In an instant, Officer Briggs, the Hydra commander who had just been planning to escape, stopped dead in his tracks. His pupils dilated, his body stiffened.
He had fallen under Kurogai's control.
The boy's glowing red Geass symbol still shimmered in his eyes, casting its light like a curse. Kurogai stepped forward, voice calm and composed.
"First question. Tell me everything you know about the orphanage attack. Start from the beginning."
The symbol pulsed again. Kurogai still lacked critical details, and now was the time to extract them.
"Two hours ago, Director Whitehall gave the order," Briggs began in a flat, mechanical tone. "He commanded me to mobilize all available Hydra troops and launch a full assault on this orphanage…"
As the man spoke, Kurogai pieced together the situation.
"So S.H.I.E.L.D. found the bodies of those robbers after all," he muttered, folding his arms. "Not surprising. They're good at digging. But they're so deeply compromised by Hydra, it's like they're working for the enemy half the time."
He snorted in disdain.
"Choosing not to join S.H.I.E.L.D. was the right call."
He wasn't shocked that S.H.I.E.L.D. had uncovered the truth. What disgusted him was their incompetence. A global intelligence agency unable to secure its own leadership? The rot ran deep. If Kurogai had aligned with them, he might have ended up brainwashed before realizing it.
"Next question. Where is Whitehall now?"
This was what truly mattered.
Kurogai had been searching for the old man ever since Garrett's interrogation revealed Whitehall's involvement. But despite the battle, despite everything, he hadn't caught a single glimpse of the mastermind.
Earlier, Kurogai had interrogated the other soldiers. They confirmed Whitehall had departed alongside them—but he never entered the orphanage.
He was still out there. Watching. Planning.
And if Whitehall remained alive, this would never end. He would keep sending pawns, waves of Hydra agents, always threatening the orphanage and anyone near Kurogai.
That couldn't be allowed.
Some said striking a snake at the middle would stop it.
Kurogai believed in severing the head.
"Whitehall is in a building 100 meters away. Three o'clock direction. He's monitoring the battlefield from there," Briggs said flatly. "He instructed me to eliminate the soldiers you had turned."
Kurogai's eyes lit up slightly.
"So he actually came here. That's bold."
He hadn't expected Whitehall to be physically present, and that changed things. He'd need to think fast—set the perfect trap. If he played this right, Whitehall wouldn't leave alive.
Before Kurogai could put that plan into motion, sirens blared outside.
Several black armored trucks skidded to a stop. Teams of tactical agents poured out, surrounding the orphanage in seconds.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had arrived.
Kurogai turned calmly toward the sound, peering through a crack in the curtain.
"Guess it's time to meet the neighbors."
---
Outside, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents took up formation.
"Director! The orphanage is surrounded," a field agent reported to Nick Fury, whose sharp eye scanned the scene.
Fury's jaw clenched as he eyed the Hydra transports.
"Move in. Take down any Hydra agents still breathing. And be careful—there are children inside. I want no civilian casualties."
"Yes, sir!"
The agents rushed forward. But as soon as they entered the courtyard, they froze.
Even battle-hardened professionals weren't prepared for what they saw.
The entire orphanage courtyard was soaked in blood. Hydra corpses were strewn everywhere, bodies slumped over flower beds, piled against fences, faces twisted in death. It was as though a war had taken place—right in the heart of a New York orphanage.
"What... what the hell happened here?"
Fury stepped into the courtyard with Natasha at his side. Her eyes narrowed at the carnage.
Fury had seen battlefields before—but not like this. Not since the last world war.
"These are all Hydra," Natasha said quietly, her tone unreadable.
"Looks like they didn't win," Fury replied grimly. "Something—or someone—tore through them."
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents stood frozen, unsure whether to proceed further. They waited for Fury's signal—but before he could speak, footsteps echoed from the orphanage.
Everyone tensed.
Shields rose. Rifles lifted. The agents formed a solid line, bracing for another enemy.
Out of the shadowed hallway stepped nearly twenty armed figures, their weapons lowered. They said nothing, simply formed into two neat rows at the orphanage entrance.
And then...
A small figure followed.
A boy, stepped into the open. His mismatched eyes—left gold, right amethyst—glowed faintly under the gray sky.
Kurogai had arrived.
---
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