Two wrinkled, weather-beaten hands clasped together. When they released each other, the shoes of both parties differed significantly—two pairs shined to a high polish while the other two were covered with mud and stains.
"Nice to meet you, Chief Gordon. I am Phil Coulson, S.H.I.E.L.D's Level 8 agent." Coulson greeted Gordon with a smile, leading him inside as he spoke, "We've heard all about you, the tough-as-nails chief of Gotham. I was once trained at the police academy in Chicago. You graduated from there, correct?"
Gordon nodded in silence and turned a corner to walk into an office, where a gorgeous red-haired woman emerged.
"Good evening, Coulson. I suppose this is Chief Gordon?" The female agent stepped forward to shake hands with Gordon, who appeared a bit stiff and formal.
Because all of his detective experience was screaming at him that this woman was incredibly dangerous—like lethal opium.
"Natasha." The female agent nodded at him, "I've heard a lot about you, Chief Gordon."
"Go ahead, Natasha. The captain and the rest are waiting for you." Coulson gently patted Natasha's shoulder and said, "I'll take care of things here."
Natasha nodded at him and quickly walked out. Coulson then led Gordon to take a seat in the office.
The anticipated interrogation didn't materialize. May poured him a cup of hot tea. He sat parallel to Coulson on the couch in the reception area. There was no scrutiny, no pressure—more like the welcome of a long-separated friend.
"I apologize. Our Director has more pressing matters to deal with, as you can see, this city is rife with problems."
"I understand." Gordon nodded. A hint of coldness flashed behind his glasses. He asked, "So, why have you brought me here?"
"Regarding the criminal, Kingpin, who kidnapped your daughter—we know something about him. Chief, regardless of whether or not you can help us, we will help you rescue your daughter. It's as simple as that."
Gordon deeply furrowed his brows, staring at Coulson's profile. Coulson turned and gently told Gordon, "It's the Director's orders. If you must know why, I can only tell you, Kingpin has crossed the line."
"The graspable power to rule New City has made him crazier. Hence, he made a mistake, forcing S.H.I.E.L.D to intervene. The first step is making him pay for his crimes."
"I don't understand." Gordon's fingertips lightly tapped the armrest, suggesting deep thought, but it mostly seemed like an instinctive response to anxiety.
"Let me explain." Coulson stood up, leading Gordon to the wall where many file covers were posted.
"The main duty of S.H.I.E.L.D is to handle global supernatural incidents. We're directly under the United Nations Security Council, exclusively accountable to the human civilization. Our jurisdiction includes supernatural incidents, extra-terrestrial creature intrusion incidents that greatly exceed human capabilities, mutations of Earth's native inhabitants, and crimes by superpower users."
"Was my daughter kidnapped by a superpower user?"
Coulson shook his head, "Kingpin is but an ordinary man. Though he's somewhat mutated, he doesn't meet the jurisdictional threshold of S.H.I.E.L.D. The Avengers occasionally deal with him, but the majority of the time it is the Federal Bureau of Investigation chasing after his criminal evidence."
"Under normal circumstances, he's just a formidable crime boss. But we all know that someone has to occupy this position. Kingpin had never revealed his extreme and insane side, until now."
"He hired superpower users. I don't know if you've heard of the Sinister Six. Originally, they spontaneously formed a group to give Spider Man some trouble, which doesn't actually fall under S.H.I.E.L.D's jurisdiction."
"Why not?" Gordon asked, "Doesn't that count as a superpower crime?"
"Yes, but they haven't caused harm detrimental to human civilization—we only judge based on this standard." Coulson turned back to Gordon, and in his tone lay a coldness that Gordon did not like.
"You must understand better than us, Chief. Law enforcement agencies are only accountable for societal stability. Plainly put, we just need to justify the budget we receive."
"Our Director is quite responsible, hence he invited you here." Coulson wore a solemn expression as he said, "We've analyzed the files of everyone at Gotham Police Department and found that you're probably the only one we can rely on."
Gordon was about to ask where they got the Gotham Police Department's files from, but suddenly he realized he was a bit slow.
In his years working in Gotham, he hadn't seen any agents. He almost forgot how they operated, but actually, he had dealt with the Federal Bureau of Investigation when he was in Chicago.
These excessive law enforcement agencies that were above ordinary society didn't reason at all. They forcefully intruded into all facilities to get what they wanted, inciting fear in everyone, that was their job.
And if S.H.I.E.L.D was managing these supernatural incidents as they said, then the moment the city was integrated, they must have wanted and had the ability to acquire the information of Gotham's law enforcement agency.
He was indeed the only one left in the Gotham Police Department. Gordon let out a ridiculous laugh. He thought that the most absurd thing wasn't that the whole police department was corrupt, but that even Penguin Man, who had bribed the Chief and other top officers, sought his help immediately after the incident.
