S ecure office,” Nick Fury said when he’d come back  upstairs from the Project Insight bay. The windows’ polarized and signal-​baffling drapes closed them off. Other security measures he couldn’t see also started up: No electronic traffic could go in or out.

He inserted the USB drive Romanoff had brought back into a terminal. “Open Lemurian Star ’s satellite launch file.”

On the big wall display near the conference table in his office, a message appeared. ACCESS DENIED. A computer voice spoke the same message aloud.

“Run decryption,” he said.

“Decryption failed.”

“Director override. Fury, Nicholas J.”

“Override denied. All files sealed.”

“On whose authority?”

“Fury, Nicholas J.”

Someone had locked him out using a fake version of his own S.H.I.E.L.D. identity profile. There weren’t many people who could do that...​and there also weren’t many people Fury could go to for help. He had known something was off about the Lemurian Star and its mission. That’s why he had wanted Romanoff to pull the ship’s data. But now he was starting to think the problem went deeper than he knew.

There was only one person he could ask about that.

He walked to the elevator, got in, and said, “World Security Council.”

Alexander Pierce, current head of S.H.I.E.L.D. and liaison to the World Security Council, was dealing with a complex mess left over from the Lemurian Star mission. The other four councilors were present as holograms in Pierce’s top-​floor conference room, which looked out over downtown Washington, DC.

“If Nick Fury thinks he can get his costumed thugs and S.T.R.I.K.E. commandos to mop up his mess, he’s sadly mistaken,” Councilor Rockwell said angrily. “This failure is unacceptable.”

“Considering this attack took place one mile from my country’s sovereign waters,” added Councilor Singh, “it’s a bit more than that. I move for immediate hearing.”

“We don’t need hearings, we need action,” Councilor Hawley argued. “It’s this council’s duty to oversee S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Councilor Yen broke in. “A breach like this raises serious questions.”

“Like how did a French pirate manage to hijack a covert S.H.I.E.L.D. vessel in broad daylight?” Rockwell demanded.

“For the record, Councilman, he’s Algerian,” Pierce said. He was getting tired of their grandstanding. “I can draw a map if it’d help.”

Rockwell didn’t react to Pierce’s joke. “I appreciate your wit, Secretary Pierce. But this council takes things like international piracy fairly seriously.”

“Really? I don’t,” Pierce said. Powell had given him an opening and he was taking it. “I don’t care about one boat, I care about the fleet. If this council is going to fall to rancor every time someone pushes us on the playing field, maybe we need someone to oversee us.”

Yen tried to ease the tension. “Mr. Secretary, nobody is suggesting...”

One of Pierce’s aides came in and told him that Nick Fury was in his office, and not in a mood to wait. “Excuse me,” he said to the council. They could talk about him while he was gone.

“More trouble, Mr. Secretary?” Powell asked.

“Depends on your definition,” Pierce said as he left the conference room. His aide shut the door behind them and Pierce greeted Fury with a smile and a handshake. “I work forty floors away and it takes a hijacking for you to visit?”

“A nuclear war would do it, too.” Fury looked through the window into the conference room, where he could see but not hear the hologram council. “You busy in there?”

Pierce shrugged. He was a veteran of these kinds of battles. “Nothing some earmarks can’t fix.”

“I’m here to ask a favor. I want you to call for a vote. Project Insight has to be delayed.”

“Nick, that’s not a favor, that’s a subcommittee hearing,” Pierce said. “A long one.” Project Insight was ready to launch. The council wanted to see it happen, and they wanted to see it happen now. Slowing it down wouldn’t be easy.

“It could be nothing,” Fury said. “It probably is nothing. I just need time to make sure it’s nothing.”

“But if it’s something?” Pierce was curious to see how much he could get out of Fury.

“Then we’ll both be glad those Helicarriers aren’t in the air,” Fury said quietly. Then he waited.

They’d known each other for a long time, and both men knew that if Fury was asking a favor the issue was important. “Fine,” Pierce said. “But you got to get Iron Man to stop by my niece’s birthday party.”

“Thank you, sir.” They shook hands again.

“And not just a flyby,” Pierce said, making sure Fury understood how big a favor he was asking. “He’s got to mingle.” Sk6eiUgpLEYosz2IvY4aqMtA6L5Gn3MZ789bfaSHtayaZtf1+Qe2h08qNLJpZAV1