Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 425 Suspect (Second Update)

"We just received word from headquarters that Director Fury is back and he's waiting for you at Trisolaris headquarters," Melinda May said to Agent Coulson. "You can talk to him about that thing that's been bothering you."

"It's time. I have more than one problem to deal with," Agent Coulson sighed. The operation, which mobilized several high-ranking agents, had not gone well; in fact, it could be described as disastrous. These included Agent Victoria Hand, Agent John Gatler, Agent Black, and Agent Sitwell, who had originally joined the mission but had to go to the "Star of Lemuria" due to unforeseen circumstances.

Although they disagreed with Agent Coulson's views on "mind reading," they agreed to help Agent Coulson track down the so-called "clairvoyant" after years of working together.

"That's your Santa Claus, not mine," Agent Victoria Hand retorted with her usual sharp tongue.

When the Airbus reached an altitude of 50,000 feet, Skye, the hacker from Coulson's team, presented the agents with a double-blind test plan. Agent Coulson believed that the so-called "clairvoyant" was among the targets they had previously encountered, and that to counter this person with clairvoyance, it was necessary to fragment information.

Skye informs one agent of the potential target's location and another of her identity. The pairing and mission are randomized, and no one knows the full details of the mission until they reach their destination. This catches the "clairvoyant" with precognitive abilities or mind-reading skills off guard, and Skye is thus officially admitted to S.H.I.E.L.D., receiving her Level 1 agent certification.

Skye happily put on the sunglasses she had bought long ago. She was finally no longer a temporary worker, which meant she would finally get paid.

While the other agents went to the electromagnetically shielded room to retrieve their mission documents, Agent Victoria Hand lagged behind a few steps. Agent Coulson sensed that Agent Victoria Hand had something to say, so he stopped and waited for her to speak first.

"Did you ask that sorcerer? Could Clairvoyance be him?" Agent Hand adjusted her glasses, turning her head away from Coulson instead of looking at him. Agent Coulson knew who Agent Hand was referring to. Indeed, Salomon Damonette was one of those capable of knowing about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s operations through unconventional methods; anyone capable of using magic was certainly a suspect.

Not only that, Agent Victoria Hand recalled what Salomon had once told her; that precognitive feeling clouded her suspicions, deepening her doubts about Salomon Damonette. If this mission hadn't been led by Agent Coulson, she would have certainly sent a team to capture the sorcerer first.

“He’s not interested in these things, Agent Hand,” Agent Coulson shook his head, defending Salomon. “His attention is on the monsters, not the people. And I…” Agent Coulson frowned, suddenly unable to speak. Agent Victoria Hand keenly noticed this, and under her stern questioning, Agent Coulson answered hesitantly.

"I remember seeing Salomon after that incident," he said. "I can't recall the time or place, but I vaguely remember him giving me an answer."

"List Salomon Damonette as a suspect," Agent Victoria Hand calmly adjusted her glasses, speaking with an unquestionable tone. Suspicion had already taken root, and Agent Coulson's ordeal had only intensified it. "Since he has the ability to read minds, it's not impossible that he also has the ability to erase your memories."

"That's too reckless." Although Agent Coulson already had a guess in mind, he still rejected Agent Hand's idea. It was unknown why Salomon had erased this part of his memory, but Coulson believed that as long as he went to see him again, Salomon would return the memory to him.

"Salomon Damonette's abilities are beyond the capabilities of the S.H.I.E.L.D. task force, and he's usually very friendly. We just need to report this to Director Fury, and he'll come up with a suitable contingency plan."

After bringing up Nick Fury, even Agent Victoria Hand could only nod in agreement.

“Be careful. I’ve seen the mission reports from the Asgardians and Salomon. He forcibly captured the Asgardians despite the friendly relations between Earth and Thor, which means he thinks he’s more capable than Thor, or even Odin. What you saw, once profiled, is similar to an Odin statue unearthed in Norway. We can confirm that there was a conflict between Odin and Salomon at that time,” Agent Hand said. “He’s a very dangerous target. Getting too close to him or trusting him isn’t a good thing.”

"I believe Director Fury was prepared when he asked me to contact Salomon Damonette. Don't worry, Agent Hand, I actually think Salomon is a good guy."

"A good person wouldn't make teaware dance," Agent Victoria Hand thought. She nodded noncommittally, seemingly agreeing with Agent Coulson. She had to admit the magic was somewhat charming, but that was irrelevant. She didn't tell Agent Coulson her plans; if this operation failed, it would prove Salomon Damonette a suspect, and she secretly planned to devise another strategy.

"I'm going back to command center on a jet transport plane," she said. "From there, I'll be directing the field teams via satellite. Someone has to come to your rescue if anything goes wrong."

Unsurprisingly, the operation failed. Even with a double-blind test, the clairvoyant seemed to have foreseen their actions. Agent Grant Ward's team failed to locate their target, the John Gattler and Coulson duo were intercepted, and Agent Black, partnered with Melinda May, was attacked by a Death Soldier—who appeared to be Mike Peterson, whom Agent Coulson had recruited before—which matched the Death Soldier attack John Gattler had encountered before arriving.

Therefore, Thomas Nash, the target Melinda May was investigating, became highly suspicious. Melinda May and Agent Black went to the Tranquil Bridge Care Center and registered him as a patient, but that was just a cover; Thomas Nash was not there at all.

Fortunately, one of the six shots fired by Agent Black at the Death Warrior was a tracking bullet made by Fitz. Coulson and his team located the Death Warrior through the signal and followed the clues to find the location of Thomas Nash—a man who was originally a high-performing Canadian stock trader who was recruited by the Canadian government into a classified project department because he claimed to be able to manipulate the behavior of others.

But this is just a claim, just like the so-called miracles of bathing to cure diseases—it's all just empty talk.

He developed catatonia after a car accident. In short, he was completely paralyzed. Even though later records showed that he recovered well, when Agent Coulson led his team to find Thomas Nash, he was still lying in a chair, unable to move.

Then Thomas Nash was killed by an enraged Agent Grant Ward, because Skye had been shot earlier because of Clairvoyance's instructions.

However, Agent Coulson didn't believe Thomas Nash was Clairvoyant; he might just be a puppet. But Agent Grant Ward killed Thomas Nash, and all leads went cold—several attacks led the agents to him, and the entire investigation ended cleanly and efficiently. Coulson's agent intuition told him that things weren't so simple; this had gone too smoothly, completely inconsistent with Clairvoyant's previously demonstrated abilities.

Could it be that Agent Victoria Hand's suspicions are true?

"Sir!" Simmons rushed into Coulson's office. "Salomon Damonette is here! He's carrying something!"

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(End of this chapter)