As expected, Pierce's desire for the Time Stone far surpassed his interest in the Space Stone. To Hydra, controlling time would mean that even if their plans failed, they could simply use the stone to rewind events to before the failure occurred.
William, of course, understood that time was not something to be tampered with lightly. However, he had no intention of explaining this to Pierce, who was already lost in his grand fantasies. Even if he tried to warn him, Pierce wouldn't listen. Besides, attempting to steal something from the Ancient One was a fool's errand. Hydra could grow a hundred more heads, and it still wouldn't be enough to face her.
"If the rumors are true, the Time Stone is currently known as the Eye of Agamotto and should be located in Kathmandu, Nepal, at a place called Kamar-Taj," William said casually.
"Kamar-Taj?"
Pierce's expression shifted, his mind racing. He stared at William suspiciously. "If you know where it is, why haven't you gone after it yourself?"
"Heh. I would if I could," William lied without missing a beat. "But I can't find Kamar-Taj."
"What do you mean?" Pierce asked skeptically. "With all your resources, how can you not find it if you know it's in Kathmandu?"
"I'd love to know the answer myself," William muttered, feigning irritation. Deep down, he suddenly felt something was off. Shouldn't S.H.I.E.L.D. already be aware of Kamar-Taj and the Ancient One? Is Pierce trying to bait me into revealing more?
William inwardly cursed Pierce but maintained his thoughtful facade. "It's probably because I've killed too many people. To enter a place like Kamar-Taj, you likely need a certain level of purity or virtue. And, well, I've personally dealt with quite a number of people over the years."
Pierce was momentarily stunned by this reasoning but quickly composed himself. He moved to his desk and made a call.
After a few minutes, he received confirmation from the other end of the line and began to believe William's explanation. It wasn't that Hydra hadn't tried to send people to Kamar-Taj before, but those attempts had all ended in failure. The operatives would wander around Kathmandu for days with no results.
However, every now and then, someone would vanish from the city for several years. When they reappeared, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who infiltrated their circles reported that these individuals often mentioned Kamar-Taj. Most of them admitted they lacked magical talent and had left after years of fruitless training.
It seemed that William might be onto something. Perhaps entering Kamar-Taj required two conditions:
A clean background. Magical potential.
The first condition posed no challenge for an organization like Hydra. They could easily select young, curious recruits from within their own ranks who were eager to explore the mysteries of magic.
The second condition—magical potential—was trickier, but Pierce believed sheer numbers could overcome it. If Hydra sent a hundred candidates, at least one or two were bound to succeed. Once inside, they could be interrogated for valuable information. Over time, Hydra might be able to infiltrate Kamar-Taj, eventually building their own magical advisory council—or perhaps even positioning someone to contend for the title of Sorcerer Supreme.
Damn it, William would have chuckled bitterly if he knew what Pierce was plotting. Good thing there are magical detection spells, and the Ancient One can foresee people's futures. Otherwise, Hydra might have actually managed to infiltrate Kamar-Taj in a few centuries.
Feeling pleased with the new intelligence he had gathered, Pierce was in a much better mood. Though he still resented William for taking the Space Stone, he felt somewhat pacified by the prospect of compensation.
Pouring another round of whiskey for both of them, Pierce clinked glasses with William and, after a hearty sip, asked cautiously, "Would you consider selling us a spaceship?"
"Haha," William chuckled and glanced at his watch. He drained his whiskey and snapped his fingers toward the phone on the coffee table. The device vanished without warning. Smiling at Pierce, William said, "It's getting late. I need to head back to London to check on my family before returning to Mars. Bye."
"Wait—"
Pierce tried to stop him, but William merely flashed a grin. His figure shimmered and disappeared before Pierce's eyes.
The sight of William vanishing so easily made Pierce's heart ache with regret over losing the Space Stone. He nearly had a heart attack on the spot. William's ability to teleport at will forced Pierce to reevaluate Hydra's strategy toward him.
If William ever wanted to eliminate them, he wouldn't even need to act directly. A simple teleportation of a red mercury bomb into one of Hydra's fortresses would be enough to obliterate them.
As these grim thoughts raced through his mind, something strange occurred. About ten minutes later, a bottle of Château Latour wine and a large external hard drive suddenly appeared on his desk without warning.
The sudden arrival of the objects sent Pierce's heart racing like a high-powered engine. His lips darkened as he struggled to stay conscious. Trembling, he pulled open a drawer, retrieved a bottle of medication, and swallowed two pills with water. Collapsing into his chair, he gasped for breath until his heartbeat finally stabilized.
He called his personal doctor but hesitated over his next move. Should I find a successor and retire to a position within the World Security Council? he wondered. Today's events nearly killed me, and I didn't even dare summon S.H.I.E.L.D.'s doctors for fear of exposure.
As he pondered potential successors, the sudden ringing of his phone startled him so badly that his heart skipped a beat. Furious, he grabbed the phone and barked, "What is it?!"
"Oh, nothing much," William's voice came through, mockingly calm. "I just wanted to check if you're okay. Wouldn't want you to keel over without anyone to call for help. Oh, and I also wanted to ask how you feel about the vertical take-off and landing engine I just sent you."
"Engine?" Pierce repeated, glancing at the hard drive on his desk.
William's voice continued, "It's not capable of interstellar travel, but it should be a year or two ahead of what S.H.I.E.L.D. is currently developing. If you're satisfied, maybe you could do me a favor and issue a public statement. Something along the lines of:
'The U.S., as a close ally of England, provided the Devonshire family with a special energy resource. The spaceship spotted in London was a prototype built to retrieve that resource.'"
Pierce hung up without replying and turned on the television. He flipped through multiple channels, each one broadcasting live footage of the Devonshire estate in London, with the spaceship prominently displayed on the property.
The world was watching.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +20 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Mutter"]
[Every 50 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]