When they left Adela's house, the rain had already stopped. Coulson, carrying the recorded documents, walked towards the garage under the eaves of the house. He turned his head to his assistant and asked, "Where are the two PhDs?"
"They are inspecting the fuel tank of the car in the garage, checking for any fuel leaks and also the navigation system to determine when the last transmission of navigation signals took place," the assistant replied.
Coulson pulled up the garage door and walked in. Simmons and Fitz were huddled by the hydraulic jack, looking at something, while one was standing aside taking notes.
"Good news, Coulson, we've made some headway," Fitz said as he got up and removed his gloves. "Tell the boss, it's confirmed to be a supernatural event, we can initiate a full investigation."
Coulson frowned, "How have you confirmed it?"
Fitz pointed at the car's petrol tank, "Firstly, the petrol tank has no leaks and no damage to any of its components. Secondly, judging by the state of petrol stuck in the petrol tank we can determine the last time it was filled."
"She hasn't refueled since she returned from Canada. The car was towed back," Simmons interjected, "The state of petrol left in the tank matches the properties of the petrol provided by the gas station she last refueled at."
"So, what are you getting at?" Coulson asked.
Fitz let out a sigh, "This shows that the lady did fill up at the station she mentioned. We found her credit card bill in the station's payment system, which corroborates this."
"At the same time, the traces on the tank prove that the tank was indeed full that day. Considering the tank has no damage, driving from the filling station would not have used up all the gas. Yet, the petrol has disappeared into thin air."
"Not exactly into thin air," Simmons moved over to the engine of the car, "We've examined wear and tear on the engine. It's certain that the mileage over the past week far exceeds the distance from New York to the Canadian border, at least by two to three hundred kilometers."
"Are there cameras at the border?"
"Yes, but we need consent from the Canadian authorities to access them. We're working on it." May interjected. "Should we proceed to the next investigation site?"
"This is the fourth one, right?" Coulson furrowed his brows deeply. "Every witness has left evidence, but none have left actual footage. I can barely imagine what this elusive 'Guest in the Fog' looks like."
"I agree, we can't go see Nick like this," Simmons sighed, "He would yell at us throughout the evidence analysis building, and then all our bonuses will be deducted."
"We need to find a way to catch the tail of this mysterious 'Fog Guest.' That's the codename I've given him," Coulson shrugged, "But I have to admit, the idea is inspired by the name Nick came up with for this project."
"God only knows what's gotten into the boss recently," Coulson's hand was supporting the edge of the car, "I will make a call to the guys in the information collection and analysis department later. Let's check if there are any suspicious psychiatrists in the area."
"Psychiatrists? What do they have to do with this? I thought our subjects of investigation were all mentally stable, not up to the point of seeking help from psychiatrists," Fitz looked up, puzzled.
"I don't know, I'm just following his orders," Coulson shrugged. "Don't you think the phrase 'suspicious psychiatrist' is suspicious in itself? Come on, how could a psychiatrist be found in the middle of nowhere? Aren't they supposed to cater to the upper class?"
"That can be arranged. I'll make a call later," Simmons nodded. "As long as they are licensed doctors, we're bound to find something. Do you think these two incidents are related?"
"I don't know what's wrong with Nick, but he might think this was orchestrated by a psychiatrist."
"Ridiculous," Simmons commented. "I bet it's because some psychiatrist didn't give him the results he wanted in an evaluation, so he's plotting for revenge."
Just then, Coulson's communicator rang. He picked it up, and Nick began yelling on the other end.
"I know you are all guessing what's going on, but I'm not kidding. Check on the psychiatrists, oh, and not just psychiatrists, also look into surgeons, mental health doctors, or any doctors, or those suspicious people who ask you randomly on the street if you need help."
"Boss, good news, after visiting a few witnesses, we've confirmed this could indeed be a supernatural phenomenon."
"What the hell kind of good news is that?!"
"The good news is that there is no apparent connection between this and the mutations amongst San Francisco residents."
"So far? Hmm?"
Coulson could feel Nick's irritability, but the most affable senior agent was quite used to his boss's eccentricity.
After listening to Nick's rant, Coulson said, "We have been in touch with the information department. If he holds any sort of doctor's license, he won't escape our sight."
"I think we should not be distracted right now," Coulson suggested. He said, "I believe we are getting closer to the 'Fog Guest.' We will proceed to the next witness location. Wait for our good news, Director."
Nick disconnected the call, letting out a deep sigh. His hands rested on the desk, his gaze falling on the photographs scattered all over. A look of bewilderment crossed his face.
If, before the investigation, Nick was 80% sure that this was yet another mess conjured up by Shiller, now he was somewhat uncertain.
