[Cafe] 125 – A Small Vacation Part 4

Walking down the corridor after leaving the cell that housed Superman, Fury adjusted his posture as he neared the second closest 'guest' to the Shield HQ, a man whom Fury had not personally met, but was actively training one of his most experienced agents. A man wrapped in numerous bandages from head to toe, leaving but his eyes and the burned skin around them in view.

Joshua Graham, a man of God and a man of Violence.

He was a man from a world that dealt with the worst and best of humanity, where Humanity was pushed to the extreme. What Fury was briefed on about Fallout put a picture into Fury's mind that Joshua was nothing but a savage hiding under a civil persona.

Agent Romanov listed the holy man as someone who has lived a life of struggle and grown from it. She states, 'Joshua is a man of fierce vengeance and surprising wisdom. Any slight he perceives is dealt with swiftly; it's best to remain civil within his presence and not to lie, as he somehow can pick up when he's being lied to. Note: Joshua is a man who is tremendously skilled in the art of warfare and skilled with nearly every method of killing. Do not antagonize him without good reason, and if you must fight him, only engage from long-range, as in close quarters, he is unstoppable if left to prepare.'

Joshua sounded a lot like another vigilante in Fury's radar, one Dark Knight, a Batman of Gotham City, the only difference being that Fury knew less about the man sitting in the cell before him than he knew about the wealthy playboy playing dressup every night.

Calmly opening the door, Fury stepped inside to see the man of God reading from a small bible he had placed in his weathered police vest.

Without a word, Fury stepped forward and took a seat silently, eyes unblinking, and his frown remaining, to try and get the upper hand in the conversation that was soon to happen.

Fury has done this game and dance thousands of times before; his posture and appearance were designed to establish his authority in the room, his black trench coat and eyepatch making him stand out alongside the numerous scars Fury had earned through his long career in SHIELD.

Calmly and with extreme care, Joshua closed the tattered bible and slid it into his breast pocket beneath the vest, likely to protect it from any ensuing firefight.

"What is your name?" Fury stated, voice flat and tone direct to make him sound more authoritative.

"Joshua Graham, of the Mormon Tribe in New Canaan," Joshua introduced himself directly.

"Tribe?" Fury questioned.

"Yes, my tribe originated from before the world, and consisted of a band of Mormons who gathered together near Salt Lake City, where they continued to survive and thrive after the Great War. There are many tribes across the...Earth of Fallout, but the New Canaanites were my family."

"Were?" Fury questioned.

"Yes, I'm afraid a savage tribe wiped them out, called the White Legs. I avenged my tribe, but few of my tribe remained in the Wasteland," Joshua explained with no hint of grief or sadness.

"You don't sound all too bothered about it," Fury noted, probing for a reaction.

"I have lived a long time, longer than most who have faced as many trials as I have. I have had many years to think about it and move on. I miss my tribe dearly, but I am at peace knowing that a version of them still lives on in this new world of mine," Joshua answered while closing his eyes for a few moments.

"Noted. Let's move on. Do you know why you were brought here today?" Fury questioned as he checked the file before him. What the man said was relatively close to what Romanov had written about, so he was not lying, at least to Fury's knowledge.

"My companion and I were brought here for a perceived crime that you or your organization believes we have committed," Joshua answered rather directly, posture remaining relaxed.

Fury internally frowned. The man before him was unfazed, nor did he exhibit the signs typically shown by those who had spent a few hours in an interrogation cell without any human interaction. 

"You committed murder, in broad daylight, in a public mall," Fury stated.

"Murder implies that we committed fatal harm without provocation. In this instance, we were attacked without warning and with what we perceived to be lethal weaponry. We defended ourselves," Joshua retorted with a shake of his head.

Fury internally scowled, but kept his expression the same. "That may be the case, but you and your...companion clearly could have disarmed the men attacking you without killing them."

"That was not an option; they were coming at us with the intent to kill, and we could not afford to try to incapacitate them," Joshua once again refuted.

Fury sighed, "Alright. You may go, but don't leave Metropolis or that 'Cafe' you come from, in case we have any further questions."

Standing up from his seat, Fury gestured for Joshua to follow him before stepping out of the room.

Waiting for a few moments, Joshua stepped out of the room. He looked around with curiosity at the sterile walls and corridors, but kept any inquiries to himself, instead choosing to follow behind Fury, who began walking down the corridor.

Joshua and Fury stayed silent the whole walk until they reached what looked to be a reception area.

"Head out those doors and head south, about three miles, and you'll reach the mall. From there, you should be able to navigate your way back to where you need to go," Fury informed Joshua simply before stepping back and heading back into the building.

Joshua did not go anywhere; instead, he looked around and found a bench, heading over to it to take a seat before pulling out his bible and beginning to read. 

The Agents in the area kept their distance but kept a close eye on Joshua, some speaking into their earbuds.

Inside, Fury walked back down the corridor towards the last remaining 'prisoner' and likely the most dangerous of the three, more because Superman refused to kill. 

Fury was not going to enter this meeting casually. He had agents standing by and at attention, while also ensuring that the entire facility was on high alert against any further attacks from foreign parties. Already, he had multiple agents keeping an eye on Joshua, with more in the area in case hostiles showed up. 

Fury also had Agent Coulson looking into the identities of the unknown assailants alongside Hill, so he was expecting news from them sometime soon, but for now, it was time to deal with the elephant in the room, or more accurately, the walking tank that could wrestle with an elephant.