Life is too absurd.
Indeed, there exists someone in this world who can cause the entire upper echelon of the United States to panic with just one tweet; however, it's definitely not the current moment.
Washington, United States Department of Defense.
The giant screen projected the photograph of Justin Hammer with Alexander Pierce, and everyone present fell silent.
The next moment, everyone reacted swiftly!
No matter whether they were members of Hydra, they unanimously issued the same order: swiftly control Alexander Pierce of the World Security Council!
No matter Pierce's intentions in colluding with Justin Hammer to create an Iron Man suit used by terrorists, they must first control Pierce and uncover the whole truth here!
Over the United States.
Aboard a Quinjet.
Nick Fury's single eye was slightly grave, staring intently at the photograph while immersed in thought, because he understood what message was hidden behind it.
"Did Pierce impersonate Hydra to take Ivan Vanko away?"
Nick Fury tapped the screen with his finger, pondering another possibility he wasn't quite ready to imagine, raising a slight doubt in his heart: "...or is it the real Hydra?"
Lately, Alexander Pierce's actions have been too suspicious; his insistence on not believing that Hydra has revived has become his major point of suspicion.
If he doesn't believe Hydra has revived, then why conduct affairs under the name of Hydra privately, and why not inform him, the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.?
They are true old friends!
Nick Fury's level of trust in Alexander Pierce is very high, even surpassing that of his subordinates, because the position of Director of S.H.I.E.L.D was ceded by Pierce.
"Special Agent Romanoff."
Nick Fury immediately contacted Natasha, issuing an order in a solemn tone: "Immediately detain Justin Hammer and wait for me to return to New York for personal interrogation; no one must know... also, investigate the activity trail of Minister Pierce for me."
Washington, World Security Council.
Alexander Pierce was anxiously awaiting news from the Arkansas Base when his phone was bombarded by Hydra members lurking among senators and military.
"What did you say?"
Alexander Pierce was utterly bewildered, wondering when he had collaborated with that fool Justin Hammer.
Could it be that they had even taken a picture together?
Thinking about everything that happened tonight drove Alexander Pierce insane, and he kicked his desk furiously!
According to the latest information from the Arkansas Base, the Iron Man suit that attacked the base and is currently engaging with Tony Stark and Major Rhodes is undoubtedly from Hammer Industries!
Moreover, Tony Stark and Major Rhodes had contacted S.H.I.E.L.D. and the military respectively, claiming the Iron Man suit was created by Ivan Vanko...
It is well known...
Ivan Vanko was rescued by Hydra!
Despite knowing for certain that it was an impostor Hydra, Alexander Pierce couldn't clarify to others that it wasn't them, with so many mouths on him...
Damn it...
How did this disaster fall upon him out of the blue!
Now the entire upper echelon of the United States probably thinks that Justin Hammer, Ivan Vanko, and he, the Minister of the Security Council, colluded; or they think he impersonated Hydra to rescue Ivan Vanko, or that he was Hydra all along...
Alexander Pierce was sure he hadn't done such a thing!
Now he must find a way to provide tangible evidence of the timeline to prove the photos Justin Hammer released are fake, and then clear himself from Hydra allegations!
Damn it...
Who did this!
It must be those damned Hydra impostors!
Those bastards surely want to eliminate the authentic him, allowing those impostors to pose as the real version!
Such poor character...
If those impostors were willing to join Hydra, then Hydra wouldn't mind having a strong addition, but now doing such lowly tricks is just cowardly!
"Uehara Naraku, this is Pierce."
Alexander Pierce dialed a number, speaking gravely: "Nick Fury should have already gone ahead to control that fool Justin Hammer, help me find out when the impostor met with him..."
Alexander Pierce needed to create alibis.
Clearing his own suspicion is the most critical, otherwise, if it's discovered that he is Hydra, it might trigger a chain reaction!
Within the entire S.H.I.E.L.D., Alexander Pierce doesn't have many agents he can trust with certainty; Uehara Naraku is actually one of the more reliable ones...
At least more trustworthy than the likes of Hittwell and Crossbones.
"What a bother..."
Uehara Naraku hung up the phone from Pierce.
Now Uehara Naraku felt a bit bewildered too; seeing Justin Hammer's tweet made him quite startled, what's wrong with this fool's head?
Uehara Naraku even felt a bit embarrassed.
Right now, just to expose Alexander Pierce and Hydra, should such an amusing fool be doomed to death without burial ground?
Well, it doesn't really matter.
Uehara Naraku stroked his chin, deep in thought; now he should consider how to deal with Alexander Pierce's last struggle and step down when Pierce is just struggling in the pit, preventing that guy from crawling back up.
This matter...
Isn't actually that hard to handle.
Daybreak was slowly approaching.
