Although Nick Fury had sworn he would uncover the truth, he knew this matter was far more complicated than he had imagined.
And if he wanted to get to the bottom of it quickly, he knew there was only one person capable of doing so.
That person was none other than Loren.
Outside the gates of Morgan Manor, the night wind blew in from the direction of the Hudson River, lifting the hem of Nick Fury's black coat.
The manor walls gleamed a cold gray beneath the moonlight.
The wrought-iron gates were tightly shut, while two lamps atop the gateposts gave off a dim yellow glow.
Fury had already been standing at the entrance for twenty minutes.
He had not rung the bell, because there was no bell to be found on the gateposts.
There was no intercom system, no surveillance cameras, none of the modern security equipment he was familiar with.
The manor looked as if it had traveled here from centuries ago, stubbornly maintaining an ancient posture of refusing to be disturbed.
But Fury knew that from the moment his car entered the tree-lined drive, he had already been noticed.
He raised his hand again and knocked the brass ring on the iron gate.
The sound of the brass ring striking metal carried far through the night, startling several birds roosting within the manor.
This time, there was finally a response.
Footsteps sounded from behind the gate, unhurried and measured. Leather shoes stepped over the stone path with a rhythm as steady as a metronome.
The footsteps stopped behind the gate, followed by the scrape of metal as a small window in the gate opened.
Behind it was a faceless visage. It was not a person at all, but one of the Faceless Ones Robots created by Loren.