On the dimly lit balcony on the second floor of the hotel, a tall man in a suit took out a cigarette from his pocket. He leaned against the railing in a relaxed posture, but held the cigarette very tightly. He then turned his head slightly to look at the window of the hotel flashing with light.
One of the scenes in the window attracted his attention. He finished the cigarette in his hand without throwing the cigarette butt on the ground. He stuck his thumbnail in the middle of the cigarette butt, tore off the unfinished part and lit it with a lighter.
When the fla was about to burn his fingertips, he threw the cigarette butt with flas to the ground and then stepped on it with his toes to ensure that no fingerprints were left.
He walked steadily into the hotel, greeted the attendant who ca up, then took the elevator and tidied up his suit.
With a "ding", the elevator doors opened. He walked out, his shoes stepping on the carpet of the guest room floor, making a muffled sound. He walked through the dimly lit hotel corridor and ca to room 3103.
He knocked on the door a few tis. There was no response in the room. The man took out a note from the pocket of his suit and slipped it under the door. After a while, the door lock clicked softly. He went in and saw a stern old man.
"Are you the contact person sent by the doctor?" The old man looked up and down at him and said, "It looks like the kind of person Pierce would find... Co in."
He turned to walk into the room, but after only two steps, he felt his back being pressed against sothing. The old man, who had been rampant in the spy world for half his life, imdiately realized that it was a silencer pistol.
He slowly raised his hands and said calmly, "Who are you? Who do you work for? S.H.I.E.L.D. or the KGB?"
"I work for the doctor."
"Bang!"
Watching the old man slowly fall down, Grant dismantled the magazine of the pistol. He put the gun away, put on gloves and searched the old man, taking back the note he had passed through the door crack earlier. Then he turned and left casually.
Coming out of the hotel door, the night in New York was thick. He went to a phone booth next to a park, dialed a number and said to the other end of the phone, "How have you been recently? Let's et at that cafe on the west side of Hell's Kitchen. "
A slightly cold murmur ca from the other end, "Tomorrow afternoon at 3 o'clock..."
The next morning, in the cafeteria of the S.H.I.E.L.D. League, Schiller and Stark sat face to face eating breakfast. Stark cut the sausages in the plate while complaining, "I don't know what's going on recently. Many senators have been assassinated. Even if you want to avenge at this ti, you have to consider the overall situation!"
Schiller said nothing, just concentrating on dealing with the food in his plate with knife and fork. Stark glanced at his actions and said, "What's wrong with you recently?"
"What's wrong?" Schiller asked without looking up.
"I think you've beco a little strange," Stark said, pulling the corner of his mouth down. "Like a different person."
Schiller put half a cherry tomato in his mouth, then looked up at Stark and asked, "How did you find out?"
Stark opened his mouth as if there were too many things to say and didn't know where to start. He lowered his head, cut a piece of beef and said while eating, "Let's talk about clothes first. Except for liking to wear doctor's uniforms or sweaters, I rarely see you wear suits."
Stark looked up at Schiller again. Schiller, sitting opposite him, was wearing a dark suit and a checkered tie. He continued, "Although many people in Manhattan, especially near Wall Street, like to wear suits all year round, how did your dressing style suddenly change so much?"
"What else?" Schiller asked while eating.
Stark stared at his plate and said, "I just wanted to ask why you moved the fried eggs from the left to the right and from the right to the left. Is this so kind of ritual?"
"Because vegetables should be placed on the left first."
"So what?"
"So the fried eggs can only be moved to the right."
Stark took a deep breath and said, "If you have any dissatisfaction with , you can just say it directly. My temper has improved a lot recently. I can even tolerate Steve wandering around in front of ..."
"It's nothing, just my anxiety disorder acting up." Schiller was still concentrating on eating without looking up. Stark snorted and said, "You can't fool with this. I also have anxiety disorder, although I haven't had an episode for a long ti, but I know what it feels like."
"Panic, hyperventilation, limb stiffness. At the most severe episodes, I have to lean against a wall with one hand holding the other to continue the experint. I rember you wrote the dical history in my dical record before. Have you forgotten?"
Schiller suddenly stopped what he was doing and looked at Stark, "Full marks for the answer, but useless."
With that, he put down his knife and fork, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and when he was about to stand up, Stark stopped him, "Are you leaving just like that? We haven't finished talking yet! What's wrong with you? "
"Is this really anxiety disorder? I feel like sothing is not quite right." Stark looked at Schiller's left tableware in confusion. The leftover food on it was arranged neatly.
Schiller got up from his chair, turned his head and looked at Stark, "It is indeed anxiety disorder, but only a comorbidity. You can also see it as a side effect of my allergy to broccoli."
Saying that, he bent over and straightened the crooked fork, then briskly turned and left. Stark stared at Schiller's retreating back and mumbled to himself, "What's wrong with him?"
