Black Widow

The news ended there. Mike glanced at it and saw that it was a rerun.

"Miss Potts will be okay, right?" Skye looked worried.

"She'll definitely be fine. Otherwise, the news would already be plastered with reports about it."

If Pepper died, Stark would go mad. If Pepper was kidnapped, he would probably mobilize every resource he had to rescue her, including hiring Mike.

Since Stark hadn't called... Just then, Mike's phone rang. The caller ID showed Stark.

"I'm not some kind of jinx, am I?" Mike's eyelid twitched.

"Mike..." Stark's voice was low. "You saw the news, right?"

"Yeah, I saw it." Mike asked, "Is Pepper okay?"

"She's fine. Just badly shaken... When Pepper was attacked, I wasn't by her side. I..." Stark felt some emotion gnawing away at his heart.

Now you know what guilt feels like?

What were you doing before?

Pepper had been appearing in public frequently lately to reassure the shareholders. Her attack was most likely related to Stark shutting down the weapons division. In the end, Stark still had to take the blame.

"If you want someone to talk to, find a therapist." Mike was about to hang up.

"Wait!" Stark grew anxious. "They caught three kidnappers, but they were just hired hands. They don't know anything..."

"So you want to hire me to find whoever's behind this?"

"No!" Stark suddenly said seriously, "I'm going to find them myself and catch those bastards. The problem is, it'll take a few more days to finish the Mark III, so... I need you to protect Pepper for a few days. Five days at most."

System prompt:

[Stark's Commission: Protect Pepper.]

[Commission: 20,000 US dollars (after fees, the system takes a 90% cut)]

[Mission details: Protect Pepper until Stark completes the Mark III. Time limit: five days maximum.]

"This works too?!" Mike stared wide-eyed at the white and golden motes drifting out of his phone.

"Fine. You know the rules."

"I do."

"One hundred thousand US dollars."

Stark's voice came faintly through the phone. "JARVIS, make the transfer. Now."

"Yes, sir."

Then Mike heard the notification chime. They were clearly identical sounds, yet the sound of money being deducted and the sound of money arriving felt worlds apart.

"When do we start?" Mike asked.

"As soon as possible." Stark was unusually embarrassed. "Can we start tonight?"

It was already past ten at night, and he had just finished a job today. Couldn't he at least catch his breath?

If the system hadn't just drained him down to only a few tens of thousands of US dollars, Mike would have put on a performance about how he could not be swayed by force or wealth and regarded money as filth.

Poverty really did crush a man's ambitions.

"Fine. I must've cuckolded you in a past life... Consider this paying off a debt."

After Mike hung up, Skye asked from beside him, "What happened?"

"Stark wants me to protect Pepper for a few days." Mike got ready to head upstairs and pack.

"You're leaving again..." Skye pouted, clearly meaning: Baby is not happy!

Mike gave Skye a light kiss. "Five days at most."

Chloe covered her eyes, but left gaps between her fingers to peek with curious eyes.

Charmander covered his eyes too, but his eyes were big and round while his chubby little paws were tiny, so he couldn't cover them at all.

Suddenly, an idea struck Mike. "How about you come too?"

"Me too?"

"Yeah. As a top-tier mercenary, having an assistant makes perfect sense."

"But I can't really help..."

"How can you not help? Your hacking skills are very useful, okay?"

Skye hesitated. It was obvious that she wanted to go. First, she could stay with Mike. Second, she liked dealing with people and enjoyed adventure. She was just afraid that she would be useless and only hold Mike back.

"It's fine. The mission isn't difficult anyway." Senbonzakura's ability to both attack and defend made Mike even more confident. "Come on, treat it as field training."

"I haven't even learned the theory yet." Skye felt even more embarrassed.

"A philosopher once said: before people learn to walk, they should first learn to run. It'd be even better if they could fly right away."

"Which philosopher?"

"Me!" Mike pointed at his nose. "It's settled, then. Go pack three sets of clothes. You have ten minutes. Move!"

Skye: (￣ω￣;)

She hadn't even agreed, so how was it "settled"?

Mike didn't give Skye a chance to refuse and went straight upstairs to pack.

When he came downstairs a few minutes later, Skye was already carrying a black backpack and sitting upright. Chloe and Babi were sitting in the same posture.

"Private Third Class Skye, are you ready?"

"Reporting, sir, ready and able to depart at any time."

The two exchanged smiles.

Chloe was saying a reluctant farewell to Babi. She took out her treasured little bag of fruit candy. "Babi, there are only a few left. They're all for you. You have to save them, okay? Three a day—no, two a day."

"Kani!" Babi nodded solemnly.

Skye put Babi into the Poké Ball.

"Wow!"

When Skye saw Mike drive the golden Saleen S7 out of the garage, she could not help wanting to whistle.

"Where did this come from?"

"Stark." Mike patted the steering wheel. "Want to try it?"

"Baby, here I come!" Skye looked like a pervert seeing a beautiful woman, her eyes shining.

With the roar of the engine, the golden sports car shot forward.

A flood of "friendly" greetings immediately came from the surrounding buildings. Someone even threw down a used "little raincoat." But the Saleen S7 could reach one hundred kilometers per hour in just 3.8 seconds, leaving only exhaust fumes behind.

"That was so exciting!" Skye said excitedly. "It's my first time driving a sports car!"

Mike: "..."

And this was how she floored it on her first time driving a sports car?

Pepper was staying in the Warner penthouse suite at the Four Seasons Hotel, which cost more than thirty thousand US dollars a night.

When the car stopped at the hotel entrance, someone immediately came to park it. The private butler in tails had an affected British gentleman style that Mike found incredibly awkward.

"Mike." Pepper lightly shook Mike's hand. "Sorry to trouble you again. Stark is overreacting a little."

"Heh, I charge a lot."

"Worth every penny." Pepper gave a very fair assessment, then shook Skye's hand. "We've met before, at the supermarket. Sorry, I didn't get a chance to properly say hello then."

Of course, with Stark's life and death still uncertain at the time, Pepper had no mind for etiquette or socializing.

"Skye. Nice to see you, Miss Potts."

"Just call me Pepper."

Mike added from the side, "Skye is my assistant."

Just then, Natasha Romanoff walked out of the room. "We meet again, Mike."

"Oh, I remember. You were the woman with Coulson last time. Your hair seemed dark red back then?"

"Occupational necessity." Black Widow answered with a smile. According to statistics, Stark had a particular preference for blonde women, so dyeing her hair blonde made it easier to get close to him.

To save Pepper, her identity as a spy had been exposed ahead of schedule.