Inside the SHIELD Headquarters building, in the Director's office, Kyle entered and, casting his eyes towards Pierce, who was seated in his office chair, couldn't help but smile. "I thought you might choose to run."
Pierce, feigning a smile, replied, "Why would I run? I'm perfectly fine where I am." He cursed inwardly. If he could have fled, he would have long since. But with the current situation, running would only accelerate Hydra's downfall.
Anyone else could escape, but not him. If he fell, it would undoubtedly confirm his identity as a Hydra spy, and other Hydra agents within SHIELD would also be implicated and destroyed. So, Pierce had to tough it out.
"It seems you've already come to terms with your own death," Kyle said with a light chuckle as he pulled out a chair and sat down without much courtesy, acting as though he were the master of the place.
The two men scrutinized each other, their first encounter, and perhaps their last.
Pierce, in an attempt to reminisce, said, "Symbol of Peace, Kyle. I grew up listening to your heroics and reading your biographies."
"I only found out about you last night when Fury mentioned you," Kyle nodded, stating the simple truth.
Pierce's eyes revealed a hint of indignation when he heard the first half of the sentence. However, when he heard the second half, his eyes widened in astonishment.
"That's right, Fury isn't dead yet. What happened yesterday was just to make you relax your guard a bit," Kyle continued. Finally, he added, "But it seems you fell for it, shifting your focus from him to Steve."
From the moment they met, Pierce had felt humiliated by the other's power and intellect. On the surface, he dared not show the slightest displeasure, and there was a trace of a humble attempt at flattery. But he held a slight trace of hope and humility deep inside, wondering, "How much does he know?"
Kyle spread his hands, saying, "Not much, just the practical use of Project Insight, Hydra's assimilation of SHIELD, and the fact that Fury suffered an attack from the Winter Soldier you sent."
Pierce, upon hearing this, felt a dizzying sensation in his head, almost toppling him into the chair.
"Not much?" This was practically everything!
Pierce, realizing his identity was exposed, couldn't hide himself in his humility and flattery any longer. His anger, fear, and powerlessness roared to the surface. He stared directly at Kyle and chuckled, "So, you deliberately came here to deal with me?"
"You're overestimating yourself," Kyle said while laughing, unable to contain his laughter. He raised a finger and shook it gently before saying calmly, "I heard there was an arrogant clown here, so I came to see the show and take his life."
Speaking of taking someone's life in such a light and casual manner, but it was undoubtedly an irrevocable decree of death.
Pierce's face turned dark and uncertain and complex emotions, including anger, fear, and helplessness, passed through him. He raised his head and laughed heartily as he spoke. "You think you've already won, and I've already lost. So you came here just to humiliate me?"
Kyle didn't respond. Pierce's attempts to struggle under his gaze only fueled his patience.
"You're too arrogant!" Pierce no longer suppressed his emotions. He slapped the table with his palm and exclaimed, "I know that you've definitely had Captain America and the others rush to the location of the Helicarrier. But what you don't know is that I've sent the Winter Soldier ahead of time to lead a team to guard it!"
He paused for a moment, then added meaningfully, "I don't have many cards in my hand, but with the Winter Soldier, I can effectively counter your moves."
Kyle nodded in agreement. The love-hate struggle between the Winter Soldier and Captain America was entangled. To deal with Captain America, sending the Winter Soldier was the right choice, with a fifty-fifty chance of any one of them winning. It was enough to delay things for a considerable amount of time.
"Unfortunately, as you said, you don't have many cards in your hands but I do, so I haven't just played the Captain America card," Kyle said with a light smile. Blocking the Helicarrier was a big deal, and he wouldn't place all the responsibility on Steve's shoulders.
The essence of controlling a situation is having the upper hand over the enemy and being able to respond to all unexpected factors during the process.
"What did you say?" Pierce asked, his mouth wide open in disbelief.
Meanwhile, on a road near the overpass, Steve and his team were scattered, taking cover behind abandoned cars, and avoiding the gunfire from Hydra's armed squad.
Steve and Sam were crouched together behind the same car, peering out to track the movements of their approaching enemies.
Sam glanced at the Winter Soldier, who was holding a gun, about ten meters away, and asked in astonishment, "Captain, you were talking to the leader earlier. Do you know him?"
"He's an old comrade and friend from my World War II days, but it seems he's been brainwashed and controlled by Hydra now," Steve replied with a complex expression on his face.
"Let's hope that he'll be gentle on you considering your past friendship," Sam quipped. Just as he noticed the Winter Soldier swapping for a new weapon, his mechanical wings urgently started up. At the same time, he shouted with a changed face, "Get down!"
He didn't even finish his sentence before he flew into the sky to escape.
In the next instant, a high-explosive rocket was launched from the Winter Soldier's hands, hitting the car where they had just been hiding. The car immediately exploded into a massive ball of flames.
Steve reacted quickly, rolling backward on the ground while using his shield to protect himself. The blast and debris struck the shield and were deflected away from him.
Without taking a breath, a second rocket came right after, detonating on the surface of the shield. Steve, holding the shield, was sent flying through the air under the force of the explosion, creating an arc over ten meters long, and eventually plummeted from the overpass with his trajectory unchanged.
"I can't believe it. He was really your friend?" Sam, watching from the air, couldn't find words to describe what he had just seen and struggled to figure out a way to deal with this situation.
**Da Da Da Da Da Da!**
A barrage of bullets accurately rained down towards them. Sam, flying agilely, evaded to the side, ascending to a safe distance.
In the air, he was like a sitting duck in front of an enemy sharpshooter. The Winter Soldier remained expressionless, his cold eyes retracting from the sky as he disposed of his rifle and took a Gatling gun handed to him by two other armed agents.
One hand carried the weapon, while the other supported the barrel. The Winter Soldier, now a war machine incarnate, leaped from the overpass, commencing the chase after Steve.
**Shoo...**
The circular shield rotated nimbly, altering its course slightly, and darted towards the back of the Winter Soldier's head.
The Winter Soldier's ear twitched, and he swiftly retracted his mechanical left arm, sending the shield back on its original path.
Steve, with his imposing figure, leaped out, catching the shield in mid-air and strapping it onto his arm. He said heavily, "Bucky, have you really forgotten me?"
In response, a barrage of bullets formed a relentless storm, leaving a pockmarked and frightening scene on the concrete floor.
Steve held his shield vertically, deflecting every bullet with skill.
He moved forward, facing the blazing Gatling gun, without retreating but rather advancing.
(End of this chapter)