Rumlow had just finished the strange treatment, his visible wounds fully healed. Yet his breathing remained labored—whether from lingering injuries or mental strain, he couldn't tell. He now held two weapons from the secret realm, his to use temporarily until the science team demanded them for study.
The knuckle dusters weren't subtle. Rumlow strapped them under his armpit, where his trusted gun once hung. Guns no longer thrilled him—waist holsters were faster, but the armpit sufficed for these. He strode down the corridor to Alexander Pierce, his Hydra superior, waiting in his office.
Knock knock!
Rumlow pushed the door open. Not Fury's confidant in S.H.I.E.L.D., he was Pierce's trusted ally in Hydra.
"Rumlow, close the door and sit."
Pierce exuded charm, unlike Fury's distant demeanor. Perhaps because his confidants shared Hydra's risks—exposure meant ruin for all. Hydra's name marked them as humanity's greatest villains, their deeds beyond redemption.
Rumlow nodded, shut the door, and sank into the sofa.
"I was attacked on that mountain."
He cut straight to it. With Pierce, he needed no pretense.
"You think Fury sent another team, bypassing us?"
Pierce lit a cigar, exhaling thick smoke.
"So you reported to Fury first?"
He eyed Rumlow, knowing S.H.I.E.L.D. was split between Fury's loyalists and Hydra. The attack had to be Fury's doing.
Rumlow's goal was clear.
"I don't think we're exposed yet. The plan hasn't started. He can't know."
Pierce's gaze hardened briefly.
"Did they use truth serum?"
If Rumlow had spilled, he wouldn't be here. But no interrogation? Odd.
"I gained a power on that mountain—intangible but real. The serum didn't work."
"That makes sense. Your plan?"
Pierce studied him, feigning openness. Rumlow knew Pierce already had a strategy but played along.
"I'll request another trip to the mountain, dodge Fury's probes, and find that guy. If he's Fury's, he'll show again."
Rumlow let anger seep into his voice, having told Fury of the "attack." Pierce, certain it wasn't Hydra, saw Fury in the open, himself in shadows, and Rumlow behind him. Hiding this was pointless—Pierce would hear eventually. Better to be upfront.
Fanning tensions between S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra wasn't easy, but it wasn't impossible with both sides trusting him.
Pierce didn't comment, weighing whether Fury had dirt on them.
"Anything else?"
A cue to leave.
"Fury took my reward from the mountain—an unbreakable vial."
"Got it."
Rumlow left, closing the door.
"Get ready."
Daredevil nudged Luke Cage, who was nearly dozing in their crouch.
"Finally, your big moment?"
Luke, unaware of Daredevil's superhuman hearing, stretched his shoulders, eyeing the factory gate. Car headlights flickered in the distance—an opportunity.
"Why not just climb the wall? Why wait?"
The three-meter wall was nothing to them, though daunting for normals.
"I'm not just after dealers. Suppliers are my target too. Otherwise, I can't survive."
Daredevil wasn't a naive moralist. He upheld justice where law failed. As Matt Murdock, blind lawyer for the poor, he earned nothing. Criminals' dirty money sustained him, and he helped the needy on the side—while dutifully paying taxes.
"Damn, you do that? Why didn't you bring me sooner?"
Luke perked up at the mention of cash.
"Time to move."
Daredevil's twin Ds seemed to glow eerily.
(End of Chapter)
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