บท 26: Chapter 26: Playing It Cool
Alex sat in the nondescript interrogation room, the buzz of fluorescent lights humming above him. The table before him was cold steel, as unwelcoming as the atmosphere itself. There was a one-way mirror on the wall, and Alex could feel eyes on him, scrutinizing his every move.
He leaned back in the uncomfortable chair, keeping his expression neutral, but his mind was racing. This wasn't how he expected his day to go. Just yesterday, he had barely survived a brutal battle between the Hulk and two Abominations, had his system upgrade leave him broke, and now—this. A meeting with none other than Nick Fury, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Of course, it wasn't an official meeting. He wasn't being welcomed to join some secret superhero initiative. No, Alex was a suspect. A suspect in something to do with Hydra, specifically because of some underground operations tied to a guy named Grant Ward.
Alex had always prided himself on staying under the radar. He was careful not to draw attention to himself, keeping his involvement with the major players in this world indirect, cautious. But the fight the other day must have tipped someone off. He had been careful not to display his powers in public, but being in the vicinity of such a massive event had clearly drawn some scrutiny.
The door creaked open, and Nick Fury stepped in. The man was as intimidating in person as he was in the movies: tall, imposing, and radiating an aura of someone who had seen too much. His iconic eye patch gave him an edge that screamed, "Don't mess with me." Alex swallowed hard, keeping his cool.
"Alex right?," Fury said, his voice low and gravelly. He didn't sit. He just stood there, towering over Alex, arms crossed. "You've been a hard man to find."
Alex raised an eyebrow, doing his best to seem unimpressed. "Hard to find? I didn't know I was on anyone's radar."
Fury gave a half-smirk, but his eye stayed cold. "That's what they all say."
There was a beat of silence. Alex could feel the weight of Fury's presence pressing down on him, but he couldn't afford to slip up here. He needed to act like a regular guy, someone who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And, above all, he couldn't let Fury catch even a hint of the powers he wielded or the system that guided him.
"I'm sure you know why you're here," Fury continued, his eye boring into Alex. "Ward's operations. We've been tracking some of his movements and… well, your name came up."
Alex shrugged, keeping his tone casual. "Ward? Hydra? That's news to me. I work a regular job, keep my head down. I don't mess with any of that underground stuff."
"Funny thing, though," Fury said, pacing now, his voice laced with suspicion. "You seem to have been around some strange occurrences lately. I have a habit of keeping track of people like that."
Alex's heart pounded in his chest, but outwardly, he remained calm. He couldn't let this get to him. Fury was digging, trying to rattle him. He knew from the movies that Nick Fury was the kind of guy who'd use anyone and anything to get the job done. If Fury even suspected Alex had something unique to offer, he'd be dragged into S.H.I.E.L.D. operations in the blink of an eye—whether he wanted to be or not. All bald people are all the same, wanting to control everything
"Strange occurrences? Like what?" Alex asked, playing dumb. "You mean like the Hulk and Abomination tearing up half the city? Not much I could do about that."
Fury stopped pacing and stared him down. Alex forced himself to meet the man's gaze without flinching.
"You were there, though," Fury said softly, as if daring Alex to deny it. "Near the battle. We've got surveillance footage of you leaving the scene right after the chaos started. Convenient, don't you think?"
Alex clenched his jaw. He knew it would be impossible to deny his presence entirely; there were too many cameras around. But he could still play innocent.
"I didn't stick around to watch two giant monsters smash things to pieces, if that's what you're asking. I saw the mess and got out of there. Can you blame me? People were running, screaming—I did the same."
Fury's stare intensified, but Alex kept his expression calm. He wasn't going to crack under the pressure. He had spent too long surviving in this crazy world to let someone like Fury intimidate him into slipping up.
"I'm just a regular guy,Sir Fury," Alex continued. "I don't know what you think I was doing there, but trust me, I was trying not to get killed. You're barking up the wrong tree."
Fury's lips pressed into a thin line, and he finally pulled out the chair opposite Alex, sitting down with deliberate slowness. "You're a regular guy, huh? Regular guys don't tend to show up in the same places as international terrorist cells."
Alex's mind raced. How the hell did they tie him to Ward's operations? Maybe it was coincidence, or maybe the system had caused some ripple effect he hadn't noticed. Either way, he had to maintain his story. He couldn't afford to reveal anything.
"I don't know what to tell you," Alex said with a sigh, playing up his exhaustion. "If you've got proof I'm some kind of Hydra agent or whatever, let's see it. But I'm telling you, I don't know Ward, I don't know Hydra. I'm just a guy trying to live through the insanity of living in this weird world of monsters popping here and there."
Fury's eye narrowed, and Alex could feel him scrutinizing every word, every subtle shift in his demeanor. The man was a human lie detector, but Alex had nothing to hide—well, nothing that Fury could detect anyway.
"That all sounds nice and neat," Fury said slowly, "but I don't believe in coincidences. I've been doing this job too long to believe that regular people just happen to be in the middle of things like this."
Alex forced a small chuckle, shaking his head. "Honestly, I'd love to be anywhere else."
They sat in silence for a moment. Alex could feel the tension in the air, thick like fog. Fury wasn't convinced, but without hard evidence, he couldn't do much. Still, Alex knew this wasn't over. Fury wasn't the type to let things slide.
"Alright," Fury said finally, standing up. "Let's say I believe you… for now. But don't think this means you're off the hook. I've got my eye on you, Alex."
Alex nodded, doing his best to seem cooperative. "Fair enough."
Fury gave him one last scrutinizing look, then turned and walked out of the room, leaving Alex alone once again. The door closed behind him with a soft click, and Alex let out the breath he had been holding.
He had survived. Barely.
But this was just the beginning. He had no doubt that Fury would be watching him closely from now on, and that meant Alex had to be more careful than ever. One wrong move, and Fury would swoop in, using him like a pawn in whatever game he was playing. And that was the last thing Alex wanted.
As he left the interrogation room and made his way out of the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, Alex knew he needed to lay low for a while. The system had already burned him once with the Platinum Wheel upgrade. He couldn't afford to make another mistake.
But deep down, he knew he couldn't hide forever. Not with the system, not in a world like this. He would need points. He would need more power. If he had the platinum level power like Superman, Fury won't be sitting calmly and interrogating him now.
And now, with Nick Fury watching him, he'd have to be smarter, more cautious than ever.
"Just another day in the Marvel Universe," Alex muttered to himself as he walked out into the night.
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