"HYDRA?" Black Widow asked in alarm. "Do you realize what you're saying, Mr. Devonshire?"
William shrugged. "Sorry, but I'm afraid it's the truth. Not only have I dealt with them before, but I was also forced into making a transaction with them.
But HYDRA today is nothing more than a pack of bullies who prey on the weak. After I slaughtered so many of them, they had no choice but to negotiate with me.
Unfortunately, I killed too many. So I seriously doubt those lunatics will just let bygones be bygones.
If they manage to get their hands on my spaceship technology, they'll probably betray me the moment they don't need me anymore.
In this situation, I'd love to see Nick Fury take the lead—helping to absorb some of the fire while we both work to stop HYDRA's infiltration of the world.
Otherwise, those maniacs might just succeed in taking over, ruining my comfortable life."
Of course, just as William never trusted anything Natasha said, Natasha likewise didn't believe a word of his.
However, the mention of HYDRA was too shocking and important to ignore.
Even if she didn't believe him, she had no choice but to take it seriously.
"Why tell us this?" she asked, staring directly into his eyes. "I don't buy your excuse that HYDRA would disrupt your life.
You want to rule the world too, don't you? You're just using us to take down HYDRA because they have the same goal."
"Bloody hell, why are there self-proclaimed geniuses everywhere?" William scoffed before gesturing toward Abigail.
"You've been working at Devonshire Group for months—you should know by now that I don't even have the patience to manage my own company.
Do you really think I'd have any interest in ruling all of humanity?"
"And let me make this very clear," William added, patting Natasha on the shoulder.
"Whether it's HYDRA or Nick Fury—anyone who dares target my spaceship technology is my enemy."
For a moment, Natasha couldn't tell if William truly had no interest in power or if he was just hiding his real intentions.
Keeping her expression neutral, she simply said, "We'll be watching you. Goodbye, Mr. Devonshire."
Without waiting for his response, she turned and left, speaking into her earpiece as she walked.
"You all heard that. We need to find Nick Fury—immediately."
In a car parked just outside Buckingham Palace, Hawkeye was checking his arrows when he spoke up.
"If Fury's missing, shouldn't we report this urgent intel to someone else?"
Before Natasha could respond, Coulson quickly interjected, "No way—absolutely not. Did you not hear what William Devonshire just said?"
Hawkeye frowned. "What exactly are you getting at?"
"He said his dealings with HYDRA were forced and that he's already killed a lot of them," Coulson explained, his expression turning grim.
"Not long ago, Fury secretly sent me to Antarctica to investigate a classified S.H.I.E.L.D. operation.
I discovered that someone inside S.H.I.E.L.D. has been keeping major information from Fury."
Hawkeye's grip on his bow tightened as Coulson continued,
"Think about it—just a while ago, S.H.I.E.L.D. publicly announced that we had made a breakthrough in a new energy project in collaboration with William Devonshire.
But after all this time, Devonshire's spaceship is already in use—have any of you heard even a whisper about this new energy technology within S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
What truly terrified Coulson was the pattern emerging in recent events.
"The only major enemy William Devonshire has openly gone after in recent months is the werewolves.
If he wasn't lying about HYDRA… do you realize what that means?"
Hawkeye fell silent.
"It means HYDRA isn't just back—they've infiltrated non-human factions.
And worse, they've grown so powerful that they're willing to sacrifice thousands of their own people for a chance at obtaining spaceship technology."
"You… you're scaring me, Coulson. Are you seriously suggesting that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been infiltrated?"
Hawkeye's grip tightened even more. "Do you realize what it means if your theory is true, but you're stopping us from reporting it?"
But to his surprise, Coulson remained completely calm.
"Of course I know what it means. It means I'd be guilty of obstructing information—or even warning the enemy."
"But I'm doing this because I know someone in S.H.I.E.L.D. is hiding things from Fury.
They've carried out multiple operations without filing reports.
So as long as there's even the slightest chance that HYDRA has high-level agents in S.H.I.E.L.D., I'd rather only report this to Fury and let him decide.
Otherwise, if HYDRA has infiltrated us at a high level, reporting this could mean walking straight into a trap.
And in that case, not only would we be doomed, but we'd also be labeled traitors and hunted worldwide."
After hearing this reasoning, Hawkeye fell into silence.
Then Natasha's voice came through their earpieces again.
"Clint, I think we should listen to Coulson.
With Fury missing, there's no need to take unnecessary risks."
With a two-to-one vote against him, plus his own growing doubts, Hawkeye had no choice but to comply.
"Fine. But how do we contact Fury? We can't just sit around and wait."
Fortunately, they wouldn't have to wait long.
From the moment William deliberately ignored the Skrull's communicator, the Skrulls in London had already sent an urgent message back to their allies in space.
Their report was dire:
One of their own had been captured, and worse—someone in England had the ability to see through their shapeshifting.
Losing a single soldier was one thing.
But if their entire species' primary survival tactic was compromised, it was a catastrophe.
Even worse, if their mortal enemies—the Kree—got wind of this… the Skrulls could be wiped out entirely.
Meanwhile, on an unknown planet deep in space, Nick Fury received the transmission.
His unease toward William Devonshire only grew stronger.
He had come to this planet claiming it was a "vacation," while secretly helping the Skrulls evade Kree detection.
But in reality, he was also hiding—from William.
If it weren't for his deep connection with Talos—the Skrull leader he had met back in 1995—he might not have even had a safe place to stay.
Over the past eight years, Fury had not only worked with Talos but had even helped the Skrulls infiltrate and assassinate Kree targets.
Their bond was strong enough that despite being hunted by the Kree, Talos still sent Skrulls to Earth to assist Fury.
As he prepared to board a spaceship, Fury turned to Talos and whispered,
"When you get in touch with Carol Danvers, tell her to go to Earth.
If she doesn't, I might not even realize when I've been assassinated."
Talos smirked. "Is this William Devonshire guy really that terrifying?
You're the deputy director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and you're this scared?"
"You're one to talk," Fury shot back. "When you heard that some wizard in England could see through your disguises, didn't you nearly recall every Skrull on Earth out of sheer panic?"
Talos's expression darkened.
Fury grinned. "See you later, pal."
But just as he was about to board, Talos hesitated.
"No, my friend—I've changed my mind."
Fury raised an eyebrow.
"I need to see this wizard for myself.
If it's true that they can expose our disguises, then…"
(End of Chapter)
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