"And how was your flight?", Fury and Eleanor suddenly heard through their earpieces. Nat was with Pierce. They were glad to know that one part of the plan was seemingly going well so far, they had no clue how Steve and Sam were getting on, but Eleanor was sure that they were getting on okay.

"Lovely", Natasha's voice came through, but it wasn't Natasha's voice, it came through as Hawley's. This completely threw Eleanor at first, it took a second to click that it was indeed Natasha talking and not some random woman who had managed to get onto their communication system. "The ride to the airport less so". Natasha had such skill with these undercover operations, she's able to just slip into the role and create perfect conversation instead of an awkward, blunt one.

"Sadly SHIELD can't control everything. Including Captain America", Pierce spoke again before a brief pause occurred, but Eleanor could tell that it was an awkward one. "This facility is biometrically controlled, and these will give you unrestricted access".

Eleanor was unsure of what was exactly happening, but she could only assume that he had provided them with some sort of pass. Though she wasn't sure why they would need one, they were supposed to be only going to Pierce's office with the man himself, they didn't need any extra access. It didn't sit right with her but she supposed that it may have just been a gesture on Pierce's part to keep them happy, making them think that they had some form of control when they really didn't.

Not many important words were spoken in the meantime, just boring small talk between the Counsellors as they made their way up to Pierce's office. Though she was glad that this dull small talk meant that Natasha was still alive and healthy.

In slight boredom, Eleanor started bopping her head ever so slightly to the music that she was playing in her head to pass the time, Fury wasn't phased. He just sat staring outside, listening intently to every word being spoken, even the small talk.

Eleanor could feel the tension seeping off of him, this was also the most movement he had done since his attempted assassination, so Eleanor thought that he was probably exhausted already.

"You okay old man?", she joked to cover up her concern. Two people that she cared about were on this mission when they were physically not fit to be so, it was a lot of extra anxiety.

He gave her a small smile and nodded, "I'm fine". A man of very few words. So, Eleanor just had to take it, but she did keep looking at him through her peripheral, noticing how his breaths were more laboured and jagged than usual, and how he shifted slightly in his seat every now and then, thinking that he was being smooth.

In the few seconds of silence, a thought had suddenly popped into Eleanor's head, and she wasn't sure why she hadn't thought of this before, "Where the hell is Barton during all of this?", she turned back to the Director.

"Annual leave", he shrugged, causing Eleanor to turn to him with an eyebrow quirked and one side of her mouth tugged down.

But before she could give it any more thought, the grating voice of Pierce came through her earpiece again. "I know the road hasn't exactly been smooth, and some of you would have gladly kicked me out of the car along the way. Finally, we're here, and the world should be grateful".

Grateful? Eleanor couldn't help but chuckle dryly, even Fury gave her a knowing look. "Mmm, the world should be grateful that millions will be dead", she spoke sarcastically before running her tongue over the front of her top teeth.

"Attention all SHIELD Agents, this is Steve Rogers". Eleanor smiled when she heard Steve through Nat's own earpiece, he was talking over the PA, his speech being voiced all across the Triskelion. The other three had done it, they'd made it to the control room. Eleanor couldn't help but smile widely.

"You've heard a lot about me over the last few days. Some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth. SHIELD is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader".

Eleanor could only imagine what was going on in the office right now with the three Counsellors finding out Pierce's dirty secret. She just hoped that it didn't turn violent, he was a dangerous man and they hadn't even seen his full potential. The lack of knowledge of his capabilities was the scariest part.

"The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well, I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want, absolute control. They shot Nick Fury, and it won't end there".

Both Fury and Eleanor breathed out a short sigh of relief that the Captain didn't accidentally spill the fact that the Director was actually alive, his life would most certainly be on the line again and with his condition, there would be almost no chance of survival.

"If you launch those helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high. It always has been. And it's a price I'm willing to pay, and if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not".

Fury slowly nodded his head at the end of Steve's speech as Eleanor rolled her eyes in amusement. That speech was long and like something out of a movie, but it would get the job done. The people in SHIELD needed hope and motivation, some people won't sway easily, thinking that Steve is just trying to manipulate them. But hopefully, Steve's speech will have convinced enough people to make an impact.

