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"Attention, all SHIELD agents."
Nancy Winderfield and Betty Cross are going over the latest update and adjustment of Project Insights that the HYDRA four brought in after the disaster that was the mission at Lemurian Star when Captain
Righteous
America's announcement goes out all over the Triskelion.
Nancy shoots Betty a look, when she gets a shrug in return, they both turn their attention to the speakers.
"This is Steve Rogers." Rogers continues. "You've heard a lot about me over the last few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth. SHIELD is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by HYDRA."
From the corner of her eye, she sees Betty's eyes widen in panic. Betty is not the only one. The HYDRA four have the same reaction and from her vantage position, she can see everyone else on the floor reacting the same way.
"Alexander Pierce is their leader." Rogers is saying. "The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want: absolute control."
"We've been made," Betty tells her, panicking. "This is bad!"
"How did he know?!" Bowman asks, "I thought they only had Rumlow?"
"They got Sitwell yesterday." Dave says. "I knew Rogers was going to be trouble. Should have taken him out when he was still encased in the ice."
Nancy is surrounded by idiots. She can not resist the eye roll at their panic.
"Why are you all panicking?" She asks over the sound of Rogers droning on about HYDRA's sin. "So, he knows HYDRA isn't really gone. Did he say something you didn't already know?"
That gets their attention.
"Did he mention you by name? He said it himself that he does not know who is HYDRA in SHIELD. So, I'll ask again, why are you panicking?"
"W hat if they find out we are HYDRA?" Bowman asks.
"If he had proof to separate HYDRA from SHIELD, he wouldn't be making this announcement, would he?"
"So, what are you saying?" Betty asks.
"I'm saying, look at your fellow SHIELD agents and follow their cue. And when SHIELD rebuilds, we will be right there with them, finishing what our founders started."
"I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay." Rogers is still droning. Nancy snorts. What does Captain America know about paying the price of freedom? "And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not."
There is a calm, and then the storm hits. Agents turning on agents. It is so easy for HYDRA operatives to slip under the radar and join the chaos, that Nancy has to laugh.
She looks beside her to find her own operatives looking to her for direction." What are you waiting for?" She asks. "Go be Captain America's good little freedom freighters."
"What about Pierce and the others who have been made?" Bowman asks.
Nancy shrugs. "Someone has to make Captain America believe he has defeated HYDRA once again. They're paying the price for us to continue the race." She looks them in the eye, one after the other, before she cautions them. "Do not let their sacrifices be in vain."
With that, they jump into action.
Later that day, Nancy discovers that Rogers and Romanov's master plan to take down HYDRA is to release all of SHIELD's data into the internet. She almost pees herself while laughing.
Where did a Romanov learn such a strategy? She wonders. Did they even go over the data before deciding to throw the baby out with the bathwater?
This isn't even a mutually assured destruction. HYDRA thrives, even outside SHIELD, but now SHIELD is done for. When they rebuild, they will rebuild HYDRA along with them. The perfect host, as SHIELD has been since its conception.
It seems Hill learned nothing from her predecessors. But that's Hill's loss and Nancy's gain. She plans to make the most of it.