Coulson thought for a moment about his two colleagues, comparing their looks, skills, and personalities, then said:"Mockingbird, Barbara, looks very similar to one of the assassins from the Continental who was killed by Smith Doyle and Fox. If we send Barbara, it could easily raise suspicion."
He didn't make the decision for Nick Fury — he simply pointed out Mockingbird's disadvantage.
Fury nodded."In that case, send Natasha to apply for a position in Fox's finance team. She can use that as a stepping stone to get close to Smith Doyle."
"And continue maintaining contact with Smith. See if we can pull him to our side."
"As for that Assassin Brotherhood model, you can also discuss it with him."
Coulson accepted the orders and left — he was already planning to visit the Assassin Brotherhood and meet with Smith Doyle anyway.
Watching him go, Fury thought of his old friend, Captain Marvel. He had once tried to build the Avengers around her, only to have her leave and the idea fall through. He wondered if Smith Doyle could be recruited instead.
Elsewhere.
Smith Doyle had just come out of the shower, and seeing Fox still lying in bed, he gave her a playful slap on the butt.
Yawning, Fox mumbled sleepily:"Let me sleep… don't touch me anymore… you've worn me out…"
Looking at her limp on the bed, Smith couldn't help but wonder how Chi-Chi had managed to have a second son with Goku. With Gohan, it could be excused — but by the time Goten was born, Goku already had a base power level in the millions…
"Get some rest. I'm heading out."
He gave her a quick word and left the room. As he made his way to the training grounds to work out, Wesley came to him and said:"Boss, that FBI agent Phil Coulson is here again."
Hearing Coulson had come, Smith said:"Take him to the conference room. I'll meet him there."
Smith wasn't surprised at Coulson's visit. Last night's events had made plenty of noise — it'd be strange if they hadn't noticed, especially right there in New York. The only question was what they wanted this time.
In the conference room.
Looking at the arriving Coulson, Smith spoke first:"So what brings an agent from the… whatever-you're-called-now Bureau here today?"
Coulson smiled pleasantly."Mr. Smith, thanks to your suggestion, we've shortened the name. We're now S.H.I.E.L.D."
Hearing that they'd already changed their name, Smith shrugged."S.H.I.E.L.D., huh? That's easier to remember."
"So, what's your purpose here?"
Seeing Smith get straight to the point, Coulson kept his trademark smile and said:"Congratulations, Mr. Smith. You've eliminated the world's cancer — the Hand. The people of New York owe you their thanks."
Smith raised an eyebrow — so they'd been watching everything he did, then?
He let out a small sigh."Well, can you blame me? There's this newly renamed organization doing nothing — letting such a tumor grow unchecked."
Coulson didn't rise to the jab."Such organizations aren't within S.H.I.E.L.D.'s jurisdiction. But on behalf of New Yorkers, thank you for your actions."
Smith smirked — clearly, S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't know about the dragon bone or the Fingers' true abilities. Otherwise they wouldn't have lived long enough for him to deal with.
"And how exactly do you plan to thank me?" he asked."You didn't come empty-handed, did you?"
Unbothered by Smith's sharpness, Coulson continued to smile."Of course not. We fully support your Assassin Brotherhood in its new direction."
"We've heard of this wax bath treatment you've developed — very impressive. S.H.I.E.L.D. would like to place an initial order of 100 slots as a reserve. If it proves effective, we'll increase the order."
When he heard Coulson mention the wax bath, Smith said:"Agent Coulson, our wax bath still requires a gold coin ticket. Money alone won't do."
Coulson looked at him."Can't you make an exception?"
Smith's face turned serious."Rules are rules."
Even S.H.I.E.L.D. had to follow the Assassin Brotherhood's rules to use the wax bath. They couldn't bypass the coin requirement. Of course, it wasn't like he minded their agents buying coins and coming in anyway — he was running a business, after all.
Coulson chuckled lightly."Well, since you say so, then the rules stand."
"But I've heard your Brotherhood also deals in intelligence on criminals. S.H.I.E.L.D. already collects such information globally, though we're not tasked with handling them. We'd be happy to sell that intel to you."
"I imagine our intelligence is worth quite a few coins."
Smith didn't refuse — that was indeed part of the Brotherhood's services. He'd even been thinking of giving his idle assassins more jobs to do, and missions like this from S.H.I.E.L.D. were perfect.
"If it's part of the Brotherhood's services, then of course S.H.I.E.L.D. is welcome to sell intel to us."
"Pleasure doing business."
Smith and Coulson shook hands, sealing the deal.
Elsewhere.
In his villa, Tony Stark had finished building his new arc reactor. He was lying on a medical chair, hooked up to a heart monitor.
Upstairs, Pepper Potts was watching a news anchor discuss Stark Industries' plummeting stock price when her phone rang.
She went downstairs to Tony's lab.
Seeing her enter, Tony said:"Hey, come here. Let me have a look at you."
He motioned with his hand."Come on."
Pepper extended her hands and walked toward him.
Tony looked at her delicate hands and murmured:"Such beautiful little hands."
Then he glanced down at the new arc reactor on his chest."I'd like you to help me with something."
Pepper gasped when she saw it."Oh my God… what is that?"
(End of Chapter)
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