Agent Nathan Harper cautiously slipped his hand under the conference table, quickly becoming bored of Agent McAllister's lecture. She was currently in the process of rambling endlessly on the importance of identifying subtle differences between regional dialects. It was beyond boring. Carefully timing his glance downward, Nathan quickly depressed the power button on his phone, turning it on. Surely McAllister wouldn't notice him sending a quick text. She was too busy boring them to death. As Nathan booted up his phone, he quickly glanced back up at Nancy. Good, she hadn't noticed. She was too busy explaining something to Susan.

With a grin, Nathan glanced back down at his phone. It should've been done booting up by now. But, instead of the usual welcoming image of his dog, Maggie, and a code prompt to grant him access, a series of quickly scrolling 1s and 0s flooded his screen. He knew exactly what it was: binary. His phone was being hacked.

Nathan quickly leaned forward and began messing with his phone, becoming panicked.

"Harper?" Nancy asked, finally noticing him, "Everything okay?"

"No." Nathan stood up and shot for the computers, "My phone is being hacked. And I got this phone from S.H.I.E.L.D."

In an instant, the three female agents also had their phones out. On all three screens, binary coding flowed freely.

"Quick, girls. Check the computers. All of them." Nancy darted for her station as Susan and Martha split up to check the remaining computers. As each booted up, binary-covered screens quickly filled the room.

"Oh, no." Nancy whispered under her breath, "No, no. This isn't good."

"Wait! I've got something!" Nathan called out, motioning the others over to his screen. But, before anyone could move, the word on his screen quickly jumped to the others:

HYDRA

Nancy's mouth gaped open and the girls glanced fearfully to each other. HYDRA had infiltrated the system.

"I swear," Nathan called, lifting his hands in surrender and pushing away from his station, "That wasn't me."

"Girls, go stand with Nathan." Nancy ordered, making her way over to the glass door. She quickly bolted it – although a lock on a glass door wouldn't help much when confronted with bullets – and went back to her station. Strapped to the underside of her desk, a handgun rested in its holster. She quickly removed it and handed it to Nathan. "Whatever happens. Don't let them take the girls. There are six shots in there. Make them count."

"But what about you?"

"Don't worry about me! Go find cover."

Nathan nodded and ushered the girls over to the corner, letting them cower behind him. They'd never signed up for this. All this action and threat. They were linguists. , they'd been through the training, but that was all fake. It was all textbook. This... this was real.

Nancy, meanwhile, stood her ground just inside the glass doors. If HYDRA wanted her team, they'd have to go through her first.

/

It didn't take long for the higher-ups to realize HYDRA had taken over. Sleeper agents were quickly rallied to action as chaos broke through the Hub.

Nancy set her jaw and willed her trembling body to still as she watched agents run up and down the hall. Her calm stillness seemed out of place among the madness. In the next room over, a gunshot rang out, followed by a scream. Susan shrieked.

"Shh. Keep it together, Lancaster." Nancy urged in a motherly tone, glancing back to where the two women were huddled in the corner. In front of them, Nathan stood tall and brave. A reflection of his older brother. "It'll be fine. I promise."

At that moment, Agent Victoria Hand stalked up to the glass doors, a group of heavily armed soldiers in tow. They had just come out of the next room over. "Agent McAllister. Open this door."

Nancy swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry, as she evaluated the situation. The most powerful woman in the Hub was standing in front of her, an armed guard behind her. Between them stood a wall of semi-bulletproof glass. Could one bullet penetrate it? No. Two? No. Thirty, all shot off at once? Yes. Most definitely. Did she trust Agent Hand? Under these circumstances, no. She didn't trust anyone. Then why had she given Nathan the gun? Because Nathan was her student and she knew his brother. His brother had nearly died for her. She knew Nathan would protect the others. Who else did she trust within S.H.I.E.L.D? Coulson. Hill. Director Fury. None of whom were here. So, who did she trust? No one. She trusted no one.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. I can't do that."

"Agent. I believe I gave you an order."

"I realize that. I respectfully defy it."

"Ma'am?" one of the soldiers whispered to Agent Hand, "We could just shoot the doors open."

Hand shook her head and smiled. "No. I'll deal with this." She turned her attention back to Nancy. "Agent, who's in there with you?"

"My team, ma'am. Agents just barely out of the academy. Two women, one man."

