CHAPTER 82

I called Fury to ask about who a councilman Pucker was since he was the one who ordered the strike and although reluctant, he did give me some info as well as trying to track him down.

If I remember correctly, his name was on some of the files HYDRA had on prominent people who voted for the actuation of the SENTINEL project.

They were senators, councilors, presidents and even some renowned doctors who sided with the project. I mean, it wasn't that much of a surprise when I saw Thaddeus Ross' name on that list. 

This, unfortunately, was the problem with the current scenario. 

Me taking down Pucker could be seen and interpreted in different ways as a mutant fighting against authority or I could even be linked to the Sentinel Massacre as a prime partaker. I could understand why Fury was very agitated about this – it really was such a delicate situation. 

I thought about my plan of action against what might happen from this seemingly little kidnapping case as I drove back into the city. 

Steve and Yelena haven't had any headway since I left them which was frustrating me. Time was ticking and every second more I spent would be equal to dooming Natasha but I held back that thought since she was the Black Widow. The task of taking her down even when captured would be high for any lesser trained agent and though I worried since she was still in her early twenties and didn't have as much experience like that of her comic counterpart who had over fifty years of experience or her movie counterpart who was a decade older, she still was a tough nut to crack. But that wasn't an assurance I'd like to rely on. 

The ring on my phone interrupted my thoughts but I picked up nonetheless as it was Fury who was calling. 

"I got the address of where Pucker is holed up with the Russian spy, I'm sending it to you as we speak… Draul?" He called my name at the end of his speech which made me listen more attentively. 

"Yes?"

"Please tell me you haven't fallen for a redhead honeytrap." He sounded almost pleading which just made me also as pissed. I hung up on him since I did not deem that question as something worth answering. 

Sure I did see Natasha as a friend, but the thought of me falling to her, or anyone else's, honey trap was ridiculous. If this was before my reincarnation, or was it transmigration, or even before HYDRA picked me up, then there would have been a 100% chance that it would have worked. But when someone like me, with all I've seen and know, is presented with such motives, it would be the height of stupidity if I fell. 

Like I once told Natasha, I wouldn't mind going on a date if a random girl asked me out since humans, or rather any sentient being, are social creatures. We thrive in each other but that didn't mean I would have to start whipping out my dick at every chance I get. 

I shook off the rather disturbing thoughts out of my head as I zoomed towards the location Fury had sent me. Steve and Yelena were also en route so I didn't have to worry much as they'd likely get there faster that I would. 

Today has been such a long day and it's just halfway gone. 

… 

The place Fury directed me to was a privately owned hangar and as I drove nearer, I could already hear the sound of gunshots and fighting. 

Natasha was in there, thankfully, with Steve and Yelena with her as they faced the onslaught of mutants and mercenaries. 

Taking a look at them to make sure they'd be okay, I mean who was I kidding? It was Captain America and TWO Black Widows, of course they'd be fine in this kind of set up. 

I walked around the hangar to confront the fleeing councilman who was making his way to the helicopter. 

The guards with him caught sight of me coming closer to them as they fled to the plane and started opening fire at me. 

"Yeah, sorry pal. Not on my watch."

It always amazed me how far my abilities had come since having such a paltry resistance against them months prior. 

All it took was a single thought from me and a pathway of ice immediately burst out from my feet to the taking-off chopper and froze it in an elevated position. 

My body was already crystalline as I made my way towards them while ignoring their bullets all together. I hated the prickling feeling I always got when I'm shot at. Even if it doesn't penetrate my skin doesn't mean it's not irritating. 

I yanked the man out the plane as ice burst out from its icy interior and skewered his men. 

"We need to have a talk."

…

I didn't know what to do with the dude and that was a sentiment shared by the other people in the room. Sure I could just off the fucker and that'd be it, but the fallout was not one I was ready to deal with at this time. 

There was still the thing with Jean. 

The inevitable retaliation from Magneto. 

And also Doom. 

Juggling these three while also being in the run for the government was a lot of stress for me. 

I did not want to spend my whole day killing agents and assassins who are after me just because they are ignorant and couldn't refuse an order. 

Running from the government was not the problem, heck I didn't even care what happened to the world's economy or even if I was branded a terrorist. What I did care about though was that my first holiday was on the horizon and I didn't want to spend it anywhere else apart from my house. The terrorist thing could start on the second day of the next year and I wouldn't give shit about it. 

"*Sigh*" 

"You don't know what you are going to do to him, do you?" Steve asked from my side as we all gazed at the tied up man wiggling from the beam he was hung on. 

"It's just one problem after another." I rubbed my temples and let out another sigh. "What to do with you?"

All the ideas that came to mind was just to decapitate the idiot but I was saving that as option 2, no option 3, waiting for any good ideas to spring up from my oh-so-intelligent mind. 

'Nothing.'

I really needed a nap after the long day. 

