Capítulo 11: Fury's Suspicions!
THREE DAYS PRIOR
Nick Fury sat in his office, the glow of multiple holographic displays cast faint reflections on his face, accentuating the deep furrow in his eyebrows.
Fury had spent the last couple hours digging through encrypted files, scanning reports, cross-referencing timelines, and none of it was adding up.
His one good eye was focused on the file in front of him, the file of a man named Maxim Novikov. He scrolled through the data with a slight frown, the image of Maxim.
A hooded figure, always moving in shadows, accompanied by fragmented information, incomplete records, and redacted reports.
"Something isn't right," Fury muttered, his voice gruff and low as he rubbed his temples with the tips of his fingers.
Across the room, Maria Hill stood with a tablet in her arms, observing Fury's work in silence. She had worked alongside him long enough to know when he was in one of his moods
He had many moods and this one was where his instincts were telling him something was off, but the evidence wasn't there to support it.
Maxim Novikov's file hovered in the air in front of Fury, a patchwork of redacted reports and classified documents. The man's image, a hooded figure with a mask obscuring most of his face, seemed to stare back at him.
Below, a list of incidents, names, and locations scrolled endlessly, much of it incomplete.
"Maxim Novikov," Fury said, tapping a finger against the hologram, "Why would a low-profile nobody like him suddenly show up on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar?"
Maria stepped forward, glancing over the details, "Official reports say he killed SHIELD Operatives who were on a Russian Mission, but before that, all trace of him was normal. Normal Life, family killed in a robbery gone bad. Disappeared soon after, then reappeared killing SHIELD Agents."
"That's the part I don't like," Fury replied, leaning back in his chair, his expression thoughtful, "All of this seems too suspicious."
Fury flicked the screen, pulling up a report from the incident that caught his attention most, "Look at this. One of our strike teams sent to intercept him, six men, all trained, highly capable. He kills two of them but leaves the other four unconscious. Why?"
Fury asked, thinking as he continued, "Some of the agents he's encountered, he kills, quick and efficient. But others… he just knocks out. Doesn't line up with the usual. If he wanted to be a mass murderer, he'd take them all out. This is deliberate, the question is why."
Fury paused, tapping a finger against the tablet. He scrolled down further, skimming over more files connected to Maxim. How he defeated team after team sent to him effortlessly, how he was reported to potentially have Superhuman abilities.
The most troubling, however, was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s own internal confusion over why Maxim was a target, "Still no trace of the initial incident?" Maria asked, leaning closer.
Fury shook his head, "Not a damn thing. I had my own people look into it, off the books. Whatever happened that got Novikov on someone's radar is buried deep. It smells like someone with influence is pulling strings. Someone who wanted him dead, but didn't want the usual S.H.I.E.L.D. channels involved."
"All I've found is smoke and mirrors, redacted reports, falsified intel. It's like someone deliberately erased any trace of what really happened."
Fury said, pulling up another file, "See here, the mission to target him was sent without my direct approval. If I didn't realize multiple of our agents were disappearing and some returning injured, I'd never of noticed."
Maria's eyes scanned the file, "He's ruthless with certain agents, no question. But when it comes to others… It's inconsistent. It's like he's making a point."
Fury leaned back in his chair, arms folded across his chest, "Exactly. He's not some mindless killer. He's strategic. Efficient. He knows S.H.I.E.L.D. agents aren't his enemy. But someone's using our resources, our influence, to make him their target."
Maria frowned, her mind racing through the possibilities, "So, someone high enough in the chain to issue covert orders? Maybe a rogue faction inside of SHIELD?"
Fury shook his head, though he didn't dismiss the idea outright. "Maybe. Maybe not. Whoever it is, they've got enough power to make people like Novikov public enemy number one without leaving any breadcrumbs. But they've made a mistake." He turned to Maria, his tone hardening,
"I don't like being played."
Fury rubbed his chin, thinking. "He's dangerous, no doubt about that. The way he operates, silent, tactical, no wasted moves. This man's got military-level training. But he's not a mindless killer. Whoever he is, whatever he's been through, I need to know."
Maria raised an eyebrow, "What do you want to do about him?"
Fury leaned forward, his expression hardening. "I want to know more. I want to know who Maxim Novikov is, who trained him, what he wants. And I want to know who the hell decided to make him a target without my approval."
He paused for a moment, then gave Maria a pointed look,"I also want to know if he could be an asset."
"An asset?" Maria asked, her tone skeptical. "You think he could be someone we recruit?"
