Fury wasn't interested in just surviving Hydra's ambush — he wanted to end them.
But to do that, he needed to catch them all at once.
So instead of lashing out immediately, Fury bided his time. He used the resources of the Director's office carefully, quietly pruning the Hydra infestation one branch at a time.
He started with the ones he could deal with quietly — like Rumlow's STRIKE team.
He arranged for them to be assigned to high-risk missions. On paper, it looked like regular work: hostage rescues, high-value raids, covert assaults in unstable countries.
In reality, they were all near-suicidal assignments.
And as Fury had expected, one by one, Rumlow's men fell in the field — "heroes" in SHIELD reports, but in truth, traitors being weeded out.
Rumlow himself resisted deployment at first. Hydra didn't want to waste their elite assault team on pointless missions. But Fury had a way of leaking just enough information into the black market — rumors of rare weapons, lost tech caches — to make Hydra think there was something worth risking their men for.
Eventually, Rumlow came to Fury personally, almost offended.
"Director, if you keep holding us back, you're saying STRIKE isn't up to the job," he had complained. "We want to fight for our country."
If Lock hadn't warned Fury about Rumlow ahead of time, Fury might have actually believed the man's loyalty.
Instead, Fury put on a perfect performance, hesitating as though he'd been pressured into it, warning them over and over that the mission was dangerous.
And then he sent them to their deaths.
Rumlow and his team likely never knew what really happened, even at the very end.
That was the terrifying thing about Fury's kind of warfare — you didn't even realize you were on the chessboard until you were already a captured piece.
As for Jasper Sitwell, Fury let him hang himself.
Sitwell had a habit of drinking and bragging. Fury arranged just enough temptation — a night out, a honey trap — until Sitwell spilled Hydra secrets to the wrong set of ears.
A staged "assassination" followed soon after.
Hydra blamed Sitwell for the breach. No one suspected Fury.
But Alexander Pierce… that was different.
Pierce wasn't some mid-level officer Fury could shuffle off to die.
Pierce was untouchable.
His father had been saved by Captain America himself during World War II, a war hero. Pierce had spent decades building his reputation, climbing to the position of World Security Council Minister.
He was above Fury in rank, and more importantly, he was beloved.
If Fury moved on him without undeniable proof, it wouldn't just backfire — it would destroy Fury's credibility.
To SHIELD's senior brass, it would look like a coup — like Fury was using SHIELD to assassinate rivals.
Hydra would flip the narrative, frame Fury as a rogue element, and suddenly h,e would be the one hunted.
And even if Pierce was killed, there were still countless Hydra agents embedded in SHIELD, the military, and he government.
The ones they knew about weren't the threat.
It was the ones still hidden — waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Fury had wanted to take his time. Follow the threads. Pull every Hydra agent out of the shadows before making his move.
But they'd forced his hand.
Sending the Winter Soldier — in broad daylight, in the middle of New York City — was a message.
This wasn't about scaring him.
This was about killing him.
Fury sat back, jaw tight. "I applied to Pierce to delay Project Insight's launch — just for a review, nothing more. I barely made it out of the Triskelion before they tried to blow my car apart.
"They're not just infiltrating SHIELD anymore. Hydra's ready to use the Helicarriers to wipe out everyone they consider a threat."
Natasha's eyes narrowed. "How many people are we talking about?"
Fury hesitated. "If they launch and run full targeting protocols… we're looking at millions. In one pass."
Natasha's blood ran cold.
Millions.
That wasn't counter-terrorism — that was genocide on a global scale.
"We can't let those carriers take off," Natasha said flatly.
Fury nodded. "If Insight launches, Hydra wins. Overnight."
At that moment, the front door's lock clicked.
Steve Rogers stepped inside, shield slung over his back — only to stop short at the sight of Natasha drinking from his liquor cabinet and Fury covered in blood.
"Natasha?" Steve's eyes swept the room, then landed on Fury. "What the hell happened?"
He pulled the shield from his back and held it at the ready.
Fury gave him the short version — the ambush, the Winter Soldier, the attempted assassination.
Then, for the first time, he told Rogers everything: Rumlow, Sitwell, Pierce. The entire Hydra infiltration, as Lock had warned him.
Steve listened in silence, then nodded once.
"I believe you," he said simply.
"But if SHIELD's compromised all the way up to Pierce, we're outnumbered and outgunned. Three of us can't fight this war alone."
"Exactly what I was thinking," Fury said and pulled out his phone.
He called Tony Stark.
"Fury?" Stark's voice came through, casual and distracted. "If this isn't about the world ending, make it quick. I'm working on a project with Dr. Helen Cho right now."
That gave Fury pause. If Tony Stark was calling something a "great work," it had to be serious.
"You building weapons, Stark?" Fury asked.
"Not exactly. Can't give you details yet," Tony replied. "But if it works, we'll have something that can protect Earth — even when Lock's off playing space-god somewhere."
The room went silent.
Even Fury, the consummate pragmatist, blinked at that.
Natasha and Steve exchanged looks.
Stark was saying, in no uncertain terms, that what he was building could stand in for Apocalypse himself — at least "to a certain extent."
Given what they'd seen Lock do — fight gods, rewrite battles, hold the Nine Realms together by sheer force — that was no small claim.
Stark went on: "Lock likes to disappear every few months. What happens if some galactic maniac shows up while he's gone? Somebody's gotta keep the lights on. That somebody is me."
It sounded like complaining, but Fury could hear the pride underneath.
Fury coughed. "Tony… Natasha and Steve are here with me. You want to give us a little peek?"
"Nope," Stark said cheerfully. "Classified. How'd you three end up in the same room anyway? Some kind of Avengers party? Wait — don't answer. If you call me, I'm not coming. I'm busy."
Fury sighed and filled him in on the situation.
Tony listened, then said flatly: "You don't even know who all the bad guys are yet. What do you want me to do, start shooting everyone in a suit?
"You need more firepower, call Banner. If you really need me, call me when Insight launches — I'll just knock the damn things out of the sky."
And then he hung up.
Leaving Fury, Steve, and Natasha staring at each other in silence.
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