Los Angeles, S.H.I.E.L.D. branch.
After Ward and Melinda decided to send out the "Impostor," they had already prepared to close the net. They knew this bar was a highly classified S.P.E.A.R. covert line, and they had waited for months in hopes of catching S.P.E.A.R.'s new head of the Americas Branch.
Although the "Impostor" appeared flawless on the surface, no one could guarantee that the bar owner would not see through the disguise. If he did, they would be alerting the enemy, so they had to be ready to close the net.
Even if they failed to hook a major S.P.E.A.R. figure, they could not let this deep-cover agent who had been hiding for years get away. Perhaps they could pry some useful intelligence out of him.
In the end, they captured him and tortured him for over thirty hours, yet failed to get a single useful piece of information. The old man simply refused to admit that he was a S.P.E.A.R. agent.
"Officer Ward, someone at the gate..." Grant Ward, inside the interrogation room, heard the panicked voice of a guard over the communications channel. "No, a Black Panther has broken in."
Melinda May received the news almost simultaneously. She immediately warned Grant Ward, "It's the Black Panther that appeared in San Francisco a few days ago. I heard Coulson is in San Francisco searching for those two 'beastmen.'"
"Let's go see what he wants." Ward strode out of the interrogation room.
After more than thirty hours of interrogation, they had exhausted every method without prying open his mouth. Ward had encountered quite a few tough nuts like this before, so he knew what he was doing. Unless they found something crucial to shake the target's psychological defenses, there was no hope of getting any intelligence in the short term.
Having gotten nowhere here, he had suddenly encountered another high-value target who had delivered himself to their doorstep. Naturally, Ward was interested.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Los Angeles branch was a standalone three-story building surrounded by iron fencing, with access controls and sentries stationed at the gate.
After Will Fortson barged through the gate, he waited anxiously in front of the building.
When he saw Ward and Melinda taking the lead as they came out, he immediately asked, "Are you the people in charge here?"
"You don't know where this is?" Melinda reacted sharply.
"I don't need to know." Will Fortson spoke forcefully. "I only need to know that you're interested in me."
"I can cooperate with you. As long as you come with me to San Francisco and rescue my family, I can agree to any of your demands."
Will did not doubt the Demon Lord's words. Instead, he was grateful that his great master had given him a warning so he could prepare himself.
"Fine!"
Melinda agreed without hesitation and instructed the subordinate who had arrived from headquarters, "Prepare a Quinjet. We leave now."
After saying that, she immediately contacted Coulson, who was in San Francisco.
"Coulson, the Black Panther you're looking for is with me. We're flying to San Francisco right away."
Seeing Melinda act so decisively, Ward could only follow helplessly.
Before leaving, he did not forget to remind the person in charge of the Los Angeles branch, "Keep a close eye on the man in the interrogation room. Call a doctor for him. Don't let him die."
"Don't worry, sir. We'll keep watch over him."
The branch chief knew they had no chance to tag along and share the credit, but the months-long stakeout was finally over. The agents, from top to bottom, were already delighted to return to their old, happy routine.
The Quinjet was far faster than Fortson's metal wings. They quickly arrived in San Francisco and joined up with Phil Coulson, who had been waiting there.
"Mr. Fortson, it's a pleasure to meet you." Coulson hurried over and extended his hand to Will.
Over the past few days, Coulson had been extremely frustrated. He had searched all over San Francisco without finding any trace of the other "beastman," Jack Brian.
He had thought this operation was about to fail and that his dream of a promotion and raise would remain far out of reach. Yet Will Fortson had unexpectedly come to him on his own.
"Let me introduce ourselves. We are the Strategic Homeland Intervention—"
"I don't care who you are. My promise hasn't changed." Will had no time for small talk and said impatiently, "As long as you come with me and rescue my family."
"Of course." Coulson looked utterly confident.
America was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Imperial General Headquarters. Taking down a few kidnappers within the country would be easy.
If anything, he ought to thank those kidnappers for creating this opportunity. Otherwise, they would never have had a chance to contact Will Fortson, who was serving in the military.
The military had strict discipline. It would never allow a soldier to leave freely, and under normal circumstances, it had no law-enforcement authority to enter cities. Even if Will Fortson sought help from the military after something happened to his family, he would most likely get nowhere.
S.H.I.E.L.D., however, had law-enforcement authority. This was the perfect chance to do him a favor.
After Will provided the location demanded by the kidnappers, the three Level Seven agents—Coulson, May, and Grant—quickly devised a professional rescue plan.
"Will, go in alone. We'll quietly secure all the surrounding streets and make sure none of the kidnappers escape."
Not long afterward, Will Fortson appeared at the destination.
The location Hazak specified was an abandoned factory on the outskirts of San Francisco.
When the mercenary on watch saw Will descending from the sky, he hurriedly called Hazak. "Boss, this guy has wings! He flew down from the sky!"
"Bitch!" Hazak finally understood. "No wonder the employer offered one million dollars for this job."
He had heard about America's recent racial discrimination uproar and had seen the "Black-and-White War" on the news, but the boss who hired them had only told them to come to America and kill someone, offering the steep price of one million dollars.
Hazak knew a high price meant high risk, but his line of work was always lived on the edge of a blade. After considering it for only a moment, he accepted the job.
To be safe, he had brought his entire team with him.
Only now did he confirm that their target was actually the "beastman" from the news.
Will Fortson's family had given his name earlier, but Hazak had been busy playing with women and had not paid attention. It was not as if America lacked people with the same name.
Besides, after he was done having fun, he had killed the hostages. He had not thought much about it.
"Let him in." Hazak gritted his teeth. "I don't believe he can kill us all before he runs out of strength!"
Will Fortson waited until Coulson's voice came through the communicator, telling him that they had completed the blockade and brought reinforcements. Only then did he walk into the abandoned factory with peace of mind.
The moment Hazak saw him enter the encirclement, he impatiently ordered, "Open fire!"
Gunshots tore through the night sky as a dense barrage of bullets flew toward Will.
"Fuck!" Will was shocked and enraged.
The other side had launched an outright attack, clearly targeting him. They had not even tried to negotiate, which meant his family had already met with disaster.
His rage extinguished his reason. Will transformed into the Black Panther, extended his claws, and charged straight into the gunfire. He fought with wild, sweeping movements, paying no heed to defense.
Flesh and blood flew everywhere, and screams rang out without end.
"Harrison! Jacob! Answer me!" As his subordinates went silent one after another, Hazak felt a flicker of fear amid his fury.
This enemy was unlike anything he had encountered in all his years as a mercenary. A mere "beastman" had inflicted devastating losses on them.
With his team's equipment and strength, they could slaughter even real beasts. During previous missions on the African savanna, they had hunted plenty of leopards and lions for extra meals.
Hazak did not understand that when humans truly possessed the strength of wild beasts, intelligence and power would produce a wondrous reaction. It was never as simple as adding humans and beasts together.