"Shwa"
Keller abruptly opens his eyes.
What appears in front of him was a beauty with wine-red hair. She held a syringe in her hand, seemingly injecting something into his body.
"Who are you! What are you doing?"
Keller instinctively tries to struggle, but both his hands were being held down by Merlin and Barton.
"What are you doing? I'm your director! Bastard! Unhand me! I order you to unhand me!"
Keller screams, his voice full of fear.
He faintly remembers his secretary bringing him a cup of coffee, and everything went blank after he finished the coffee, until his awakening here.
"Keller...calm down."
A familiar voice resounds in front of him.
Keller breaths heavily as he looks at the person sitting opposite to him.
It was Alexander Pierce in his pajamas, the latter held a glass of wine and was looking at him with a confident gaze. The hint of gloominess in his eyes somewhat scared Keller.
He knew what outrageous plots the people behind him had planned against the man in front of him.
Now that he's fallen into his hands, as long as he wasn't a complete idiot, he could guess what terrible fate awaits him.
It was only during these times does a person show their true colors.
Keller's struggle intensifies, he was scared, but soon, he stops struggling as if all the strength had left his limbs.
"What are you trying to do? Pierce?"
Keller grits his teeth and asks:
"You trying to murder a public official in your home? Have you finally shown your true colors and want to kill off your opponent with your own hands? To end it all, huh? Have you gone crazy?"
"Opponent? You?"
Pierce couldn't help but let out a laugh, so did Merlin who was next to Keller.
Keller was truly an over-confident fellow yet he lacked the talent to support his ambition, even now, he could not see the situation he was in.
"Enough jokes, Keller!"
Pierce puts down the wine glass, takes a set of pictures from agent Sitwell, and throws them in front of Keller, he then gestures for Merlin and Barton to let him go.
Keller picks up the pictures and his eyes widen with a glance.
The first picture was a 'group photo' of the unconscious him and a green-skinned alien.
The second picture was him ordering a group of agents to storm into a seemingly important military base.
The third picture was him firing at a base worker from close range.
But that wasn't him!
Cold sweat falls from Keller's forehead, he could swear that the person in the picture who looked exactly like him was not him!
"Keller, you've been suspected of making a secret deal with aliens here to infiltrate Earth, leaking the highly confidential secrets of Project Pegasus and Pegasus Base to Skrull spies, causing a leak of confidential intel."
Pierce says coldly:
"Due to your incompetence and idiocracy, we have 57 agents wounded and near destruction of the archive room in Pegasus Base! The direct losses caused by you are at least 30 billion dollars! The losses caused by the leakage of confidential intel are innumerable! You exposed us directly in front of the alien invaders!"
"I will send you to military court! And this time, don't even think about sweet-talking your way out of it!"
"This isn't me!"
Keller screams with cold sweat:
"I'm innocent!"
"Oh? Really?"
Pierce picks up a disk from the table and tells Keller:
"The security camera footage in Pegasus Base won't accept your plea! Keller, how stupid must you be to be knocked out by aliens who've infiltrated the base? And how incompetent must you be to allow aliens to tread our academy like it was a public park?"
"It's not my intention."
Facing Pierce's stream of evidence, Keller moved his lips and let out a weak plea. His expression turns paler as he knew he couldn't deny it.
He could plea that those were things the alien disguised into him did, but he was the leader of an intelligence organization.
At this rate, his loss of face was the least of his problems, it proved that he was unsuitable for the director's position.
Keller was certain that Pierce would use this opportunity to sweep out both himself and his forces in SHIELD.
But...Pierce didn't do so immediately.
Instead, he welcomed him in his private mansion, does this mean...
That Pierce was giving him a choice?
Maybe, a way out?
Keller was someone who excelled in cutting corners, otherwise, he would not have been able to resurface in the 1980s after making such a big mess in the 1960s. In this dire situation, Keller racks his brain for a way for him to escape imminent doom.
Keller raises his head and looks at Pierce's eyes, a few seconds later, he seemingly makes up his mind and says with a tone of fawn:
"So, what should I do?"
"See, Merlin, this is a real smart guy."
Pierce puts down his wine glass and praises, he stands up, walks over to Keller's side, pats on his shoulder, and says:
"Of course, you can get out of this safely, Keller, you just need a small 'disbursement' to show us your sincerity."
"So tell us, tell us things we're really interested in, like some plans our friends in the DoD, CIA, and NSA are making, you know, the secrets that can help us turn the tide."
Pierce's tone was gentle, it was like an invisible hand plucking on Keller's panicking heart, he says:
"You want out of this circle, right? Keller, this circle is dangerous, you're already over 50, so why not go to your old home in Ohio, put down these loathful things, and spend time with your family? But I trust that you know, people like us, people with secrets can never truly step out of the circle."
Pierce places his finger on Keller's shoulder, he stands behind Keller and gives a push, saying:
"Share us your secrets, let us help you bear the weight of those secrets, and when the dust settles, I assure you that you'll see the day your granddaughter grows up."
