Windblown sand at Bagram Air Base plastered Lin Xiao's face.
He stood on the apron, squinting as Tony Stark walked away surrounded by officers and bodyguards in black. The head of Stark Industries never so much as glanced at him. He merely sent his assistant, whose face wore a fake smile, to deliver the message, "Mr. Stark wants you to wait at the hotel," then climbed into a black armored car and drove off.
Lin Xiao wasn't annoyed. He picked up his battered canvas bag and headed toward the shuttle.
"Mr. Lin!"
A familiar voice came from behind him. Lin Xiao turned and saw Ella, the blonde flight attendant, jogging toward him with her suitcase. She had changed out of her uniform into casual clothes, a beige trench coat wrapped around her shapely figure, her golden ponytail bouncing merrily in the wind.
"What a coincidence." She stopped in front of Lin Xiao, slightly breathless, a healthy flush on her cheeks. "Our crew is staying at that hotel too. The bus is full. Can I take the shuttle with you?"
A flattered smile appeared on Lin Xiao's face.
"Of course. I was just worrying about the language barrier."
They boarded side by side. Ella naturally took the seat beside him, bringing a faint waft of perfume. She started finding all sorts of things to talk about-from the weather to New York, from New York to her hometown. Every so often, she tilted her head to look at Lin Xiao, her blue eyes holding just the right amount of curiosity and admiration. She played the innocent girl attracted to a handsome man to perfection.
Lin Xiao smiled and kept up with her, while mentally turning the pages of an invisible ledger.
She blinked at least thirty percent more often than a normal person, and she kept leaning closer, already crossing the boundaries of ordinary social interaction. Every time she smiled, the expression lingered a fraction of a second longer than a natural reaction would.
Her acting was good, but she was trying too hard.
Lin Xiao leaned back, his gaze sweeping over the desert scenery flying past the window, and his smile deepened. He had sensed something was wrong from the sixth drink delivery on the plane-a professional flight attendant ignoring a glittering billionaire like Tony Stark to keep running to the last row of economy, showering a sidelined big guy like him with attention?
It wasn't as though nobody had ever hit on him. A face with eighteen points in charisma certainly attracted romantic attention. But that happened on the street, in cafés, in settings without any vested interests. Now, their paymaster Tony Stark openly disliked him and had dumped him in the back row beside the toilet. Under those circumstances, a flight attendant serving first class was going against the boss's wishes to cozy up to him-that went beyond attraction. She had an ulterior motive.
Since you're after something, let's see exactly what it is.
The hotel Tony had booked out was the best near Bagram Air Base. Its exterior walls were painted ocher, and a thin layer of dust covered its windows. Ella's room was on the fourth floor. It was small but clean, with a private bathroom and an old television sitting on a cabinet.
Ella led Lin Xiao into the room, took two beers from the refrigerator, and waved them at him with a playful smile. "I know this hotel well. I sometimes stay here for work. Want a drink?"
The smile on Lin Xiao's face remained guileless. He nodded and stepped forward. "How could I refuse an invitation from a beautiful woman?"
They sat at the small table beside the bed. Ella opened the beers, handed him one, and tipped her head back to drink from her own, the movement easy and natural. She talked even more than she had in the shuttle, moving from work to travel and from travel to dreams, occasionally tossing out subtly suggestive questions like "What kind of girl do you like?" and "What do you think of me?"
Lin Xiao held his beer bottle but drank very little, mostly listening. His face maintained that honest, slightly embarrassed expression. Occasionally he scratched his head or gave a goofy chuckle, perfectly portraying a big, clueless guy overwhelmed by a beautiful woman's advances.
But the little notebook in his head kept recording.
She was deliberately steering the conversation toward intimate subjects. Her body language grew increasingly relaxed, and she sat closer and closer. Her eyes occasionally drifted toward the television on the bedside cabinet-an angle that would capture the entire bed.
So that's it.
When the hour hand reached eleven, Ella stood, stretched, and gave a small yawn. Then, as though something had suddenly occurred to her, she said with a little embarrassment, "Mr. Lin, I'd like to take a shower first. Do you mind?"
Lin Xiao looked into her eyes. Those blue eyes held anticipation, nervousness, and a carefully calculated trace of shyness.
He smiled.
"Of course not. Should I wait outside?"
Ella glanced at Lin Xiao, her eyes brimming with seductive charm, her voice equally sultry. "Up to you, silly."
She took a change of clothes into the bathroom. Soon, water began rushing. Lin Xiao leaned against the headboard, playing with his beer bottle. The smile slowly faded from his face, revealing the coldness beneath.
He had more or less figured out their routine. First, create a suggestive atmosphere. Then make the first move. Finally-there was probably a pinhole camera hidden behind that television, ready to record everything that happened tonight.
Why? Simple. He had been sent by S.H.I.E.L.D., while she was most likely a member of the Ten Rings. They had been watching Tony Stark for a long time. Now Tony was at a military base right under their noses, making this an excellent opportunity to strike. And the agent S.H.I.E.L.D. had sent-Lin Xiao himself-was the biggest variable in the security plan.