Yelena looked like she was just a glance away from killing the guy, Natasha too. Steve on the other hand was just as confused as I was. 

"Draul!" Yes! Here comes my saving grace for a peaceful holiday. 

I turned to look at the frantically running Fury and his cliques of Hill and Coulson behind him since Clint was still on his medical leave. 

"Please tell me you've got something so I don't just go ahead and kill him." I said as he made his way near me while looking at all the bodies strewn across the hangar dead. 

He looked at the bodies and turned to look at Natasha and Yelena while also giving a side eye to Steve. "They did all this?"

"Yes. And please?" I said pointing at the wiggling man who increased his wiggling intensity as he saw Fury. 

Fury took one look at the bodies and then at Natasha and the other two before he made his way to the tied up Pucker. 

"Councilman Pucker, you are hereby detained on charges of domestic violence and embezzlement of government funds."

Not just Pucker, but even me and everyone inside the hangar alive, were shocked. 

"Agent Coulson, why don't you take councilman Pucker away and read him his rights while making sure he's properly detained." Fury spoke with a smile on his face like he just won the centennial lottery. 

Coulson being the best agent he was, said nothing and just did as his boss ordered and dragged the still confused bleeding man full of holes away. 

"You are not seriously telling me to give him to you on the charges of violence and embezzlement right?" If it wasn't because I knew Fury as close as I did then I would have blasted his other eye out the moment he said those words.

"Course not. I just wanted to see the expression on his face when he faces the panel expecting some choreographed trial only to get bamboozled with charades on the likes of State treason, divulging government secret, aiding terrorism on allied soil, green lighting illegal experiments and some of the other shit Trask and Stryker did." He said with a small laugh. "This ought to give me the room I need to work with and wrestle out S.H.I.E.L.D from the hands of the council. Although we can't be fully autonomous since that's impossible, the senate shouldn't have much say in decision making on how I run things from now on."

"So that's the reason why you didn't want me to kill him. You could have just told me that you know."

"Bitch please. I had to spend the last thirty something minutes combing through S.H.I.E.L.D and HYDRA's database just to find a link between the fucker and anything I could use against him. I'd say that was a job well done." He huffed before he turned to look at Widow sisters and I immediately knew what was coming. 

"Miss Romanoff, Miss Belova, I'd like to invite you under my authority as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D as agents. It's not much considering what's already happened but I can promise you that something like this won't happen again. Consider the offer and if you've come to a decision, you know how to get in touch." With that said, he swished his coat and bounced out of the hangar. 

"Hey Hill, you're kinda late you know that? I don't think there is anyone else around that is still breathing for you to pull aggro on."

"Haha. Real funny." She said sarcastically with an over exaggerated eye roll. 

The stuck up types were always the ones who are fun to tease but Hill was a tough one to crack. 

"So how's everything been since I left?" I asked as we walked out of the hangar with the others following behind us. 

"Left? You make it sound like you were always there to begin with. Need I remind you who was the one running across the country and destroying bases left and right for two months when he was supposed to be laying low?" She scoffed.

"Okay guilty as charged. So what's been going on?"

"Nothing much to say. Though we did run into some hiccups along the way a couple weeks ago. Lost some good agents when clearing out an old base in Washington, Wade and some others." She played it cool like she wasn't that affected, which she wasn't, at least not to an extent that it'd affect her in any way, but it'll still suck to lose some of your teammates who you've known for a while. 

"You doing good?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be? It's stupid and it sucks but you get used to it." She shrugged it off. "It would help some if you had decided to just finish what you started, you know. At least in the country and leave international waters to us."

"I would, but you should know that I don't exactly have a schedule for these sorts of things. It just comes and goes." I waved my hands in demonstration.

"Well I better be off before the boss starts getting fidgety. See you later, Draul." She said as she walked off. 

'Before, it used to be Mr. Cross.'

"You're invited for the Christmas get together!" I called out. 

She stopped and gave me a raised brow. "Why do you sound like you are expecting Santa this year?" I couldn't but shiver as she said that. I definitely wasn't expecting that dude. 

"Well it's my first one in three years… so yeah." She held a thinking expression for a while before she nodded and went her way. 

I turned to look at the tag along group behind me who were giving me various expressions. 

Steve for one looked confused. 

Yelena looked like a canary as she stole glances at Natasha while looking as if she knew something. 

Natasha just held a raised brow with no visible read on her face. 

"So you mind telling me why you didn't tell me you had a tail on you for days?" My tone had more edge to it than I would have liked. But she had to understand that she just stressed the fuck out of my day with that move. Couldn't she have waited till on Sunday? Nothing happens on a Sunday, so why not then? 

She just shrugged and said, "Felt like the right time to get rid of pests and whatnots. Two birds with one stone."

"More like two birds with four stones." I muttered. "You know what? Let's just go home, I'm stressed out as fuck for today."

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