Please Begin Your Performance

"Director of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division, Nick Fury."

That black bald egg with a black eyepatch, dressed head to toe in black—shirt, pants, shoes, gloves—topped with a black leather trench coat, his towering frame completely blocked the sunlight streaming in through the shop door...

"Whoa, who turned off the lights?"

As soon as Tony heard his introduction, he raised an eyebrow dramatically and stood up, that charming little mouth of his firing off right away:

"I definitely hung up the 'closed' sign after I came in. Don't you know it's rude to barge in without permission? And it sounds like you were eavesdropping on our conversation?"

He conveniently ignored that he'd also barged in unannounced, pulling out his phone and waving it at Nick Fury, whose expression was impossible to read:

"I think I should have my lawyer have a nice chat with you."

Nick Fury's lips twitched. Sure, Tony Stark was just a brat in his eyes, but the kid had serious backing—

His dad was Howard!

Okay, sure, the kid didn't yet know about Howard's ties to the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division, but...

"And your agency's name is way too ugly and way too long. Do you think everyone you deal with enjoys poetry recitals?"

Fine, this little bastard needed to be reined in, even if Howard were still alive, he couldn't stop it.

"Barging in uninvited is my style, and unfortunately, I have that privilege—

If you need legal authorization, I can have a search warrant sent to your office, Mr. Stark."

Tony's face twitched at that—how many years had it been since someone put him in his place like this?

Well, okay, there was one, the guy right next to him had done it before.

"Tony, it's fine. You don't want to go up against him right now."

Oaks stood up slowly, patting Tony on the shoulder—the guy was apologizing to him, having heard Fury's self-introduction and figured this was trouble aimed at him, so he was trying to shield him.

"After all, they're a global organization. If these agents set their sights on you, it'll cut into your profits."

"Can you handle it?"

"Leave it to me."

"Alright then, start your show."

"..."

Tony plopped back down on the sofa, lounging with his legs crossed, but then he heard footsteps coming downstairs:

"Hey, what did you say you were putting down earlier?!"

Zhang came down with Goose, Moco, and Coco:

"Whoa! Mr. Stark, when did you get here?"

"Uh, ten minutes ago?" Tony shrugged. "Oaks, you got two more pets?"

"Mhm, sponsored by this Director...'s subordinate."

Oaks caught Goose as she leaped over, letting the two little ones stay with Zhang, then tossed Goose toward Nick Fury:

"Old friend meeting, did you bring a gift?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

Nick Fury shouted dramatically: "Watch it!"

"Thump!"

Goose landed directly on Nick Fury's left shoulder, reached out her left paw to touch his eyepatch, then tilted her head proudly:

"Meow~"

"What'd she say?"

"If you dare show up empty-pawed to see me, you can kiss your other eye goodbye."

"..."

Fury was a hundred percent sure Oaks was messing with him.

But luckily, he came prepared—he quickly pulled out a... cat treat from his leather coat pocket.

"Hey~ Goose~ Who's the cutest little kitty? Hahaha!"

"Whoa," Tony said, mouth slightly open. "This guy's really the director of that agency?"

"Probably."

Oaks winced a little, unable to resist a kindly suggestion:

"Show some restraint, Director."

"Ahem..."

Fury quickly set Goose down, put his cold face back on, pulled out another box of cat treats, and pointed at Zhang:

"Mr. Zhang, please come take Goose away."

He gestured toward the stairs, signaling Zhang to take the pets upstairs and clear out.

Zhang hurried over to pick up Goose. Though he didn't recognize this imposing figure, it was normal for an employee to step aside while the boss handled business.

"Zhang, come sit. Since everyone's here, I might as well lay everything out today."

Oaks frowned. Fury's demeanor rubbed him the wrong way.

"This is my shop. You're my employee. Do as I say."

"...Yes, Mr. Oaks."

Zhang glanced at Nick Fury, who was slightly frowning, and Tony, who looked thoroughly amused. He grabbed a chair and sat beside the sofa with the three little ones.

"Director, go ahead."

With a nod toward Nick Fury, Oaks walked over to Tony's side of the sofa and sat down next to him.

"My partner." He gestured at Tony, who lifted his chin.

"My employee." He pointed at Zhang, who was keeping his demeanor proper.

"My pets." He indicated the three little ones, all staring in unison. "So, Director, what brings you here today? What do you want to know?"

"Quite the setup."

Nick Fury walked to the sofa opposite Oaks without a hint of awkwardness and sat down with an imposing posture.

"Like Mr. Stark, I'm very interested in how you can travel to and from the Amazon Rainforest without any entry or exit records—"

Before he could finish, Tony burst out, "You investigated me?!"

"I just stumbled across the military's query logs."

Fury shot a cold glance at the irritated Tony.

"We're a global organization. The U.S. military needs our help on plenty of matters. Don't worry, Mr. Stark—I won't report Colonel Rhodes."

"Great. Looks like I'll have to suggest the military improve their information security measures!"

Tony was even more annoyed now. Investigating Rhodey's side pissed him off more than investigating him directly.

"We can discuss that later. Now, Mr. Oaks."

Fury seemed to have seized control of the conversation, his presence pressing.

"Though both of my agents gave you favorable evaluations, I'm the type who likes to get to the bottom of things."

"A good habit—especially for a spymaster."

Oaks didn't get angry at Fury's aggressive tone. He smiled faintly and patted Tony's arm to calm him down.

"Tony, I'm doing business here. In America, a successful deal is when both sides get what they want, right?"

"Of course. The bigger the businessman, the less they act like thugs demanding you hand things over."

Tony snorted, casting a contemptuous glance at the expressionless Fury.

"We strike a deal at a price both sides can accept. The art of negotiation is a deep subject."

"I think Tony's absolutely right. So, Director Fury, what price are you willing to pay for my 'exclusive information'?"

Oaks leaned forward slightly. To be honest, he'd had it with this guy for a while.

A man no one knows how many secrets he holds? Ha!

At the very least, right now, you don't even know who you're really working for, do you?