"Lily!"
Inside MacLaren's Bar in New York.
Maria Hill put down her phone and walked back inside, then said to her friend Lily, "Sorry, there's an emergency at the TV station. I need to head back and handle it."
"Oh, no!"
Lily looked at the beers that had just been served. "We just started."
Maria Hill looked apologetic, saying sorry repeatedly, and then apologized to Ted, Barney, and Lily's fiancé, Marshall, who were sitting across from her, before walking out of the bar.
At this moment.
A black sedan was already waiting at the entrance.
She got into the car.
In an instant, Maria Hill shed her disguise as a Canadian transplant dreaming of becoming a great TV host, reverting back into the consistently capable and decisive Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Marshall, Lily, and the others didn't know her true identity.
This was good.
Hill also liked being able to keep it that way.
Very soon.
S.H.I.E.L.D. New York Operations Command Center.
"Victoria."
After Hill walked into the command hall, she greeted Commander Victoria Hand, who practically stayed here even after work hours, and then nodded to a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent nearby.
"Patch me through to the New Orleans office."
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent immediately dialed the line that had already been prepared.
The large screen lit up instantly.
The Special Agent-in-Charge of the New Orleans office, Kara Palamas, appeared on it.
"Director!"
"Commander Hand."
"Kara Palamas."
Looking at Palamas—who was known as Agent 33 and had taken over as the Special Agent-in-Charge of the New Orleans office after Nick Fury's residual toxic influence was purged—Maria Hill said directly, "The people from the Dolan Church have already gone over?"
Palamas nodded. "Yes, it has already been arranged. Do you need..."
Hill cut her off directly. "What else has happened in New Orleans over the past few days?"
Palamas froze slightly.
Subsequently.
Feeling somewhat bewildered, Palamas recounted the Dark Sovereign's Judgment Notice, the execution of witches that occurred in front of the police precinct around five o'clock this morning, and the countless skeletal remains of witches found in Lake Pontchartrain.
Maria Hill's eyes narrowed slightly, completely stunned as she listened.
What the fuck?
After receiving Hawkeye's report and suspecting that this might be related to witches, Maria Hill had immediately instructed her subordinates to find the Dolan Church—a partner S.H.I.E.L.D. had used to handle witch cases during Nick Fury's tenure.
It was still that same saying.
Cleaning up the mess afterward was always better than holding the bag.
But right now?
Maria Hill asked in a deep voice, "Is it confirmed that those witch skeletons were all the Dolan Church's doing?"
Beside her, Victoria Hand had already ordered an agent to directly pull up the S.H.I.E.L.D. satellite feed. Under the real-time satellite imaging, the countless stark white bones packing the brightly lit Lake Pontchartrain were clearly visible.
Even though the New Orleans Police Department had been clearing them out all day, the number of bones on the riverbed still didn't seem to decrease at all.
"My God!"
"Oh my god!"
"Is this... a mass grave?"
"..."
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the hall stared at the satellite imagery displayed on the large screen, and one by one, they couldn't help but stand up and cover their mouths.
The imagery was far too horrifying, causing extreme discomfort.
Hearing Maria Hill's question, Agent-in-Charge Palamas found it somewhat curious but still spoke honestly.
"Yes, it's precisely because the Dark Sovereign executed the local Dolan Church here in New Orleans that the Dolan Church members from New York came to find us."
"Serves them right!"
"Ah."
"Why wasn't this reported in a timely manner?"
"Didn't you say to let professionals handle professional..."
"I know what I said."
Maria Hill pointed at the satellite tracking of Lake Pontchartrain on the large screen and asked in a deep voice, "Why wasn't this matter reported?"
Heavens.
What kind of Dolan Church was this?
This was practically a flat-out cult.
Palamas was a bit puzzled. "I thought you knew..."
Hill frowned.
The next second.
Hill suddenly remembered something and looked at Victoria Hand beside her. "Victoria, who handled the partnership audit for the Dolan Church?"
For S.H.I.E.L.D.'s partners, specialized personnel always audited them to see if they were qualified to cooperate and, furthermore, if they could help keep secrets.
"Can't you see it on your end?"
"It was deleted. I thought Nick Fury did it to protect an informant."
Not only had some files been deleted by Nick Fury, but during the time she had taken over, Maria Hill had also discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s accounting funds seemed to be missing a significant amount.
At the very least, several expenditures were unclear or entirely fabricated. Alexander Pierce had already dispatched accountants to secretly audit every single fund flow during Nick Fury's tenure.
However, this matter was still in the confidential stage; no one else knew about it except for Maria Hill, Alexander Pierce, and the personnel sent to conduct the secret audit.
The data from S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters had a backup in the New York operations command system, so the files that had been deleted at the Triskelion were found here at the New York Operations Command Center.
Nick Fury had authorized the deletion of several agents' files, among which were even data files for a set of quintuplets.
Naturally.
