The stunning Natasha walked into the restaurant. Her beautiful face and alluring figure seemed to raise the temperature by several degrees.
Dahlia silently mouthed at Alvin, "Is she here for you?" Then she glanced at the men nearby and said under her breath, "She's big trouble!"
Alvin nodded silently, confirming Dahlia's suspicion.
Jessica, who was making lemonade nearby, pursed her lips angrily and muttered a few barely audible words beginning with B.
Matt, in the middle of eating his steak, suddenly raised his head and turned toward Jessica. He smiled faintly.
Like a child caught doing something naughty, Jessica gave Matt an awkward smile. Only then did she remember that he couldn't see. Just as she began to feel at a loss, Matt smiled warmly at her and nodded encouragingly, as if to say, Good one. Keep going!
Jessica wasn't angry at being teased. Amused, she refilled Matt's lemonade, then mischievously switched the pepper and salt in front of him. She also glared at Foggy, who was covering his mouth to hide a laugh, warning him to keep quiet.
Natasha reached the counter with the two police officers. The officers greeted a few familiar faces, then found empty seats and sat down.
Natasha looked over the occupied counter seats, walked up to a middle-aged white man who was watching her, and said a few quiet words.
The man grew visibly excited. Doing his best to appear gentlemanly, he picked up his steak and squeezed in beside someone he knew. His spineless display drew a chorus of boos.
Jessica set a glass of lemonade in front of Natasha and said coldly, "Miss, we've sold out of steak today. You could have a sandwich instead."
Natasha glanced at Jessica and smiled. "Perhaps you've misunderstood. I'm not here to eat. I'm here to apply for a job as a waitress." She looked at Alvin. "Mr. Ye, do you need a waitress who smiles?" Then she gave Jessica a provocative smile.
Jessica stamped her foot angrily, turned to grab a rag, and scrubbed furiously at the already clean counter.
"I don't need an agent working as a waitress," Alvin said. He turned to Foggy. "Foggy, you're a lawyer. Have you heard of a government agency called S.H.I.E.L.D.?
"This Miss Natasha claims to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. She wants to pin a crime on me and drive me out of my restaurant. Can you give me some professional advice?"
The moment Alvin spoke, the atmosphere in the restaurant changed completely. Every man looked at Natasha coldly, as though ready to tear her apart.
Foggy froze at Alvin's words. Matt, who had been quiet until now, spoke instead. "S.H.I.E.L.D. answers to the World Security Council. Its primary responsibility is dealing with criminals or criminal organizations whose antisocial acts threaten human safety. Its headquarters is the Triskelion in Washington. All of that is public information.
"Although the nature of its missions is classified, Alvin, unless you have a habit of eating people, I don't think you need to worry about her threats. If she disrupts your life, I'm sure Nelson & Murdock would be happy to sue S.H.I.E.L.D. on your behalf.
"Of course, first we'd have to confirm this lady's identity. Her conduct hardly seems becoming of a competent agent.
"If necessary, I can call a friend at the FBI. They've taken the blame for S.H.I.E.L.D. far too often, and they've been arguing with the agency lately. I imagine they'd welcome a chance to give it trouble!"
Matt's words darkened Natasha's expression. Once Alvin exposed her identity, her mission was already ruined.
That was fine. She had never truly wanted to go undercover here anyway. What she wanted was to finish this assignment quickly so she could hunt down the person who had nearly gotten her killed.
But Alvin had caught her interest now. Perhaps she could keep testing him before Coulson arrived. That could be fun!
Natasha smiled at Matt. "I only wanted Boss Alvin to cooperate with our work. S.H.I.E.L.D. has that authority. If he refuses, we can requisition his restaurant as an operations site. The U.S. Supreme Court has authorized it."
Matt smiled confidently. "Then you'll first have to prove it's necessary. Where, in this neighborhood, is there a criminal who threatens human safety?
"Frankly, Agent, your cover is so thoroughly blown that there's no point staying here and making things difficult for Alvin. And I'm certain there isn't a criminal within two blocks who falls under your jurisdiction."
Natasha said dismissively, "This is my job, and you've ruined it. If anything goes wrong here, will you take responsibility? Or will you leave it to those cowardly cops?"
"We'll take responsibility. We're the police here." The middle-aged officer stood and looked at Natasha without expression, his right hand resting on his holster. "Miss Natasha, show us your identification. We now suspect you're impersonating a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. A real agent would never behave like this!" The younger officer hesitated, then caught on. He stood too, hand on his holster, and stared at Natasha.
Natasha ignored the two officers watching her warily and turned to Alvin. "Alvin, you've completely ruined my operation. I can tell you that my target is a Croatian named Zebediah Killgrave, nicknamed the Purple Man. He's in the building across from your restaurant.
"We suspect he can control people's minds. Our intelligence links him to several suicides in Washington, Miami, and other places. I was ordered to go undercover and observe him. But you ruined my operation, so our field agents will move in to capture him immediately."
"Then capture him. If you know how dangerous he is, why observe him instead of arresting him?" Hearing that the target was the Purple Man, Alvin breathed a long sigh of relief. He had fed the man to the Corpse-Eater Vine ages ago, freeing Jessica from his control in the process.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. observes people with unusual abilities and assesses how much damage they could do before taking action. That's why I came here, and you ruined my mission," Natasha said coldly.
Alvin curled his lip and sneered. "Observe and assess? Sounds more like a recruitment agency hiring staff." He turned to the younger officer. "Scott, what would the police do if they knew about a guy like that?"
Scott thought for a moment, then answered seriously, "Make a plan, then move quickly to arrest or kill the criminal."
"See? Even the cops here know what to do. But you want to observe and assess him. Let me guess: if the opportunity came up, you'd recruit him to work for you.
"And miss, don't tell me I ruined your mission. You didn't look like you wanted to carry one out in the first place!" Alvin said sarcastically.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has that authority. We have the right to recruit criminals, rehabilitate them, and put their abilities to better use."
Before Natasha had finished speaking, Jessica slammed her palm onto the counter. The three-inch-thick solid wood bore a deep handprint. Pointing at the door, she bared her teeth and snapped in an icy voice, "Get out. You're not welcome here!"
Matt and Foggy shook their heads. Neither approved of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s methods. Instead of arresting a criminal, the agency wanted to observe and assess him, then recruit him, with no regard for ordinary people's safety, the people he had killed, or the crimes he should answer for.
That was not how a responsible organization behaved.
Before you continue