HYDRA had already begun to rot SHIELD from the inside. Eventually, the organization would fall apart. Coulson would die and come back. SHIELD agents would scatter and go underground.
Should he change something?
Should he start preparing for what was coming?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
James was on standby, waiting for a call from Phil Coulson or a message from Maria Hill. But Christmas arrived first, and he decided to spend it with Carlos.
"Let's go out to sea for Christmas," James said one morning. "What do you think? We haven't used the yacht yet. We could bring Alice too."
Carlos grinned. "Of course. What should we bring?"
"I'll handle it. I'll prep barbecue supplies, seasonings, vegetables, fruits... and fishing gear. Maybe we'll get lucky and have some sashimi. At the very least, grilled fish."
"Sounds great. I'll leave it to you then. Go buy what you need. I'll walk to the flower shop."
"Take a weapon with you," James said, lowering his voice. "I've got someone looking into Alice. There might be something off. Better to be armed."
"Don't worry about me. I'm not exactly weak," Carlos replied reassuringly.
"I know. But I still don't want anything to happen to you. I'm starting to think I shouldn't have joined SHIELD."
Carlos walked over and patted his shoulder. "No. This is the life you chose. So enjoy it. I can handle myself. And if anyone comes after us... Well, we're not exactly easy targets, are we?"
James looked at his father and nodded. "You're right. We're not afraid of anything. Anyone with bad intentions? We'll deal with them."
Carlos gave a short laugh. "That's more like it."
James finally understood something. Carlos was never weak. If anything, he was only getting stronger. There was no reason to worry. They weren't superheroes, sure—but against regular people? They were more than enough. As long as bullets could kill, they had nothing to fear.
Carlos saw the shift in James's expression and smiled. "Good. You're figuring it out."
James grinned. "Yeah. If someone dumb enough comes knocking, we'll handle it."
"Exactly. We're assassins. And we never miss."
They were quiet for a moment, both aware of the unspoken truth. Even superheroes had weaknesses. Stark had Pepper. Thor had Jane. Yet Hydra had never dared to touch them. Why? Because the consequences weren't worth it. Power was its own deterrent.
James drove his pickup and started gathering supplies. A new grill, a full barbecue set, meats, drinks, and extras. Then he headed to the Yacht Club, hoping to get some fishes easily to cook with.
"Hello, Mr. James. Heading out to sea today?" Ross greeted him.
"Yeah, Christmas Eve cruise. Help me prep the yacht, would you?" James stepped out and started unloading, after giving a nice tip to Ross to help him out.
"Of course. Everything will be ready."
By the morning of December 24, James had everything loaded. He parked his car, carried a large black bag onto the yacht, and checked the onboard storage. The bag held weapons—licensed firearms legally stored on the yacht. An AWP sniper rifle, several handguns, and two semi-automatic rifles. All legally purchased and permitted for civilian use.
Carlos arrived a bit later with Alice.
"You're early," he said.
"Just getting everything in place. Drinks are in the fridge. We're ready to go."
James had been watching Alice closely for a while now, but nothing seemed off. Still, he asked quietly:
"Anything you can do, Cortana?"
[Yes.]
James raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected an actual answer.
"Really? Like what?"
[Did you forget? I'm a biological computer. I move freely within your body.]
James froze for a second. "Wait, so... you can control me?"
[No. I don't have access to that kind of energy consumption. I can communicate and interface with your body, but we're linked. I can't exist without you. You have full control. You even have the password.]
"Password? Why would you need a password?"
[Because I'm built from your old computer system and your phone OS. The first password comes from your computer. The second from your phone. My program doesn't allow me to bypass them.]
James blinked. It was strange, but really convenient and reassuring.
"So what about upgrades or updates?"
[They require your permission. You must enter the first command.]
He relaxed slightly, though the whole thing made him more cautious. "Fine. So how do you analyze Alice?"
[Standard tech can't read lies, but I can detect brain activity. All I need is physical contact.]
"You couldn't have said that earlier?"
[I didn't know myself. That function only activated recently when I started managing your biological clock.]
So that's how she had been waking him on time.
"That's... extremely useful and scary," James said, smiling. "If I can use that on Hydra agents, I might actually be able to save SHIELD—if I get a high enough clearance of course."
The yacht pulled out onto the Hudson river, moving steadily toward open waters. The Statue of Liberty stood tall in the distance. The river was crowded today. Plenty of boats were heading out to sea. Christmas Eve on the water—an upper-class New York tradition.
James passed a few luxury yachts that were already throwing parties.
"Carlos, this spot is perfect," James said, easing the yacht to a stop. "We can see the skyline and fish."
Carlos looked out over the water. "Good call. We've been putting this trip off too long."
"I'll handle the grill," Alice said cheerfully. "You two go fish. I'll pour you some beer while I roast the meat. Feels like a real Christmas Eve just, without the snow."
James glanced at her.
Still nothing suspicious.
But soon, he'd know for sure.