The files regarding who had audited and approved the Dolan Church were also present on the New York side.
"Found it."
After using her highest clearance to log into the system, Victoria Hand directly unlocked the hidden content regarding the Dolan Church and found the evaluating agents: "Phil Coulson and Melinda May."
"Heh."
Hearing the names of these two trusted agents of Nick Fury, Hill looked at the imagery displayed on the satellite.
"Can an ally like this really be our ally?"
They were S.H.I.E.L.D., not some tribunal court.
Hill had known about the Dolan Church because when she served as Deputy Director, she had heard Nick Fury mention that the Dolan Church specifically targeted those witches who intended to commit misdeeds.
But...
If Hill had known that this Dolan Church didn't just target witches committing misdeeds, but targeted all witches, she absolutely would not have continued the alliance with them.
At this moment.
Hill thought of the pointed phone call Mr. Nobody had just made.
"Fuck!"
Hill swore irritably and looked at the agent responsible for the connection. "Patch through to the Triskelion!"
The agent nodded, quickly connecting to the Triskelion headquarters.
Very soon.
Looking at her newly appointed assistant appearing on the large screen, Hill said in a deep voice.
"Send out the notice. S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion, S.H.I.E.L.D. New York Operations Command Center, the Slingshot Launch Facility, the Sandbox, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy, as well as all regional S.H.I.E.L.D. hubs, are to completely revoke the authentication and authorization of the Dolan Church. This order takes effect immediately!"
The assistant nodded.
Instantly.
A pop-up window appeared directly on the large screen in front of them.
A Director's order coming from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Supreme Command Center at the Triskelion.
Revoke all authentication and cooperation with the Dolan Church.
Beside her, Victoria Hand nodded. "Send out the notification!"
The next second.
Ring ring ring!
Ring ring ring!
Dense text notification tones sounded from virtually every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in the hall. Without exception, the text content was entirely about the order revoking the Dolan Church.
Maria Hill turned around directly and walked outside. "Have a quinjet prepare for takeoff. We're going to New Orleans!"
On the large screen, the Special Agent-in-Charge of New Orleans opened her mouth. "Director, then what about the Dolan Church here..."
Hill stopped her steps, turned around, and looked at the agent on the screen. "Is my order not clear?"
Kara Palamas swallowed her saliva. "Understood!"
Kick them out with a broom.
"Wait."
Hill suddenly thought of something and said in a deep voice, "Keep an eye on them. Someone will come over to take charge of them shortly."
Not long after.
A Quinjet carrying Maria Hill and Victoria Hand soared into the sky, and then with a boom, it streaked toward New Orleans at maximum speed.
Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies.
Just as the clock hit exactly one hour.
Ring ring ring!
"Ms. Hill!"
"Mr. Nobody."
Sitting inside the jet, Maria Hill said in a deep voice, "I have ordered all S.H.I.E.L.D. hubs to completely cancel cooperation with the Dolan Church. I issued this order, while Nick Fury was the one who signed the cooperation. Sorry, you should know exactly how many messes Nick Fury left behind for us!"
I certainly know.
Don't look at how S.H.I.E.L.D. seemed incredibly formidable when Nick Fury was in power.
But...
Hardly any law enforcement agency that knew the truth thought much of them. If the Howling Commandos were given to them, they would eagerly treat them like VVIP clients.
Nick Fury, on the other hand, had completely burned through the goodwill left behind by Captain America and Ms. Peggy Carter in less than half a year.
However, knowing was one thing.
Mr. Nobody glanced at Cordelia Goode, lowered his head, and spoke to Maria Hill over the call, "But that isn't the answer I wanted to hear."
As his words fell.
Ding-dong!
Mr. Nobody looked at a set of tracking coordinates received on his phone.
"This is..."
"The fourteen individuals who came over from the New York Dolan."
Maria Hill's tone was calm. "Mr. Nobody, they're yours. Although S.H.I.E.L.D. currently doesn't possess enough strength to maintain the boundary between the supernatural and ordinary worlds, cooperating with an organization devoid of any humanity is absolutely not S.H.I.E.L.D.'s purpose. At least, it isn't mine."
Even if strength was lacking, Maria Hill would rather make proposals to the World Security Council and pass resolutions to validate S.H.I.E.L.D.'s legitimacy than adopt such methods.
"Thanks."
"I'll arrive in New Orleans shortly."
"...I'll wait for you."
"Thank you."
Maria Hill hung up the phone.
The next second.
A call from her assistant came in!
"Director, the thirty-sixth generation Dolan priest of New York is requesting to speak with you!"
"Tell him to get lost!"
"...Yes!"
"By the way."
Maria Hill listened to her assistant's report. "Start gathering data regarding the New York Dolan Church. If any illegal acts are discovered, hand them directly over to Captain George Stacy of the New York Police Department."
"Yes!"
"..."
***
Bonus chapter.
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