Alexander Pierce was Hydra—a fact both Iron Man and Batman had long since disclosed to Captain America.
At this moment, Pierce's offer to "join them" clearly referred not to S.H.I.E.L.D., but to Hydra.
"Join you?" Captain America kept his expression perfectly neutral, acting like an innocent fool. "As an Avenger, I don't believe I need to additionally join S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Your fellow Avengers will likewise choose to join us. They have no other choice," Alexander Pierce said.
His posture of supreme confidence caused Captain America's heart to skip a beat.
He thought of the ambush Black Widow had suffered; that was likely not just the work of Hydra, but very possibly carried out under direct orders from S.H.I.E.L.D. itself.
"I'm afraid I won't be accommodating your wishes, sir," Captain America said.
"A pity," Alexander Pierce replied.
He waved his hand, signaling that Captain America could take his leave.
Yet Captain America remained standing in place without moving a muscle, his eyes locked dead on Alexander Pierce:
"Sir, I take it that what you regret isn't my refusal to join you, but rather that the individual named Steve Rogers is about to vanish off the face of the Earth?"
Pierce looked at Captain America with a forced, insincere smile, remaining silent.
In the very next second, however, the smile was wiped from his face.
He saw Captain America clench his fists and stride toward him step by step, his gaze as sharp as a hawk's.
"Steve, what do you think you're doing?" Alexander Pierce's face darkened. "Are you openly defying the high command of S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"I won't do that." Captain America shook his head, bringing his steps to a halt right in front of Pierce. "What I want to tell you is that I will only ever fight for freedom."
With that, Captain America turned and walked away, leaving Alexander Pierce behind with a face as dark as night.
For a brief split second just now, Captain America had considered striking down this Hydra ringleader on the spot.
Doing so, however, would mean dragging the entity known as "Hydra" directly into the light, inevitably igniting an immediate, fierce conflict.
Captain America's goal today was to probe deep into the heart of this Hydra nest to scout it out, not to initiate an immediate brawl.
Exiting the room surrounded by massive floor-to-ceiling windows, Captain America brushed past the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in tactical jackets walking back and forth in the corridor, heading straight for the elevator.
When he stepped inside the elevator, however, several burly agents were already standing within.
Captain America pondered for half a second before stepping into the cab without hesitation.
As the elevator continued downward, making intermittent stops at intermediate floors, another seven or eight S.H.I.E.L.D. agents squeezed inside.
The cab grew increasingly crowded, sandwiching Captain America into the very center of the elevator, surrounded on all sides by muscular agents exuding an unmistakable aura of toughness.
The majority of these men were not high-ranking operatives, but members of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s elite tactical strike team, possessing overall physical capabilities no less formidable than front-line soldiers.
Captain America subtly glanced at a bead of cold sweat running down the forehead of the black agent closest to him, then lowered his eyes to look at the hands of the agents around him subtly hovering over their holstered firearms and weapons.
Finally, he raised his eyes, looking at the back of the head of the agent standing directly in front of him:
"Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?"
The moment the words left his mouth, the agents sprang into action as if receiving a synchronized order.
The agents standing to Captain America's left and right immediately seized his arms, while an agent behind him raised a boot, driving a kick toward the back of Captain America's knee.
At the same time, the agent in front of him spun around abruptly, holding a baton whose tip crackled with blue electrical sparks.
In addition, two other agents unholstered heavy magnetic handcuffs from their left and right sides, lunging forward to clamp them onto Captain America's wrists.
Behind Captain America, the agent who had kicked the back of his knee took a swift step forward, sliding his arm over Captain America's shoulder to lock his neck in a vice-like rear naked choke.
In less than a single second, Captain America was completely restrained.
Simultaneously, several other agents not tasked with physically restraining Captain America reached down to their waists in a flash, pointing four or five handguns straight at him in unison.
They had no need to aim, nor any need to overcome any psychological hesitation.
