Chapter 759

The moment Evenson finished his deal with the Collector in the Void, he returned to Earth.

His phone immediately reconnected to the network.

Then it began ringing.

And ringing.

And ringing.

For a solid hour, the device bombarded him with incoming calls and notifications. Eventually, the noise stopped, but only because the battery died.

Evenson charged his phone and checked the messages.

Every last one came from Nick Fury. There were voicemails, text messages, and enough creative variations of motherfucker to fill a dictionary.

Stripped of the profanity, Fury’s message was simple.

Are you back yet? If you are, get your ass to headquarters and explain yourself!

Evenson could hardly blame him.

He had spent considerable time wandering around Asgard, only to become entangled in a series of spatial anomalies afterward. From Fury’s perspective, the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. had every reason to be concerned about a man who kept disappearing from Earth without warning.

Besides, Evenson had relied on Fury’s authority and political connections to coordinate the lockdown in Greenwich and secure the British military’s involvement in the fight against the Dark Elves. Those arrangements had required considerable effort.

Fury had earned an explanation, at least.

After unloading his purchases with the Eredar Twins, Evenson headed straight to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters.

A little while later, he was sprawled across the couch in the director’s office, groaning quietly as he rubbed his lower back.

"Good grief..."

Nick Fury sat behind his desk, watching him with mounting irritation.

"What the hell are you doing?"

He suspected Evenson was putting on a show, hoping to claim some sort of workplace injury compensation. The man had a talent for making other people’s problems his excuse to demand something.

"Nothing much." Evenson gave him a lazy wave. "My back’s just not what it used to be."

"Oh?" Fury drawled, one eyebrow rising.

Then he slammed a hand on the desk.

"What kind of answer is that? We’re here to discuss serious matters. Could you try acting like a grown man for five minutes?"

Damn it.

The bastard had just made a crack about his failing back in front of a middle-aged man who had never married. Was he deliberately showing off? Did he think having a girlfriend made him special?

"Fine, fine. Serious business."

Evenson straightened his expression and sat upright.

Then he leaned back and collapsed against the cushions again.

The truth was, Evenson almost wished his sore back had something to do with what Fury was imagining.

Unfortunately, reality was much less flattering.

He had purchased the Collector’s spaceflight technology, and the Collector had handed him two enormous bundles of documentation. Each bundle stood nearly as tall as a person. Evenson had assumed that was the entire collection.

It wasn’t.

Those two towering piles were merely the indexes.

The actual documentation filled several large cargo vehicles.

The sheer volume of material had been magnificent to behold, in the same way a mountain of paperwork could be magnificent if one had never been forced to move it.

Fortunately, Evenson possessed a spatial backpack. He didn’t need to haul the entire collection back to Earth on his shoulders.

Unfortunately, the backpack wasn’t a vacuum cleaner.

He couldn’t simply open it, announce that his name was Evenson, and watch several tons of paper fly inside.

Taking things out was easy enough. He could turn the bag over and dump everything wherever he liked. Putting things in, however, required the tedious process of feeding them through the opening one load at a time.

So there he had been, spending the entire afternoon stuffing documents into his backpack like a construction worker moving bricks.

The Collector had eventually taken pity on him and sent someone to help. Without that assistance, Evenson wasn’t even sure he would have finished before nightfall.

He wasn’t exactly an athlete, either. An entire afternoon of heavy lifting had been more than enough to leave his lower back protesting.

"You’re quite something, you know that?" Fury said, glaring at him. "First, you sneak off to Hong Kong without telling anyone. Then you turn up in London. At least those places are still on Earth. But somehow, you manage to end up in Asgard!"

He jabbed a finger toward Evenson.

"Do you have any concept of organizational discipline? You could have asked permission!"

"Those were all misunderstandings."

Fury’s furious expression barely fazed him.

"Hong Kong happened because I didn’t know the layout of Claire’s family’s property. I took a wrong turn, stumbled into the situation, and helped Agent Coulson solve a case. What’s the problem with that?"

"And Asgard wasn’t my idea, either!"

"You make yourself sound remarkably innocent," Fury said flatly. "If you didn’t want to go, what happened? Thor dragged you there against your will?"

"Something like that, actually."

Evenson nodded solemnly.

Fury stared at him.

Evenson continued without missing a beat.

"Remember the spatial displacement incident in London? I reported it to you. Naturally, I went to investigate the site in person. When I arrived, Thor happened to be there, too."

He spread his hands.

"We’ve fought on the same side before. Is it unreasonable to walk over and say hello to an old comrade?"

He paused for dramatic effect.