Fury tapped the side of his tablet again, "He's methodical and ruthless. High Combat power, suspected of being SuperHuman, and very intelligent. If what we suspect is true, he could be useful as a contractor. Hell, he might be a good fit for the Avengers Initiative."
Maria blinked, caught off guard. "You think Stark will go for that? Or Rogers?"
Fury smirked, his one eye gleaming. "Stark won't trust him. Rogers…he might see something in the guy, if he gets the chance to."
Maria sighed, "So what's the plan?"
Fury stood up, moving to the window of his office and staring out at the city below. "Send Rogers, Romanoff, and Barton. Quietly, off the books. I want them to scout out Novikov, see what he's really about I want information, and tell them to watch their backs. If there's a rogue faction mixed up in this, we might be dealing with a bigger mess than we realize."
He turned back to Maria, his expression deadly serious. "But tell them to keep it under the radar. No full ops, no headlines. I don't want a potential rogue faction knowing we're onto them yet."
Maria nodded, making mental notes of the directives. Fury leaned back into the chair and crossed his arms, his mind already thinking ahead,"Either way, we find out what he's after, what he's capable of, and who's pulling the strings behind all this. I've got a feeling we're not dealing with something simple here."
Maria glanced at the file again, "You think he's part of something bigger?"
Fury's gaze hardened as he looked back at Maxim's file, "I think he's a loose end someone's trying to tie up. And I don't like loose ends."
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THE QUINJET
The hum of the Quinjet's engines vibrated softly through the cabin as it cut through the night sky over Eastern Europe.
Inside, Steve Rogers, dressed in a much more discreet outfit, Natasha Romanoff, and Clint Barton moved around in silence, each lost in their own thoughts as the mission brief replayed in their minds.
Clint was busy preparing his arrows for the mission, while Steve and Natasha sat opposite of each-other.
Steve leaned forward in his seat, hands clasped together, his eyes staring into the distance as if searching for answers he hadn't yet found. He had only recently reintegrated into SHIELD, and was already going on a secret mission.
Although he had spent so long on ice, he already wanted back in the game. It was his own moral mission, trying to make the world a better place.
Natasha, seated across from him, glanced up from her tablet, studying his face for any sign of what he was thinking.
"Something on your mind, Steve?" Natasha asked, her voice breaking the quiet enviroment.
Steve straightened up, glancing at her before turning to look out the window at the darkened landscape below. "It just doesn't sit right with me," he said after a moment.
"The kid we're sent to scout. Says he's barely a couple months past 18, yet he took down multiple highly trained teams? Doesn't make sense. There's too many unknowns. I hate walking into situations blind."
Clint let out a small huff of laughter, shaking his head, "When are we NOT walking into situations blind? Standard Fury protocol Rogers. You'll come to realize that as we work more."
Steve gave him a slight smile but shook his head, "This is different. From what you told me Barton, Fury doesn't send agents in without more intel unless something's really off."
Natasha crossed her arms as she spoke, "Probably scared of that potential rogue faction. From what we've been told, Novikov is highly trained, military level precision, and suspected of, SuperHuman capabilities. Fury definitely doesn't want to draw too much attention to this."
Clint strapped his quiver to his back and stood, leaning against the wall of the Quinjet, "Fury thinks Novikov might be more than just a rogue agent. He said something about him potentially being an asset. But we're talking about a guy who's been killing S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, hard to imagine we're gonna make friends with him."
Steve frowned, "That's what I don't get. He's ruthless, but he's not killing indiscriminately. Two agents dead, four left alive. Why? If he's as dangerous as the reports say, why leave anyone standing?"
Natasha shrugged, her eyes narrowing in thought, "Maybe they weren't the ones he had a problem with. Or maybe he's sending a message."
Clint raised an eyebrow"Yeah, a message that says, 'Don't mess with me, or next time I won't be so nice.'"
Steve shook his head, "There's more to it than that. It's like he's picking and choosing his targets. Almost like he knows exactly who he's up against. S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives, but not the ones causing him trouble. That means he's got intel on us, but we've barely got anything on him."
Natasha's gaze sharpened, "You think he knows about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s inner workings? Maybe even the rogue faction Fury suspects?"
"Could be," Steve replied. "If someone's using S.H.I.E.L.D. resources to take him out, and he's figured that out, it would explain why he's targeting certain agents. He might be after the ones who are directly involved with the rogue faction, or whoever's pulling the strings behind the scenes."
Clint whistled low. "So, we're heading into a possible disastrous mess. Great. Always loved dealing with this kinda stuff."
Natasha smirked, "It's not the first time."
Clint sighed and looked ahead,
"Nor will it be the last!"
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MC will NOT become Fury or Government's Subordinate!
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