𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗜𝗥𝗘𝗡 | 𝗡. 𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗢𝗙𝗙

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𝐅𝐮𝐫𝐲'𝐬 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞

━━━━━━━━━▼━━━━━━━━━

"At ease, soldier."

As though released from invisible binds, Truth's muscles eased at the command. With one blink, she came back to herself, full attention on the man in front of her. Keeping her mask in place was second nature, easily shaking off the remnant of the past that had slipped into the present.

After spending five months in relative solitude, reverting back to American society left her feeling slightly disoriented.

It wasn't always easy to be Truth Castello.

Even for Truth Castello herself.

Unclasping her hands from behind her, she crossed the room to sit in one of the armchairs facing the desk, giving her a view of a bustling city, the sun gleaming overhead.

Pity—she'd missed the sunrise.

"Director Fury."

Director Fury's office was a welcome reprieve. She'd spent a lot of time there, whether it was sucking up to the man in charge to prove her loyalty or ripping a new one into him because she was probably the only one in the damn building willing to give Fury crap for the shit he pulled, whether the ends justified the means or not.

Then again, she was also possibly the only one who could do it and not get fired.

Win win.

"Siren," Fury greeted with a steely gaze.

As always, his thoughts were firmly secure behind a reinforced wall, never revealing even a gleam of emotion or a whisper of a fleeting thought. When they'd first met, the discipline had challenged her—she'd wanted to push just to see if she could. Now, it was out of mutual respect that she didn't. Truthfully, such mental barriers in a man who was just that—a man—was remarkable enough to give him that courtesy.

Besides, she didn't need telepathy to tell if someone was lying.

Leaning forward, Truth dropped her file onto his desk. Keeping eye contact, Fury slid the orange folder closer.

"Report."

"The Nove Vidas were a prestigious Brazilian mob operating in the heart of Salvador," she began, "known for their hostility against the government and ill regard for abiding by Brazilian laws or moral aptitude. Police corruption was verified upon arrival. Intel connects the Nove Vidas to drug trafficking, money laundering, a series of bomb attacks, extortion, and human trafficking. Recruitment tactics included forced labor and blackmailing men to work for them by threatening their wives and children. Many had their families kidnapped to heighten the bargain."

Fury's cool professionalism never faltered—he listened to every detail with a calculated assessment. Never in her seven years of knowing him had he ever allowed emotion to get the best of him. He was a steady point, immovable—but, what separated him from her previous handlers was his morality. While he would always understand the necessity of a hard call, the impact of that call wasn't an afterthought nor his first choice of action.