Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 790 Head of the Family (Second Update)

"This is the information we found from the Gloucestershire local government. Tourist site renovations, no one's in charge, the project started a year ago. And the ink on this paper isn't even dry yet." Melinda May flipped through the file, her face full of disdain. Unlike this file, the other files were covered in a layer of fine dust, showing how lazy the local government was, and how little the local economy relied on real estate. Coulson and Melinda had gotten in using a fake ID. Even if MI5 was terrible, the local government couldn't refuse them, but their efficiency was extremely poor; it took them two whole days to find the document SHIELD wanted.

They had already been to the castle Professor Randolph had identified, but it was now surrounded by construction crews, working day and night. Agents Coulson and Melinda had to spend the night in their Quinjet, then search for clues in the construction debris heaps the next day. They found nothing but old bricks and steel—this was the real life of a secret agent. The kind of high-flying, sunglasses-wearing, suit-wearing, identification-driven solution to most problems only existed in Daisy Jensen's dreams before she became a secret agent.

Left with no other option, Melinda May went ahead and searched the local government archives for answers. She complained, "We're not here to investigate local politicians for corruption, but the forgery techniques are just too poor. The s.H.I.E.L.D. internal affairs clerks are far more professional at slacking off than those politicians."

"You mean, someone anticipated our actions and destroyed the evidence beforehand?" Agent Coulson felt a sense of foreboding. "Can we find out where the money he received came from the politician?"

"It's nothing more than political donations and political contributions, which are perfectly legal. Donors may even remain anonymous or hide their political contributions within donations from local businesses," Melinda May said. "And there's absolutely no need for investigation; I could guess who did it with my toes."

Agent Coulson understood immediately. "How bad is it?"

"The worst-case scenario is that Salomon has completely spiraled out of control since the Hydra rebellion." Melinda May made no secret of her communication with Nick Fury during that period. "They just withdrew, but if they want to hide and attack us, our technology is simply incapable of detecting the movements of the Sky Carrier. As you saw, they are a bunch of thugs with nuclear warheads; even the Death Warriors couldn't handle them all."

"So it seems that his manipulation of my mind to make me ask him for help isn't so bad. At least he didn't directly attack the S.H.I.E.L.D. base to seize the boulder. We still don't know exactly what's so important about that boulder, and Salomon doesn't lack a portal. That boulder must be hiding some secret." Agent Coulson's expression was grave. "Since he wants it, then we'll give him the boulder."

"Are you really comfortable letting him handle such a dangerous thing?"

"Yes, after all, he hasn't caused much trouble so far," Agent Coulson said truthfully. "Although his methods are somewhat unethical, he has indeed been solving problems, just like S.H.I.E.L.D. in the past."

"Remember the earthquake on the East Coast?" Melinda May rolled her eyes. Salomon's actions were indeed very cautious, almost never causing any major problems. But it was only almost, completely at odds with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s current zero-casualty policy. "As long as he doesn't tell us the code to the isolation room holding Fitz and Simmons, we have to keep investigating," she said. "If he never releases Fitz and Simmons, are we just supposed to stand by and watch?"

"Ahem, you know what?" Agent Coulson brought up another topic to persuade Melinda. "Actually, Nick Fury initially assigned Dr. Garner, not Steve Rogers, to Salomon as his psychiatrist."

"Andrew?" Melinda May didn't understand why Coulson would mention her ex-husband, which made her somewhat embarrassed, especially in front of Agent Coulson. She and Agent Coulson had a very good relationship when they were young, but for some reason they ultimately couldn't stay together.

"What does this have to do with him? I mean, Andrew, not Salomon."

"If there's anyone in the world who understands Salomon's mind best, it's Nick Fury and Dr. Garner. Although Salomon has never received psychological counseling, Dr. Garner is one of the few psychology experts who has seen S.H.I.E.L.D.'s psychological profile and intelligence analysis of Salomon," Agent Coulson said. "Perhaps we can consult Dr. Garner and hear his opinion on this suggestion."

At the dinner table, Salomon answered a phone call, but to his surprise, both Wanda and the witch stopped whispering and turned to stare at him. The sorcerer awkwardly rolled his eyes, carefully observing their expressions while dialing another number and giving instructions to the person on the other end. The atmosphere at the table was somewhat awkward. Salomon regretted earlier rejecting Bayonetta's invitation to invite Constantine in for dinner—the bones and organs of the Royal Guard required specially formulated food, which would poison ordinary people. Moreover, Salomon didn't think that Wanda Maximov, as an ordinary person, would have any appetite for delicious food after those mushy, nutrient-rich foods were placed on the table.

After hanging up the phone, Joan of Arc said irritably, "We agreed that we couldn't handle business during private time."

"I'm sorry, it's the Gloucestershire councilor calling. My castle repair work there has been investigated by MI5, so I need to find out what's going on." Salomon shrugged. "It's alright, it's just MI5, Stephanie can handle it."

"Stephanie again. How many times a day do you let her come over?" Joan rolled her eyes. "I hate that woman. She reeks of cunning."

"How come I didn't know you'd turned into a dog, Joan of Arc?"

The dinner knife flew incredibly fast, cutting through the restaurant with a deafening roar, causing the expensive crystal chandelier to clang and rattle. However, the knife, moving faster than the naked eye could perceive, inexplicably changed direction mid-flight. Wanda sensed the flow of magic, but before she could understand what was happening, Joan of Arc, who had been sitting in her seat, vanished. Like a video with a dropped frame, she suddenly appeared beside Salomon's chair, the gravy-stained knife pressed against Salomon's throat.

Everything happened before she blinked, and Wanda didn't know whether she should do anything, because Joan of Arc didn't seem to be joking.

Salomon went to her penthouse apartment with the witch's invitation (which Constantine had carried, keeping it in the armor compartment). After settling her in, Salomon gave her all the keys; he rarely came here except for teaching time. Wanda had initially happily invited him to stay and sample her recent cooking, until she received the invitation.

Bayonetta smiled at the somewhat panicked witch, then turned around, stood up, and pulled out two pistols, pointing them at Joan of Arc and Salomon's heads respectively.

"It's dinnertime, you little rascals!" she said. "Meat or bullets?"

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(End of this chapter)