As Voss and the others were still crawling through the ventilation ducts, a black private helicopter descended onto the open ground outside an abandoned car factory on the outskirts of Washington. Its rotor blades tore through the night's silence.
Clint jumped out of the cockpit and extended a hand toward Natasha."Welcome to America, Ms. Romanoff."
Natasha ignored his gesture and leapt down on her own. Her sharp instincts immediately told her this place wasn't as simple as it looked.
"Your director's hiding out in this junkyard?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is SHIELD's budget really that bad?"
"Don't be fooled by appearances," Clint said, shutting off the engine. "Director Fury doesn't play by the rules."
They walked toward the factory gate. Natasha noticed that the old, rusted padlock was actually high-tech, and tiny cameras were concealed among the weeds nearby.
"Interesting," she muttered.
Inside, Steve was checking his gear. Hearing the noise outside, he looked up. "They're here."
Fury pressed a remote, and a section of the cement floor slid aside, revealing the entrance below. A few minutes later, Clint and Natasha stepped into the basement.
Natasha's eyes scanned the room, noting every possible threat and escape route. When her gaze landed on the wall of weapons, a flicker of admiration crossed her face.
"Nice collection," she said to Fury. "I see even SHIELD's director likes to keep a few secrets."
"Everyone needs insurance," Fury replied, standing to meet her. "Natasha Romanoff. I've heard a lot about you."
"Nick Fury," Natasha returned, studying him in turn. "The one-eyed director who supposedly never trusts anyone."
"Legends exaggerate," Fury said evenly, gesturing to a nearby chair. "Have a seat. We need to talk."
Natasha didn't sit right away. Her gaze moved across the room — Coulson and Hill were there too, both familiar faces from the Red Room archives. Finally, her eyes stopped on Steve. Recognition hit immediately.
"Captain America?" she asked in disbelief. "Steve Rogers? You're supposed to be dead. Seventy years dead."
Steve gave a rueful smile. "I've been asked that a lot. Yeah, I'm the relic they thawed out of the ice."
"Incredible." Natasha stepped closer, studying him. "The Red Room kept detailed files on you, but I never imagined I'd meet the real thing."
She finally took a seat across from Fury, and Clint sat beside her. The tension in the room thickened — everyone was waiting for an explanation.
"Alright, everyone's here," Clint broke the silence. "Director, mind telling me what this is all about? Why pull me off a mission in Ukraine just to send me to France to pick up a so-called Russian spy?"
Natasha shot him a sideways look. "Russian spy? That's an interesting choice of words."
"I didn't mean anything by it," Clint said quickly.
"I know," Natasha replied before turning to Fury. "But I'd like to hear it too. Why did SHIELD suddenly reach out to me — an 'enemy'? Because of my skill set?"
Fury looked around the table before answering. "Because we're facing an unprecedented crisis. Hydra was never truly destroyed."
"What?" Clint's eyes widened. "Wasn't Hydra wiped out in World War II?"
"That was just for show," Steve said. "In reality, they've been hiding within SHIELD for decades, eating it from the inside out."
Natasha's expression hardened. "You're saying SHIELD's been infiltrated?"
"More than infiltrated," Fury said grimly. "According to our intel, Hydra now controls most of SHIELD's key divisions. Including…" He paused. "The current Chairman of the World Security Council — Alexander Pierce."
Clint nearly jumped out of his chair. "Pierce? The guy who recommended you for director? You're saying he's Hydra?"
"I wish I wasn't," Fury said quietly. "But every piece of evidence points to him."
Over the next half hour, Fury laid out everything — Voss's warning, the discovery of the New Jersey base, Dr. Zola's surviving consciousness, and the true purpose behind Project Insight.
When Natasha heard that Project Insight was designed to eliminate twenty million people, her face went cold. She'd taken lives before, but those were targets — this was mass murder.
"Twenty million?" she said, her voice trembling slightly. "They've lost their minds."
"Madmen always think they're the sane ones," Steve replied. "Hydra believes peace can only come through control and fear."
Clint groaned, rubbing his face. "Great. I go overseas for one mission, and when I come back, the whole house is on fire."
Hill cut in sharply, "Now's not the time to complain. Project Insight launches tomorrow afternoon. We have less than fourteen hours to stop them."
Natasha thought for a moment. "If Pierce is Hydra's leader, why not just take him out?"
"Killing Pierce won't fix this," Fury said. "Hydra's a network — cut off one head, two more appear. We have to burn the entire system down."
"So what's the plan?" Clint asked.
Fury spread out a blueprint of the Triskelion. "We divide and conquer. Steve, Coulson, and I will go to Pierce under the guise of attending the launch ceremony. Our goal is to buy time and lower their guard."
"That's risky," Hill said. "If Pierce suspects anything, you might not make it out."
"It's a risk we'll take," Steve said. "And we're not going in unarmed." He tapped the shield on his back.
Fury continued marking points on the map. "Meanwhile, Hill, Clint, and Natasha will infiltrate the server room."
Natasha studied the layout. "That's on the third basement level — tight security."
"Not impossible," Hill said. "I've got Deputy Director clearance. We'll just have to avoid Hydra patrols."
"And once we're in?" Clint asked.
"Using Hill's clearance, we'll access SHIELD's main system," Fury explained. "If we can seize control, we can shut down Project Insight and expose Hydra publicly."
"Feasible," Natasha said slowly. "But if we're caught in that server room, the whole mission's blown."
"That's why I need you," Fury said. "You're the best at infiltration — and you know your way around tech."
Natasha gave a small nod. "Red Room training covered hacking and data theft. I can handle it."
Clint nudged her shoulder. "Told you we'd need you."
Natasha shot him a glare. "You're not useless either — at least your aim's better than those idiots in France."
Before Clint could reply, Coulson spoke up. "We've got another issue. If Project Insight's in its final phase, the Helicarriers may have already armed their systems. Even if we gain control from the ground, that might not be enough."
The room fell silent. It was a sobering thought.
"Then we need a backup plan," Steve said. "If remote shutdown fails, we'll have to board the carriers and disable their weapons manually."
"Boarding flying Helicarriers?" Natasha raised an eyebrow. "That's practically suicide."
"Sometimes suicide's the only option," Steve said quietly. "If we fail, millions die. Compared to that, our lives mean nothing."
Clint stared at him, respect clear in his eyes. "Now I get why they call you Captain America."
"Don't call me Captain," Steve said, shaking his head. "We're a team — no ranks here."
Fury glanced at his watch. "It's 2 a.m. Fourteen hours until launch. Let's move — we've got work to do."