S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters
Director’s Office
The office sat in darkness.
It was well past sunset, and Nick Fury hadn’t bothered turning on the lights. Hidden behind his desk, he was almost invisible until the built-in computer monitor suddenly flickered to life.
The pale blue glow illuminated a weary face.
His lone eye was bloodshot.
Stress had long since evolved into physical pain.
The Tesseract crisis had already been enough to keep him awake for days. He’d barely managed to establish a plan for that disaster before Evenson Richter decided to create an entirely new one.
One question refused to leave his mind.
Why had Evenson kidnapped Peggy Carter?
The moment Fury received the report, he’d alerted Captain America and dispatched a response team to London.
That was simply planning for the worst.
It wasn’t an answer.
People always had motives.
Evenson certainly did.
Murder didn’t fit.
Peggy Carter was over ninety years old. If Evenson truly wanted her dead, someone with his abilities could have accomplished it without ever stepping inside her house.
There was no reason to abduct her.
Even stranger...
Traffic camera footage showed Peggy leaving willingly.
She hadn’t appeared frightened.
Of course, that didn’t rule out coercion.
Someone like Evenson hardly needed a gun to force compliance.
Still...
Why?
Fury’s exhausted brain wandered into increasingly ridiculous territory.
He grew up in an orphanage...
Don’t tell me Peggy made some mistake in her youth and he’s actually her long-lost grandson...
He wisely kept that theory to himself.
Both of them would probably try to kill him if they ever heard it.
A notification chimed.
London had finally reported in.
Fury leaned toward the monitor.
"What’s happening over there?"
"What exactly is he trying to do?"
Melinda May appeared on the screen.
Her expression was unusually rigid.
"Director."
"We’ve received images from a micro reconnaissance drone."
She hesitated.
"It appears that Agent Carter is being subjected to some form of interrogation."
Fury’s face hardened.
The footage began playing.
Peggy Carter, her white hair disheveled, knelt on the floor.
Her wrists were locked in shackles fastened to pillars on either side of her.
Then...
The transmission ended.
Silence filled the office.
"Ensure Agent Carter survives."
Fury’s voice became ice.
"Bring Richter back."
He paused.
"Even if all that’s left is his head."
It was the scenario he’d dreaded most.
Peggy Carter had retired years ago.
That changed nothing.
She remained one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s founders.
No one knew exactly how many secrets she still carried.
Some had undoubtedly become meaningless with time.
Others...
Would still be worth killing for.
Whatever Evenson wanted...
Whatever had driven one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s most dependable assets to this point...
The moment torture entered the equation...
He had crossed the line.
As far as Fury was concerned...
Evenson Richter had betrayed S.H.I.E.L.D.
"...Understood, Director."
Melinda answered quietly.
She knew what Fury really meant.
Capture him if possible.
Kill him if necessary.
"You know why I sent you."
Fury’s voice remained cold.
"Don’t disappoint me."
"Yes, sir."
The connection ended.
Melinda closed her eyes and rubbed the bridge of her nose.
No one in S.H.I.E.L.D. knew Evenson better than she did.
They’d fought side by side.
Trusted one another with their lives.
For a brief moment...
She silently mourned a former comrade.
"So?"
A graceful woman walked over, arms folded.
"How’d the call go, Driver?"
It was Natasha Romanoff.
Among intelligence circles, the Black Widow’s reputation needed no introduction.
Since Melinda technically remained classified as support personnel, she’d been assigned to operate the command vehicle during the mission.
"Director Fury’s orders?"
Natasha asked.
Melinda opened her eyes.
"Rescue Agent Carter."
"If possible, capture Evenson."
"If that’s impossible..."
She didn’t finish the sentence.
She didn’t need to.
Natasha sighed.
"Great."
"I just finished convincing a giant green guy in India not to tear apart a tank with his bare hands..."
"And now we’re hunting a warlock."
She shook her head.
"I miss ordinary terrorists."
Turning toward the rear compartment, she called out,
"Captain."
"The assault team is ready."
"We can move."
"I’ll go alone."
Steve Rogers secured the straps of his helmet before lifting his shield.
"I’ll settle this myself."
"One on one."
Peggy Carter had always occupied a place in Steve’s heart that no one else could replace.
From his perspective, they hadn’t truly been apart for very long.
Now he’d learned she was being tortured.
He was furious.
This wasn’t merely a rescue mission anymore.
It was personal.
"You’re walking into a suicide mission."
Melinda’s cold voice stopped him.
She stepped forward.
"Agent Carter recruited me into S.H.I.E.L.D."
"I respect her more than anyone."
"I want to save her just as badly as you do."
"But charging in alone won’t save anyone."
"It’ll get both of you killed."
Natasha nodded toward Melinda.
"Captain..."
"She’s spent more time working with Evenson than anyone else in S.H.I.E.L.D."
"She’s also the only agent who’s witnessed him fighting at full strength."
"If we’re serious about rescuing Agent Carter..."
"We should hear her out."
Steve remained silent for several seconds.
Finally...
"...All right."
He forced himself to calm down.
Too much was at stake for reckless heroics.
"Evenson’s powerful."
"I’ve seen him fight until he exhausted himself."
Melinda was referring to his battle with the Ghost Rider.
"That opponent was... unusual."
"So the comparison isn’t perfect."
She continued anyway.
"What I can say is this."
"Most of Evenson’s strongest spells require preparation."
"The most destructive one I’ve witnessed involved summoning a gigantic flaming stone construct from the sky."
"It took him twenty minutes."
"If he manages to finish that spell..."
She looked around the command vehicle.
"You’d better hope an armored division is nearby."
"Twenty minutes?"
Steve shook his head confidently.
"I won’t give him that long."
He had no intention of standing around politely while a warlock completed a twenty-minute incantation.
That wasn’t what the shield was for.
"But he also has countless spells that activate instantly."
"They aren’t always devastating."
"They’re..."
Melinda searched for the word.
"...strange."
"The first time I encountered him, he incapacitated both Agent Coulson and me almost immediately."
The memory remained painfully vivid.
Although, if she judged Evenson solely by that early encounter...
She was likely underestimating how much stronger he’d become.
"That shouldn’t be a problem."
Natasha smiled and opened a small red case.
Inside rested several metallic bracelets.
"Tony Stark built these."
She picked one up.
"He calls them Anti-Warlock Bracelets."
"According to him, they should block curse-type magic."
She shrugged.
"At least..."
"That’s what he claims."
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