Steve, the Personal Bodyguard

"Tony" and Steve arrived at a small room within S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Don't worry. This is a secure room, usually used to discuss important matters." Steve pulled a bottle of cola from somewhere in the room and handed it to "Tony."

"What are you planning to do?" "Tony" took the cola. Ever since drinking the stuff with Quill before, he had grown rather fond of it.

Steve took a huge gulp, let out a burp, and did not answer. His eyes remained fixed on a corner of the room.

"Tony" did not interrupt him either, simply sitting quietly to one side.

"Natasha can't be trusted either. At least for now, we can't tell her the information we've learned."

Without any warning, Steve said, "If Natasha acts abnormally from here on out, the mole will definitely notice. It'll be even harder to catch them after that."

"Tony" watched Steve's back, the corner of his lips slowly curling upward in the shadows.

"So what are you planning to do?" "Tony" asked again.

"Find Valmont first. Since Valmont is their target, we'll strike first."

"Tony" raised an eyebrow at Steve's plan. "Strike first? Going after Valmont directly will only make his relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. even worse."

"Not like that." Steve waved his hand, still facing away from "Tony." "We just need to protect him closely. Come to think of it, Valmont and I should be on pretty good terms. Back when he was still a dragon, we called each other rather affectionately."

The corner of "Tony's" mouth twitched slightly. What did he mean, rather affectionately? If not for the circumstances at the time and the Observer's influence, he would have slapped this blond, big-chested man to death long ago.

Steve did not care what "Tony" might say next and got up to leave.

"Hello, Mr. Valmont."

Early the next morning, Shendu heard Steve's voice outside the door. "Come to think of it, the weather's pretty nice today."

Shendu opened the door and glanced at the sky. It was gloomy and overcast. "Mm, very nice."

The atmosphere gradually became awkward. Steve could not reveal his true purpose and wanted to find a new topic, while Shendu was thinking about how to get Steve to earn more darts.

"Mr. Steve, do you go for morning runs too?" Shendu spoke first.

"Ah, yes, yes. I heard you've been going on morning runs lately. I happened to be doing the same, so I thought I'd invite you along." Steve rubbed his nose.

The two ran down the road with their own ulterior motives, chatting on and off.

"What do you think of S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Steve tested Shendu's attitude.

Shendu understood Steve's intentions and went along with them. "The security is tight. The agents trust one another enough to leave their backs to each other."

Shendu paused, as though remembering something. "Has the matter with the mole you mentioned before been resolved?"

Before Steve could respond, Shendu answered himself. "I imagine that with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s efficiency, dealing with a mere mole should be easy, right? Even if they might be connected to the Chitauri."

Steve opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately remained silent.

Telling the truth would make Valmont suspicious of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal affairs.

If he lied, Valmont would find out about the situation sooner or later, and it would only reduce his trust in S.H.I.E.L.D.

Steve felt that the pressure he was under now was no less than when he had faced the Leviathan.

At the side, Shendu continued praising S.H.I.E.L.D. "The place I'm staying at now was arranged by S.H.I.E.L.D. too. Honestly, I think S.H.I.E.L.D. is pretty good. I was planning to visit S.H.I.E.L.D. sometime in the next few days."

"Captain, I'll need you to be my guide when the time comes."

Hearing that Shendu planned to visit S.H.I.E.L.D. soon, Steve immediately snapped out of his thoughts. "That might not work recently. There are some secret missions within S.H.I.E.L.D., so it isn't convenient to open it to outsiders."

Cleaning up S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mole really was a secret mission, so he was not lying, Steve thought.

Listening to Steve's explanation, Shendu put on a disappointed expression. "What a pity."

The atmosphere became awkward once more.

"Hello, Mr. Steve."

Just as Steve was about to restart the conversation, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent appeared in front of them.

Steve stopped and gave a token wave in greeting.

"Hello, Mr. Valmont. I've heard a lot about you." The agent extended his hand to Shendu.

"Am I that famous?" Shendu reached out as well.

Just as Shendu and the agent were about to shake hands, Steve suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

How did he know the name Valmont? Logically, only S.H.I.E.L.D.'s upper ranks should know that name.

Steve did not hesitate. He slapped the agent's hand aside, ignoring the bewildered Shendu beside him. "Drop the act."

The agent froze for a moment, then asked, "Mr. Steve, what's wrong? What are you talking about?"

"Drop the act. With your rank, there's no way you could know the name Valmont." Steve's gaze sharpened. "What is your objective?"

The agent walked toward Shendu as he said, "Mr. Steve, I respect you greatly, but I really don't know what you're talking about."

Watching the agent draw closer to Shendu, Steve felt a bad premonition rise in his heart. He no longer hesitated and threw a punch at the agent's forehead.

The agent dodged, his body far more nimble than his muscular appearance suggested. "Captain, why are you doing this?"

"Drop the act."

Steve ignored his question, his fists launching one attack after another. "You've already exposed yourself."

"As expected of the legendary Captain America. You figured it out so quickly." The agent retreated continuously, throwing darts from his hands at lightning speed.

This time, Steve's vision was clear, and he easily dodged the darts.

Standing to one side, Shendu grumbled inwardly, Looks like the Shadow Legion needs acting classes added to its training.

Steve pulled out a pistol from who knew where. The instant the agent saw it, he rushed toward the shadow beneath a tree.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Steve fired three shots in a row. He thought he would kill the other man outright, but then something happened that made his eyes widen.

The agent vanished, turning into a shadow that merged with the tree's shadow before disappearing completely.

"Again. It was the same in the power room last time." Steve muttered as he stared at the spot where the agent had vanished.

"Last time?" Shendu heard Steve's words and asked in a deliberately curious tone.

Seeing that he could no longer hide it, Steve had no choice but to explain. "There's a mole trying to drive a wedge between you and S.H.I.E.L.D. Their methods are strange. They can even turn invisible, just like that."

Steve picked up one of the darts the agent had thrown. "It seems they've already started making their move."

"Things haven't been peaceful within S.H.I.E.L.D. lately. Don't trust other agents too easily when you see them. I need to go back and find out what happened today." Steve left those words behind and hurried toward S.H.I.E.L.D.

Shendu watched Steve leave his sight, then turned into an empty alley and took a small box from his pocket.

Inside the box, an ant lay quietly.

"Now, it's time to deal with the Snake Talisman."