[SHIELD]
Nick Fury could be seen wearing a familiar scowl these days and depending on how and who you asked, the answer remained the same; the boss is mad.
This was not the first time he had gone on weeks-long, or even months-long, angry streak so his agents did as their paid jobs dictated and focused more on their job than his mood. It was a moot point either way. Everything contributed to pissing him off even more.
Not only did he have to worry about planetary threats that seemed to be the new wave in the universe nowadays, he also had to worry about his own planet and keeping some people in line before they imploded it. And now, chief in place, and also taking the crown for a long run, he also had to worry about a corner street peddler.
God, he wished this was last year. This new year was getting increasingly more than he could handle, except he would never say that. God forbid anyone hear him say that.
And why idiots, like those on the Council, would ask why he was making it his problem, he, unfortunately, had a meaningful answer that he was sure they would misunderstand.
Now, given everything that had happened, said and been done, he was smart to worry about the so-called Merchant. If it was true that the hillbilly shop had planet ending weapons then yes, worrying about it was both the smartest and correct thing to do.
With everything he knew about the man calling himself Isaac(an earthen name for someone he was certain wasn't human), he had made the decision and pinged someone he hoped to have never needed a reason to.
He hadn't expected a quick reply, obviously, given the sheer scale of whatever was on her plate, but he had and the reply had been… well 'damning' was one of the ascribed adjectives.
Turns out, hindsight benefits in place, that the wider universe and its expanding galaxies spun in the same societal circles. Black market deals were just as rampant out there as it was down here, except on a far wider and cataclysmic scale.
Out there, selling planets was just a matter of permit and enough credits. And just like Isaac, there were many chaos mongers that called themselves Traders, Merchants, Collectors etc.
She couldn't give him any information on this Isaac, which was unfortunate, but she also did not know of a ship called an Imperial Class Star Destroyer— not that she did not know any ships capable of outputting the same level of destruction. On the other hand, the affirmation was worrying enough but it was something he was already aware of.
He had hoped she would be able to track the make of something as big as a star craft, or at least the sale of it, only to be left stumped when she denied any knowledge of it. And also none of the weapons he had bought from the Merchant had any markers she could identify. Ghost arms she had snidely called them.
Fury knew he was playing a dangerous game but he had been able to remain calm when there was a glass shield between him and the game but now the game was right in his face and his first move was already a blunder.
This couldn't continue — he was unsure how many times he had repeated such a thing to himself in the past month alone.
One thing he and she agreed on was that the presence of someone like Isaac on earth was a very bad idea, but yet they couldn't simply kick him off the planet.
According to her, if he was anything like the Collector or any of the neutral Traders she knew, doing so would be a bad idea, not only due to the resources they could call on but also, like Fury had pointed out, their competence. One that could casually erase someone from existence, as they both agreed upon, was not one to be trifled with.
"Since he's not blowing anything up or secretly funding a war across three sectors, my best advice is either to find out what he really wants, or if that's impossible, curtain the market. Dealers, especially the ones that can list a craft of that magnitude, don't settle in backwater planets unless they're hiding and this one doesn't seem to be. Get what you can and steer clear of the muddy business."
She was the more knowledgeable one of the both of them when it came to such matters so he considered her words more seriously. Play nice with the maybe-dimensional Merchant and stock up on rainy days.
Seems simple enough.
.
...…
.
"What do you mean by 'interception'." Fury couldn't help but ask. This was a high priority mission that he had stakes in. There was little window for error or 'interception' given how quick he had ordered them into action.
"The feral and sharp kind. Really sharp kind."
It took him a second to realize what it was and his frown deepened. "How?" he simply asked.
"Beats me. From the looks of it, they just wanted to do him in. He was already half dead before they got there."
"And the payload?"
"Nat was able to nab some stuff. Should be transmitting over as we speak. Whatever he was working on, it looked endgame."
"That doesn't sound good." He remarked, the frown now a staple on his face.
"It didn't look good. I— Fuck." The line went static for a second before a sharp frequency bit into his ears.
"Speak to me, Barton." He didn't shout as he still had a semblance of calm but the urgency in his voice couldn't be mistaken.
The line bridged for a few seconds before Barton's voice came back in cracks.
"Looks like Cape 'N Helm just showed up."
Magneto.
He bit his lip. This was exactly what he was trying to avoid.
"… Hey boss, he kinda looks younger than I remember. What's up with that?" The line cut off after that and nothing he did could get the signal back.
"Motherfucker."
.
...…
.
Isaac remained in his shop, doing as all Merchant did in their free time when they were not so bored: take stock of their remaining inventory.