"Unfortunately, Thor informed me that Asgard was already investigating the spatial anomalies. They wanted my help, so he invited me to join them for a discussion of the situation."

"And you agreed?"

"Of course not!"

Evenson shook his head so vigorously that Fury might have mistaken him for a dashboard ornament.

"I refused outright. I told Thor that an operation of this magnitude required me to report to my superiors first. But before I could even pull out my phone, the Bifrost came down and sucked me straight up into the sky."

He sighed.

"And once I arrived in Asgard, I discovered that they don’t have any of Earth’s cell towers. Imagine my frustration when I couldn’t get a signal."

Fury slowly rubbed his temple.

He had seen many things in his career, but Evenson’s ability to manufacture an excuse for absolutely anything deserved its own place in the annals of human achievement.

"What about the second time?" he asked. "Fine. Let’s say the first trip was unavoidable. What was your excuse the second time?"

"The second time..."

Evenson rubbed his chin.

That had been after they defeated Malekith. He had represented the Ancient One in Asgard, reporting to Odin about the transfer of the title of King of Earth.

He needed a good answer.

Unfortunately, Fury had no intention of giving him time to prepare one.

"Well? Thinking up another story?"

"I’ve got one. I mean, I’ve remembered what happened."

Evenson smiled awkwardly.

"The Dark Elves attacked Asgard first. I happened to be there, so I helped repel the invasion. As luck would have it, I also saved Queen Frigga. Then I returned to Earth and helped Thor defeat Malekith, the Dark Elf king."

He shrugged.

"After all that, Odin insisted on rewarding me personally. What was I supposed to do, turn down the king of Asgard?"

"Wonderful."

Fury’s response was as dry as dust.

He knew Evenson was an accomplished liar, or at the very least a spectacularly gifted advocate for his own innocence. Catching him in a verbal trap was nearly impossible.

And that was the irritating part. Every detail Evenson had offered was plausible. His claims were difficult to challenge without traveling to Asgard and asking Odin himself.

Fury decided to stop wasting his time.

"Ever since we discovered that Asgard exists, S.H.I.E.L.D., the World Security Council, and the United Nations have all been trying to establish diplomatic relations with them. We finally have a man who can travel there, and you’ve squandered the opportunity."

Evenson blinked.

The frustration behind Fury’s words wasn’t difficult to understand.

To the world’s political leadership, Asgard represented a golden opportunity. It was an advanced civilization with capabilities far beyond Earth’s, and humanity had long wanted a reliable channel through which the two worlds could communicate.

They had simply never found a way to establish one.

Then Evenson had gone to Asgard repeatedly, met its king, fought alongside its warriors, and walked away without even leaving behind a reliable means of contact.

From Fury’s perspective, the waste was almost criminal.

"Diplomatic relations?" Evenson asked, looking amused. "Are you planning to send an ambassador, too?"

"Preferably." Fury nodded.

Both the World Security Council and the United Nations regarded the exchange of permanent ambassadors with Asgard as an ideal first step.

Evenson let out a cold laugh.

"Have those people lost their minds?"

Fury’s expression darkened, but Evenson continued.

"The problem isn’t that Asgard can’t communicate with Earth. It’s that we can’t get to Asgard. Their people can come and go as they please. If they’d wanted to establish contact with us, do you really think we’d have spent all this time knowing practically nothing about them?"

He shook his head.

"And what do you think would happen if the United Nations sent an ambassador to Odin?"

Evenson could practically imagine the conversation.

Odin would probably ask what the United Nations was, why its representative believed himself entitled to an audience, and whether anyone had bothered to bring a credible credential.

No diplomatic credentials, no token of recognition, no invitation from Asgard’s recognized representative on Earth.

Just some human appearing out of nowhere and claiming to speak for the entire planet.

Odin would likely send the poor man straight back to Earth, possibly with enough force to make the journey memorable.

"Asgard has always regarded Earth as a realm beneath its authority," Evenson said. "The fact that Odin hasn’t gone out of his way to enforce that claim is already a stroke of luck. Instead of being grateful that he leaves us alone, you want to march into his court and start waving diplomatic paperwork at him?"

He leaned forward.

"And if the United Nations really did send someone up there, I’d be surprised if Odin even bothered to meet him."

Fury regarded him with his single good eye.

"But Odin met you."

"Oh."

Evenson’s expression changed as realization dawned.

"So that’s what this is about. You want me to be Earth’s ambassador."

He gestured at himself.

"Take a good look at me. Do I look like a diplomat to you?"

"Not in the slightest," Fury replied immediately.

