At the yacht club, Ross stepped outside, recognizing the driver of the car. "Mr. James —"
James raised a finger to his lips. "Shhh."
Ross got the message and stepped back.
James sprinted to a small speedboat, jumped in, started it, and took off toward open water.
Ross blinked. "Assessment, huh?" He smiled and shook his head. "Of course it is."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This was the Hudson River, and across the river was New Jersey. James was going to drive straight over. There was a seaplane at a pier opposite, and James was going to fly it back. What a strange test.
He drove the speedboat directly according to the GPS. Sure enough, there was a seaplane waiting, and he boarded and started it. The seaplane was relatively easy to fly. He needed to fly across the river again, but not to the yacht club—this time to another location. After landing, there was a helicopter, and James boarded and started it.
He piloted the helicopter back to the rooftop of the SHIELD building and landed. James walked out, but as soon as he stepped off the helicopter, agents surrounded him, looking like they were ready to apprehend him.
His heart began to race, and he immediately ran forward. When the six agents saw James trying to run, they moved to surround him—but they were too slow compared to James's special ability.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion. They were no match for him. Still, he didn't kill them. He figured this was part of the test. After knocking them out, he continued downstairs.
"Why did you come down by yourself?" an examiner asked, watching him curiously as he came down from the rooftop to the top-floor elevator.
"I knocked down six people, so of course I came down by myself. Do they have the test on them?" James asked.
"Uh... no. They were supposed to escort you down for interrogation and testing." The instructor looked at James speechlessly. Six Level Five agents—taken down just like that?
"Interrogation test? I don't think you know much about my past. I've been through this plenty. I was beaten up by a Mechanic and a Butcher for five weeks."
"Well... you passed by defeating them. Now go to your classroom for the final assessment." The examiner sighed and let him go. After all, James had technically passed. If they couldn't even catch him, what was the point of interrogating him? But the people behind him weren't so lucky. The six Level Five agents felt humiliated, and others behind them got beat up before even making it down.
"James, you are really outstanding. This is your final assessment. You have one week." James frowned. A whole week?
He took the file and scanned it, then understood. The target was Frank Horman, a former Level Six SHIELD agent who resigned and became head of security at a financial investment company. James's mission was to infiltrate his home and retrieve something—anything useful.
The mission requirements were vague, but he didn't ask questions. He took the file and left. Sitting in his sports car, he spoke to Cortana.
"This mission is really vague. And the guy's background is suspicious."
[Maybe it has something to do with Hydra,] Cortana replied.
"Yeah, that makes sense. Nick Fury probably assigned a bunch of rookies to stir up old dirt. These people might not be Hydra themselves, but Fury probably noticed something. Setting these as test targets makes sense—rookies wouldn't be in danger even if things go wrong."
[Exactly. What's your plan?]
"Observe first, obviously." James started the car and headed home. The target's company was in New York. After getting home, he changed into jeans and a jacket, then took a taxi to the target's office, a financial investment firm.
"This company needs a head of security? And they hired a retired agent? That's overkill." Financial firms deal in money, but they aren't banks. There's no cash involved. At most, the information is valuable. That's the real question.
"Something's off about this place," James muttered as he walked in, sipping iced Coke. Don't forget, he was a millionaire.
"Sir, may I ask why you're here?" The company was located on the 16th floor. The whole floor was full of financial firms. It looked big, but stopping visitors right at the door seemed excessive.
"Why? Isn't this a finance firm? Don't you offer services to clients?" James asked with arrogance.
"Of course, but..." The security guard hesitated, clearly implying James wasn't dressed the part.
"Hah. So you're turning away a millionaire? Your company must be something special," James said loudly, so everyone inside could hear.
Frank Horman walked out. "What's going on?"
"Are you the manager?" James asked before the guard could reply.
"I'm the head of security. What can I do for you, sir?"
"Your guard refused entry to a millionaire. I'm curious, how much is your company worth, exactly?"
"I apologize. He wasn't aware. Please, come in. We welcome all investors, big or small." Frank smiled but didn't scold the guard. The guard didn't look worried, either. That was suspicious.
"That's more like it." James sipped his Coke as he walked in. The office felt too quiet, not as busy as a major firm. Plenty of people, but they didn't seem to be doing anything.
"This is our business manager. He's experienced and can answer any questions."
"Great. I'm curious about a recent land auction, over 400 million in value. What's your opinion on it?" James asked directly.
"We don't prioritize those kinds of investments," the man replied.
That answer told James what he needed to know. He wasn't really asking about the deal, he was testing how they treated high-value clients. And these guys weren't even trying.
"Any proven cases of success?" James asked, frowning.
"We have many, but they're confidential."
"Do you have any stock options?"
"We've got insider info. If you invest with us, you won't lose money. But keep that to yourself."
"I see. That explains a lot. I still need time to think." James finished his Coke and walked out, looking disappointed. Then he went straight downstairs.