"You smug son of a bitch", she heard one of the Counsellors over comms.

Then another one spoke quietly, "Arrest him". There was a tense moment of silence, Pierce's goons had definitely come to his rescue, probably with firearms, so much for hoping that violence wouldn't be resorted to.

"I guess I've got the floor", Pierce's smug voice rang through. Oh, how Eleanor wanted to punch him.

The general anxieties about how this was turning out were not subdued and only heightened when Maria spoke into both the group's comms for the first time, "They're initiating launch".

The two in the helicopter just blankly looked at each other before facing the front again, they had hoped that they could have reached the inside of the helicarriers before they went airborne, but alas, things were bound to not go exactly to plan with HYDRA involved.

After a few minutes of awkward radio silence from both Maria and Natasha, Pierce spoke again. Eleanor was relieved to hear him as it meant that they could get an idea of what was going on again. "Let me ask you a question. What if Pakistan marched into Mumbai tomorrow and you knew that they were going to drag your daughters into a soccer stadium for execution and you could just stop it, with the flick of a switch. Wouldn't you? Wouldn't you all?". Eleanor immediately regretted being relieved about being able to hear him.

"Not if it was your switch", the Counsellor he was talking to replied, followed by the sound of glass shattering. She didn't know what that was about, it didn't sound big enough to be a window, but then she heard some grunts of pain and sounds of impact. Eleanor was concerned and leaned forward in her seat until she heard the buzzing of electricity.

Widow bites.

Natasha had begun her attack, so Eleanor immediately started up the helicopter and shakily got the flying vehicle into the air. They moved forward for a few seconds and Natasha's voice came through slightly robotic due to the mask flickering, "I'm sorry".

"Did I step on your moment?", her actual voice sounded through.

Eleanor grinned at how badass her girlfriend sounded, and how quickly she had managed to take down whoever was in Pierce's office. Though the realisation that Natasha was now revealed to Pierce made her force the helicopter to lurch forward with heightened speed, newfound confidence opening up her muscle memory as they sped through the sky.

"Two down, one to go", Maria spoke to all of them again. This was the most on edge that Eleanor had ever been, but she had to keep her focus so that she didn't barrel down from the sky. Soon the Triskelion came into view, she kept the high speed going for a lot longer than she should have done, but they needed to get there quickly.

She manoeuvred the helicopter over the top of the Triskelion without slowing down, even Fury looked slightly nauseous and he has jumped out of helicopters before. She only started slowing when the vehicle was almost directly over the helipad and started moving down after maintaining a smooth hover for a few seconds.

"Disabling the encryption is an executive order. It takes two Alpha Level members".

"Don't worry. Company's coming", Nat responded to Pierce in a very calm manner. It was at this moment that Eleanor had brought the helicopter to touch down on the helipad, and she could see Pierce clearly clocking onto the sound of the propellers as he turned on his heels to look out of the window at them.

Natasha smirked when she spotted Eleanor briefly throwing her hands up in celebration of the smooth landing.

Eleanor let Fury get out first as she made sure that the vehicle was completely powered down, before hastily following him through. He harshly threw open the glass doors to get into Pierce's office and made the most dramatic entrance that Eleanor had ever seen. She grabbed the door so that it wouldn't close on her, which meant that the wind made Fury's black, almost floor-length trench coat flap about as he stood glaring at Pierce.

Eleanor felt smug at watching the man realise that the assassination he had ordered did not go to plan. Nick Fury was standing in front of him, and for a brief moment, Pierce looked afraid when Eleanor pulled out her gun and held it to her side.

Fury walked forward towards him, Eleanor hot on his tail as he continued glaring at the HYDRA leader. If looks could kill. Even Natasha had stopped what she was doing at the computer to stand with her arms crossed looking at what was happening before her.

Eleanor and Nat met each other's gazes from across the room and gave each other soft, gentle nods, before their faces hardened at Pierce making a joke, "Did you get my flowers".

Natasha continued typing away at the keyboard as she continued the encryption process of all of SHIELD's files.

"I'm glad you're here, Nick", he continued.

"Really? Because I thought you had me killed?". Fury walked forward to only be a few steps in front of him, once again Eleanor was only a pace behind him, Fury's presence here was a giant risk, and there was no way that she would lose him again.

