In Umbrella's reception room, a glass of whiskey on the rocks sat on the table. The blonde woman seated on the sofa drained the amber liquid and ice in a single gulp.
"Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. have both fallen into the trap." Sean tapped his fingers against the tabletop and looked at Mystique Raven. "You understand what you need to do now, don't you?"
This key member of the Brotherhood of Mutants had not followed Magneto to Africa. Instead, she had remained by Sean's side as a bargaining chip, someone he could use when necessary.
"How can you be sure Hydra will make a move against Nick Fury?" Raven asked, puzzled.
She had witnessed the chase and attack in Washington D.C. today. This young man seemed to possess an uncanny ability to foresee the future. Hydra, lurking in the shadows, had truly lost its patience and prepared to crush S.H.I.E.L.D. in one stroke.
"Fury wants to launch Project Insight. That's Hydra's opportunity. If Alexander Pierce wants to seize the supreme power of monitoring the entire world, then the current Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. is undoubtedly his greatest obstacle."
Sean spoke with ease. He had merely given things a slight push, using the White House and the military to pressure S.H.I.E.L.D. into sharing power. To escape his current predicament, Nick Fury had naturally accelerated his plans.
Little did Fury know that Alexander Pierce had coveted this for a long time. He needed an opportunity to avoid the Avengers, then strike with absolute precision. He could not leave them any room to retaliate.
In the original timeline, that Black director had narrowly escaped at the last moment and passed vital information to Captain America, causing Hydra's plan to fall short and allowing the situation to be turned around.
But as an observer, Sean naturally