"Then I thank you in advance, Colonel." Director Egghead smiled slightly. (TL/N: Author has beef with Fury, is it annoying should I change it or keep it as it is?)
"No problem, no problem." Colonel Stryker smiled back as well.
"But... even if I wanted to help, there's nothing I can do."
The smile that had just appeared on Colonel Stryker's face froze. He asked stiffly, "What do you mean?"
"I mean I have no idea about this." Director Egghead shrugged, looking innocent. "I can vouch for that with my reputation—I didn't send anyone to that hospital you mentioned, so you're probably asking the wrong person."
"You're saying my people are lying to me?" Stryker's tone became unfriendly.
"I didn't say that," Director Egghead replied quickly. "Right now there are only two possible explanations..."
"What two?"
"The first is that your people made a mistake, and this has nothing to do with S.H.I.E.L.D. The second is that they didn't make a mistake, and this does involve S.H.I.E.L.D.—but I didn't know about it. That would mean we have a serious internal problem!"
As he said this, Director Egghead's face turned serious. "Don't worry. If that's the case, I'll fully investigate and find out who's behind it, and I'll give you a proper answer."
Colonel Stryker took a deep breath when he heard that, then looked hard at Director Egghead and said through clenched teeth, "Then I should thank you, Director?"
"You're welcome, no need to thank me," Director Egghead said, waving his hand.
"I'll wait for your good news then."
Without another word, Colonel Stryker turned and headed for the door.
"Take care, I won't see you out," Director Egghead said, waving at his back.
After Stryker left, Pierce came in with a curious look on his face. "What did you say to Colonel Stryker? He didn't look too happy when he left."
"Nothing much, just a little misunderstanding," Director Egghead said casually.
Pierce looked a little concerned. "Even if it is a small misunderstanding, I must remind you that Stryker may not be a big deal in his own right, but he is backed by the North American military. In some ways, he can even influence the North American Council. Insulting him won't do you any good, Fury..."
"I know that. Like I said, it's a small misunderstanding. What do you want me to do?"
"All right, let's just hope it doesn't cause any trouble." Pierce sighed.
After a short chat, Pierce left the office as well.
Director Egghead looked at his back and frowned slightly, thinking about something.
On the other side, when his adoptive father Fang Mo came home, Raymond did what he had promised Roland and told them the general situation about S.H.I.E.L.D.
He told them almost everything the original body knew, except for the 'Tahiti Project'.
Mr. and Mrs. Fang were silent for a long time after hearing everything.
Even little Clarice was shocked, feeling as if she had just watched a Hollywood movie.
"I always thought that the 'Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division' was just a sub-department under Homeland Security. I didn't expect it to be something like this..." Fang Mo felt as if his entire worldview had been shattered.
The long, embarrassing name he mentioned was, of course, the full title of S.H.I.E.L.D.
This ridiculous name was probably made up by someone with OCD who wanted S.H.I.E.L.D. to sound more official.
As the chief of police in Richmond, a city close to D.C., Fang Mo had dealt with S.H.I.E.L.D. before.
But whenever S.H.I.E.L.D. operated in public, they always used their full, embarrassing name.
Most local police would respond by asking their superiors, and those superiors would do the same until someone important enough to know what S.H.I.E.L.D. really was gave the go-ahead to cooperate.
Most people didn't really care where this long-winded department came from, and their first reaction was to assume that it was part of the Department of Homeland Security.
Now that Raymond had revealed the truth, Fang Mo began to remember things from the past.
"So you're saying that the reason these strange cases were handed over to S.H.I.E.L.D. agents was because they were connected to people with powers?" Fang Mo asked.
Raymond shook his head. "Not always. Sometimes cases that seemed to involve superpowered people turned out to be something else. But most of the time, yes, that's the reason."
"I see..." Fang Mo nodded, understanding.
Roland wasn't happy that Fang Mo was focusing on something she thought was completely unimportant. She rolled her eyes and asked, "Those people are always fighting and dealing with dangerous folks—what do they want with a scholar like you?"
"I told you, Mom. I joined their academy. I only teach students. What happened last time was just an accident."
"There are no accidents. How come you never had any before you joined them?" Roland clearly wasn't buying it.
Raymond was stuck and turned to his father, silently asking for help.
Fang Mo sighed and stepped in. "Roland, this is his job. We shouldn't interfere."
That only made Roland angrier. "Job, job! Is a job more important than his life?"
Fang Mo replied, "Remember when your father said my job was too dangerous and told me to quit? What did you say to him then?"
That made Roland freeze.
Because back then, she was playing the same role as her father, and she had used her skills as a lawyer to convince him otherwise.
In a battle of words, even Raymond and Fang Mo together were no match for her.
But this time, Fang Mo had used her own logic against her, leaving her speechless.
Still, trying to reason with a woman wouldn't work. When Roland realized that she was losing the argument, she stood up and threw down one last line:
"Fine! Everything's my fault. Are you happy now?!"
Then, before either of them could respond, she stormed off to her room.
"Uh…" Raymond looked helpless.
He had dealt with many women before, but never with his own mother—the most unreasonable kind—and didn't know what to do.
"She'll be fine. Let her cool off," Fang Mo said, shaking his head and signaling to Raymond not to worry. Then he glanced at Clarice and quietly asked her to go check on Roland.
Clarice understood immediately and ran into the room to comfort her.