Shadow of the Beautiful World
40. The Midnight Visitor
Fry is awake, I went to see him.
Pierce returned to his office and called Merlin in Europe:
He just woke up, and his mind is still a little unclear
this is normal.
Merlin on the other end of the phone replied while waiting for the next meeting to start in the lounge:
Fury was injured too badly. In order to reduce the pressure on the body, the spirit will actively enter deep sleep. In that state that is close to death, memory disorder is a very normal thing, and it will be fine after a while.
Well, that's what that young Dr. Ziegler told me.
There was a hint of lightness and joy in Pierce's voice, and he said to Merlin in a very relaxed tone:
Anyway, it's good that he's still alive.
However, during the period of Fury's recovery, you will temporarily act as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. In fact, I think it is a good choice for you to take over as the director.
Let's talk about this again.
Merlin didn't respond directly to this question, he had his own concerns.
And there are always things that Pierce can't tell.
About my chaotic fate in the future, about my possible disappearance in the future.
Merlin didn't want to tell his friends or relatives about these things, he didn't want them to worry.
Also, Merlin, I got something from Fury.
Pierce's voice on the phone became low and dignified, and he said to Merlin:
You'll never guess who attacked him
Um?
Merlin asked in surprise:
Does he still have memories of the attack? Did he recognize the attacker?
right.
Pierce said:
He recognized it, and it was the person you had crossed paths with more than ten years ago, in Oakland, do you remember? The Winter Soldier
The Winter Soldier!?
Merlin's tone raised a few degrees, and he stood up from the sofa in the lounge of the United Nations agency on the European side.
He pushed his glasses, and he asked:
Can he confirm it?
Can.
Pierce breathed a sigh of relief and said:
Frey said he was pretty sure the attacker was the Winter Soldier.
Doesn't that mean Hydra
There was a hint of murderous intent in Merlin's tone. If the attacker was really the Winter Soldier, then his and Fry's worst guesses would come true.
No, not necessarily.
Pierce analyzed with a rational voice:
While the Winter Soldier has served Hydra when they were active, it has been a while since Hydra fell.
Although this possibility cannot be ruled out, we must also consider other aspects.
As far as I know, Hydra didn't use the Winter Soldier even when it was destroyed, and I read your mission report back then. Maybe it was in the past few years that he recovered.
I mean, maybe some other organization has activated the Winter Soldier to deliberately divert our attention to Hydra!
Pierce said:
Maybe they're using it as a cover for a more nefarious purpose.
Um
Merlin pondered for a moment, he said:
This kind of argument is also reasonable, but since he has appeared, we can't sit idly by. We have to follow this line to investigate.
right!
Pierce agrees:
And the most trustworthy person must be sent there, and judging from the destructive power of the Winter Soldier, it is best to send an Avenger there
I mean, Captain America, Steve Rogers, or our best two secret agents.
I'll arrange it.
Merlin looked at the time, the meeting was about to start.
He said to Pierce:
I will go back to New York as soon as possible, and I must protect Fury. I am worried that there will be a second assassination.
Um.
Pierce nodded and said:
Go ahead, we'll discuss these things in detail after you come back.
After speaking, Pierce hung up the phone.
He breathed a sigh of relief, leaned back on the office chair, raised his head, and looked at the ceiling.
Things have taken a new turn.
Nick Fury in the hospital is an imposter, and Pierce sees a new possibility.
Maybe, he doesn't need to take the risk of getting rid of Fury to stop S.H.I.E.L.D. from continuing to search for the umbrella, maybe, this matter can be quietly ended without alarming anyone.
They will have more time to prepare and they can be more prepared.
Most importantly, now that the Winter Soldier line has been activated, he can do both!
Merlin must be distracted
Pierce rubbed his chin, one dark scheme after another emerged in his mind, and was rejected due to various shortcomings.
He tried to find a perfect plan, but when the template of those ideas was applied to Merlin, it always seemed so uneasy.
Until the afternoon, when it was time to get off work, Pierce did not think of a highly executable idea. Instead, he made himself very tired because of constant thinking.
It's not easy to be a conspirator either.
This is a real mental work, and combining several things together, trying to make everything go forward according to your own ideas, the workload is a bit too much.
It's nerve-wracking.
Pierce left the office building. He sat in his car, closed his eyes, and asked the driver to take him back to his home.
He still had some time before Merlin returned to New York.
And regarding Merlin, Pierce has always had a very tangled thought in his heart.
It was more difficult for him to decide than to kill Fury.
With this disturbed mind, Pierce ate dinner at home.
After the housekeeping staff left, in the evening, although there were other security personnel in the manor, the huge manor was as quiet as if Pierce was the only one left.
He was sitting alone in the living room, under the not-so-bright light, he picked up a book, the classic Faust.
Then he took up his reading glasses and leaned on the sofa to watch.
This is his habit when he thinks about important issues.
Reading the book itself just made his thinking clearer. He didn't care about the content of the book. Although his eyes slid over the beautiful words, Pierce was thinking about more important things in his heart.
About the Insights Program.
About umbrellas.
about the new order.
About Fake Ferry.
About how to arrange Merlin.
Pierce is a man of faith, and he's very old with very little left to live.
But fortunately, the ideal he insisted on all his life is only one step away from the final realization.
Everything will be ready soon, a new order without crime, without discrimination, without conflict, a perfect world in his imagination is coming soon.
But the more at this time, the more careful you have to be.
The stories of falling short at the last minute in history have given Pierce enough warnings to prevent him from making the same stupid mistakes as his predecessors.
ding dong
The doorbell rang suddenly, breaking the quiet atmosphere in the living room and waking Pierce up from his thoughts.
