Barton, being inside the armored vehicle, did not immediately detect the Winter Soldier's attack. As soon as the grenade assault began, Barton pulled Coulson into his arms, protecting both him and the box containing the serum.
Winter Soldier Number 2 waited by the street for about ten seconds and saw no one emerging from the wreckage.
Glancing at the machine gun in Winter Soldier Number 3's hands, they exchanged a signal and then both retreated from the scene, heading towards the designated meeting point to leave by car.
Inside the damaged vehicle, Barton's back was drenched in blood as he looked at Coulson in his arms: "Coulson, are you hurt?"
Coulson snapped out of it as Barton shook him, checking the box in his arms: "I'm fine, but we need to get out of this vehicle."
Barton observed the twisted wreckage of the vehicle. The other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had suffered fatal injuries, and blood continued to flow from them.
He drew his vibranium combat knife from his back and, with a forceful push, plunged it into the vehicle's body. Barton carved out a hole big enough for people to crawl through and helped Coulson climb out of the wreckage.
The street had long since been cleared of bystanders. Once Coulson was safely out of the vehicle, he looked at Barton: "Did any of our team members survive?"
Barton shook his head with regret: "Only the two of us made it; the rest died in the grenade attacks."
"If I hadn't injected the physical enhancement serum, neither of us would have made it out alive."
Barton, looking grim, called for backup and returned to base when the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrived.
…
Meanwhile, Winter Soldiers Number 2 and 3 reported their successful destruction of the target vehicle.
Upon receiving the report, Dr. Zola wiped out all traces of the Winter Soldiers' digital presence on the internet. However, he did not delete the photos sent to S.H.I.E.L.D.
The Winter Soldiers escaped Barton's pursuit and safely escorted the serum back to the Hydra base.
…
S.H.I.E.L.D. – Triskelion -
Returning to base, Coulson immediately ordered an investigation into the identity of the attackers. However, something unexpected occurred.
"Sir, we tried to access the surveillance footage, but the recordings from the incident site have been deleted."
Upon hearing the agent's report, Coulson's expression hardened as he asked: "And what about the three individuals who left the Sand Ninja Puppet Shop?"
"This attack was prompted by our investigation into them; they must be related."
"Sir, their surveillance footage has also been completely deleted and replaced. None of the video footage shows their presence."
"Only the photos our agents sent back remain; all other footage related to them has been entirely altered."
Coulson slammed his hand on the table in frustration: "How could they act so quickly? They must have an exceptional computer expert on their side to manage such swift cleanup."
Then he turned to the agent standing behind him:
"Did you find any information about those three individuals?"
"Sorry, we couldn't find any information on them."
Upon hearing that they couldn't locate any information about the suspects, Coulson's expression had turned serious. Those who knew Coulson could tell he was already angry.
Coulson thought for a moment and then spoke: "Continue investigating. Use all available resources and monitoring equipment outside to search for their information."
"Utilize civilian cell phones and street cameras. Use any camera we can access to search for their images."
"I believe we can find their information. If they appear on any camera again, we will definitely be able to track them down."
"Yes, sir!"
At that moment, the door to the room opened, and Nick Fury entered.
"Coulson, I heard you were attacked?"
Seeing that it was Director Nick Fury who had arrived, Coulson said, "Director, Barton and I discovered another group of people transacting with the Sand Ninja Puppet Shop. I believe they may have acquired the physical enhancement serum."
Nick Fury's expression grew grave: "What exactly happened?"
Nick Fury recounted his encounter with the three individuals outside the Sand Ninja Puppet Shop, explaining how the boxes in their hands resembled the one he obtained, containing the serum.
He also detailed the attack on them and the suspect's information being obscured on the network, providing all the details to Nick Fury.
After listening to Coulson's account, Nick Fury stroked his chin thoughtfully and then spoke seriously: "I always had a sense that the vibranium purchasing process wasn't going smoothly this time."
"It felt like others were also purchasing it, and it turns out there are indeed organizations competing with us for vibranium."
"Letting the serum fall into their hands is too dangerous."
"If it ends up in the hands of a nefarious organization that creates super soldiers, the harm to the world would be too great."
"We must retrieve the serum. If someone has been injected with it, we need to either bring them back or eliminate them."
Coulson looked at Nick Fury and said, "Director, I've already applied to access all available cameras and monitoring equipment worldwide to locate them."
"But their side also has skilled computer experts, and we haven't found any useful information yet."
Nick Fury thought for a moment and then asked: "Can you gather any intelligence about them from the Sand Ninja Puppet Shop?"
Coulson hesitated, recalling the situation at the time, and then spoke: "It's difficult. When I realized what was happening, I immediately tried to communicate with them and offered to buy information using energy blocks, but Temari refused."
"However, her refusal confirmed to me that the box in their hands indeed contained the serum."
Nick Fury looked at Coulson and asked, "How much did you offer?"
"Fifty energy blocks."
Nick Fury shook his head: "The price is too low. Have Yakushi Kabuto visit again to renegotiate the price. Since they want to draw him in, let's see if he can gather any useful information."
Nick Fury paused for a moment and then continued: "It seems there is an organization operating behind the scenes with ambitious goals."
"We have only purchased seven batches of the serum so far, and it seems the other side may already possess more."
"Coulson, deploy Team 17 in shifts to keep watch at the Sand Ninja Puppet Shop base. I want to see who will come to contact them."
"Since they have transacted before, this will not be the last time they visit."