radicalducati Chapter 346 The Death of Fury
Chapter 346 The Death of Fury
Chapter 346 The Death of Fury
"Stop talking, I'll choose the regular one!"
Although S.H.I.E.L.D. generally doesn't rely on evidence when handling cases, Coulson, facing his colleagues, chose to let the evidence speak for itself:
"Lock them up first! And me too, I need to be locked up first!"
Seeing Coulson's choice, Joey simply smiled and chose to respect Coulson's opinion.
"That's why Tony said you're a good candidate for bureau chief."
This left S.H.I.E.L.D. Level 9 Agent Coulson at a loss for words: "Should I take that as a compliment?"
The Hydra case is of great importance, and the innocence of my colleagues cannot be left to a so-called telepath to determine.
Even if the telepath's judgment is 100% correct, it won't work.
I respect your choice.
Perhaps it's because of a biased perspective, or perhaps it's because Nick Fury rarely acts like a human being, but Joey's evaluation of Coulson is definitely far higher than that of the cunning old fox, Fury:
"I hope that when you become the director, you will still treat your colleagues this well."
Coulson's stance was clear: "Direct mind reading is not my way of doing things."
When dealing with enemies, one should naturally use swift and decisive measures, but when dealing with one's own people, one should not treat them as tools to be used and discarded at will.
While using mind-reading to distinguish friend from foe is quick and effective, doing so is tantamount to presuming everyone guilty.
What happens next is the breakdown of mutual trust, which will cause the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. infrastructure to collapse.
"Then your future path is going to be difficult."
Without help, Joey was not optimistic about the future of S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Coulson, believing that Coulson's path would be far more difficult than Fury's.
Kindness and compassion are extremely noble qualities for an individual or a hero, but not necessarily for a secret service leader.
"Wait a minute," Coulson suddenly realized after talking about the director's position for so long, he had almost been tricked by Superman:
"I never said I wanted to be the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.! Besides, how could the director possibly be in trouble?!"
All of their conversations over the past half-day were based on the premise that Nick Fury's "health condition" prevented him from fulfilling his duties as director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
As a soldier personally promoted by Nick Fury, Coulson never believed from the beginning that Nick Fury would be assassinated!
"That black braised egg~"
Joey looked around, then gave Coulson a vague answer: "You might as well just pretend he's dead."
In the middle of the night, Captain America jogged from Manhattan at 60 miles per hour back to his home in Brooklyn.
This brief warm-up allowed him to completely wash away the smell of alcohol that had clung to him from the military and political figures and women at the party.
Among those who revolve around him, the men are mostly thinking about whether they can gain some political capital from this living fossil of World War II; while the women's needs are much simpler yet more complex.
The only point of agreement everyone had was that everyone seemed to think Captain America, Steve Rogers, was an old guy, and even Steve himself started to think so most of the time.
But sometimes, when Steve did the math, he realized that if he was born before the 20s and the decades he was frozen in time were disregarded, he was only about thirty years old.
This means that Captain America, who represents freedom, equality, courage, and sacrifice, is actually not old at all; he is still young.
It is his country and society as a whole that are getting older.
Captain America, this outdated man, is climbing the stairs to his apartment. At the corner of the stairs, he runs into his neighbor, a very cute blonde girl.
Here, the sense of nostalgia for Captain America kicks in again—this so-called "little girl" must be at least in her twenties.
Steve had been living here for a long time under the care of the Department of Veterans Affairs, but he still didn't know the other person's name.
The blonde girl greeted Captain America first, and for some reason, her smile always reminded Steve of an old friend.
After exchanging pleasantries, the girl named Sharon didn't forget to remind her neighbor, Steve, of something:
"Oh right, it seems you forgot to turn off the stereo when you left."
"Oh~" Captain America smiled politely upon hearing this, "Thanks for reminding me!"
His heightened hearing picked up on the sound of a pop song coming from his room at the end of the stairs—"You'll never know how much I miss you, you'll never know how much I care."
You left, and my heart went with you!
This is Vera Lynn's "You'Il Never Know".
This song is one of the most compelling pieces of evidence that Captain America is still living in an outdated, old world.
It's pop music, just pop music from the 40s, and it was also the 43 Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Adapted from a poem written by a young war bride in Oklahoma, it inspired many anti-fascist fighters far from home during the war.
Following the rhythm of the music, Steve, reminiscing about his former comrades and loved ones, quickly walked up the stairs and arrived at the door.
Then, without making a sound, he held the vibranium shield hidden under his backpack and chose to sneak into his residence through the window of the stairwell.
An ordinary person might have thought they forgot to turn off the stereo when they left home, but Captain America wouldn't.
The Super Soldier Serum gave him a comprehensive boost, affecting his physical strength, senses, and memory.
With his memory, it was impossible for him to forget such a thing. The only explanation was that someone broke into his house and turned on the stereo.
The captain, with his hands and feet, raised his shield and swept along the walls, scanning every corner of the room that was a good hiding place for launching an attack.
His heart was finally at ease when he spotted Nick Fury, that black bastard, on the living room sofa.
Although the room was pitch black, he was able to spot the figure inside with his enhanced vision at a glance.
Did I let you in?
The captain, somewhat speechless, grumbled and put away his shield.
Although the timing was unusual, the captain had already conducted a lot of investigations in secret, and with the evidence from various sources, Nick Fury could be considered a trustworthy person.