If they could compromise him, whether by using the footage to force him to switch sides or releasing it to humiliate S.H.I.E.L.D., it would be a fine deal that killed two birds with one stone. According to their intelligence, anyone S.H.I.E.L.D. sent should at least be a well-trained elite agent. Taking him down would mean punching a massive hole in Tony Stark's security defenses.
At that thought, the corners of Lin Xiao's mouth rose into a curve that even he considered a little wicked.
The bathroom door opened. Ella walked out wrapped in a towel, her wet blonde hair resting on her shoulders, her cheeks flushed slightly from the steam.
What followed needed no detailed account.
One in the morning.
Lin Xiao leaned against the headboard, the covers pulled up to his chest, wearing the faint, languid, satisfied smile particular to the aftermath. Water sounded in the bathroom again. Ella was inside, saying she wanted another rinse.
He listened to the water, but his eyes remained clear, without a trace of sleepiness. His gaze passed over the old television, the vase on the cabinet, and the inconspicuous air freshener bottle in the corner. Three positions, three angles, covering the whole bed without a blind spot.
The water stopped. Ella emerged wrapped in a towel. This time, instead of getting straight into bed, she stood at the foot of it, drying her hair and casting a seemingly casual glance at the television.
Then she sighed.
"Lin." Her voice suddenly carried a hint of hesitation and apprehension. "I... I'm a little scared. Are we moving too fast?"
Here it comes.
The standard "regret afterward" script. If the cameras were recording, this conversation was the key to the whole performance-painting the man as a bastard who had taken advantage of her, while she was the victim of a momentary impulse. Once that footage reached S.H.I.E.L.D., Lin Xiao wouldn't be able to clear his name even if he jumped into the Hudson River.
Lin Xiao looked at her.
On that sharply defined face, the languid smile slowly changed its flavor. It was no longer guileless or satisfied, but amused, condescending pity. His expression seemed to say: You've finally started. I've been waiting for this all night.
"Too fast?"
Lin Xiao threw back the covers and stood, his movements unhurried, carrying the composure of someone in complete control. He put his clothes on one piece at a time, every motion leisurely, as though savoring his prey's final struggles.
"Ms. Ella." He fastened the last button on his shirt, then turned to look at her. "Personally, I think you spent quite long enough setting this moment up."
Ella's hand stopped drying her hair. Her expression didn't change, but something flickered deep in her eyes.
Lin Xiao caught it.
"What are you talking about?" Her voice was still reasonably steady.
Lin Xiao ignored her. He walked over to the television, bent down, and retrieved a black square barely larger than a fingernail from behind the flowerpot. A miniature camera. Its red light was still blinking.
He pinched the camera between his fingertips, flashed a broad grin into it, then turned to Ella. His smile was as radiant as though he were greeting an old friend, but there was no amusement in his eyes.
"I knew something wasn't right from the sixth time you brought me a drink on the plane. You're a flight attendant, but instead of cozying up to Tony Stark, the man paying the bills, you kept coming over to me. Bringing me blankets, nuts, drinks, even leaving your phone number on a water bottle. I thought-sure, my face isn't bad, but it's not enough to make someone risk their career just to hit on me, is it?"
He gently set the camera on the table with a crisp tap.
"I considered a few possibilities. After my money? My pockets are empty. After my body? I could live with that. But thinking it over carefully, you people are after Tony Stark, aren't you?"
Ella's expression finally changed. The carefully maintained air of pitiful vulnerability cracked like a mask, exposing the cold hardness beneath.
As though he hadn't noticed, Lin Xiao continued.
"Tony Stark is going to the weapons demonstration tomorrow. You want him, but I'm the man S.H.I.E.L.D. sent. According to your intelligence, someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. should at least be an elite agent who can fight. If you could target me and film a scandal, you could either force me to switch sides or release the footage to humiliate S.H.I.E.L.D.-which would tear a hole in Tony's defenses. Two birds with one stone. A good deal."
He put his hands in his pockets and tilted his head at her, sounding as casual as though they were discussing where to eat over the weekend.
"So I went along with it. You wanted footage, I cooperated. You wanted to act, I cooperated with that too. I just wanted to see exactly what you and your people were up to."
Ella stared hard at him. Not a trace of fragility or bashfulness remained on her face. In their place was the cold, sharp edge of a professional spy, a cruel curve lifting her lips.
"Aren't you afraid I'll release the footage? S.H.I.E.L.D. Article Seventeen: engaging in an improper relationship during a mission results in immediate dismissal upon verification. You're finished."
Lin Xiao's expression changed. His head slowly drooped like a frost-wilted eggplant. The curve of Ella's lips deepened, but suddenly she had a bad feeling. When Lin Xiao raised his head, his expression had turned mocking.
"Article Seventeen? Right, right, that is what Article Seventeen says. But have you read Article Seventy-Eight of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s code of conduct?"
