Obadiah Stane.
Phil Coulson naturally knew the name. In fact, Stane was already the prime suspect in Tony Stark's disappearance. However, after an extensive investigation, S.H.I.E.L.D. still hadn't found any solid evidence linking him to the incident.
But if even S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't prove it, how did Ethan Blake know?
"Then how do you know that?" Coulson asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Secret informant," Ethan replied casually. "No comment."
Coulson took a slow breath while quietly signaling with his eyes toward Natasha Romanoff, who had already moved silently behind Ethan. She was now only two or three meters away.
The situation had completely exceeded both of their expectations.
Not only did Ethan appear to know details about Tony Stark's disappearance, but he also seemed to possess sensitive information about S.H.I.E.L.D. itself. That alone made him a serious security concern.
And since Ethan was refusing to cooperate, Coulson had already reached a conclusion.
They would have to arrest him.
The moment Coulson gave the signal, Natasha didn't hesitate.
She was fully prepared.
According to the intelligence gathered before the mission, Ethan had impressive combat skills. But Natasha Romanoff was one of the world's top agents. In direct combat, she had defeated countless elite operatives.
In her mind, capturing Ethan would take no more than a second.
With explosive speed, Natasha launched herself forward. Her movement was faster than a hunting cheetah as she leaped toward Ethan.
But in the next instant, something horrifying happened.
Her entire body suddenly froze in midair.
It felt as if every bone in her body had been clamped by invisible steel pincers. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't move a single muscle.
She was suspended in the air like a statue.
Ethan slowly turned his head and looked at the immobilized Natasha, who was now trapped by his telekinesis.
With a faint smile, he said, "Climbing through windows isn't something a well-behaved person should do."
"What did you do?!" Coulson shouted immediately as he drew his pistol and aimed it at Ethan. "Let Natasha go! Release her right now or I'll shoot!"
Ethan didn't appear even slightly concerned about the gun pointed at him.
Instead, he looked at Coulson with interest.
"Agent Coulson," Ethan said thoughtfully, "how about we make a little bet?"
He leaned back in his chair.
"Let's bet whether the gun in your hand works or not. I bet it's broken. One hundred dollars. Interested?"
Coulson had absolutely no patience for Ethan's teasing at the moment.
Natasha had been captured in an instant by a completely unknown method, and the situation was already far outside anything he had anticipated.
Without hesitation, Coulson aimed for a non-lethal area and pulled the trigger.
Click.
The moment he squeezed the trigger, Coulson's expression froze.
There was no gunshot.
No recoil.
Which meant…
The gun hadn't fired.
In reality, the moment Coulson had drawn the pistol earlier, Ethan had quietly used telekinesis to reach into the gun barrel and destroy the firing pin.
Coulson tried pulling the trigger several more times, but the result was the same each time.
Finally, he lowered the weapon with a sigh and holstered it again.
Taking a deep breath, Coulson looked at Ethan and asked somewhat helplessly, "Alright… what do you want?"
Ethan stared at him with an expression that clearly said, Are you serious?
"What do I want?" he repeated. "Shouldn't the question be what you want?"
He gestured around the villa with his fork.
"You came here asking questions. I answered them. Then you attacked me in my own house. If anything, I'm the one acting in self-defense."
Coulson's face reddened slightly.
Because Ethan was absolutely right.
"Alright… I'm sorry," Coulson said awkwardly. "I think we can talk this out. But could you put Romanoff down first?"
Ethan turned his head to look at Natasha, who was still suspended in the air in a very uncomfortable position.
He shrugged.
"Sure."
With a casual thought, the telekinetic force holding her vanished.
Natasha immediately regained control of her body. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she shot Ethan a furious glare.
Then she moved.
Her wrist flicked, launching a thin anesthetic needle directly toward Ethan.
The tiny needle was coated with a powerful sedative capable of knocking out an elephant within three seconds.
Natasha had already sworn in her mind that once Ethan was captured, she would put him in the same humiliating position he had just forced her into and leave him tied up for at least twenty-four hours.
But the next moment, the needle was caught effortlessly between Ethan's thumb and index finger.
He glanced at Natasha calmly.
"I have a pretty good temper," he said evenly. "But doing something like that twice is about the limit of my patience."
He held up the needle.
"If you want to test me again, feel free. But the consequences will be your responsibility."
His tone remained flat and casual, yet Natasha clearly heard the cold edge hidden beneath the words.
An inexplicable chill crept into her chest.
It had been a very long time since she had felt something like fear.
The last time had been more than ten years ago.
And now she understood one thing very clearly.
In front of Ethan Blake, it would be better to behave.
"Not very gentlemanly," Natasha muttered under her breath.
Ethan rolled his eyes.
You broke into my house through a window, he thought. The fact that I didn't greet you with a rifle already makes me pretty polite.
"Mr. Blake," Coulson said carefully, "I believe there's been some misunderstanding between us."
"Misunderstanding?" Ethan shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't see it that way."
He set down his fork and leaned back in his chair.
"Right now, the two of you are technically my prisoners," he continued calmly. "And there's no point negotiating with prisoners."
He looked directly at Coulson.
"So call your director and ask him to come negotiate with me."
Coulson blinked.
"Your… bald director."
Coulson couldn't help thinking that Ethan's description of Nick Fury was surprisingly accurate.
"Natasha and I don't have the authority to contact the director directly," Coulson tried to argue.
"Oh?" Ethan said with a playful smile. "Then contact his deputy. Agent Maria Hill. Let her connect you to Director Nick Fury."
Natasha glanced at Coulson.
"Call Fury," she said quietly. "This guy knows more about us than we expected."
With no other options left, Coulson pulled out his phone and dialed Nick Fury.
The call connected quickly.
"Is the mission completed?" Fury's deep voice came through the phone.
Coulson hesitated for a moment before answering awkwardly.
"Sorry, Director… the mission failed."
"Failed?" Fury's voice carried a trace of surprise. It had been a simple investigation mission, and he had even sent Black Widow along to ensure success. "Return to the Triskelion immediately and give me a full report."
Coulson's expression grew even more uncomfortable.
"I'm afraid we can't do that," he admitted.
"Why not?"
Coulson cleared his throat.
"Because… Natasha and I have been captured," he said reluctantly. "And the target says he wants to negotiate with you."
"… " Nick Fury.