Marvel's Venom, starting with a Hydra undercover agent.

Chapter 175, The Abnormalities of Imprisonment and Tony Stark

On the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Holm and his team brought Bronsky, who was completely restrained, inside.

Before going to see Nick Fury, they helped the staff detain Bronsky in a specially prepared prison.

This special prison is made entirely of extremely strong alloy. In the very center, Bronsky is firmly bound by an alloy "coffin" of the same material, unable to even raise his hands. The only thing he can move is his head, but his mouth is also bound with an alloy bridle.

The IV drip containing a potent sedative was still hanging nearby, but this time it had been replaced with an extra-large bottle, and it didn't need to be replaced because the tubing directly connected to it could be used to inject the liquid.

As the staff said, Bronsky's meals would also be delivered through pipes, inserted into his mouth through the gaps of an alloy tap, to directly feed him liquid food and nutrient solution.

"He's probably the only one who's ever received this kind of treatment in all these years. It makes me feel bad just watching him," Coulson said, looking at Bronsky inside.

Holm, who was standing next to him, said, "Even so, I still feel uneasy about him being placed on the space carrier. If anything goes wrong, the entire carrier could be destroyed."

Hearing Holm's words, Coulson added, "Don't worry about that. He's only being held here temporarily. Once 'Cube' is ready, we'll transfer him over."

"Is it that Cube Prison?" Holm asked curiously.

Coulson nodded and smiled, "It's that Cube Prison, which mainly holds special supervillains. If Bruce Banner hadn't escaped, he would probably have been imprisoned there too."

Cube is one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s super prisons, with extremely strong security, specifically designed to hold these special criminals.

Its location is classified information, and only high-ranking special agents can know it.

So when Holm and Coulson were chatting, they both tacitly avoided mentioning the relevant information, only briefly mentioning it briefly.

"By the way, these long-acting sedatives might lead to drug resistance if used for a long time," Holm suddenly said.

“I remember Bruce Banner was injected with an antidote in Dr. Stern’s lab, which is why he didn’t transform later. Could that antidote also be used on Bronsky?”

Upon hearing Holm's suggestion, Coulson thought for a moment and said, "Your idea is good; tranquilizers can indeed lead to drug resistance."

“I will send someone to Dr. Stern to receive the data. If the antidote can be replicated and works on Bronsky, then you will have another credit.”

Upon hearing this, Holm quickly and modestly said that he was just making a suggestion, and then left with Coulson.

In his specially designed cell, Bronsky saw Holm leaving through the slowly closing door, his eyes filled with resentment.

Before Coulson and Holm even reached the conference room, they could already hear Daisy shouting inside.

"Either promote me by one level, or don't promote me at all. What's the point of promoting me by only 0.5 levels? Aren't you just inviting everyone to laugh at me?"

"I don't care if I get promoted or not, but the bonus has to be paid in full, or I'll come to your office every day and annoy you to death!"

When Coulson opened the door, he saw Daisy sitting back in her chair with her arms crossed, glaring angrily at Nick Fury.

Perhaps seeing Holm enter, Nick Fury put away his helpless and wry smile, instantly straightening his face and reverting to his serious director persona. He then said to Daisy, "Your rank is currently level seven. You'll be promoted when you accumulate enough merit. I'll double your bonus."

After saying that, before Daisy could raise any objections, he looked at Coulson, tapped the table, and said, "Alright, that's settled then. Coulson, get it done as soon as possible and submit it to me for approval."

Upon hearing about the double bonus, Daisy's brow unfurrowed and a smile appeared on her face. She then magnanimously decided to let Nick Fury off the hook and not further damage his authority as director.

"Alright, now that everyone's here, let's cut to the chase and get to the mission," Nick Fury said, turning on the projector in the conference room.

Hearing his words, Daisy, who had just relaxed her brows, immediately straightened her face again: "Our mission just ended, how come there's a new mission already?"

"We should at least give him a few days off to rest. You know how tough that big guy is to deal with."

In fact, Daisy herself doesn't mind having any missions right now, since she's not fighting Bronsky; her main concern is speaking out for Holm.

