"What's the rush? We're eating breakfast first."
Natasha gave him a teasing smile.
He was impatient—so of course she dragged it out on purpose.
"What? You're mooching breakfast again?
Has S.H.I.E.L.D. gone broke? They don't even feed their agents now?
Just how much money has Nick Fury embezzled?!
And the Security Council isn't even sending an investigation team?
You're all just letting Baldy drain public funds?!"
Lucas got more worked up the longer he spoke.
"And what about the IRS? Why aren't they on him?
Has he paid taxes on all that stolen money?!
I'm reporting him.
I'll let the strongest force on Earth—the IRS—destroy Baldy Fury!"
"??"
Everyone stared at him, stunned.
Whatever trauma Fury had inflicted on Lucas… it must have been catastrophic.
Reporting someone to the IRS was equivalent to a death sentence.
In America, the IRS was the most terrifying institution—
armed well enough to rival the military.
Every business, every government department fell under their rule.
Find a penny on the street?
You owed tax on half of it—
or the IRS would hunt you to the ends of the earth.
Even the Pentagon knelt before the IRS.
---
In the end…
Natasha won by absolute dominance and mooched breakfast anyway.
With three little traitors—Gwen, Skye, and Wanda—siding with her,
Lucas lost every vote with no room for appeal
and had to obediently cook.
---
Off to the Airport
After breakfast, Lucas followed Natasha to the airport—
where the same sleek black Quinjet waited.
Since Quinjets had entered official service,
S.H.I.E.L.D. used them for almost every operation that didn't require larger aircraft.
Lucas continued trying to learn flight controls on the way.
The pilot taught him patiently…
but by the time they landed, Lucas had learned one thing:
How to start the engine.
Everything else?
Not. A. clue.
"If I ever ride in a plane piloted by you, I'll call myself a dog."
Natasha sighed.
She had watched the pilot guide Lucas step by step.
Any normal person would have learned something.
Only Lucas stared blankly the entire time.
"You can't learn even the basics—what do you want a Quinjet for?
Even if they gave it to you, you couldn't fly it home."
"I don't need to. You can fly it.
You've freeloaded at my place forever—
time to show your worth!"
Lucas gave her a pointed look.
Like Tony, she paid rent—
but ate and drank entirely at his expense.
Every time Lucas complained, the girls ganged up on him.
---
Triskelion
They toured the Triskelion—
agents rushing everywhere, no one idle.
Truly, S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't keep slackers.
Whether they kept people or snakes, however… was another question.
Eventually they reached Nick Fury's office—
and to Lucas' annoyance, someone else was there:
Alexander Pierce.
"So you're the famous Lucas Norman?
Meeting you in person is far better than the stories."
Pierce shook his hand politely, eyes filled with curiosity.
He already knew Lucas had single-handedly destroyed Strucker's base.
And like Strucker, he was very interested in Lucas' power—
interested in controlling it.
"Mr. Norman, would you consider joining S.H.I.E.L.D.?
I can authorize you as a Level 10 agent immediately."
Pierce smiled warmly.
With Lucas on his side, all his plans would unfold smoothly.
Lucas didn't even look at him.
He brushed past Pierce and flopped onto the sofa.
"Baldy, don't say I didn't warn you—
this guy isn't a good person.
Be careful."
He practically slapped a HYDRA sticker on Pierce's forehead.
Fury glanced at Lucas, then at Pierce, hesitated, and said:
"Enough. He's the former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Now a World Security Council envoy."
Lucas knew Fury understood the hidden message,
so he shrugged and said nothing more.
"Whatever you say.
Is my stuff ready?"
Lucas strolled over to Fury's desk, sat in his chair,
looked around,
then casually pressed the comm button.
"Agent Coulson, get to my office immediately!"
He mimicked Fury's voice perfectly.
Fury's face darkened—Lucas treated his office like his own home.
A moment later, Coulson hurried in.
"Director, your voice sounded congested—did you catch a col—"
He stopped as three pairs of eyes stared at him.
"Uh… Director? Did you call me?"
Then he saw Lucas sitting behind the desk.
Of course.
Who else would pull this nonsense?
"Coulson.
Take Lucas to see his jet.
Right now.
Get him out of my office.
Motherf—!"
Fury was done.
If Lucas touched one more wrong button, something catastrophic might happen.
Lucas lounged with his feet up on the desk.
"Aren't you scared someone will snipe you from behind? The window's right there."
He looked back.
Nothing but buildings and that pointy four-sided tower sticking up like a giant spike.
"This is bulletproof glass.
Three inches thick.
No sniper rifle can penetrate it."
Fury rubbed his temples.
Did Lucas think he was stupid?
Lucas nodded,
then pulled out Punisher and pointed it at the glass.
He wanted to test it.
The system had said Punisher could damage anything non-human.
"Don't you dare!"
Fury lunged to stop him.
Natasha and Coulson rushed forward as well.
Only Pierce remained unmoving.
"Uh—don't panic.
I wasn't really going to shoot.
Probably…"
Lucas scratched his cheek awkwardly.
He had been about to fire.
"Coulson!
Get him out of here!
NOW!"
Fury was seconds away from shooting Lucas himself.
"Yes, sir! Right away!"
Coulson and Natasha each grabbed one of Lucas' arms
and dragged him out of the office.
As he was hauled away, Lucas still yelled back—
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