If even the director has been corrupted by Hydra, then there's no need for Captain America to continue the investigation.
Captain America, having lowered his guard, was about to turn off the speakers when Fury stopped him.
Captain America, who had initially relaxed, suddenly glared at her with murderous intent: "Are you out of your mind?"
Fury, that bastard who lives off the government, doesn't know the cost of living. Does he even know how much electricity costs per kilowatt-hour in New York?
As a biologically centenarian, Captain America's life in New York was already quite frugal. He even almost had his pension suspended recently due to a major audit, so he had no choice but to be careful with his money.
Nick Fury made a gesture, then produced a screen with pre-prepared content:
"Walls have ears."
"There are problems within S.H.I.E.L.D."
Captain America then noticed Fury's wounds; it was clear that Fury hadn't just casually strolled into his home.
Fury then wrote on the screen:
"I have no one else I can trust."
If Fury had any other options, he certainly wouldn't have come looking for Captain America.
The attitude of S.H.I.E.L.D. towards Captain America is very complex.
On the one hand, he is a morally upright World War II veteran; on the other hand, he is the first super-warrior in human history. If such a person is left unchecked, he will eventually cause major problems for society.
To put it simply, if Captain America knew even a small part of what was going on within S.H.I.E.L.D. or the military, he would immediately raise the anti-American banner without hesitation.
But now, Captain America's very qualities make him Fury's only safe haven while he's being hunted.
With a clean background, unwavering beliefs, and a brand-new, unearthed relic that hasn't yet developed social connections, even if Hydra wanted to corrupt him, they wouldn't have the time.
These are qualities that no one else possesses; no one else in S.H.I.E.L.D. can be completely trusted, except for Captain America, who is an absolute good guy.
Thank you (for your trust).
Although he was mentally prepared thanks to Superman's reminder, Captain America was still somewhat shocked to learn the news personally from the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
However, everything Fury had shown all day was just empty talk to Captain America, so Captain America had no choice but to be direct:
"But I just finished watching Star Wars Episode III recently and know that Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader. That doesn't count as a spoiler. You should tell us something that no one else knows."
Nick Fury was shocked and instinctively straightened his back: "How did you know?!"
That's because—
Shatter! Bang! Bang!
Before Captain America could answer, a gunshot rang out.
Perhaps Fury's movement had finally given the lurking killer an angle, as the three bullets fired from outside the window pierced through the curtains and walls, accurately striking Nick Fury in the back of the heart.
"Ugh!" Nick Fury groaned and collapsed to the ground.
"Frey!"
Captain America was shocked and quickly pulled Fury, who had already been shot, into a blind spot.
"Don't trust anyone! —" With his last breath, Fury shoved a USB drive into Captain America's hand and died on the spot.
Captain America, who was suddenly thrust into a state of war from his mundane life, felt as if everything had returned to normal. His brain worked at lightning speed, and by analyzing the trajectory and angle of the bullets, he quickly pinpointed the location of the shooter.
Chase!
Captain America even felt that all of this was fate's arrangement, otherwise why would he be chasing Hydra 60 or 70 years ago, and why would he still be chasing Hydra 60 or 70 years later?
With his shield slammed through the window, Captain America began scaling walls at hundreds of miles per hour in the old residential area of Brooklyn, and soon caught sight of the murderer.
"Trying to escape?!"
Captain America chased, the enemy ran, and seeing that he couldn't close the distance, Captain America had no choice but to throw his shield, which he used for defense, as his only ranged weapon.
The attack from the super soldier was fierce; an ordinary person would be badly injured by it, but the opponent blocked it with ease.
Captain America then got a clear look at the assassin: a burly man dressed entirely in black, his left arm armed with shiny metal, a red star on it reflecting the moonlight and gleaming brightly.
Although the other person's face was covered, the exposed eyes made Captain America momentarily dazed.
As a super soldier with an exceptional memory, Captain America was quite certain that he had seen those eyes somewhere before.
However, this mystery cannot be solved immediately because he lost track of the other person.
This assassin was able to exchange blows with Captain America and escape unscathed; his physique was clearly not that of a normal human. Just like Red Skull, Hydra now also has its own super soldiers.
However, it's no longer the 1940s, and super soldiers are no longer a rare thing.
"Damn it!"
Realizing he was falling behind the current version, the captain was momentarily annoyed, but the next second he felt a chill run down his spine as the shadow behind him began to expand, as if he were enveloped by an unspeakable fear and malice.
"Who?!"
"He's a friend of Superman."
The answer from the shadows was not enough to put Captain America at ease.
"We are not enemies."
Batman didn't bother to explain further; his investigation was already making progress.
After those three gunshots, Batman, who had been struggling to find a direction to investigate, immediately figured out that by tracking down the killer with the metal arm, he should be able to find the mastermind behind the attack.
"Go back and look after your chief, Captain. Leave the rest to me."
Apart from Tony Stark, almost no one else in the Avengers knew of Batman's existence, especially Captain America, who was even more oblivious to such matters.
"Excuse me, who are you?"
Brooklyn, usually sunny and cloudless, was now shrouded in thick cumulonimbus clouds. A bolt of lightning, just before the downpour, struck, illuminating the bat-cloak that had been lurking in the shadows for so long.
Batman.