Chapter Seventeen: The Triple Mission
«"Passion," "Rusty," "Seventeen," "Morning," "Furnace," "No," "Benign," "Return Home," "One," "Truck."
A man in military attire spoke these words in German.
Opposite him sat a person in black clothing with a mask covering his face, hair falling over his features. The most distinctive feature to recognize him was the metallic left arm with a red star emblem—ready to follow orders.
"You have a mission, soldier."
He handed a photo to the soldier, showing two Western men sitting together with their hands bound.
"Just kill them, soldier…"
....
…Knock, knock…
"Come in."
In a room, behind a desk, a Black man with an eye patch over his left eye sat. He was Nick Fury, the head and director of S.H.I.E.L.D, with Level 10 authority.
Opposite him stood a beautiful, attractive woman of medium height with long red hair—Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff.
Next to her stood a middle-aged man, partially bald, with a kind smile—Phil Coulson.
"This is your mission."
Nick Fury handed a folder to Coulson to take a look.
The American scientist, originally from the U.S., worked in S.H.I.E.L.D's Arcane Science Division. A few years ago, he left and was helping other countries build nuclear facilities under U.S. orders.
Yesterday, he and another English scientist were captured in Iraq by Iranian mercenaries. Military teams tried to rescue them but failed.
They are now imprisoned in a base in Iraq. You must infiltrate the base and rescue them.
Natasha looked at the photo, then at Coulson.
"Clint and I can do this faster together."
Coulson smiled but said nothing; he knew he wasn't particularly skilled for espionage, but he trusted Fury.
Nick Fury glanced at Natasha, then at Coulson. Even he wasn't sure of his own decision but had to act since Clint was occupied elsewhere.
"Clint's doing something else, and Coulson, you don't need to enter the enemy base.
But alone…?"
"No problem." Natasha always had confidence.
"Only need to rescue the American scientist?"
"Yes."
"What about the Englishman?"
Natasha asked curiously. Would one person be a problem for the English?
Coulson was curious too. Since we're rescuing, the other one isn't an issue.
"Well, that's the second thing I need from you.
The English side doesn't trust us; they send their own agent.
Mission two is to monitor this English agent."
"007?"
"No, MI6 isn't involved, which is an excuse—they're facing internal issues.
A spy?"
"Yes…
So who is it?"
According to our information, the British royal family requested help from the King's Men secret service.
The agent isn't unfamiliar; over the past two years, he has completed many missions in the Middle East.
A white-haired agent with the code name ZAL.
Nick Fury showed a blurred photo of a white-haired man with his face partially under a mask to Natasha and Coulson.
Both exchanged surprised glances.
"Someone who has albinism needs our evaluation? Don't underestimate him. Those who've seen him say his combat skills and speed are far beyond most of our agents."
Natasha first thought of super-soldier experiments, as she herself had undergone partial serum injections, unlike Captain America's complete serum.
These experiments were conducted on him by the Red House.
"We don't know much, so I want you to scrutinize him from every angle."
"Yes, sir."
"Now you can move out."
…....
William didn't know that the King's agents had been watching. Even if he did, he wouldn't care much; he was facing a different problem—his eye color.
Because of his condition, when light hit his eyes, the lack of pigment caused a blood-red reflection, giving him a vampire-like appearance.
His vision was nearing blindness. He now needed corrective lenses. Continuous missions had accelerated his vision loss, so he required rest afterward.
To protect against sunlight, he used sunglasses.
Thinking about it, he realized he could use this as camouflage.
He went to the armory, searching for useful equipment.
"A beautiful watch, but not useful for me.
Ring? No. Coin? No. Glasses? I have one. Umbrella? Iraq doesn't get much rain.
Earrings? No. Perfume bottle? No. This wooden staff isn't very useful either.
Hmm… I think this is it."
A slim alloy staff that generates electricity when moved to shock enemies, and it's collapsible.
"If it were white, it would be perfect."
He went to the weapon workshop and met his old friend, Johnny, an elderly man in charge.
"Hello, Johnny."
"Hello William. If you come here and ruin one of my beautiful weapons, I promise you'll never get anything again."
Johnny loved his handmade, innovative weapons above all else.
Apologetically, William smiled.
"That incident with Beta… nothing.
Beta, my favorite…
Well, I want you to make it white for me."
Johnny took the collapsible staff and raised an eyebrow, looking at William skeptically.
"Why do you want this?"
"Uh… for a mission. You know, I want to appear like a blind person, and maybe someday it'll come in handy."
Johnny looked sad, avoided William's gaze, and walked away. A few steps later, he shouted, "It'll be ready in an hour!"
William laughed and began final preparations.
"Maybe when I think that one day I won't see this colorful world and feel emotions, but I'm not too worried.
I don't know, darkness doesn't scare me much. Maybe I've gotten used to it."
---