"You know me, Keller, I'm sentimental, unlike the people behind you with no bottom line. I'm willing to protect you as I protected Fury, as long as you prove your worth, as long as...you're willing to become my friend!"
"The question is, Keller..."
"Do you want to?"
"I..."
Keller could feel his dry lips, his throat was so dry it felt like it was burning, and he desperately needed a glass of wine.
His request seems to be sensed, as Merlin walks forward, places a glass in his hand, and pours him some wine.
Keller drinks the whole glass with his trembling hands, he reaches out and unbuckles his suit, saying:
"I...I don't know much myself."
"It's alright, speak, and you'll be truly free."
Pierce laughs lightly, this senior agent knew that Keller was breaking down, and soon, he would acquire all the secrets in Keller's head.
"In the Department of Defense, I heard from some friends that they've been searching for an odd mechanical lifeform since the 90s. Those lifeforms are hidden in our world, and there's not just one...there are many."
"I've worked with some agents in the CIA, they control the flow of regulated items through the subversion of small countries, they have an organization in Afghanistan..."
"As for the NSA, I don't know, their inner systems are tight, but I heard that they've been secretly supporting a project since WWII, since the days of President Truman..."
Keller raises his head and looks at Pierce, saying:
"That project is called..."
"Monarch."
Tonight, Keller spilled a lot of secrets he shouldn't have, and agent Sitwell who was responsible for recording what he said recorded every last bit of what he said.
A big shot like Pierce does not bother to know those little secrets, so in the latter half of the talk, the big shot brought the agents to enjoy a midnight snack in the dining room next to the hall.
It's a kind of solace this officer gives to the loyal agents who've followed him through life and death.
But he and Merlin still had some things to talk about, and those things weren't that suitable to be heard by the others.
"Sir, what exactly is Project Pegasus?"
Merlin stands outside the dining room and asks:
"Fury wants to bring Vers to our side, so he needs to give some believable evidence. But the documents we found in Pegasus Base were all surface information. I heard that Mr. Howard initialized Project Pegasus, while the SSR maintained it, do you know some things about it then?"
"You're asking the wrong person, Merlin."
Pierce lights a cigar, and while smoking, he lowers his voice and tells Merlin:
"You've never worked with Howard before, that man is bohemian, yet he maintains a clear understanding of the people around him. He wouldn't let others know about the exact details of the project he initiated."
"But I know where you can find answers."
Pierce breathes out a cloud of smoke and says:
"Before you head out to reinforce Fury, help me pay Miss Carter a visit. From the seriousness of things, you should be able to find some answers from her. She and Howard are long-time friends, after WWII, they've supported each other through the darkest of times, supposedly Howard wouldn't keep anything a secret from her."
"Also, Merlin, when you see Fury, tell him this. Keep everything under control by all means necessary."
A solemn light flashes in Pierce's eyes as he says in a deep tone:
"We might have an alien on our hands, but it's gonna take time and luck to convince the Senate and Pentagon about the threat of a possible alien war. ..the senators of our country have nothing but election votes in their heads, it'll be tough to convince them to face cold reality."
The tough elderly seems to be somewhat lost as he lightly says:
"The world is always like this, only at the most crucial moment, when their lives are in peril, that they'll start biting people as rabbits pushed to a corner. This cannot go on, the world needs protection, it's too fragile. Regardless of it being extraterrestrial forces or hidden ones, they all can easily subvert the order we have now."
Pierce clenches his fists, he was like an idealist.
He turns and looks at Merlin, he contemplates Merlin with a gratified gaze, then reaches out and pats on his shoulder.
"You're a truly excellent young man, outstanding youngsters like you are bound to have grand futures in the new order of the future. And that new order, that new order that will protect Earth and its civilization, will be accomplished by outstanding warriors like you and Fury! I believe that you can do it!"
"You flatter me, sir. I just want to do the right thing."
Every time Merlin sees Pierce, the elderly man would always praise him greatly, and as embarrassing as it is, it greatly satisfied Merlin's pride to be acknowledged by such a bigshot.
Merlin wasn't a superficial person, but he could feel how much Pierce valued him, not just because he was personally recruited by Miss Carter into the organization, and not just because Merlin had ventured into enemy territory to save Pierce.
Perhaps, it was just as Pierce said, he saw hope for a new order in Merlin.
But that was for the future, after all, they have something more important to deal with at the present.
"It's about time."
Pierce lowers his head and looks at his watch, he tells Merlin:
"You should go visit Miss Carter now, and I should start heading towards the Senate, I pray that those stubborn old geezers would face the extraterrestrial threat seriously this time."
"Barton, Natasha, and that rookie Coulson will all be waiting for you in Fury's safehouse, I'll prepare for them everything they need, and I have only one request, Merlin."
"Avoid direct conflict!"
Pierce says in a deep tone:
"If conflict is unavoidable, then begin when we're ready, understood?"
