AN: Happy Holidays everyone. So I've gotten several messages asking why I'm not uploading as frequently. The reason why is that my employer has programs that pay for continuing education, so I've gone back to school. Between work, and school, I've had to cut back on a lot of my hobbies. Writing included. Don't worry, I'm still gonna write, just gonna take a little longer than usual.

Also, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was awesome. I loved every minute of it. Maybe it's because the first chapter of this story starts with this Spider-Man leaving a Spider-Verse event, (I can think of 4 of the top of my head that have happened now) but it was a great story and it had a slick and unique animation style. I recommend seeing it, especially if you a fan of the web-head.

Chapter 4

Nick Fury boarded the international flight out of JFK international airport. Noted where he was sitting and counted his paces as walked back to his seat. He was two rows behind the emergency exit in business class. As he lowered himself into his seat he took in his surroundings.

The blue leather seats were wider than in coach, but didn't recline as far as in first class. The embedded screen in front of him had an overview of the flight plan. The airline was defrosting the wings outside. Nick used the graciousness of the airline accommodating peoples with disabilities. The eyepatch screwed with his depth perception, and made the narrow aisles a tripping hazard, at least that was what he said if he was asked. In reality it allowed him to get on the plan first as see who else was on, and to leave last to make sure no one followed him.

The passengers who came on with him were also settling into their seats. But two seniors in wheelchairs and a guy on crutches with a broken leg made for terrible surveillance. The first boarding group came on next, a combination of First and Business class passengers.

Only one guy stuck out to him, well built, fitted suit, small hardcase carry on. He sat down an pulled out a book and a neck pillow. Clearly, he planned out spending the trip unconscious, or otherwise distracted. Nick didn't worry about him anymore.

There wasn't anyone in coach that peaked Nick interest. Families and such. No one who seemed to be trying to keep a low profile, or focused solely on him. This was good. It meant that the next point he would need to worry about security concerns was customs and security in Monaco.

Nick Fury sat through the safety presentation of the plane. Once that was done, her ran through a mental checklist of what had been done, and what he needed to done when he landed. Intelligence collected, check, covers created and backstopped, check, assets recruited, check.

Happy with his progress, he closed his eye, and went to sleep.


Peter was landing in Monaco. His legs were stiff, his lids heavy, and his stomach growling. He liked to travel, and loved to do things in foreign countries, but he hated commercial travel. Being stuck in a seated position for the better part of 13 hours made him antsy. Though maybe that was being recruited into a covert operation.

The plane taxied to the gate and an announcement was made in French and then English that it was safe to stand and move about the cabin. Peter stood up and went to the front of the plane and exited into one of the classiest and clearly expensive airport terminals in the world. While most airports were a glorified bus stations with higher security, this airport was the first taste of the wealth and exuberance of the small nation state of Monaco.

Peter walked through the terminal to the international baggage area and waited for his suitcase. While waiting he went over his story. His name was Jonas Black, math tutor and gambler. Here in Monaco to get a little culture and a earn a little money. He was not going to play baccarat. Born in SoHo, attended NYU. Weekdays in the Hamptons and high-end neighborhoods of Manhattan, weekends in Atlantic City. Peter had been rehearsing the story in his head since take off, and only now as he was picking up his bag, did he feel comfortable with it.

Peter walked to the customs line and waited in line with everyone else. He pulled his passport out of his suit pocket, and waited some more. He checked his watch, and waited a little more. He pulled out his phone and read the news headlines…and waited a little longer. Eventually he was motioned to come up to the desk with a guard, a stamp, and a scanner.

"Bonjour." The man in the uniform at the desk said.

"Hello." Peter said as he handed over the fake passport Fury had given him.

"What's you name sir?" the man asked with a heavy French accent.

"Jonas Black." Peter said as calm and casual as he could.

"Ah, American. How long will you be in Monaco?"

"A week."

"And the reason for your visit?"

"Vacation." Peter responded with as much joy as he could falsely muster. This was work.

"Excellent." The guard said as he stamped the passport. "Please enjoy your stay Mr. Black."

"Thank you very much." Peter said. As he walked away from the security desk, he realized that he hadn't been taking full breaths since the plane. He took in a lung full of air and came to the conclusion that he was definitely more nervous about this than his regular super hero gig.


