"One of the top-secret research facilities for Project Witch has been completely destroyed."
Natasha's voice remained steady, but her pace picked up slightly, revealing the gravity of the incident. "The official preliminary classification is a 'series of connected gas pipe explosions.' However, our satellite forensics analysis indicates that before the base lost its final signal, the internal defense system recorded traces of high-intensity, short-duration energy conflict. The destruction pattern…"
She paused, seemingly searching for the most accurate description. "…The satellite recorded multiple instances of two high-heat energy beams at the scene. They are highly atypical and do not match the characteristics of any known explosive or laser weapon."
Natasha's fingers danced again, switching the display to the next image, which had been subjected to extreme magnification and algorithmic repair.
It was a top-down perspective from an outer perimeter surveillance camera that had narrowly escaped total destruction. The image was extremely blurred and noisy, riddled with the static and tearing left by electronic interference.
The focal point centered on the edge of a relatively intact area near the base's main entrance. A figure in a dark, long trench coat was quickly moving out of the frame, passing through the billowing smoke and scattered building fragments. The coat's hood was pulled low, almost completely obscuring the face, revealing only a sharply defined jawline.
"But in the fragments of the surviving, severely damaged external surveillance data stream, we captured this." Natasha lightly tapped the head of the blurry figure with her fingertip.
"Although facial features are unrecognizable, through gait analysis, body outline comparison, and, most importantly, the faint reflected light signature of the extremely rare, custom Patek Philippe Celestial watch on his wrist…"
She paused for a moment, ensuring Fury's attention was completely focused.
"…Cross-verification points to an over 97.8% match. Target identity confirmed: Hawk Lane. He appeared at the periphery of the explosion's epicenter during the critical withdrawal window."
Fury's body leaned forward slightly, his single eye fixed intensely on the blurry but distinct figure on the screen. His pupil seemed to contract almost imperceptibly. The air in the office felt dense with lead, an invisible pressure seeping down from the ceiling.
"That's not all, Director," Natasha's voice deepened.
She brought up the final screen: a summary of a highly encrypted biological signature tracking report. The red "Target Lost" indicator at the top was flashing incessantly, blindingly bright.
"The core assets of Project Witch, or rather, the 'products'—Goo Ja-yoon, one of the first-generation subjects, and Shin Si-ah, a second-generation subject in the final stages of calibration."
Next to the report, two photos of young women were displayed side-by-side. Goo Ja-yoon's face looked pale, her eyes vacant like dusty glass marbles, radiating an inhuman detachment. Shin Si-ah was younger, with a trace of unvanished innocence still clinging to her face, but her eyes were equally deep and fathomless.
Natasha slowly delivered her conclusion:
"All fragmented exit route analysis, port and airport surveillance screening results, even all records of anomalous energy spikes in the surrounding area… every activated tracking vector, without exception, ultimately converges on Hawk Lane. We have reason to believe he took them."
Silence.
An absolute, crushing silence descended upon the office.
The fingers of Fury's hand, resting on his knee, subtly curled inward. "Pierce knows about this, doesn't he? This project was supported during his tenure, after all."
Natasha shook her head at the question. "I haven't briefed him, but he'll have seen what happened in South Korea. He should be able to guess the general situation."
Fury's exposed eye narrowed. After a long moment of silence, he spoke softly, "But he hasn't come to me. That suggests he still wants to operate in secret and isn't planning on sharing anything about Project Witch."
"No one internally could have anticipated this program would progress this far, though."
"A super-weapon like this being developed in such a small country—Pierce refusing to let us in before is now our opportunity."
After this muttered self-consultation, his gaze returned to Hawk Lane.
A university student, only twenty years old, with a clean record as pristine as a blank page. The sole heir to one of the world's wealthiest fortunes, whose life should be confined to elite academia, lavish parties, family charity galas, and the beds of various starlets and supermodels.
How could he have shown up halfway across the globe, at a supernatural weapons research facility secretly sponsored and strictly guarded by former S.H.I.E.L.D. leader Alexander Pierce?
How was he able to escape unharmed from that catastrophic explosion and the ensuing chaos?
More importantly—how did he manage to take the two 'weapons,' the 'Witches,' who were privately rated within S.H.I.E.L.D. as 'mobile natural disasters' due to their extreme danger level?
Questions coiled around Fury's taut nerves like cold snakes.
He stared at Hawk Lane's brightly smiling face on the screen—a face that seemed utterly unprepared for any worldly wickedness. This face, juxtaposed with the blurred figure at the edge of the explosion site and the two missing girls, formed an acutely unsettling, deeply fragmented puzzle.
Was this smile a mask of incredible innocence, or... a bottomless deception?
The soft chime of the heavy alloy door security suddenly shattered the near-suffocating silence.
The door slid silently sideways. Phil Coulson strode in hurriedly, his usually impeccable, freshly-pressed dark suit unable to disguise the intense urgency on his face. He tightly clutched a transparent data pad as thin as a cicada's wing, his fingertips white with strain.
"Director!" Coulson's voice lacked its usual composure, carrying a sharp tension. "Emergency intercept! From the NSA deep-listening network!"
————
Note: Project Witch and the Korean names mentioned in this chap are part of the Korean movie: The Witch.