Natasha Romanoff had joined S.H.I.E.L.D. relatively late, but she knew the organization's history extremely well. From the days when it was still the Strategic Scientific Reserve, one name had always been synonymous with its greatest enemy.
HYDRA.
During World War II, Captain America had supposedly destroyed that organization completely. Every official record claimed HYDRA had been wiped out decades ago.
Yet now…
"Nothing is impossible," Ethan said calmly.
He looked at Natasha with a faint, almost mocking smile.
"Before this, I already warned you that S.H.I.E.L.D. has rotted from the inside. Your organization is leaking like a sieve."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"I knew Alexander Pierce was connected to HYDRA. I just didn't expect this particular operation to be his doing. Honestly, I thought your director, the one-eyed guy, was the one behind it."
Ethan shrugged lightly.
"Looks like he understands the seriousness of the situation."
While speaking, Ethan casually moved his hand.
The next instant, the blond man's throat collapsed inward with a sickening crunch as telekinetic force crushed it completely.
Before Natasha or Clint could react, Ethan vanished from the room.
Natasha walked over quickly and knelt beside the body, checking the man's breathing and pulse.
A moment later she stood up and shook her head.
Clint exhaled slowly, his shoulders relaxing.
"Well," he muttered, "that guy's gone. Looks like we can head home."
Clint's tone carried obvious relief.
Facing someone like Ethan had left him with a deep sense of helplessness. Against a person he had absolutely no way of resisting, the entire situation felt suffocating.
Natasha nodded automatically.
But then a thought suddenly struck her.
Go home?
Compared to returning to headquarters, she suspected Ethan was far more likely to be heading somewhere else right now.
Alexander Pierce.
And Pierce was currently inside S.H.I.E.L.D.
Just earlier today, Natasha and Clint had passed him in the building while heading out for this mission.
Did Ethan know that?
Natasha was almost certain he did.
Even if he didn't already know, she had no doubt Ethan could find Pierce quickly. After all, he had once managed to locate Tony Stark in the middle of a massive desert where Stark had been hidden for two months.
Without hesitation, Natasha pulled out her communicator and contacted Nick Fury.
"How did it go?" Fury's voice came through immediately.
"They're all dead," Natasha replied. "No survivors."
"I see."
Fury's tone remained completely steady.
"Return to headquarters. I'll send someone to handle the aftermath of the scene."
"Director," Natasha said quickly, "we've obtained some very serious intelligence."
"Report it when you return."
"If we wait until we return," Natasha replied firmly, "it may already be too late."
There was a brief pause on the other end.
"Hold on."
Several seconds passed before Fury spoke again.
"Alright. Go ahead. What did you find?"
"This operation was most likely ordered by former Director Alexander Pierce."
"Ah. Is that so?"
Fury's voice remained calm.
"Pierce is likely the leader of HYDRA."
"Are you certain?!"
For the first time, Fury's composure cracked slightly. His voice rose noticeably.
"Ethan forced the information out of one of the attackers," Natasha explained. "But he also said he already knew Pierce was connected to HYDRA. Apparently he even warned us about it earlier."
"How reliable do you think the information is?" Fury asked.
"More than ninety percent," Natasha answered.
Nick Fury remained silent for a long time.
Finally, he spoke again.
"Understood. Return to headquarters."
The communication ended.
Inside S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Triskelion headquarters, Fury lowered the device from his ear and rubbed his forehead tiredly.
After Ethan had warned him previously that something was wrong within S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury had quietly begun conducting his own secret investigation.
The results had shocked him.
Hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D. was a massive network of unknown operatives. The organization had been infiltrated far deeper than he had ever imagined.
The biggest problem was that Fury no longer knew who he could trust.
Because of that, nearly all the investigation had been carried out personally by him. Progress was painfully slow, and he still hadn't fully uncovered the scope of the hidden network.
For a conspiracy of this scale to exist, it was impossible without protection from the highest levels of leadership.
That was why Alexander Pierce had long been one of Fury's primary suspects.
He had already discovered several suspicious connections between Pierce and the mysterious faction inside S.H.I.E.L.D.
But one thing Fury never expected…
That faction was actually HYDRA.
An organization that should have been destroyed during World War II.
"Director! An intruder has appeared," a voice suddenly reported through Fury's headset.
"Bring up the surveillance feed."
"Yes, sir."
When Fury saw the identity of the intruder on the monitor, his single eye narrowed slightly.
After a brief moment of thought, he issued a command.
"This is a special training exercise. Inform all agents to remain at their posts. No one is allowed to intercept the intruder, and no one is permitted to engage."
"Director… are you sure?" the voice asked hesitantly.
"Carry out the order," Fury replied firmly.
"Yes, sir."
"And notify Director Pierce," Fury added.
"Understood."
The intruder entering the Triskelion was none other than Ethan Blake.
Originally, Ethan had expected some resistance when he arrived. He had even prepared himself to fight through a large number of agents.
But to his surprise, he walked straight into the building without encountering a single attempt to stop him.
Some agents looked at him with strange expressions, but none of them tried to block his path.
Was the headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D. really this poorly defended?
The thought only lasted a second before Ethan dismissed it entirely.
That was obviously impossible.
If S.H.I.E.L.D. were truly this incompetent, HYDRA would never have bothered hiding inside it for decades. And the governments around the world certainly wouldn't continue pouring enormous funding into such a useless organization.
After thinking about it briefly, Ethan understood the situation.
It seemed that after his earlier warning, Nick Fury had also begun uncovering the problems inside S.H.I.E.L.D.
However, Fury's investigation probably hadn't progressed very far yet.
Ethan's sudden arrival might become the perfect catalyst.
By allowing him to move freely through the building, Fury could use Ethan as bait to flush out the hidden HYDRA agents buried deep within the organization.
Ethan had no objection to this at all.
He didn't care that Fury was using him.
Because he had only one purpose for coming here.
To kill Alexander Pierce.
Nothing else mattered to him.
....
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