James folded his hands. "You're not the target. You're just the bait. We want your superior. Your network. Your safehouses. Give me something now, and you might walk out with a contribution."
He paused.
"If you don't… Well, I don't really need you to talk. Cause I already know."
The agent's stare faltered.
Because deep down, he could tell—James wasn't guessing, HE KNOWS.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The rest of the agents were interviewed one by one, till the last one came in.
The Level Five agent didn't break, he leaned back in the chair, smirking.
"Don't kid yourself. I won't betray Hydra. Even if you've figured us out, so what? We're stronger than ever. I just hope you make it out of New York alive... hehehe."
James's eyes narrowed.
"Didn't you see the suit I dropped in with?" His voice was calm, commanding. "If this whole branch is compromised, I'll reduce it to a crater."
The agent's confidence wavered.
He knew Iron Man. He knew Stark was off-limits. Too unpredictable. Too dangerous. And now James Gibson—his associate—was standing here, wearing a customized warframe and issuing ultimatums.
That wasn't someone you can push around.
James motioned to Coulson. "Get him out of here."
As the agent was dragged away, James turned to Coulson.
"Next step. We vet your team—then hit the precinct. I want records on my rescue call. We flip this thing piece by piece."
Coulson paused. Studied James for a long moment.
"What?" James asked, finally.
"What are you?" Coulson asked flatly. "How do you know all this? How are you so accurate with them?"
James leaned back. "Mind reading."
Coulson blinked.
James shrugged. "It's not the usual kind. I need physical contact. Developed after I left the Fraternity. Stop using the suppressants, to let it evolve on its own."
Coulson's chair subtly rolled back an inch.
James raised an eyebrow. "Got something you don't want me seeing?"
Coulson quickly shook his head. "No—just... surprised. It's a hell of a gift, specially for an agent."
"It's useful, but not without cost. Burns stamina and gives mental fatigue. I can't do it all day. That's why I've been keeping it quiet."
James's tone dropped slightly. "And frankly, I don't need more people knowing what I can do, but I trust you."
He didn't mention the rest. His energy draws. The fusion core Tony had built into the Umbra Sentinel. The secret link with Cortana. No one else needed to know—not even S.H.I.E.L.D.
Not in a country where people like Bruce Banner had to stay on the run.
James wasn't Hulk-level. Without the armor, he might match Cap in a clean fight—but he'd burn out fast. His heart couldn't keep up without food. His real edge was mental: speed, processing, and precision. Everything else came from Cortana and his discipline.
He had limits.
But he wasn't going to show them.
Coulson nodded slowly. "It's not ideal, but it's what we've got. And honestly, it's the best tool we have to root out Hydra. Let's test it. Should we run the headquarters team through now?"
"Yeah," James stood. "But I need calories first. Can't scan half the department on an empty stomach."
He pulled out his wallet and dropped five hundred in cash. "Burgers. Fries. Coke. No salads. Just pure calorie intake with lots of energy to convert and burn"
Coulson laughed. "Your metabolism's going to make a lot of women angry."
He left to grab food personally. No risk letting outsiders get involved right now.
A short time later, Coulson returned with arms full of fast food.
He handed some off to his agents. But the rest went into the office.
James downed several double quarter pounders, several large fries, and a 2 liters of coke. Then he wiped himself and nodded.
"Ready." Coulson sat amazed by such appetite before snapping himself and continuing on with the objectives.
One by one, Coulson's hand-picked agents entered.
Introductions. Handshakes. Eye contact.
James didn't ask any questions, just introductions.
He introduced, touched, scanned, and moved on.
In less than twenty minutes, he had his list.
"Three," he said. "Hydra members. Low-level, but they were listening in and logging movements. Pull them out."
Coulson didn't hesitate. His people moved fast. The three agents were stripped of weapons and comms. No implanted transmitters, and no poison capsules.
A clean detainment.
Coulson addressed the rest of his team.
"I know this looks strange. I know some of you are confused. But here's the truth—what you saw tonight stays with you. Need-to-know only. That said—congratulations."
He looked around the room.
"You're all directly under me now. No more reporting through standard S.H.I.E.L.D. channels. We're going to do some very big, very dangerous things."
One agent spoke up. "We trust you, sir. What's next?"
Coulson nodded. "We're heading to the New York Division. We're not trusting anyone there until we've screened them. And this isn't a courtesy call. We're going to verify Agent James Gibson's emergency call from earlier today."
He paused. "They ignored it. Now we need to find out why."
James looked over the crew. "Gear up. Assume heavily armed opposition. If Hydra runs the Division, we may need to take over the building."
The room went quiet.
Then the agents responded in unison.
"Yes, sir."