Who Said I Was Discharged? (Happy New Year!!!)

One sentence.

What if S.H.I.E.L.D. secretly used their credentials to do something illegal? What would happen then? S.H.I.E.L.D. would just wipe its hands and walk away, leaving them to take all the blame.

So there.

Not a single law-enforcement agency would tacitly approve of S.H.I.E.L.D. using its credentials. S.H.I.E.L.D. could forge credentials, and at most, they might turn a blind eye to such behavior. But the moment something went wrong, they would wash their hands of it. The agency would not take the blame for S.H.I.E.L.D.

Jason began counting down in a hard tone.

Compared to trusting the credentials in Phil Coulson's hands, Jason was more willing to trust Lake's word.

Lake and Jason were brothers-in-arms who had fought on the battlefield together.

So...

Phil Coulson and the others discarded the guns in their hands, then were rounded up by the soldiers Jason had brought with him.

The vehicle set off for Quantico Military Base.

"Bang!"

A soldier snatched the mobile phone Coulson had taken out and threw it out the window. "Stay put."

Coulson: "..."

This time, they had really lost face.

They had clearly come under orders to arrest someone, yet they had ended up being rounded up themselves.

Half an hour later.

Quantico Military Base.

Everyone got out of the vehicle.

Jason said to the soldiers, "Take these people to Quantico Military Justice."

Coulson said blankly, "Wait, I need to make a call."

Jason scoffed.

Make a call?

Never mind that you aren't really with the FBI. Even if you were, did you expect to enjoy special treatment after arresting someone from the military?

Jason waved his hand, completely ignoring Coulson's request. Instead, he said to Lake beside him, "You know this place better than I do. Want me to come with you?"

Lake waved him off. "No need. You go handle your business."

Jason nodded and said nothing more. He simply led his team away.

Lake looked around, searched his memories, and then followed them toward a nearby location.

Jason was older than Lake.

But...

Lake had enlisted earlier than Jason. After Jason enlisted, Lake had even been one of his military instructors. Later, Jason joined the SEALs and initially served in Lake's former C Team. After carrying out two missions, Jason left C Team for B Team. By now, he was already B Team's senior enlisted man.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

"..."

The door opened, and a sharp-looking woman with her blond hair tied back appeared.

Mandy, a CIA Intelligence Analyst stationed with the SEALs and responsible for planning overseas operations and intelligence analysis.

Yes.

A CIA agent.

"Lake?"

"Mind if I come in?"

"What, did you get dumped again?"

"..."

Lake shrugged.

Mandy smiled, stepped aside, and made way for him.

Soon, the room was filled with passion. Meanwhile, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had been hauled to the detention room at Quantico Military Justice stared at one another, wondering when S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ would discover that they had gone missing.

The next day.

Lake opened his eyes and looked at Mandy, who was sitting on the edge of the bed putting on her shoes. "Going on a mission today?"

Mandy smiled, stood up, and glanced at Lake in the bed. "You know I can't tell you."

Lake spread his hands.

Mandy kissed Lake on the forehead, then turned and pushed open the door.

Lake yawned and prepared to get up and get dressed as well.

His relationship with Mandy was complicated.

The two of them had a cooperative relationship in which each got what they needed.

Simply put, Lake and Mandy had been partners back when he was in the military. After he left the military, whenever he suffered a setback in love, he would come here to find Mandy. If Mandy happened to be between relationships, she would open the door and let Lake in. If not, she would turn him away.

Yes.

It was such a simple and unpretentious relationship.

Lake and Mandy both understood it without needing to say anything.

After a while.

Lake had just finished getting dressed when Jason came over and knocked on the door.

"Let's go."

Jason, dressed in combat fatigues, spoke the moment Lake opened the door. "Let's go. The general wants to see you."

Whenever Lake came to Washington, Jason was the one who drove to pick him up, so Jason knew exactly where Lake would be.

After speaking, Jason handed Lake the plastic bag in his hand.

Inside... was a military uniform.

Military base building.

Wearing a Marine Lieutenant's uniform, Lake stepped out of the elevator with ease and walked to the door of an office, then knocked.

"Come in!"

"Whew!"

Lake took a deep breath. After pushing open the door, he straightened up toward the man seated behind the desk in a general's uniform—the head of Quantico Military Base, Thaddeus Ross. "General!"

Yes.

General Ross.

When Lake enlisted, General Ross was with the Navy. Back then, Lake had earned General Ross's recognition and been promoted by special dispensation to Navy lieutenant. He later served as the commander of C Team in the SEALs under General Ross.

From a certain perspective, Lake had never truly left the military.

Ross valued Lake highly. Although he had agreed to let Lake leave, he had never removed Lake's name from the military rolls. Lake had received the same treatment as Captain America, Steve Rogers.

Steve Rogers had already been officially declared dead, but his name remained in the military system to this day. It had merely been stamped as missing in action.

Moreover, every time Lake came here to see Mandy, General Ross would always make him put on his uniform to meet him. It seemed he hoped that one day Lake would turn back, realizing that the military was his true home.

Lake found this rather speechless.

But...

Ross was, after all, a talent scout of sorts, and they also had a certain special relationship. So Lake could not think of a reason to refuse such a minor request.

Inside the office.

General Ross reviewed the documents in front of him. After a while, without looking up, he said, "Got yourself into trouble?"

Everything that happened at Quantico Military Base was within his sights. Naturally, General Ross knew that Military Justice had arrested several people impersonating the FBI the previous night.

Lake said, "A minor problem."

General Ross chuckled, looked up at Lake, took the fake credentials used by Phil Coulson and the others from a drawer, and tossed them onto the desk. "A minor problem wouldn't produce forged credentials this finely made, complete with the FBI's official seal."

Lake shrugged.

General Ross stood up, pointed toward the sofa, and walked over. "Tell me. What happened?"

Lake recounted everything that had happened in New York truthfully. However, he only said that an unknown organization had used this method to recruit him, without revealing the organization's real name.

General Ross immediately snorted coldly. In his view, Lake had always been his man, from childhood to adulthood. Those years before had merely been an extended period of suspended leave.

Just then.

The secretary knocked and entered. "General, Secretary of State Allen is here."

Ross nodded and said to Lake, "They've poached all the way to my doorstep, and they've even brought the Secretary of State with them. Looks like they're determined to ruin you if they can't recruit you."

Lake smiled.

PS: Mandy—from SEAL Team, a CIA Intelligence Analyst.

PS: Jason—from SEAL Team, the captain of B Team!