As Natasha Romanoff drove away from the Kensington estate, she dialed Nick Fury's number. The call connected almost immediately.
"Did you find anything useful?" Fury asked, his tone laced with urgency.
Natasha sighed inwardly. She had assumed that her looks, skills, and tactics would make infiltrating William Devonshire's world a straightforward task. But neither she nor Fury had anticipated how impenetrable William's defenses would be.
Three months of effort, even with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s support, had yielded almost nothing. She hadn't even been able to get close to William, let alone replicate the Mars spacecraft schematics.
However, today she'd finally had an unexpected encounter with William at his estate, hearing some critical pieces of information.
"Yeah, I've got something," she replied. "I overheard William talking with Abigail. He mentioned that there's a large-scale lab beneath the Kensington estate. He implied that he conducts experiments with fissile materials and nuclear fission there."
"What? Nuclear fission?" Fury interrupted, his voice rising with alarm. "Where is he getting the materials and equipment? And what's the focus of his research? Is it weapons-grade?"
"Materials and equipment are something you'll need to investigate," Natasha replied, rolling her eyes at his outburst. "As for weapons, I'm not sure.
From what I heard, his focus seems to be on energy. He mentioned designing an aerospace engine that can only utilize 10% of its potential even with nuclear power.
Nick, if what he's saying is true, then the entire solar system might just become William Devonshire's backyard."
"We understand the implications," Fury muttered, "but what do you suggest we do? Storm the Kensington estate and search it?"
His tone grew frustrated. "If we did that, the British would turn my agents into Swiss cheese—or lock them away in a black site prison forever."
Fury's irritation wasn't unwarranted. Over the past three months, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s patience had worn thin. After Natasha failed to get close to William in the first month, some factions within S.H.I.E.L.D. began sending covert operatives to London.
It had been a disaster. In just over a month, six S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had been killed, either by British intelligence operatives or William's own forces.
When Fury first heard of British agents killing S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives, he was livid. He tried using every connection he had to demand accountability from the British government.
But the British, from their upper echelons down to their field agents, were unwavering in their support for William's Mars spacecraft project.
Now, Natasha was the only S.H.I.E.L.D. operative with any chance of gathering intelligence. Realizing his complaints were counterproductive, Fury softened his tone.
"The entire UK is waiting for that spacecraft to launch. If it works, England could leap decades ahead of other countries in space exploration.
They'd treat space like the ocean, and that ship would be their cruiser or battleship, restoring them to the global dominance they had two centuries ago.
Since William promised to assemble the spacecraft at the UK Space Center, the British are backing him with unprecedented support. There are even rumors that London has quietly entered its highest level of lockdown."
"If we can't stop him," Natasha suggested after some thought, "then perhaps we should support him. Gaining even a fragile friendship is better than getting nothing at all.
From my time working under Abigail, I've learned that the Devonshire Group has spent over £500 million on this spacecraft.
While the location of the core components remains a mystery, I can't imagine anyone spending this much money on a hoax.
The parts outsourced for production all suggest he's genuinely building a spacecraft."
"You're right," Fury conceded. "If we can't stop him, we might as well adapt. I'll report this to the World Security Council.
On second thought, I'll report to Pierce instead. England is part of the Security Council—let them deal with it."
With external interference largely neutralized, William accelerated the assembly of the Mars spacecraft.
Covert espionage attempts continued, but the British government's tight security made infiltrating the project nearly impossible.
As the spacecraft entered its final testing phase, British intelligence agencies uncovered and arrested numerous deeply embedded foreign operatives. The underground market valued spacecraft-related data at astronomical prices.
When William personally escorted the spacecraft's engine and a refrigerator-sized Arc Reactor to the newly constructed Devonshire Group cleanroom at the UK Space Center, the assembly was completed.
Unlike rockets using solid fuel, the spacecraft was powered by a controlled cold nuclear fusion Arc Reactor. During the engine test, the results were remarkable.
The spacecraft engine's thrust-to-weight ratio was 100 times greater than current solid-fuel engines. On the black market, the engine schematics and data on the oversized Arc Reactor skyrocketed to $1 billion per set.
Even basic thrust-to-weight data reports were being sold for $50 million.
This was a clear attempt to tempt anyone involved in the engine tests with astronomical bribes.
Unfortunately for potential buyers, all participants had signed the strictest non-disclosure agreements in history, with severe penalties for breaches.
In a highly unusual move, the British government had even relocated the families of test participants to a secure facility, ensuring their safety and compliance.
With the engine test a success, the next step was the test flight.
On December 31, 2001, the UK Space Center on the outskirts of London became the most secure location in the country.
Over 10,000 soldiers, armed with advanced weapons, ensured that no unauthorized personnel could approach.
No foreigners were allowed on-site. Even repeated U.S. requests to observe the Mars spacecraft test were ignored. If the Americans were denied, other nations had no chance.
At 9:41 a.m., William held a Predator-engineered spacecraft diagnostic device. Hearing confirmation through his earpiece that the spacecraft was in perfect condition with no risks, he felt reassured.
He then suited up in the Devonshire Mark IV space combat armor, ready to pilot the test flight himself.
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I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 471)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 677)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 1059)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1418)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1422)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1452)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1504)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld!(Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 703)
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