He raised his head and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.
The time immersed in thinking always passes very quickly. Before you know it, it is already midnight, and the hands of the clock have just crossed 12 o'clock at night.
at this time
Who else would visit him?
Pierce put down the book with some doubts. He leaned on his cane and walked towards the door of this room.
The conscientious security staff did not issue a warning, which means that the visitor should be harmless and should be someone Pierce knows well.
The old man walked to the door, stretched out his hand and turned the lock.
The next moment, under the light above the threshold, a person Pierce knew very well appeared in front of him.
Gideon Malik!
A person who has died.
But now he was standing in front of Pierce like a real person, with a weird smile on his face, which scared the old man back a few steps.
Pierce looked at the dead in front of him, his face was full of astonishment, the shock was so severe that Pierce's old heart couldn't bear it.
To be honest, he has experienced a lot of ups and downs in the past two days.
He clutched his heart in pain and fell to the ground.
In front of him, standing at the door, Gideon Malick with a strange smile flashed a trace of surprise on his face.
The guy stepped forward, supported Pierce who had a heart attack, and then put his finger on his heart.
A dark red electric current rushed into Pierce's chest along his fingers, beating a few times on his heart in sudden arrest, pulling Pierce back from the sudden death.
Ah, ah, by the standards of a conspirator, your body is really weak.
A weird, darkly teasing laugh came from Gideon Malick's mouth, and under Pierce's blank gaze, the guy's appearance changed rapidly.
Dark red skin, two perfect devil horns, black hair, black, cool beard, glowing eyes, and a windbreaker with a stand-up collar, and a weird robe.
comer
It's a devil.
And he was Merlin's old friend.
How can an old body support great ideals and those heavy plots? My friend.
Mephisto swung his tail and closed the door.
The old devil helped Pierce up, and picked up the fallen cane from the ground in a friendly manner, and put it into Pierce's hand.
It was just a good-natured joke just now, don't worry about it.
It straightened up, waved its hands, and said to Pierce:
Mr. Gideon Malik asked me to say hello to you, so you don't worry about him.
Your old friend lives very well in my hell. He enjoys the fire bath three times a day, and the cruelest soul demon takes care of his life, and occasionally he can experience the happy time of being hacked into pieces.
He seems to be used to it recently, and he seems a little reluctant to leave.
The devil, who told another bad joke, folded his arms and looked at Pierce in front of him with scrutiny.
It twitched its nose, as if sniffing something, and said:
Another soul full of conspiracy and a very pure soul, tsk tsk, not infected by too much desire, very restrained, but with great ambitions.
The old devil flicked his sharp fingers, and he gave Pierce a creepy smile, and said:
Souls like yours are in demand in every hell.
Maybe I should thank little friend Merlin. The people around him are so unique that they are not ordinary people.
Pierce looked at the red-skinned devil in front of him, he looked at Mephisto's wagging tail, the sharp tail was topped with an inverted triangle.
Well, this is quite in line with the image of the devil in the legend.
As a mortal, Pierce should feel panic and fear at this moment, after all, a terrifying devil is right in front of his eyes.
But he didn't.
His soul was surprisingly peaceful at this moment.
Maybe this devil played some tricks, but Pierce really didn't have the slightest fear in his heart, and he calmly thought about the things in front of him.
But before he could speak, the old devil in front of him took out a golden scroll from his back like a trick, with an exaggerated smile on his face, and he said to Pierce:
I felt a strong desire that you were planning something important and you wanted it to go well and you had expectations, so I brought a response.
You can think of me as Santa Claus who came early and fulfilled people's inner wishes. If you want, I can even become him.
Mephisto stretched out his hand and snapped his fingers, and it quickly turned into the image of Santa Claus wearing a red suit, a red hat, and a big white beard.
It waved the scroll in its hand to Pierce in a naive manner, and said:
Come on, Alexander Pierce, the most powerful person in the world, sign a contract with old Mephisto.
A contract with the devil?
Pierce looked at the golden scroll dangling in front of his eyes, but he didn't reach out to take it. Making deals with the devil is not a good idea, even in the funniest of stories.
Don't be misled by those silly stories, Mr. Pierce.
The great devil has returned to its traditional image, and it gently persuades:
Maybe other devils are a bunch of bastards playing tricks, but old Mephisto is not
Old Mephisto's reputation in this regard is the best in hell, and even in heaven, you won't find anyone who abides by the contract better than me.
As long as you sign the contract, everything will be done according to the rules!
The great devil said meaningfully:
And you, you will borrow the power of the old Mephisto to achieve everything you want, such as a new order, a perfect world, etc.
And old Mephisto can also join your game because of this, and I will get everything I want.
Pierce blinked, he looked at the big devil, and he said:
Then what do you want?
I, I want nothing.
Mephisto stretched out two fingers and made a gesture of twisting something. There was fire in its eyes, and it said to Pierce:
Not long ago, a group of misbehaving children made me suffer a lot. After thinking about it, I felt that I couldn't swallow it.
I want to give him back the shame of failure! If possible, I would like to invite him to my hell as a guest. I will definitely prepare the best reception for him.
Pierce pursed his lips. After a few seconds, he looked at the big devil and said:
Yes, Merlin?
Yes! You're so clever, my friend!
Mephisto patted Pierce's shoulder very familiarly, and said softly:
So, we now have something in common to talk about, right? An enemy's enemy is a friend.
And look, here I come
Would you like me to come in and sit down?
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