In a car parked on the roadside in Queens—
"F*ck, Jessica! You damn bitch!"
Barbara's voice exploded in frustration as Jessica's sharp laughter came through the phone speaker.
"I'm out here negotiating a deal with the factory," Barbara growled, parking her car roughly on the curb, "and you, little bitch, are out there eating without me?"
"Eating alone is fine," Jessica teased from the other end. "But don't forget, I called you to let you listen. F*ck you!"
Barbara clenched her jaw, ready to hang up. But before she could, Jessica shrieked through the phone:
"If you hang up, we're done!"
Barbara nearly threw her phone out the window in anger. With a sigh, she rubbed her thighs absentmindedly, then tossed the phone onto the passenger seat, switched it to speaker mode, and started the car.
There was no way she was letting that little bitch Jessica enjoy dinner alone.
The next morning.
After stretching and hearing the satisfying crack of his joints, Linen nodded with contentment.
Nineteen years old and still growing strong.
Barbara had been thoughtful enough to bring him a bunch of nutritional supplements yesterday afternoon—though, honestly, he didn't need them.
After washing up, he stepped out of his apartment just as Natasha pulled up in her red Ford sports car. The window rolled down, revealing her familiar teasing smile.
"Good morning, Linen. You look better every day."
"Not bad, huh?" Linen grinned, pulling open the passenger door and sliding in. "So, today's the day those guys hold their so-called 'Advent Ceremony.' SHIELD's got everything arranged?"
"Of course." Natasha started the car and handed him a warm burger from a paper bag. "I was worried you'd skip breakfast. It's still hot!"
"Thanks, but I'm not used to eating in cars."
Declining politely, Linen added, "Don't forget the final payment. That's important."
"Relax," Natasha smirked, putting the burger back. "SHIELD still has some credibility. Once we catch those guys, you'll get your money."
Linen nodded, satisfied. "By the way… you might want to tell SHIELD to pull back whoever's been monitoring me. Otherwise—"
Natasha blinked, frowning. "Monitoring you? SHIELD hasn't assigned anyone to watch you."
Linen gave her a flat look. "You know I have special methods, Natasha. Trust me—someone's watching me, and they're SHIELD agents."
Her expression darkened.
She remembered the "future video" she'd once seen—the one Linen created. In that footage, he had warned her that SHIELD wasn't as clean as it seemed. That joining them was like stepping from one swamp into another.
After that, she and Nick Fury had secretly investigated, but found nothing.
And yet now… someone was really watching Linen behind Fury's back?
"I'll report it to Fury," Natasha said firmly. "If there's something shady going on—"
Before she could finish, a truck suddenly came barreling straight toward them.
Natasha swerved hard, barely dodging. But just as they escaped collision, two black SUVs screeched to a stop in front of them, blocking the road.
A group of armed men poured out, rifles raised, opening fire in a storm of bullets.
"Shit!"
With a wave of his hand, Linen conjured a glowing magic shield, instantly blocking the barrage. Bullets pinged harmlessly off the shimmering barrier.
"Move!" Natasha shouted, pulling him from the car as they ducked behind the wrecked vehicle. She drew two pistols from her waist, handing one to him. "You can use this, right?"
"Of course," Linen replied coolly. "But I prefer not to."
The air around him rippled. Space itself began to twist and distort.
From the void, chains of energy burst forth—like tentacles—snaking through the air and seizing the gunmen. They screamed as the chains whipped them around like rag dolls.
Natasha rolled from cover, firing rapidly. Each bullet found its mark—clean headshots, one after another.
"Be careful!" she shouted, spotting a thug pulling the pin from a grenade.
But Linen only flicked his wrist.
A portal shimmered open in front of him, swallowing the grenade whole.
A second later—
BOOM!
The explosion erupted behind the attackers, blasting several of them off their feet.
Before they could even fall, Linen spread his fingers, summoning thin, invisible threads of energy. The air hissed—then the men were sliced to pieces midair, their bodies scattering like dust.
Natasha froze for a moment, eyes wide.
She'd seen death before—plenty of it. But this… the sheer precision and calm power behind it chilled her.
Her estimation of Linen's strength climbed yet again.
Within seconds, over a dozen armed men were dead.
"Linen," Natasha said quickly, lowering her pistols. "Leave a few alive. I need to know who sent them."
"No problem."
Linen snapped his fingers. The glowing chains constricted instantly—tightening until several unconscious but living enemies dropped to the ground.
Linen gestured toward them. "They're all yours."
Natasha nodded, glancing around as nearby pedestrians screamed and fled. She crouched beside one of the fallen men and yanked off his mask—
—and froze when she saw the face underneath.
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