What did this indicate? It indicated that every officer in the Gotham Police Department, other than him, didn't just take bribes but also didn't do their jobs even when paid.
Or, more accurately, they received payments specifically for not doing their jobs. But over time, everyone's work ability degraded—they had become a group of morons that needed money to maintain.
Even though he felt powerless, Gordon, the last semblance of a conscientious detective still strived relentlessly. This made him, previously despised by all, now a valuable commodity.
Penguin Man was looking for him. So was S.H.I.E.L.D. The super-villain Kingpin had kidnapped his daughter in an attempt to give him a lesson. Now, he was the talk of the New City.
But, in reality, Gordon held no hope for this organization called S.H.I.E.L.D. The Federal Bureau of Investigation had suffered too many losses in this city, and in ridiculous ways.
Agents were not liked in Gotham because, besides barging in and creating a myriad of problems, then making a quick exit, they had never done more.
"If you're willing to help with the search, I'd appreciate it," Gordon rose and spoke to Coulson. "But I hardly have any energy left to assist you. Besides my daughter, I have other crises to resolve."
Heavy and rapid footsteps sounded from outside the door. Gordon looked over to see a woman entering the room, a file in her hand.
Upon seeing Gordon, she hesitated for a moment, then approached to hand him the file. "Is this your daughter?" she asked.
Gordon quickly took it and immediately understood why the woman was so intently scrutinizing him. The photo was of Barbara, taken from a perspective that noticeably resembled his own.
"We've just taken control of all the surveillance cameras in the Lower City area and used an intelligent facial recognition system to find this girl."
"Where is she?" Gordon immediately leaned forward and asked. Meanwhile, Coulson introduced the woman, "Jemma Simmons, a life scientist, Level 5 S.H.I.E.L.D agent."
Gordon shook hands with her, and Simmons replied, "The last time she appeared was three minutes ago, in the Brooklyn Area, I mean...the Lower City area... forget it. I don't know how you refer to that street, but we found her in a house."
"But when our people got there, they had already disappeared. The surveillance footage showed their means of departure as rather odd. The person who took her away is likely a mage."
Simmons showed Gordon another photograph. In it, a man in a trenchcoat was turned away from the view, with Barbara lying on the ground, a pool of blood around her waist.
"No..."
"You have to trust us, James," Coulson immediately approached him. "You've noticed that this is not a simple matter - it's not just some mob boss who kidnapped her. This man might know magic, and S.H.I.E.L.D is the only expert in that field."
"Of course, I'll cooperate with you," Gordon leaned against the table looking rather weak. He turned away and said, "But I don't know what I can do. I know nothing about these mystical incidents."
Coulson and Simmons exchanged a look, Coulson patted Gordon's shoulder. "Trust me, helping us means helping yourself."
About ten minutes later, a distressed and angry Gordon left the S.H.I.E.L.D. precinct. He kept the same anguished look on his face until he exited the building.
Coulson didn't even see him out. With a cold demeanor on his face, he watched Gordon's departing back. A young agent approached and asked with a chuckle, "What's wrong? Is this guy giving you a hard time?"
"Hmph," Coulson snorted, shaking his head in annoyance. "He wants us to help him find his daughter. It's not like we have time for that. Our Director is as restless as ants on a hot pan."
He rested against the doorframe, watching Gordon's retreating figure. "I wonder why the Director values him so much. Are you telling me he's the only cop working in this vast city?"
With that, Coulson returned to his office.
While the speaker hadn't intended it as such, the young agent understood the implications. After returning to his workstation, he soon got up again under pretense of organizing equipment.
"Mr. Sitwell, they couldn't come to an agreement with the Chief who's called Gordon. Do you think we should make contact? ... Oh, I see he's very important. Alright, I'll try to get in touch."
"Yes, he does have a daughter. Her kidnapping, apparently, has weighed heavily on him. Fury didn't have time for it and so couldn't come to a successful agreement."
"Yes, I agree. I will do whatever it takes to get this key piece in our hands as soon as possible."
In Nick Fury's office at S.H.I.E.L.D, he took off his earpiece and smiled at Natasha. Natasha rolled her eyes in exasperation, tossing the roll of cash in her hand at Fury.
"I hate to say it, Nick, but you really are quite cunning," Natasha huffed. "You knew all along that S.H.I.E.L.D was filled with Hydra members. Your plan was to have them do the grunt work. You are devious."
"I'm flattered," said Nick, tapping his glass, looking out over the gleaming new city from the glass window.
After the merging of the two Earths, Nick Fury from the Central Universe, who originally resided in Old Earth 616, naturally retained his position as S.H.I.E.L.D Director.
Most versions of Nick Fury are exactly alike. This Fury, apart from his extreme greed, was not remarkably different from the others. If you had to pinpoint a specialty, it would be his exceptional skill in managing Hydra.