Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1735 Yelena Belova

The afternoon sun at Cape Verde was so strong that it was hard to open your eyes.

In the open-air beach bar with only a roof, a few tourists sat on beach chairs enjoying the sea breeze that passed through the bar, but the bartenders behind the bar did not relax even though the dining time had passed.

He looked worriedly at the woman with shoulder-length platinum blonde hair beside the bar. She was wearing sunglasses and gazing intently at the nearby white sand beach. It wasn't out of curiosity about beautiful women; Cape Vede was full of white women in bikinis during the summer, nothing special.

Besides, she wasn't wearing a bikini.

The local lad, devoted to his bartending career, was only worried that this beautiful customer didn't like his skills, to the point that he had a pessimistic forecast for his quarterly revenue—she had been coming to this beachside bar every day for the past few days, ordering a drink, and then sitting there silently, which made the bartender doubt his own skills for the first time in his life.

"Miss."

It wasn't until the bartender reminded her that the female tourist turned her gaze away, her reproachful look making the bartender feel as if he had done something wrong. However, this atmosphere didn't stop the bartender from talking; a bartender can't be one who can't speak well—bartenders at tourist attractions also have a side job: recommending services to tourists and earning a commission—without good persuasion skills, they can't convince tourists to accept services such as surfing training camps, diving training camps, and aromatherapy spas.

"Are you waiting for someone?" the bartender asked, wiping the glasses. "The ice has melted. If you'd like to wait a little longer, I can make you a new one."

"I'm leaving," the woman said in Portuguese with a slight Eastern European accent. "The person I've been waiting for has arrived."

"People who come here on vacation usually have companions," the bartender nodded. "I thought you were the exception."

"I am indeed an exception. You're talking about my... sister."

The woman picked up her glass and gulped down the now-cold cocktail, then slammed the banknotes on the table with a swagger, as if she were in a Texas-style country pub filled with the smells of tobacco and roasted pork chops, rather than a beach with a sea breeze.

"It tastes really good, that's true."

"I'm relieved to hear that." The bartender took the glass and watched the woman walk out of the beach bar without looking back. A woman with bright red hair stood at the door and gave her a firm hug. The bartender could tell that the blonde woman's movements were a little stiff, but he shrugged and immediately put it out of his mind.

Since it's not a problem with my own skills, it's not a big deal.

This is Cape Verde, anything can happen here.

The bartender wasn't worried about anything happening that would affect his business. St. Mary's was already the safest place in Cape Verde, and violence was unlikely. Every year during peak tourist season, a few dramatic scenes would unfold here. The bartender had seen wives come here more than once to arrest their husbands who were vacationing with their lovers. And who knows, some tourists might even order a few tropical cocktails at the bar just to watch!

Yelena Belova angrily broke free from her sister's embrace.

"You should come with us to Boavista, Yelena."

Natasha raised one hand to shield her forehead from the glare of the sun.

She wore a white bodycon dress and white lace-up high heels, perfectly suited to Cape Verde's hot climate. The form-fitting dress and her long, curly red hair were incredibly charming. Even Yelena had to admit that Natasha didn't look like a secret agent at all, but rather like a noblewoman.

The life of a secret agent is nothing like the glamorous one in the movies. Long hours of surveillance leave them physically and mentally exhausted. When carrying out missions within enemy territory, injuries, fatigue, and hunger are the norm. Under these circumstances, their skin and mental state suffer severely, and their hectic work means they rarely get enough rest.

Natasha is now dressed elegantly and has smooth skin, clearly living a life of luxury. She even has manicures, leading Yelena to suspect that Natasha no longer uses firearms.

"Don't you think there are too many tourists at the Hilton?" Natasha said confidently, ignoring the fact that she was attracting the attention of male tourists. "Our identities are not suitable for public places, and there are many Americans here. Who knows if there might be secret agents who happen to be here on vacation."

"Don't change the subject, Nat!"

