When it came to business, Natasha suddenly grew serious.
"I didn't expect it—S.H.I.E.L.D's director, Nick Fury, dead?"
Blaine spoke with emotion, but the slight curve of his mouth suggested he knew something more.
Inwardly, Blaine began calculating.
First: since his identity had been exposed, why not use the opportunity to his advantage? Exposure had both benefits and drawbacks.
The good: convenience for employers seeking him.
The bad: enemies—those displeased with him—would stir up trouble. Once his real name was out, that trouble would follow everywhere.
Second: since Natasha had come to him, Blaine figured he might be able to earn something substantial this time.
"So, what does his death have to do with me? I didn't kill him at all."
"Blaine, I didn't expect you to be so humorous in reality... Since I'm here on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D., you must already know why."
For some reason, everyone always called him "Blaine" or "Mr. Hunter."
Wearing the Hunter suit, Blaine felt nothing unusual. But in reality, it somehow felt embarrassing.
"Could it be you want me to save someone? I don't have that ability. I only know how to kill."
Of course, Blaine already knew the reason for Natasha's visit, but he refused outright. His system was still upgrading, and he wasn't sure if new tasks would even register.
"Don't bother hiding it. Tony told me—you saved Happy, you cured Pepper's poisoning. If you could do that, you can save Fury's life too."
"Tony sent you? He knows who I am...?"
If it was Tony Stark, Blaine considered the favor seriously. After all, Tony had built a house for him—something Blaine would need to repay. Even as a bounty hunter who should suppress all emotion, a debt like that was difficult to ignore.
Still, wasn't it time to speak to Natasha as a normal person, not as a bounty hunter?
"Of course not. Your identity is top secret within S.H.I.E.L.D. Aside from Fury and me, no one has read your file. Fury ordered it personally."
It seemed Nick Fury had been careful.
If Blaine didn't want his identity revealed, and discovered S.H.I.E.L.D. had investigated him, who knew—perhaps one night Blaine would erase the entire agency himself.
That was why Natasha had come to him as a last resort.
"Agent Romanoff, you know my rules..."
Blaine shifted into negotiation.
"That's easy enough. As long as you save Nick, you'll be compensated, just like Tony compensated you..."
"Oh? Goodbye."
Blaine had assumed it would be the same as Tony—two billion for a favor. But Natasha, following Fury's cunning example, played harder.
"One billion is too little for you? How about two billion..."
"Hmph. You must be thinking, 'If two billion isn't enough, I'll add another.' You expect a high school student to be tempted by that kind of money."
"You—how do you know?"
Natasha froze at Blaine's words. That was exactly what she had been thinking.
"Why is a high school student so cunning? Can you read my mind?"
"Ha, ha, ha. My fault. I shouldn't have underestimated you. Fine—five billion. Consider it an apology."
"Then I'll reluctantly walk with you."
Blaine had seen through her again. Five billion was already well beyond Fury's original budget.
Natasha had planned to settle at two billion, like Tony's deal. Now the extra three billion would cut into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s funds heavily.
"Remember to leave the dirt in the sun, so when you eat it, at least it's warm."
"What?"
"Oh, nothing—just thought of a phrase."
Blaine chuckled to himself.
At eight o'clock that evening, Blaine followed Natasha to the site where Nick Fury's "body" was kept.
It was an ordinary house, no doubt arranged by Fury himself.
Yet Blaine could sense figures lurking outside. HYDRA agents.
Even in "death," HYDRA wasn't at ease with Fury.
Since Fury's base of operations was here, Blaine figured, according to Fury's habits, a hidden S.H.I.E.L.D. entrance must be nearby as well.
Pushing open the inner door, they found Nick Fury's body lying on a mortuary bed.
"Here you are..."
To Blaine's surprise, another person was in the room—Captain America.
Since the alien invasion, Steve Rogers seemed to have changed his opinion of Blaine.
After all, Blaine's strength was undeniable. Even if Rogers didn't like him, he couldn't do much about it. He didn't recognize Blaine immediately, since Blaine wore the Hunter suit.
"Saving him—that's the deal?"
"Right."
Natasha answered quickly. In truth, they were shaken. Fury had fallen in the chaos of battle, leaving only a single flash drive behind.
Of course, both Natasha and Rogers knew what it contained: data on every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and which were HYDRA infiltrators.
"Alright, enough pretending. Get up."
Blaine walked up to Fury's body and spoke calmly.
But there was no reaction.
"Still addicted to the act, huh?"
When Fury didn't move, Blaine summoned a flame and flicked it onto Fury's bald head.
Instantly, it caught fire.
"Oh, hell! Damn it—who woke me up? Son of a—what the—why are you here...?"
Nick Fury suddenly leapt up, leaving Natasha and Captain America stunned.
From Blaine's first words they'd thought he was mocking them. They were just about to stop him—when Fury actually sat up alive.
"Looks like he took low-grade fake-death serum..."
Blaine found it funny and casually extinguished the flames.
Fury had likely staged his death to lull HYDRA's infiltrators into complacency, while Natasha and Rogers would take care of eliminating them.
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