And so, he resorts to what snakes do best - he hibernates.
Pierce dares to go completely silent because he has a backup in S.H.I.E.L.D.
When John Garrett received a call from Grant, though outwardly he put on an impassive front, urging Grant to protect his identity, deep inside, he was sowhat flabbergasted.
Because he was the backup Pierce had left at S.H.I.E.L.D.
Pierce instructed Garrett that if he activated the radio silence protocol, Garrett would beco the leader of all Hydra agents within S.H.I.E.L.D.
But now, soone unexpectedly claid that they were the agent selected by Pierce to go undercover in silence.
Level 8 Agent Garrett, on par with Coulson, has been the person in charge of the ergency response team for many years, his seniority is unparalleled in S.H.I.E.L.D., the sa goes for Hydra.
Upon hearing Shiller claiming to be the silent agent, Garrett's first instinct wasn't to question the truthfulness of the statent, but instead thought, "That old Fox Pierce doesn't trust !"
As an underling of Pierce, Garrett understood him all too well. Pierce's actions embodied deceit and cunning, characteristics alike to the saying 'the sly old tortoise has three dens.'
Garrett believed that Pierce was concerned that upon his hibernation, Garrett would take over his duties at S.H.I.E.L.D., making it difficult to control him afterwards.
Garrett assud that Pierce foresaw this coming, hastily transferring an unknown psychologist into the bureau to act as another silent agent and counterbalance him, averting him from taking over Pierce's control of S.H.I.E.L.D.
It's hard to expect unity from an evil organization like Hydra. Internal strife is an ever-lasting the, and the energy they put into infighting exceeds those required to get things done.
This is all too familiar to Garrett. Hence, he couldn't pass up this perfect opportunity to ascend the ranks. If he could control all of Hydra's agents within S.H.I.E.L.D., he could beco one of the snakeheads, entirely replacing Pierce.
Therefore, Garrett's first impulse was to eliminate Shiller.
He was not afraid of killing within S.H.I.E.L.D., the organization was their base. Not only the agents, even the cleaners, transport workers, drivers are their people. There is no better place to take action.
However, to his surprise, as the mantis stalks the cicada, another is hunting the mantis. Being familiar with Hydra's habits, Shiller intentionally employed this technique to probe whether Pierce had left traces in S.H.I.E.L.D. The result satisfied him.
This technique of mutual anticipation sounds complex, yet it's nothing more than a common trick. Like during a ga of Werewolves, when the first person playing as a werewolf stands up and announces, "I'm the seer!"
The real, naïve Seer, when delivering their speech later, might refute, "No! I am the real Seer!"
They would then beco the werewolves' target the following night.
When Shiller announced in S.H.I.E.L.D. "I am the silent agent left behind by Director Pierce!",
if Pierce had indeed left another agent in S.H.I.E.L.D., the infighting Hydra would also want to eliminate Shiller.
Facing Garrett's corpse, his gun still in hands, Nick said, "I had suspected Pierce, but I never thought that Garrett was in cahoots with him. I always assud they were competing against each other."
"They are on the sa side, yet they are competitors. Garrett certainly wanted to replace Pierce. After all, Pierce's absence from S.H.I.E.L.D. has been lengthy, but he still remotely controls everything here. As the oldest Hydra leader here, Garrett must have longed for promotion."
Having said this, Shiller walked towards the door and on his way out, he said, "I hope to find the office clean when I co in tomorrow morning, thank you."
The next day, in the neat counselling room, Shiller said to Grant with a heavy face, "Now, I believe you understand the severity of the situation."
"With Pierce missing and Garrett under a highly confidential investigation overnight, neither of them has a high chance of survival. What is to co will be a harsh test. Are you prepared?"
Grant still kept a straight face. He asked, "Did you take out Garrett?"
Shiller spun a pen in his hand, revealed a smile, and said, "You're very smart, but unfortunately, Garrett is not as smart as you."
"He thought that having operated here for a long ti, he could attack without restraint. But if Pierce dared let parachute in here, wouldn't he have anticipated this?"
When these words ca out of Shiller's mouth, Grant appeared to relax a bit. It was indeed in very much Hydra's style for there to be infighting. At the very least, it ruled out the possibility of Shiller being a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Those agents would surely deny having such intentions.
"Listen, I'm not joking. I'm about to take over all operations of S.H.I.E.L.D., if you have any objections, you can talk to the guards."
Finally, Grant spoke, "What's your plan moving forward?"
"I will launch a comprehensive protection plan. All important personnel will appear on the protection list. If anything goes wrong, I will imdiately relocate them."
"What about the base?" Grant asked.
"Are you familiar with the Arkham Sanatorium? That's my property and it's Hydra's secret base in New York. Only Pierce and I know about it. Even the heads of other regions do not know, it's only activated in ergencies."
"Has the situation already reached such a critical point?" Grant squinted as he asked, "Haven't there been nurous sweeps before?"
"Are you really a Level 7 Agent?" Shiller looked into Grant's eyes and asked, "Which previous sweep indirectly implicated people of the level of Director Pierce?"
Grant stayed silent. Shiller pinched his pen and said, "Clearly, a new era is about to begin. The human race believes it's about to step into the cosmos, so they plan to stabilize their internals first. This clean-up will be harsher than ever. Despite this, I've always been a mber of the Correction Faction."
"After that great war, Hydra lost its forr glory. The main reason was the influx of good-for-nothing new mbers."
"During this crisis, the protection list will be based on your performances. If anyone's only here to collect their salary, let the judgent of those so-called righteous fall upon them..."
Upon leaving the counseling room, Grant squinted hard. He was under great pressure; the new leader descending upon S.H.I.E.L.D. was a tough fanatic to deal with.
Grant's mood was complicated, but he returned to his team's area as if nothing had happened. As soon as he returned, Coulson ca up to him and said, "You went for counselling? My God! I've been too busy recently, I neglected you, I need to apologize..."
"No, I'm fine." Grant maintained his stiff deanor and shook his head. Coulson didn't think too much of it. He knew this was just Grant's temper.
Back in his room, Grant leaned against the door with his head thrown back and quietly muttered, "The protection plan..."
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