At the same time, inside a luxurious villa in Queens.
"F**k! Who the hell are you?"
Collins Myers stared warily at the man and woman who had suddenly burst into his bedroom, quietly slipping his hand under the pillow.
Bang!
"Ahhh!"
Before Collins could even pull out the pistol hidden beneath the pillow, Natasha Romanoff fired a single shot, shattering his arm.
As Collins screamed in agony, clutching his bleeding limb, Natasha walked up to him, shoved the cold barrel of her gun into his mouth, and said coldly, "Shut up if you don't want to die."
"Now, I'll ask questions—you'll answer them. Say one wrong word, and I'll blow your head off. Understand?"
Sweating and pale from the pain, Collins nodded repeatedly.
Natasha pulled the gun from his mouth and asked calmly, "Are you the investor behind the Blood Parrot Gang?"
The mention of the gang made Collins' pupils shrink. He tried to deny it, but the deadly calm in Natasha's eyes made him surrender immediately.
"Yes, ma'am! I don't know how the Blood Parrot Gang offended you, but I can—"
"Shut up," Natasha interrupted sharply. "The Blood Parrot Gang kidnapped someone they shouldn't have. If you want to live, tell me where you sent Miss Natalie Celine."
Realizing they were looking for someone, Collins felt a faint sense of relief.
So that's it. The idiots from the Blood Parrot Gang offended the wrong person, and now she's here for revenge.
God help them... anyone who can send a woman like this to handle business personally isn't someone to mess with.
Maybe if I cooperate, I can live through this. After all, even in America, no matter how powerful someone is, they still have to give some face to the big guys in Congress... right?
Thinking that, Collins quickly said, "I'm sorry, ma'am. I'll call the Blood Parrot Gang right now and tell them to release—"
"The Blood Parrot Gang is gone."
Before he could finish, Natasha cut him off coldly. "We didn't find Miss Natalie in their hideout or basement."
Her tone grew sharper. "Now tell me—what route do you use to traffic women and children to Eastern Europe? You'd better pray Miss Natalie hasn't arrived there yet... or you know the consequences."
When he heard that the entire Blood Parrot Gang had been wiped out, Collins froze in shock.
Oh my God… this woman's backing is even scarier than I thought!
The Blood Parrot Gang—slaughtered overnight, and I didn't hear a word about it?
Cursing the gang's stupidity, Collins stammered, "A group was shipped out two days ago... by cargo vessel. The transfer station is Hanali Island."
Natasha immediately took out her phone. "Hill, you heard that. Hanali Island is yours to handle."
After hanging up, she turned back to Collins. "You should have evidence—documents, recordings, backup files on the powerful people and officials you've worked with. Don't tell me you didn't prepare anything to protect yourself."
"G-Gulp…" Collins swallowed hard. "Ma'am, I suggest you stay out of this. Those people... they're far beyond your—"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three bullets tore into his limbs before he could finish.
"Ahhhhhh!"
Screaming, Collins rolled off the bed in agony. Natasha pressed the muzzle to his forehead.
"I'll ask one last time—where's the evidence?"
"Tell the truth, or you'll beg for death once my partner gets here."
"Second floor!" he shouted in terror. "There's a hidden compartment above the bathroom ceiling! The evidence is inside!"
Steve Rogers immediately rushed upstairs. Moments later, he came back holding several waterproof bags—stuffed with ledgers, USB drives, and secret recordings.
Natasha glanced through the evidence, then raised her gun again.
"Don't—don't kill me! I'm still useful—"
Bang!
A single bullet ended Collins Myers' life. Blood splattered across the sheets.
Natasha handed the files to Steve. "Let's go. This isn't over yet."
Steve frowned. "Why not keep him alive? He's still a witness. And besides, you said we were just looking for Natalie…"
"It's useless," Natasha replied firmly. "Even with this evidence, those big shots would be released within three days—bailed out under one excuse or another."
She looked him straight in the eye. "That's why Linen wants you in the public eye—to let the world know you're still alive. Sometimes, when the law fails, public opinion becomes a weapon."
Steve took a deep breath. "I hope so. I never thought that seventy years later, the world would still be the same."
Natasha gave a faint smile. "Has it ever really changed?"
Patting his arm, she turned to leave. "Oh, and one more thing—don't call him Lin En in front of Linen."
"He doesn't have a spoiler system. He doesn't know we already figured out he's the Judge."
"And if you want to blend into this world faster, maybe you should get yourself a girlfriend." She smirked. "Want me to introduce you to someone? I know plenty of nice girls at S.H.I.E.L.D."
Later that night
"What? The Blood Parrot Gang was wiped out?"
Deputy Director Alex Boris sat frozen in his chair, listening to his subordinate's report.
"Sir, we received a call about a gunfight. When we arrived, the entire Blood Parrot Gang was already dead."
"Check every nearby camera," Alex snapped. "Ask around the neighborhood—see if anyone saw who did it!"
"Sir, all the surveillance cameras were destroyed. No footage survived."
"Damn it!" Alex slammed his fist on the desk. "I don't care how—just find out who did this!"
After hanging up, a wave of unease washed over him.
As the man who had protected and profited from the Blood Parrot Gang for years, Alex didn't care about their deaths.
He only cared about one thing—whether this would come back to bite him.
With trembling fingers, he picked up his phone and dialed a private number.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can visit my Patreon page:
Patreon.com/PhoeniXcel
I upload 2 chapters daily on Patreon!
There are 6+ advanced chapters available for you to read.
Your support would be greatly appreciated.