More depressed than Stark was Hawkeye.
Why are only you guys in the car?
Who am I?
Where am I?
It was clear that internal issues made Stark temporarily keep his distance from S.H.I.E.L.D.. He had a pile of problems himself and no time to worry about other people's business.
Mike grabbed a cheeseburger and got off halfway.
Stark Tower is also in Manhattan, located in Bryant Park at 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, surrounded by skyscrapers, a bustling commercial street, a world apart from Hell's Kitchen, and quite far away.
Moreover, the entire press conference was basically Stark's show-off, so there was no need to deliberately go there to be humiliated.
Finally, after five days away, Mike missed his own shabby little supermarket.
A golden nest or a silver nest is not as good as one's own doghouse.
"The big goose is back."
Mike excitedly rushed into the supermarket.
There was no cheering as he imagined.
Old Earl and Chloe were not there... At this time, Chloe should be at school, and Old Earl should be at work as usual.
Damn it, the boss isn't here, so they're openly slacking off?
Deduct their wages!
Just then, Skye and a black-haired girl walked out, laughing.
"Mike, you're back." Skye smiled gently, "Your female friend came to see you."
Mike always felt that Skye's smile hid a knife—a pig-slaughtering knife.
And the black-haired girl looked quite familiar.
But Mike was sure it was his first time meeting the girl. He often couldn't remember the names of the girls he hooked up with, but after talking about life and exploring tunnels, Mike wouldn't even forget a face, unless she had plastic surgery.
Black hair, Audrey Hepburn-style big eyes, Anne Hathaway-style thick lips, a small, palm-sized face—she was indeed one of Mike's favorite types.
She must be Skye's friend.
"Hello! I'm Mike."
Mike was very enthusiastic; it was his first time meeting Skye's friend.
"Jessica."
Skye was momentarily stunned, then said to the black-haired girl, "Jessica, I'm going to talk to Mike for a moment, feel free to look around."
"No problem." Jessica acted very casually, looking around the supermarket.
Skye pulled Mike aside and whispered, "Mike, what's going on?"
Mike was confused, "What do you mean, what's going on?"
"Isn't Jessica your female friend? Putting on your pants and not recognizing people?" Skye emphasized the word "female" in female friend.
It sounded like she was gritting her teeth.
"No, I thought she was your girlfriend."
"Are you sure?"
"One hundred percent sure."
The two looked at each other.
"That little bitch, acting so familiar with Mike before, what does she want!" Skye thought to herself.
No wonder Skye's attitude was strange earlier; she thought Mike's hookup wanted to continue their battle until dawn.
"It's all your fault!" Skye rolled her eyes.
"How can that be my fault?" Mike rubbed his nose.
Forget it, a good man doesn't fight with women, unless it's in bed (must fight until drenched in sweat, to the death).
"I'll go ask what's going on first." Mike reassured Skye, "Hopefully, she's not here to cause trouble."
"Okay, if she's here to cause trouble, when you fight..."
"Don't worry, I won't fight."
"I mean, when you fight, try not to hit her face, after all, she's a girl."
Mike: (||￢_￢)
Mike stepped forward and said with a smile, "It seems the situation is a bit complicated. Care to explain?"
The black-haired girl calmly said, "Let me reintroduce myself, Jessica Jones, private investigator."
Jessica Jones?
Jewel?
"So you've come to check out the competition?" Mike said.
"No." Jessica shook her head, "I just wanted to see what kind of man made my sister, who's as proud as a peacock, wait two days for your call, and you didn't even contact her."
"Uh... I've been on a business trip abroad these past few days." Mike had a question in his mind: "Who's her sister?"
Of course, you absolutely must not ask such a question directly; it's asking for trouble.
Jessica suddenly leaned closer, staring into Mike's eyes, and said, "You didn't forget who my sister is, did you? It really seems like it... Hahaha!"
Jessica laughed heartily.
Mike again: (||￢_￢)
After laughing for a while, Jessica said, "Trish, Trish Walker, my sister."
Okay, Trish Walker... professional suit, blonde, felt like a serious prosecutor, but her wildness during physical altercations made Mike gasp. She was a female knight that left a deep impression on Mike.
Trish did mention her sister, but since they didn't share the same surname, Mike didn't make the connection.
Jessica was worried about her sister and did some investigating on Mike.
Mike complained, "Aren't you and your sister not on good terms?"
Jessica said, "We're not... Not just my sister, I'm not on good terms with anyone."
Mike noticed that even when the girl laughed heartily, there was still a shadow lingering in the corners of her eyes.
The Purple Man incident had caused her immense pain, a raw wound that still hadn't healed.
"But she's my sister, after all."
"So?"
"Nothing." Jessica squeezed the stainless steel shelf, leaving handprints on it.
Her meaning was, that consensual acts between adults were none of her business, but if he dared to deceive her sister, she hoped Mike's bones were as hard as the stainless steel shelf.
"Heh~"
Crazy... stainless steel shelves aren't free!
As soon as Jessica left, Skye immediately came over: "No fight? Who was she? What happened?"
"Just a private investigator. Maybe she thinks I'm quite famous in this area, so she came to check things out?"
"Competition? That's all?"
"What else?" Mike felt a little guilty and quickly changed the subject, "Turn on the TV, quick! There's a good show..."
On TV, Stark looked melancholic, speaking eloquently. If the half-eaten cheeseburger were Photoshopped out, he would look like a philosopher.
Less than an hour after the press conference, Stark Industries hit the daily limit down, and Mike felt one step closer to the pinnacle of his life.
Just then, Old Earl peeked in from outside the door.
Mike smirked, "Old Earl, where were you during work hours? Aren't you afraid of a wage deduction!"
"Boss, you're back!"
Old Earl said happily.
He looked around the supermarket and muttered, "Huh, they didn't fight after all?"
It seemed Old Earl had gone to "take refuge" just now.
Disloyal!
Sure enough, deducting wages was a wise and brilliant decision.
Mike went back to the second floor, took a hot shower, and then went to the underground Base to put away the things he didn't need.
Skye quietly followed him.
"How was the mission?"
"It went smoothly. Didn't you see Stark on TV just now? He's alive and well."
"I mean, did you get hurt? Who cares if Stark lives or dies!"
"No." Mike laughed, "The Terrorists were all women; they couldn't bear to shoot me because of my stunning good looks."
Skye chuckled, "Even if they shot, it wouldn't work; your skin is as thick as a wall."
The two chatted for a long time, mostly Skye talking. She spoke about some of her experiences, her life in the orphanage, and moving between various foster homes.
Finally, what Skye wanted to say was that she had joined a hacker organization called "Tide," whose aim was to expose hidden truths.
Simply put, Tide was an illegal organization, and all its members were wanted. So Skye was afraid of implicating Mike.
Mike knew about "Tide"; like all organizations founded by idealists, it eventually corrupted and became a tool for profit and ambitious individuals.
Mike laughed, "If you knew who I deal with, you wouldn't talk about implicating anyone."
"Who?" Skye asked curiously, "I'm just curious, if you can't say."
"Who" isn't the right word; some of them aren't even human..."