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Chapter Eighty-Four: Captain Awakens
Looking at the agent who had died after consuming the poisoned pill, Natasha was momentarily stunned before realizing the situation.
"HYDRA? Hasn't this organization been wiped out?" She turned to Thor.
Thor replied indifferently, "What was eliminated initially was only the Red Skull faction, and it wasn't a complete eradication. Dr. Zola was a member of HYDRA before, and infiltrating new agents into the organization is quite simple. The current S.H.I.E.L.D. has long been infiltrated and is riddled with issues."
Natasha was taken aback and asked, "Is Nick Fury a member of HYDRA?"
"No."
"Then can you inform him of this news?"
"And then what? Expose everything? Whether he believes it or not is irrelevant; it would only cause the hidden dangers of HYDRA to become apparent prematurely. The level of HYDRA's infiltration is far beyond your imagination. Even the former S.H.I.E.L.D. Director, Alexander Pierce, was HYDRA."
Natasha broke out in a cold sweat. If even the highest-ranking official was HYDRA, how easy would it be to place more agents? Instead of trying to find HYDRA within S.H.I.E.L.D., it might be more effective to look for S.H.I.E.L.D. within HYDRA. She shuddered at the thought that many of her colleagues might be enemies.
"So, when will this problem be resolved?"
"When they reveal their true selves and start to act openly. Moreover, there must be someone who is absolutely trustworthy in the eyes of the people to prove it. Don't worry, their strength is limited, and they can be defeated if they make their presence known."
"Okay, I understand. Can you also tell me who else I can trust? I'd rather not be ambushed one day without any warning." Natasha's tone was slightly sarcastic.
"Peggy Carter can be trusted, as can her niece Sharon Carter, Hawkeye Barton, Maria Hill, and Phil Coulson. Nick Fury is also trustworthy. He's not a pleasant person, but at least he isn't HYDRA."
"Okay..." Natasha thought for a moment, and the room fell into silence.
"There's one more thing. The director mentioned that Captain America is about to wake up. You're old friends; don't you plan to visit him?"
…
In the old room, a baseball game commentary played on the radio. Steve slowly opened his eyes.
I'm still alive?
A nurse entered, smiling, "Captain, you're awake."
Steve asked, "Where am I?"
"In a ward in New York."
Steve listened carefully; it was his favorite Dodgers game.
With Thor around, they made sure to choose a game that wouldn't immediately alert him to any issues.
Steve nodded slightly and asked, "What happened to the plane? It didn't harm our people, did it?"
"No, you saved countless lives." Thor entered the room, followed by Peggy Carter. As expected of the captain, even after awakening from a seventy-year coma, he hadn't forgotten his mission.
"Blake, Agent Carter! Are you here?" Steve's excitement grew. "Has the Red Skull issue been resolved? How is the war going? And how long have I been in a coma?"
"There are a lot of questions," Thor said with a bittersweet smile. "Let's address them one by one. You stopped the Red Skull's plan. You forced the plane to land in a remote area, so no one was hurt. The war is over. As for the other details, you'll need to process them in time..."