Criminal

Nick Fury glanced at Phil Coulson, who was standing meticulously in front of his desk, with his one remaining eye.

He had high hopes for this subordinate. Coulson possessed all the qualities of a leader, just needing a bit of refinement, and his position could quickly be taken over by someone capable.

Although inheriting the position of "Director" wasn't necessarily suitable for ordinary people.

There were too many troubles and disputes. Even he himself sometimes found himself overwhelmed.

The two small bags were set aside, and Nick Fury began to look through the documents. An incident involving twenty-three deaths connected to gangs and human trafficking had filled around ten pages!

When did he start dealing with this? But out of trust for his subordinate, he began to read through it seriously.

Bizarre forms of death, unclear faces in the footage, and numerous experiment reports.

The final conclusion... nothing had been found!

Nick Fury's eyebrows furrowed, forming a character "川" in the middle of his forehead. Clearly, he wasn't pleased with what was written on the paper regarding the incident.

His subordinate had already tried all sorts of experimental methods he usually used.

Most of the deceased bodies had no visible wounds, and even those with wounds weren't fatal.

There were traces of toxins in their bodies, but they were just toxins, and it was suspicious that these gang members would have those toxins in their bodies.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

The black director tapped his fingers on the desktop rhythmically, which had a sense of rhythm to it, but his mood was far from that.

"Have you identified any suspects?"

"Sorry, according to our investigation of all the surveillance cameras, accommodation records, and personnel searches, we haven't found anything."

"However," Coulson habitually placed his hands in front of him, clasping them together, "we've been able to make a rough judgment on their height, age, gender, and characteristics."

Nick Fury nodded. "And you still can't find them with all of this?"

"Yes, Director. It's as if they've completely disappeared, leaving no trace."

"How's the scene secured? And what about the trafficked individuals?"

Coulson gestured slightly with his hand. "You'll know when you open the remaining two bags. However... one of the things is something I discovered while investigating World War II archives."

"World War II?" Nick Fury's brows, which had been furrowed, didn't relax. Why would a simple human trafficking case be connected to World War II? Who knows!

"Snip."

Opening the bag that contained the metallic object, a silver metal item slipped into the black director's hand.

The craftsmanship was perfect, but the symbol it represented... was anything but simple!

Nick Fury's pupils immediately contracted to the size of pins! Before Coulson could say anything, he stuffed the object back into the bag.

He stood up from his chair, grabbed the unopened bag, and walked toward the back. He looked back, "Coulson, come with me."

"Oh, alright."

Coulson wasn't surprised by the fact that there were compartments in the director's office. Still, the tight security of this "compartment" did make him raise an eyebrow slightly, which was unusual for someone as even-tempered as him.

Nick Fury turned around and saw Coulson's reaction. He nodded internally.

"Go ahead, and there's no one else here. We can discuss this matter thoroughly."

When Nick Fury pulled out the silver metallic item again, he saw an unprecedented gravity in Coulson's face.

"Do you know what this is?" the black director asked.

Coulson immediately sat up straight. "According to the scan from the agency's system, my clearance only told me that it's from World War II, and..."

"Did you destroy the search data?"

"Rest assured. It was completely destroyed."

Nick Fury nodded, but he still wasn't at ease. After dealing with this matter, he would have to destroy the data again himself.

"According to your report, this was found on the gang members?"

"Yes, Director. But only one of them."

"One?" Nick Fury took out the silver metal item again. The nine snake heads were carved in exquisite detail. It reminded him of the car he had in the agency.

The emblem on it seemed almost identical.

They couldn't determine the other party's meaning and had too little information. Even a master detective would go insane faced with this.

Not to mention they couldn't let the world know about this. However, quite a few still did this kind of work in the agency.

And this metallic item might have been left behind by the "suspect." Otherwise, why would it only appear on one body?

And the town gang, were they allies or enemies?

He didn't want to be lectured by the World Security Council.

What should he do?

Nick Fury hadn't decided yet, but a glint passed through his eyes when he saw the other unsealed bag.

Hopefully... there would be something valuable inside.

It wasn't until he shook the bag for a while and only a strand of hair drifted out that his resolute heart couldn't help but twitch.

His gaze held questions as he looked at Coulson.

With all the qualities of a special agent, Coulson immediately answered the director's question. "According to our analysis of the personnel, the suspect is likely a female. And this strand of hair is very likely to be what she left behind."

"Is that so?" Nick Fury pinched the strand of hair, his gaze turning towards the direction it came from.

In his heart, he was sure that the other party was an extremely skilled perpetrator. To leave one's own DNA evidence at the crime scene was almost a fantasy.

But the fact was correct in front of him, causing him to have numerous hypotheses instantly.

"Director, we've documented this strand of hair as well, and we're cross-referencing it with all American citizens. If she's American, I believe she won't be able to escape arrest for much longer."

"Black hair, female, and the characteristics you know—these should be very rare in the United States. It's unlikely that they haven't been identified by now."

Coulson didn't speak, tacitly accepting the director's speculation because it was the truth.

Nick Fury turned around and saw the silver metallic item again. His heart tightened. "Have other countries been queried?"

"It's impossible. They simply wouldn't allow us to do so, and... if we continue this way, it would require a huge amount of manpower, resources, and time."

Nick Fury carefully put the items away. "Alright, Coulson, you can go now. I'll handle the other matters."

Coulson nodded and was about to leave the compartment.

"By the way." Nick Fury stopped him again. "That metallic item, besides you, who else has seen it?"

"A few handling personnel have seen it."

"Give me the list of personnel involved in this operation, especially those who saw the metallic item. Mark them prominently."

"Understood, Director."

After Coulson left, Nick Fury kept his eyes on the two bags. Finally, his gaze tightened, and he put the items in his pocket, walking out.