What Is S.H.I.E.L.D.?

What Is S.H.I.E.L.D.?

The beautiful Natasha walked into the Restaurant. Her stunning face and sexy figure seemed to raise the temperature inside by several degrees.

Dalia silently mouthed at Alvin, "Here for you?" Then, glancing at the looks in the nearby men's eyes, she whispered, "She's big trouble!"

Alvin nodded silently, confirming Dalia's words.

Jessica, who was mixing lemonade nearby, pouted angrily and muttered a few indistinct curse words starting with B.

Matt, who was eating steak, suddenly raised his head and turned his eyes toward Jessica, smiling faintly.

Like a child caught doing something bad, Jessica gave Matt an awkward smile. Then she remembered that Matt could not see. Just as she was feeling at a loss, she noticed Matt smiling warmly at her and nodding encouragingly, as if he were saying, "Good curse. Keep going!"

Jessica did not get angry at Matt's teasing. Amused, she poured him another glass of lemonade, then mischievously switched the pepper and salt in front of him. At the same time, she shot Fudge, who was covering his mouth and snickering beside them, a glare, signaling him not to say anything.

Meanwhile, Natasha walked over to the bar with the two police officers. After greeting a few acquaintances around them, the officers found empty seats and sat down.

Natasha looked over the fully occupied bar, then walked to a middle-aged white man who was staring at her and whispered a few words to him.

The middle-aged man became slightly excited. Trying hard to display his gentlemanly manners, he picked up his steak and went to share a table with someone he knew. His spineless behavior drew a round of jeers.

Jessica placed a glass of lemonade before Natasha and said coldly, "Miss, we've sold out of steak for today. Or you can have a Sandwich."

Natasha glanced at Jessica and said with a smile, "Perhaps you misunderstood. I'm not here to eat. I'm here to apply for a waiter job." She looked at Alvin. "Does Mr. Ye need a smiling waiter?" Then she gave Jessica a provocative smile.

Jessica stomped her foot angrily, turned around, grabbed a rag, and began scrubbing the already spotless bar with all her strength.

"I don't need an agent as a waiter," Alvin said, turning to Fudge. "Fudge, you're a lawyer. Have you heard of a government agency called S.H.I.E.L.D.?

"This Miss Natasha, who claims to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, wants to pin some charge on me and drive me out of my Restaurant. Can you give me some professional advice?"

The moment Alvin said that, the atmosphere in the entire Restaurant completely changed. Every man's gaze toward Natasha turned cold, as though they wanted to tear her apart at any moment.

Fudge froze at Alvin's words. Then Matt, who had been quiet the whole time, spoke up. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is under the World Security Council. Their primary responsibility is dealing with criminals or criminal organizations whose antisocial activities threaten human safety. Their headquarters is in Trident Tower in Washington. All of that is public information.

"Although the nature of their missions is classified, as long as Alvin does not have a habit of eating people, I don't think he needs to care about her threats. If she affects your life, I believe Nelson & Murdock Law Firm would be happy to sue S.H.I.E.L.D. on your behalf.

"Of course, we first need to confirm this lady's identity. Her conduct really does not look like that of a competent agent.

"If necessary, I can call some friends in the FBI. They've taken far too much blame for S.H.I.E.L.D., and they've recently been arguing with them. I'm sure they'd be happy to cause them trouble!"

Matt's words made Natasha's expression turn ugly. Once Alvin had exposed her identity, her mission was already ruined.

Though that was fine. She had never truly wanted to infiltrate this place in the first place. What she wanted was to finish this mission quickly, so she could investigate the culprit who had nearly gotten her killed.

But now, Alvin had piqued her interest. Perhaps she could continue testing him before Coulson arrived. That could be interesting!

Natasha smiled at Matt. "I merely want Boss Alvin to cooperate with our work. This is a right S.H.I.E.L.D. possesses. If you refuse to cooperate, we can forcibly lease your Restaurant as a workplace. This has been authorized by the United States Supreme Court."

Matt smiled and said confidently, "Then you first need to prove the necessity of your actions—namely, where nearby there is a criminal threatening human safety.

"Forgive me, Agent, but since your operation has been exposed so thoroughly, there's really no need for you to remain here and make things difficult for Alvin. And I can guarantee that there are absolutely no criminals within two blocks of here who fall under your jurisdiction."

Natasha said indifferently, "This is my job, and you ruined my job. If any accident happens here, will you be responsible? Or will those cowardly police officers?"

"We'll be responsible. We're the police here. Miss Natasha, please show us your identification. We now suspect that you're impersonating a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. A real agent would never act the way you do!" The middle-aged officer stood up and stared expressionlessly at Natasha, his right hand resting on his holster. The younger officer froze for a moment before catching on. He stood up as well, one hand on his holster as he stared at Natasha.

Under the hostile stares of the two officers, Natasha ignored them and turned to Alvin. "Alvin, your actions completely ruined my operation. I can tell you that my target is a Croatian man living in the house across from your Restaurant, named Zebediah Killgrave, also known as Purple Man.

"He is suspected of having the ability to control minds. We have intelligence confirming that he was connected to several suicides in Washington, Miami, and several other places. I was ordered to infiltrate and observe him. But you ruined my operation, and our field agents will be moving in to arrest him shortly."

"Then arrest him. If you know he's dangerous, why not arrest him directly instead of observing him?" When Alvin heard that the target was Purple Man, he let out a long sigh of relief inwardly. That guy had long since been fed to the Corpse-Eating Vine. Jessica had been freed from his control because of it.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. observes people with unusual abilities like these and assesses their destructive potential before taking action. That's why I came here, and you ruined my mission," Natasha said coldly to Alvin.

Alvin curled his lip and sneered. "Observe and assess? Why does that sound like a headhunting company recruiting employees?" He turned to the younger officer. "Scott, if the police knew about someone like this, how would you deal with him?"

Young Scott thought for a moment, then said seriously, "Make a plan and swiftly arrest or kill the criminal."

"See? Even the police here know what to do, while all you can think of is observing and assessing. Let me guess—when necessary, were you planning to recruit that guy to work for you?

"And Miss, don't say I ruined your mission. You didn't look like you wanted to carry out any mission at all!" Alvin said sarcastically.

"That is S.H.I.E.L.D.'s right. We have the right to recruit criminals, reform them, and make them contribute greater value."

Before Natasha had even finished speaking, Jessica slapped the bar. A deep handprint appeared in the three-inch-thick hardwood surface. Jessica pointed at the door, bared her teeth, and shouted in a voice cold enough to frost the air, "Get out! You're not welcome here!"

Matt and Fudge both shook their heads, clearly disapproving of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s methods. Instead of arresting a criminal, they wanted to observe and assess him, then recruit him into their service, completely disregarding ordinary people's safety and the crimes he should answer for, no matter how many people he had killed.

That was not how a responsible organization should behave.