"Ah." Hand stepped forward and swiped her ID through the reader by the door. With a calm smile, she pressed in a code and the doors slid open. "There. See how easy that was?" Step by step, Agent Hand descended into the lab. "Now, Agent McAllister, there's something very important I have to ask you." She was hardly a foot away from Nancy.

"Oh?" Nancy lifted her chin to combat her fear. "And what's that?"

"I've come to extend you an invitation. A personal invitation. Since you started working here six months ago, you have done an excellent job with your assignments and these recruits. You really are something. Something special. And I'd really like to keep you on. Join HYDRA, Agent McAllister."

Nancy glared into her superior's eyes. "No."

"Hm. I hate to hear you say that." Hand slowly pulled a gun out of a holster at her side and pressed it to Nancy's left temple. From the corner, one of the girls let out a sob. "Be careful what you say next, agent. I won't ask you again. Join HYDRA... or die."

"I already told you. No." Nancy spat, "Neither myself, nor any of my team, will join your cause." She stepped closer, closing the distance between them, and stood as straight as she possibly could. "We're agents, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and it would be an honor to die in the line of duty."

"How touching." Agent Hand chuckled. "Too bad no one will know. We'll have all record of you erased by the end of the day. No one will ever remember Agent Nancy McAllister. Do yourself a favor, Nancy..." Agent Hand lowered her voice down to a whisper, "Don't be a hero."

Nancy closed her eyes tightly, suddenly thinking of one who would remember. Well, he would've if he had lived. If he hadn't died in battle. But, he died bravely and with honor, protecting his brother. And that's how she wanted to die. Bravely. With honor. Protecting those she cared about most. It didn't matter if no one remembered her. Someone would. One day, someone would.

She opened her eyes again, glaring into the eyes of her enemy. "We will never bow to you."

"Oh? But isn't it so easy to defy orders, Agent McAllister? Did you not interrogate the war criminal, Loki, while he was detained by Director Fury, without prior authorization to do so?"

Nancy winced, suddenly confronted with her past. "Yes."

"Then are you not HYDRA already?"

"No!" she was furious now. How could they think that of her? "I will never join HYDRA! I am an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.! And despite my flaws and mistakes, I will remain loyal to my team, my country, and my family."

Hand chuckled. "Your family?"

"Yes. Because my team is my family. S.H.I.E.L.D. is my family. And I will never bow to HYDRA."

Hand suddenly smiled brightly and clicked the safety back on her gun. "Good. We need more agents like you, McAllister. You have no idea how many HYDRA operatives I've shot or arrested today. Personally, I'm glad you're not one of them."

Nancy blinked. "What? You mean… you're not…"

"Nope. That was a test. You passed. And with flying colors, I might add. Well done." Hand glanced over at the others in the corner, inspecting them for any sign of wavering. After a moment, she judged them simply to be new recruits and probably too passive to have anything to do with HYDRA, and looked back at Nancy.

Nancy remained where she stood, her mouth gaping open. It was a test. It was all a test. "But… how did you know about what I did?"

Hand laughed. "Agent, we're S.H.I.E.L.D. We know everything. Everything… except how our worst enemy has infiltrated the strongest information gathering agency in the world. That we had no idea about."

With a sad sigh, Agent Hand ushered her team out into the hall, preparing to scare a new batch of HYDRA agents out of hiding. As she reached the glass doors, she stopped mid-stride. A thought had occurred to her.

As much as she wanted this great organization to continue, Hand knew it would never be the same. If HYDRA could so easily place sleeper agents in plain sight once, they could do it again, despite any precautions S.H.I.E.L.D might take. On this day, S.H.I.E.L.D would cease to exist.

"McAllister." Agent Hand called, turning back to face her, "For your courage in the face of imminent death, you will receive a recommendation from me for any department you choose to work for. FBI, CIA, Homeland; it doesn't matter. Once you decide, let me know, and a hand-written review of your honorable time spent as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent will be in your hands within days. Thank you for your service."

With a nod, Hand walked on, leaving Nancy in a state of stunned confusion. She was being honorably discharged... from an agency that was crumbling to ruins. She turned to look back at her team, who were still trying to overcome the shock. No matter what happened, or what may happen, they were still her team.

Despite all her promises, Agent Victoria Hand never got a chance to write Agent Nancy McAllister's recommendation. She never made it out of S.H.I.E.L.D alive.