CH 16: The vacation ends

"Again? You're telling me, this happened again even after you sacrificed a prototype?"

Alexander Pierce was furious, after the first attack, he figured they only lost because they were unprepared but now even after preparations…

"How many bases were marked in the data he collected?"

"Around 3 more smaller bases like that, sir."

"Alright, the enemy only attacks at night so inform them to clear those bases by tonight, don't leave a single scrap behind. As for the agents who were marked in the data, retire them, permanently."

"Yes sir. I will do so."

Meanwhile…

Nick Fury was in his office, talking to another agent, "Still no signs of him?"

"No, sir. Agent Grant and his team couldn't find any traces of Marcus Hunt. But the signs left in his mansion clearly suggest a break in and the chemical analysis showed uses of smoke grenades too."

"Hmm, I understand. Alright, You are dismissed."

After the agent left his office, Fury leaned back in his chair, deep in his thoughts.

…

"Hmm, nothing new, it's the same information as last time. I thought there would be information about transactions with Osborn Industries, but it looks like they kept it limited to the higher-ups."

"So, what next?"

"Nothing much, we just have to rest till I hear back from my people. And HYDRA would have clammed up by now, they might have cleared up those bases mentioned in the databases and even taken care of the agents."

"If that's true, doesn't that mean we did all of this for nothing?"

"Not exactly, even if they cleared up their bases and left without any trace, taking out those agents will leave traces, so they either let them be and get caught red-handed in an investigation or take them out and get away with minor problems. After all, it still won't prove their complete existence, because the people mentioned in the data are all low leveled personnel. So they probably chose the latter."

'But unfortunately for them, I know the names of the higher-ups, they might have not considered that possibility.'

"I still don't understand, you said so yourself that they will choose to take out their agents and only get away with minor problems, so we still don't have anything on them."

"Like I said they will choose the latter and leave behind quite a few traces and those are enough for me to convince Nick Fury with."

"Who's this Nick Fury guy, now?"

"He's the director of SHIELD. As for SHIELD, it was formed in the 1950s as a successor to the Strategic Scientific Reserve, which I am sure you know of. Its task was to maintain the US and global security with its advanced weapons and Agents. You can say that currently, it's the strongest Military power on Earth."

"If that's true, how is HYDRA still alive and can do operations on such scales under SHIELD?"

"Well that's the problem, HYDRA is a snake that has infiltrated SHIELD, and it all started when the SHIELD decided to recruit Arnim Zola to help them in researching tesseract after HYDRA's destruction in World War II."

"You are telling me, the man who made weapons for Nazis was recruited by SHIELD. How is that even possible? They knew he was a HYDRA, that's so idiotic."

"Yeah, I know, their greed got the better of them. But let's leave it at that. As you might have seen, this base has enough supply for months, so you can enjoy yourself, Uncle. But I will be busy in the meantime, so if you don't have anything important to talk about, don't disturb me. And now, you can get out."

After saying so, he picked up Barnes and put him outside the room, and closed the door in his face, all with his telekinesis.

"Kid, you don't need to kick me out like some nuisance, I can get out on my own."

Barnes muttered as he walked towards his room.

"Alright, Let's try out the thing they call a Video Game."

After finally getting rid of Barnes, Marcus called out his system, 'System.'

{USER/ADMINISTRATOR: MARCUS HUNT

STATS:

STRENGTH: 2.3

STAMINA: 2.3

AGILITY: 2.1

DEXTERITY: 2.3

ENDURANCE: 2.2

INTELLIGENCE: 3.0

CHARISMA: 5.5

WILL: 16.0

SKILLS LEARNED:

OBSERVATION HAKI: 10%

COMPUTER PROGRAMMING AND HACKING: 42%

ENGINEERING AND ASSEMBLY: 35%

BIOLOGIST: 10%

PSYCHOLOGY: 10%

TELEPATHY: 20%

TELEKINESIS: 19%

MIND SCRAMBLE: 20%

MMA: 18%

MEDITATION: 35%

KI CULTIVATION: 15%

ABILITIES: SKILL CREATION

SKILL SLOTS LEFT: 10

(You can save unused skills you are learning here. You can't make a new skill unless a slot is free.) }

'System, search for basic mana cultivation skills. Let's learn magic.'

