Sharon Carter looked at Nick Fury suspiciously.
"And Hawkeye, Hill, and Coulson? You've all been missing for two days. So, it wasn't Hydra that got you?"
She started to wonder if these four had any connection to Hydra. Otherwise, everything seemed a little too coincidental.
Crossbones, Brock Rumlow, stepped forward as well. "Director Fury, you disappeared at a critical moment, and now you've mysteriously shown up on the Helicarrier. You owe us an explanation."
He drew his gun, taking a defensive stance. "Otherwise, it's hard not to suspect that you're involved with Hydra."
"You're right," Nick Fury raised an eyebrow and nodded, "I do need to explain."
Even with several guns pointed at him, he remained calm and composed, pulling up a chair to sit down, legs apart, as he faced the room with a cool demeanor.
"You all want to know the truth? Well, I'm going to tell you the truth."
"For the past two days, news of Hydra has been running rampant among world leaders."
"This full-scale operation by S.H.I.E.L.D. is aimed at eliminating Hydra."
"But what if Hydra is also deeply embedded in S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"I'm here to tell you that we have no idea just how many Hydras are hiding here—hiding among us."
Nick Fury leaned his head back, scanning the room with his nostrils flared, as if sizing up everyone present.
He thought that each person there was suspicious, and subtly shot a glance at Hawkeye, signaling him.
"It's all nonsense! Fearmongering!" Rumlow clicked his gun into position. "A man who disappears at a critical moment only to reappear and try to sow discord—Nick Fury, when did you turn into Hydra?!"
A few of the real S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had started to waver after hearing Fury's words now looked confused again after Rumlow's accusation.
The situation was too complicated, and they didn't have enough information to know who to believe.
"Rumlow, why are you so eager to refute me?" Fury's expression remained cold. "I know full well you're Hydra. There's no need to keep pretending."
"There are plenty of Hydra agents here, aren't there? Is there really any point in continuing to hide?"
Rumlow narrowed his eyes. "I don't understand what you're saying, Fury. I'm arresting you now, on charges of treason and defecting to the enemy…"
"Why are you so agitated?" Suddenly, a gun was pointed at Rumlow.
It was held by a regular S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. "Could it be that what Director Fury is saying is true?"
The agent who had turned his gun on Rumlow shouted to everyone, "Everyone, stay calm! Are you seriously not going to trust the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.? How could Hydra corrupt even the Director? There's definitely something wrong with Rumlow!"
Rumlow's eyes flashed with a deadly glare as he scanned the room like a hawk, preparing to respond.
But before he could say anything, another voice cut in.
"Everyone! I think you need to see this live broadcast!"
A female agent quickly worked at the computer, and the central screen projected a live stream.
"A live stream?" Question marks seemed to pop up above everyone's heads.
We're in the middle of a standoff, practically moments away from a shootout, and you want us to watch a live stream?
The absurdity of the situation was palpable, but despite themselves, everyone instinctively turned to look at the screen.
On the screen was a press conference.
A figure everyone in the room recognized stood at the podium.
"…In conclusion, a few days ago, I destroyed the remaining forces of the Red Room."
Tony Stark leaned on the desk with one elbow, his body slightly tilted, but his large eyes were filled with seriousness.
Behind Tony, the screen displayed footage of his Mark suit flying around a fortress—this was a video Lyon had Jarvis secretly record during Tony's flight around the airborne stronghold.
"From their transaction records with outside sources, I uncovered an earth-shattering secret," Tony emphasized his words. "Hydra, which was thought to have been destroyed during World War II, still exists and has infiltrated various sectors worldwide."
"There are Hydra agents within national governments, and even within secret global organizations."
"From those records, I've deduced that even S.H.I.E.L.D.'s former director, Alexander Pierce, is a Hydra operative!"
"The so-called S.H.I.E.L.D. is..."
As Tony continued, he projected clear evidence behind him.
His speech was the result of a discussion he'd had with Lyon, and the two had made the decision together.
One goal was to reveal the truth about Hydra's presence within S.H.I.E.L.D. The other was to raise Tony's standing with governments around the world, laying the groundwork for future international operations of revenge.
The press conference was silent.
Most of the reporters didn't fully understand what S.H.I.E.L.D. was, and they remained skeptical about the claim that Hydra still existed.
Even on the internet, viewers watching the live stream were equally confused. The screen was filled with question marks in the live chat.
However, aboard the Helicarrier, the reaction to the broadcast was quite different.
Nick Fury's face changed drastically. "Shit! How could Tony dare to reveal such information publicly? Coulson, is this the result of your contact from last night?"
"Director, I don't know either. I tried every method last night but couldn't reach him," Coulson replied, feeling a bit wronged.
"What? You didn't reach him? Then how does he know all of this? Did he really destroy a faction of the Red Room?"
Nick Fury's expression twisted in frustration.
But seeing the shocked reactions of the surrounding agents to the broadcast, he decided to roll with it.
"You all saw it! Even Iron Man, Tony Stark, is pointing out that Pierce is compromised. The evidence is playing behind him! Are you still doubting my words now?"
Nick Fury stood up, his gaze sharp and intimidating. "Rumlow! You and Pierce are both Hydra! How much longer are you going to keep up this charade?"
Rumlow's face contorted with rage at these words, and in an instant, he raised his gun, ready to fire straight at Fury.
But just as Rumlow lifted his weapon, Hawkeye Barton had already drawn his bow, his arrow aimed directly at him.
"Drop the gun!" Hawkeye barked, his voice cold.
Hawkeye's sharp command was like a piece of burning coal thrown into water.
The entire command room instantly became tense, weapons drawn.
Anyone in the room who had a gun was now pointing it at someone they suspected.
—Sharon Carter and four or five others aimed their weapons at Rumlow.
The rest of the people were pointing their guns at Nick Fury and his group.
These were undoubtedly Hydra members.
"Very good. I knew there were many of you, but I didn't expect this many..." Nick Fury started to say.
But before he could finish, someone fired the first shot.
It was like the first shot fired in Boston centuries ago, a shot symbolizing independence.
In the next moment, the command room erupted into a chaotic firefight.
Gunfire blazed, the sound of shots rising and falling, flashes of muzzle fire illuminated the room, and smoke began to fill the air.
Hawkeye was locked in combat with Rumlow, managing to take a quick shot and kill a Hydra agent amidst the fierce battle.
As the ordinary S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, who had initially stood on Fury's side, fell and transformed into a green-skinned non-human creature, Nick Fury shouted, "No!" In his moment of shock, he was overpowered and pinned to the ground.
The others in his team were also injured one by one, either killed or incapacitated.
Hawkeye, despite his efforts, was eventually surrounded by multiple enemies and collapsed to the ground, trembling under the assault of electric batons.
The battle aboard the helicarrier had officially come to an end.
However, in an unnoticed corner of the room, the female agent who had started playing Tony Stark's broadcast had slipped under a desk at some point.
She was operating a camera, recording everything and transmitting it via a special network, live-streaming the entire scene to the outside world.
This woman was one of the Men in Black, known by the codename Agent K.
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