Yelena Belova walked towards the road without looking back, Natasha following closely behind, her smile unaffected by her sister's terrible attitude. She simply found Yelena's behavior amusing; after so many years apart, she couldn't resist teasing her.

"The time you agreed to meet on the safe route was a month ago!" Yelena looked at Natasha walking beside her, feeling a surge of irritation. While searching for Natasha, she had felt anxious, fearing something terrible had happened to her. Now that Natasha appeared before her unharmed, Yelena was somewhat angry.

Ever since receiving news of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s destruction, Hydra's rebirth, and the US government's warrant for the arrest of the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, she had been monitoring their dedicated communications, fearing that Natasha might need her help someday. However, she would absolutely never admit to it, not even with a gun to her head!

She lowered her voice and said fiercely, "According to the agreement, you should be in Zurich right now, not Cape Wid!"

"If I didn't appear in Zurich, you should have changed routes and waited for the next safe contact. If the decoy route was triggered, it means the contact has betrayed us and we need to evacuate; that's standard procedure." Natasha smiled maliciously. "How did you know I was at Cape Verde?"

"The communication line is known only to Mom and the two of us." Yelena crossed her arms, staring intently at her slightly taller sister. "Perhaps Mom likes me a little more, so she gave me more privileges."

"We'll ask Melina about this when we see her."

Yelena stopped walking. Facing Natasha's questioning gaze, she said, "I remember the US government is still after you, but you're here safely... I suspect you've sold intelligence to the US government, otherwise you would have been arrested by the FBI the moment you boarded the plane."

Yelena was certain there were no agents on the beach. The overweight tourists showed no signs of physical training, and those wearing bikinis and swim trunks had no place to store weapons. Even if they were agents, they wouldn't fire in such a public place, and even if they did, Yelena was confident she could escape quickly.

But her sister was standing right in front of her.

Perhaps Natasha, in her tight-fitting dress, was the most dangerous person on this beach. If Natasha were to take action herself, Yelena believed she might have to pay a price to escape safely—that's what she thought, and that's what she did. One hand was already inside the holster under her sun cloak, gripping the Glock—obtaining weapons at Cape Vede was difficult, but that wouldn't be a problem for Yelena's long-established connections in the underworld.

"What would you do if I admitted it?"

"I have planted bombs in three hotels, including the Hilton."

Yelena smiled smugly, and now it was Natasha's turn to freeze.

"Don't think the signal jammer will work. We know what kind of technology the other side has. The bombs will explode if a signal isn't given at a fixed time. I'll tell you the number and location of the bombs when I'm safely out."

Natasha thought Yelena was like a frightened little animal, jumping up at the slightest danger.

In a daze, she realized she seemed to have drifted far from the life of a secret agent, her sense of crisis had plummeted, and she had almost forgotten that Yelena now believed she was deep in enemy territory. A beast in dire straits is the most dangerous, and according to past habits, Yelena would absolutely sacrifice the innocent people at the Hilton Hotel.

Yelena wasn't herself; she hadn't embraced the Avengers' ideals. She was, from beginning to end, the ruthless Black Widow. Natasha decided to quickly end this terrible joke and steer the conversation back on track to prevent Yelena from getting too nervous and actually detonating the bomb. So she decided to use another explosive piece of news to grab attention.

"I'm pregnant... or at least very soon, that's all I wanted to tell you."

Yelena opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything, unable to process the information for a moment.

"By the way, I found some jobs for the other sisters to help pay for their organ repair surgeries. I didn't expect it to take so long to contact the other sisters, so I've been staying in Cape Verde this month. It's the only place where I feel safe." Natasha grinned, a mischievous smile on her face. "I didn't surrender to the US government. Relax, it was just a joke."

"You mean you can get pregnant?" Yelena shook her head violently. "You're a bastard, Nat! I'd rather believe you betrayed me!"

"It's true. My husband repaired my organs, and now I have the ability to conceive."

Natasha turned and waved, and a black SUV pulled up to the side of the road.

