"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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Downstairs, James went straight to shopping, then visited a high-end clothing store to buy new clothes. He bought a lot, moving like a man with money to burn, before finally taking a car to Stark Tower.
James was certain someone was tailing him, so he didn't head home. Instead, he went directly to Stark Tower. After all, he was a shareholder. While not on the board of directors, his shares were significant. Five million shares, even as ordinary stock, were worth hundreds of millions. That gave him the right to check the books.
Inside Stark Tower, a receptionist greeted him.
"Sir, what can I do for you?"
"I'm looking for Stark. Is he here?"
"Do you have an appointment?" she asked professionally.
"No appointment. Is that a problem?" James replied.
"Sorry, we can't disclose the CEO's schedule without an appointment," she answered with a polite smile.
James, however, was paying more attention to the Stark Industries logo on the wall behind her. Reflected in the glass, he could still see the stalker lingering outside.
"I'm a shareholder. Call Stark and tell him James is here. He'll know."
He stood there in jeans and a leather jacket, holding luxury shopping bags, looking both casual and out of place.
The receptionist paused, glanced at the bags, and then nodded. "Please wait a moment." She called Pepper Potts directly. "Sir, please follow me. Miss Potts has asked you to come to the top floor."
The elevator he was led to had a security system. It was separate from the others. James stepped in, and the elevator car lifted straight to the top. Outside, the man who had been tailing him watched, then turned away. Mission complete. If James could access the top floor, he had to be the real deal.
"Hey, Mr. Ace, what brings you here?" Pepper asked with a smile.
"Where's Tony?" James asked, setting his shopping bags down.
"He's buried in preparations for the Stark Expo. Three more months to go," Pepper said.
James did the math. It had been three months since the battle at the Stark Energy Center. Stark hadn't even gone to the Senate Armed Services Committee yet. There was still time.
"That's alright. I just came to see him. If he's not here, I'll head out."
"Mr. Ace. Since the Expo's in three months. Make sure to come support us," Pepper said, handing him an invitation.
"Don't worry. I'll be there. With the way my stocks are rocketing, trusting Stark was the right call."
"Of course. You won't be disappointed. I'll let Tony know you came."
After heading downstairs, James slipped into a bathroom, changed into different clothes, and exited from the back entrance. He made his way home, taking a roundabout route before finally heading upstairs.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. really knows how to make things difficult," he muttered. "Maybe all the other assessment targets are fake, and only mine is real."
He dropped the shopping bags by the door, opened the fridge, grabbed a can of Coke, and chugged it.
Then he let out a loud burp.
[This could be your chance. You might get promoted to Level Three or higher,] Cortana said.
"But it's risky. HYDRA isn't a joke. They've gone after Nick Fury himself. Damn it." James slammed the can down. "Maybe Frank Horman isn't even my real target. This whole thing could be a one big test of his trust."
[You can't be passive about this.]
"You're right. I need to call Phil. If they suspect internal corruption, I can't investigate casually. If HYDRA finds out, both their plan and I will get burned."
James pulled out the encrypted SHIELD phone Phil had given him.
"Where are you?" he asked when the line connected.
"What can I do for you?" Phil responded.
"Did you assign me this exam content?"
"Not bad. You spotted the issue?"
"Yeah. That financial firm is shady. It's clearly laundering money. What exactly do you want me to investigate? Or should I report it in now?"
"No. Your assessment is still your assessment. Focus on your target, and that's it. If you find anything else, just report it. Don't dig too deep on your own."
"Why didn't you just say that earlier?" James was clearly annoyed.
"This is also part of the test," Phil replied calmly.
He didn't elaborate, but James understood. This was a test of judgment. If he had missed the signs, or noticed but kept quiet, he would have been capped at Level Three. No exceptions.
"Being an Agent isn't simple. Fine, I got it." James hung up.
Phil, back at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Washington HQ, looked at the others. "He noticed and called. He seems clean. Very clean."
Nick Fury and Maria Hill were both present. "Right now, we're just suspicious of him. I only trust the two of you. I don't know who else we can rely on, so we test him like this. Hopefully, he doesn't take it personally," Fury said seriously.
Meanwhile, James had no idea what was happening behind the scenes. He only knew that his situation just got more complicated. Now there were two missions. One involved the head of security's home. The other, the shady financial company. The work felt delicate, too delicate for someone like him.
He sighed and entered the armory.
A large black box of gear sat waiting. Last time, he only pulled out his phone, radio, and laptop. This time, he planned to dig deeper.
He opened the box and sorted through the equipment. A Decoder, A Monitoring Jammer, A Fingerprint scanner, A Retinal Scanner and Voice Recorders. He packed everything up. He was going to make a move tonight.
The first stop was Frank Horman's home, to the head of security. He didn't need to investigate the place. He could just kill his way through.
[Are you really going to kill your way through?] Cortana asked.
James was already in the parking lot, loading up the Chevrolet Suburban.
"That's right. I'm going to keep it simple. Complete the mission, while leaving behind just a little regret. Which is for the best," he said as he started the engine.
[Why?] Cortana asked.
"Because I understand now. I'm doing two missions. But this test doesn't matter. They won't promote me beyond Level Three, no matter what. Going higher would make me too visible. That's not what Phil or the others want."