Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

Evenson carefully tucked Holmes’s business card away.

A man that clever was bound to be useful sooner or later.

Unfortunately, he failed to notice that the gesture, combined with grabbing Holmes’s hand and staring intently into his eyes a moment ago, had left the three SHIELD agents nearby deeply uncomfortable.

Once the last of the police officers had left, Evenson glanced toward Rumlow and Sitwell.

The two men instinctively took half a step backward.

"Two senior agents and the commander of a tactical team showing up together?" Evenson asked. "You didn’t come all this way just to see me, did you? Is something serious going on?"

"Not really." Sitwell glanced at Rumlow. "The two of us happened to be operating in the area. We saw the police surrounding your shop, so we stopped by to take a look."

He pointed toward May.

"She’s the one who came specifically to see you."

May was dressed in a professional business suit today, a folder tucked casually under one arm.

Her expression was cold.

Very cold.

She also looked like she was in a thoroughly bad mood.

Evenson couldn’t figure out what he’d done this time.

Then an absolutely horrifying possibility entered his mind.

Wait.

Could it be... pregnant?!

The thought hit him like a lightning bolt.

Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

No. Impossible.

It hadn’t been that long!

And besides, he distinctly remembered taking precautions that night.

So there was absolutely no way.

Absolutely.

Evenson took several slow breaths and forced himself to calm down.

Then he turned to Sitwell.

"Isn’t it a little irresponsible for you to abandon your mission halfway through?"

Sitwell nearly swore.

I rushed over here because I was trying to get you out of trouble, and you’re calling me irresponsible?

He kept that thought to himself.

"As it happens, this isn’t really abandoning our mission. Our current assignment is to cooperate with the NYPD in cracking down on the rampant criminal activity among New York’s gangs."

"Huh?"

Evenson looked up sharply.

His expression was one of genuine disbelief.

"How badly did you piss off Nick Fury? He actually sent a Level Six agent to deal with street gangs?"

"I’m a Level Seven agent now," Sitwell corrected.

Then he gave Evenson a pointed look.

"And I have no idea who could possibly have called Director Fury during this week’s staff meeting, made him angry enough to smash his phone, and somehow caused him to bring up the problem of New York’s gangs in front of everyone."

Evenson’s expression became increasingly guilty.

Sitwell continued.

"Secretary Pierce apparently interpreted Fury’s comments as a sign that the Director was extremely unhappy with the current state of organized crime in New York. So he ordered us to come deal with it."

He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses.

"Of course, there is also the possibility that Secretary Pierce’s nephew was robbed blind by gang members on his way home from school."

Evenson’s eyes widened.

"That happened?"

He looked genuinely shocked.

"Didn’t he assign a few agents to protect his nephew? He’s important enough to have that kind of security."

"You can’t look at it that way."

Sitwell waved one hand with solemn righteousness.

"Secretary Pierce has always said that assigning agents to protect him would be official business, but assigning agents to protect his nephew would be a personal matter. He is determined to prevent any misuse of public resources."

He adjusted his glasses again.

"Integrity has to start with him."

"What an exemplary public servant Secretary Pierce is." Evenson applauded. "Truly inspiring."

Then his expression changed.

"But running around New York dealing with gangs is only treating the symptoms."

His tone became more serious.

"That police consultant explained the real reason the gang problem has gotten this bad. You should know it too. So why aren’t you dealing with the source?"

Cutting off the branches was pointless if you left the roots intact.

At this point, Evenson almost wanted SHIELD to march straight into the South American jungles and the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia and tear the entire drug trade out by the roots.

Sitwell’s expression became complicated.

"The root of the problem..." He removed his glasses and began polishing them vigorously. "That’s not quite so easy to deal with."

"Seriously?" Evenson stared at him. "They’re just a bunch of people manufacturing drugs. SHIELD can’t handle them?"

"Of course we can."

Sitwell put his glasses back on.

"If this were another time, wiping them out would be trivial."

He paused.

"But right now... things are complicated."

Evenson still looked confused.

May finally lost patience.

"The reason this entire situation started is that those people stopped supplying drugs to American gangs."

She folded her arms.

"How exactly is SHIELD supposed to move against them after that?"

"Oh."

Everything clicked into place.

Evenson finally understood.

So, let him get this straight.

People had spent years asking why America imported so many drugs and why SHIELD never seemed particularly interested in stopping the organizations responsible.

But now those organizations had stopped selling drugs to American gangs, and SHIELD suddenly wanted to destroy them?

How was that supposed to look?

The headlines practically wrote themselves.

NATION IN SHOCK: SHIELD DESTROYS SOUTH AMERICA’S LARGEST DRUG MANUFACTURER. THE REAL REASON WILL STUN YOU!

WORLD IN SHOCK: WHO REALLY PROTECTED AMERICA’S DRUG TRADE?

COSMOS IN SHOCK: THE DARK TRUTH BEHIND THE GLOBAL DRUG TRADE FINALLY REVEALED!

If SHIELD moved against those organizations now, the public backlash would be catastrophic.

"Enough."

May walked over to the counter and slammed her folder down.

"The small talk is over. I’m here to carry out the assignment Director Fury gave me."

She looked at Sitwell and Rumlow.

"Are you two planning to stay and watch?"

"No, we’re good."

Sitwell immediately grabbed Rumlow and started walking toward the door.

There was no need to be told twice.

May’s meaning couldn’t have been clearer.

Once the two men were gone, she opened the folder and looked directly at Evenson.

"Evenson Richter, Special Consultant. I am Level Eight Agent Melinda May, representing SHIELD. I’m here to conduct a formal disciplinary interview with you."

"A disciplinary interview?"

Evenson raised an eyebrow.

Then he leaned back in his chair, looking completely unconcerned.

"But I don’t think there’s much point."

May sighed.

She closed the folder and tossed it aside.

"With someone like you, talking is useless. You’d be better served paying back the salary you borrowed in advance before the end of the year."

"I disagree."

Evenson immediately sat upright.

"I think a conversation would be extremely productive."

He pulled the folder back toward her and opened it on the desk.

"I’ll listen carefully, maintain a proper attitude, and accept your criticism with an open mind."

"That’s the least believable thing you’ve said all day."

May pushed the folder away again.

"This time, Agent Carter already spoke on your behalf. Director Fury has decided not to pursue the matter any further."

She paused.

"And as for me... I owe Agent Carter some respect."

May’s connection to Peggy Carter went far beyond ordinary professional respect.

Carter had personally recruited her into SHIELD and personally trained her. Calling May one of Carter’s protégés wouldn’t have been an exaggeration.

If anything, May’s respect for Peggy Carter ran even deeper than her respect for Nick Fury.

"So we’ve saved ourselves the trouble of the interview."

May raised the back of her right hand.

A contract mark appeared across her skin.

Her expression sharpened.

"I think we can move on to the next stage of your treatment."

"No problem."

Evenson nodded immediately.

But before they could begin, a luxury car suddenly pulled up outside the shop.

A woman stepped out.

The door opened, and she walked inside.

Evenson stared.

"Ms. Potts?"

He couldn’t hide his confusion.

"What are you doing here again?"

Today, people were practically taking turns coming through his door.

First the police.

Then SHIELD.

Now even Tony Stark’s secretary, Pepper Potts, had shown up.

And the strangest part?

Not a single one of them had come to buy anything.

For a shopkeeper, that was becoming deeply concerning.

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