Operation Plan

"Finished with the research?"

Shendu entered Tony's lab and saw him reclining in a chair. The equipment he had seen last time sat quietly nearby, unused.

Tony did not greet Shendu when he arrived. "You came in right at the end time, and now you're asking me what I was doing?"

He gave Shendu another once-over and narrowed his eyes. "You feel different from before, but I can't put my finger on exactly how."

Shendu checked the time. There were ten minutes left until he was supposed to meet Steve. "So, did you get any results from studying my blood?"

Tony waved a hand provocatively. "There were too few samples, so I can't get much out of them yet. If you're willing to give me a few more vials of blood now, I'm sure I can find out more."

"You're too greedy. Keep researching, and be careful it doesn't backfire on you." Shendu glanced at the dark golden dragon mark on Tony's wrist.

Tony noticed Shendu's gaze and put on his jacket, covering the dragon mark.

He still remembered what had happened. After Shendu's blood had been scanned in the machine, the test tube exploded without warning when he took it out.

Some of the blood inside had splashed onto his wrist.

An intense burning sensation had shot through his wrist, as if some powerful acid were corroding it. By the time he had treated it, a dark golden dragon mark had appeared where the blood had landed.

Shendu raised an eyebrow.

Tony tried to change the subject. "So? Without Stark Industries backing them, S.H.I.E.L.D. must be a complete mess by now, right?"

"Not at all. S.H.I.E.L.D. is doing just fine," Shendu replied evenly.

Tony curled his lip. "Give me a break. You don't seriously think I know nothing about what goes on inside S.H.I.E.L.D., do you? Is using my identity working out well for you?"

Shendu said nothing. He knew Tony could not possibly have no informants within S.H.I.E.L.D. For all he knew, Stark Group had tampered with every surveillance camera in the agency.

"Have you figured out how to hand the darts over to me?" Tony did not pursue the matter of his stolen identity. Right now, he cared more about the darts.

Shendu checked the time. "Soon. Someone will be delivering them any moment now."

Not long after Shendu finished speaking, a knock sounded outside the lab.

"Sorry, I might be a little late." Steve's voice came from the doorway.

Shendu smiled. "Not at all. Your timing is perfect."

Tony looked at Steve outside the door, then at Shendu. "What's this? You picked this place for the handoff?"

Steve answered, "Not Valmont. I chose this place. Natasha said you were interested in these darts."

Steve handed Tony a bag containing the six darts they had acquired earlier.

Tony raised an eyebrow at Shendu, took Steve's bag, and opened it for a look.

Once Tony had received it, Steve said, "I didn't feel comfortable having someone else bring these, so I delivered them myself. Now that you've got them, I can leave."

Steve looked at Shendu again and gave him a knowing look. "I'll wait for you at the entrance to S.H.I.E.L.D."

After Steve left, Tony placed the darts into a storage device. There were still two empty slots.

"Doesn't feel like enough. Can you get more?" Tony asked Shendu.

Shendu did not answer. He was now lying in the chair Tony had been using earlier.

About three minutes later, Steve appeared at the lab door again, this time with two more darts in hand. "I nearly forgot. Natasha gave me two more before and asked me to bring them along."

Shendu rose to his feet and raised an eyebrow. "Good thing. Otherwise Natasha's share would have gone to waste."

Shendu did not remain in the lab for long. After discussing the next steps with Tony, he headed to S.H.I.E.L.D.

The moment he reached the entrance, he saw Steve talking with the guards.

When Steve saw Shendu arrive, he waved for him to follow.

Shendu followed him to a small room.

Only after repeatedly confirming that no one nearby could overhear them did Steve sit down in a chair with a helpless expression.

"Every agent in S.H.I.E.L.D. has a private room. This one is mine."

Shendu looked around. Aside from a few frequently worn outfits and pieces of equipment, there was only that conceptual Vibranium shield that would always fly back into Steve's hand.

"Why did you choose this place?" Shendu asked.

Steve sighed. "I think I've been exposed."

Shendu suppressed the smile at the corners of his mouth and put on a shocked expression. "Exposed? With your steady personality, it would be hard for you to expose yourself even if you tried."

Steve shook his head. "I find it strange too. I can't figure out what I did that caught their attention."

He looked toward a corner of the room, recalling, "Over the past two days, whenever I made a move concerning the Mind Stone, something unlucky happened to me. It was like someone was deliberately tripping me up."

Shendu stroked his chin, frowned, and pretended to think. "Now that you mention it, it is strange. You may very well have been exposed. But why would ordinary agents stop you? By all rights, people at their level shouldn't have access to intelligence as highly classified as the Mind Stone."

Steve smiled at Shendu's analysis. "You were so sharp before—you figured out the mole's true objective. How can you not understand something this obvious?"

Steve pointed at the ceiling. "Clearly, the problem is higher up. Fury also discovered the mole's objective and strengthened the protection around the Mind Stone."

Steve paused, his tone darkening. "Fury covets the Mind Stone's power too. He suspects anyone who tries to get close to it, including me."

"So, do you have a way to get close to the stone?" Shendu mimicked Steve's gloomy tone.

Steve handed Shendu an access card. "This is a top-level access card. Only Fury and I have one in all of S.H.I.E.L.D. Now that Stark Industries' equipment inside S.H.I.E.L.D. has resumed normal operation, their surveillance of me will only become tighter."

"You mean, you want me to do it?" Shendu asked.

"More or less."

Steve pulled out a sheet of paper from the combat suit beside him and handed it to Shendu. "This is where Natasha located the stone. I'll be responsible for drawing Fury's attention."

Shendu took it. The note contained a crude map and several other special symbols—the code of the Shadow Legion.

"Draw Fury's attention?" Shendu tucked the note into his clothes. "Are you sure that, with your current luck, you can still successfully draw his attention?"

Steve gave a bitter smile. "At the very least, I'm still Captain America. As long as I show up somewhere I shouldn't be, Fury's attention will definitely be drawn to me."

Steve looked into Shendu's eyes, his tone suddenly turning serious. "Valmont, I trust you because you're more clearheaded than ninety-nine percent of the people in S.H.I.E.L.D. But I have to remind you: the Mind Stone isn't a toy. Its power of temptation is beyond imagination. Fury is a perfect example."

Shendu smiled. "I know that very well. But you should also watch out for the mole on the third side. Once we make a move, they definitely won't sit still."