"What?"
Nick tilted his head, dug at one ear, and stared at Tony in disbelief. "A box Howard Stark left behind?"
"That's right. Hand it over."
Tony extended a hand with a grim expression and stressed each word. "Now. Immediately."
"Fenris, you told him?"
Howard Stark had been one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founding figures. Other than Nick himself, no one should have known about the classified materials he left behind.
So how did Tony know?
Hydra infiltrating an intelligence agency like this was one thing, but now even Stark Industries could casually penetrate S.H.I.E.L.D.?
Had the S.H.I.E.L.D. he led really rotted that badly?
"No matter how much friction there is between a father and son, it's still closer than anything between either of them and an outsider."
The moment Nick's gaze started drifting again, Fenris could tell at a glance that he was off overthinking things, no matter how well he tried to hide it. "I told you to bring it out, and now you're dragging your feet? Hurry up and hand it over."
Bang!
Hearing that completely impolite threat, Nick's expression stiffened. At the same time, he slammed a hand down hard on the desk.
"Fenris, I'm the head of a major organization. Don't try to bully me with your words."
"It's just a box, right? Fine. He can have it."
"Coulson, get in here!"
After giving Coulson a few instructions, Nick came over and sat down across from Fenris, staring him straight in the eyes.
"Happy now?"
"Very happy, very happy."
Looking at the aggressive, puffed-up Nick, Fenris grinned and let out a snort of laughter.
"I was planning to give this to Tony once the timing was right."
Nick dropped back onto the sofa with a weary sigh. "He's still too immature. I don't know whether getting this early will be a good thing or a bad thing."
"You can't even sort out your own S.H.I.E.L.D., and now you're trying to help Howard raise his kid too?"
Looking at Nick sitting there with a troubled expression, Fenris could not resist teasing him. "How's your investigation into Hydra going?"
"You're a teacher who barely even shows up for class, and yet you're awfully interested in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s private business."
Nick shot Fenris a glance. "That said, there have been frequent reports lately of beings that seem to be super soldiers showing up in various places and causing quite a bit of unrest. There's a decent chance Hydra's behind it."
"They really are a headache. Unfortunately, there's no solid evidence."
"You? Evidence?"
Fenris rolled his eyes.
Nick Fury only ever cared about evidence when he was asking the World Security Council for money.
"Well, that's not entirely fair."
Nick coughed awkwardly.
"Super soldiers?"
After Coulson left under orders to retrieve Howard's files, Tony sat quietly to one side. For once, he actually looked a little tense.
Howard had told him some things, but he had not told him everything.
So Tony only knew that it was a very valuable gift. He had no idea what was actually inside.
But the second he heard the words super soldier come out of Nick's mouth, his ears practically perked up on the spot.
"Explain that. What super soldiers? Where did super soldiers come from?"
Tony shifted over in one quick motion until he was right beside Fenris, staring at Nick with a severe expression that looked like he wanted to tear him apart.
"Super soldiers are exactly what they sound like."
Nick did not hide anything. He spread his hands and gave a brief explanation. "Ever since Dr. Erskine died unexpectedly, I don't know how many people have been trying to replicate the super soldier serum. So if one or two half-finished versions pop up now and then, that's nothing unusual."
"Give me a copy of those files. I can help you deal with those super soldier threats."
Tony got straight to the point. "A fair trade. What do you say?"
"Oh?"
The moment he heard that, Nick sat up at once.
His gaze swept carefully over Tony from top to bottom. After a moment, he withdrew that scrutinizing look.
"You…"
"Have you considered joining my Avengers Initiative? Becoming an Avenger. A superhero who helps keep world peace?"
Earlier, after learning Tony's identity, Nick had already gone to him personally once.
But at the time, Tony had been completely focused on his new armor and rejected the offer without hesitation.
Now, however, faced with Nick's second invitation, he actually hesitated for a moment.
"I'll think about it."
After considering it, Tony ultimately shook his head and did not agree right away.
"Good. No problem."
The moment Nick saw there was an opening, he made the call immediately and handed over all the intelligence Tony wanted. "Once you've made up your mind, contact me. The Avengers Initiative will welcome you anytime."
"Director, the item you asked for is here."
With the business settled, the three of them were chatting when Coulson came in through the door pulling a massive box behind him.
"Fenris, let's go, let's go!"
Tony strode over without hesitation, hoisted the box onto his shoulder as easily as if it weighed nothing, even though it normally took two people to lift, and kept urging Fenris on.
He was already beyond impatient.
"Fenris?"
Just as Fenris and Tony were about to step through the portal, Coulson suddenly spoke up from the side and stopped him.
"What is it?"
Fenris turned back.
After dealing with him so many times, he and Coulson actually got along pretty well.
"I'm heading to Mexico. So the job of bringing Director Fury to Xavier's School will probably fall to someone else from now on."
Coulson gave Fenris his trademark smile. "I hear Mexico is a beautiful wonderland. It's just a little far from Washington. We'll meet again if we get the chance."
"You're going to Mexico?"
Fenris froze for a moment. As if something had occurred to him, he quickly nodded. "All right. I hope everything goes smoothly for you."
"See you."
After a round of goodbyes, Fenris left the office with Tony.
"You two seem pretty close. Is it because you miss the feeling of being carried around in Fenris's arms while flying all over the place?"
Nick glanced at Coulson and asked in a sour tone.
He still had not gotten to experience that himself.
"Maybe I should find an excuse to have Carol…"
A strange thought suddenly surfaced in Nick's mind, and his gaze instinctively drifted toward the place where that pager was stored.
"No!"
Halfway through the thought, Nick snapped back to himself and hurriedly strangled the dangerous idea before it could go any further.
"Director, you wouldn't enjoy that feeling."
Coulson smiled with the honest, harmless look of a good man.
…
Meanwhile, in Tony's luxurious workshop:
"Fenris, I've unlocked all your access. Feel free to look around."
After hurriedly tossing out that line, Tony carried the box off to one side and immediately got to work with a flurry of clanking and banging.
"All right."
Fenris knew he would not be much help anyway. Besides, once Tony upgraded the Arc Reactor again, the person who would benefit most directly would be him.
"Hm? What's this?"
On the cluttered workbench, a neat little glass case suddenly caught Fenris's attention.
"A gift for Tony Stark, from Pepper Potts."
A small note had been casually stuck to the box. But now the gift case, which had once held the reactor Tony had removed, was completely empty.
"Where's the gift?"
"Did Pepper just give him an empty box?"
Fenris picked it up and examined it closely. Very quickly, he noticed signs that the bottom had been forcibly damaged.
"Tony, unless I'm mistaken, someone broke into your house."
(End of Chapter)
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