"Sir. There is a visitor at the gate."
Tony frowned. "I wasn't expecting anyone. Pepper?"
"Not Miss Potts." JARVIS brought up the surveillance feed.
On the screen, a black Chevrolet Suburban sat outside the gate, with no license plates. The door opened, and a man in a black leather trench coat stepped out. Bald, Black, with an eyepatch over his left eye. He stood before the gate without ringing the bell again, merely raising his head as his single eye locked precisely onto the camera beneath the eaves.
Tony glanced at the screen and frowned. "Who's that?"
Rhodey leaned over for a look as well. "Don't know him. Military?"
Chen Xiao rose from the couch and brushed the dust from his clothes.
"Nick Fury. The director of that agency with a name too long to remember." He casually set his empty Coke can on the table, his tone flat. "In other words, your hot assistant's boss."
Tony turned to him. "You know him?"
"No, but I know of him." Chen Xiao shoved his hands into his pockets and headed toward the stairs. "You guys clean up this mess first. I'm going to meet this bald egg."
First-floor living room.
Chen Xiao did not go open the door. He leaned against the bar and waited a moment. The man outside did not ring the bell a second time; he simply stood there, neither hurried nor impatient. Chen Xiao flicked a finger, and the door opened.
The door swung open automatically.
Nick Fury stood at the entrance, carrying a dark gray metal briefcase. It was not the sort of sealed case the two agents had delivered last time. This one was older and heavier, with a small chip of paint missing from one corner, exposing the silvery aluminum shell beneath. Natasha Romanoff