In the basement of a farm on the outskirts of Washington, there is a secret Hydra stronghold.
From the passage leading to the outside, a rush of footsteps can be heard.
A group of men in neat suits with serious expressions hurriedly entered.
Leading them was the head of the World Security Council, former director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Alexander Pierce!
Around the basement stood over a dozen expressionless strongmen.
In the middle, there was an ordinary wooden chair, on which sat Bucky, who had recently fought Blake.
"Come, soldier, tell us about your mission this time and the opponents you encountered," Alexander Pierce said, casually leaning against a nearby table.
"Yes, sir!" Bucky replied expressionlessly.
"I was ordered to collect the quarterly funds from Selesto, but his estate was under attack. There was a man in iron flying in the sky and an immensely strong man."
"It was Tony Stark and that Asian guy, Blake, the two who were in the news recently," a bald man whispered in Alexander Pierce's ear.
Alexander Pierce waved to show he understood and then signaled for Bucky to continue.
"I led Selesto to escape through the tunnel, but that man from chased us. I was no match for him, so I used a flashbang to blind him. Then, I placed a small timed bomb on Selesto's clothes to attract the enemy's attention while I escaped through another tunnel."
Bucky answered mechanically, word by word.
"Well done, soldier!" Alexander Pierce praised Bucky, then turned to the bald man and said.
"Last night, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s secret unit in Mexico raided Selesto's estate. By the time they arrived, the drugs and arms in the estate had been blown to pieces. They were just there to clean up the battlefield."
"But the strange thing is, there is no record of this operation within S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury would never have guessed that many of the people in his supposedly secret unit are actually ours."
"Yesterday, $500 million was transferred out of one of Selesto's Swiss accounts. Heh! Tony Stark and that mysterious kid. It seems Nick Fury's so-called superhuman project has already begun."
The bald man adjusted his glasses and asked, "Do we need to do something? If Winter Soldier couldn't handle that mysterious kid, he seems pretty tough."
"No need!" Alexander Pierce said confidently with a smile.
"Nick Fury wants to form a secret team but exposed it for a bit of pitiful funding. His so-called cunning is laughable. A team that's already exposed poses no threat to us. The most important thing right now is the Insight project. Push Dr. Zola to perfect the Zola Algorithm quickly!"
The bald man nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Alexander Pierce patted him on the shoulder and said, "Also, we need to support another drug lord in Mexico. Our stronghold in Eastern Europe relies on these drug lords for survival."
...
Regarding the Winter Soldier, as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury naturally knew about him.
In fact, the organization capable of producing super killing machines like the Winter Soldier had always been a nightmare in his mind.
Especially since the Winter Soldier, like a ghost, had carried out numerous assassinations and kidnappings over the past fifty years without leaving a trace.
This made Nick Fury feel extremely uneasy.
He could never have imagined that this organization was Hydra, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s old enemy, and it was parasitically living within S.H.I.E.L.D., even close to him.
And his proud Avengers initiative was thus completely exposed to the enemy.
For someone like Nick Fury, a situation beyond his control would lead to endless speculation.
For instance, he wondered about the other side's plans for world domination, how many super soldiers like the Winter Soldier they had, and what killing machines they possessed.
To say nothing of the fact that over the years, he knew that the Winter Soldier had taken more than a dozen top-tier scientists from around the world.
These were geniuses at the pinnacle of their respective fields. If they were used to create world-threatening weapons, then...
Unfortunately, the Winter Soldier's appearance this time was again a fleeting glimpse. Despite tracing Selesto's line for several months, Fury couldn't uncover anything substantial.
The more Nick Fury thought about it, the more irritated he became. His right hand unconsciously began tapping lightly on the desk.
"Buzz, buzz~~"
The phone on the desk vibrated.
The caller ID displayed Coulson.
"It had better not be bad news!"
Coulson had recently been tasked with helping to establish the Avengers initiative.
Apart from Hawkeye and Black Widow, dealing with Dr. Banner was manageable—he was a nice guy as long as he didn't transform.
But Tony Stark and Blake were giving him a massive headache.
Even having dinner at Stark's place almost caused Banner to lose control and transform, nearly demolishing the Los Angeles branch.
So now, whenever Nick Fury saw a call from Coulson, he felt a headache coming on.
"Boss, you know, before we went to Mexico, we had locked onto three drug lords, right?" Coulson began to talk in circles, causing Nick Fury's eye to twitch, feeling a bad premonition.
"Speak directly, for God's sake, Agent Coulson! Why do I feel like you're starting to talk more like Blake and Stark?" Nick Fury growled softly.
"Alright, Boss, this morning I was sorting through documents and took out the files of the other two drug lords, but now the file is missing, and the worst part is, I can't reach Blake!"
"Shit!"
A pen holder on Nick Fury's desk was smashed to pieces.
Coulson only heard a loud noise from the receiver, followed by heavy breathing.
This honest man knew his boss was on the verge of losing it, so he held his breath and didn't dare to speak.
Nearly thirty seconds passed.
Nick Fury's weak voice finally came through the phone.
"How long has it been since you noticed the file was missing?"
"Uh... I left it on my desk at noon, then I went out, and I just discovered it was gone!"
Coulson stammered.
Nick Fury glanced outside; the weather was nice, with a bright full moon in the sky.
Sighing helplessly, Nick Fury rubbed his temple, feeling a neuralgia headache.
Speaking into the phone, he said, "Get in touch with the DEA people. They surely have undercover agents around those two drug lords. Find out any information. If that kid's cover is blown, clean up the traces!"
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