"Wait… what's this?" Voss leaned in at the screen Tom was pointing at. "Emergency Shutdown Protocol?"
The document explained that Project Insight did have an emergency shutdown — but it required three top-level authorization codes to be entered at the same time.
"Three separate codes, held by Director Nick Fury, Deputy Director Maria Hill, and former Security Council Chairman Arthur Hand," Voss read out slowly.
"But Alexander Pierce is the Security Council Chairman," Artoria pointed out. "So who's Arthur Hand?"
Voss looked closer. "It says former. Pierce is the new chairman. Hand's authorization code should still exist."
"Is Arthur Hand still in S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters then?" Aqua asked.
Tom quickly ran a system search.
Voss's expression darkened as he read the result: "Arthur Hand… died in a car accident one month ago."
"Dead?" Voss narrowed his eyes. "Hydra probably arranged that."
"Most likely," Artoria agreed. "So his code should have expired."
Jerry pointed to a smaller line on the screen.
"The authorization code remains valid for two months after the chairman leaves office…" Voss read. "So Hand's code still has one month left."
"So where is that code now?" Aqua asked.
Tom kept digging through the database — and found it.
"The authorization code is stored in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s highest security vault," Voss said."Location: Zone A — seventh underground level."
"Seventh underground level…" Artoria frowned. "Security there will be extreme."
"Oh yeah. Very extreme." Voss scrolled further. "Biometric access, password lock, and requires two people authorizing at the same time."
Artoria exhaled through her nose. "We need a new plan. If we get all three codes, we bypass everything and just shut Insight off at the root."
"The problem is getting them," Voss replied. "Pierce won't cooperate. Fury's location is unknown."
Just then Tom tapped the screen again — he had found triangulated GPS traces.
"You're kidding…" Voss stared. "Fury escaped the Triskelion? Pierce didn't kill him?"
"And he's with Hill outside Washington?"
"That means they already regrouped — probably with Steve," Artoria said with relief.
"So what do we do?" Aqua asked. "Meet up with them?"
Voss shook his head. "No. We have something more critical in our hands right now."
He pointed at the vault info.
"If we secure Hand's authorization code, then we hold the literal shutdown key for Project Insight."
"But the seventh underground level—" Artoria began.
"With Tom and Jerry," Voss cut her off, "there's nowhere we can't break into."
Tom and Jerry looked at each other, then confidently gave a thumbs-up.
"Then it's decided," Voss said. "We're going down there to get the code."
Tom closed his laptop, removed his glasses, and tucked them away. Jerry climbed onto Voss's shoulder and pointed toward the exit.
"Let's go — seventh underground level," Voss whispered.
They slipped back into the ventilation duct network — this time headed toward S.H.I.E.L.D.'s deepest vault.
"Master, security on seventh underground has to be far worse than this floor," Artoria murmured while crawling. "Are you sure we can do this… for real?"
"Have a little faith," Voss said as he led the way. "If there's anything we can't do, it'd be destroying the entire universe in one swing. This? This is nothing."
Tom scouted ahead, his night-vision eyes making the black duct look bright. Jerry tapped the metal walls, listening to the structure.
"This duct system is ridiculous," Aqua complained. "My knees are destroyed."
"Endure it — we're close." Voss pointed. "Tom says the vertical shaft is ahead — leads down to level seven."
Sure enough — there it was. A vertical drop in the duct.
Tom checked the depth — then held up two paws, indicating deep — very deep.
"A hundred meters?" Aqua squeaked.
Tom nodded.
"A hundred-meter straight drop…" Artoria frowned. "If I fell, I could survive… but Master and Aqua…"
"It's fine." Voss cut her worry off with a firm tone. "Trust Tom and Jerry."
Jerry pulled out a roll of extremely thin rope — but it felt like steel cable. Tom drilled in tiny anchor hooks along the duct.
"You two even carry mountaineering gear?" Voss blinked.
Tom puffed his chest proudly.
Once the rope was secured, Artoria descended first — she was the physically strongest. Voss followed, Aqua last.
Tom and Jerry simply scaled the duct wall like it was a tree trunk.
Ten minutes later, they reached the vent on level seven.
"Finally…" Aqua groaned, rubbing her arms. "Never again."
Tom was already quietly removing the grate. Through the gap, they could see a quiet corridor — walls pure white metal — like a sterile lab.
"This entire area looks different," Voss whispered. "Feels like a containment research floor."
Jerry hopped out first and scanned the hallway. No guards. Only the hum of machinery.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. likely runs this level fully automated," Voss explained. "Security here is almost entirely biometric and electronic."
Tom re-equipped his glasses and opened his laptop.
At the end of the corridor stood a massive metal door — with a complex multi-factor scanner array beside it.
Aqua looked dismayed. "We don't have the biometrics for this level."
"Which is why we brought our specialists," Voss said, nodding toward the two.
Tom and Jerry immediately got to work — Tom interfacing with the control system while Jerry opened the scanner housing and modified the logic directly at the board level.
A few minutes later — the red indicator switched to green.
The heavy door unlocked — and slowly slid open.
Aqua whispered, "They did it."
Beyond it was an even larger room.
And in the center — a circular vault like a sci-fi bank door — with dual user inputs and biometric validation.
"Yeah…" Artoria stared at it. "This one is a real problem. Two authorized operators required at the same time."
Tom and Jerry looked at each other again — then Jerry moved behind the vault to examine the rear mechanism.
He had an idea.