Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 791 Christmas Special (Part 1)

"This is your gift, Wanda." After dinner, Bayonetta casually produced the gift she had prepared long ago. Wanda was quite surprised to receive the gift; the invitation hadn't mentioned giving gifts, which made her rather embarrassed, as she had nothing to reciprocate. Encouraged by Salomon's gaze, Wanda took a deep breath and carefully tore open the gift wrapping paper.

The witch's taste was exactly like Salomon's. Gems, precious metals, guns, and swords—even though Salomon hadn't been involved in preparing the Christmas gifts, he could guess what kind of presents they were looking for. But this gift was a bit extravagant; he'd never seen anyone mount a ruby ​​and a dagger on a large-caliber revolver. However, he didn't dare object, because Bayonetta had recently given him and Joan a sound beating, and then had Dinah prepare a new main course for them. Wanda was surprised by the strange surroundings of the house; the oddly shaped silver revolver no longer frightened her.

Compared to the gift from Bayonetta on behalf of the witch, Salomon's gift was much more thoughtful. It was a pair of deep red gloves with a large letter M knitted in yellow yarn on the back of the hand, making it quite adorable. If it weren't for Bayonetta's hint, Wanda Maximoff would never have guessed that these gloves were hand-knitted by Salomon.

“We need to exchange gifts on Christmas Eve,” Salomon winked at Wanda. “We know Pietro plans to spend it at the Avengers headquarters, so we're inviting you to join us for Christmas. Don't think we have any religious beliefs; we just want an excuse to spend some money, so don't expect any prayers. Besides, you're like us, dealing with all sorts of monsters all the time, and you're always alone…”

Wanda's expression was indescribably complex. "Thank you, thank you so much..."

Bayonetta pulled Wanda, who was on the verge of tears, into a tight embrace, making Salomon envious. If he were to prepare for Christmas himself, he probably wouldn't even have thought to invite Wanda; without Bayonetta, his interpersonal relationships would be quite terrible. He secretly made a face, then received another slap on the shoulder from Joan of Arc. "Let's watch a family comedy," Bayonetta patted Wanda's back, then glanced at the sorcerer out of the corner of her eye. "Anyway, nobody needs to sleep tonight, in every sense of the word."

"Give me ten minutes, then I'll join your little activity." Salomon stood up, holding the cat, and turned a corner in the hallway into the study. Constantine had already entered the study from outside the apartment, because besides Salomon's safety needing protection, many documents in the study also needed to be safeguarded. In the power struggle between Constantine and Diana, he successfully persuaded Diana to hand over this part of the security work that the Sorority had overlooked to the Guard. Constantine nodded to Salomon and handed him a report—a report of official business Salomon had missed during dinner. Salomon took it and glanced at it, immediately noticing one of the tasks. This task came from Stephanie's memo, but Salomon didn't need the memo; he hadn't forgotten MI5's investigation of Gloucestershire Castle.

Poor Stephanie is still working in Europe, and old Malik has to deal with social engagements from politicians and tycoons. The Malik family's Christmas this year is overwhelmed with various official duties, so Salomon didn't intend to bother Stephanie with this little matter.

He made an encrypted satellite phone call to Victoria Hand, the head of the intelligence department, and asked her to take over the task.

The intelligence department operates 24/7, 365 days a year. Faced with this intensity and the atmosphere of treating people like animals, Agent Hand felt like he was back at S.H.I.E.L.D. "Retrieve the surveillance footage from the Gloucester County office," he said. "In the name of the CIA, request MI5 to verify if the two individuals in the footage are MI5 agents. If not, request MI5 to assist in their arrest."

"What if that's the case?" Agent Victoria Hand asked.

"Does Britain have the final say?" Salomon retorted. A weary laugh came from the other end of the line. "Remember to collect the intelligence department's year-end bonus from the safe in my office. You know the code," Salomon said. "One of the blank checks is for you; you have the right to write down any amount you want. Stephanie was supposed to be distributing the bonuses, but she's busy with something else right now."

"Thank you, boss."

"No need to thank me. After all, I need you guys working overtime on Christmas Eve, and I'm not a stingy guy like Nick Fury." Even at this moment, Salomon couldn't resist mocking the past practices of S.H.I.E.L.D. If he didn't know that Nick Fury would definitely not see him, he would have sent the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. a gift, perhaps a few S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. "The surveillance footage will most likely show S.H.I.E.L.D. people. I can guess with my toes that MI5 will never catch them. But it doesn't matter, as long as we get them out of Gloucestershire."

"May I ask why S.H.I.E.L.D. is going there?"

"You can unlock certain data in the archives according to your permissions and search for the navigation records of the Punisher Sky Carrier," he said. "That's why I issued you high-tech badges with genetic and iris locks. I know you won't care about that little badge, but I still want you to see its built-in program."

Victoria Hand, on the other end of the phone, took out the identification document from her drawer with a puzzled expression. Following Salomon's instructions, she opened the black wallet, placed her finger on the skull emblem representing the intelligence agency, and simultaneously held the double-headed eagle emblem to her wrist, letting a beam of bright blue light shine into her eyes. Agent Hand felt a sharp pain in her finger, and then the seemingly ordinary identification wallet immediately began to demonstrate its powerful functions.

She can use holographic projection to browse all electronic devices around her and gain access to their data and control through their built-in programs. The most powerful function of this certificate is its genetic code lock, which grants permissions by determining random genetic sequence codes. Victoria Hand's permissions are at Red Level Nine, meaning she can see almost everything related to the real world except for magical data, as well as a small amount of top-secret information related to Kamar-Taj.

"This is terrible; it involves the Hydra and ancient Middle Eastern legends?"

"Yes. But don't worry, our archaeologist Laura Crawford has already set off. I just hope this job doesn't disrupt the gift fate has given her," Salomon said. "I plan to have Laura Crawford head an organization dedicated to collecting artifacts, which will require your joint oversight with the soon-to-be-established Department of Magic. I hope you're prepared, after all, many relics on Earth are related to extremely dangerous magic, and even after fifteen hundred years, they haven't been fully excavated."

Victoria Hand sighed.

"Now I finally understand why you gave me a bonus, boss."

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)