Ina's Business Philosophy, Part 1

Nick Fury walked out of the police station with a dark expression, hurriedly climbed into his car, and shut the door directly under everyone's watchful eyes.

"Drive," Nick Fury said.

"Right, Boss." Phil Coulson, seated in the driver's seat, looked unusually serious. His usual trademark smile was nowhere to be seen as he started the car expressionlessly.

"If you want to laugh, then laugh. I know this is embarrassing." Nick Fury snorted as he watched Phil Coulson's deliberately stern expression in the rearview mirror. Since becoming Captain of S.H.I.E.L.D., this was the first time he had been brought into a police station for questioning as a criminal. As expected, he was about to become famous in their circle.

Hide it?

Nick Fury rubbed his forehead in frustration. Once he had called someone to get him out, keeping it under wraps had become difficult. He could already foresee the social death awaiting him.

"Oh, I heard you got arrested and taken to the police station for breaking into someone's home?"

Just imagining that greeting from people he knew made Nick Fury want to curse that little bastard again.

"I thought you two had a pleasant chat." Phil Coulson still firmly restrained his smile and replied without changing expression.

"We did have a pleasant chat." Nick Fury leaned back against his seat and closed his eyes, answering simply because he did not want to look at anything. "There were some twists and turns, but in the end, he didn't refuse my proposal."

"Then?" Phil Coulson had barely begun before swallowing the rest of his question. What he had wanted to ask was, "Then why were you taken out of his villa by the police?"

Phil Coulson was extremely curious, curious enough for it to itch at him. Even low-ranking agents would not be hauled into a police station if they got into trouble during a mission, would they? That would be far too humiliating for the organization.

"I know what you want to ask, Agent Coulson." Nick Fury's voice was calm. "You can treat it as an accident nobody wanted to see happen."

"Understood. Then, regarding Luke Field..." Phil Coulson tactfully stopped pressing the matter. He was afraid that if he kept asking, life in S.H.I.E.L.D. would become difficult for him.

"You'll take charge of sending people to make contact first." Nick Fury casually assigned him the task.

"But I'm currently handling Big Spender." By Big Spender, Phil Coulson meant Tony Stark. After all, S.H.I.E.L.D. had initially sent him to contact Tony and Pepper Potts, so logically, he should have continued handling them.

"The capable work harder. I have other arrangements for Stark." Nick Fury insisted.

"Fine, you're the Boss. Your call." Phil Coulson shrugged. "So what should I watch out for? He can't be more troublesome than Big Spender, can he?"

"Him? A very clever little bastard." Nick Fury closed his eyes again. "Don't let him get anything on you. He's very good at using the rules to make you look bad. Just like he did to me today."

A S.H.I.E.L.D. island training base.

A massive transport helicopter slowly landed on the helipad. The rear hatch opened, and Snoke jumped down with three soldiers, carrying a large metal case. Only then did Luke and Ina Sandra step down behind them, one step at a time. Two imposing transport vehicles followed behind them.

"Welcome, Mr. Field and Ms. Sandra." Phil Coulson approached them against the wind, his shiny bald head gleaming. "I'm Phil Coulson. From here on, I'll be S.H.I.E.L.D.'s representative responsible for communicating with you."

"Mr. Coulson." Ina Sandra shook the hand he offered.

"Our intelligence channels say Hebron Industries possesses technology similar to Stark's Iron Armor." Phil Coulson looked at the two of them with probing eyes.

"The intelligence is correct." Ina Sandra was clearly in charge this time.

After exchanging pleasantries, they rode together to the training grounds.

"Would you like to experience Tony's Iron Armor?" Ina Sandra looked at the soldiers lined up on the field, waved a hand, and activated the two cargo units in the transport vehicles behind her. Amid everyone's astonished gazes, two iron giants over three meters tall began walking toward them step by step.

"They look a little like Iron Monger?" Phil Coulson looked up at the enormous figures, shielding his eyes with one hand as he remarked.

"They're nothing like that shoddy Iron Monger junk. The machinery and weapons produced by Hebron Industries are renowned for their quality." Ina Sandra corrected Phil Coulson immediately. She would stop anything that might damage Hebron's reputation before it happened.

Shoddy?

Phil Coulson could not help laughing bitterly. He did not think Iron Monger, which had thoroughly battered Tony Stark in Iron Armor, could be called shoddy. Still, he had no intention of arguing with Ina.

"Can I arrange for some personnel to try them out?" Phil Coulson asked tentatively.

"Of course. But they aren't equipped with any weapons. If you need weapons installed, you can state your requirements." Ina Sandra took Luke and stepped back, signaling for Phil to proceed.

For the next hour, everyone watched the two enormous metal giants perform various movements across the training grounds, along with simple physical attack and defensive tests. Phil Coulson was very satisfied with the results. Once weapon systems were installed, these two behemoths would become unstoppable killing machines.

He naturally sent the test footage to his Captain, and Nick Fury was also very satisfied. The two sides then got down to business.

"Name your price, Ms. Sandra." Armed with the high-level authority granted by his Captain, Phil Coulson got straight to the point and asked Luke and Ina for a quote.

"Five hundred and forty million USD for the base unit." A charming smile appeared on Ina Sandra's beautiful face.

Phil Coulson's smile immediately turned a little stiff.

"Five hundred and forty million? USD?" Phil Coulson repeated Ina's quote.

"For the base unit! If you require modifications or weapon modules, the price will increase depending on the circumstances." Ignoring Phil Coulson's petrified expression, Ina Sandra counted off expenses on her slender, translucent fingers, each one making Phil's scalp tingle. "Annual servicing and maintenance will cost at least thirty million."

"Thirty million?" Phil was stunned.

"Per unit!" Ina Sandra corrected him.

"That's far too expensive, Ms. Sandra." Phil Coulson looked to Luke for help, but Luke did not even glance at him. His eyes remained fixed on the two enormous metal giants on the field, as though something on them had completely captivated him.

"It's not expensive at all, Agent Coulson. Do you know that the material costs alone come to nearly three hundred million USD? We've already given you a discounted price on top of a discount!"