About an hour later.
Word came from the Sentinel lobby that four people from the FBI were coming up the elevator.
Jack, who was at his desk, immediately stood up upon receiving the message.
Brown, whose office was in the adjacent area, also rushed over.
He wouldn’t feel at ease until he saw the FBI leave with their tails between their legs.
Assistant Special Agent in Charge Walter Hermann opened his office door and stepped outside.
Locke leaned back in his chair, sipping his unfinished coffee.
Perhaps due to his vampire lineage, he felt the coffee, which used to taste quite good, now tasted strange.
It wasn’t a bad kind of strange, just an indescribable sort of off-flavor.
A moment later, the elevator doors opened.
A group of four—three men and one woman—stepped out of the elevator bay and entered Locke’s line of sight.
Locke immediately recognized three of them: the famous SHIELD Trident.
SHIELD’s resident ‘village chief’, Phil Coulson.
SHIELD’s Hawkeye, Clint Barton.
And SHIELD’s Black Widow, Natasha.
But the last one?
He was trying way too hard to look cool.
A Black guy—who was already dark enough—wearing pitch-black sunglasses in broad daylight, draped in a black trench coat.
And what on earth was that strapped to his back?
A longsword?
Good grief.
Did security not confiscate a restricted weapon like that when he went through the scanner?
Wait…
black sunglasses, black body armor, a black longsword, and another Black guy.
It was him.
Blade.
*Hiss!*
*I searched for you for nearly a year and a half without finding a trace, and now that I’ve found a vampire on my own, you decide to show up?*
Locke watched the group approach.
His gaze swept over Natasha, then lingered briefly on Blade, who brought up the rear, before standing up from his seat.
Phil Coulson, leading the way, walked straight up to Walter Hermann and extended his right hand.
“ASAC Hermann.”
“Supervisor Coulson.”
Phil Coulson shook hands with Walter Hermann and got straight to the point.
“Are the files and evidence ready?”
Walter chuckled, letting out a slightly apologetic sigh.
“I’m terribly sorry, but my people made a mistake.”
“…”
Coulson froze.
He exchanged a glance with Hawkeye beside him, then looked back at Walter Hermann.
Standing nearby like a massive grizzly bear, Brown rumbled, “The deceased was a mutant.
This case belongs to us.”
Coulson frowned, looking toward Brown.
“And you are…”
“Brown is our Sentinel Tactical Unit leader,” Locke said calmly, walking over to stand beside Walter.
Coulson looked at Locke, who had spoken.
Natasha also observed the sunglasses-clad Locke with curiosity.
Walter Hermann, who looked somewhat short and stout next to the well-proportioned Coulson, introduced Locke before laughing heartily.
“My apologies, Supervisor Coulson.
The five tactical officers killed in yesterday’s operation were Brown’s men.”
Coulson offered a polite smile, but then frowned.
“ASAC Hermann, did you just say the man who died yesterday was a mutant?”
Was he being played?
Was the dead guy a mutant?
No.
He was a vampire—specifically, an informant SHIELD had planted within the vampire community.
If he hadn’t been, there was no way SHIELD would have picked up on this case so quickly.
Walter Hermann nodded with a beaming smile.
“Indeed.
My subordinates made a clerical error.
I’m sorry to have wasted your time, Supervisor Coulson.”
“…”
Coulson stared at Walter Hermann’s round, smiling face, his own expression freezing.
*Did they really make a mistake?*
Coulson instinctively looked back at the specialist in their group, Blade.
But Blade’s attention wasn’t on them at all.
It was focused on…
Blade, also wearing sunglasses, was staring intently at Locke, who stood next to Walter Hermann.
Locke wore a black suit, had a robust build, sharp facial features, and a matching pair of dark sunglasses perched on his nose.
Locke was also sizing up Blade.
The moment Blade’s gaze landed on him, he had felt it instantly.
Eyes met.
Locke couldn’t see Blade’s eyes, and likewise, Blade couldn’t see his.
Right then, Debbie, who had been missing for a while, appeared at the elevator bank.
She rushed over excitedly, clutching a lab report.
“Boss!
The lab confirmed it.
They detected the X-gene in Lindsay Perrin’s remaining blood sample!”
Coulson and the others turned toward her.
Debbie walked up, handed the report to Locke, and gave him a subtle wink.
Understanding, Locke took the report, glanced at it, and handed it to Walter.
Walter looked over it, then passed it to Coulson with another pleasant smile.
“Care to take a look, Supervisor Coulson?”
Coulson took the report, falling silent once more.
Walter chuckled again, saying to the quiet, staring Coulson, “Apologies again for making you come all this way, Supervisor Coulson.”
Coulson didn’t say a word.
Hawkeye and Natasha leaned in to look at the report in his hands.
It was an official mutant identification report, completely authentic.
The three of them exchanged a silent look.
Clearly, once the Sentinel lab report was issued, the matter was settled.
The burden of proof lay with the claimant.
If they couldn’t produce evidence that Lindsay Perrin was a vampire, then Lindsay Perrin could only be classified as a mutant with vampire-like abilities.
Did they have proof?
Yes.
But could they present it?
No.
SHIELD was a covert organization.
Since its inception, it had served as a firewall between ordinary people and the supernatural world.
Therefore, even if they possessed proof, they could not expose it.
Coulson frowned deeply, looking at Walter Hermann and Locke, who clearly had no intention of handing over the case, and Brown, who was glaring at him with a murderous intensity.
He didn’t know what else to say.
What could he say?
That the report was fake?
Again, the burden of proof was on them.
So…
Coulson’s mouth twitched.
He handed the report back to Walter, extended his hand, and shook Walter’s once more.
“Sorry for the intrusion.”
SHIELD could seize the case by force.
But there was no need.
After all, they occasionally needed to pose as the SSS themselves.
Besides, the Sentinel Secret Service also dealt with supernatural beings, so souring relations over a single vampire was entirely unnecessary.
With these thoughts turning in his head, Coulson made his decision without hesitation and spun around.
“Let’s go.”
True to his reputation, he was a busy man.
Hawkeye and Natasha nodded.
From the moment they arrived to their departure, they hadn’t uttered a word, maintaining an aura of cool detachment.
But…
Just as Coulson, Hawkeye, and Natasha turned to leave, Blade moved.