Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 673 Midlife Crisis (Second Update)

Suspicion filled Officer Carter's heart. If she weren't still unsure of the two men's identities, she would almost have arrested these two men, who didn't seem like agents at all, for impersonating public officials. While following Salomon's questions and recounting the madwoman's worthless ramblings, she urged Officer Fusco to look away from the woman and expedite the identity verification. At the same time, Officer Carter was trying to recall if she had missed any subtle hints from the madwoman suggesting she was "harmed." Salomon was well aware of Officer Carter's subtle maneuvers, as was Bayonetta. A wicked smile played on her lips as she prepared to see how Salomon would escape.

Since Salomon returned home, he'd been glued to Bayonetta, refusing to leave even when Jeanne threatened him with a gun. Salomon even proposed a threesome, saying he'd booked a restaurant and a dress, and needed Dinah to drive. If Jeanne didn't go, she'd be stuck at home eating Hawaiian pizza, so the white-haired witch reluctantly agreed. However, there was a slight problem with Bayonetta's dress, so the black-haired witch wore a suit instead of her original evening gown. Surprisingly, Bayonetta, dressed in men's clothing, exuded a striking and masculine charm while remaining alluring. It wasn't just Salomon attracting attention on the street anymore.

Before their date, they needed to run an errand along the way, hoping to finish before the police went off duty. Only then could they make it to their pre-booked restaurant for dinner. The minor earthquake hadn't affected New York's business; the panic was merely an instinctive defensive reaction from East Coast residents who had never experienced an earthquake before, and riots were a typical American phenomenon—even the National Guard's presence in the city wasn't anything to be alarmed about. This wasn't something the restaurant should be closing down for—Bayonetta believed Salomon's lie would soon be exposed, and if he couldn't figure out a way to escape, the date was doomed. The witch believed Salomon wouldn't let that happen, so she was now very curious about how he would handle the situation.

However, the FBI credentials Salomon produced were genuine, just like those used by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and CIA agents impersonating FBI agents. His fabricated identity could even be found in the database. He didn't use the AI ​​as a hacker, but rather a backdoor program planted by S.H.I.E.L.D. on the FBI's internal servers. This was one of the bargaining chips Nick Fury exchanged with Salomon, allowing Immortal City agents to conceal their movements as agents of various national intelligence agencies. This is why Salomon agreed to Nick Fury extending the Skrull evacuation from Earth; this bargaining chip was far more valuable than those secret S.H.I.E.L.D. bases.

As Officer Carter repeated the madwoman's words one by one, Salomon's expression grew increasingly grim.

“We need an interrogation room, Officer Carter, right here.” Salomon took a deep breath of the coffee-and-smoke-filled air and glanced at Bayonetta beside him. “We need to interrogate her, now.”

"She's insane! Are you planning to interrogate a madwoman?" Officer Carter finally snapped. "I had no idea the FBI could arbitrarily violate human rights!"

“Officer Carter, I trust our mutual friend Mr. Finch to vouch for my character. Now, I need to get some information out of that woman. I can assure you that her human rights will not be violated… I can’t explain any more, and don’t force me to use administrative means. This involves hundreds of lives, and I’m in a hurry. I’m not doing anything shady. Even if it means calling in armed forces, I must conduct the interrogation, you understand? Things won’t look so pleasing then.” Salomon’s face hardened, his tone shifting rapidly from pleading to hardening, and then to threatening. For a moment, Officer Carter felt as if he were standing at the foot of a throne, listening to someone speaking from above.

The kind-hearted policewoman agreed to use an interrogation room, but she would observe the entire process. "If you do anything outside of interrogation protocol with that poor woman, I will immediately stop the interrogation," Officer Carter stood up, pointing sternly at the sorcerer and witch. "I don't care what your rank is in the FBI, this is the NYPD. Even if you call in a special forces team, before they arrive, these officers can each kick you in the ass! Do you understand?"

"So, without magic, you can't even convince a mortal woman? If it weren't for my admiration, you'd probably be single forever, my silly little thing!" Bayonetta crossed her arms, admiring this woman's courage and stubbornness, which was why she didn't hesitate to mock Salomon. She raised an eyebrow and initiated a magical communication with Salomon, "Is this important?"

"The Venerable One considers it very important, and that prophetess foretold the Daughter of Chaos." Although Salomon did not speak, he had already conveyed his thoughts to the witch through magic. "I believe that madwoman definitely has some message she wants to convey, and it is very important."

"The Daughter of Chaos? Your precious apprentice? Are you still planning to continue dating her?" Bayonetta's soft laughter echoed in Salomon's mind. "If you say no, Joan of Arc might get so angry she'll smash through the roof of the car and jump out, waving her arms and firing wildly in the street!"

"I don't think Joan of Arc would be that dramatic when she's angry; she's not a child." Salomon smiled helplessly. "I'll try, my dear. I'll try."

"I've tried my best to forgive them," Agent Victoria Hand said dryly to Natasha Romanoff's questioning and pleas on the other end of the phone. "I was only authorized to let them go after confirming they hadn't been corrupted. But I want you to know one thing, Agent Romanoff: the Immortal City isn't a vigilante organization like the Avengers, where you can break rules at will. Every rule in the Immortal City—or rather, every rule in Kamar-Taj—has been paid for with blood and lives. A moment of leniency will only lead to more innocent deaths. I believe you understand this. Even if you joined the Avengers, it doesn't mean you've forgotten what S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Red Room taught you. Steve Rogers refused to enforce this rule, refused the Kamar-Taj sorcerers' inspection, and therefore they had to pay the price. We will not let any potentially corrupted cultist escape, even at the cost of a life."

These chilling words nearly suffocated Agent Romanov.

"What would you do if Steve Rogers were corrupted?"

"Fortunately, he didn't." Victoria Hand seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. "I didn't want to see a legend from 70 years ago die by my own hand. He was an upright man, but if he had been corrupted, then his body would no longer contain his soul. If you ask me what I would do, I can only tell you that I would follow the rules and regulations."

"Can you tell me exactly how many people will survive?"

“I don’t want to lie to you, Natasha.” Faced with the request from her former friend and colleague, Victoria Hand sighed, her tone softening from its initial harshness. “Even the agents on the SkyCarrier who hadn’t gone mad have begun the brainwashing process; those who went insane on the spot have been executed. Although the technology is constantly improving, not everyone can survive the brainwashing phase. You need to be prepared; the outcome probably won’t be good. Nobody wants to see this happen, but this is the consequence of Steve Rogers’s forceful involvement. If we let a corrupted agent go free, it will lead to even greater destruction in the future.”

“I understand,” Natasha Romanoff mumbled. She hung up the phone and shook her head at Nick Fury and Maria Hill standing beside her. “Agent Hand is insistent,” she said. “I’m afraid this is an order from Salomon.”

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(End of this chapter)