Ella frowned. Lin Xiao raised a finger and wagged his head like an old professor lecturing a student. "Supplementary provision to Article Seventy-Eight: where the acquisition of critical intelligence or the dismantling of a major enemy conspiracy is involved, and the conduct in question constitutes the sole or most effective means, disciplinary action may be waived at discretion following a superior's retrospective assessment."
He placed particular emphasis on "at discretion."
"What do you think? Here I am on the front lines in Afghanistan, single-handedly uncovering and dismantling one component of an infiltration plot against Tony Stark. Is that achievement worth a little discretion?"
Ella's face went completely white.
She hesitated no longer. Her fingers pulled a steel needle from the knot of her towel, and she lunged at Lin Xiao, moving as fast as a venomous snake darting out of the grass.
Lin Xiao didn't even dodge.
He drove a fist into the wall beside him.
With a thunderous boom, the plasterboard shattered, sending fragments and dust blasting into the next room. The hole was large enough for a person to crawl through, laying the neighboring room bare.
Five men, all dressed in desert camouflage, were gathered around several pieces of listening equipment and laptops. The screens still displayed a live feed of Lin Xiao's room, though its lead had moved from the bed to the wall. Their guns were only halfway raised, their faces frozen into identical expressions of shock and fear.
Lin Xiao leaned halfway through the hole and waved the camera in his hand at them, his smile as radiant as a home-shopping host's.
"Hi. Enjoy the livestream? Your sweetheart called out to God five hundred times in an hour."
Five dark gun barrels aimed at him simultaneously.
Lin Xiao sighed and shook his head. "I knew it. With people like you, it's easier to just fight than try to reason."
Then Lin Xiao moved.
Strictly speaking, what followed didn't qualify as a fight. More accurately, a muscular man standing two meters ten squeezed into a room full of armed men, and then a rapid succession of thuds, cracks, screams, and bones wrenching out of place rang out. Occasionally, a bent gun barrel or a military boot missing its sole flew out.
In less than a minute, all five men lay sprawled on the floor, not one able to move.
Lin Xiao took a tissue from the table, wiped the blood from his fists, and tossed it to the floor with a look of disgust. He walked over to the surveillance equipment, deftly removed all the hard drives, and stuffed them into his pockets. He confiscated the cameras' memory cards as well and put them into the travel bag he had left by the entrance. Then he dusted off his hands, went to the window, and yanked the curtains open.
The fourth floor offered a good view of the low gray building opposite. Behind one of its windows, a reflective lens flashed.
Lin Xiao knew it was someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. Nick Fury, that Black Baldy, couldn't possibly have been kind enough to actually let him come to Afghanistan alone. Someone had to be watching from the shadows. He had long since noticed someone on the opposite rooftop; he had simply pretended otherwise.
Now the performance was over. Time for the curtain call.
Lin Xiao worked himself into the mood, picked up a sheet of white paper, scribbled on it, then walked to the window and held it up, the corners of his mouth curling.
"Time to reel them in, sweetheart."
The man on the opposite rooftop was Hawkeye, Clint Barton! Through his high-powered sniper scope, he had seen everything happening in the fourth-floor window clearly. From the flight attendant entering the room, to Lin Xiao punching through the wall, to the five Ten Rings members being disarmed-he hadn't missed a single frame.
In his agent log, he had already crossed out the original F-grade assessment under Lin Xiao's entry: "Seduced by beauty. Unfit to be an agent." He fell silent for a few seconds, then typed a new line:
"Grade C. High intelligence, high combat ability, highly flexible morals. Note: utterly shameless."
Coulson's voice came through his earpiece. "Hawkeye, status report."
Hawkeye pressed his transmit button, his voice maintaining an agent's professional calm. "Tell Director Fury that the administrative assistant we sent to Afghanistan single-handedly dismantled an infiltration operation targeting Stark."
He paused.
"And... lost his virginity along the way."
The other end remained silent for a long time. So long that Hawkeye thought the signal had cut out.
Then Coulson's voice returned, as gentle and courteous as ever, but every word sounded forced through clenched teeth. "...Understood."
He remembered what Natasha had told him before he left: "That big guy has no bottom line. Absolutely no fucking shame." He hadn't believed her then. Now he did.
Three minutes later, Hawkeye appeared at the doorway. The scene inside was even more spectacular than he had imagined. A huge hole in the wall, five half-dead men lying in the next room, and a blonde woman wrapped in a towel tied to a chair, a strip of cloth stuffed in her mouth, glaring murderously at Lin Xiao. Meanwhile, the culprit himself sat beside the bed with his legs crossed, holding a bottle of water, his face practically declaring, "I'm very upset and need comforting."
Their eyes met. Lin Xiao smiled at her, the expression utterly untainted, as clean as though he were saying goodbye to a neighbor.
If Ella's eyes could kill, Lin Xiao would already have been a pile of minced meat. But he spoke so quietly that only she could hear. "Relax, I'm not killing you. The police will be here soon. You'll only be locked up for a few days at most. Also, you really were nice and wet."
Ella: ...