When Director Fury arrived at the base, Dugan, Coulson, Hill, and May—those few he could still trust at this point—were already waiting for him.
"Director, why did you suddenly choose this place for a secret meeting? Did something happen inside S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Agent Hand frowned as soon as Fury stepped in.
She wasn't one of Fury's people. Strictly speaking, she belonged to Dugan's camp.
But with Dugan's backing, she could be considered trustworthy.
As one of the top agents in the higher ranks, Agent Hand naturally had sharp instincts.
Dugan hadn't told her the reason when he called her here, but after seeing who was present—and that the one calling the meeting was Fury—she had already guessed some possibilities.
And the most likely one was clear: something had gone wrong inside S.H.I.E.L.D.
Otherwise, Fury would have had no need to summon them to a secret base, especially when most of the people here were clearly his own trusted inner circle.
Aside from her and another agent from Dugan's side, only Hill wasn't tied to anyone's faction.
From that alone, Hand could already see what was going on.
Hearing her question, Fury glanced at Dugan. "You didn't tell them?"
Dugan shook his head slightly. "I thought it would be better if they heard it from you directly…"
Fury didn't ask further. He went straight to the point. "Everyone here is someone I trust, so I'll make it simple. The reason I called you is because S.H.I.E.L.D. has a problem…"
"A very serious problem."
His face was grave, not a hint of joking.
Hill, who had never seen Fury this stern in private, couldn't help but ask.
"There are spies inside S.H.I.E.L.D.—a lot of them. And some hold very high positions."
Hill frowned slightly. "Although it's not something we usually say out loud… hasn't S.H.I.E.L.D. always had spies inside?"
She wasn't speaking without reason.
As a global semi-official organization, S.H.I.E.L.D. was extremely complex, with countless agents.
It was impossible to expect it to be free of infiltration.
The most common infiltrators, no doubt, came from the governments themselves, especially the North American one.
Even though they were partners and sponsors, they could never directly command S.H.I.E.L.D. And S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't need to follow their orders on every mission.
So, groups like the U.S. military and other radical factions had never given up on infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D., hoping to get their hands on the advanced technology it held.
Those were things they couldn't openly demand, and even if they asked, S.H.I.E.L.D. would never hand them over casually.
That was where spies came in.
Of course, those governments would never admit they planted spies, but everyone knew it was true.
Hill herself was considered a "parachuted officer," a plant placed inside S.H.I.E.L.D. by the World Security Council.
But she was an open one. And she never acted against S.H.I.E.L.D.'s interests, since she answered only to the Council as a whole, not to any single government.
Because of that, she understood very well that outside forces had never stopped trying to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. It wasn't news.
She believed Fury knew it too. The reason he usually ignored it was because it hardly mattered.
Even if he cleared some out, the governments would just send more.
They wouldn't stop until they got what they wanted.
That was why Fury usually turned a blind eye.
Only when promoting high-ranking agents did he strictly check their backgrounds.
After all, the true secrets of S.H.I.E.L.D. were only accessible to Level 7 and above.
From what Hill knew, no government spy had yet managed to reach the higher ranks. That showed just how strict Fury's barriers were.
But from the way Fury was speaking now… could it be that even the higher ranks had been infiltrated?
Fury caught Hill's reaction and guessed her meaning. He shook his head.
"I'm not talking about those outside spies. And the infiltrators this time don't come from governments. The enemy we're facing… is Hydra."
"Hydra?" Hill's eyes widened.
"That's impossible, Hydra was already destroyed!" Agent Hand said, disbelief on her face.
Coulson and May didn't speak, but both looked at Fury with shock.
"There's no need to doubt it. I've confirmed this more than once," Fury said firmly.
"Hill, May, do you remember what happened last time with Dr. Raymond?"
May's eyes narrowed. "You mean… the one pulling the strings behind that was Hydra?"
She knew Fury was referring to Project TAHITI.
He hadn't said the name out loud—likely because Coulson was present—but when it came to Raymond, there was only that matter.
"But I remember the official report. It said the people behind it were an organization called Centipede. Even the Rising Tide being bought off was their doing." Hill frowned.
"Centipede is nothing but Hydra's project. The true Hydra hides much deeper, and they're a hundred times more dangerous than Centipede." Fury's voice was heavy.
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