"Seriously, why does this happen every time I step into an elevator?"
Rumlow grabbed the heads of the last two Hydra agents, slamming them together with one swift motion, ending the fight.
"Well, well, Rumlow. I've heard a lot about you."
Agent Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow.
She spoke with a playful flick of her tongue across her lips, her pearly teeth lightly biting down—a habit etched into her since her youth, all charm and seduction.
Too bad Rumlow didn't even glance her way.
"Black Widow?"
He shot her a quick look, then turned back.
Everything in the elevator was on camera, and he was wondering if Pierce would bolt from his office.
With Hydra dominating S.H.I.E.L.D., even non-Hydra agents were hard to clear of suspicion.
Rumlow had no time for Natasha's allure. He was focused on breaking the chains binding him.
"Hey, hello?"
Coulson's voice suddenly blasted through every audio system in S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Motherf—"
Nick Fury, sprinting up the stairs toward the top floor, let out a startled curse, and his entire squad froze.
Behind him was Dum-Dum Dugan, followed by Hill and Sharon Carter.
Dugan was likely the team's heaviest hitter, tasked with keeping an eye on Fury.
No matter how long Fury had been behind a desk, he was a warrior back in the day.
Hill and Sharon Carter, wary as they were, couldn't fully rein him in.
So Dugan tailed Fury, while Sharon kept tabs on Hill—though Dugan thought it unnecessary, Hill didn't object, so it stuck.
"That's Coulson?"
Hill's voice was icy as ever, though the swollen monkey paw print on her face wasn't doing her any favors.
"How'd he pull that off?"
Sharon Carter checked her phone, confirming Fury's jamming device was still active.
Fury had used Hawkeye's distraction to sneak in via the stairs, avoiding the elevator's risk of random entrants.
The jammer only blocked electronics, not human eyes.
Climbing stairs was slower but safer.
The jammer ensured the cameras wouldn't catch Fury's team.
At worst, it'd raise suspicion, but as the current director, Fury wasn't fazed.
Plus, it gave him a chance to rally agents with low suspicion of Hydra ties.
"I'm Level 8 Agent Phil Coulson! All S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, follow my orders for now! Stay where you are—anyone moving is an enemy! Prioritize your safety and await the Director's arrival!"
Coulson fiddled with the walkie-talkie-like device, quickly grasping its function.
A note tucked beneath it explained its purpose—A.I.M. wasn't taking chances that Coulson was some meathead combat agent.
For A.I.M.'s mad scientists, hijacking a facility's audio system was child's play. Their team had top talent in every field.
Too bad M.O.D.O.K. had already seized control of their HQ, leaving only the field operatives unscathed.
"You told Coulson to do this?"
Dugan gripped his pistol, always ready for a fight, now aimed at Fury's head.
He'd never fully trusted Fury.
"I had no idea. Rumlow should've linked up with Coulson by now. Why would he do this? Who's helping him?"
Fury itched to scratch his head.
Everything was spiraling out of his control. He was starting to feel like a fake Director—everyone was pulling stunts behind his back.
Coulson didn't know much about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal state.
After the Hydra ambush, he realized they held high ranks.
But he figured even Hydra couldn't replace most of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s staff. When he couldn't reach Fury, he took this gamble.
Bypass Hydra's top brass and seize control of the lower ranks.
At worst, it'd buy time by stalling the chain of command.
He'd even considered the possibility that Fury was dead.
Stabilizing S.H.I.E.L.D. internally was a safe bet either way.
But his move threw the situation into greater chaos.
If A.I.M. were still their old selves, they'd be laughing their heads off. Too bad M.O.D.O.K. didn't care about S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra—he just wanted revenge.
Across S.H.I.E.L.D., clueless agents froze in place. Many Hydra operatives followed Coulson's orders, waiting for Fury's arrival.
Their superiors quickly instructed them to lay low.
Hydra's mid-level commanders had no time to coordinate, assuming Fury had powerful allies to issue such an ultimatum.
These hidden Hydra agents would wait for the next order—whether to stay undercover or strike at Fury when the time came.
They just needed a little patience.
Victory was within reach!
Once Pierce smoothly reclaimed the Director's seat, Hydra's goal would be achieved.
The world felt close enough to grasp.
In Fury's old office, Pierce scoffed at Coulson's broadcast.
He didn't know how Coulson hacked the audio system, but it wasn't a big deal.
Eight of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s key divisions were Hydra-controlled. He doubted Fury could stir up any real trouble.
Rumlow, though, was a puzzle.
Pierce had sent Tess to lead him to a Hydra-heavy zone for questioning.
But Tess had gone silent, leaving only a fragmented video of Rumlow exiting the elevator with Melinda May and Black Widow.
So Pierce ditched his office, settling into Fury's to monitor the hallways' cameras.
His intel showed Maria Hill hadn't even reported to the World Security Council yet, meaning Fury couldn't have major backup.
Now he was wondering why the team sent to retrieve the Winter Soldier hadn't reported back.
That Winter Soldier, the strongest of the sequence, was too valuable to lose.
As for the Howling Commandos? Pierce didn't care.
The Werewolf and Mummy were already contained at their base, and the rest, leaderless, couldn't do much.
(End of Chapter)
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