E/d: I'm changing the style again, hopefully to follow more with the original, from what i've seen, the changes is too much, too much info forgotten, dialogues wiped, it's just… different, i'm just gonna let the ai polish it a little, i made it do a rewrite before, but now it's just a slight polish. Guess I will do the heavy work.
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Carlos cracked open a beer and sat by the window.
"We did it," James muttered. "We're really out."
"For now," Carlos replied.
But they both knew: out didn't mean safe. Not forever, but it did mean peace—for the meantime.
And for now, that was enough.
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James and his father were ready to leave New York. Their next stop is to visit Carlos's friends and begin the new training. Even though he wasn't officially an assassin anymore, James still wanted to keep improving. Skills were skills, and Carlos didn't mind helping his son get better.
Downstairs, James gave his Chevrolet Camaro SS a quick look.
"This car's done its part. Kinda amazing it even made it to New York. I should sell it and get something better. You also need a car," James said casually.
"Eh, It's your money," Carlos replied without much care.
They were about to get in when two black Chevrolet Suburbans boxed them in, front and back. James and Carlos didn't panic. Instead, they watched calmly as several men in suits stepped out. They didn't approach, but loosely surrounded them.
"Relax, I just want to talk," said a guy with receding hairline as he walked up.
James knew him right away — Phil Coulson, senior agent from SHIELD. He tried to remember his exact rank.
[Phil Coulson, level 7 Agent, former member of the Secret Avengers and the U.S. Rangers, secretly have Alpha and Omega level clearance] Prompted Cortana for him to remember.
"It's not us who are nervous. Looks like you're the nervous ones. Since you came looking for us, you should know what we can do. Get to the point," James said, sounding unimpressed. He had every right to act confident now. Even if it was Coulson, James didn't have to care.
"Fair enough. Why don't we talk somewhere else? I'll ride with you," Coulson offered politely. He came off more like a friendly neighbor than an agent.
"Sure. It's lunch anyway. I'll buy." James opened the driver's door and got in. His Beretta 92F and M1911 pistols were comfortably holstered, as usual.
Carlos slid into the backseat after pushing the passenger seat forward. Coulson sat up front and pressed his earpiece. "You can leave now," he ordered.
The Suburbans drove off. James started the Camaro and pulled onto the road.
"So... have you been watching us or the Fraternity?" James asked while driving.
"Yes," Coulson admitted.
"Using electronic surveillance?" James pressed.
"Yes,"
James figured as much. You don't tail assassins directly unless you want body bags. Electronic monitoring made sense, especially with SHIELD's lack of superheroes at the moment. Plus, Hydra's infiltration meant any conflict could get messy fast.
"So, you want us to join?" James asked. "Oh, wait, my dad's retired. That leaves me, right?"
"Right. It's a pity though. Carlos Gibson is legend. But retirement is retirement." Coulson confirmed what James already figured — they were only after him.
Inside, James asked Cortana for advice.
[Should I join?] he asked mentally.
[I can't say for sure,] Cortana replied. [But the Tesseract is an energy source. Contact with it might help me evolve.]
That caught James's attention. Leveling up Cortana on his own would take forever. The Tesseract could change that. Still, he wasn't sure SHIELD would even let him near it.
Soon they arrived at a fancy hotel with a high class restaurant. James parked and they headed to the restaurant.
"Order whatever you want," James told the others.
He went big: steak, pasta, cake, seafood, soup, and beer. The waiter can't help but stare at him at his massive appetite.
"What? Never seen a guy from out of town before?" James said, glaring.
The waiter backed off. Coulson ordered something basic. Carlos stuck to his usual diet.
"So. About joining SHIELD…" Coulson began.
"You haven't even told me what you guys do, and you expect me to join?" James replied.
"I can't say much. It's classified. You'll know after you join," Coulson answered.
James smirked. "Or is it that you think I'm just average, so there's no point in telling me yet?"
"You're not average. You're a top-tier assassin, even if you're new to the game," Coulson said.
"Wrong. I'm not an assassin. Just a guy who got pulled into a mess and helped clean it up with my dad," James said firmly. Sure, he made good money in the process — his Stark Industries stocks and Cyflix shares proved that — but he didn't care much about titles.
"I can only tell you SHIELD handles global security," Coulson added.
James nodded. He wasn't Tony Stark, but having Cortana, his training, and his weapons made him far from normal.
"I'm in. But I need time. My training's not finished yet. Everything so far has just been basic," James said.
"No problem. You'll go through agent training anyway."
"That's fine. Can't hurt to learn more. The Fraternity was ancient. They didn't even use proper security — guys literally had bank passwords saved on their phones."
"They probably didn't spend much, or rarely left their hideouts," Coulson guessed.
"Exactly."
By the end of the meal, both sides were happy. James got closer to the Tesseract and SHIELD got a new recruit.
After Coulson left, Carlos asked, "Why join?"
James shrugged. "It's not just for you. I'm interested myself. Sitting on money doesn't excite me. Joining SHIELD keeps life interesting... Plus, they'll help us clean up any leftover problems. They know how this stuff works."
James smiled, already planning his next move.