Yelena could see a white-haired girl with a cold expression behind the lowered car window. Behind the window, on the passenger seat, was a rifle, its muzzle pointed directly at them. Yelena dodged to the side, glared at Natasha, her eyes clearly conveying, "You still say you didn't betray us?"

Natasha gave an awkward laugh.

Following their master's orders, the sorority quietly gathered at Cape Vede, numbering as many as a platoon. A platoon of soldiers, with sufficient support, could easily carry out a blockade of a city, let alone androids clad in power armor.

"This is the sorority's standard operating procedure. The government of Cape Verde has no ability to maintain order, so the sorority always carries weapons when they go out. Dinah is his most capable bodyguard."

Yelena didn't speak, her face filled with distrust.

The whole thing was too bizarre. Natasha claimed that she had regained her fertility and was plotting something big that involved all the Black Widows. The idea of ​​regaining fertility sounded like a lie, but Yelena decided to give Natasha a limited amount of trust in this matter. She knew that Natasha wanted to have a child and that her sister wouldn't joke about it. Yelena believed that the thing Natasha was planning was the reason she contacted her.

As a wanted agent by the US government, Natasha's activities are inevitably limited, and she might even have to be the one to find a new boss for all the Black Widows. However, she remains curious about Natasha's husband. How could someone with such technology know a field agent like Natasha? Could he be a scientist or doctor kidnapped by Natasha?

Someone with this kind of technology should have opened their own high-end clinic, developed medical insurance financial products, and lived a life of reaping wealth with pharmaceutical consortia. How could they be associating with a wanted criminal?

"We'll discuss the details when we get to Boavista's villa," Natasha said, opening the back door. "We need to have a serious talk about the other sisters. At the very least, let's find them a new boss."

Yelena stepped off the helicopter but did not immediately see the mysterious scientist or doctor.

The first thing she saw was a female armed force with almost identical appearances, carrying weapons and guarding the entrance to the beach villas—this narrow beach called Praia do Curralinho had now become private property, surrounded by high walls with razor blades and barbed wire—the armed force of up to thirty people completely sealed off the area, including the helipad suitable for helicopter take-off and landing.

Yelena had no doubt that this armed force possessed portable anti-aircraft firepower. This meant that an air raid was impossible, and she was also very curious about what kind of people could command such an army of "clones."

"You weren't coerced, were you?" Yelena looked warily at Diana and the five-person team leading the way. Although these incredibly beautiful girls didn't show any hostility, Yelena still felt uneasy. After all, they were on this island, and the only way to evacuate was by helicopter or small plane.

"I've been with him for many years. Believe me, our relationship is much closer than other people imagine."

Natasha led Yelena straight into the hall.

To be more precise, this place is called the command post.

All information about Black Widows is currently gathered here, including their current missions and status. As a wanted agent who has lost her organization, Natasha has lost almost all intelligence sources, and a large part of the information she possesses comes from legacy materials from S.H.I.E.L.D.

Since she revealed all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence, forcing Hydra to return to the shadows, almost every organization that discovered its intelligence was controlled by S.H.I.E.L.D. has changed course, rendering much of the intelligence worthless. Therefore, the owner of this seaside villa offered help, granting Natasha partial access to the Emperor's secret intelligence network, a network even Nick Fury himself desired.

The former Black Widow discovered that the members who received the orders came from all walks of life and were of varying ages. Many of them were ordinary people before receiving the orders, living ordinary lives and working hard to pay off their mortgages or pay for their children's education. But the moment they received the orders, they carried them out without hesitation, using their own networks or industry connections to contact the hidden Black Widows after many twists and turns.

These people were strangers to each other, had not received the same organizational training, and their only commonality was their extremely high intelligence. They were all people who had gradually gained their social status from the bottom of society through their own wisdom, and some of them were politicians or researchers. Natasha couldn't help but wonder when such an intelligence agency had started operating, and why S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't discovered such a secretive and powerful organization.

She didn't notice that all the people who received the orders were wearing all sorts of owl brooches.

