In the White House underground bunker's bookshelf, Bella discovered records far beyond her expectations.
She flipped through George Washington's notebook, Franklin D. Roosevelt's diary, and a sticky note left behind by John F. Kennedy. All three presidents mentioned one term: Freemasons.
If that word was still normal, then the Knights Templar appearing in all three records was decidedly abnormal.
According to George Washington's account, in 1781, Freemason members brought something extremely important to the Americas. This object subsequently fell into George Washington's hands quite coincidentally. Realizing it would cause unimaginable harm, he entrusted his allies to throw it into the ocean.
Over a hundred years later, when this object reappeared, it was on Roosevelt's desk. The Knights Templar had recovered it and handed it to Roosevelt for use in the war.
Then came Kennedy. The records here were sparse—only that the object disappeared from public view again after his assassination. But according to the notes of several subsequent presidents, it seemed to have returned to the White House.
Bella closed her eyes and used her psionic abilities to scan the nearby ground bit by bit. Her psionics eventually settled on the western side of the underground bunker. There seemed to be another very small space beneath the floor there.
She casually walked over it, pretending disinterest. She discovered a metal panel beneath the floor, equipped with both retinal and fingerprint verification. She quietly turned away and went back to reading.
...
"Natasha... Nata... sha, it's me, Nick Fury..." Somewhat garbled electronic sounds suddenly appeared in Natasha's ear. She quickly set down the game controller and walked to a distant corner.
"I can hear you, but there's a lot of static."
"Don't talk, just listen..." The one-eyed man quickly described what had happened outside. Due to the jamming devices, even with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s technical support, breaking through the interference wasn't easy. He repeated himself several times before Natasha finally understood.
"The current President refuses... S.H.I.E.L.D. involvement. We can't directly oppose the U.S. government, but there's definitely... something more behind this. We need President Sawyer... to step forward, appear on camera, and crush these conspirators' schemes!"
In the broken communication, the one-eyed man explained his purpose. "The Speaker of the House and his backers orchestrated this farce. I need you to get President Sawyer out immediately. Time is critical! S.H.I.E.L.D. will provide some assistance, though not much."
Natasha didn't consult her parents but immediately discussed the matter with Bella. Could they extract President Sawyer from the various obvious and hidden encirclements?
The remaining two or three attackers posed no threat, but the police, FBI, Secret Service, even Delta Force—these groups were different. Some of them definitely wanted President Sawyer dead. Breaking out would be extremely difficult. Even if they made it out, they'd face enemies on all sides.
"Let him retire to civilian life. The presidency isn't a lifetime appointment—just consider it early retirement." Bella didn't want to get involved. In her view, it didn't matter who was President. It wasn't worth risking herself and her family.
"But the Speaker of the House is backed by the military-industrial complex. Once they consolidate control, the American war machine will declare war on Middle Eastern countries, and then..." Natasha didn't finish, but Bella understood.
President Sawyer was essentially a good person in the conventional sense—a pacifist. The Speaker of the House was a bad person who couldn't feel comfortable without war.
Bella repeatedly weighed the pros and cons, factoring in her own interests. Finally, she nodded, indicating she had a solution.
Natasha urgently summoned President Sawyer and explained the outside situation again.
At this moment, she couldn't hide her identity anymore. "Mr. President, I'm a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Coming to the White House today was completely accidental..."
President Sawyer wasn't surprised at all. In fact, he looked relieved, nodding as if a weight had lifted. Initially thinking Natasha was a civilian, all her subsequent actions had made him feel inadequate. Now that she claimed to be an agent, he felt much better. It's not that I'm weak—she's just strong!
"Of course I want to get out. Whatever methods they have, I'm willing to face them and accept all consequences. Even death won't make me compromise. But the problem is... how do we get out?"
Natasha fell silent. With her abilities, she could only fight their way through, though with alternatives nearby, that wasn't the best option.
Bella did have a solution. Fighting was the worst approach. She had magic that could easily escape, but she'd been reluctant to use it.
Politicians instinctively excelled at reading expressions. President Sawyer looked at Natasha, then at Bella, sensing something deeper. He asked anxiously, "You have a way? You can get us out?"
Bella put on a hesitant expression.
President Sawyer pressed repeatedly. Finally, she spoke slowly.
Should she say she knew magic and could teleport him to safety? Definitely not!
She'd only told Natasha about magic. None of her other friends and family knew.
Now she certainly wouldn't reveal it to someone she barely knew like President Sawyer. She didn't trust politicians' promises one bit. Oaths and vows meant nothing to her.
She simply didn't trust them. No other reason.
After calculating costs and benefits, she decided on an indirect approach.
Bella shook her head gently. "Not us—you. You can get out."
"Mr. President, have you seen this book?" She pulled a thick volume from the bottom shelf of the bunker's bookcase.
We were just talking about escaping, right? Why the sudden topic change?
Puzzled, but President Sawyer was a political figure with basic patience. He followed Bella's finger to look at the thick book. One glance—ha! He didn't recognize a single word!
Bella sneaked a glance at his expression. Seeing President Sawyer's confusion, she was secretly delighted. Perfect—if you don't recognize it, this will be easier!
"This is Amharic from Ethiopia."
President Sawyer grew more confused. Don't assume that because he was black and Ethiopia was in Africa, there was any connection between American blacks and African blacks. All American blacks spoke English. Some politicians might know Spanish or French for various reasons, but that was it. Nobody would learn some godforsaken Amharic language...
Forget learning it—most had never even heard of it.
Bella adopted a particularly mysterious tone. "During President Kennedy's administration, he sent people... people to construct a very unusual passage. This passage mentions a ritual, seemingly semi-permanently fixed within this underground bunker."