"Long time no see, Agent Romanoff." Shiller looked expressionless, only slightly lowering the ends of his eyebrows in greeting, showing his friendliness. In that instant, Natasha knew her visit was worthwhile.
"Vacation's over?" The two walked side by side down the corridor like old friends, engaging in a topic familiar to every agent.
"Just ended yesterday." Shiller said, "The office still seems hopeless. What do you think of the new job?"
"A downright hassle." Natasha slowed her pace, shook her head, and said.
They arrived at the coffee machine. Seeing Shiller expertly handle a paper cup with one hand while pressing the button with the other, Natasha knew this guy was a genuine agent.
"The President never considers the wellbeing of those below him when issuing orders," Natasha feigned a complaint, "Now we have to fight tooth and nail with these sleepless monsters. They really should give me a beauty leave."
"That would have to wait until the work is done." Shiller's voice sounded a bit muffled amidst the noise of the coffee brewing, "Besides the order to capture, what else did you get?"
"Don't try to probe me. We're at the same rank. I also have internal enforcement rights. The people I capture are mine; don't think you can profit off my work." Natasha raised an unfriendly eyebrow.
"Not even participate in the interrogation?"
"You can have Superman."
"Better not."
Shiller was about to leave with the coffee. Natasha called after him: "Seriously, there's a tough nut you can tackle for glory. The Arkham Knight, our dear President's foster son, a brat with a bad temper. I'm at a loss over him."
Shiller glanced back at her as he walked. Natasha took advantage of his sidestep, darting ahead of him and intentionally pausing to bump into Shiller's arm. Hot coffee spilled all over him.
Even though he realized Natasha did it on purpose, Shiller said nothing, just frowned, and tossed the cup into a nearby trash can. Natasha's gaze followed the cup, then returned to Shiller's hand.
"You don't have fingerprints?"
"What does that have to do with you?"
"Tsk, tsk." Natasha examined Shiller like a rare animal, circled him with arms crossed, blocking his way. "Those Batman Family members are yours, while I'll take the Justice League. No matter how much the President offered you, we have to drag this out to the end of the week."
Shiller didn't seem in a hurry to leave. He leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and watched Natasha. "What did he offer you?"
"You."
"Me?"
"Yes, you. I'm here to do his dirty work to drag you down. Shiller, I'm really curious, how did you ever work for the FBI?" Natasha couldn't help but exclaim in wonder.
"How is that any of your business?" Shiller frowned at her.
"Can't I just satisfy my curiosity?" Natasha looked at him innocently. "Anyone would be curious about your legendary career, right?"
"I'm under no obligation to explain to you. Move aside."
Shiller pushed past Natasha and left. Watching his back, Natasha ground her teeth on one side and pressed the earpiece in her ear, "Put those two who almost got kicked out into interrogation room 3, and shut off the hot water dispenser nearby."
Shiller walked through the long corridor to interrogation room 03, flashed his badge at the two at the door, and said, "Get me a cup of warm water."
He opened the door and went in. Behind the bars sat a sturdy young man, propping his chin on his elbows on the table, bored, looking at his fingers.
Shiller cleared his throat.
The Arkham Knight looked up, momentarily blinded by the overhead light, unable to see the other's face, just shifted his shoulders, leaned back, and kicked the table, causing a series of noises.
The interrogation room door opened again. A subordinate handed Shiller a paper cup. Shiller paused as his fingers touched the cup, looking up at the subordinate, "Why is it cold?"
"Uh, the hot water dispenser nearby is broken. I got it from downstairs."
Shiller pressed his earpiece, "Natasha, stop with these little tricks. Your internal enforcement rights are special; my internal enforcement right is my duty. If you don't want to lose an assistant each day, then..."
"Then what?"
"Then turn on the hot water dispenser."
Shiller didn't have time to bicker, taking a seat behind the bars. When his face moved out of the glaring light, the Arkham Knight watching there let out a loud "Ah," nearly leaping to the ceiling.
"You...you you you you you!"
"What happened to him?" Shiller turned to look at the agent sitting next to him.
"I have no idea." The agent next to him looked slightly confused.
"You didn't use excessive force, did you?"
"God, he's the President's son, I didn't even touch him."
When Shiller looked back at the Arkham Knight, he found him struggling frantically. Not only was the table kicked over, but even the interrogation chair connected by handcuffs was twisted out of shape.
"Taser gun." Shiller held out his hand to the person next to him, aimed and fired, hitting the Arkham Knight in the waist. He twitched and collapsed to the ground.
"Open it." Shiller glanced at the door on the railing.
The agent next to him hesitated a bit, but still opened it for him. Shiller lowered his head and walked in, initially wanting to see what madness the Arkham Knight was up to. But just as he approached, the Arkham Knight scrambled to his feet and backed away in a panic.
Shiller took two steps back and then said, "Don't get excited just yet."
"Get away from me!" The Arkham Knight shouted at him, "You damn violent law enforcement bastard!"
"May I ask in what way I've been violently enforcing the law?"
"Looking like that is mentally tormenting me! What's your relationship with Rodriguez?!"
