Chapter 151 Full-Scale Counterattack

Facing an opponent of superhero caliber, those soldiers truly carried a bitter burden in their hearts.
...
Pierce was chatting amiably with several council members. Seduced by his rhetoric, they still had no inkling of what was about to transpire.

Pierce even had the shameless audacity to say, "The whole world should thank us."

At that moment, Nick Fury’s voice suddenly echoed through the broadcast system.

"Attention all personnel, this is Nick Fury. Over the past few days, you must have heard a fair bit of news about me—many of you probably even assumed I was dead."

Pierce slowly lowered his wine glass, sensing that a grave disaster was unfolding.

"Some of you received orders to hunt me down, and others were instructed to kill me on sight."

"Now, it is time for you to know the truth."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. is not as safe as you imagine. It has been infiltrated by HYDRA, and Alexander Pierce, my former superior, orchestrated all of it."

"The Strike Team and Project Insight are also part of his design. The targets he truly wishes to eliminate are those who obstruct the growth of HYDRA—such as myself, and all of you."

"I do not know who else among you belongs to HYDRA, but without a doubt, they are right here, perhaps standing right beside you."

The Security Council members and lawmakers turned their gazes toward Pierce, their expressions tinged with unease.

"They are on the verge of succeeding. The moment today’s Helicarriers launch, HYDRA will be able to eradicate anyone who stands in their way."

"Unless we can stop them. I know this will be difficult; the price of freedom has always been high."

"I am willing to pay that price. Captain America and the others are already rushing to stop the carriers, and I am going to find Pierce to settle everything."

"I believe I am not alone, and neither is S.H.I.E.L.D. Someone will step forward with me to defeat HYDRA."

Pierce slowly retreated into a corner and dialed Crossbones.

Crossbones led the Strike Team toward the main control room, while a few strike operatives headed straight for the conference room where they were currently located.

Some agents chose to remain on the sidelines, while others instantly threw their weight behind Nick Fury, beginning to rewrite the Helicarrier’s programming.

Stepping into the control room, Crossbones immediately announced to everyone present, "From this moment on, I am in command here."

The remaining agents immediately grasped the reality of the situation upon seeing this: Nick Fury’s words were entirely true.

Approaching the agent currently rewriting the code, Crossbones demanded, "Ensure the Helicarriers launch. Any problem?"

"I’m sorry, sir. I cannot guarantee that."

"Why?"

"Director Fury’s orders: halt the launch of the Helicarriers."

Pointing his gun at the agent, Crossbones barked, "Get away from your terminal this instant."

A female agent drew her sidearm, aimed it at Crossbones, and stated, "He said it. The Director’s order is to stop the carriers from launching."

Crossbones glanced at her dismissively and said, "You’ve chosen the wrong side, Agent."

The rest of the agents drew their weapons and aimed them at the Strike Team, locking themselves into a tense standoff. The atmosphere in the room instantly grew taut and explosive.

The main control room plunged into a deadlock, neither side willing to shatter the delicate equilibrium.

With quiet confidence, the female agent challenged, "Shouldn't you be worried about yourself as well?"

Hesitating for a fraction of a second, Crossbones opted to drop the pistol in his hand.

As his hand lowered and he pretended to surrender the weapon, he fluidly drew a combat knife, slashed the female agent’s arm, seized her firearm, and shot her.

The fuse was instantly ignited. Every single person opened fire without a moment's hesitation, and bodies continuously fell as they were struck down.

Amidst the chaos, Crossbones moved quickly to restore the overwritten programming.

What they remained unaware of, however, was that Captain America and his allies were already in motion.

Pierce lowered his phone, picked up a glass of champagne, handed it to a councilman, and resumed his eloquent pontification.

"If Pakistan were to attack South Asia tomorrow, and they dragged your daughter onto a schoolyard to be executed by a firing squad—while you merely needed to press a single button to prevent it all—what would you choose to do?"

"Would you press it?"

The councilman instantly dropped his champagne glass and retorted with backbone, "I don't need your button."

Pierce’s eyes widened in sheer disbelief as a surge of fury welled up within him.

He let out a cold, mocking laugh and reached for his concealed pistol to execute him.

Nearby, a female Security Council member abruptly kicked the councilman aside, lunged at Pierce, and wrestled for the gun in his hand.

The Strike Team members nearby reached for their weapons, but were instantly incapacitated by electrode darts fired by the woman. Another strike operative tried to draw his gun, only to be bludgeoned to the floor by the woman wielding the weapon she had just snatched.

The moment he struggled back to his feet, the woman spun around, pinned his gun-arm, and dropped him with a brutal elbow strike to render him unconscious.

The first strike operative, who had been downed by the electrical shock, attempted to rise as well, but his body had not yet fully recovered. The woman seized the opening, delivered a vicious palm-strike to his throat, and smoothly dropped him with a clean shoulder throw.

Turning back, she leveled the pistol directly at Pierce.

Facing the barrel of the gun, Pierce obediently raised his hands.

What briefly baffled him, however, was the fact that this Council member was supposed to be one of HYDRA’s own.

"I am so sorry."

The voice of the female Council member suddenly shifted into a synthetic mechanical tone.

She tapped the side of her face, peeled away the disguise mask she was wearing, and revealed her true visage.

Natasha Romanoff flashed a faint, confident smile and asked, "Did I interrupt your speech?"

Leaving Pierce under the guard of others, Natasha strode over to the computer console to access S.H.I.E.L.D.’s encrypted databases.

"What are you doing?" inquired a councilman with a bewildered expression.

Pierce smiled and answered, "She is deactivating S.H.I.E.L.D.’s security protocols and broadcasting all of its secrets to the public network."

Natasha glanced back at Pierce and corrected, "HYDRA's secrets."

Pierce countered, "Including S.H.I.E.L.D.’s."

"If you do that, the entire world will know your past. Are you prepared to let the world see your truest face?"

"And what about you?" Natasha retorted smoothly.

Pierce’s confident smile vanished. It was starkly apparent that Natasha had not a single fear, whereas he was terrified.

He knew all too well that he was nothing more than a monster draped in human skin; the moment he was exposed, he would be incinerated by the glaring light of day.

"Unlocking the system requires at least two Level-A administrative personnel."

"Don't worry, the other person will be here shortly."

Nick Fury pushed open the door and stepped inside, showing not the slightest trace of having suffered a gunshot wound.

"Thankfully, you retired earlier, so certain developments escaped your notice."

After acquiring the healing serum, Nick Fury had not distributed it on a massive scale; after all, something worth hundreds of thousands was not a luxury every agent was qualified to enjoy.

As a retired official, Pierce naturally had no privilege to possess it, and thus remained entirely ignorant of the fact.

Putting on a brave face, Pierce offered, "Glad you could make it, Nick."

Nick Fury took a couple of steps forward and replied, "Well, you did try to assassinate me. You know how it is."

When dealing with a traitor, an agent always had to rely on their most trusted comrade.

"Why did you make me Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

This remained Nick Fury’s only lingering question. I was never a member of HYDRA, yet you promoted and cultivated me—it is truly bizarre.

In asking this, Nick Fury had no idea what kind of answer he even wished to hear.

What was he anticipating? Sentimentality? The affection of a superior toward his protégé? Did genuine affection truly exist between him and the HYDRA-disguised facade of S.H.I.E.L.D.?

Even he himself could not tell.