She knew that even if Holm had objections, he couldn't voice them due to his status, so she took the initiative to play the villain and help Holm fight for this benefit.

They can't really let S.H.I.E.L.D. use them like mules, with one mission just ending and another one arriving.

Upon hearing Daisy's words, Nick Fury immediately replied, "The situation is rather urgent, so there's no way around it. This vacation will be given to you all after this mission is over."

“There’s also a bonus,” Daisy added.

“Alright, there’s a bonus too.” Nick Fury rolled his eyes.

After he finished speaking, he pointed to the photos of Tony Stark and several other people that appeared on the projector.

"You've been busy with other tasks, so you probably don't know that this morning during the race in Morocco, Tony Stark was attacked by a mysterious man."

"Although Tony Stark is mostly unharmed, the key issue is that this mysterious man also possesses an Arc Reactor."

“You should all know what the Ark Reactor means, so we contacted the Moroccan police to extradite this mysterious man back for investigation, but he died in a Moroccan prison.”

"Just now, Tony Stark got into a fight with his friend James Rhodes while wearing his armor at his birthday party, and then let Rhodes drive away one of his armor suits."

"Based on the intelligence that Natasha has sent back during this period, we have reason to believe that Tony Stark is dying because of palladium poisoning caused by the palladium energy plate of the Arc Reactor, which is why he has made a series of abnormal moves during this period."

"Given Tony Stark's importance and the recent events, the department has decided to immediately place Tony Stark under house arrest until he can clear his head and resolve his own problems."

Chapter 176, Can't Eat a Single Piece

After saying this, Nick Fury looked at Holm and Daisy and continued, "So this is the task I'm going to give you next: protect and keep Tony Stark under house arrest."

"On the one hand, protect him from being killed by those with ill intentions; on the other hand, tell him to stop doing anything else and focus on saving his own life."

"This task isn't too difficult, and the scenery there is really nice. You can treat it as a vacation."

Hearing this, Daisy raised her eyebrows and wagged her finger, saying, "Huh? Don't try to change the subject. Work is work, and vacation is vacation. Don't equate a relaxed job with a holiday. You'll get double vacation time after this mission ends. If you don't, don't blame me for making a scene in your office again."

Faced with Daisy refusing to eat a single bite of the pancake, Nick Fury could only shake his head helplessly and continue explaining the mission.

At the same time, Holm secretly gave Daisy a thumbs-up under the table, which made her immediately beam with joy.

Daisy was practically his stand-in; she said everything he couldn't or wouldn't say.

Moreover, because of Daisy's status, Nick Fury had no complaints whatsoever; after all, he was her uncle.

"Alright, that's roughly the mission details. Coulson is the nominal leader of this mission, but he has a lot of daily work, so the two of you are the actual leaders. I will assign some people to assist you."

“Alright, go back and prepare for the mission. I’ll be meeting Tony Stark tomorrow morning. You all stay at his villa and get ready. Your work will begin once we get back.” Nick Fury said, waving his hand to signal that they could leave.

"I know, I'll definitely complete the mission. Don't forget the bonus and vacation too," Daisy said with a smile as she stood up.

Upon hearing Daisy's words, Nick Fury waved his hand even faster, his impatience almost undisguised.

Daisy wasn't angry at all. She just chuckled, took a piece of candy from her pocket and tossed it to Nick Fury, then waved her hand and said, "You're such a cheapskate. Here's a piece of candy for you, and you're acting all grumpy."

"Hmph! We're leaving. Remember to get your bonus before your vacation. I need to take advantage of the vacation to do some shopping."

After saying that, Daisy pushed open the door and walked out of the conference room, leaving Nick Fury alone inside.

A moment later, Nick Fury also unwrapped the candy and popped the orange-red candy into his mouth.

As a hint of sweetness filled his mouth, a smile crept onto Nick Fury's usually serious and dignified face.

Coulson had other matters to attend to on the Helicopter, so only Holm and Daisy returned to the ground together in the Quinjet.

"Phew~ I thought I could take a vacation, but I didn't expect I'd have to continue with the mission tomorrow." Daisy said lazily as she stepped off the fighter jet.

