Chapter 595

After rescuing Melinda and the others, there was only one thing left to do: take back control of the aircraft.

They were still trapped in the lower compartment, and reaching the upper deck meant getting through a heavily secured laboratory. The door was made of transparent synthetic glass designed to withstand extreme temperatures. Evenson could certainly melt it with fire, but doing so would generate enough heat to trigger the aircraft’s fire alarms.

Fortunately, the door wasn’t one of Tony Stark’s absurdly expensive security doors.

And since nobody was going to make him pay for the damage, Evenson simply covered his hand in shadow and let the darkness eat through the glass.

The door disintegrated into a pile of glittering fragments.

After that, Evenson went to free Coulson, who had been kept in a separate room. Melinda headed for the cockpit.

As for everyone else, Evenson’s suggestion was simple.

Sit down and play some Gwent.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?"

Camilla immediately swung her pistol toward Evenson.

After seizing the aircraft, she and her people had searched every inch of it and confirmed that all SHIELD personnel had been captured. Now, somehow, a stranger she’d never seen before had appeared directly behind her—and worse, he was standing there with the confidence of someone who already knew how this was going to end.

It was impossible not to be stunned.

"Who am I? That’s a very good question."

Evenson shrugged, a faintly wicked smile tugging at his lips.

"I’m Evenson Richter, a SHIELD consultant. Technically, we should have met already, but I had... some special circumstances keeping me from introducing myself back on the ground. My apologies for the lack of manners."

"Evenson Richter..."

Camilla lowered her head, turning the name over in her mind.

Then she looked up.

"Who is that?"

Evenson’s carefully cultivated gentlemanly composure visibly wobbled.

"Who is that?" he repeated, staring at her in disbelief. "Oh, come on."

He covered his face with one hand.

"I’m Evenson. Me. The Evenson you’re supposed to have heard of!"

Camilla was still staring at him blankly.

"So..."

Evenson spread his hands.

"I can’t do this."

He turned toward Coulson.

"This is why I prefer dealing with people who are either powerful or intelligent. At least when I introduce myself, they usually know who I am. I shouldn’t have to explain my own reputation."

There was a certain dignity to being introduced by someone else.

The legendary warrior appeared in dramatic fashion, said, I’m that guy, and then one of his followers would immediately announce his titles to the heavens. Everyone present would gasp in terror, realize who they were dealing with, and fall over themselves trying to surrender.

It saved time.

More importantly, it preserved the mystique.

Advertising yourself was just embarrassing.

"So, Coulson, you tell her who I am."

Coulson calmly stood up and rolled his shoulders before walking over beside Evenson. The rope that had bound him to the pipe was already gone; apparently, he’d managed to free himself some time ago.

"He’s the agent who stayed behind on the ground."

Camilla’s hands tightened around her pistol.

"You’re alive? How is that possible? And how did you get back onto this aircraft?"

Her voice trembled.

"Was the volcanic eruption your doing?"

There were simply too many questions. She didn’t even know which one to ask first.

"Speaking of Evenson..."

Coulson turned toward him with a pleasant smile.

"The director is rather interested in that question too. The forest fires caused by the eruption still haven’t been fully contained."

"Oh, really?"

Evenson gave an awkward smile.

"Sometimes bad things just happen. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions... who can say what causes these things?"

He certainly wasn’t going to confess to setting half the wilderness on fire.

Absolutely not.

"Answer my question!"

Camilla snapped.

The two men had started casually talking as though she’d ceased to exist. She was hijacking a plane, for God’s sake. Could they at least pretend this was serious?

"And who the hell is this damned pretty boy?"

Evenson glanced over his shoulder.

There was nobody behind him.

Wait. She means me?

Absolutely not.

He rejected the accusation on principle.

"The Avenger. The Black Scythe Lord."

Coulson delivered the answer without the slightest hesitation.

It was exactly the introduction Evenson had wanted.

Unfortunately, Coulson’s completely matter-of-fact expression made him feel as though he’d accidentally confirmed something rather embarrassing.

Seriously? You couldn’t at least look impressed?

Camilla’s eyes went vacant.

"No..."

Her pistol slipped from her hands.

She sank to her knees.

She knew then that the operation was over.

She might not have known Evenson’s true identity, but she understood what the title Black Scythe Lord meant.

Fighting someone like that wasn’t a battle.

It was suicide.

A moment later, the door crashed open.

One of Camilla’s subordinates rushed inside, apparently drawn by the strange silence. The instant he saw his commander kneeling on the floor, with the former prisoner standing beside an unfamiliar man, he raised his weapon.

He never got the chance to fire.

Snap.

Evenson finally delivered the finger snap he’d promised.

