The gunshot echoed through the office.
A moment later, the door opened again.
Nick Fury stepped inside wearing his long black trench coat, his single eye fixed on Ethan Blake. His expression was dark and unreadable as he slowly approached the body lying on the floor.
"You just killed the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D," Fury said.
Ethan glanced at him calmly.
"Wrong," he replied flatly. "That was the leader of HYDRA."
Fury's face hardened slightly.
"No one can prove that."
"You want proof?" Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Fine. What I say is the proof. If you want the kind of evidence that satisfies you, that's possible too. It'll just take a little effort to dig it up. When you find it, remember to go online. I'll publish everything for the world to see."
In reality, Ethan had absolutely no concrete evidence about HYDRA's infiltration. The organization had hidden itself too deeply for that.
But that didn't stop him from bluffing.
Even if Fury suspected Ethan was exaggerating, the director would never dare to gamble on the possibility that he wasn't.
If the truth came out—that HYDRA still existed and had placed its leader at the top of S.H.I.E.L.D—the fallout would be catastrophic. The agency would collapse overnight. Every employee would be investigated from top to bottom.
And Nick Fury himself would probably end up retired somewhere in Africa, growing corn for the rest of his life.
Ethan was completely certain of that.
Sure enough, Fury's eyelid twitched slightly when he heard the threat. After a brief silence, he took a slow breath and said, "That won't be necessary. I'll find the evidence myself. Do you know who else in S.H.I.E.L.D is part of HYDRA?"
"No idea."
Ethan paused, then added casually, "Although if you're willing to trade the Tesseract or the Infinity Formula, I might suddenly remember a few names."
Fury's expression froze instantly.
The Tesseract or the Infinity Formula… just for two names?
The price was outrageous.
"No," Fury said firmly. "I'll find every HYDRA agent inside S.H.I.E.L.D myself."
Alexander Pierce and Brock Rumlow were already confirmed. Even without Ethan's help, Fury believed he could trace those two lines and eventually uncover the rest of the organization hiding inside the agency.
Ethan simply shrugged.
Pull them all out?
Yeah… good luck with that.
By the time Fury finished digging, he'd probably discover only a few stragglers left behind.
After all, people didn't call it the "Snake S.H.I.E.L.D Bureau" for nothing.
"Suit yourself," Ethan said.
He wasn't disappointed about failing to extort the Tesseract or the Infinity Formula. In his mind, this was simply the opening round. Sooner or later Fury would come back asking for help.
And when that happened, Ethan wouldn't be shy about naming his price.
His objective for today had already been achieved.
There was no reason to stay here any longer.
Without another word, Ethan activated his teleportation and disappeared from the room.
After he left, silence filled the office.
Nick Fury stood there for several seconds, staring down at Pierce's body as it slowly cooled on the floor.
A faint trace of sadness flickered in his eye.
Pierce had been Fury's superior ever since he first joined S.H.I.E.L.D. In many ways, the old man had been a mentor figure to him. Fury had trusted him deeply—trusted him enough that he would have taken a bullet for him without hesitation.
And yet…
Pierce had been HYDRA all along.
Because of that truth, Fury had done nothing while Ethan pulled the trigger. For Fury, duty and responsibility outweighed personal feelings every time.
He looked at Pierce one last time.
Then he turned and walked away.
There were far more important problems waiting for him now.
…
Even with teleportation shortening the journey, nearly five or six hours had passed since Ethan rescued Pietro, confronted Alexander Pierce, and returned home.
By the time he reached the house, evening had already fallen.
Before he even opened the door, Ethan heard a familiar voice coming from inside.
"Hey… could you at least put me down first?" the voice complained loudly. "I've said it fifty-eight times already! I'm Ethan's friend. Haven't you people seen my face on TV? How could I possibly be a bad guy?"
Ethan paused.
Tony Stark.
Did he come here because he was worried about me?
The thought warmed Ethan slightly.
Tony might have a terrible personality and a mouth that never stopped running, but Pepper was right about one thing—Tony Stark cared deeply about the people he considered friends.
Another voice answered him inside the house.
"Bad people never say they're bad," Wanda said seriously. "And they definitely don't write the word 'bad' on their faces. Anyone who breaks into our home without permission deserves punishment. That's what Ethan told us."
Tony fell silent.
For the first time in his life, the billionaire genius didn't know how to respond.
So that's how Ethan teaches children?
Originally Tony had been thinking that someday, when he had a kid of his own, he might ask Ethan to be the child's godfather.
Now…
Maybe he should reconsider that idea.
At that moment, the door opened.
Ethan stepped inside and immediately saw the scene in the living room.
Tony Stark was hanging upside down from the ceiling.
Wanda had suspended him in midair with her telekinetic ability, leaving him dangling helplessly above the floor. His face was bright red and swollen from the blood rushing to his head, which suggested he had been stuck there for quite a while.
Wanda and Pietro stood nearby, watching him carefully like two security guards monitoring a prisoner.
The moment Tony saw Ethan, his eyes lit up with desperate relief.
"Thank God!" he groaned. "Ethan, you're finally back. Please tell them to put me down before my brain explodes."
"Ethan, are you okay?"
Wanda rushed over immediately. She circled him quickly, checking for injuries, then happily grabbed his arm once she confirmed he was fine.
Pietro also relaxed slightly when he saw Ethan had returned safely.
Ethan reached out and rubbed Wanda's head gently.
"Tony really is my friend," he said. "You can let him down now."
"Oh."
Wanda nodded obediently.
She glanced at Tony, then waved her hand.
The invisible force holding him in place vanished instantly.
Tony dropped onto the sofa with a thud.
He groaned while rubbing his stiff shoulders and neck.
"Ethan," Tony complained, "I didn't realize your kids had superpowers too. Is this some kind of global trend now? Because if it is, someone should really warn me."
He stretched his sore arms and glared at the twins.
"But seriously, you need to teach them some restraint. Superpowers should not be used randomly like that."
Ethan smiled faintly.
"Wanda and Pietro are good kids," he said calmly. "They never use their abilities outside the house. Honestly, Tony, considering what happened, you shouldn't be complaining at all."
"Excuse me?" Tony stared at him in disbelief.
He had been hanging upside down for nearly an hour without being able to move.
"Don't tell me I'm supposed to apologize to them too," Tony said sarcastically.
"Actually, yes," Ethan replied.
Tony's face immediately showed obvious dissatisfaction.
Noticing that reaction, Ethan continued explaining.
"Tony, I adopted Wanda and Pietro in Sokovia while I was serving as a soldier."
"I know that part," Tony interrupted impatiently. "The two suits you asked me to build must be for them. But what does that have to do with me apologizing?"
"Just listen for a moment," Ethan said.
His voice became quieter.
"Before I found them, those two had been trapped under rubble for five or six hours. Do you know what they looked like when I finally reached them?"
Tony frowned slightly.
"What did they look like?"
Ethan's gaze drifted briefly toward Wanda and Pietro.
"Two ten-year-old children clinging to each other," he said slowly. "Their bodies shaking uncontrollably. Their eyes locked on a missile lying right in front of them that could have exploded at any second."
He paused for a moment.
"And written on the side of that missile was a single line of text…"
....
Join my P@treon and get 60+ advanced chapters.
Link: p*atreon.com/0LordSilvere0 (Remove the *)
Free members get 2 chapters free.
Join Right Now