Upon hearing this, Holm could only sigh and say, "There's nothing we can do; the director values ​​us."

"But thanks to you, at least our vacation is still intact. We can finally get a good rest after this mission is over."

Hearing Holm's words, Daisy winked and laughed, "Hehe, since that's the case, why don't you treat me to dinner? It'll also be a good opportunity to celebrate your level up."

Before Holm could answer, his phone suddenly rang.

He took out his phone to check the text message he had received, and then smiled at Daisy and said, "We have another mission tomorrow. After this mission is completed, I'll treat you to a meal so you can relax."

"By then, the upgrade should be finalized, and we can celebrate. After all, the final decision hasn't been made yet, and it would be embarrassing if something went wrong and the upgrade couldn't be completed."

Daisy thought about it for a moment after hearing this, then nodded and said, "That makes sense, we still have to go to work tomorrow."

"But you can rest assured about the upgrade; there won't be any changes."

"After this mission is over, I'm going to treat you to a good meal. I'll be on vacation then, so you'll have to have a nice drink with me."

“No problem, as long as you don’t get drunk as quickly as last time,” Holm said, thinking about how quickly Daisy had gotten drunk last time.

He clearly has a low alcohol tolerance but still loves to drink so much; he's terrible at drinking but has a huge addiction.

Hearing Holm's words, Daisy remembered the awkward moment last time, but still stubbornly insisted, "I drank too fast that time! Yes! That's it!"

"I've been drinking quite a bit at home lately, and my alcohol tolerance has increased a lot. Just wait and see!"

Faced with Daisy's stubbornness, Holm could only cheerfully express his anticipation, and then watched her drive away from the base.

After Daisy left, Holm drove his own car into the city. Garrett had just messaged him, and he needed to get home quickly.

In fact, Garratt has been contacting him more frequently lately than ever before. This may be partly due to the many things that have been going on recently, and partly due to a combination of subtle attempts to win him over and a threat.

After all, Holm's status and treatment within S.H.I.E.L.D. had risen rapidly during this period, so Hydra had to strengthen its communication to ensure that Holm's ideology and stance remained unchanged.

After taking several shortcuts, Holm returned downstairs in less than half an hour.

As soon as he entered the area, a familiar feeling came to mind. There were still many skilled people hiding around on guard. Most of them had the familiar aura of Holm. They were Garrett's trusted subordinates.

"Click!"

As the door opened, Holm naturally saw Garrett sitting on the sofa.

"Sir," Holm said, stopping to acknowledge him.

He only approached after Garrett beckoned to him, and then sat down on the sofa.

"He's about to be promoted, isn't he? The youngest Level 8 agent in S.H.I.E.L.D. These young people are really impressive these days," Garrett remarked, leaning back on the sofa.

Holm showed no pride upon hearing this, but straightened his back, lowered his head slightly, and said in a deep voice, "No matter what level of agent I am, it's all an act. I will always be a loyal defender of Hydra and the commander's most capable subordinate."

Garrett was pleased with Holm's reaction. He knew the young man could understand what he meant. It seemed that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s sweet talk hadn't made him relax; he still kept his position very straight.

“Haha, don’t be so nervous. The organization trusts you a lot. A few days ago, Commander Pierce asked me about you and spoke highly of you,” Garrett said, looking at Holm.

"Your abilities are outstanding, and the organization has taken notice, so the first thing I'm here to tell you is some good news..."

Chapter 177, Plans and Missions

Over the next few minutes, Garrett conveyed to Holm Hydra's high regard and recognition of him.

First, his treatment has improved significantly compared to before. Second, his scope of authority and rank have also been raised considerably. Now he has access to a wider range of secrets and can control more people.

If we really consider the current situation, Holm could actually be considered the leader of a typical Hydra division, but because of his special status, he doesn't usually need to use his abilities.

Just like how he can theoretically control a large number of people, but he mainly interacts with only a few, and the only one he values ​​and has already brought under his command is Rumlow.

Therefore, compared to the empty and unnecessary pomp and circumstance of controlling manpower, the improvement in his treatment and rank would bring him real benefits.