New York, Hammer Industries.
After Justin Hammer finished tweeting, he received phone calls one after another.
Most of the calls were inquiries about his relationship with Alexander Pierce, Ivan Vanko, and others, as well as threats demanding him to hand over the iron armor technology, etc.
Naturally, there were also people from the military informing Justin Hammer about the attack on the Arkansas military base by the iron armors manufactured by Hammer Industries, and they demanded him to go to the Department of Defense to surrender immediately; maybe he could save his life.
If he didn't know that he couldn't escape the military's pursuit, Justin Hammer really wanted to run away. Now, he sat in his office with confused eyes, quietly waiting for others to take him away, it didn't matter which organization took him…
Treason.
This charge was definitely not light.
No one could save him now!
Justin Hammer understood the law, and he knew the current situation. He would at least be convicted of this crime by the court, and he might even end up in a military court.
Tap tap tap tap…
The crisp sound of small leather boots entered his ears…
A stunningly beautiful woman opened the door of the office, and just as her eyes slightly dropped, trying to say something, she saw Justin Hammer calmly extend his hands.
This guy…
Seems like he knows he's in big trouble!
"Looks like I don't need to do much."
Natasha Romanoff took out handcuffs and cuffed Justin Hammer's hands, and she softly spoke: "Now, follow me out of here, there are many people outside who want to kill you, maybe there's a turn of events…"
Natasha winked at Justin Hammer, about to say more, when suddenly a phone call came to Justin Hammer's phone.
"Help me hang it up."
Justin Hammer didn't believe Natasha's words at all. He didn't believe anyone would dare to save him in this situation. This call probably urged him to surrender again…
"Answer it."
Natasha Romanoff glanced at Justin Hammer, then slowly took out a recorder and continued lightly: "Don't show any flaws; maybe this could clear your name…"
"How is that possible?"
Justin Hammer shook his head.
When he started tweeting those photos, he was so happy; now his heart hurts as much. Why did he have the impulse to tweet those?
Though he knew even without tweeting, he couldn't escape this predicament…
When Ivan Vanko attacked the Arkansas military base, as long as anyone checked Hammer Industries' production logs slightly, he couldn't escape this disaster.
The bitter smile on Justin Hammer's face was barely suppressed; he sighed and pressed the connect button on his phone: "No matter what, this treason charge…"
"Hehehe…"
A strange laugh came from the phone.
The sound was slightly piercing, and just as Justin Hammer wanted to curse, Natasha immediately reached out and covered his mouth.
"Mr. Hammer, want to make a deal?"
"Alexander Pierce is not only Minister of the World Security Council, but secretly, he's also the leader of Hydra. You should know how much he hates you for exposing him now, right?"
"..."
Natasha's expression changed slightly.
They hadn't confirmed this inside S.H.I.E.L.D. yet!
If Alexander Pierce was indeed the leader of Hydra, then S.H.I.E.L.D. would undoubtedly undergo a massive cleanup because Pierce was also the former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.!
Justin Hammer looked at Natasha, and carefully spoke: "I… don't know… should… be fine, right?"
"Don't you know about Pierce's plans?"
"He didn't originally favor your cooperation with Ivan Vanko!"
"Pierce claimed he wanted to test the best iron armor technology, which is why he had Ivan Vanko and Tony Stark find a location to duel, but his real purpose… was to eliminate the Arkansas military base."
"The Arkansas military base is a Hydra base hidden within S.H.I.E.L.D. Recently, it has been exposed due to frequent Hydra activities, and Pierce deliberately sent Ivan Vanko to silence in order to clean up all traces of the base…"
"Originally Pierce wanted to leave you as a lackey or kill you for silence only after seeing the battle result…"
"Who… who are you?"
Justin Hammer's voice was a bit stuttered.
The voice on the other end of the phone was indifferent: "I'm just someone who can save you; as long as you hand over the iron armor technology in your hand, I can find a way to save your life…"
"I… will think about it…"
Justin Hammer was about to hang up the phone when he saw the line written by Natasha, he then asked again: "How can I… believe you? How to deal?"
"Hmm? You have someone beside you."
The person on the other end of the phone was very alert.
Just because Justin Hammer asked one more question, they immediately hung up the phone, and when Justin Hammer tried to call back, it was no longer connectable.
"Don't bother."
Natasha shook her head, laid a hand on Justin Hammer's shoulder, and said in a deep voice: "Now immediately follow me… the situation… is more serious than imagined!"
Regardless of who the person on the other end of the phone was…
At least Natasha obtained a very confidential message!
If the Arkansas military base is verified to have Hydra's traces, it can almost confirm with 100% certainty that Alexander Pierce is involved with Hydra!
Natasha really didn't know how to deliver this painful news to Nick Fury…