"Cut off one head, and two more shall take its place!"
"Hail HYDRA!"
"Long live HYDRA!"
"Bang!"
As John Garrett uttered his final words, the scorching Phoenix ray struck him.
The moment John Garrett finished speaking,
he instantly vaporized on the spot.
Hawk's eyes cleared. He looked at the spot where John Garrett had vaporized, recalling John Garrett's last words.
"Heh."
"Cut off one head, and two more shall take its place?"
"Perhaps."
"But certainly not here in New York City."
Hawk chuckled inwardly, then, as he turned, he silently vanished from the office.
In the S.H.I.E.L.D. prison on the lowest floor,
after HYDRA's renewed efforts, some thirty-plus S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had not been killed but captured by HYDRA were all held here.
Commander Victoria Hand was also here.
However, her current condition was very poor.
Her face was pale.
But thankfully, she hadn't fainted.
Three HYDRA Agents were guarding these S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
Their condition was also very poor.
Because they had just learned what was happening upstairs via their walkie-talkies, the two HYDRA Agents originally guarding Commander Hand and the others, plus the HYDRA Agent who had just escorted Skye, were now aiming their guns warily at the only entrance and exit.
The next second,
Hawk appeared.
Gun muzzles instantly spat flames, and as the three HYDRA Agents rapidly pulled their triggers, bullets, like dense raindrops, covered Hawk, who had suddenly appeared before them.
Then...
The dense, whistling bullets, at Hawk's raised hand, all froze in front of him.
Accompanied by three consecutive clicks indicating empty magazines, the three HYDRA Agents stared blankly at the somewhat magical scene unfolding before their eyes.
However, their blank expressions didn't last long.
Because they died very quickly.
"Pfft!" "Pfft!" "Pfft!"
Under Hawk's telekinesis, three bullets suspended in front of him instantly flew backward. As three whooshing sounds echoed, the eyes of the three bewildered HYDRA Agents also became vacant. With gaping head wounds, they fell backward with thuds onto the cold floor.
With a clattering sound, the bullets suspended in front of Hawk also fell onto the floor with a clinking sound, like rain.
The imprisoned S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were stunned by this sight.
Victoria Hand, looking weak and on the verge of collapsing but still holding onto her last breath, looked at Hawk's appearance and a slight smile appeared on her face.
Then she completely fainted.
"Officer!"
"Shit, Commander, Commander!"
After being imprisoned by HYDRA, two female S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had been caring for Commander Hand immediately called out loudly.
Seeing this, Hawk didn't delay. With a burst of telekinesis, the cage door holding the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents burst open with a bang.
The next second,
the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent at the very front, though appearing beaten and bruised, quickly pushed open the door, then ran to the three fallen bodies, took their weapons, replaced them with fresh magazines, and, bypassing Hawk, quickly went to the prison's only entrance to stand guard.
They didn't speak to Hawk.
There was no need.
At this moment, anyone who appeared here and killed HYDRA Agents, no matter who they were, was their ally.
"Infirmary."
"The Commander needs an emergency blood transfusion."
A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, after carrying Commander Hand out of the cage, quickly spoke, then looked anxiously at Hawk: "Mr. Phoenix, the Commander's condition is very bad."
Hawk glanced at her.
"Just go. There's no HYDRA here anymore."
"...That's great, hurry to the infirmary."
The female S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, who seemed to recognize Hawk, first froze, then her face lit up with joy.
The three armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had already moved ahead exchanged glances after hearing Hawk's words, then opened the door that had just been locked by the three HYDRA Agents from the inside.
What they saw.
The corridor outside the prison was empty.
A deathly silence.
"Hurry, Mr. Phoenix wouldn't make empty promises."
"Infirmary."
"The Commander needs urgent medical attention."
The female S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who knew Hawk roared again, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent carrying Commander Hand quickly moved.
Soon.
The surviving S.H.I.E.L.D. agents imprisoned there all reacted.
Skye also reacted at this moment.
She rubbed her wrist after a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent had helped her remove her handcuffs, looking at Hawk, her eyes unblinking, with an expression of disbelief: "It's you, Superman is not as good as me?"
She remembered selling a laptop to Hawk once.
"Superman is indeed not as good as me."
Hawk also recognized Skye at this moment. Although he was curious why Skye was here, he didn't ask but said: "You joined S.H.I.E.L.D. too?"
