Death

Jerry floored the gas pedal. The engine roared as the car began to pick up speed. He spun the wheel rapidly, accelerating further and pulling away from the SUV Phil Coulson was driving.

Melinda May was contacting Chief George Stacy. The swaying vehicle did not throw her off balance as she rapidly explained the situation over the phone.

"What? So it really was the three of them? You actually went to tail them on your own today? Why didn't you notify the police?" Chief George Stacy was somewhat furious.

It had started yesterday. After obtaining the three men's information, Chief George Stacy had believed there was no need to investigate them further. After all, they had established an investment company, and its financial accounts showed clear transaction records. None of that money had any connection to the funds stolen from the bank. Besides, he had been counting on their technical support to ultimately verify his hypothesis.

But the two of them had gone to tail the suspects that morning without saying a word to him. Now they were engaged in a chase through the streets of New York. Most crucially, they had been discovered before even coming face-to-face with them. They had not revealed their identities, so even if there was a problem, the other side had an excuse to deny it.

"Chief George Stacy, please act immediately!" Melinda May had no time to waste talking to him. She hung up at once and stared ahead.

Chief George Stacy shook his head helplessly, then headed toward the bank's server room. He was still there today, hoping Tony Stark had made some progress.

"Mr. Stark, the robbers' technician has infiltrated the traffic monitoring center again. Can you go there?" Chief George Stacy asked.

"What? They showed up? Great, let's go!" Tony Stark sprang from his chair. His drowsy assistant, Thomas, was startled, but he did not dare complain. He hurriedly gathered Tony Stark's things and followed him out.

Meanwhile, Jerry was less than a hundred meters from the fifth intersection. There was not a single car ahead of him, and he was still accelerating. Mo Fei estimated the distance, then switched the red lights on both sides of the intersection to green. The truck driver, who had long since grown impatient, immediately shifted gears and slammed on the accelerator without looking at the vehicles on either side. The light in front of Jerry remained green.

Mo Fei spoke again. "Something's wrong. Look behind you!" His sudden tone made the excited Jerry tense up instantly. He whipped his head around, but his foot had the gas pedal pressed to the floor, and the car's speed exceeded 150 kilometers per hour.

"What?" He suddenly looked back, but saw nothing. Confused, he turned forward again, only for the sight before him to leave him stunned.

A truck stood directly in front of his car, and he crashed into it at high speed. He struck the side of the truck, right in the middle. The front of his car slid straight beneath the truck, while the upper half slammed into the side of its cargo bed.

The entire upper half of the Mustang vanished, along with Jerry's head. A column of blood shot into the sky, and the truck driver was terrified. He hurriedly hit the brakes. The Ford Mustang's body was dragged forward about three meters before finally coming to a stop.

Mo Fei took one look and left. There was no need for him to stay and watch. Jerry was dead.

He needed to notify Jack and Roy and have them prepare themselves. The police would most likely want to question them. Mo Fei had no intention of concealing Jerry's death; he would just tell them directly. As for what they chose to do, that was up to them. This would be the final test of their cooperation.

Phil Coulson had not expected this to happen. He gradually slowed down until the vehicle stopped, then got out with Melinda May and approached the scene. Neither of them looked good.

"Coulson, was this silencing a witness?" Melinda May asked.

"Most likely. With green lights all the way, that Mustang could have widened the distance between us, and controlling the signals could have blocked us completely. But this happened instead. That says a lot." Phil Coulson's expression was grim. He had not expected the other side to be so ruthless, killing someone to silence him.

There was another problem. If no evidence of a technical intrusion could be found inside the traffic monitoring center, then legally it could not be classified as murder. It could only be handled as an accident.

"Let's go to the traffic monitoring center. Have the New York branch people gone already?" Phil Coulson turned and asked.

"They've started. They'll enter the traffic monitoring center before Tony Stark does." The two got back into the car, but traffic was now in complete chaos, and Phil Coulson could not get out anytime soon.

Mo Fei called Jack. "Jack, Jerry is dead!"

Jack was taking his three children around Hollywood. When he heard Ghost's words, he froze. His heart pounded wildly, and beads of cold sweat rolled down his forehead.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Jennifer asked suspiciously when she saw Jack's expression.

"It's nothing. It's just a little hot. How about we get some ice cream? You lead the way. I need to take this call." The three children cheered and began looking for an ice cream shop. Jack followed them while asking, "When?"

"Just now. Today, I discovered someone was following him. They didn't look like police; they looked more like agents. So I had no choice but to get rid of him," Mo Fei said directly.

"Get rid of him? You did it?" Jack was frightened, but quickly calmed down. "If you're telling me this, then you don't intend to get rid of me, right?" His voice was low. He glanced around. The streets were full of pedestrians, but no one was paying attention to him, and the children were ahead of him.

"That's right. You should understand Jerry. If it were the police, I wouldn't have done this. With a lawyer present, they wouldn't be able to pry Jerry's mouth open. But agents are different. Whether it's the FBI or the CIA, he wouldn't be able to hold out against them." Mo Fei did not mention S.H.I.E.L.D. Jack would not have known what it was anyway, so it was better to use intelligence agencies people were familiar with.

"How did we attract their attention?" Jack was somewhat frightened.

"The bank probably pushed for it. They suffered considerable losses in the stock market, and their reputation isn't very good either. If they want to solve the case quickly, they'll naturally pull some strings. And Jerry has nothing tying him down. With a little coercion and temptation, I figure he would tell them everything. But you and Roy both have family members to care for. You won't give in so easily. That's why I think highly of the two of you. Get through this, and we'll be partners. Fail, and the two of you will definitely die." Mo Fei hung up after saying that.