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[Frog] Chapter 217: Ambushing Nick Fury
🕑 Added 2024-12-17 17:27:48 +0000 UTCNew York.
A Small Tavern.
At a table in the dimly lit tavern, a middle-aged man in a leather jacket was carefully examining a document before him. A wide grin spread across his face.
"Bro, how did you even get your hands on this bid proposal?"
"If we land this deal, we’re going to make a fortune."
The man flipped through the document’s details, already determined to secure the project.
The man sitting across from him, smug and boastful, replied, "Those damn aliens are all dead now."
"The government, as usual, doesn’t want to bother cleaning up the mess. So they outsourced it. I just happened to have a friend on the inside who gave me the heads-up."
"Adrian, what do you think?"
The man’s lips curled into a confident smirk, as though the bid was already in the bag.
"Let’s take it on together," he continued. "Clean up this junk—they’ll pay handsomely, no doubt about it."
Adrian Toomes, the middle-aged man, was tempted but cautious. "These alien artifacts... Are we sure the higher-ups in the government don’t want them?"
He was skeptical. Even though the aliens had been on the losing side in this battle, their technology was undoubtedly advanced.
Take, for example, their hovering vehicles—technology far beyond anything Earth currently had.
"Who knows?" the man replied with a shrug. "Word is, they already sent some scientists to check it all out."
"They found most of it pretty useless. The only thing of value was the aliens’ brains, but unfortunately, Emperor destroyed them all."
He took a swig of his drink, sounding a bit disappointed.
Adrian glanced at the bid proposal in his hand, silent for a moment before saying, "I’ll give you an answer in two days."
With that, he stood up and left the tavern.
"You’d better hurry—lots of people are fighting for this project," the man called after him. "All that junk is still piled up in Manhattan, waiting to be cleared."
Adrian waved a hand in acknowledgment and left.
"Not bad at all," the man muttered to himself with a chuckle. "Making money from both ends."
"Who even wants those alien corpses?"
"It takes someone like you—an out-of-work electrical engineer with a bit of spare cash—to have such ideas."
Perhaps a bit tipsy, the man let slip the full truth as he spoke to himself.
(P.S.: Adrian Toomes is the Vulture, one of Spider-Man’s iconic six supervillains.)
...
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Inside Nick Fury’s office, Agent Hill stood in front of his desk, holding a handwritten document that Fury had just handed her.
After reading it, Hill’s expression turned grim, but she quickly regained her composure and said, "Understood, sir."
"I’ll head to 7th Avenue now to retrieve those documents."
"Be careful on the way, Hill," Fury replied.
Once Hill left, Nick Fury silently slid open a drawer by his side. Inside was a syringe filled with a purple liquid labeled "Tetrodotoxin B". Without a word, Fury concealed the syringe in his sleeve.
With his other hand, he pressed the button on his phone and dialed a number.
After a moment, a man’s voice came through on the other end, sounding particularly cheerful.
"Nick, calling me now—don’t tell me you’re mad about my support for the nuclear strike?"
"You never call me otherwise."
"Mr. Secretary," Fury replied, "of course not."
Before the Secretary could say more, a woman’s voice came through in the background.
"Sir, the United Nations Security Council’s virtual meeting is about to begin. Are you ready?"
"I’ll be there shortly," the Secretary said. Turning back to Fury, he continued, "Nick, you heard that. If it’s urgent, come see me in person after the meeting."
"Come to Washington. Once the meeting’s over, we can discuss this face-to-face," he added with a chuckle. "If you’re calling me, it must be something you can’t say over the phone."
"I’ll head over later, sir," Fury replied before ending the call.
The Secretary of State was not only a high-ranking figure within the United States but also Fury’s direct superior. Although Fury often disregarded his orders, major decisions and events within S.H.I.E.L.D. still required coordination with him.
After hanging up, Fury immediately left his office.
---
S.H.I.E.L.D. Monitoring Room
Inside the surveillance room, Brock Rumlow was closely monitoring Fury’s movements. When he saw Fury heading toward the garage, he knew the director was leaving the building.
A team member nearby asked in a low voice, "Are we moving now?"
Rumlow, the squad leader, was fully embedded within HYDRA—along with the rest of his team.
He glanced at the agent. "Do you think killing Nick Fury, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., is that easy?"
"Let’s see where he’s going first. Then we’ll plan our move."
With that, Rumlow moved to a seat and waited for updates from his subordinates.
After a while, the same agent returned with information.