He did it passively, never minding the long list of repeated item names, and to pass his time in an activity he had perfected after thousands of repetitions.
"The good news is that I'm making headway in selling some of the heavy stuff." He said, looking at his ledger with a faint smile that soon tapered down. "And the bad news is… well I guess it's the same thing. I just need more clients."
He tapped his chin as he considered briefly what to do. He could leave it as is and let organic traffic do the heavy lifting, or he could… nah. That would be too much unnecessary work, he reckoned.
For just a single moment a stray thought appeared in his head that suggested he leave his shop for some time and go out to do some… scouting, so he immediately shot it down. Truly he had nothing against going outside, especially for a Merchant of his status, but he also had no desire for it. You've seen it once you've seen it a thousand times.
Maybe it would have been slightly different if Jessica was here to nag him about it… again, but fortunately she wasn't.
"If I can get the ship out of storage then that will be a whole new milestone. Still low on the list but at least we're going somewhere." He closed his ledger and pushed himself off the wall he was leaning on. "I mean, someone has to want a pocket dimension or two, right?"
He knew, like any respectable Merchant, the market surrounding his location, and while he chose one of the prime spots from this information, this was mainly because the result he intended to achieve with this locale was slightly lower traffic but quality sales. If he had chosen anywhere else in the wider universe, there was no doubt that he would have had higher quantity sales with stunted quality, or at least until the market destroyed itself. So yes, while the market was kinda slow, it was expected for longtime stable gain.
"I'm in here." He said out loudly the moment he felt someone entering his shop. He took a second to ascertain who it was and when he did he put his ledger… somewhere and walked towards a serious looking Mikhail.
"Hey there, friend."
"Isaac." Mikhail gave him a nod in greeting, looking but serious and uncertain.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" he asked, doing little to hide his interest. "A weapon perhaps. I still have that sword you like bookmarked. Or maybe it's something inconspicuous, like a mutagene or a devil fruit."
Mikhail shook his head but instead of dampen, Isaac's smile grew wider. He loved when a customer knew what they wanted. Most of the time it made for an interesting trade.
"None of that, my friend."
Isaac leaned forward, back against a pillar with an instigating look in his eyes. "So tell me, friend, what do you need?" He could almost feel the request tingling against his skin.
"The Morlocks," he started, seemingly going over his thoughts for the first time, "we now have a lot of money thanks to you, but what we can do with it is limited. I want something more for them."
Isaac nodded, giving silence for Mikhail to structure his thoughts in peace.
"I want to do something… something by myself for the others. I have a vision, and I want to give it to them." He looked at Isaac with that impressive determination of his. "I have a dream."
"Don't we all." Isaac said as he turned around to the counter with Mikhail following behind. "So what I'm hearing is that you need the 'Building Plan' catalog."
"Da."
"So what are we looking at?" he asked as he sifted through some of the choice catalogs.
Mikhail's shoulders dropped. "I don't know."
Isaac shrugged. "Then we'll start from somewhere." Mikhail nodded.
"What's our budget looking like?"
"A few hundred million." It was such an absurd number that he never in his life thought he would have access to. Most of the funds came from most of the older Morlocks of similar age to Anna Lee who had good mutations and sold off theirs as a way of investing in the future of the younger ones, and mostly because they didn't have much long to live. It was such a heartfelt gesture that everyone silently agreed not to talk about.
"Hmm. The Trade always listens," he muttered softly to himself as he adjusted his glass and flashed a pen to his hands. "First things first, land. Or at least a settlement location. Do you have something in mind?"
"Mhm hmm. We could purchase a place…"
"But then it would be open and vulnerable." Isaac completed, easily seeing the problem with that. "I would have suggested a pocket realm but accessibility can be strict at times and very narrow to boot. It works if you're aiming for a secluded community."
The conflicted look on Mikhail's face told him the answer. The security with pocket realms were top notch but the limited 'invites only' access was a deal breaker to most because not all inhabitants would have access to the gates. Movements in and out were moderated.
"If you can get a land, we can slap it with a few curtains and some wards, but let's table it to the side for now. Let's talk about livelihood. What's the aim? Self-sufficient, trade hub, exports? Since we're building from the bedrock, we need a framework."
"Nothing big." Mikhail said, quite confident this time, clearly having thought about this part a lot. "I just need somewhere for us to feel safe. To be safe."
Isaac tapped his lips, murmuring to himself. "Cloaking tech, maybe. Something from 40k would be a bit over the top, but not completely unnecessary. Hmm, decisions decisions."
He shook his head and waved Mikhail to follow him to the lounge area. "Let's brainstorm for a bit."
––––––
.
Patreøn*com/1stDepth
.
––––––