"Hidden again, have they? This bunch of vipers."
Upon learning that there was no one left, the cleanup speed was much faster. Nick and the others quickly cleared out all the cannon fodder. Arriving inside the White House, looking at the corpses that had already begun to decompose, Nick's face was very ugly. These guys had gotten away again. Who knew how much damage they would eventually bring to the world. Thinking of this, no one could wholeheartedly shout 'We won.' The intensity of this battle was obvious to everyone. Now, only one snake head was lying here, which meant there was infighting among them. This also indicated that there were more Hydra leaders than imagined, and these guys had all run away.
They could even imagine what it would look like when this group of vanished Hydra Special Agents made a comeback; it was truly terrifying. But now was not the time to imagine how terrifying the enemy was. At Nick's command, his miserable subordinates, frowning, began to clean up the foul-smelling corpses. These people were all high-powered generals or congressmen in their lifetime, but now they were just rotting corpses. Such a scene, contrasted with their high spirits when alive, seemed so ironic.
"Discovered the corpse of Madame Gao, a high-level executive of The Hand."
"Discovered the corpse of an elite from the mercenary world."
As they cleaned up the corpses, they discovered that it wasn't just the corpses of officials from the White House, but also high-level executives from other factions. This was truly major intelligence. It meant that Hydra had already started cooperating, or rather, that a large number of Hydra Special Agents were hidden within the criminal underworld. Of course, this was just a guess, but Nick did not intend to treat it as just a guess.
"Sometimes, looking for an old friend is also a good choice."
Thinking of his good friend, who for some reason lost part of his memory, but who hated criminal gangs to the bone and had now transformed into the 'Punisher,' spending his days fighting against gang forces, he could help him out. It wasn't impossible. He needed living ones; when he got the information he wanted, he would just hand them over to his friend to deal with.
"Now, announce to the world that we won, and Hydra has been defeated."
Although Hydra had escaped, Nick had to let the world know that they had won this battle. This was to give the people of the world a sense of reassurance. This matter had caused such a big commotion, so many people had died, they had to give the world an 'explanation'. Nick intended to use the media, who usually wrote nonsense when they had nothing to do, to announce to the world that they had won this battle and that the world was safe and at peace. The purpose of this was not only to appease the ordinary public but also to deter those bastards who chose to do evil because of the chaos.
"Yes."
Everyone understood this routine, and no one questioned Nick's decision. Even the Captain just squatted on the ground, looking at Pierce's corpse that had been taken down. However, one could tell from his face that he was full of worries. Tony and Artoria hadn't come over; only S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel were here. If Tony were here, he would probably mock Nick again.
"Don't think too much, Captain. As long as we are here, we won't allow such guys to exist in the world."
Nick stepped forward and closed Pierce's open eyes. Regarding this old superior of his, Nick's feelings were more complicated than the Captain's. They had worked together for so many years; the feelings between them could definitely not be said to be fake. But just like that, Nick also understood very well that there was no hostility between them, only the responsibilities of being in different factions. If Nick had known earlier that Pierce was Hydra, Nick would have acted early to kill him. It wasn't that he wasn't grateful for this Director's cultivation, but rather, they both had their own beliefs and awareness. Even if the other person was his closest person, if they stood on the opposing side, he would still have to act. This was the awareness of an Special Agent.
"I know."
As a veteran, the Captain quickly adjusted his state of mind. It seemed there was still a lot he needed to learn. He had never encountered such a large-scale collective 'betrayal' before. The Captain found it hard to accept for a moment. In his mind, it was always face-to-face, direct combat, or perhaps infiltration at a higher difficulty level. Unlike now, where even his former Director was on the opposing side, it really made his head spin. Could he still continue to trust his comrades?
"Natasha, notify the stark family that everything is fine now, and they can go back to rest first."
Thinking of the Stark family still in the rear, Nick's head throbbed even more. He told Natasha to go notify them: hurry back! It's over, go and enjoy your family time! Nick really didn't want to see Howard and Maria. Mrs. Maria was fine, but Howard and Tony, those two sharp-tongued guys, were not to be trifled with. He reckoned that as soon as they met, he'd be so provoked his heart condition would flare up. If he wanted to live a few more years, it was best to stay away from the Stark father and son.
"Understood."
Watching Nick clutching his chest, looking miserable and ready to cry, Natasha covered her mouth and snickered. Over the last two days, she hadn't seen a shortage of instances where the Stark father and son teamed up to mock Nick. In such situations, Nick could only prepare more 'emergency heart pills' to protect his heart, which had been broken by others. It was just too piercing, you know? The two of them together weren't just a simple one-plus-one; it was exponential damage, critical hits every time—it was enough to drive someone to death. If not for Mrs. Maria, he would have died of anger long ago. So, whenever he saw that father-son duo, he would take a detour; that was the most normal thing to do.
"Then, let's go back!"
Artoria looked at Natasha before her and spoke to Maria at her side. She had just remembered that she seemed to have forgotten about her good friend on the small island. Since she had remembered, she needed to go report that she was safe. Besides, the vacation outside was already over; Artoria was preparing to go home and have a good rest. For how many years had she not sat down with her mom and dad to have a proper chat? Artoria had waited such a long time, just believing that Howard would definitely have a way to let him and Maria live well together.
"Brother Tony, don't forget that Pepper seems to still be very angry!"
Seeing Tony's absent-minded state, and remembering how Pepper still hadn't vented all her anger when she called, Artoria was very curious about how her brother was going to coax Pepper. This was the rhythm of domestic violence! Because of the pranks by Hope and Maya and the others, Pepper now had absolutely no pressure beating up Tony even when he was wearing a standard-model suit.
"...We'd better go back early!"
This one sentence finally made Tony take it seriously. He hadn't forgotten how Pepper had torn his suit apart with her bare hands; it was truly terrifying. He was very afraid of Pepper doing something like that to him; if that happened, he'd be as good as dead. Artoria's words reminded him that his attempts to appease Pepper at the time didn't seem to have any effect, and he hadn't comforted her for such a long time—he might be done for. But a man had to face things bravely. Although his hand holding the cigarette was shaking slightly, Tony still decided to go back. Some things had to be faced sooner or later.
"It's been a long time since we've returned to our home, my dear."
Maria agreed wholeheartedly with Artoria. She hadn't seen that little manor for many years. It was so full of memories of Tony and Artoria's childhood; for a mother, that was very important. So, when she heard Artoria say they were going back, she spoke happily to Howard. Since both his wife and daughter had spoken up, Howard, who had originally wanted to stay behind to continue provoking Nick, nodded, indicating that going back was also fine.
"Let's go home!"
Howard smiled at Maria and Artoria, and Natasha breathed a sigh of relief; her mission was considered complete. Actually, she still wanted to see the awkward look on the Director's face when he was provoked by the Stark father and son, but seeing the Director looking like he was about to die of anger, Natasha regretfully decided to carry out her mission. If the Director died of anger, who would pay her back wages? Natasha had no choice but to regretfully send the Stark family away.
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