Chapter 562

"It’s been approved. Then go ahead."

Nick Fury looked at Pierce.

He was surprised, but not exactly shocked. Somehow, it still felt as though everything had gone according to plan.

Not long after the Battle of New York, Alexander Pierce had submitted a proposal to the World Security Council.

Earth couldn’t afford to defend itself against an extraterrestrial invasion while simultaneously fighting terrorists at home. Trying to fight a war on two fronts would inevitably end in failure.

His solution was the Insight Project, a plan supposedly capable of eliminating the world’s crises once and for all.

The World Security Council existed specifically to oversee and restrain SHIELD, however. Any major proposal from the organization was subjected to rigorous scrutiny.

And after examining the Insight Project, the Council understood just how serious it was.

Whether the project was necessary was one question.

The power it would give SHIELD was another.

Once fully operational, Insight would expand SHIELD’s authority to a frightening degree.

So the Council had made what they considered the safest decision.

They did nothing.

They neither approved nor rejected the proposal. They simply left it sitting on the table, waiting to see how events developed before making a final decision.

Pierce had been furious.

Hydra’s revival was one final step away, and the Council had chosen that exact moment to put his plan on ice.

So he decided to work the political angle.

As luck would have it, Killian soon made his move.

Pierce immediately recognized an opportunity. He used every ounce of persuasion at his disposal to convince Nick Fury that the incident involved American domestic politics and therefore required SHIELD to stay out of it.

They would simply let events unfold.

Fury had resisted.

In fact, he had resisted quite strongly.

But Pierce was an excellent salesman when he wanted to be. Then Fury learned that both Tony Stark and Evenson were involved in the incident, and he figured the two of them would prevent anything truly catastrophic from happening.

In the end, he reluctantly agreed.

Yesterday, the leader of the most powerful nation in the Western world had nearly been kidnapped.

The balance of supply and demand across the world’s resources had nearly fallen into the hands of a madman.

SHIELD had failed.

Fury couldn’t deny it.

But there was more to the situation than that.

And Pierce had made sure the World Security Council understood it.

"I have to admit, with some shame, that SHIELD failed in this matter. But you also know why that happened. If you’re dissatisfied with our reasons, then I can resign right now.

"But before I do, there’s something you need to understand.

"The world is becoming more dangerous.

"The terrorists we’re facing are no longer lunatics hiding in caves with automatic rifles. They’re organized, powerful, intelligent people with ambitions on a completely different scale.

"If we want to stop another incident like this before it happens, I once again propose that the Council approve the Insight Project."

This time, the Council had been much more accommodating.

After some discussion, they approved it.

Partly because the incident had demonstrated something they could no longer ignore.

Terrorists were becoming harder to deal with, and conventional methods might no longer be enough.

But there was another reason.

The Council members weren’t idiots.

They were career politicians who had spent decades navigating bureaucracy and power. They could see straight through the excuse that SHIELD couldn’t intervene because the incident involved domestic politics.

Domestic politics?

Please.

SHIELD hadn’t exactly been shy about getting involved when Saddam Hussein was the target.

From the Council’s perspective, SHIELD’s sudden refusal to act looked suspiciously like a strike.

If you won’t approve our project, then fine. We’ll stop doing the job. You deal with it yourselves.

A few years earlier, the Council might have welcomed such a move.

They could have dismantled SHIELD from the top down.

But the world had changed.

SHIELD was far too important now.

Trying to forcibly remove it could easily bring the entire system crashing down with it.

So the Council compromised.

They approved the launch of the Insight Project.

Technically.

All that meant was that SHIELD could begin preparing the necessary infrastructure.

Whether the system would actually proceed to testing, much less a full public rollout, could be decided later.

"I hope the project goes smoothly."

Fury stood and shook Pierce’s hand.

"Let’s make sure we haven’t played the villains for nothing."

"Don’t worry."

Pierce patted Fury on the shoulder.

"I guarantee the project will be completely foolproof."

Pierce left the office looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

The moment the door closed, Fury’s expression darkened again.

His conversation with his former superior had done nothing to ease his concerns.

Solve every problem once and for all.

The shortcut to world peace.

Fury turned those two ideas over in his mind.

Thirty years as a spy had taught him plenty of lessons.

One of the most important was simple.

Nothing was ever solved once and for all.

And intelligence that came too easily was usually the kind someone wanted you to have.

Fury’s single eye narrowed.

Then what exactly is the Insight Project?

He reached for the telephone on his desk.

"Tell Natasha that her honeymoon with her girlfriend is over."

He paused.

"Tell her to come to my office immediately."

"Clare? You’re back from your meeting?"

When Evenson returned home, he found Clareya had already returned from visiting her family.

His face immediately brightened.

He spread his arms and moved in for a hug.

Clareya slipped neatly out of his grasp.

"Don’t. It’s broad daylight. That’s embarrassing."

"Seriously?"

Evenson clicked his tongue.

"This is America."

He looked mildly offended.

"What did you discuss at the meeting?"

"Nothing particularly important."

Clareya picked up a glass and filled it with water.

Evenson’s brow furrowed.

She had taken out three glasses.

"If you really want to know what we discussed," Clareya said, "I think she’d be better suited to tell you."

Evenson followed her gaze toward the door.

The Ancient One stood there.

He had no idea when she had arrived.

She wore that familiar, faintly amused smile.

Evenson rolled his eyes.

So that was why Clareya hadn’t wanted a hug.

Apparently, they had an audience.

He quickly replaced his annoyance with a welcoming smile.

"Supreme Sorcerer, what an honor. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Nothing particularly serious."

The Ancient One waved a hand.

The door shut by itself.

At the same time, the space outside shifted subtly.

From inside the room, the street beyond the entrance appeared strangely empty.

She had rearranged the surrounding space to ensure no one would suddenly wander inside and interrupt their conversation.

It was probably unnecessary.

After all, who exactly was going to walk into this rundown little shop without a reason?

"A while ago, the enormous ley-line node beneath the New York Sanctum suddenly began producing abnormal readings."

The Ancient One sat down.

"The Sanctum was receiving almost no magical energy from it. My apprentices nearly scratched their scalps raw trying to figure out what had happened."

She gave Evenson a meaningful look.

"Do you know anything about that?"

"Hmm..."

Evenson’s hand trembled slightly around his glass.

He looked away.

"I know a little."

He cleared his throat.

"If you want, I could try talking to whoever caused it."

Half of the magic circle that stole your power was designed by me.

I just didn’t expect it to work quite that well.

Or, more accurately, he hadn’t expected the people on the other end to be quite so helpless after their power got siphoned away.

"No need."

The Ancient One smiled.

"I’ve already spoken with those two."

She took a drink.

"We reached an agreement quite amicably."

Her smile widened.

"From now on, we’ll develop and use the New York ley-line node together. We’ll split the output evenly."

"That’s not bad."

Evenson smiled.

Cooperation was always better than fighting over resources.

"There is one more thing."

The Ancient One’s expression suddenly became serious.

Clearly, this was what she had actually come to discuss.

"I’ve decided to take an apprentice."

Evenson’s expression changed.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

He looked at Clareya.

Then back at the Ancient One.

A strained smile slowly appeared on his face.

His teeth clenched.

"You don’t have to say anything else. I understand."

He forced the words out through his smile.

"When you officially take your apprentice, I’ll be there."

He paused.

"And I’ll bring a gift, too."