It still has to be the leader

Coulson and Hawkeye looked around the hallway but couldn't find a place to hide, so they could only greet Coulson as he walked over.

"Good morning, Minister."

Pierce was in a bad mood. Although the operation report hadn't been submitted yet, a team had gone out, and only Rumlow had returned. The operation report was bound to be bad. Moreover, even though the operation report hadn't come out, intelligence from the periphery had already been relayed back.

But Pierce couldn't show his emotions to the two agents; he could only say expressionlessly:

"Agent Coulson, how's the operation going? I haven't seen your operation report yet."

Coulson and Hawkeye exchanged a glance and said in perfect unison, "Captain Rumlow is reporting to the director. We are only assisting Captain Rumlow in his operation and do not have a comprehensive understanding of the operation."

Thank you, scapegoat Rumlow.

Pierce didn't expect to get anything from the two of them, so he nodded and pushed open the door to Nick Fury's office.

"Don't you know how to knock? Mazefa beep beep beep!" Before he could finish cursing, Nick Fury realized it was Pierce who had entered, so he quickly muted himself and stood up to ask, "Secretary Pierce, what brings you here?"

"After all, it's a mission assigned by the Security Council, so as the minister, I need to stay informed about the mission's progress." With that, Pierce sat down on the sofa with practiced ease.

"Of course, I was just about to take Rumlow to report to the Security Council, so let's all come together to hear Rumlow's report." With that, Nick called out towards the door, "Coulson, Barton, you two come in too, and report together."

Coulson and Hawkeye, who had been eavesdropping outside the door, exchanged a helpless glance before entering the office and standing obediently with Rumlow to begin their report.

When Rumlow saw Pierce arrive, he immediately relaxed and prepared to begin reciting the script that Tony had arranged.

The gist of the story is that the initial operation went smoothly, and they successfully entered Umbrella's experimental building. They then used a bunker-buster missile to enter the underground test site.

Then, while copying the data, they encountered resistance. Umbrella sent out terrifying monsters that were impervious to blades and bullets, and even rockets couldn't stop them. Rumlow didn't mention the energy gun here. The energy gun was obtained by Pierce through Hydra's channels, and it's not mentioned in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s operational records.

After a desperate struggle, the special agent team finally managed to kill the monster, but they were captured by Umbrella security personnel who arrived at the scene.

"So how did you escape?" Nick Fury pressed.

Rumlow explained, "During the fight with the monster, the lab was destroyed, and a lot of reagents were broken. I was probably infected by the T-virus in the reagents, the same virus extracted from the zombies we brought back from the Mabbury community last time."

As soon as Rumlow finished speaking, Nick Fury immediately stood up and tried to get away from Rumlow. Coulson and Barton, who were standing next to Rumlow, reacted even faster and had already retreated to the door.

"Don't worry, the strain of virus I'm infected with is no longer contagious. They told me that when they examined me."

Hearing Rumlow's words, Nick Fury relaxed a little, while forcing an explanation: "I've been sitting for too long, so I'm getting up to move around."

Pierce glanced at Nick Fury without saying anything, then turned to Rumlow and asked, "Go on, is it just a viral infection? They're being so kind as to give you a checkup."

"It's not just infection, they say I've evolved. What was broken in the battle was the T-virus enhancement drug."

Upon hearing this, Pierce and Nick Fury's eyes lit up simultaneously, and Nick Fury immediately said:

"Explain in detail how it was strengthened."

Pierce stood up to stop Rumlow from continuing, and said seriously:

"Let the Security Council handle the rest; S.H.I.E.L.D. should stay out of it."

Before Nick Fury could say anything more, Pierce interrupted, "Isn't this chaotic enough? I still have to explain to the military. Ross has already called me. The military forces near Washington are on high alert. The Los Angeles government, the FBI, and others have all sent documents asking why someone is impersonating the police and waging war against Umbrella Corporation."

Nick Fury almost blurted out his catchphrase again, transforming into Mazeforka: "Isn't this all the work you made me do? Now you're blaming me for it all."

Of course, Pierce knew he couldn't just make someone take the blame; he also had to offer benefits. After softening his tone, he said, "Of course, S.H.I.E.L.D. did a very good job, and I saw it all. However, this matter is too big. You need to learn to avoid suspicion. The results of the subsequent investigation will definitely be communicated to you, after all, the Security Council is also part of S.H.I.E.L.D."

What else could Nick Fury say? He could only mentally chant his catchphrase while verbally saying, "Okay, okay."

Rumlow followed Pierce away with his head held high, leaving only Coulson and Hawkeye, who had been watching the spectacle for a while, in the office.

After watching the whole thing, the two of them realized at the same time that they had guessed wrong; Nick Fury was the scapegoat.

"What are you looking at?" Nick Fury, having been rebuffed by Pierce, turned around and saw Coulson and the other man standing there. He immediately became furious and questioned them.

"What exactly happened? What exactly did Rumlow do inside Umbrella? It can't be as simple as he says."

Coulson glanced at Hawkeye, who was lost in thought, looking out the window, pondering how to shoot more accurately. He had to answer Hawkeye himself, since he was a higher level.

"Rumlow ordered us to provide support from the outside. Everyone who entered Umbrella was someone he placed there. We have no idea what happened inside, but his enhancements are real." Coulson said, looking at Hawkeye.

Hawkeye sighed, after all, he had ridden Rumlow before, so he had to tell the story himself.

"His strength and speed are beyond that of ordinary people. He can even run faster than Bolt while carrying someone on his back. I feel that Captain America back then was just like that."

Upon hearing Captain America's name, Coulson became anxious and emphasized, "There's a difference between Captain America and me. At least Captain America won't let you ride him."

"What do you mean by 'ride'?" Nick still didn't understand.

Hawkeye rolled his eyes at Coulson, who looked back at Hawkeye. Years of working together had made them understand each other's meaning: I won't mention your riding Rumlow, and don't use Captain America as an analogy.

"In short, he has indeed been enhanced, and he's very strong! In a head-on fight, he could crush me with sheer power," Hawkeye concluded.

"Looks like Tony Stark has actually come up with something. Coulson, what do you think? Should we include him in that plan?"

Coulson scratched his head and said, "It might have been possible before, but now we've blown up their lab building, and there's Rumlow who essentially stole their research results. Is there any point in negotiating?"

Nick Fury looked at Coulson and emphasized, "That's a matter for the Security Council, it doesn't have to do with S.H.I.E.L.D., and Stark is a businessman, I think we can talk about anything."

Coulson looked at Hawkeye again, and the same thought arose in both of their minds: it all comes down to the boss; he's shameless and ruthless.