C104 Joining the fight, For a Price…

C104 Joining the fight, For a Price...

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As Peter led Peggy, Fury, and Coulson out of the auditorium, Natasha lingered behind. "I'll go and talk with the Widows, see what their decision is," she said.

Peter nodded. "Alright, I'll see you later."

Peter removed his mask as they entered the hallway. Peggy, unable to contain her curiosity, asked, "What's with the mask?"

Peter continued walking. "Since the Widows will be leaving, I thought it would be best if they didn’t know my identity. My grandparents also wear masks around them. I don’t think any of them would try anything against us, but you never know with some people. It’s just best to keep our identities hidden until they’re gone."

Peggy nodded, understanding the precaution. "Especially when it comes to your grandparents. They’d be easy targets."

Peter nodded in agreement.

As they walked, Peggy took the moment to lightheartedly complain. "You know, Peter, I wanted to strangle you when you butted in just as they were about to accept my proposal."

Peter laughed. "I can’t make it too easy for you, now can I? Besides, who knows? Maybe even more will agree to join Shield after they’ve had some time to think it over."

Peggy frowned thoughtfully. "We'll see."

After a few quiet moments, Peggy turned to Peter again. "So, what's this about?"

Peter smiled, taking a turn and opening a door that led to an office. "Come inside and find out."

Peggy, Fury, and Coulson curiously followed Peter into the office. The room was dimly lit, with shelves lined with folders and documents, some of which were still strewn across the desk from Peter's earlier investigations. He closed the door behind them, ensuring their conversation would remain private.

"Welcome to General Dreykov’s old office," Peter said, gesturing around. "This is where I found something you need to see."

He walked over to a large desk and opened a hidden compartment, pulling out a thick stack of documents. He placed them on the desk, spreading them out for the others to see.

Peggy, Fury, and Coulson moved closer, their eyes scanning the titles and snippets of information visible on the top pages.

"These are Shield and Hydra documents," Peter began, his tone serious. "I found them while I was looting this place. They show clear links between Shield and Hydra. Hell, some of them are even Shield documents that mention Hydra orders..."

Peggy’s face turned pale as she started reading through the papers. "This can't be right," she muttered, her disbelief evident. "Hydra was eradicated. I hunted down every last member after World War 2. There has to be some sort of mistake?"

Peter nodded. "I know it’s hard to believe, but just read the documents and you’ll understand. I’m sure you’ll know better than me. But, from what I’ve gathered, Hydra seems to have been hiding within Shield, growing in strength, and manipulating events from the shadows. The Red Room was one of the few, if not the only, bases operating outside of Shield's direct influence."

"So you're saying Hydra has been leeching off of Shield? But for how long?" Fury's expression hardened as he picked up one of the documents, scanning the lines of text, his eyes slowly beginning to widen the more he read.

Peter nodded again. "Exactly. These documents show Hydra operatives within Shield, passing information, diverting resources, and slowly, but surely, taking control.” He allowed them a moment to read before adding, “It seems Dreykov had his own agenda and collected these documents as leverage or insurance against other high-level members, because I can’t think of any other reason as to why he would keep all this evidence."

Coulson, still processing the information, flipped through the papers. "This is... this is unreal. How could they have hidden this for so long?"

Peter shrugged. "How am I supposed to know? I only found the documents. You’re just lucky I’m such a nice guy, or else you blind fools would still be in the dark”Nêww chapters will be fully updated at novelhall.com

Ignoring Peter’s jab, Peggy looked up from the papers and spoke, “Hydra has always been good at hiding in plain sight. They adapt, blend in, and wait for the right moment to strike. It looks like they’ve been biding their time, gathering strength and waiting for the right opportunity."

"But... I made sure they were gone, I’m sure of it. I saw the end of Hydra with my own eyes. How can this be possible?" She peered down at the papers once again, her disbelief slowly turning into a grim acceptance.

Peter gave her a sympathetic look. "Well, as the old myth goes, If a Hydra’s head is cut off, two more shall take its place."

Peggy thought it over for a moment, the weight of his words sinking in. Eventually, she nodded. "Alright, Peter. I agree to your deal, but only if Hydra is eradicated and your help proves invaluable to the process. Otherwise, you’ll have to ask for something else."

Peter nodded, satisfied with the terms. He held out his hand. "Deal."

Peggy shook his hand, sealing the agreement. "Deal."

With their agreement in place, they turned their focus back to the monumental task ahead.

Peter looked around at Peggy, Fury, and Coulson. "Since I’m helping you, it’s probably best if we start using the Red Room as our base of operations. But let me make it clear—you are not to bring anyone else here without my permission."

They easily agreed, relieved to have a secure base where they could work without worrying about Hydra infiltrators.

Peter continued, "And since the Widows won’t be safe, we’ll delay their documents and introduction into society. They’ll stay here until Hydra is dealt with. But, those who ultimately decide to join Shield can work with us on this as well. After all, we’ll need more than just four people to tackle this. Just don’t officially hire them yet; that way Shield or Hydra won’t know about them."

They easily agreed with his thinking.

Coulson asked, "Alright, so where do we start?"

Peggy replied, her tone heavy. "Actually, I think I may know how Shield was infiltrated and who we should look into first."

Fury raised an eyebrow. "How?"

Coulson added, "And who?"

Peggy explained, "After World War 2, the United States took in over 1,500 Nazi German scientists and engineers, pardoning them of their crimes in exchange for federal employment. We called it Operation Paperclip..."

Peter said, "And I’m guessing Shield took in a few scientists as well?"

Peggy nodded. "Yes, but only one of them is still alive—Arnim Zola, a Swiss-born scientist who worked for Hydra during the war."

Peter commented, "So you actually recruited a member of Hydra and thought that was a good idea?" He chuckled.

Based on Fury and Coulson’s expressions, they agreed with his sentiment.

Peggy argued, "He was Hydra’s lead scientist. It was hard to pass up the opportunity to have him on our side. But, with hindsight in mind, I can see how we made a huge mistake."

Peter said sarcastically, "You think?" He then sighed. "Alright, you guys should start looking into Zola. Meanwhile, I’ll go see what the Widows are thinking and get you a list of everyone who’s agreed to join already..."

Just as Peter was about to leave, Peggy asked, "Should we try to recruit all of the Widows for this? I’m sure they’ll be willing to help when they hear the whole story.”

Peter shook his head. "No, they’ve been through enough already. Let’s leave them be."

Fury spoke up, "But this would be much easier if we could get all of the Widows to help. There were over a hundred in the audience earlier. Those numbers would make this whole situation a bit more manageable..."

Coulson added, “And they can always go live their happy, normal lives once Hydra is dealt with...”

Peter smirked. "It’s okay, we don’t need the Widows. Because I’m planning on getting us some backup."

As Peter turned to leave, Peggy called out, "Who?"

Peter simply waved over his shoulder as he left the room. "You’ll see."

With that, Peter exited, leaving Peggy, Fury, and Coulson to ponder who or what he had in mind.

A/N: 2245 words :)