After receiving his coffee from the waiter and taking a sip, Raymond asked, "By the way, how's the progress on 'Project TAHITI'? Any new developments?"
Director Fury nodded, but his expression darkened. "It's worse than I expected…"
Seeing his reaction, Raymond figured Fury must've discovered something serious.
Even if he didn't yet have a full list of HYDRA operatives inside S.H.I.E.L.D., he must've at least found a few. Otherwise, he wouldn't look this grim.
But from what Raymond knew, the truth was far uglier than Fury imagined.
Raymond hadn't planned to get involved—it was too risky for his family. But since Fury had taken the time to warn him about Sentinel Services, he felt it was only right to return the favor.
With that in mind, he suddenly said, "While I was on leave, I got a piece of intel from a mutant organization. I can't say for sure whether it's true or not—you'll have to judge that for yourself—but I think it's worth telling you."
"Oh?" Fury immediately looked interested.
"There are two people who might be compromised. One is John Garrett. The other… is your old friend, Secretary Pierce."
"Pierce? That's not possible—" Fury's one good eye twitched, showing his shock.
But he stopped mid-sentence.
It looked like he was quickly reviewing memories in his mind. And the more he thought, the worse his expression became.
"You didn't seem surprised when I mentioned Agent Garrett," Raymond observed. "You only reacted to Pierce."
"Garrett was already suspicious," Fury admitted. "After you warned me about using 'Project TAHITI' as bait, I ran a few setups. Each time, the leak pointed back to Garrett's people."
He added in a low voice, "The only reason I haven't acted yet is because I think there are still more HYDRA agents hidden inside. I didn't expect it to be true…"
"Glad you're aware," Raymond nodded slightly.
"Thanks for the tip. If Pierce really is compromised, this could be far more serious than I thought. I'll go back and re-evaluate everything—we might uncover more," Fury said as he clenched his fist.
"If you need help, just give me a call," Raymond smiled. "Since you're family, I'll give you a 20% discount."
"???"
Fury gave him a sharp look with his one eye. "You're seriously charging me?"
"Even blood brothers keep the books clean. And I've got employees now—being the boss isn't easy," Raymond sighed. "Fine, I'll make it 30% off. Can't go lower!"
"Forget it. I'm out of here—" Fury rolled his eye and stood up to leave.
Seeing him walk off, Raymond quickly finished the rest of his coffee and got ready to leave too—only for the waiter to walk over and point out the bill hadn't been paid yet.
"Seriously? The Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and he sticks me with the bill?"
Director Fury had long vanished by now. Though Raymond was clearly annoyed, he still had no choice but to pay for both their coffees.
When he returned to the office, Skye was already waiting.
"Boss, everything you asked for is right here… all the info I could find on 'A.I.M. ' and Dr. Killian," she said as she turned off the lights. The projector lit up the room, displaying a large set of organized data for Raymond, Beth, and David.
"Good work," Raymond nodded.
While Raymond remained fairly calm throughout the presentation, both Beth and David's expressions turned grim. Even Skye, who had already reviewed all of this, looked just as shaken.
That's because the data Skye uncovered wasn't from public sources—it contained things far darker and more disturbing.
Many of A.I.M.'s scientific achievements were directly tied to human experimentation. Skye had traced their connections to the global missing persons cases—each year, countless disappearances were linked to the company's operations.
Financial trails revealed that A.I.M. had long-standing partnerships with human trafficking networks.
And as for the fate of those trafficked individuals? Anyone with half a brain could guess—they became lab rats.
"Boss, do you want me to make this public?" Skye asked angrily after finishing the presentation.
If this had been before Raymond brought her in, she would've leaked the info under Rising Tide's name without a second thought.
But now, she had to get his approval first.
"Make it public… and then what?" Raymond looked at her.
"Then let the public condemn them! Let the law punish them!" Skye said as if it were obvious.
Before Raymond could respond, Beth gently shook her head. "Skye… you may be a top hacker, but you don't really understand how the world works…"
"A corporation as massive as A.I.M.—the powers backing them are far too great. Those powers have a hundred ways to bury this. Scapegoats. Fake news. Silencing whistleblowers. Or they vanish for a while and return under a new name…"
"There's nothing they can't do—only things you haven't imagined yet."
Skye bit her lip. "So we just let these monsters get away with it?"
Beth wanted to say something more… but stayed quiet.
From a normal person's point of view, there really wasn't much one could do against a juggernaut like A.I.M.
The truth has always belonged to the few—this truth had many meanings.
If she were ten years younger, maybe she would've been just as righteously angry as Skye. But now, she understood the weight of helplessness.
"There's definitely a way," Raymond said calmly.
All three turned to look at him.
"You think I had you dig into them just for fun?" Raymond walked to the window, gazing down at the street below. "After this, there won't be an A.I.M. Group anymore. I don't care how much backing they have—can it stand against the fist of justice?"
"Boss, you mean… we're taking action?" David suddenly perked up with excitement.
"Wayne?" Raymond glanced over.
"No Wayne—just me!" David's eyes lit up.
"When did you get so bloodthirsty…" Raymond gave him a weird look.
"Probably since the moment I saw you punch Shadow King to pieces. That was badass!" David said, clearly fired up.
--
Join Patreon to read ahead!