Pierce's invitation: Entering Hydra's nest

"Project Insight."

Four syllables, light and brief, yet they detonated deep inside Alexander Pierce's eardrums with the precision of a miniature high-explosive armor-piercing round.

Pierce's fingers abruptly stopped around the black card. His genial smile froze in the lines of his face, and the fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes twitched violently with sheer shock. A breeze from the corridor's climate-controlled air conditioning drifted past, but it could not dispel the temperature that had suddenly plunged to freezing between them.

In just half a second, the old fox who had spent decades navigating international politics concealed his lapse. A flash of murderous intent sharp enough to cut someone to pieces passed through his eyes, replaced by even greater greed and interest.

"It seems Fury's assessment of you was wildly off the mark." Pierce turned his wrist, sliding the black magnetic card into his sleeve. He gave Lynn a long look, then turned and headed deeper into the corridor. "Come with me. We need somewhere else to talk."

Lynn did not hesitate. With one hand in his pocket, he followed. He knew he had kicked the door to Hydra's nest wide open.

They took Pierce's private encrypted elevator down through the Triskelion's intricate underground structure, finally stopping at a secluded space on the fifteenth basement level.

The elevator doors slid apart, and the rich scent of Cuban cigar tobacco mingled with the malty aroma of aged whiskey washed over him. It was a fully enclosed, windowless office, its thick handmade wool carpet swallowing every footstep. Medieval oil paintings hung on the walls, and the dark red leather sofa in the corner exuded luxury.

"Sit." Pierce walked to the mahogany bar, picked up a crystal decanter, and poured two glasses of amber whiskey.

Lynn sank into the sofa without ceremony and crossed his legs. His gaze swept the room, his keen Spider-Sense instantly mapping its structure-at least four automatic machine guns were concealed inside the walls, and infrared scanning sensors covered the ceiling.

It was a completely sealed cage of slaughter.

Pierce brought over the two glasses and handed one to Lynn. Then he sat on the opposite sofa and lit a cigar. Blue-gray smoke rose between them.

"Now, tell me." Pierce exhaled a smoke ring, his hawklike gaze fixed on Lynn. "How did you learn that name? That blind bastard Fury never breathed a word of it even to Coulson."

Lynn took the glass and gently swirled it. Ice clinked crisply against the glass. He lowered his head and took a sip, the sharp liquor sliding down his throat with a burning sensation.

"Mr. Secretary, your understanding of power is far too narrow." Lynn leaned against the sofa, a mocking curve lifting his lips. "When the woman sharing your bed has the power to warp reality and tear dimensions apart, those top-level firewalls S.H.I.E.L.D. takes such pride in are no more than a thin sheet of paper to her perception."

Mixing truth with falsehood, he attributed his intelligence to Wanda's Chaos Magic.

Pierce's fingers tightened abruptly around his cigar. The witch's power could actually read digital information directly? This monster was ten times more valuable than he had imagined!

"Excellent. Fury always thinks he can control everything, never realizing that true gods have already descended." Pierce stood, walked before Lynn, and spread his arms like a fanatical preacher. "Lynn, this world is sick. Fury's patchwork fixes cannot save humanity. We need absolute order. And you and that lady are the foundation of that new order!"

Pierce began speaking faster, his voice charged with seductive persuasion. "As long as you have her pledge her loyalty to me... to us, I guarantee you a permanent seat on the World Security Council, the highest clearance in S.H.I.E.L.D., even control over the entire North American theater."

Empty promises.

Lynn sneered inwardly. This politician's trick was too crude to fool even a three-year-old. Outwardly, however, he obligingly reined in his mockery, letting a glimmer of greed for power appear in his eyes at just the right moment.

He set down his glass and leaned forward, elbows on his knees, looking directly into Pierce's eyes.

"Sounds tempting, Secretary." Lynn kept his voice low, with the ruthlessness of a desperate outlaw. "But I never put my faith in empty promises. A meal drawn on paper won't fill my stomach."

Pierce's brows rose slightly. Rather than becoming angry, he smiled in satisfaction. Greed isn't the problem. Having no desires is. As long as you want something, you're a dog that can be leashed.

"What do you want?" Pierce sat back down with the condescending air of someone dispensing charity.

"Full Level 7 Agent clearance. Right now." Lynn raised one finger, his tone brooking no argument. "I also need access to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret armory and a batch of the highest-specification Vibranium equipment."

Pierce's expression darkened. "What do you need Vibranium for?"

"Mr. Secretary, soothing a dragon that could rampage at any moment and tear apart even a Helicarrier requires some sturdy chains." Lynn spread his hands as though it were only natural. "She feels extremely insecure right now. I have to turn our new home into an absolutely secure fortress. Otherwise, if she wakes up unhappy in the middle of the night and casually wipes Washington off the map, I won't be able to stop her."

Blatant extortion!