"What a coincidence, my last name is also Rodriguez."
The Arkham Knight swallowed hard, shrank his neck, and said, "Let's talk things over; you should leave first."
Shiller gave him a deep look and then turned and walked out of the railing. The Arkham Knight stood there panting heavily before glaring at him again. He muttered something under his breath, but Shiller couldn't hear it clearly; judging by his expression, it wasn't anything nice.
"Can we start asking questions now?" Shiller said.
"Asking me is pointless; go ask Batman." The Arkham Knight said, "You know the whole spy thing is nothing but fiction. Why waste time here? Go drink your coffee!"
"It seems you don't like this Rodriguez very much. Should I have another come to talk to you?"
"No need!" The Arkham Knight raised his voice, "I told you ages ago, I know nothing!"
"Don't rush." Shiller picked up the documents nearby, flipped through them from front to back, and began asking questions one by one.
Natasha sat in her office, watching the surveillance of Wonder Woman's interrogation room with several members of the analysis team. But she was clearly distracted and didn't hear her colleagues' questions.
"Boss?… Boss?!"
Natasha suddenly snapped back to reality. She rubbed her forehead and said, "Tell them that's it for today. We can't keep up with these superheroes. Change the schedule tomorrow; we can't have someone suddenly dropping dead."
"Boss, there's an issue." Another subordinate walked in with documents, "The interrogation and arrest records don't match. They say someone is missing."
"Someone missing?"
"Yes. All the apprehended individuals mentioned a new member called Moon Knight, but we didn't bring him back. There's no record of him on the body cams, and there's nothing of him on the Wayne building's security footage, although we did find some eerie clips of people talking to thin air. We suspect this is some kind of special ability from the other side. Do you want to look at it?"
The moment she heard the name Moon Knight, Natasha lost interest and said, "Ignore him, just report the number of people who were actually brought in."
In Interrogation Room 01, the agents began packing up files and slowly leaving the room. Wonder Woman sat slouched in her chair. Suddenly, she felt the room brighten; a silver-white glow appeared before her eyes.
"Moon Knight? That makes sense, you're the moonlight, they can't catch you." Wonder Woman's eyes suddenly lit up. She said, "Please, help me see how the Amazon is doing. And Paradise Island, Batman hasn't done anything to them, has he?"
Shiller shook his head at her and said, "The President has upgraded Amazon's diplomatic status; the document was just published."
Wonder Woman clenched her fists and couldn't help but say, "He wants to keep me here, so I won't cause trouble for him. What exactly is he trying to do?"
"Maybe he's protecting you," Shiller said.
"When the Justice League was formed, we agreed to face difficulties together," Wonder Woman's eyes were still bright. "This proves he's very clear-headed now," she said, "but no one in the Justice League needs this kind of self-righteous protection. He shouldn't be President; power will only inflate his ambition and thirst for control, which will certainly lead to disaster."
"What I mean is, he's controlling you, ensuring you won't clash with him. He needs to protect you from the dangers he's bringing himself."
"I don't understand. What dangers would he bring?!" Wonder Woman's fists were clenched very tightly. She said, "What's there that can't be told to us?! He's insanely arrogant! Superman shouldn't indulge him!"
"Mr. Kent's political instincts are a lot sharper than yours, ma'am. He also knows Batman better than you do," Shiller said, "If it weren't so, you wouldn't all be here now."
"You're implying that us being trapped here is somehow a good thing? Ridiculous!" Wonder Woman retorted.
"You'll soon find out if it's ridiculous or not." Shiller gently shook his magic wand and said, "You are so just, ma'am. Surely you wouldn't want to harm ordinary people here out of a momentary impulse. In respect of your kindness, I need to take some precautions."
After he finished speaking, the moonlight in the room grew brighter. Wonder Woman watched the walls turn silver-white, and two additional silver-white chains appeared on the door.
"What do you mean by this?! Have you decided to become a lackey for the powers that be?!" Wonder Woman slammed the table in extreme anger.
"I don't want to say 'this is for your own good,' but you might consider trusting Batman a bit more." With that, Shiller disappeared into the moonlight.
Seeing there was no way to change things, Wonder Woman slowly sat back down. In a moment of solitude, she showed a somewhat distraught expression, propping her forehead up with her hand, brushing her long black hair back, and whispering softly to herself, "Why on earth?"
With a "click", the door was opened. The red-haired female agent walked in unaffected by the silver chains with great swagger.
"I know it's not interrogation time now." She started, "So this is just a private chat. What I say is just my personal opinion, you don't have to take it to heart."
"I know you're very worried about the Amazon and your people and definitely won't stay here too long. But since Batman found a way to bring you in, he won't let you run out. I suggest you not make futile efforts. As long as you don't succeed in escaping, I'll act like you didn't try at all."
Wonder Woman detected a subtle undertone in her final words. Natasha looked at her and said, "Batman will only hear, 'she chose to trust you' in conclusion."
"I..."
"You like him, I know. Since you've already lost politically, you might as well gain something emotionally. As long as you don't leave, he owes you one. Seize this opportunity, ma'am."