The instant their muzzles lined up with Captain America, these agents pulled their triggers without a second thought.
Bang!
A deafening crash exploded inside the elevator, but it was not the sound of gunfire; it was the noise of the three agents holding handguns being swept off their feet by a single kick from Captain America, slamming violently against the elevator's metal wall.
It was fortunate that the metal walls of the elevator were sturdy enough; even after taking a solid, full-power leg sweep from Captain America, they merely dented inward slightly.
Had there been glass behind them, that single blow would have been enough to send them plummeting down from dozens of stories high.
With the most immediate firearm threats temporarily neutralized, Captain America did not let his guard down in the slightest.
His judgment was crystal clear: these agents had been sent to kill him, not to take him alive.
This was evident from the actions of the agents gripping his arms on both sides, who flipped their wrists to pull out combat knives, aiming straight to slit his throat.
Not only from the sides—from both in front of and behind Captain America, several jet-black, unreflective blades snuck forward silently as well, plunging straight for his chest and arms.
In this single instant! Throat slitting, chest stabbing, severing tendons, electrocution, hand-cuffing...
Though the threat of guns had been temporarily dealt with, the danger facing Captain America had not lessened in the slightest.
His Vibranium shield was strapped to his back; while he couldn't detach it to use as a weapon, the shield fortunately served to protect Captain America's back completely.
Otherwise, with blades thrusting at him from all sides, Captain America did not believe he could withstand the onslaught.
Facing the incoming daggers from both sides and the front, Captain America slammed his body backward with immense force, pinning the agent behind him against the wall of the elevator.
This side was a glass wall, but it was far from ordinary glass, showing not a single crack under the impact.
This move allowed Captain America to dodge the stabs from the blades on his left, right, and front once more. However, the three agents he had swept into the wall earlier scrambled back onto their feet, reaching down toward the handguns dropped on the floor.
One of the agents, quick-witted and nimble, slammed his hand onto the elevator buttons, attempting to force it to stop at a floor.
Must finish this quickly—no delays! Captain America knew he absolutely could not wait for the elevator to stop; heaven only knew how many Hydra soldiers were waiting in ambush outside the doors.
A cramped space, chaotic numbers, and daggers and handguns that could strip away fighting capability with a single hit.
At this moment, Steve Rogers showcased the supreme qualities expected of Captain America to absolute perfection.
With a powerful flex of his arms, Captain America shook off the two agents gripping his wrists, then reached back with both hands to grab their tactical belts.
The muscles in his arms bulged violently as he hoisted the two men—each standing well over six feet tall—one in each hand, slamming them heavily toward the front of the cab.
Pop! Pop!
Bullets finally burst from the muzzles, but they slammed squarely into the two agents hurled forward.
Blood splattered as the two shot agents crashed heavily onto the elevator floor, successfully disrupting the offensive rhythm of the remaining knife-wielding operatives.
Taking advantage of this precious opening, Captain America seized the final agent behind him—the one locking his neck—and flipped him over his shoulder, slamming him down onto the floor as well.
Only at this moment did Captain America dare to catch his breath, launching himself forward to tackle the few remaining agents.
A few seconds later, aside from the agents sprawled across the floor, Captain America was the sole figure left standing. He unslung his shield to smash open the handcuffs on his wrists, just as the elevator finally ground to a halt.
Ding~
The elevator doors slid open, and the very instant they parted, a dense hail of rifle and submachine gun fire poured inside.
With no time to think, Captain America spun around almost by instinct, driving a heavy blow with his shield that shattered the elevator's glass wall and severed its traction cables.
The elevator instantly went out of control, plunging downward at breakneck speed, only to grind to a sudden halt two seconds later as its emergency safety brakes engaged.
Captain America surveyed his surroundings, leaned out to gauge the distance between the elevator and the ground below, then took a few steps back before sprinting forward, leaping down amid a spray of shattering glass shards.
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