Pierce clenched his back teeth. But after a look at Lynn's brazenly confident face, and recalling Crossbones's broken leg bones and the Quinjet twisted into a pretzel, he finally suppressed his anger.

A few resources in exchange for control over the witch was a worthwhile deal.

"You have quite an appetite, Lynn. But I like ambitious young men." Pierce took the black magnetic card from his inner pocket again, held it between his fingertips, and offered it to Lynn. "This is my supplementary card. Its clearance is second only to the director's. Everything you asked for will reach your designated location before sunset tomorrow."

Lynn reached out, his fingertips barely touching the edge of the cold magnetic card.

At that very instant, a cold, mechanically synthesized voice suddenly sounded deep inside his mind.

[Ding! Host detected successfully intervening in the core Marvel event 'The fall of Hydra'.]

[Special achievement mission triggered: 'Snake Swallows Elephant'.]

[Mission requirements: Use Hydra's resources to complete the ultimate bond binding with the heroine 'Wanda Maximoff' and take full control of Hydra's covert assets.]

Lynn's fingers tightened slightly around the magnetic card, and an exceedingly strange dark gleam flashed through his eyes.

He raised his head and gave Pierce a smile so radiant it was unnerving.

"Here's to our partnership, Mr. Secretary. To... our new order."

Looking at the beaming low-ranking agent before him, Pierce suddenly felt an inexplicable chill. He could not shake the feeling that what he had just handed over was not an access card, but a guillotine blade poised over his own neck.

Lynn pocketed the black card, stood, and straightened his collar.

"Then I'll head back. Wanda is still waiting for me." He turned toward the elevator. "Oh, right, Secretary. Remember to warn those clueless men of yours not to try approaching our safe house again."

The elevator doors slowly closed, cutting off Pierce's view.

Inside the car, the smile instantly vanished from Lynn's face, replaced by utter coldness and calculation.

"System, open the S.H.I.E.L.D. intranet data interface," Lynn commanded mentally, his fingers rapidly rubbing the black card in his pocket. "Let me see just how much good stuff these sewer rats have hidden away."

He would not merely fleece Hydra dry. He would turn all of them, skin and bones included, into nourishment for his foothold in this universe.

Meanwhile, inside the temporarily requisitioned Hydra safe house outside New York.

Wanda sat on the sofa, hugging her knees, violent scarlet energy churning in her dark green eyes. She stared fixedly at Lynn's spare communicator on the coffee table, her nails almost digging into her palms.

"He's been gone too long... Are those bugs trying to take him away from me again?"

Scarlet magical fluctuations spread across the floor. Wallpaper began peeling from the walls, and the windows creaked under an unbearable strain.

Just as Chaos Magic was about to crush the house completely, an extremely faint whistle abruptly sounded through the darkness outside.

A white strand of webbing silently stuck to the second-floor bedroom windowsill.

The hunter lurking in the shadows could finally hold back no longer.

In the second before the elevator doors closed, Lynn caught the flash of icy malice in Pierce's eyes.

The doors closed completely. Just as Lynn was about to press the button for ground level, the metal floor beneath his feet abruptly dropped. A powerful sense of weightlessness seized his stomach. Instead of ascending, the elevator plunged deeper underground at an extraordinary speed.

The numbers on the indicator raced: basement level twenty, basement level thirty...

Lynn did not panic. He leaned against the elevator wall, his fingers gently rubbing the cold black card in his pocket.

"Ding."

The car stopped, and the metal doors slid apart.

A bone-chilling wind carrying the heavy odors of machine oil and ozone forced its way into his nostrils. This was no underground parking garage, but a cavernous hangar large enough to hold several aircraft carriers.

Pierce's voice descended from loudspeakers on every side, laden with lofty arrogance and condescension. "Agent Lynn, now that you've accepted my supplementary card, I ought to show you what the 'new order' you're about to serve really looks like. Welcome to the true snake's nest."

Lynn stepped out of the elevator.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Dozens of industrial searchlights overhead blazed on in succession, their glare too fierce to face with open eyes.

Lynn narrowed his eyes and peered through the glare. Beneath the enormous dome ahead, three mountain-sized Helicarriers lay dormant. Countless mechanical arms waved over their armor, welding torches spitting dazzling blue sparks.

Ten meters to Lynn's left, behind a row of bulletproof glass walls, stood an enormous cylindrical hibernation pod. The hiss of spraying liquid nitrogen echoed through the empty hangar.

Inside the pod, a long-haired man whose left arm was made entirely of metal slept with his eyes closed.

The Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes.

Pierce was flexing his muscles. With these three world-destroying carriers capable of carrying out "Project Insight," and Hydra's most powerful assassination weapon, he was issuing Lynn a deadly warning: Hydra possessed the power to crush everything, and Lynn had to wag his tail and accept whatever bone they threw him.

The faintest trace of mockery crossed Lynn's eyes.

