The Shackles of Morality

Peter often came to Director Garrett’s office, and by now he knew the place like the back of his hand.

He knocked and walked in as if he owned the place, picked up a coffee cup, poured himself a cup, added sugar, then sat down on the guest sofa. He simply waited for Director Garrett to tell him that the investigation results were not yet available, after which he would finish his coffee and leave.

But this time, Director Garrett’s expression was unusually serious. He glanced at Peter, who was leisurely drinking his coffee, and said, "Peter, I have some unfortunate news."

Peter froze. He quickly set down his coffee cup and sat up straight.

"We have sufficient evidence to prove that George Stacy is also a member of Hydra."

"What?" Peter was shocked. He sprang to his feet and glared at Director Garrett. "How is that possible? I go to Gwen’s house all the time. Chief Stacy is obviously a rigid, deeply righteous police officer. He can’t be Hydra!"

"Peter, I know this is difficult to accept, but Hydra’s ability to infiltrate and disguise itself is incredibly powerful. They can pose as people in any profession. A person’s everyday behavior alone is completely insufficient to determine whether they’re a member of Hydra."

Peter felt his lips go dry and his throat tighten. He couldn’t get a single word out.

"Peter, you have to trust S.H.I.E.L.D. We wouldn’t falsely accuse an innocent man for no reason. Our conclusion that George Stacy is Hydra isn’t based solely on the fact that he worked with Thomas for a period of time. The evidence is conclusive and irrefutable."

As he spoke, Director Garrett brought over a tablet, opened a folder on it, and showed it to Peter.

"All the evidence is here. You may as well take a look. If you can find any flaw in it, that would be all the better."

Garrett set down the tablet and left the office, leaving Peter there to carefully turn through the evidence page by page.

The evidence was extremely thorough. There were witnesses, physical evidence, photographs, videos… Although many of the pieces were blurry because of their age, and the video resolution was less than ideal, the young man in them could still be identified by his outline as George Stacy in his youth.

Peter sat in Director Garrett’s office all afternoon, going through the evidence on the computer countless times. He had practically memorized it all before finally leaving in a daze.

He had absolutely no idea how he was supposed to face Gwen, who was waiting for him at home.

He dawdled along the way for more than an hour before finally making it home. Gwen was cooking in the kitchen. After glancing back at him, she said, "The bathwater’s ready. Take a bath first, then watch some TV for a while. We’ll eat when the food’s ready."

Peter sat blankly in the living room. He didn’t go take a bath or turn on the TV, merely curling up on the sofa.

Gwen seemed to realize that something was wrong. She turned off the stove, wiped her hands with a towel, untied her apron, hung it by the door, and walked into the living room.

"What’s wrong? Did something happen?"

"Uh…" Peter stammered, unsure what to say.

"Is there something difficult to talk about?" Gwen sat down beside Peter and took both his hands in hers. "Peter, if you’re having trouble, you can tell me. We’ll think of a solution together. I told you, no matter what happens, I’ll always stand by your side."

"I went to S.H.I.E.L.D. today to ask about the investigation’s progress, and Director Garrett told me that they had found…" Peter’s voice grew quieter and quieter until it was barely audible. "George… George is Hydra."

"That’s impossible!" Gwen screamed and jumped to her feet. "My father can’t be Hydra!"

Peter lowered his head, took out the USB drive he had copied from S.H.I.E.L.D., and held it out to her.

"This is all the evidence. I’ve already examined it carefully…"

Gwen knocked the USB drive out of his hand and screamed, "To hell with the evidence! He’s my father! I know him better than anyone!"

Peter reached out to pull Gwen close, wanting to comfort his girlfriend. "Gwen, I know this is hard to accept, but…"

Gwen grabbed his hand, her tear-filled eyes brimming with pleading.

"Peter, this evidence has to be fake! S.H.I.E.L.D.’s investigation must have gone wrong. You have to help me. We’ll investigate it ourselves!"

Peter sighed and stepped forward, pulling Gwen into his arms. "Gwen, a lot of the time, we have to face reality. Just like I never imagined that my parents were Hydra either, so George…"

Before Peter could finish, Gwen shoved him away.

"Peter, what I need right now is your support, not for you to tell me to give up investigating and let other people smear my father!" Gwen’s eyebrows rose sharply as she looked at Peter with disappointment.

"Gwen, you need to calm down…"

"No, I don’t need to calm down! I’m only asking you one thing, Peter. Are you willing to help me?"

"Of course I’ll help you, Gwen. I love you, you know that. But the evidence in this matter is conclusive…"

"Is this about the evidence? It’s about your attitude! Peter, I’ve never once suspected Uncle Ben and Aunt May of being Hydra. Even if you put the evidence right in front of me, I’d tear it to pieces and throw it in your damn director’s face!"

"But you… compared to me, you trust S.H.I.E.L.D. more!"

The disappointment on Gwen’s face deepened, as if she were meeting Peter for the first time today.

"If S.H.I.E.L.D. told you right now that Uncle Ben and Aunt May were also Hydra, with conclusive evidence, what would you do? Would you just believe them like that?" Gwen demanded.

Peter immediately retorted, "Uncle Ben and Aunt May aren’t Hydra!"

"Then my father is?" Gwen snapped angrily.

"I…" Peter was at a loss for words. He wanted to say that the evidence was conclusive, but when he looked at Gwen’s furious face, he couldn’t open his mouth.

"Peter, you’ve already decided that my father is Hydra, haven’t you?" Seeing his expression, Gwen understood everything. The anger vanished from her face, replaced by sorrow and disappointment.

"Peter, no matter what happens, I’m willing to stand by your side. What about you? Are you willing to always stand on the same side as me?" Tears streamed down Gwen’s face. "Peter, I love your kindness, but right now, I hate that you can’t tell who’s close to you and who isn’t!"

With that, Gwen turned and walked away. Peter hurried after her, calling out in panic, "I’m willing to always stand on the same side as you!"

"Gwen, I’ll help you investigate it. Whatever you want to do, I’ll help you. Don’t be angry…"

Without looking back, Gwen hailed a taxi by the roadside and climbed inside, then slammed the door shut.

"Peter, I think things have moved too quickly between us. We both need to calm down and think carefully about whether we’re really right for each other."

Through the car window, Gwen finished speaking and signaled the driver to leave. Peter clearly had the ability to stop the car from moving, but the moral principles rooted deep within him held him back, leaving him powerless to do anything but watch helplessly as Gwen cried in the taxi and disappeared into the distance.