Inside another office deep within the Triskelion, former S.H.I.E.L.D. director Alexander Pierce stood silently in front of a large monitor. His expression was dark and tense as he watched the surveillance footage playing on the screen.
The image displayed Ethan Blake calmly walking through the corridors of the Triskelion as if he owned the place.
Pierce's brows tightened.
"What the hell is Nick Fury doing?" he muttered irritably.
Pierce had personally promoted Fury years ago, yet even after all that time he had never truly been able to predict what that one-eyed man was thinking. Still, Pierce firmly believed that S.H.I.E.L.D. remained under his control.
Even if he was no longer the director.
As a member of the World Security Council, Pierce still had access to every mission report submitted by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s senior agents. That access allowed him to quietly monitor everything happening within the organization.
It was through one of those reports that he had learned about Ethan.
The report had been submitted by Phil Coulson after receiving information from Fury. Inside it was a detailed description of Ethan's abilities.
A superhuman capable of manipulating force fields.
Someone who had effortlessly subdued S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top operative, the Black Widow.
The desire to acquire superhuman power had always been a defining trait of HYDRA. Pierce himself was no exception.
The moment he read that report, he became interested in Ethan.
Approaching Ethan directly was impossible. Pierce knew Fury had likely tried that already, and judging from the results, it hadn't worked. Besides, as the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Pierce had no reasonable excuse to contact Ethan without raising suspicion.
If persuasion wouldn't work, then the only option left was coercion followed by temptation.
According to the intelligence files, Ethan cared deeply about his adopted siblings.
If those two were captured, would Ethan obey?
Pierce had used this method many times over the years. For him, it was a routine tactic.
However, he couldn't assign this mission to S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. If Fury noticed something unusual, it would cause unnecessary complications.
So Pierce activated one of HYDRA's sleeper assets hidden within New York's underworld.
Yet only a few hours after issuing the order, Ethan had appeared inside the Triskelion.
Coincidence?
Or had something gone wrong?
Pierce's uneasiness grew stronger.
He picked up his phone and dialed a number.
The line rang for a long time.
No one answered.
Pierce stared back at the surveillance screen, where Ethan continued moving through the building.
A bad feeling slowly crept into his chest.
Had the operation failed?
Did that agent reveal something before dying?
Pierce quickly dismissed the second possibility.
The man didn't have the courage to betray HYDRA. His entire family was under HYDRA's control. If the mission failed, only he would die.
But if he exposed HYDRA's secrets…
His parents, wife, and children would all be killed as well.
Even so, Pierce refused to take any chances.
After thinking briefly, he pressed the communication button on his desk.
A voice responded immediately.
"Director, what is it?"
"Agent Brock Rumlow," Pierce said calmly. "An intruder has entered S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Lead your team and capture him."
He paused before adding another instruction.
"The intruder possesses a superhuman ability similar to force-field manipulation."
Pierce's tone became more serious.
"He is extremely important. Capture him alive."
Killing Ethan had never been part of Pierce's plan.
What Pierce wanted was to understand how Ethan obtained those powers. If HYDRA could reproduce that ability…
Then conquering the world would no longer be a distant dream.
"Understood, Director," Rumlow replied.
Brock Rumlow.
Codename: Crossbones.
He was HYDRA's most valuable operative hidden inside S.H.I.E.L.D.
With this mission assigned to him, Pierce believed Rumlow would deliver satisfying results.
"Hail HYDRA," Pierce said quietly.
"Hail HYDRA," Rumlow responded.
Meanwhile, inside another control room within the Triskelion, Nick Fury stared at a monitor with a grim expression. His single eye was filled with shock and tension.
After instructing Maria Hill to inform Pierce about Ethan's arrival, Fury had immediately begun secretly monitoring Pierce's communications.
Under normal S.H.I.E.L.D. regulations, agents could only monitor individuals with lower clearance levels.
Since both Fury and Pierce possessed Level 10 clearance, neither of them was supposed to be able to monitor the other.
Additionally, communications between Level 10 agents were never recorded, which was why Pierce had spoken so openly.
However, Nick Fury was never the kind of man who blindly trusted rules.
When he first became director, one of the very first things Fury did was secretly upgrade his own clearance privileges. Officially he remained Level 10, but in reality his authority extended slightly beyond the normal limitations.
Just enough to secretly monitor Pierce.
Originally Fury had done this simply to keep a hidden safeguard for himself.
He had never imagined it would reveal something like this.
"Hail HYDRA."
The words echoed in Fury's ears again.
The former director of S.H.I.E.L.D… was HYDRA.
"Mother—"
Fury slammed his fist against the desk.
"Mother—!"
He repeated the curse several times, unable to suppress his frustration.
The revelation was almost absurd.
It was like being told that cats and mice were close relatives, or that chickens and foxes were family.
No one would believe it.
Although Pierce's identity as a HYDRA leader was extremely important intelligence, Fury's greatest concern now was something else entirely.
If even the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. was HYDRA…
Then how many HYDRA agents were still hiding inside the organization?
Meanwhile, Ethan walked through the enormous halls of the Triskelion.
The building was massive and its internal structure complicated. Since Ethan had never visited before, navigating the place wasn't easy.
In his hand he held Captain Jack Sparrow's compass.
The compass pointed in the direction of whatever its holder desired most.
Right now, the needle pointed toward Alexander Pierce.
Unfortunately, it only showed the direction. It didn't provide a path.
After wandering through several corridors without finding the correct route, Ethan's patience began to wear thin.
He considered simply smashing through the walls in a straight line with telekinesis.
Just then—
His observation instinct suddenly detected danger.
Ethan's body instantly shifted to the side.
A fraction of a second later, several nail-shaped bullets shot toward him from multiple directions.
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