At this mont, another figure ca over. By the ti the waiter had cleared Schiller's plate, Steve sat down opposite Stark and said, "Do you mind if I eat here? We might as well discuss the next work of the Avengers."
Stark turned his head awkwardly but did not object. Steve leaned forward and looked back. He just saw Schiller push the revolving door and leave. He asked, "Have you felt that he has been acting strangely recently, like a different person?"
"I found out earlier than you, as early as when he said he wanted to move back to his little clinic in Hell's Kitchen to live," Stark said. "I felt sothing was wrong."
Steve frowned while eating and said, "Do you rember our last guess? Hydra may be influencing the moods of all of us. Do you think he might also be..."
"Unlikely." Stark speared a piece of potato and put it in his mouth. Then he said, "He is a psychologist and can also read minds. He is not so easy to influence."
"Have you forgotten?" Steve leaned forward, lowered his voice and said, "He had contact with the hooded Hydra in the sanatorium. Those people are very good at brainwashing. Schiller was with them for so ti. We'd better investigate this matter clearly. "
"How do you plan to investigate? Go straight to him?" Stark turned his head and put down his fork, "If he hasn't been brainwashed, he will only think we are neurotic. If he has been brainwashed, do you think he will admit it?"
"We need to find a professional." Steve said confidently. Stark raised his eyebrows and looked at him. The two looked at each other and thought of the sa person.
In the afternoon, the light beca stronger and the heavy snow covering the streets last night began to lt. The ground was muddy. When Schiller walked into the cafe, he stomped his feet at the doorstep to shake off the snowflakes sticking to his shoes.
Grant saw him but his face remained unchanged. He just lowered his head and drank coffee. Schiller ca over and took the coffee from the waiter, scooping the whipped cream on the surface with a spoon. He said, "Which one is this?"
"The sixth." Grant glanced to the side. Schiller saw his action and said, "I have to admit that even in S.H.I.E.L.D., you are one of the most vigilant agents."
Grant made a low, deep chuckle through his nose and said, "So what? I still ended up in your hands."
"Don't worry, I haven't finished the second half of the sentence yet. Your current vigilance and your past naivety form a very obvious contrast. How could you think that you can get out of this line of work one day?"
Grant pursed his lips and laughed self-deprecatingly, "Indeed, how could I expect a despicable and cunning Hydra to keep its promise?"
Schiller took a sip of coffee and said, "Do you think I really want to choose you? If there were other available people, I wouldn't like forcing an ordinary person to beco a killer."
Ordinary person? Grant felt almost absurd. This was the first ti he had heard soone call him an ordinary person, even Garrett often praised him for his talent in this regard.
In the careers of agents and assassins, Grant's resu could be described as excellent. He started very early. Since being adopted by Garrett, he has been receiving professional agent training day after day. In addition, Garrett taught him many killing skills. The teaching of a senior agent allowed him to surpass the end point of many people at the starting point of this industry.
If the situation of S.H.I.E.L.D. continued to develop as before, he would likely take over the position of the Hydra leader in S.H.I.E.L.D. at Pierce's age.
ntioning this topic seed to arouse Schiller's interest. He continued, "It may sound absurd to you, but many murderers are born, or rather, so born murderers have talents that ordinary people can hardly reach in this regard."
"For example?" Grant asked, looking at him.
"Among the cases of antisocial personality disorder and psychotic ntal disorders, there is a very small possibility of the appearance of born killers. They are cold-blooded, irritable, and good at controlling others. A case I recently encountered was a teenager much younger than you."
"Who is that?"
"You don't know him, but I'm quite familiar with him. His na is Oswald Copperpot."
"A little penguin with a sharp beak."
Grant looked at Schiller with so doubts. He had never heard of this "Oswald Copperpot" before. But Schiller seed confident in what he said, and his tone revealed a sinister aning that was difficult to detect.
Schiller put down the coffee cup and leaned back slightly, "I just want to explain to you that your professional skills are indeed very good, but they are still far from the level of those natural born killers, so I hope you don't feel too confident about yourself."
"Since I'm not that capable, why did you choose ?" Grant asked.
"Because you are easy to control and have certain uses." Schiller's eyes flashed with darkness that was hard to understand. "My little penguin is too unrestrained and difficult to command at will. You are more obedient and willing to compromise to accomplish the goal."
Grant felt chilled, but he didn't show it. He asked faintly, "What are your goals?"
Schiller slowly got up from the chair, buttoned his suit and said lightly, "For now, let's continue our interrupted conversation, Agent Grant. You seem to have a few questions you want to ask , right?"
Grant looked up at him, a trace of alertness and doubt flashed through his eyes. Schiller nodded gently at him, as if giving him permission, and then walked towards the door of the cafe.
Grant hesitated for a mont, then got up and hurriedly followed him out. In the cafe, only the table they had sat at was left, with two cups of coffee that had not been drunk, the whipped cream on the surface slowly lting.
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