Chapter 519 - 520

Tony Stark arrived surprisingly fast.

Fast enough that Evenson briefly wondered if he’d actually flown there in the Iron Man armor.

Pepper hadn’t come with him.

That was understandable. The entire point of a terrorist attack was to make an entire city afraid, to shatter the illusion that anyone was safe. Tony wasn’t immune to that fear, especially when one of his closest friends was lying on an operating table, fighting for his life.

He simply couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to Pepper on top of everything else.

So he’d ordered her to stay home under heavy security.

Happy, meanwhile, had proven remarkably hard to kill.

With Evenson getting him to the hospital in time, his condition stabilized quickly. Tony wasted no time handling the paperwork and transferring Happy to one of his own hospitals, where he believed his bodyguard would receive better treatment.

Only after Happy had been properly settled did Tony turn to Evenson.

He placed a hand on Evenson’s shoulder and said sincerely, "Thank you, my friend."

"Don’t mention it."

That was all Evenson said.

He didn’t bring up payment. He didn’t negotiate for anything. He didn’t even hint at a favor.

Under the circumstances, asking Tony for something felt downright shameless.

Besides, Tony was in no mood for business negotiations right now. Trying to squeeze something out of him while one of his best friends was still recovering would accomplish nothing except make an already furious man even angrier.

There would be time for that later.

Evenson’s phone suddenly rang.

He glanced at the screen.

Nick Fury.

Evenson stepped away from the others and found a quiet corner before answering.

"It’s me. What’s up, Director?"

"You were at the theater when the explosion happened, correct?"

Nick Fury’s voice carried a strange edge.

"Yeah."

Evenson answered without hesitation.

Then he paused.

"Wait. You don’t think I did it, do you?"

"Of course not!"

Fury’s denial came immediately.

"I reviewed the security footage from the Chinese restaurant where you were eating. You saved everyone inside."

Evenson didn’t know it, but Fury had briefly considered exactly that possibility.

Fury was a suspicious man by nature. When he’d learned that Evenson had been present at the theater during the explosion, he’d naturally wondered whether the two facts were connected.

As far as Fury knew, an explosion of that magnitude wasn’t particularly difficult for Evenson to create.

But he’d discarded the theory.

For one thing, Evenson had been inside the blast radius himself. He’d also protected an entire restaurant full of civilians.

More importantly, if Evenson had actually wanted to make a spectacle, Fury suspected the theater wouldn’t have merely exploded.

It would probably have been buried under lava.

"And there’s another reason I know it wasn’t you," Fury continued. "Someone has already claimed responsibility for the bombing."

"Already?"

Evenson checked the time.

Less than four hours had passed since the explosion.

"That’s right."

Fury’s voice darkened slightly.

"You haven’t watched television, have you? Just like the last time, the entire thing was broadcast live across the country."

"The Mandarin..."

Evenson nodded to himself.

"What an arrogant bastard. He practically makes sure everyone remembers his face."

"Yes..."

Fury’s response was strangely subdued.

Then, almost immediately, he changed the subject.

"How is Tony? I heard his bodyguard was seriously injured in the explosion. He must be furious."

"Furious doesn’t quite cover it."

Evenson remembered Tony’s expression from earlier.

In all the time he’d known him, he’d only seen Tony wear that particular expression once before.

When Coulson was killed by Loki.

"And Tony isn’t like me," Evenson continued. "I’m pretty sure he already knows about the Mandarin, and he’s probably planning to settle the score himself."

Evenson didn’t know that because he’d been stuck in a hospital corridor without a television.

Tony might not have watched the news either, but JARVIS had almost certainly already briefed him on the Mandarin.

Fury sighed.

"Then I suppose there’s no talking him out of it."

"Unless I knock him unconscious, probably not."

Evenson shrugged.

"And what about you?" Fury asked. "Are you planning to get involved too?"

"You already know I’m currently employed as Tony Stark’s health consultant."

Evenson didn’t bother pretending otherwise.

"And as far as your organization understands the position, being a health consultant doesn’t just mean treating the patient. It also means making sure someone else doesn’t murder the patient."

"I see..."

Fury muttered something under his breath.

Then silence.

Evenson waited.

Nothing.

"That’s it?" he finally asked. "You don’t have anything else to say?"

His patience was wearing thin.

"A terrorist has carried out two attacks, one right after another. Is SHIELD really going to sit this one out? Especially when two of your own consultants have volunteered to handle the problem for you."

"I do have something to tell you."

Fury’s tone suddenly changed.

"Your leave request, the one you had Melinda submit on your behalf, has been approved."

"What?"

Evenson blinked.

What did that have to do with anything?

"And furthermore..."

Fury’s voice became grave.

"I want to make this absolutely clear. During your leave, anything you do is completely unrelated to SHIELD. Your actions will be your own personal responsibility."

Evenson’s confusion deepened.

"Uh..."

This was starting to sound less like vacation and more like suspension.

Before he could ask, Fury continued.

"I assume you understand how sensitive SHIELD operations are. So I expect you to follow protocol. While you’re on leave, do not contact any active SHIELD personnel."

Evenson’s eyes widened.

This wasn’t suspension.

Fury was practically firing him.

"What the hell is going on?"

Fury didn’t answer.

"I’ll explain everything when your leave is over," he said. "Of course, by then, you may already understand the reason yourself."

The line went dead.

Evenson stared at his phone.

"What the hell was that?"

He couldn’t shake the feeling that Fury was trying very deliberately to distance SHIELD from everything surrounding the Mandarin.

But why?

Had Nick Fury finally chickened out?

The thought was absurd.

The man had stared down Loki, an actual Asgardian god, and faced an invading alien army without backing down.

And now he was supposedly frightened by two relatively small terrorist attacks that had killed fewer than a hundred people?

No.

That didn’t add up.

Nick Fury wasn’t the kind of man who simply got scared and hid.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Evenson lowered his phone, his expression turning thoughtful.

Fury’s attitude wasn’t normal.

If SHIELD was deliberately washing its hands of this situation, there had to be a reason.

And whatever that reason was, it was clearly something SHIELD couldn’t conveniently deal with itself.

...

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/Sinmerry