{Warning: The user has another form of energy in the body, which doesn't match mana, violent rejections will happen if they both aren't cultivated separately.}

'Huh? So I need to keep Ki and mana separate. But how will I do that?'

{User is advised to increase his Ki mastery to at least 50% before trying to cultivate any other sources of energy.}

'Well, shit. And here I thought, I could become a mage too. At least I know what to work on now. And, I have been neglecting my Ki training for quite a while now too.'

Marcus started training his Ki mastery through meditation and Martial Arts.

….

Four days had passed since Marcus' last raid on HYDRA and he had finally got the information he was waiting for. Jude had found Aldrich Killian and Maya Hansen. Turns out they had started a small company called AIM and had been working together on something for a while.

And he figured that HYDRA might have stopped looking for him by now because of the trail he sent to Nick Fury.

Yes, he had mailed the drive containing the information to Nick Fury's office, and to make sure it would reach him, he had captured a Hydra agent and mind-controlled him after tampering with his memories and planting a seed in his mind.

And because the agent was a SHIELD operative, nobody noticed anything. The package was delivered as mail and the agent just received it.

Marcus had added his name to the parcel and added a note requesting Fury's help in providing him protection, he had also added his contact number in the note for Fury to contact him.

All of this was done on the basis that Fury chooses to believe him and run a private investigation on the things he sent, which he did. Marcus had received a message from Fury, stating that he would provide him protection with his trusted agents, and he would meet Marcus himself to talk about this information in detail.

"Grandpa, Uncle, today is the day our little vacation ends. Let's pack up, we are returning back to the mansion."

"So, I guess that all the issues have been sorted, eh?"

"Yep, they have been."

Albert, Barnes, and Marcus packed up and returned to the Mansion, the same way they left, except they walked through the main gate with the bodyguards. Barnes wore combat gear that hid his whole face because there were SHIELD agents deployed by Nick Fury to patrol the area as per Marcus' demand.

Marcus had double-checked them using his telepathy to read their minds and see if they had any thoughts of harming him. And only when he was satisfied did he appear in front of them.

After they had entered the mansion and settled down, Marcus walked into his bedroom and came face to face with one and only Nick 'Motherfucker' Fury.

"I didn't think you would want to have a meeting in my bedroom, are you secretly a pedophile or something?"

Before Fury could even introduce himself, Marcus had already dropped a bomb on him causing his face to turn even darker.

Too embarrassed to answer, he diverted the question by asking his own, "Cough- How did you know it's me, I don't think my profile is public?"

Marcus smiled and said, "Well, it's an easy thing to guess if you have my level of intellect."

That seemed to answer Fury's curiosity, "So in the note you sent, you said you have a bargaining chip other than the information you already sent about the supposed reemergence of Hydra. I am interested in that."

Hearing Fury's question, Marcus first casually sat on the sofa opposite of him and spoke, "Well, it's quite a precious chip. I want to know what you can provide for it?"

"You tell me what it is and I will provide you with the counteroffer."

"Alright, I am trusting you on this. So here it goes, I can find Captain America for you, alive and well."

The answer caused Nick Fury's eyebrows to jump a little before they settled down almost instantly, exhibiting the composure of an almost hundred-year-old spy.

"Let's say, I believe you. What do you want in return?"

"All I want from you is to take care of Hydra and stop them from messing with either me or my business for at least another two years. That would be enough for me. Do you agree?"

"What makes you so sure that we can't destroy Hydra before that period?"

"Because you really can't. I am not doubting your power but Hydra has penetrated so deep inside your organization that taking them out wouldn't be easy or fast. That aside, do you agree to our deal?"

"Alright, I agree. When will you provide us with Captain America?"

"In a year, I will launch my personal satellite which will help me with finding him. So, in about a year and a half, you will have him."

"What if you betray us after the time period is over?"

"Do I need to teach you this now? You have the biggest military power on Earth, you decide what you will do."

"Very well then, Happy cooperation."

"Happy Cooperation."

Marcus and Fury shook hands and the meeting was finally over as Fury left after pulling a Batman.