The Triskelion.
Inside the spacious top-floor office, a secret remote meeting was quietly underway.
"Nick Fury, it's been days since the mutant attack on the President, and you still haven't produced a single substantive report."
The massive screen was divided into dozens of sections. In the primary window, a middle-aged man in a suit sat watching Nick's dark expression, questioning him without the slightest courtesy.
"SHIELD was created in the first place to deal with superhuman threats like this. But with the way you've handled things, it is becoming difficult for us to believe this agency still has any reason to exist."
Silence fell over the room so completely that a pin drop might have been heard. As soon as those words were spoken, the attention of the other participants also shifted onto Nick.
"Sir, you know better than I do how difficult mutant affairs can be."
Nick's expression did not change as he explained, "Based on the leads we currently have, the mastermind behind this incident was not Magneto, as we initially suspected, but someone within the military."
Nick did not expose Stryker's name yet. Fenris had not handed the evidence over to him in person, and pointing the blame at an individual without proof in hand would only give the other side a chance to bite back.
"And if you want to dissolve SHIELD, perhaps you should take some time to have a proper conversation with Peggy Carter instead of wasting your breath here."
Nick let out a cold snort and showed the man no respect at all.
"Nick Fury, cut the bullshit! Since when did the military have anything to do with Magneto?"
A stern-faced general in uniform with graying hair suddenly spoke up and barked, "SHIELD being incompetent is one thing, but why do you people always try to dump your problems on us?"
"Ross, I heard you recently mobilized troops and a mountain of heavy weaponry to kill your daughter's boyfriend. You made a pretty big spectacle of it. I assume the operation was a success?"
Nick glanced at the general who had spoken, refusing to give an inch. "You spend every day researching super-soldier serum, then wind up creating a giant brute you can't even control. Hard to say who the real incompetent one is."
"You..."
"All right, enough."
Someone stepped in to smooth things over. "Nick Fury, we're giving you three more days. The public needs an explanation for this. It cannot be dragged out any longer."
"And Ross, clean up your mess as soon as possible. We've already embarrassed ourselves in front of the entire world."
"Meeting adjourned."
As soon as the words fell, the figures on the screen all went dark at once.
After shooting Nick an irritated glare, General Ross gave a cold snort and exited the meeting as well.
"Motherfucker. A bunch of bloodsuckers."
Nick shut off the screen and could not help cursing out loud.
With Professor X and Magneto around, the mutant population was basically a ticking time bomb as far as SHIELD was concerned.
Acting was a problem. Not acting was an even bigger problem. But this was SHIELD's responsibility, and no matter how much Nick wanted to throw the hot potato away, he could not.
Especially after seeing firsthand how difficult Professor X was to deal with, Nick now had twice the headache.
He took a deep breath, pulled out his phone, and called Coulson.
"Didn't Fenris say he'd deliver the evidence he found today? What's the situation at the school right now?"
"I'm with Fenris right now. We'll be at headquarters in just a moment."
Coulson's voice came through from the other end of the line.
"How much longer exactly?"
Nick pressed.
Even after he got the evidence, verifying it and investigating it would still take a great deal of time and effort. And yet the deadline from above was only three days.
Time was tight.
"Now," Coulson replied over the phone.
Knock knock knock.
The next second, the call ended, and a knock came from outside Nick's office.
"We're back."
"Come in."
His voice was calm. After getting permission, Coulson pushed the door open gently, gesturing for Fenris to enter first while he himself remained standing quietly outside.
"Coulson, you've worked hard these past few days."
Nick nodded toward him at the door. "Take a few days off. Use the chance to get some real rest."
"Thank you, sir."
Thinking back to that unbelievably intense experience in the sky just now, Coulson suddenly felt that, yes, he really did need some rest.
After a simple word of thanks, he turned and left. Very quickly, only Fenris and Nick remained in the enormous office.
"Sit down first."
Nick forced a smile onto his face and motioned for Fenris to take a seat. "Tea? Or coffee?"
"No. I came here to give you what I promised, but there's something else I mainly want to discuss."
Fenris sat down across from Nick and went straight to the point.
"Oh?"
Knowing the evidence was finally about to land in his hands, Nick, who had been anxious a moment ago, instead became calm. "What is it? Let's hear it."
"As long as it falls within my authority and I can help, I'll do everything I can."
He knew full well that Fenris was no longer going to join his Avengers initiative, so Nick did not hesitate to change tactics.
Sincerity for sincerity. If he built a good relationship now, then if some future crisis came along that even the Avengers could not handle, Fenris would hardly be able to stand by and do nothing.
Once he settled on that new approach, Nick instantly felt full of confidence.
He was not afraid of Fenris making demands. What worried him was Fenris not asking for anything. In fact, the more demands the better.
"No rush. Look through these first."
Fenris waved a hand and, right before Nick's eyes, opened a portal and took out the documents containing proof of Stryker's assassination plot.
"This is..."
The sight in front of him made Nick's eyes widen on the spot. The teacup in his hand slammed down onto the desk with a bang.
"As you can see. A portal."
Fenris smiled faintly.
Whether it was showing off a little strength in front of Coulson earlier or opening a portal now in front of Nick, he had never intended to keep any of this hidden.
Part of that was because he was strong enough on his own and had no reason to fear Nick trying any little tricks behind his back.
The other reason was that Nick was the sort of man who was deep, calculating, and convinced he was always the smartest person in the room.
A lot of the time, he would outsmart himself and do things so baffling they left people speechless, only to turn everything into a complete mess and force other people to clean it up afterward.
Fenris was not afraid of trouble. But to avoid Nick creating a pile of pointless trouble for him later, he had chosen from the very beginning to make one thing perfectly clear: he possessed the ability to take Nick's life anytime, anywhere.
SHIELD was already riddled with holes and infiltrated to the point of being a sieve, but it was not entirely useless. Dealing with them, one way or another, was unavoidable.
Showing his strength early would actually save him a lot of headaches later.
(End of Chapter)
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