Honestly, Lynn had never tasted wine worth over a hundred thousand dollars.
After opening the bottle, he poured it into a decanter to let it breathe while Natasha went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.
By the time the wine was ready, Natasha had finished cooking.
Snifff~~
"Oh, your cooking's pretty good," Lynn remarked as he watched her bring out plate after plate.
"Of course," she said with a playful smile. "Agents don't just learn how to gather intel or eliminate targets—we also have to master a few life skills. Helps with maintaining cover."
She picked up the wine and poured a glass for both Lynn and Steve.
Raising her glass, Natasha said, "Come on, to celebrate our small victory. Cheers!"
Their glasses clinked softly. Lynn was about to take a sip when he paused. "Wait—what small victory?"
In response, Natasha shrugged. "The Skrulls' confession, obviously. Sure, Earth's being targeted by them, but at least now we know who the enemy is. That's a win in my book."
Lynn leaned back in his chair and looked at Steve. "So this is how you Avengers operate, huh? I've got to say, you superheroes really have an optimistic outlook."
Steve chuckled, cutting his steak with practiced ease. "What else can we do? Worrying about what hasn't happened yet doesn't help. Better to focus on what's in front of us. Visible enemies aren't scary. The truly terrifying ones are those you can't see at all."
Hearing that, Lynn nodded and raised his glass. "Just to be clear, the Skrull situation has nothing to do with me. Don't try to drag me into it."
"By the way, you can buy special potions from me. As long as you've got the money, it's no problem."
With that, Lynn took a small sip of his wine.
The flavor spread across his tongue, and after a moment he frowned. "This is wine worth over a hundred thousand dollars? Seriously? Honestly, supermarket beer tastes better."
Seeing Lynn's reaction, Steve picked up his own glass and took a small sip.
"What do you think?" Natasha asked, watching him closely.
"It's… got its own taste. Kind of like beer," Steve said mildly.
His tone was subtle, but Natasha caught the meaning immediately. Comparing a hundred-thousand-dollar bottle of wine to canned beer from a supermarket—well, that said everything about Steve's opinion.
"You two are really something," Natasha said, shaking her head as she savored the red wine, then nodded in satisfaction.
Seeing that the other two were more focused on eating than drinking, she thought for a moment. "Should I have someone bring over a few cans of beer instead?"
"Forget it." Lynn shook his head. "I've got things to take care of later."
"Going vampire hunting?" Natasha asked, arching a brow. "How did you even find them?"
"Mainly through reports of missing girls," Lynn replied. "A while back, I heard from the black market that some women had been abducted. After digging around, I found out those poor girls were being kept as blood slaves by vampires."
Of course, that entire explanation was fabricated—but at least it sounded believable.
Steve frowned, glancing at Natasha. "I thought Nick Fury said S.H.I.E.L.D. drove all the vampires out of the country and into Europe. Why are there still some in New York?"
"Who knows?" Natasha shrugged. "Maybe a few slipped through the cracks. If those things really want to hide, they're not easy to find."
As Natasha spoke, she glanced at Lynn. "Lynn, for someone who claims to hate trouble and just wants to enjoy life, you've still got a good heart."
"At the very least, you're willing to take on vampires for the sake of those innocent girls."
Steve nodded, looking at Lynn with genuine admiration.
"Alright, you two, don't start buttering me up," Lynn said dryly. "I've been dealing with that kind of thing since I was a kid."
Seeing through their little act without hesitation, he went back to eating.
Later that evening—
"You sure you want to come with me?" Lynn asked, glancing at his two companions. He didn't object; in fact, their presence was reassuring.
Given his current abilities, taking on a large group of vampires alone would be… challenging. His only real advantage was his undying body, which let him fight recklessly.
To be safe, Lynn had even brought mithril bombs with him.
If things went south, he was prepared to take everyone down together. After all, he could revive anytime he wanted—and he doubted those centuries-old vampires could do the same once they were vaporized.
Still, with Steve and Natasha by his side, Lynn figured the night's work would be a lot easier.
Click.
He loaded the mithril rounds provided by S.H.I.E.L.D. and checked the specialized gear for hunting vampires.
Natasha tossed her long burgundy hair and said coolly, "What, am I not allowed to have a conscience? Are the Avengers cowards?"
Lynn shrugged and said nothing. Instead he hefted his mithril gun and moved forward, quick and silent, toward the manor.
Watching him, Natasha leaned to Steve and whispered, "I told you, Lynn is definitely not as simple as he looks."
"Look at him. That kind of quiet infiltration? Most NYPD officers, and even some agents, couldn't pull that off."
Steve fell into step behind them and murmured, "I don't plan on prying into Lynn's past. At the very least, I consider him a friend. And I like his style. He reminds me a bit of Howard back in the day."
"Alright, but don't you dare tell Tony that. He'll never let you live it down."
The three of them avoided the cameras and slipped into the manor along blind spots.
At a first-floor windowsill, Natasha pulled a palm-sized computer from her jacket. "I'm in the manor's network. I'll crack the surveillance — give me two minutes."
Hearing that, Lynn asked suddenly, "Where did you even get that thing?"
He gave Natasha a once-over, realizing her tight leather suit didn't have any pockets.
At his question, Natasha paused, then looked up at him with a teasing glint in her eyes. "Curious where big mommy hides her gadgets, are you, Mr. Hall?"
"Want me to give you a personal demonstration?~"
Lynn met her seductive smile, rubbed his nose, and said dryly, "I'll pass."
Yeah, he wasn't the kind of man who touched women he shouldn't. On that point, Lynn was crystal clear.
Besides, even if Black Widow was gorgeous—she didn't exactly have the long legs he liked.
_______
(づ￣ 3￣)づ
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