Felicia was having some of the best time of her life in recent memory. Ms. Jillian March was fun. She landed and decided that instead of going straight to the hotel she would look at some of the local shopping areas. She sent her luggage ahead to where she was staying and promptly found a high-end boutique that sold some of the finest makeup and perfume that she had seen. Then she went to a world class café and had some of the best coffee she had in her life (but nothing topped a Colombian coffee cart in Spanish Harlem she knew about.) Lastly, she did some window shopping at a dress store that she was certainly going to come back to if possible.

Now he was back in the hotel, riding the elevator up to her room. The Elevators lavish wood paneling, and brass fitting clashed a bit with the LCD touchscreen that guests used to select their floor. Classy music complimented the soft lighting and earthy tones. When Felicia finally reached her floor, a pleasant ping sounded out.

Felica walked out of the elevator, down the hall and into her room. As she entered the sunlit space, she was greeted by the sight of Nick Fury and Peter. Though she was surprised, she had the sneaking suspicion that she should not have been.

"Felicia, good to see you've been sticking with you cover." Fury said.

She smiled. "Indeed I have." She said as she set her bag from the beauty shop.

"And spending the discretionary fund I see." Fury said glaring at the bag like it insulted his mother.

"Jillian March is just doing her job." Felicia said. "And she has taste."

"Hmph." Fury exhaled.

"Soooo….what are we doing here now?" Peter asked.

"Getting more information." Fury stated. He moved over to a couch and pulled out a cigar from is suit pocket. He didn't light it, jut put it in his mouth.

"The Zodiac Cartel is a private intelligence group that is made up of former intelligence operatives from various agencies worldwide, international criminals, and corrupt world leaders. The ultimate goal of the Zodiac is to achieve political and economic world domination. They differ from Hydra, AIM, and ULTIMATUM in various ways." He started.

"Hydra, AIM and ULTIMATUM want to overthrow world governments and impose their will and ideology on the world. The Zodiac Cartel meanwhile just wants influence in the current world governments. Mostly to get them to fuel the right conflicts to make money." Fury continued.

"So what are we doing here?" Felicia asked. "He don't really know how to help with shady international criminal groups unless they're in one of the boroughs."

"They stole the plans for a High-Altitude Thermal Energy Weapons System a few days ago from a government lab." Nick stated.

"A HATE system!?" Peter explained. "Ohhh. That's not good for anyone involved."

"Okaaay?" Felicia droned confused. "I get that that is bad based off the name, but how bad is it?"

"You know how you can fry ants with a magnifying glass on a sunny day?" Peter started. "Same basic idea but on a bigger scale. Using either a system of lenses or mirrors, depending on the location of the satellite in orbit, you can fry any target from orbit. It's also legally debatable enough to be very bad for publicity. Officially, as a thermal weapon, it's not a WMD, which are banned under the Outer Space Treaty from being stationed outside the atmosphere. However, it's a big enough weapon that most people might be unsure if it's violating the spirit of the law." He finished.

"So whatever government that designed this is going to be in very hot water for planning it, and letting it get stolen. Whoever winds up with the plans has the potential to be very dangerous." Felicia surmised.

Fury snapped his fingers and pointed at Felicia with a smile. "Now you got it."

"So why do you need us? Surly you have people to be able to handle this." She asked.

"This is a potential world power shifting event, and the enemy is already moving. SHIELD is going to be too slow on this. I'm…coloring a little outside the lines here." Fury explained. "The problem is who and what is currently involved, as well as who may be involved. I need Mr. Parker for his technical knowledge to crack the computer encryption, determine if the HATE system plans will work, and figure out if the blueprints have been copied."

"I need you for your knowledge of black market and underworld fences and contact. People the Zodiac might sell to if they aren't going to sell to a government." Nick said looking at Felicia. "I'll recognize the Zodiac operatives once they land, any spook or government type who might buy from them. Leading up to the meeting will be doing surveillance on them. Figuring out where they are staying, and who they might be selling to. Our covers give us a reason to travel around and send different people into different places for different reasons." Nick finished. He just looked at Peter and Felicia.

"Well I think that about covers it." Peter said plainly.

"When do we start following them?" Felicia asked in an excited tone. Peter could tell by her behavior that she was totally on board now.

"Tonight. My intel says that's when they are flying in. We need to be prepared to move fast. Once the sale happens, everyone is a quick plane trip from the Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. All places where it's gonna be much, much harder to track people once they land there." Fury foreboded.

AN: As always, thanks to the usual reviews. Y'all know I love you guys.