With one hand in his pocket, he strolled toward the bulletproof glass, curled his fingers, and tapped twice on the outer casing of the Winter Soldier's hibernation pod.

"Clang, clang."

The crisp knocks sounded especially grating in the hangar.

"Mr. Secretary." Lynn tilted his head up toward the nearest surveillance camera and bared his teeth in a nasty smile. "You spent half a century digging in the sewers, and all you built was this rusty scrap?"

Over the loudspeaker, Pierce's breathing noticeably stopped for a moment.

"You're too arrogant, Lynn." Pierce's voice turned cold, carrying undisguised murderous intent. "Once these three carriers take flight, their targeting systems can eliminate twenty million threats within a minute. And that 'scrap' before you can single-handedly slaughter his way through S.H.I.E.L.D.'s defenses."

Maximum pressure.

Lynn's smile deepened. He turned, leaned back against the Winter Soldier's hibernation pod, and stared directly into the surveillance camera.

"Really?" Lynn lowered his voice, his tone carrying the ruthlessness of someone with nothing to lose. "Then what if I told you that, at one word from me, my girl could crumple these three carriers and this entire building into a lump of scrap within a second?"

The air instantly froze.

Lynn was gambling that Pierce had no idea where Wanda's limits lay. He intended to present himself as a madman holding a nuclear detonator and turn the tables on these self-important conspirators.

The standoff lasted ten seconds.

An extremely faint snort came through the loudspeaker.

"Your requested Vibranium resources and level seven clearance have been activated." Pierce's voice regained a politician's composure, though he spoke noticeably faster. "A helicopter is waiting at exit three. Go soothe your monster. Don't disappoint me."

Lynn straightened and adjusted the hem of his suit jacket.

"Here's to our partnership, sir."

He turned toward the exit, his departing figure unhurried. But in a blind spot beyond Pierce's view, a cold curve lifted the corners of Lynn's mouth.

He had seen all their cards. These venomous snakes lurking in the dark were nothing more than blood bags waiting for him to drain them.

At the same time. Outside New York.

The night wind swept through the dense Adirondack Mountains, carrying the damp scent of earth and pine needles.

No lights were on inside the two-story safe house.

Wanda sat barefoot on the living room's wool carpet, hugging her knees tightly. She stared at Lynn's spare communicator on the coffee table, scarlet energy roiling like boiling magma in her dark green eyes.

Two hours and seven minutes.

Lynn had been away from her for far too long.

"They're... bullying him." Wanda bit through her lower lip. A bead of blood spilled out, only to be instantly vaporized into red mist by the violent Chaos Magic before it could reach the carpet.

High-frequency magical vibrations generated static in the air that stung the skin. Large patches of vintage wallpaper began peeling away, and the windowpanes gave off faint cracking sounds under unbearable strain.

Whoever dared take Lynn away from her, she would kill them all.

Just as Wanda's emotions were about to plunge completely into the abyss-

An extremely faint whistle abruptly sounded through the darkness outside the window.

"Hiss-"

A faintly glowing white polymer nanofiber cord silently fastened to the second-floor bedroom windowsill like a snake flicking its tongue.

The hunter lurking in the shadows could finally hold back no longer.

Clad in a skintight, pure-black stealth combat suit, Natasha Romanoff hung upside down beneath the eaves from the nanofiber cord like a weightless ghost cat.

That old fox Fury never put all his eggs in one basket. While Pierce was courting Lynn, Fury had likewise dispatched his sharpest blade to probe the pair designated "Zero Number Taboo."

Natasha held her breath, lowering her heart rate to forty beats per minute. Hanging by one hand, she drew a high-frequency laser cutting pen from the outside of her thigh with the other and placed it precisely against the window's metal latch.

A faint blue light flashed, and the latch melted through soundlessly.

Natasha's gaze was icy. She needed to confirm the current condition of the witch capable of tearing apart a Helicarrier, and just what secrets Lynn, that low-ranking agent full of tall tales, was hiding.

Engaging her core, she pushed open the window and flipped lightly into the dark bedroom like a falling leaf.

Her feet landed without the slightest sound.

A perfect infiltration.

Natasha straightened, about to activate her night-vision goggles.

At that very moment.

The suffocatingly intense odors of blood and ozone flooded her nostrils. The surrounding temperature plunged to freezing within half a second, and the air grew thick as mercury, pressing hard against her chest.

Every muscle in Natasha's body instantly tightened, her agent's instincts screaming danger.

She jerked her head up.

What greeted her was not an empty room.

It was a pair of scarlet eyes suspended in midair, burning with utter madness and savage murderous intent.

Scarlet Chaos Magic, like countless tangible tentacles, instantly cut off every avenue of escape and clamped coldly and brutally around Natasha's throat!

"Who gave you permission to approach his territory?"

In the darkness, the witch's voice sounded like judgment from hell.