Some were made of gemstones and precious metals, some were just ordinary copper or iron, and some were simply carved wood. Nevertheless, they would still hold the brooch in their hands and pray after completing their mission. Some of them were orphans, some had orphaned parents, and some had orphaned grandparents. The owl brooch was proof of completing the education of the goddess of wisdom and also the only proof of their identity.

They waited for orders for generations, and the goddess of wisdom rewarded their loyalty with wisdom and courage.

Even though Natasha discovered the secret, she didn't have time to think about the connection between them.

Her workload was enormous because the Red Room hadn't truly disappeared; similar to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s current situation, its main structure had vanished due to a lack of funding. Instead of being inherited by a senior agent determined to rebuild the organization, the dismantled Red Room was controlled through proxies by several oligarchs who had purchased state-owned assets.

These oligarchs gradually extended their influence into the government system through bribery and power transactions, forming a deeply entrenched network of interests. These oligarchs thus became the bosses of the Black Widows who remained within the Red House. Some officials who cooperated with the oligarchs also needed the services provided by the Red House, such as stealing trade secrets and assassinating political enemies. Some Black Widows also became "swallows," manipulating the oligarchs' puppets and continuously providing them with intelligence.

This abnormal symbiotic relationship lasted for many years.

Natasha is determined to break this cycle and liberate both the Black Widows of the old era and the Black Widows of the new. She is no longer a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent obligated to follow orders; with ample weaponry and funding, the only constraints on her are her personal strength and moral compass.

This operation would be much simpler if the sorority could provide military assistance.

However, the Sisterhood, as the Emperor's direct force, was already well-known worldwide. Nominally, it belonged to the Yugoslav Special Security Service and was not suitable to appear on the borders of other countries. Therefore, they could only ensure the safety of the evacuation routes.

She needs Yelena, and those Black Widows who are willing to help.

Unfortunately, there is no real friendship among the Black Widows, even those from the same training camp. The fact that they don't shoot each other immediately upon meeting is a sign of good relations, while poisoning is a milder form of hostility.

"I contacted some Black Widows who had defected; they changed their names and became completely ordinary people."

Natasha handed several files to Yelena.

There were also several stacks of files and a few laptops piled up here. The seaside villa, which should have been enjoying the sea breeze and sunshine, had been completely turned into an office full of documents and smelling of printing ink.

“I’ve spent a lot of time looking for them. It’s not surprising that they’re unwilling to help, even though the Red Room has never stopped searching for them.” Natasha noticed Yelena’s eyes gradually turning hostile, so she quickly explained, “Don’t worry, my method of contacting them won’t be exposed. It’s said that the last method of contact was through magically manipulated birds, and no agent has ever learned how to interrogate crows and owls.”

"Biotechnology, plus magic." Yelena weighed the thick parchment scroll in her hand. "A person like that can't possibly remain unknown; intelligence agencies around the world must have information about him. Who exactly is he?"

"You might know his nickname. The Knight of the Battle of New York, remember?"

“The most mysterious person, as far as I know, seems to be known by all the Avengers. Alexander Pierce and Nick Fury, who were high-ranking officials in S.H.I.E.L.D. at the time, also knew him.” Yelena blinked, recalling the information she had gathered from the Red Room. She looked at Natasha meaningfully, as if accusing someone of being an accomplice. “But they didn’t leak it out. It’s strange; I don’t think Hydra had any need to protect information, and Nick Fury isn’t exactly a benevolent person. There’s no reason he wouldn’t have such easy leverage over him.”

“Many people know his true identity, but they are all bound by magic and cannot reveal his real name or appearance in any way.” Natasha sat on the sofa, looking at the distant sea. “He’s not someone who’s willing to abide by the rules of human society, or rather, he’s unwilling to abide by the rules of those who have vested interests. In the past, some people tried to make him obey, but the results were never good. Nick Fury suffered the consequences, and so did Hydra.”

I didn't see him.

"He's fishing out to sea right now and won't be back until around six in the afternoon. Let's get to work now. Regardless of whether the other Black Widows offer help, we're going to destroy the Red House."