The man dissolved where he stood.

A heap of steaming sludge was all that remained, smoking and filling the room with a sharp, nauseating stench.

Coulson immediately covered his nose.

"That is disgusting."

He glanced at the mess.

"You’re cleaning that up, right?"

"Me?"

Evenson looked genuinely offended.

"Once we land, get the maintenance crew to deal with it."

Camilla stared at the smoking remains.

Her body began to shake.

She was terrified that she would be next.

"Not used to it?"

Evenson walked past her, tilting his head.

"Then here’s something you should know. Every one of the rebels outside the pyramid died exactly like that."

He paused.

"And judging by everything that’s happened, I’m guessing those rebels were your people in disguise."

"Murderer! Butcher!"

Camilla summoned enough courage to glare at him.

His hands were stained with the blood of her countrymen.

"Mm-hm."

Evenson shrugged.

"They attacked first."

He didn’t sound particularly troubled.

"People don’t always know what they’re up against. Doesn’t change the fact that they’re responsible for the choices they make."

He reached for the 084 object that had been sitting on the table and handed it to Coulson.

"Something this important should probably be kept somewhere safer."

Camilla glared at him.

"I thought you were a hero. You protected Earth from aliens!"

Her expression twisted with disgust.

"But now I see the truth. You and SHIELD are nothing more than lackeys for the great powers behind you!"

Evenson’s expression cooled.

"Watch your language."

His voice hardened.

"I don’t like that word."

"Because it isn’t true?"

Camilla surged to her feet and confronted him.

"The great powers behind you have been controlling our nations for decades! Political pressure. Economic interference. Even engineered rebellions. They keep draining my country of its strength, bleeding us until we’re too weak to resist. And the moment we show even the slightest possibility of becoming stronger, they send people like you to break us again under the banner of world peace!"

Her accusation hung in the air.

Evenson answered by applauding softly.

"Nicely said."

He stopped clapping.

"Doesn’t change anything."

"People still argue over who truly discovered the Americas. Some idiot nation somewhere can probably still be found claiming the continent belonged to them first."

He waved the thought away.

"But none of that matters. What matters is that Columbus’s voyage opened the floodgates for European colonization and helped establish the world order that followed."

He leaned back.

"People like to say America was built by exiles, criminals, and settlers who took this land through conquest and bloodshed. Maybe that’s true in part. But I doubt the Spanish colonizers were exactly gentlemen, either. And they arrived even earlier."

Evenson looked directly at Camilla.

"So why did the United States grow into a superpower that effectively dominates an entire continent while your country remained so comparatively weak?"

He paused.

"There are far too many reasons to explain them all here."

Evenson dropped into a nearby sofa, crossed one leg over the other, and regarded her with the calm confidence of someone who had already won.

"But one thing is beyond dispute: somewhere along the way, your country made some bad choices."

His gaze shifted toward the 084 now in Coulson’s possession.

"And just like you’re doing now, you convinced yourself that this object could make your nation powerful."

His smile faded.

"I can tell you, without reservation, that it can’t."

Camilla gave a cold laugh.

"Easy for you to say now."

"No matter how those Hydra scientists who fled to your country described it, that thing is nothing more than a battery."

"We know that."

Camilla refused to back down.

"Our scientists may not be as advanced as those of the major powers, but they’re not idiots. We know what it is. The energy inside it is extraordinary. If we can study it, we can discover—"

"Discover what?"

Evenson cut her off.

"If your scientists aren’t idiots, they should understand one very basic principle."

He leaned forward slightly.

"A battery runs out."

Camilla fell silent.

"You can keep analyzing the energy all you want. Every unit you use is one less unit remaining."

Evenson’s voice was almost conversational now.

"And the only thing capable of recharging it was directly involved in the alien invasion that nearly destroyed New York."

He tapped the arm of the sofa.

"That source isn’t on Earth anymore."

His conclusion was merciless.

"So no matter how much you study that energy, once it’s gone, it’s gone. You’re standing beside a river with no source. Whatever effort you put into it, you’re destined to get nothing back."

Evenson rubbed his chin.

"And even if you don’t care about making the energy renewable and only want to use what’s already stored inside..."

He gestured toward the device.

"Then why bother? If you have the ability to build a nuclear power plant, you already have enough energy to make this thing look pretty underwhelming. The amount stored inside may be enormous, but it still doesn’t compare favorably to a medium-sized nuclear plant."

He gave the artifact one last dismissive glance.

"And unlike a power plant, this thing is disposable."

Camilla stared at him.

For all the sacrifice, all the blood, all the effort they’d poured into reclaiming the artifact—

It was all for nothing.

...