A notable problem is that, although the fog is indeed characteristic of Shiller, Nick has never seen Shiller use his fog-like symbiont for anything other than fleeing.
Indeed, Nick had never seen Shiller fight with Gray Mist, or rather, everyone in the Marvel World had hardly seen the Gray Mist – they were virtually clueless about this mysterious entity.
The reason was that the Shiller never actually depended on the symbiont; Shiller's disruptiveness did not come from his physical power. The symbiont did provide him with a certain level of self-defense, but in the grand scheme of all his plans, it wasn't Shiller who needed to defend himself.
So, those close to Shiller's understanding of the symbiont inside Shiller was that it has strong protective abilities, turning Shiller into impenetrable fog. Apart from that, they knew nothing else.
But on the other hand, not all fog in the world is Shiller's doing. Among Shiller's characteristics, any one is more conspicuous than the fog, and it's impossible to identify a fog-related mystery man as Shiller just because of this.
What truly led Nick to waver was that this way of doing things didn't seem like Shiller's style.
First, Shiller consistently prefers to stay behind the scenes whenever possible, only appearing late in the game when things have mostly become clear and the truth can no longer be withheld, only then stepping in at crucial moments to push things along.
Second, Shiller is a man who values efficiency. He'd have had the time to knit ten thousand wool balls if he'd spent the time to personally appear as a paranormal phenomenon. Nick, a cunning businessman who even exploits himself, didn't think Shiller would do such a loss-making thing.
Actually, these two points were the main reasons for Nick's doubts.
The wealth of photos and reports on the table all pointed out that within the span of a week, this mysterious creature, codenamed 'Fog Guest', had been lingering all the way from the Canada border to the vicinity of New York State.
If it were indeed Shiller, this would undoubtedly consume a significant amount of his time but yield no discernible gain. If this phenomenon were of Shiller's making, then there ought to be some purpose to it, right? What was he wandering around for?
All the observed clues led to the comprehensive analysis of various information processing, forensics, and behavioral science departments that the mysterious Guest in the Fog was simply loitering.
Everyone wanted to know exactly what he was loitering for, but unfortunately, some eyewitnesses were too cowardly and fled at his sight while others were brave and wanted to rush forward. However, so far, no one had actually touched the Fog Guest, let alone communicated with it.
The range and frequency of Fog Guest's drifting was so extensive and pervasive that all kinds of rumors were spreading, the public voiced diverse opinions, and the media held different stances, creating a complete uproar.
And, seemingly due to the fact that this mysterious phenomenon didn't exhibit any offensiveness, some people already wanted to summon the Fog Guest at the risk of their lives.
At the same time, since Nick's arrival, he had been secretly investigating the mutation incident among San Francisco residents, but this couldn't be concealed from some sharp eyes. Some people who didn't want him to investigate put up, giving this matter great resistance.
The resistance came in the form of intensifying the global hype over the mysterious phenomenon of the Guest in the Fog, forcing the S.H.I.E.L.D., responsible for supernatural events, to funnel most of their attention to this matter, in order to provide an answer to the higher-ups.
Taking into account all the chaotic and baseless ceremonies initiated by the flashy online journalists, Nick's worry shifted from whether Shiller was involved in this matter to how he could distance himself from it to accomplish his initial purpose – stopping Bruce.
Nick knew he had to maintain the secret investigation of the mutation incident among San Francisco residents. However, he had to step up the investigation regarding the Guest in the Fog as well. After considering his options in place, he decided to call Coulson to inquire about the progress of the investigation.
Nick barely picked up the phone when it rang. When he checked the caller ID, he found out it was Coulson.
"I saw him! I saw him!" Coulson's shout and the howling wind could be heard from the phone.
"Eyes! He's gazing at... beep beep beep."
"Hello? Coulson! Coulson!!!!" Nick yelled Coulson's name into the phone, but the call had already been disconnected.
Nick angrily slammed his phone on the table, but soon picked it up again along with a nearby file, heading towards S.H.I.E.L.D.'s information department. He had to get in touch with Coulson's team to find out what had happened to them.
Coulson opened the car door, stepping into the thick fog and stood in the middle of the road. He was astounded, staring at the figure from behind the fog.
"God...they were not lying." Staring at the figure, Coulson exclaimed, "He truly exists. The Guest in the Fog. He's real."
The two scientists in the back seat also got out, frowning at the figure in the fog.
"What does he want?" asked Simmons.
"What is he looking at?" Fitz said almost simultaneously.
Then they looked at each other, both taken aback. Simmons spoke first, "I sense he wants to communicate with us, he might be wanting something from us."
"He's looking at us." Coulson pointed at the figure, "He's watching us. He wants to convey information. What's he trying to say?"