"Sorry, ma'am, the road ahead is closed to traffic. Please turn around."
Several police cars were parked along the roadside. The female officer directing traffic approached with her baton and gently tapped on a car window, signaling for the woman behind the wheel to leave.
"What happened?"
The woman rolled down her window and asked curiously.
"There's been an incident at a chemistry lab in the next block. There may be a leak of highly concentrated flammable, toxic gas. No vehicles are allowed through."
The officer gave the woman a polite nod, then called out to the occupants of several nearby cars, "For everyone's safety, please cooperate and evacuate in an orderly manner."
People were naturally drawn to a spectacle, but if it meant trouble for them, they would stay as far away as possible. The moment they heard the officer's warning, everyone scattered, scrambling to escape this damned place.
Neither the chaotic traffic nor the noisy crowd noticed the faint dampness rushing beneath their feet. That cool streak of light reached the "scene of the incident" the officer had mentioned in an instant.
Clint and Natasha stood in the spots Mona had thoughtfully divined for them. Facing the dazzling sunlight, they watched a flock of birds circling overhead.
"They're starlings."
Natasha reached that conclusion after watching for a while.
Clint narrowed his eyes, carefully studying the panicked flock that seemed to have lost its way. Suddenly, his eyebrows twitched.
"Look!"
The weather was clear, with brilliant sunshine and not a cloud in sight. The dark flock stood out sharply against the blue backdrop, making its disappearance all the more conspicuous.
The front of the flock seemed to plunge into an invisible hole. In just two seconds, the long line of starlings vanished without a trace.
Natasha pressed a hand