He would stake his life on that assessment. Evenson was impulsive, unpredictable, and occasionally seemed to operate according to rules known only to himself. Appointing him as a diplomatic representative would be an act of extraordinary negligence.

Evenson nodded, satisfied.

"Exactly. And even if I did go, what would I say to Odin? That Earth wishes to pay tribute and swear allegiance?"

He spread his hands.

"Asgard has always treated Earth as a subordinate realm. What kind of relationship do you expect to establish between two worlds when one already considers the other its vassal? If they choose to ignore us and leave us alone, that’s the best outcome we could reasonably hope for. Yet your politicians want to go looking for trouble."

Fury fell silent.

His lone eye narrowed as he studied Evenson for a long moment.

"You have a point," he finally admitted. "Some things are easier to handle through personal relationships than official channels. Making everything formal could complicate matters before we’ve even begun."

"Exactly."

"We’ll put the issue aside for now. It’s too important to resolve overnight."

Fury returned to his desk and settled into his chair. His tone changed as he moved to another subject.

"Now, tell me about Gideon Malick. You’ve known him for quite some time. Have you made any progress?"

Evenson’s amusement faded slightly.

The connection had begun not long after the Battle of New York. Gideon Malick, a former member of the World Security Council, had invited Evenson to his estate under the pretense that his daughter wanted to hear some stories.

In reality, Malick had been attempting to free Hive.

Fury, however, interpreted the invitation differently.

After witnessing the Avengers’ power firsthand, the Council had grown concerned about the possibility that the team might become S.H.I.E.L.D.’s private army, or worse, Nick Fury’s personal instrument of power. To prevent that outcome, they wanted to build relationships with individual Avengers and potentially draw them away from Fury’s influence.

Evenson had seemed the most promising target.

Fury had not only allowed the relationship to develop but had actively encouraged it.

The reason was simple, even if he rarely spoke about it.

Fury knew that power could corrupt. He couldn’t guarantee that he would always remain the man he wanted to be, nor could he guarantee that whoever succeeded him as director of S.H.I.E.L.D. would be any less ambitious.

A system of checks and balances was necessary. If Malick and the Council could provide a counterweight to Fury’s authority, then cultivating that relationship served a purpose.

Consequently, Fury had rarely asked Evenson for details about his dealings with Malick.

His sudden interest was unusual.

Had Fury noticed something suspicious about the arrangement?

"Malick hasn’t revealed much," Evenson said carefully. "He’s given me quite a few valuable gifts, and he’s always been exceptionally friendly. I think he’s still laying the groundwork. He probably doesn’t want to reveal his real intentions too soon."

"Hmm."

Fury nodded absently, offering no further comment.

Evenson watched him for a moment before continuing.

"Still, I’ll probably visit his estate again soon. I’ve just returned from Asgard, after all. He’s bound to have plenty of questions."

"That makes sense."

Fury remained inscrutable.

Then, just as Evenson began to relax, the director asked another question.

"Anything else?"

Evenson paused to consider it.

As far as he knew, his dealings with Hydra had left no obvious traces. Fury shouldn’t have any reason to suspect what was really happening.

"Nothing at the moment."

Fury stared at him for several seconds.

"All right. You can go."

Evenson rose from the couch, relieved to have survived the interrogation.

He was almost at the door when Fury called after him.

"Get that back looked after. Dealing with too many women can be exhausting."

Evenson stopped.

"What?"

He turned around, bewildered.

There was something deeply unpleasant about the way Fury had delivered that remark. As far as the public knew, Evenson had one girlfriend: Claire.

Unless...

Had Fury found out about his encounter with Melinda?

That was possible. She was an agent, after all. For all he knew, she might have reported the entire affair herself.

Evenson couldn’t decide whether to be impressed by S.H.I.E.L.D.’s intelligence network or offended by its lack of professional discretion.

He eventually left without asking.

Once the door closed behind him, Fury turned back to his computer.

A series of files appeared across the holographic display. He opened one, revealing a report tracking the location of a mobile phone signal.

The signal belonged to Evenson Richter.

Fury studied the report briefly before opening a second file.

This one was considerably more detailed. It contained only two photographs, accompanied by pages of background checks and investigative records. The documentation was meticulous, and the results were almost unnervingly clean.

No criminal history. No suspicious affiliations. No obvious weaknesses.

Almost too perfect.

The photographs showed a pair of young women who looked remarkably alike.

Twins.

More specifically, they were the human forms of the Eredar Twins: Ada Wong and Kara Wong.

Fury leaned back in his chair, his expression unreadable.

For the moment, he said nothing.

But he had clearly begun looking into Evenson’s life more closely.