The basement of a farm outside Washington., was a secret Hydra hideout.
A series of hurried footsteps sounded in the passageway leading from the basement to the outside.
A group of men in sharp suits, with serious expressions, hurried in.
Leading the group is Alexander Pierce, the president of the World Security Council and former director of S.H.I.E.L.D..!
A dozen or so burly men with expressionless faces stood around the basement.
In the middle was an ordinary wooden chair, and sitting on it was Bucky, who had fought Qin Xiao not long ago.
"Come on, soldier! Tell me about your mission this time. What kind of opponents did you encounter?"
Alexander Pierce casually leaned against a table and said.
"Yes, sir!"
Bucky said expressionlessly.
"I was ordered to go to Celesto to collect the payments from last quarter, but Celesto's estate was attacked by a flying Iron Man and an incredibly strong, invulnerable Easterner."
"It's Tony Stark and that China guy named Qin Xiao, those two guys who were in the news a while ago!"
A bald man whispered an explanation in Alexander Pierce's ear.
Alexander Pierce waved to indicate that he knew, then gestured for Bucky to continue.
"I escaped with Celesto through the secret passage, but the Easterner caught up with me. I was no match for him, so I ambushed him with a flashbang. Then I put a small time bomb in Celesto's clothes to distract the enemy, and I left through another secret passage."
Bucky answered mechanically, word by word.
"Well done, soldier!"
Alexander Pierce gave Bucky a perfunctory compliment, then turned to the bald man and spoke.
"Last night, a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. in Mexico raided Celesto's ransom. When they arrived, the drugs and weapons inside had been blown to bits. This group was there to clean up the mess."
"But strangely, there's no record of this operation within S.H.I.E.L.D.., and Nick Fury never imagined that his supposedly secretive unit actually contained many of our own people."
"Yesterday, Celesto transferred $500 million from one of his accounts in Switzerland. Ha! Tony Stark, and that mysterious China kid, it seems Nick Fury's so-called superhuman project has already started."
The bald man adjusted his glasses and asked.
"Is there anything we can do? Barnes is no match for him, and that mysterious Eastern kid looks like a tough opponent!"
"Unnecessary!"
Alexander Pierce smiled confidently.
" Nick Fury wanted to assemble a secret team, but he exposed it for a pittance of funding. What a foolish move! An exposed team poses no threat to us. The most important thing right now is to Project Insight and urge Dr. Zola to finish perfecting the Zola Algorithm!"
The bald man quickly nodded in agreement.
Alexander Pierce patted him on the shoulder again and said.
"Furthermore, if we support another drug lord in Mexico, our strongholds in Eastern Europe will depend on these big drug kingpins for survival."
Nick Fury, as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.., naturally knew about the Winter Soldier.
In fact, this organization, capable of cultivating super killing machines like the Winter Soldier, had always been a nightmare for him.
In particular, this Winter Soldier is like a ghost, having carried out numerous assassinations and kidnappings over the past fifty years, yet he has never been able to be tracked down.
This made Nick Fury feel very uneasy.
He would never have imagined that this organization was S.H.I.E.L.D., Hydra.'s sworn enemy, and that it was parasitizing S.H.I.E.L.D.., even right next to him.
And his proud Avengers Initiative was thus completely exposed to the enemy.
For someone like Nick Fury, situations beyond his control give him more room for imagination.
For example, what kind of conspiracy the other side has to harm the world, and how many super soldiers, killing machines like the Winter Soldier, do they have?
Putting aside other things, over the years, he knows of more than a dozen of the world's top scientists who have been taken away by the Winter Soldier.
These are all geniuses who stand at the pinnacle of their respective fields. If they were used to create weapons that threaten the world, then...
Unfortunately, the appearance of the Winter Soldier was just a flash in the pan. He investigated Celesto's trail for several months but couldn't find anything out.
Nick Fury grew increasingly agitated, and his right hand unconsciously began to tap lightly on the desk.
"Buzzing~~"
The phone vibrated on the table.
The caller ID showed Coulson.
"Hopefully it's not bad news!"
Coulson was recently tasked with helping to establish the Avengers Initiative.
Aside from Hawkeye and Black Widow, Dr. Banner is alright; he's a nice guy unless he transforms.
But Tony Stark and Qin Xiao were giving him a real headache.
Even a simple meal at his house could cause Banner to lose control and transform, nearly turning the Los Angeles branch into ruins.
So Nick Fury gets a headache whenever Coulson calls.
"Boss, you know, before we went to Mexico last time, we identified three drug dealers, right?"
Coulson started off beating around the bush, which made Nick Fury's eye twitch involuntarily; he had a bad feeling about it.
"Just say what you mean, for God's sake, Agent Coulson! I'm starting to feel like you're talking more and more like Qin Xiao and Stark!"
Nick Fury growled in a low voice.
"Okay, boss, I was organizing files this morning and came up with information on the other two drug dealers, but now I can't find that file, and worst of all, I can't get in touch with Qin Xiao!"
"Shit!"
The pen holder on Nick Fury's desk was smashed to pieces.
Coulson heard a loud bang through the receiver, followed by heavy breathing.
The honest man knew his boss was on the verge of going berserk, so he held his breath and didn't dare to say a word.
Almost half a minute passed.
Then Nick Fury's weak voice came through the phone.
How long have you known the files are missing?
"Um... I put it on the table at noon, then I went out, and I just realized the file is missing!"
Coulson hesitated for a moment.
Nick Fury glanced outside; the weather was nice, with a bright moon in the sky!
With a helpless sigh, Nick Fury rubbed his head, which was throbbing with nerve pain.
He spoke into the phone.
"Find the Drug Enforcement Administration; they definitely have someone undercover among those two drug lords. Find out what's going on. If that kid's identity has been exposed, erase all traces!"