"Did you work it out?" Aaron asked with interest.
Johnny nodded with an unreadable expression. "She thinks I'm crazy, but she agreed to go to the Vatican. Her condition is that when she gets back, I have to go to a psychiatric hospital with her."
"Ah! True love!" Aaron patted him on the shoulder. "You could have put it differently. For example, tell her you were going to confess to her at the Vatican and give her one day to meet you there.
"I guarantee she'd immediately go buy a plane ticket and fly over to find you without a moment's hesitation."
Johnny's mouth twitched. He opened his mouth awkwardly before saying, "I've hidden things from her for long enough. I should be honest about this."
"What about you? Don't you need to give Nick Fury a heads-up?" Carter Slade reminded him helplessly. "There might still be time."
Aaron gave a faint smile and leisurely stroked the dragon in his arms, not looking the least bit anxious.
"Did you hear what I said?"
"First, Nick Fury is the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. It won't be easy for Witchcraft Demon to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. and grab someone.
"Second, Nick Fury and I have a purely employment-based relationship. Whether he lives or dies doesn't affect me much.
"Lastly, perhaps my long-standing image as a nice guy has made him think I'm easy to bully. That's a bad sign. If Witchcraft Demon can give him a little warning on my behalf, I'll be very happy."
Carter Slade: ...
"You two have a grudge, don't you?"
"I wouldn't call it a grudge. I'd just say that what he's been doing lately disgusts me."
"Understood." Carter Slade snorted and observed a few seconds of silence for Nick Fury.
Then he turned to Johnny and said with an