Chapter 64 - "Webs of Deceit: Untangling Espionage and Betrayal"

After listening to Pierce, Murphy didn't bother to care about the female agent. It still mattered.

Don't be misled by his youthful appearance; he is swift in his actions, demonstrating a keen understanding. In reality, although he should project happiness and vivacity outwardly, deep down, he remains composed and steady, presenting himself as a mature and serious individual. Through this facade, unsuspecting individuals can easily be ensnared.

But among these individuals, one stands out—Pierce, the cunning operative who managed to conceal himself within the S.H.I.E.L.D for decades, eventually rising to the position of supreme leader. Could such people be considered ordinary?

Therefore, after Pierce exposed his disguise, Murphy abandoned the pretense of tenderness, returning directly to his low-key, steady, mature, and experienced self.

"There are indeed such dull individuals, and they've met their end. Let's cut to the chase. Why send someone to keep tabs on my manor?" Without beating around the bush, Murphy addressed the issue directly. It seems that we're in unfamiliar territory on their side!

Upon hearing Murphy's words, even Pierce, deeply rooted in the city, couldn't help but frown. "How is that possible? I'm completely unaware of this. Hold on, I'll make a call!" Pierce didn't sidestep the matter with Murphy. He immediately dialed a number.

"Are we monitoring Spencer Manor?" After the call was connected, Pierce promptly addressed the matter.

There was a moment of silence on the phone before receiving a response. "What? Seriously, who authorized this? Didn't I explicitly instruct you not to provoke UMBRELLA?"

"Is it him? Okay, understood. Warn him and advise him to handle his own affairs without causing any issues for us."

Pierce said as he hung up the phone, spreading his hands to Murphy, "Sorry, you heard that. It was someone else in the organization. I've already arranged for someone to contact the other party. They should cease their activities soon!"

Regarding Pierce's handling of the phone call, Murphy gave him a high score. That is, shifting responsibility to others and extricating himself. At the same time, if the other party indeed stops, wouldn't he owe Pierce a favor?

"Don't play games like that. Who is behind this monitoring, and what's the purpose of keeping an eye on me? Don't claim ignorance. Aside from the Baron in HYDRA, I have no knowledge of anyone pulling the strings. Can't you keep the 'Director' out of this?" Although Murphy could identify the other party using his mental perception ability, he remained in the dark about their intentions. Therefore, he directed the question to Pierce.

Confronted with Murphy's inquiry, Pierce, unable to conceal the truth, hesitated, weighing the pros and cons of revealing the information. From the start, he had been against provoking Umbrella over an unexplained matter involving a baby girl. Now, caught personally by Murphy, he found himself having to clean up the mess created by his companion. This was the most undesirable situation for Pierce.

After careful consideration, "Daniel Whitehall," Pierce suddenly mentioned the name to Murphy.

"What?" Despite having the name in mind, Murphy responded with a puzzled expression, and Pierce didn't question him. After all, the name Daniel Whitehall was quite familiar to Murphy.

"Daniel Whitehall might not ring a bell, but he held significant prominence in HYDRA during its early days, even working alongside the Red Skull. Apart from his Ph.D. in biology, he led a faction within HYDRA dedicated to delving into mysterious fields."

"In 1945, the Agent Carter led the Howling Commando in capturing HYDRA's final base, which led to Whitehall's arrest. He remained in prison for decades until the influence of the S.H.I.E.L.D. gained traction, ultimately securing his release on bail."

In that moment, as Pierce recounted the story, Murphy dredged up memories of this individual from the recesses of his mind. Dr. Whitehall emerged as the most formidable HYDRA head from the perspective of an S.H.I.E.L.D agent. Although Murphy recalled most of the tales about this man, he continued to feign ignorance, as if hearing about him for the first time.

"Based on your narrative, this person should be quite old now! Almost fifty years have passed since then. Wouldn't he be 80 or 90 years old? Could someone his age still wield significant power? Are you attempting to mislead me by mentioning someone you assume I don't know?" Murphy questioned Pierce, wearing an expression that conveyed both surprise and skepticism.

'You're in your fifties and yet look like you're still in your twenties. Do you think you're qualified to pass judgment on others?' Murphy's words prompted Pierce to sarcastically remark, as he observed Murphy's youthful appearance that defied his actual age.

Despite internally complaining, Pierce knew he had to offer an explanation.

Utilizing his mental perception, Murphy found no counterarguments to Pierce's internal musings, leaving him with no choice but to listen in silence to Pierce's explanation.

"He apprehended a woman with supernatural powers. I'm not privy to the means he employed to retain his youth. The details elude me!"

Murphy nodded discreetly, "Even if your account is accurate, why would he deploy someone to surveil me?"

Pierce, having disclosed several of Whitehall's secrets, chose not to elaborate further. HYDRA is not a monolithic entity; everyone harbors their own agendas. Pierce is weary of Whitehall's actions and being the director isn't solely about cleaning up after him.

And recently, he's on the verge of stepping down as director. To safeguard HYDRA, which has remained hidden for many years, from being jeopardized by the foolish Whitehall, he orchestrated Murphy's involvement in foiling the other party's plan, even leaking news of the tyrant to Norman Osborn, all to intensify the conflict between the two sides.

"That woman with supernatural powers had a child, but due to the interference of Upright agents, the child has moved to the countryside and was adopted by an orphanage affiliated with your Umbrella Company. Whitehall aims to acquire that child, hence the surveillance on you." Despite having laid bare all this knowledge to Murphy, Pierce still harbors strong resentment against Whitehall.

Yet Murphy grasped the intricacies of the situation without outwardly showing any reaction. It was revealed that the HYDRA agent monitoring him had been sent by Pierce, and their swift demise after discovery was orchestrated by Pierce himself, using them as pawns to stoke Murphy's animosity towards Whitehall.

Even the incident involving the tyrant's theft had Pierce's involvement. Murphy found it somewhat surprising that Norman Osborn had managed to enlist such a skilled operative.

With everything now laid out, Murphy's feelings towards Pierce could be described as plummeting to a freezing point.

If not for Pierce's sensitive identity, he would have immediately ordered Number 18, who was on standby outside, to teleport in and deal with him.

Even though Pierce was temporarily incapacitated, the old codger Norman Osborn couldn't afford to ignore him.