Chapter 211 Do I Still Have a Chance?
Whether or not S.H.I.E.L.D. should be preserved was a dilemma for Finney.
In the original storyline, various unexpected events led to the mutually assured destruction outcome, but the main reason was that Hydra, led by Alexander Pierce, was almost complete with Project Insight and planned to step into the limelight.
Finney didn't know if Project Insight was still ongoing, but Zola's death certainly had some impact.
Moreover, Hydra suspected internal problems and was frantically trying to hide themselves; how could they possibly want to expose themselves?
Thinking about this, Finney suddenly realized something: S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra both thought the problem was internal, but the real cause was actually him.
Because of the continuous holiday greetings, Finney didn't think too long and decided to wait until he met Nick Fury before deciding; perhaps it wasn't Hydra's problem after all.
Christmas passed, and two days flew by.
Finney arrived at the address to meet Nick Fury.
Looking at Nick Fury, who seemed to always wear the same clothes, Finney sighed, walked over and sat down opposite him, greeting him, "Long time no see!"
"Would you like something to drink?"
Nick Fury glanced at Finney with his one eye, picked up his lemonade and took a sip.
"No, thank you!"
Finney shook his head, looking directly at Nick Fury and asking bluntly, "What brings you here?"
"I have some questions for you."
Nick Fury didn't answer directly, continuing, "I heard you graduated early? And even acquired a lab in Seoul?"
Hearing this, Finney frowned slightly. Although he understood that Nick Fury couldn't possibly ignore him, nobody likes being investigated.
"Yes, you have to find a job to make a living,"
Finney replied, then looked at Nick Fury and asked, "Is there a problem?"
Nick Fury stared at Finney with his only eye for a long time, but ultimately didn't continue the conversation on this topic. Instead, he said, "Do you know about Hydra?"
Finney paused slightly, but replied calmly, "Yes!"
Nick Fury was almost used to Finney's information, so he wasn't surprised by the answer at all. He continued, "How much do you know?"
"More than you think!"
Finney answered, squinting, pondering how best to handle the situation.
Hearing this, Nick Fury fell silent. After a long pause, he asked in a deep voice, "Do they still exist?"
Actually, Nick Fury already had the answer to this question in his mind, but he hoped to get more information from Finney.
"Yes!"
Finney simply nodded, without offering any further explanation.
The atmosphere fell silent again. Nick Fury frowned, staring at the water in his glass. After a long while, he sighed, "I think there might be Hydra agents planted within S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Be more confident. Drop the 'might',"
Finney shrugged, amusement on his face. "Might?" At least half of S.H.I.E.L.D. was probably Hydra.
Nick Fury immediately looked up, staring directly at Finney, and said in a deep voice, "Do you know who they are?"
"No!"
Finney shook his head. Although he had obtained a Hydra list from Zola, he hadn't opened the two USB drives yet, worried about potential problems.
However, he wasn't entirely unaware. At least he knew a number of names related to Alexander Pierce's faction of Hydra, thanks to Sitwell.
Nick Fury gave Finney a deep look. As the head of the intelligence agency, his ability to detect lies was top-notch; he had just sensed that Finney wasn't telling the truth.
"I need your help!"
Nick Fury said in a deep voice, but before he could speak, Finney shook his head and refused, "Not at this time!"
"I have to go on a long trip in a few days, and I'm not sure when I'll be back!"
"A long trip?"
Nick Fury was taken aback again and asked in confusion, "Where are you going?"
"Asgard!"
Finney didn't hide anything from Nick Fury, just in case he couldn't find him on Earth and caused some trouble.
"Asgard!?"
Finney's answer was obviously a bit unexpected for Nick Fury, and he couldn't help but ask again, "You're going to Asgard? How will you get there?"
"Magic!"
Finney rolled his eyes at Nick Fury and said, "I have some things to do there, and I'm not sure when I'll be back, but it won't be more than half a year at the latest."
Nick Fury was still thinking about Finney's previous sentence and asked in slight shock, "That portal? You can already teleport across the stars?"
"What? Am I not allowed to improve?"
Finney looked at the expression on Nick Fury's face with interest. Although his spatial talent had improved a lot, he was still far from being able to teleport across the stars.
To open a portal to Asgard, he would need to rely on the power of the Space Stone.
Nick Fury remained silent, somewhat incredulous at Finney's progress.
Just a short while ago, he could only teleport within the New York area; how could he be able to teleport across interstellar distances in the blink of an eye?
"Were you really on a barren planet for those six months?"
Nick Fury pondered Finney's experiences over this period, ultimately feeling that only the six months away from Earth were truly unusual.
"I'll definitely send you there to see it when I get the chance!"
Finney rolled his eyes at Nick Fury's skeptical expression.
Hearing Finney's words, Nick Fury stopped dwelling on Vormir and instead inquired about the portal: "How exactly did you acquire this magic?"
"I learned it by accident!"
Finney shrugged, confirming that finding the Ancient One was indeed an accident.
"You mean it can be learned?" Nick Fury suddenly paused, then looked up at Finney and asked, "Do you think I still have a chance?"
"What?"
Finney was taken aback.
"Do you think I still have a chance to learn this magic?" Nick Fury said, even mimicking Finney's gesture of opening a portal, cracking his wrists.
"..."
Finney looked at Nick Fury speechlessly, but inwardly thought, whether Nick Fury could learn portal magic was hard to say.
After all, magical talent varies from person to person, and he couldn't guarantee that Nick Fury wouldn't have the talent.
But even if Nick Fury had the talent, the Ancient One probably wouldn't choose to teach him, so Finney decided to directly thwart his dream of becoming a mage.
"No!"
Finney shook his
head, refusing, "Besides, I don't know how to teach anyone, so forget about it, just focus on being a good director!"
(End of Chapter)