Evenson’s latest revelation hit Malick like a truck.
The various factions of Hydra might not answer to one another, and internal intelligence was hardly something they shared openly, but the broad structure of the organization was no secret to its senior members.
And Evenson had just casually named nearly every major Hydra operative embedded within S.H.I.E.L.D.
Alexander Pierce, the Secretary with Level Ten clearance who effectively commanded the entire agency from the shadows.
Jasper Sitwell and John Garrett, Pierce’s trusted agents, responsible for recruiting and cultivating new Hydra members within S.H.I.E.L.D.
Brock Rumlow, who controlled the agency’s enforcement arm and provided Hydra with its muscle and weapons.
There were plenty of others, of course. Evenson simply hadn’t bothered naming them.
Most were insignificant pieces on the board. They didn’t hold important positions, so exposing them hardly mattered.
"They didn’t tell you?" Evenson asked.
Malick was still trying to process everything when Evenson somehow looked even more confused than he did.
"Just how terrible are your social connections, anyway? What about the Countess? The Chieftain? The banker? Dr. Lister? Did any of them mention the Umbrella Corporation?"
Malick’s expression twitched.
"Or Baron Strucker in Eastern Europe?"
"All right. Enough." Malick raised a hand, cutting him off. "I know. I know about your company."
He had finally abandoned his suspicion that Evenson was some kind of undercover agent sent by Nick Fury.
After all, Evenson had just laid out Hydra’s entire leadership structure in front of him. What more could a spy possibly want?
And if Nick Fury actually possessed this kind of intelligence, would he really sit on it?
Malick seriously doubted it. Fury would have assembled a strike team and started hunting Hydra’s heads across the globe by now.
"Fine. You’re with Umbrella."
Once Malick accepted Evenson’s identity, some of the tension finally left his shoulders.
He wasn’t happy that this young man apparently knew everything about Hydra’s operations, but that was already an established fact. There was little point screaming about privacy violations or making empty threats about keeping secrets.
Better to discuss something useful.
"Nick Fury has been practically tearing his hair out trying to get information on your organization," Malick said. "And all this time, one of Umbrella’s people has been right under his nose, with his complete trust."
"Sounds familiar." Evenson gestured casually between himself and Malick. "Our organizations have quite a bit in common, don’t you think?"
"That they do."
Malick nodded.
Then another thought occurred to him.
If Evenson was Umbrella’s man, did that mean there were other Umbrella operatives inside S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Probably.
The agents closest to Evenson suddenly looked rather suspicious.
For the first time, Malick felt a strange flicker of sympathy for Nick Fury.
How had that man survived all these years?
His agents were apparently either Hydra or Umbrella.
How many actual S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were left?
Malick’s imagination took the idea a step further.
Perhaps one day, the heads of Hydra and Umbrella would finally decide Nick Fury was simply too troublesome. They’d abandon their plans and withdraw every undercover operative they’d planted inside S.H.I.E.L.D.
Then they’d turn around and realize:
Wait a second.
S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t exist anymore.
Malick shook his head, banishing the absurd image.
"So why reveal an identity you’ve kept hidden so carefully?" he asked. "Why tell me?"
"To seek cooperation."
Evenson’s answer came without hesitation.
"Cooperation? Between us?"
Malick had already suspected that might be the reason for this meeting. Hearing Evenson say it aloud, however, still left him hesitant.
"Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’ll have to forgive me for being skeptical. Historically speaking, our two organizations haven’t exactly been friends. If anything, I’d expect your people to despise us."
"Despise you?"
Evenson shook his head with a faint smile.
"Red Skull used us. He stole our resources, manipulated our puppet head of state, and played him for a fool. Then he betrayed us and tried to wipe out both our organization and the Allies."
His smile disappeared.
"So I’d say hatred is a more accurate description of our relationship."
Malick spread his hands.
He couldn’t really argue with that.
Anyone who had gone through what Umbrella had suffered would have come away with a grudge. Someone with a particularly volatile temper might have died of sheer spite.
"But what exactly is hatred?" Evenson asked, his voice suddenly cold.
"At the end of the day, hatred is just an emotion. Human beings evolved emotions as warning systems. If someone causes you tremendous harm, hatred tells you that person is dangerous and that you need to eliminate the threat before you can feel safe again."
He paused.
"But what happens when that person can no longer hurt you?"
Evenson’s gaze sharpened.
"What if they can actually provide you with something valuable?"
"Then hatred becomes unnecessary."
Malick considered that carefully.
"That’s... logically sound."
If he stripped away history, pride, and everything else, Evenson’s argument was difficult to refute.
"But human beings are emotional creatures. You can’t just hit Delete like you’re clearing a file on a computer and expect hatred to disappear."
"True."
Evenson slowly rubbed the ring on his finger.
"We’re emotional creatures. But emotions are ultimately the result of biological processes in the brain. Hormones and chemical signals produced by specific regions."
His mouth curved slightly.
"And our company happens to specialize in advanced biotechnology."
Malick’s eyes narrowed.
"By suppressing the release of certain hormones, we can reduce the influence of those emotions."
Evenson’s tone remained matter-of-fact.
"It allows us to think more clearly and focus on what actually matters. The real interests at stake."
"I see..."
Malick rested a hand against his lips.
Umbrella was a biotechnology powerhouse. If anyone could develop a method for suppressing emotional responses, they certainly could.
But if that was truly what they had done, it made Evenson even more dangerous.
A person without emotional interference could remain perfectly rational and composed under circumstances where an ordinary human being would lose control.
"Did you undergo this... treatment too?" Stephanie asked from nearby.
She couldn’t help being curious.
Evenson didn’t seem particularly emotionless to her.
"Of course not."
Evenson shook his head.
He knew perfectly well he couldn’t convincingly pretend to be some emotionless supercomputer, so he didn’t bother trying.
"I’m barely in my twenties. I wasn’t even alive when those events happened."
He shrugged.
"I might dislike your organization, sure. But expecting me to hate you with every fiber of my being? To lose sleep over it, stop eating whenever someone mentions Hydra, start screaming about revenge, and dream about taking a nuclear warhead with me just to make sure we all die together?"
He gave Malick a dry look.
"That would be a little difficult to justify."
Those events had nothing to do with him personally.
How was he supposed to hate someone for something he had never experienced?
Malick nodded slowly.
That made sense.
More than sixty years had passed since those events. Evenson had never lived through them, so expecting him to carry the same visceral hatred as someone who had actually suffered through them was unrealistic.
That was certainly one advantage.
But there was another problem.
Evenson was extremely young.
Just how much authority did someone his age actually possess within Umbrella?
"Since you’re here representing Umbrella and proposing cooperation..." Malick said, studying him carefully. "Can you tell me what position you hold within the company?"
Evenson answered simply.
"I’m a director."
Malick’s eyes narrowed.
"I’m a member of Umbrella’s board of directors."
Evenson paused.
"I control fifty percent of the company’s shares."
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