"Sir, Fury’s headed to..."
"Spit it out!" Rumlow barked, impatient to eliminate the man who had been a constant thorn in HYDRA’s side.
Once Fury was dead, S.H.I.E.L.D.—and even the entire United States—would fall into HYDRA’s hands.
"Washington. He’s going to see the Secretary of State."
"The Secretary of State?"
Rumlow’s eyes narrowed before he smirked, a realization dawning on him.
"So that’s why the Secretary wanted me to prepare for Fury’s assassination. He’s lured Fury out of S.H.I.E.L.D.!"
In Rumlow’s mind, the pieces of the mission fell into place. It was the only explanation for why Fury would travel to Washington alone. Normally, even in less critical situations, Fury would at least have Hill accompany him.
With a high-level operative like Hill, any assassination attempt became exponentially harder.
Rumlow patted the handgun at his waist. "Get our people ready. The moment Fury leaves the building, make sure he never returns to S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Yes, sir!"
---
Washington, D.C.
In the top-floor office of a government building, the Secretary of State stormed in, spotting Fury standing at attention.
"Come on, sit down!" the Secretary said warmly. "We’re old friends; no need to be so formal."
"No need for pleasantries, Secretary Pierce," Fury replied calmly.
The Secretary froze for a moment. Alexander Pierce was indeed his name, but Fury hadn’t addressed him so formally since they first met.
Sitting down at his desk, Pierce smiled and asked, "What’s this about? Still upset about my decision to authorize the nuclear strike?"
"You have to understand, I had no choice under the circumstances. Faced with the choice between Manhattan and Earth’s safety, rationality demanded I choose the planet."
"I’m not here to debate that decision, Secretary," Fury replied.
"Then why are you here?" Pierce asked, frowning. He couldn’t quite figure out Fury’s intentions.
"After everything that’s happened, I’ve come to realize something important," Fury said.
"And that is?"
Fury reached into his black trench coat and pulled out a silver USB drive.
"For Earth’s safety, I’ve decided to support the Insight Initiative," he declared.
"Furthermore, I want you to lead the project as its highest authority. Given your rational decision-making, you’re far more suited for the task than I am."
Hearing this, Pierce felt a surge of joy, though he maintained a puzzled expression.
"Nick, you’ve always opposed this plan. Why the sudden change?"
The Project Insight Initiative was a joint project devised by S.H.I.E.L.D. and the U.S. government, designed to preemptively eliminate potential threats before they could materialize.
Simply put, the Insight Initiative was designed to eliminate anyone deemed a concrete threat to the United States—or even the entire world—via direct assassination.
The weapon of choice? A satellite-based weapons system developed internally by S.H.I.E.L.D.
Alexander Pierce had long been pushing for this plan's implementation, but Nick Fury’s stance had always been ambiguous.
So why the sudden change of heart?
"After the Battle of New York, I realized a lot of things," Fury had said.
"If this plan had been in place, Loki’s fate would have been sealed the moment he set foot on Earth."
"And everything that followed might never have happened…"
---
Inside the office.
Nick Fury had already left, leaving Pierce alone with the USB drive in his hand, examining it closely.
At that moment, the door opened, and another figure stepped in.
Seeing the visitor, Pierce greeted him with a faint smile. "You’re here."
The visitor was someone Tony Stark knew well—the Secretary of Defense of the United States.
As he approached, the Secretary of Defense saluted by pounding a fist to his chest and said, "Hail HYDRA."
Pierce nodded in acknowledgment.
The Secretary’s eyes shifted to the USB drive in Pierce’s hand. "That stubborn old Fury… he actually agreed to this?"
"Could it be a trap?"
He had been in disbelief when Pierce called him with the news, prompting him to rush over immediately.
Since his office was in the same building as Pierce’s, it had been a quick trip.
"I thought it might be a test at first, but…"
Pierce inserted the USB drive into a standalone computer on his desk.
The computer immediately powered on.
On the dark screen, countless ones and zeroes appeared, rapidly coalescing into the shape of a face.
The face spoke. "The information on the USB is genuine."
"Then, let's proceed with the Insight Initiative."
Both Pierce and the Secretary of Defense stood at attention, responding with great respect: "Understood, Dr. Zola!"
"Hahahaha…"
The digital face on the screen suddenly erupted into laughter.
"After all these years, my plan is finally underway."
"Howard, you couldn’t stop me then… and you won’t now…"
—(To be continued)—
