Business, Astonishment

Luke's private villa.

After getting out of the car, Luke, who had arrived with his people, strode toward the front door and pushed it open. What greeted him was a one-eyed man sitting upright on the sofa. He was currently staring at Rudd, who was crouched about a meter in front of him, man and machine facing each other. Although the one-eyed man in the black eyepatch appeared calm under Rudd's watchful glare, his rigid posture, statue-like stillness, and unblinking gaze fixed on Rudd all showed that he was far less composed inside than he appeared.

Hearing the door open, the one-eyed man swiftly turned his head. Seeing Luke stride in with his clothes fluttering behind him, he visibly relaxed.

"Can you make this big guy move farther away from me? I mean no harm." The one-eyed man had just tried to stand when Rudd also rose and hunched into a pouncing stance, startling him. He quickly steadied himself, sat back down, and raised both hands to show that he had no hostile intentions.

"Breaking into someone's private residence without the Master's permission doesn't strike me as a friendly act." The moment Luke saw that distinctive eyepatch and bald head, he roughly recognized who the man was. He also knew that his earlier actions had indeed worked. That did not stop him from teasing the other man a little.

"I can explain." Nick Fury was full of helplessness. He had only wanted to make an example of Luke, using S.H.I.E.L.D.'s technological strength to tell him that he should not be so arrogant, then take the opportunity to see if he could recruit him.

After tracking Luke's whereabouts and confirming that he would most likely return to the villa near Hebron Industrial Park that night, Nick Fury had decided to make a forceful first impression. Entering the villa had gone smoothly. The villa district's security had been lured away and dealt with by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. The villa's Intelligent Control System had taken some effort, but under S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Intelligent System and technical lockdown, it had still been quietly disabled.

After confirming there were no other life signs in the villa and that it was safe, Nick Fury swaggered inside. Before long, he encountered this mechanical dog, its body covered in smooth lines and gleaming silver-white, radiating an imposing presence.

After watching its claws effortlessly scratch several deep marks into a metal plate, Nick Fury gave up quite a few of his little tricks and became much more honest. Clearly, he had also realized that this mechanical dog watching him possessed an extremely high level of intelligence. He suspected it had a degree of sentient thought.

That made him regard Luke's technical capabilities even more highly. At the very least, he now considered Luke worthy of the same level of attention as Tony Stark.

"My identification is in my chest pocket. I'm the Captain of S.H.I.E.L.D. Given the circles you're involved with now, you should know what kind of organization S.H.I.E.L.D. is." Nick Fury spoke slowly and gently. "You can verify my identity and credentials."

After receiving a look from his boss Luke, Lack, who had returned with him, set down the large metal case he was carrying. He stepped up beside Nick Fury and, following Nick Fury's gaze and verbal instructions, searched him and found a stack of identification cards.

"Looks like you have quite a few identities. IDs from so many departments." Luke looked at the several credentials Lack had flipped through before bringing them over for him to see, feeling somewhat speechless.

"Occupational necessity. Sometimes I need to borrow the identities of other departments. But I guarantee the credentials are all real." Nick Fury shrugged.

"So what did you come here for?" Luke gestured for Lack to put the credentials back into Nick Fury's pocket and asked.

"Before I explain why I came, I'd like to ask whether you know what kind of organization S.H.I.E.L.D. is." Nick Fury did not answer Luke's question, instead asking one of his own. Without waiting for Luke's response, he continued, "This world is not as simple as it appears on the surface. There are many disasters in this world that people cannot understand or resolve. S.H.I.E.L.D. is the organization specifically responsible for handling such dangerous matters."

"But that still isn't enough. I want to establish an elite team with formidable strength, no weaknesses, and the ability to deal with even greater troubles. I think highly of you." Nick Fury looked sincerely at Luke with his remaining eye.

"Not very convincing." Luke naturally knew that Nick Fury was hiding a great deal that he had not mentioned, but he did not care. He had no intention of joining the big boys' club Tony talked about right now.

"I guessed you would refuse. Just like Tony, always unwilling to be restrained." Nick Fury spread his hands helplessly. "Believe me, no one in this organization orders anyone else around, and you won't belong to S.H.I.E.L.D. You can continue doing your own things normally. Only when there are exceptionally troublesome matters will you be called upon."

"I still refuse." Luke's second immediate rejection made the anticipation on Nick Fury's face freeze.

"Then what if I give you orders? Large, lucrative orders, major contracts even more generous than those from the military before!" Out of options, Nick Fury finally played his trump card. He knew Hebron's style and weakness over the past five years very well. Its style was constant technological renewal and expansion, while its weakness was the need for enormous sums of money. Its annual research funding was astronomical, yet it was still never enough.

So generally, if you did not discuss anything else with Hebron but instead talked business, talked about profitable business, they became exceptionally agreeable.

"Then I can consider it."

"What?"

Luke's answer threw Nick Fury off balance.

"I said I can consider it." Luke repeated.

"Then..."

"Then have someone contact Hebron's Commercial Department later." Luke cut Nick Fury off, his tone light. With S.H.I.E.L.D.'s orders and the future New Energy company, he would have money to throw around again.

"Alright, alright." Nick Fury was briefly stunned by Luke's rapid change, but he soon recovered. His gaze swept over Rudd, who had crouched down again. He cautiously stood up, and only relaxed slightly after seeing that Rudd did not make another attacking motion. He said to Luke, "Then I wish us a pleasant partnership. I'll be leaving first."

"I'm afraid Captain, you can't leave just yet." Luke's words immediately put Nick Fury on guard, and he reached for the firearm hidden at his waist.

"Why?" Nick Fury's lone eye burned as he stared at Luke's face, trying to judge his intentions from his expression. But Luke's expression was perfectly normal and calm, aside from a faint hint of gloating.

Soon, Nick Fury no longer needed Luke to explain, because a capable middle-aged man in a police uniform had already strode in with several others. "Outrageous! Absolutely outrageous! Little Luke, I definitely won't go easy on intruders! Is that him? Cuff him and take him away!" At the end, Captain George Stacy's gaze landed on the astonished Nick Fury. His professional instincts assured him that he could sense an extraordinary aura of danger from this man.

Nick Fury watched helplessly as two connected, gleaming silver metal rings were clasped around his wrists. Even with the composure he had honed over many years, he could barely keep it together in the face of this scene.

"You called the police?"

"Come on, when I run into a bad guy, isn't it perfectly normal to call the police?" Luke stepped aside and watched Nick Fury get taken away by a group of officers. There was no chance he was worried. He did not think Nick Fury would suffer much, either. For all he knew, S.H.I.E.L.D. might pull him out the moment he arrived at the station.

Business was business, but when someone broke into his home without permission, the proper procedures still had to be followed.