Trouble Comes Knocking (Part 2)

When Sherlock saw the black-rimmed glasses Coulson held in his hand, he did not answer. He merely stared at Coulson in silence, while Coulson naturally observed Sherlock's every move.

The instant Coulson saw Sherlock's pupils contract at the sight of the glasses, he knew he had found the right person.

Yet Sherlock's silence made Coulson increasingly uneasy. Seeing that Sherlock had shown no reaction for so long and was only blankly staring at the glasses in his hand, Coulson gritted his teeth and prepared to raise the stakes.

What Coulson did not know was that Sherlock had not answered because he wanted to refuse. He was simply reflecting on how careless he had been.

After all, when he had made those glasses for John Wick, Sherlock had completely forgotten that John Wick might lose them during a fight. He had also underestimated an official organization like S.H.I.E.L.D.

Who could have imagined that such an inconspicuous pair of glasses—something no one would even notice if it were thrown into a trash can—would be dug up by S.H.I.E.L.D., which had then followed the trail all the way to him?

Seeing no response from Sherlock, Coulson finally spoke again.

"Mr. Sherlock, please rest assured. Ours would be a purely employment-based relationship; we have no other intentions toward you! If you are willing to accept this commission, I can guarantee that as long as you do not cause as much trouble as you did two weeks ago, no one will come bothering you again.

"With S.H.I.E.L.D.'s capabilities, I can promise to block investigations from most forces and ensure they can never find you again, including the authorities! You understand—compared to us, they're the real sticky nuisance you can't shake off!"

Listening to Coulson's persuasion, Sherlock still showed no intention of answering. Though his face revealed nothing, he was somewhat speechless inside.

After all, the Spear of Longinus had been sent over by Ancient One, and he really had not been able to resist the temptation of analyzing and repairing a divine artifact. Sherlock could not help feeling as though that old man Ancient One had set him up.

But Sherlock's silence only made Coulson more anxious. Tony's disappearance had yielded no useful information through conventional means; otherwise, they would not have set their sights on someone with extraordinary abilities like Sherlock.

Among all the people with extraordinary abilities S.H.I.E.L.D. had identified, Sherlock was practically the model of lawful good!

Just as Sherlock was considering whether he should agree to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s proposal in exchange for a period of peace, Coulson's careless words, spoken in his anxiety, instantly enraged him.

"Mr. Sherlock, even if you aren't afraid of those sticky nuisances latching onto you, believe me, the people around you will be watched as well."

As Coulson spoke, his gaze passed Sherlock and landed on Doro, who was peeking out from the corner behind him.

The instant Sherlock followed Coulson's gaze and saw Doro, his rage erupted like a volcano and burned straight toward Coulson.

"Are you threatening me?"

As Sherlock's tone abruptly rose, Coulson felt as though he were standing before a volcano on the verge of eruption. One wrong move, and he feared he would be reduced to ashes by the boundless fury of the man before him.

Before Coulson could say anything else, an immense killing intent, as if it had come from the deepest abyss, locked onto him in the next instant.

Sherlock naturally sensed that killing intent. Following it, he saw John Wick standing at the entrance to his home at some unknown point, dressed in a neat suit and holding a pistol, his gaze fixed firmly on Coulson.

It was as if one wrong word from Coulson would mean that only death awaited him in the next second.

Caught between the two of them, Coulson was undoubtedly the one suffering the most. The sensation was like being trapped between ice and fire. Goosebumps rose all over his body, his back had long been soaked through with cold sweat, and the oily perspiration made him horribly uncomfortable, yet he did not dare make the slightest movement.

After a long while, Coulson finally forced down the fear deep in his heart. Pale-faced, he squeezed out a smile at Sherlock and slowly said,

"Mr. Sherlock, you misunderstand. This is not a threat. I would rather call it cooperation! S.H.I.E.L.D. will resolve your worries and allow you to live peacefully, while you only need to help us find Tony Stark."

As he spoke, Coulson could even feel his teeth trembling. Especially under Sherlock's silent gaze, despair grew ever stronger in his heart, and he had even prepared himself to make the ultimate sacrifice.

But what Coulson had never expected was that after staring at him for quite some time, Sherlock actually agreed to the deal.

"Fine. I accept this deal. Go back and tell Black Egg to wipe my information clean from your damned database! And this is the only time. Don't come bothering me again!"

After saying that, Sherlock moved to shut his front door. Yet halfway through, as if he had remembered something, he paused, looked up at Coulson, and continued,

"And don't forget your promise!"

With that, Sherlock's front door slammed shut. This time, Coulson truly did not have the courage to stop him or knock on his door again.

As Sherlock's door closed, the pressure that had weighed on Coulson like an invisible mountain vanished without a trace, leaving him standing outside Sherlock's home and gasping for breath.

At the same time, Sherlock's request kept replaying in his mind.

Black Egg?

When Coulson thought of Sherlock's bizarre nickname, Nick Fury's dark, gleaming bald head instinctively surfaced in his mind.

That brought a faint smile back to Coulson's lips. He glanced back toward Sherlock's home, then noticed that John Wick, who had been beside Sherlock's house, had disappeared at some unknown point. Only then did he turn and quickly leave the neighborhood.

The moment his car left the neighborhood, Coulson took out his phone and reported the entire sequence of events to Nick Fury at headquarters in Washington.

After hearing Coulson's report, Nick Fury gave him two orders.

First, no matter what Sherlock requested, cooperate with him to the fullest extent.

Second, classify the nickname "Black Egg" as top secret!

After saying that, Nick Fury hung up on Coulson. After thinking for a moment, he opened the computer before him, printed Sherlock's file from the S.H.I.E.L.D. database, and then deleted every backup.

Black Egg placed the printed documents into a paper folder, and emblazoned across its cover were the words:

Avengers Initiative!