The moment Sherlock saw the black-framed glasses in Coulson’s hand, he fell silent and simply stared at him.
Coulson watched every flicker of his expression.
When Sherlock’s pupils contracted at the sight of the frames, he knew he had found the right person.
Sherlock’s continued silence, however, made him increasingly uneasy.
When several seconds passed without any response, Coulson was preparing to sweeten the deal.
What he did not realize was that Sherlock was not considering a refusal.
He was thinking about how careless he had been.
When he created the glasses for John, it had never occurred to him that they might be lost during one of John’s battles.
He had also underestimated what an organization like S.H.I.E.L.D.
was capable of uncovering.
Who would have guessed that they would recover something as unremarkable as a pair of empty black frames—something most people would ignore even if they found it in a trash can—and trace it all the way back to him?
Seeing that Sherlock still showed no intention of answering, Coulson spoke again.
“Mr.
Flamel, I assure you this would be nothing more than a professional arrangement.
We have no ulterior motive where you’re concerned.
If you accept this assignment, I can personally guarantee that, as long as you don’t cause another disturbance on the scale of what happened two weeks ago, no one will interfere with your life again.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
can block most organizations from investigating you and prevent them from ever finding this place—including other government agencies.
And between us, those people are far harder to shake than we are.” Sherlock remained silent.
He gave nothing away outwardly, but inwardly, he was growing increasingly annoyed.
The Holy Lance had been brought to him by the Ancient One, and he had admittedly been unable to resist the chance to study and repair a divine artifact.
Still, the situation left him with the uncomfortable suspicion that the old woman had deliberately set him up.
His silence only made Coulson more anxious.
Conventional methods had produced no useful intelligence on Tony’s disappearance.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
would never have approached someone with supernatural abilities like Sherlock otherwise.
Among every enhanced or mystically gifted individual in their files, Sherlock was practically the model of a peaceful, law-abiding citizen.
Sherlock was still considering whether accepting the job might buy him some temporary peace when Coulson, speaking too quickly under pressure, made a serious mistake.
“Even if you aren’t worried about attracting unwanted attention, Mr.
Flamel, the people close to you may be drawn into it as well.” As he spoke, Coulson’s gaze slipped past Sherlock and settled on Doro, who was peeking around the corner behind him.
The instant Sherlock followed his gaze and saw her, the anger inside him erupted.
“Are you threatening me?” His voice rose sharply.
Coulson felt as though he were standing at the foot of a volcano on the verge of exploding.
One wrong word, and the fury in front of him might burn him to ash.
Before he could explain himself, an overwhelming wave of killing intent suddenly locked onto him from behind.
Sherlock sensed it as well and glanced toward the source.
John had appeared at the entrance sometime during the conversation, dressed in a perfectly tailored suit with a pistol in his hand.
His eyes were fixed on Coulson with lethal intensity.
One wrong sentence, and Coulson had no doubt John would kill him where he stood.
Caught between the two men, Coulson had never felt more uncomfortable in his life.
Sherlock’s fury scorched from the front while John’s killing intent froze his back, leaving goosebumps across his skin and cold sweat soaking through his shirt.
He did not dare to move.
After a long moment, Coulson forced down his fear and managed to produce a pale, strained smile.
“You misunderstand me, Mr.
Flamel.
This is not a threat.
I would call it a partnership.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
removes the obstacles threatening your peaceful life, and in return, you help us locate Tony Stark.” His teeth were almost chattering as he spoke.
Sherlock continued to stare at him in silence, and with every passing second, Coulson’s hope faded.
He had already begun preparing himself for the possibility that he would not leave the neighborhood alive.
Then, to his complete surprise, Sherlock agreed.
“Fine.
I accept.” Coulson barely had time to process the answer before Sherlock continued.
“Go back and tell that one-eyed cue ball to wipe every scrap of information about me from your damned database.
This is a one-time arrangement.
Afterward, you leave me alone.” Sherlock started closing the door, then paused as though remembering something.
He looked back at Coulson.
“And don’t forget your promise!” The door slammed shut.
This time, Coulson lacked both the courage to stop it and the nerve to ring the bell again.
The instant the door closed, the crushing pressure weighing on him vanished.
Coulson remained on the doorstep, breathing heavily as he replayed Sherlock’s demand in his mind.
‘One-eyed cue ball?’ An image of Nick Fury’s gleaming bald head and eyepatch immediately appeared in his thoughts.
The corner of Coulson’s mouth twitched into a faint smile.
He glanced once more at Sherlock’s house, then toward the neighboring property where John had already vanished without a trace.
After that, he turned and left the neighborhood as quickly as possible.
The moment his car passed through the gates, Coulson pulled out his phone and reported every detail of the encounter to Nick Fury at S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Washington headquarters.
After hearing the full account, Fury issued two orders.
First, whatever Sherlock requested, S.H.I.E.L.D.
was to cooperate to the fullest extent possible.
Second, the nickname “One-Eyed Cue Ball” was to be classified at the highest level.
Fury hung up immediately afterward.
After a moment’s thought, he opened the S.H.I.E.L.D.
database, printed Sherlock’s entire file, and permanently deleted every digital copy.
The printed documents were placed inside a physical folder.
Across the cover, in bold letters, were the words: AVENGERS INITIATIVE