"You know how the game works".

"So why make me head of SHIELD?".

"Because you were the best and the most ruthless person I ever met".

"I did what I had to do to protect people". Fury seemed to be getting worked up in his own way, he never lets his demeanour falter, always looking stoic, but his tone of voice just gets harsher and harsher.

"Our enemies are your enemies, Nick. Disorder. War. It's just a matter of time before a dirty bomb goes off in Moscow, or an EMP fries Chicago. Diplomacy? A holding action, Nick. A band-aid. And you know where I learned that? Bogota". Eleanor wasn't aware of what the man was referencing, but Fury's body language completely shifted. He moved his head to be straighter and his scowl lessened. Whatever Pierce was talking about Fury was clearly thrown off by and not happy with.

"You didn't ask. You just did what had to be done. I can bring order to the lives of seven billion people. By sacrificing twenty million. It's the next step, Nick. If you have the courage to take it". Eleanor couldn't believe how sure of himself Pierce sounded. He was talking about murdering twenty million people in broad daylight and was convinced that it was a good idea. The man was delusional.

"No", Fury stepped forward, "I have the courage not to". He then grabbed Pierced arm and dragged him over to the glass wall that was also a computer and AI, SHIELD is an enigma with the tech that they have.

It read "RESTRICTED ACCESS", so this was clearly where they could input scans and codes for access.

Nat looked up and began typing again, immediately afterwards the computer read out "Retinal scanner active". Natasha must have activated the scanners, so Eleanor looked over and gave her a wink when eye contact was made.

Pierce chuckled slightly as Natasha walked toward them, gun pointed directly at his head, clearly taking the more aggressive stance than Eleanor who was still just holding her own gun to her side, ready to raise it if need be.

"You don't think we've wiped your clearance from the system?", he spoke to Fury as though he were stupid.

"I know you erased my password, probably deleted my retinal scan. But if you want to stay ahead of me, Mr Secretary...", he lifted his eyepatch revealing multiple gashes on and around his eye, the eyeball itself being cloudy. Eleanor couldn't help but grimace slightly as she looked at it, though she wasn't one to talk, she now had a giant gash across the entirety of her face. "You need to keep both eyes open".

He gestured for Pierce to complete the retinal scan at the same time as him, and he didn't have any choice, there was Natasha right next to him, gun raised, and Eleanor next to Fury, also with a gun in her possession.

"Alpha level confirmed. Encryption code accepted. Safeguards removed", the computer spoke again once the scan was done. The transfer was now taking place, so all that they could do was wait. So, they moved back from the screen and towards the middle of the room. Natasha lowered her gun but still stood a few paces away from Pierce, just in case, and Eleanor resumed her position next to Fury.

"Done", the computer spoke. It was bittersweet, they had outsmarted HYDRA, but now all of their secrets were on the internet, including Natasha's files on her time in the Red Room and KGB. People weren't going to be happy.

Eleanor whipped her head to Natasha when she pulled her phone out, "And it's trending". Already? That was fast. She turned to look at Pierce and narrowed her eyes at him, he didn't look unhappy with the situation, he just looked like he was planning something.

As the cogs continued to spin in Eleanor's head, the pin on one of the Counsellor's blazers began fizzing and burning, causing him to groan out in pain. Then the other two's pins started doing the same, and they all began collapsing. The passes that he had given them all at the start.

Her jaw dropped slightly as she looked at the three now very dead people, and raised her gun at Pierce along with Natasha and Fury.

"Unless you want a two-inch hole in your sternum, I'd put that gun down". Natasha's face turned into one of obvious concern but she didn't lower her gun. "That was armed the moment you pinned it on". He started hovering his thumb over his phone that he used to control the pins.

Fury looked defeated as he lowered his gun whilst looking at Natasha, prompting her to lower her own gun, looking very displeased about the situation. Pierce then looked over to Eleanor and narrowed his eyes with a smirk at seeing her hesitate to lower her gun, "Your father and I worked together closely many times, you've got his spark, it's also what got him killed". Her arm immediately faltered and went slack as it fell to her side, her mouth drying up at the same time. What was it with the dead dad reminders recently?

She looked over to Natasha who was already looking at her, things were not going to plan, at all.