had the first super soldier squad of any real size. If they had not collaborated with a terrorist organization and leaked some information about the super soldier squad, that squad would surely have shone on the Middle Eastern battlefield.
Hydra had gained little from it, however. The recovered corpses were worthless, each one turning to charcoal within a very short time.
To obtain the serum's secrets, they could either cooperate with Karn or use espionage to steal his information on the serum. Some had proposed the latter, but after discussing it, Malick and Stern decided to try cooperation first.
Espionage was too difficult. They had made inquiries, and security at the Biological Research Center was not weak. All its guards were military veterans. As