Skye was stunned.
"Too, you too..."
"No, I'm not."
Hawk shook his head, then, as if thinking of something, said to Skye: "If I told you I came here because you sold me a computer, what would you think?"
Skye's face was serious: "I would think it was the worst loss-making deal I ever made."
She recalled how she had described herself as miserable on the forum to drive down the price, which led her to empathize and sell the computer she had intended to sell for $1,500 to Hawk for a fraction of the price.
Hawk laughed.
In the infirmary, due to their trust in Hawk, the female S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, who had rushed here almost non-stop after leaving the prison, found the blood Commander Hand needed in the shortest time, then transfused fresh blood into Commander Hand while also giving her a shot of adrenaline.
The effect of one shot was immediate.
Commander Hand, who had just fainted, instantly opened her eyes with a whoosh.
The next second.
Just as she instinctively tried to get up, the female S.H.I.E.L.D. agent quickly stopped her: "Commander, all HYDRA has been eliminated by Mr. Phoenix."
Commander Hand's mind replayed the scene where she saw Hawk's spirit instantly dissipate, then fainted, and her tense muscles relaxed once again at this moment.
"Have you contacted Sharon?"
"Not yet."
"She's also on an IV in the hospital, just like you."
"..."
Victoria Hand instinctively turned her head to look aside, then saw Hawk, hands in his pockets, smiling at her.
"Hawk..."
Commander Victoria Hand instinctively sat up again.
Hawk's mind moved, stopping Commander Hand, and he said with a smile: "Don't worry, Sharon will probably be back once she recovers a bit."
Commander Hand completely relaxed, then looked at Hawk, her gaze grateful, her words sincere.
"Thank you."
"If you want to thank someone, thank HYDRA."
Hawk shook his head and chuckled: "Sharon even ran to my house, and HYDRA still dared to come to my house to demand her. If I didn't respond to that, if HYDRA dared to test me today, wouldn't they dare to piss on my head tomorrow?"
Commander Hand's mouth twitched as she listened to Hawk's explanation.
"Then they certainly deserve thanks."
"Oh, right."
Hawk brought up the main topic, looking at Commander Hand: "John Garrett, whose man is he? Alexander Pierce's man?"
Although John Garrett had taken all the blame upon himself before his death.
But...
Is that possible?
Hawk knew there were many who could be called HYDRA leaders, but John Garrett was not among them.
Therefore!
This guy was, at most, a high-ranking enforcer. The real mastermind who ordered HYDRA Agents to test him at his door was someone else.
He now strongly suspected it was Alexander Pierce.
The result...
Commander Hand shook her head.
"John Garrett is probably not Alexander Pierce's man."
"Hmm?"
Hawk heard this and looked at Commander Hand.
After the blood transfusion, Commander Hand's originally pale complexion had improved.
She introduced John Garrett to Hawk.
"John Garrett is a Level 8 Agent and munitions expert in the bureau. He was originally supposed to be at headquarters, but he came to the New York Combat Command Center. At that time, Alexander Pierce was the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and he personally signed the transfer order."
"Doesn't that prove even more that he's Alexander Pierce's man?"
Hawk raised an eyebrow: "Getting John Garrett to New York City in advance, so you could all be rounded up when they made their move."
Commander Hand shook her head: "If that were the case, John Garrett should have been the Deputy Commander of the New York Command Center, not just an expert sent to New York City. I suspected at the time that John Garrett had offended Alexander Pierce and was reassigned here."
After all, John Garrett's rank was legitimate.
A Level 8 S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
What does that mean?
You know Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton were only Level 7 Agents.
John Garrett was Level 8, which meant he had the authority of a high-ranking Commander.
The result...
His position didn't match his rank. His role in New York City had always been a munitions expert, and he didn't have any command authority.
Hawk listened to Commander Hand's explanation, nodding thoughtfully.
Since Alexander Pierce was not the master behind this John Garrett.
Then who could it be?
By the way, how many HYDRA leaders were there?
The new generation's Alexander Pierce was one.
There seemed to be a Baron or something in Europe.
Does Zola count?
Hawk's thoughts swirled.
Just then.
His phone rang.
Hawk took out his phone, looked at the caller ID, and raised an eyebrow.
"Good evening, Anna!"
"Good evening, Hawk!"
"..."
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