On the Quinjet.
"I'm human. Even though I look like some mix between man and beast and still have those primal animal instincts… spiritually, I'm still human.
If you want, call me Drake. Or better yet — Orc Drake."
As the aircraft hummed steadily through the sky, Derek frowned.
"Orc, huh? That's... creative," he muttered, correcting the bald man automatically.
Drake shrugged, unbothered. "Hey, I didn't name myself."
Sitting beside Kai, Coulson leaned forward. "According to you, Mr. Drake, you heard the people controlling you mention someone named James Rondo, right?"
"Oh, yeah. James Rondo — the rising star in Austin's city government!" Drake replied. "The mad scientist who experimented on me strapped an electric shock cap on my head. When I was conscious, I heard one of his assistants say that with Rondo as the new mayor, Austin's medical and financial sectors would belong to their group."
Kai was lounging beside them, half-listening, half-playing a fishing game on his tablet.
Seeing that Kai clearly didn't care, Derek sat up straight.
Drake continued, "The guy who attacked Collins is tied to the medical industry. And that Korok Moses guy? He's from finance. My orders were to cripple them, not kill. As for the Bryans you mentioned earlier? Never heard of them. Probably above my pay grade."
He cast a cautious glance toward Kai. The man's calm expression terrified him more than any threat could.
Even with his superhuman healing, the memory of trying to run from Kai — the Flash Man — still made his body ache.
Every escape attempt had ended with him slammed into the dirt before he could even blink.
He told himself it was just his new animal instincts reacting. But deep down, he knew — he was scared of Kai.
Coulson nodded thoughtfully, then looked over at Kai, who was now peeling an orange like this was a picnic instead of an interrogation.
"Kai," Coulson said, sighing. "This case is clearly out of our league. That mayor, James Rondo, is way above my clearance level."
Kai popped an orange slice into his mouth and lazily handed Coulson the other half. "So what do we do now?"
Coulson took it with a small smile. "We go step by step. We can't directly arrest or interrogate Rondo, but we can track down the lab and the people involved. The Bryans. The congressman named Murdoch. Anyone connected to these experiments."
He picked up his phone and glanced at Kai. "This case has huge implications. I think the Director needs to be brought in."
Kai shrugged and leaned back, clearly done with the conversation.
Later at the S.H.I.E.L.D. base
Drake was placed in an interrogation room.
Because Kai was on base, the orc behaved like a perfect angel — calm, polite, and absolutely not trying to escape.
Fitz was already digging into the phone records and visitor logs tied to Korok Moses.
The connections led back to the Bryan couple, and soon after, Coulson, Melinda, and Kai headed out to track them.
But when they arrived, the Bryans were gone.
The supposed lab location was completely cleared out — no data, no samples, not even the cages Drake had mentioned.
When they returned to base, Nick Fury and Maria Hill were already waiting.
"Good afternoon, Coulson. Kai," Fury greeted, his gravelly voice cutting through the air. His signature black trench coat swayed as he turned to face them. "Any leads?"
"Nothing solid," Coulson admitted. "When we got to the lab Drake mentioned, it was already wiped clean. The Bryans vanished. Simmons is analyzing the orc tissue samples to identify the compound that caused the mutation. Fitz found some interesting communication data... but, Director, I don't have clearance to pursue local politicians like Murdoch and Rondo."
Fury nodded. "You don't. But I do."
He folded his arms, eyepatch glinting under the light. "Those two have major organizations backing them. I suspect this runs deeper — maybe even city to city. Kai,"
Fury said, turning to him, "you and Hill will bring in Murdoch and Rondo. If they resist, you have my authorization to use force."
Hill immediately stood, ready for action.
Kai, however, just stared at his watch. The second hand ticked slowly toward the twelve.
When it did, he stood up and stretched.
"Sorry, boss. I'm off work now. Whatever you need, we can talk about it tomorrow morning."
And before anyone could say another word — he was gone.
Coulson stifled a laugh as Fury's single eye twitched.
"Is he always like this?" Fury asked flatly.
Coulson chuckled. "Not always, sir. I just don't talk to him like I'm giving orders. If you approach him as a teammate — not a soldier — he's surprisingly cooperative.
He complains a lot, but he's one of the most reliable people I've ever worked with."
Fury exhaled slowly. "Reliable, huh? Let's hope so."