Interrogation

Let us rewind time… No, forget it. If we rewind any further, even Lady Time herself will start to cry.

Thanks to the power of their chest communicator, Jos and Steve were practically in constant contact, speaking in real time. It was Steve who had just asked him to draw the attention of the Hydra members, which was why Jos had put on such an exaggerated performance.

But the moment Steve stepped in front of Jos, shield raised, the outcome of the battle was already sealed.

Hawkeye’s sniper shots easily prevented their enemies from reaching their weapons. With Natasha and Steve working together, they swiftly took down the men closest to Jos.

When Tony finally arrived, his entire arsenal trained on them, the remaining Hydra agents surrendered without a fight.

To make the fake base convincing enough, the Hydra remnant leaders had concentrated almost all their manpower there. In order to lure the Avengers, they hadn’t even told their own people about the bombs buried underground.

Meanwhile, to ensure the real base seemed convincingly fake, they kept only a skeleton crew here, with minimal traps or defenses.

In hindsight, it might seem a foolish plan, but it was precisely this kind of subterfuge that had allowed Hydra to operate right under the Avengers’ noses for so long.

Of course, under normal circumstances, the lack of security wouldn’t have been an issue, since every one of these leaders had injected themselves with Hydra’s mass-produced super-soldier serum.

Though the serum, after years of modification, no longer granted Steve’s agelessness, in terms of combat ability, they were hardly weaker than Steve without his shield.

Unfortunately, these men had grown complacent. Caught up in the thrill of leading the Avengers into their carefully laid trap, they’d celebrated a little too much—drinking until they couldn’t muster even half their usual strength.

The only one who hadn’t touched a drop was the silver-haired girl, who sat in the corner unmoving from beginning to end, seemingly oblivious to Steve and his team’s arrival.

With Jos and Steve working in concert, the Avengers, with the advantage of surprise, needed only a symbolic show of force before bringing this Hydra base under their total control.

“See? Didn’t I tell you—if I just talked enough, I could kill you all with words alone?”

Looking down at the Hydra youths pinned to the floor, Jos flashed a mischievous grin, taunting them further.

Unfortunately, the mission had been completed the moment Steve entered the room, awarding Jos exactly five hundred points toward his ‘Court Death’ source. No matter how much he mocked them now, he’d earn no further reward.

Not that Jos cared; he was only mouthing off for his own amusement.

Casting his gaze around, Jos noticed the silver-haired girl was nowhere to be seen. He quickly asked, “By the way, that…”

Steve pointed outside. “The lady you asked us not to harm? She’s outside. Even though you said so, since she’s still a Hydra member, we have to keep an eye on her.”

During their earlier communication, Jos had told Steve about the silver-haired girl, though he’d tweaked a few details for good measure.

After all, in a fight, anything could happen. If he didn’t warn them in advance and the girl was injured or killed during the Avengers’ assault, Jos knew he would regret it for life.

Whatever the girl’s motives had been, or why she’d saved him when the other Hydra agents threatened to kill him after bringing him back, Jos didn’t care about her reasons. Morality and justice were less important to him than whether someone genuinely meant him well.

So, as far as Jos was concerned, no matter what anyone said about the silver-haired girl—be she called a demon or a Hydra remnant—he would always be on her side.

When Jos reached the large room outside, he found Natasha and the silver-haired girl sitting face to face. For the moment, at least, things seemed peaceful.

The girl’s nun’s hood had been removed, revealing a face of breathtaking beauty.

Unfortunately, a thick suture, like a centipede, ran across her cheek, transforming her from Venus into Frankenstein.

Hmm? Isn’t that even better, actually?

Whatever the case, seeing this, Jos finally let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding. It was clear that the girl hadn’t resisted or fought back, but had simply surrendered, and thus was completely unharmed.

“Mind if I sit here?” Natasha smiled as Jos entered, speaking before he could open his mouth.

Jos shrugged off her teasing. “Go ahead. I don’t have any secrets to hide—just wanted to check she’s safe, that’s all.”

“Are all Avengers this naïve and stupid these days?” The silver-haired girl interrupted before Natasha could reply, her tone openly mocking.

Clearly, this was the first time Natasha had heard her speak—she was momentarily stunned by the girl’s unnervingly harsh voice, before she shrugged it off. “He’s not actually an Avenger. Well… probably will be soon. He’s solved two major crisis events before even joining SHIELD. His record’s at least as good as mine.”

Whether Natasha was responding to Jos’s earlier words, or simply thought the girl posed no threat anymore, she didn’t seem to mind conversing with her.

Or perhaps it was just maternal instinct?

Jos took a closer look at the silver-haired girl. Without the nun’s hood, he could see she was probably about 140 centimeters tall—a little…

“I know what you’re thinking, but I’ve been an adult for many years now.” The girl glared at Jos, evidently reading his thoughts.

“These ones are nothing like Jason and his cannon fodder. We can’t get anything out of them.” Suddenly, Nick Fury’s voice sounded from inside the room, abruptly ending the not-yet-friendly conversation.

From his expression, it was clear he’d just finished interrogating the Hydra members.

“That’s not surprising,” Natasha replied calmly. “We wondered if Jason gave in so quickly because he was deliberately planted as bait.”

Nick Fury clicked his tongue, his one eye already fixed on the silver-haired girl. “Then maybe this one…”

“Sorry, I can’t let you interrogate her.” Before Fury could approach, Jos had already stepped between them, blocking his path.