Poaching Talent

The sun scorched the earth. Along this stretch of Highway 6, six SUVs burned, black smoke curling upward as waves of heat rose. From afar, even the air seemed warped by the flames, while the smell of gunpowder hung everywhere.

Natasha and Hawkeye seemed to have emerged from a battlefield of fire, black smoke, and war.

The two wore slightly strange expressions as they looked at Brock Rumlow holding He-El hostage.

"Hi, BOSS." Natasha's combat suit was torn in several places, exposing the gray Sensor Suit clinging tightly to her body beneath it, giving her a fierce, wild, metallic beauty. She glanced at Brock Rumlow, then shifted her gaze to He-El's face and said with a faint smile.

"Natasha, after resigning from my company, is this the life you chose? Riding off-road motorcycles into battle and risking your life against enemies?

"Wouldn't being my assistant have been better? A generous salary and a peaceful life?"

He-El's gaze swept past the burning SUVs behind Natasha and Hawkeye, past the billowing black smoke twisting into the sky, before settling on Natasha.

"Your replacement isn't nearly as capable as you were. Even deals worth over a billion need my decision."

When Natasha had been He-El's assistant and head of his secretarial staff, she had been extremely competent. She understood He-El's attitude toward money very well and would never have asked her boss to decide on deals worth billions.

Most of the time, she made the decisions herself, coordinated everything, then informed He-El of her and the secretarial team's decision. He-El rarely objected, and the matter would be resolved with a single signature from him.

Ever since Natasha resigned, the new head secretary had been unable to gauge He-El and often needed him to choose and decide on business dealings worth billions.

She had