Wanting to Take a Look

Steve opened the door.

"Kate?"

"Hi, Steve."

The woman looked a little embarrassed and pointed at the clothes in her hands.

"Sorry to bother you, but could I use your washing machine? Mine won't work for some reason."

His visitor was his neighbor, Kate. She worked as a nurse at a hospital in the city. Steve sometimes ran into her when he went out, and they would chat when they had the time.

Kate was warm and kind. She had helped Steve quite a bit when he first moved in.

Steve had a good impression of her.

"Of course. Come in."

Steve took the basin from Kate and welcomed her inside.

Kate stepped in and looked surprised to see the boy sitting in the living room.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't know you had a guest. I could just go to the laundromat downstairs."

Kate hurriedly apologized.

"No, it's fine!"

Lin Ze hastily waved his hands. "I'm just staying with Mr. Steve for a while."

"You two go ahead and talk."

Feeling like a third wheel, Lin Ze retreated into his room.

Steve noticed the boy's awkwardness but paid it no mind. He told Kate to make herself comfortable, then took the clothes over to the washing machine.

Kate didn't sit down. She went to the bathroom doorway and leaned against the frame, watching him work with an apologetic, grateful look.

Curious, she asked:

"Was that kid your little brother?"

"No, just a friend."

Steve loaded the clothes and pressed the wash button. "There. Now we just have to wait a bit."

"Thanks for your help."

Kate said bashfully, "Um... how about I treat you to some coffee to thank you? Someone gave me a tin of French coffee. Maybe we could try it together."

A faint blush colored her cheeks as she looked at Steve expectantly.

"Sure, sounds good."

Steve nodded in agreement.

"Really? That's great!"

Delighted by his answer, Kate pointed outside and told him:

"I'll go get it now. Wait here. I'll be right back."

She hurried out with a smile still on her face.

Only once Steve was out of sight did her smile slowly fade, replaced by a serious expression.

Kate returned to her apartment and took a tin of coffee out of her desk, then pulled out her phone and dialed.

"Hello."

"Sir, Agent 13 reporting."

Kate's voice was cold and devoid of emotion.

"Mm. Go ahead."

A steady voice came from the other end of the line.

"I've located the target. He's currently at Captain Rogers's home. What should I do next? Awaiting instructions."

Her body was tense.

"Good. Keep watching."

"Yes."

After hanging up, Kate picked up the coffee. She adjusted her expression, put on another bright smile, and headed back to Steve's apartment.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

Seated in his office chair, Nick Fury set his phone on the desk and studied the two blurry figures on his computer screen.

"Coulson, come to my office."

He pressed a button on his desk as he spoke.

A few minutes later, Coulson knocked on the door and came in.

Nick nodded to him, motioned for him to sit, and asked:

"How's Stark?"

"He's doing well."

"Well?"

Nick frowned and asked Coulson:

"Do you mean his injuries or his mental state?"

"Stark's injuries aren't serious. They're mostly cuts and bruises, with a mild concussion. But his mental state..."

Coulson said.

"You know how it is. He's devastated that the child named Qiqi died. It's such a shame. I met her. She was a well-behaved little girl."

Coulson sighed. He regretted what had happened, but the priority now was Stark's condition. If Stark could return to normal, their plan could proceed.

"It's a shame we still haven't found out who killed Obadiah. Otherwise, we'd know what happened."

Coulson frowned as he spoke. He was furious about the whole affair. If he hadn't failed to think things through, Obadiah would never have escaped and caused such serious consequences.

Fury nodded. He didn't tell Coulson about his discovery: the boy suspected of killing Obadiah was now with Captain America.

Things were complicated enough already. There was no need to involve too many people.

Obadiah had been killed, and no footage of the scene had survived. They had only found two children on surveillance footage from a neighborhood several kilometers away.

Until everything was settled, Fury was determined not to reveal a single piece of information to the outside world.

He looked up at Coulson and asked:

"When is Stark's press conference?"

"Ten tomorrow morning."

"Keep an eye on things there. That person might show up."

Fury said.

"Yes, sir."

With his assignments settled, Coulson left. Fury rubbed his temples.

"A wild card..."

Fury murmured and looked out the window. The sky was dark and overcast, as though rain was coming.

Lin Ze slept deeply. He had no idea how long he'd been asleep, but when he opened his eyes, the whole room was dim.

He stopped rubbing his eyes and abruptly sat up.

He had promised to cook. With it this dark, had he slept straight through until evening?

"Mm... Traveler, is it evening already?"

Paimon gave a huge yawn and climbed out of bed, rubbing her bleary eyes.

Lin Ze opened the system and only relaxed after checking the time.

Only two hours had passed since he fell asleep. It was just noon, so if he started now, lunch would be ready right on time.

He put on his shoes and opened the window. A fresh breeze carrying the scent of damp earth blew in.

"Achoo!"

Paimon couldn't help sneezing.

So it was raining. No wonder it was so dark.

"Paimon, time to get up. We still need to make lunch."

Lin Ze pulled Paimon out of bed and ran a comb through her messy hair.

Once they had tidied themselves up, the two left the room.

The lights were off, and Mr. Steve was nowhere to be seen. Even Miss Kate, whom they had met earlier, was gone. Lin Ze didn't give it much thought. He opened the fridge and the plastic bags on the table.

There were plenty of ingredients inside.

"Traveler, what's this thing?"

"It's a television. It has lots of videos, a piece of technology similar to a Kamera. Want to watch, Paimon?"

"Yes."

Lin Ze turned on the television, and a female news anchor appeared on the screen:

"Tony Stark will hold a press conference tomorrow to address the explosion at his residence yesterday."

Lin Ze fell silent for a moment. He recalled seeing eggs among the ingredients Steve had bought.

"Paimon, I'll fry a few eggs for lunch today."