Early the next morning, Natasha sent word—she had successfully infiltrated the World Security Council's delegation. When the time came, she would coordinate with Steve, striking from the inside while he attacked from the outside.
Agent Hill led Sam and Steve up to the mountaintop. From there, they would fly directly to the Triskelion.
This was an operation where precision mattered more than numbers, so Agent Tom could only linger behind, reluctantly assigned to guard the cave.
"Steve! Remember to change the suit back when you return!" Tom shouted. "Otherwise, the museum curator is going to get fired!"
"Got it!" Steve called back.
As he disappeared into the distance, Steve turned once more and waved at Clara from afar.
"I bet when that uniform is returned, it'll be enshrined," Tom continued confidently. "After all, it'll have saved the world again alongside Captain America. The museum could even give it its own display case—don't you think, Clara… Clara?"
When Tom turned around, he realized that everyone who had come to see them off was already gone, leaving him standing there alone like an idiot.
"You guys have zero loyalty!" he complained indignantly.
-----
With just over two hours left before the launch of the three airborne Helicarriers, the four members of the World Security Council arrived at the airport closest to the Triskelion.
To prevent the missing Captain America and his allies from contacting the council members, Pierce deployed a heavy contingent of fully armed special forces around the airport. Ostensibly there for protection, in reality they were holding the council members hostage.
After entering the Triskelion, Pierce issued each council member a biometric access badge. With these badges, they were granted clearance to enter any area within S.H.I.E.L.D.
-----
Some time after Steve and the others departed, Director Fury arrived at a small helipad near the mountaintop. A helicopter sat waiting there—and trailing behind him like a shadow was Clara.
"Listen, Clara," Fury said seriously. "Where I'm going is dangerous. This isn't a place for you."
Once again, Fury warned her to return to the cave and wait for news.
"Please, Uncle Fury!" Clara clasped her hands together, looking up at him with a pleading expression.
Fury opened his mouth to refuse—but the words wouldn't come out.
"Fine," he grumbled. "Behave yourself. Don't wander off. And buckle your seatbelt."
Rolling his eyes, Fury opened the helicopter door and climbed into the cockpit. Clara hurried after him and settled into the back seat.
-----
After Sam carried Steve and Agent Hill across the bay, they struck first at the broadcast center. There, Steve delivered a speech straight from the heart.
"Attention, all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. This is Steve Rogers. Over the past few days, you've probably heard a lot about me. Some of you may have even received orders to arrest me. But now, it's time you heard the truth."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. is no longer what we believed it to be. It has been compromised by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The strike teams and Project Insight are their weapons. I don't know how many of them there are—but I do know they're in this building. They could be standing right next to you."
"They're about to achieve absolute control. They shot Director Fury, and they didn't stop there. If those Helicarriers launch today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone who stands in their way—unless we stop them first."
"I know I'm asking a lot. But the price of freedom has always been high—and it's a price I'm willing to pay. Even if I'm fighting alone, that's okay. But I don't believe I am."
Steve's words were like a stone thrown into a river, sending ripples in every direction.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. they believed stood for justice and protection had already rotted from within. Colleagues they once trusted could be HYDRA agents. Everything was happening too fast.
Even if they didn't know whom to trust—didn't know who the hidden enemy was—they all understood one thing clearly:
The Helicarriers could not be launched today.
Inspired by Captain America's words, the technicians responsible for the launch refused to proceed—even with guns pressed to their heads.
Gunfire erupted throughout the control center as HYDRA operatives clashed violently with loyal S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
Amid the chaos, HYDRA agents seized control of the systems and forced open the hangar doors. The three Helicarriers began to rise.
Hearing Steve's broadcast, the hangar supervisor sprinted toward the control room, screaming for the doors to be closed.
He never made it.
HYDRA agents lying in wait gunned him down without mercy.
-----
Sam and Steve carried the heaviest burden. Before Project Insight fully activated, they had to insert the three blade servers into the control slots of the three Helicarriers.
Naturally, the enemy wouldn't let them succeed easily.
HYDRA agents swarmed across the Helicarriers' decks, and the interiors had already been seized. Sam came under intense anti-air fire from the carriers themselves.
-----
Inside the top-floor conference room of the Triskelion, the four World Security Council members—now of little use in Pierce's eyes—sat under armed guard. Sparing them was merely a matter of appearances.
Just as Pierce believed victory was within reach, something unexpected happened.
One of the council members—the seemingly frail woman who looked incapable of lifting anything heavier than a pen—suddenly transformed into a lethal combatant. In seconds, she took down several special forces operatives so fast that no one had time to react.
She ripped off her biometric disguise mask and wig.
It was Agent Natasha Romanoff.
The night before, she had gone to the woman's home, convinced her of the truth, and successfully impersonated her for the flight to the Triskelion.
Now, the guns were pointed at Pierce instead.
After securing the room, Natasha moved to the conference room computer and began typing rapidly.
"What are you doing?" one of the council members asked curiously.
"She's disabling the security protocols," Pierce answered grimly, "and leaking all our secrets to the internet."
"If you do this, every dark thing in your past will be exposed," Pierce warned. "You'll be condemned by the public."
Natasha looked up at the former Secretary of State, once beloved by the people.
He was afraid.
Afraid that once his secrets were revealed, the world would turn on him.
-----
Steve and Sam successfully locked down Helicarriers One and Two.
Just as they moved toward the third, the Winter Soldier appeared.
Alone, he wiped out the team preparing to provide Captain America with aerial support, then hijacked a fighter jet and flew straight toward Helicarrier Three.
His mission was simple.
Kill Captain America before Project Insight wasfully activated.
-----
Natasha's decryption command was rejected by the system.
To override the protocols required an executive-level order, authorized by two A-rank S.H.I.E.L.D. members.
Pierce smiled smugly.
"There's only one A-rank agent here," he said. "And that's me."
"Don't worry," Natasha replied calmly. "You're not alone."
Before Pierce could respond, a helicopter descended onto the rooftop helipad.
The cabin door opened.
Director Nick Fury strode out at full pace—
—and right behind him came a small figure jogging to keep up.
Pierce froze in disbelief.
Nick Fury… was supposed to be dead.
--------------
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