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A bitter smile twisted Sandman's lips.
"Have a little faith in me, Antonio... I won't be captured so easily."
"I'm still the same idiot you remember."
"But, Antonio, I'm not the same idiot I used to be. I have my own preparations and contingencies."
"Even without your help, I can escape."
As S.H.I.E.L.D. agents tightened their perimeter, Sandman spoke with blunt honesty to his old friend.
Antonio, still perched on his small motorcycle, gave him a strange look.
"Escape? Escape my ass! If I hadn't shown up at that remote park, you'd be rotting in a S.H.I.E.L.D. cell right now!"
Sandman's face darkened slightly. He let out an awkward chuckle.
"Ahem, that was... an unforeseen circumstance. I genuinely didn't expect S.H.I.E.L.D. to be so prepared for me, to have such specific countermeasures for my abilities!"
His expression turned serious again.
"Antonio, I'm not a fool. I have no desire to spend the rest of my life in a S.H.I.E.L.D. cage... I've made arrangements."
"Before I flew to Manhattan, I made a deal with the Mandarin."
Antonio's interest was piqued. "What kind of deal?"
Sandman smiled at him. "I wouldn't tell anyone else. But I won't hide it from you."
"Our agreement was simple. We both had needs the other could fulfill."
"No matter what, I had to come to this cemetery. No crisis, no matter how great, could stop me!"
"And for the Mandarin, no obstacle, no matter how difficult, could stop him from killing that traitor."
"He needed me to be the diversion, to draw S.H.I.E.L.D.'s eye. And I needed him to provide the means for my escape."
"Thus, our pact was formed."
Sandman paused, mentally calculating the time before continuing calmly.
"By my estimate... the Mandarin should be making his move right about now."
BOOM!!!!
The moment the words left his mouth, a thunderous explosion erupted from the direction of the waterfront, followed by a rapid series of smaller blasts, a relentless chain of detonations!
The very ground seemed to tremble.
Skye, who was directing her team to surround Sandman, paled and whipped her head towards the source of the blasts, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"What in the world is happening?!"
A grizzled veteran agent on her team listened intently, his face a mask of shock and denial.
"The direction of the sound... it seems to be coming from the naval yard? But that's impossible! It can't be! With their defensive capabilities, how could such a devastating attack occur there?!"
Skye also found it hard to believe.
The explosions were coming from a military port.
Publicly, it was just an ordinary naval facility.
But those in the know, like S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Skye, understood the truth.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters helicarrier was docked at that very port!
The realization hit Skye like a physical blow. She spun back to face Sandman, who stood there unnervingly calm.
"It's you! You're working with whoever is attacking the naval yard!"
Sandman didn't bother denying it. His body began to dissolve into sand, clearly preparing to make his getaway.
Skye gritted her teeth in fury, but instead of pursuing him, she turned on her heel. "Fall back! All units, return and support headquarters!" she barked, leading the charge away from the cemetery.
Nearby, Antonio, who had been relegated to the role of a bystander, narrowed his eyes as he gazed toward the burning port.
"The Mandarin? The Ten Rings?"
"I need to inform Clark about this. Immediately."
...
...
Inside the Director's office aboard the grounded S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, Nick Fury stared in stunned disbelief towards the docks.
The naval yard was being systematically consumed by a chain reaction of explosions!
The ships docked within, those with weaker defenses, were already torn apart, blossoming into fireballs.
Even two massive battleships former kings of the sea before the age of carriers were sparking and smoldering. Their immense size and robust armor were all that kept them afloat for now, but the agonized shrieks of tearing metal signaled their imminent demise.
The entire vast port was a scene of chaos, and at a glance, only the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier, moored further out, remained unscathed.
But its safety was temporary.
A horde of insurgents was already pouring out, launching a direct assault on the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters!
Fury knew exactly what was happening.
Saboteurs had infiltrated the other vessels, detonating their ammunition depots and core propulsion systems.
The heavily fortified S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters had been impossible for them to penetrate covertly.
But with this sustained, frontal assault, how long their defenses would hold was anyone's guess.
Fury's face was a thundercloud of fury and self-recrimination.
"Damn it! I fell for a classic diversion!"
He was seething. He had made a catastrophic error.
Lately, with all the chaos surrounding Stark Industries, Tony's antics had consumed a significant portion of his attention.
Then, Sandman's appearance had drawn his focus elsewhere.
The combination of events had lulled his instincts, made him lower his guard.
Diverting personnel to handle Tony Stark and Sandman had created gaps in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s surveillance network gaps the enemy had exploited.
The Mandarin, leader of the Ten Rings, had struck at this precise moment of vulnerability!
"Goddamn it! The Ten Rings lieutenant who leaked Sandman's location to us... his goal wasn't just to eliminate a rival. He was acting on the Mandarin's direct orders!"
Fury pieced it all together, the full picture becoming horrifyingly clear.
But it was too late.
The Ten Rings' assault was ferocious and relentless. The complacent S.H.I.E.L.D. was like a groggy giant, caught completely off-guard. Its agents were scrambling, struggling to mount a coherent defense.
A cold, cruel face suddenly flickered onto the main screen, its gaze fixed squarely on Fury.
"Nick Fury! Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.! You know what I want!"
"Hand him over, and I will cease this attack and depart immediately!"
Fury's refusal was immediate and absolute. "Mandarin! Don't even think about it! In ten minutes, military reinforcements will be here. That will be the end of you!"
The Mandarin actually laughed, a harsh, mocking sound.
"Fury, you are a smart man. You should see the reality of your situation clearly."
"I will not waste words. I will breach your current defenses in three minutes. I will slaughter every one of you within five, and take what I came for!"
"My exit may be... complicated. But my primary objective will be achieved."
The Mandarin's voice dripped with cold contempt.
"I give you ten seconds to reconsider. Do not attempt to stall. You know it is useless."
His words were sharp and final, his purpose laid bare. He offered no room for negotiation, no opportunity for Fury to play for time.
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