Bab 77: A Team
"Hm."
Maria stared at Aaron Davis, sipping on her glass of juice. On the call, he gave Maria the run-down on Aaron Davis' predicament. He mentioned that maybe this had something to do with the Oscorp incident, though omitted mentioning the Big Man. Whoever was behind the Oscorp attack was rich and the only people rich enough would have to be the people in that room.
The location, the fact that it was somewhere in New York, it just made sense.
Maria arrived at his doorstep ten minutes later and was now blank-faced on his couch.
"I've heard of you," Aaron Davis said. "Maria Hill…what did you do before becoming a private detective?"
The glass left her lips. "None of your business."
Aaron Davis crossed his arms. "Fine then. Club Scorpion. Do you know anything about it?"
"Why else would I come in-person?"
Excitement crept up. "So you do know something?"
Maria didn't immediately reply. "I came in person for a reason. What I'm telling you is…"
"Risky?" Felix finished.
"That and more. See, you aren't the first to ask me about the Scorpion Club. I have another pair of clients doing just that and from what I hear…they might know someone that can tell you."
A client of Maria knew someone that might know?
"That's…" Felix looked at Aaron Davis. "Okay, we can work with that. Right?"
"I already messaged them," Maria said. "Or rather…they were with me when you called."
From the direction of Felix's bedroom, a loud thud interrupted the conversation. Felix stiffened, his senses going into overdrive. In that moment, his Advanced Glasses warned him. Two figures were in his room. He stood up, glancing at Maria, who was on her phone but now eyeing the door with an unreadable expression.
Felix moved toward his room. Inside, two women were standing in the middle of the room, clearly engaged in a heated discussion. They turned toward Felix as he entered, their gazes assessing him with a mixture of surprise and curiosity.
The first woman snapped a bow and arrow at him. She was holding the weapon and had knocked an arrow as if it were an extension of herself. She had a restless energy about her, like she was ready to spring into action at any moment.
Felix stopped in his tracks.
"Uh…"
He was taken aback, not just by the intrusion, but by the sheer presence they carried.
Somehow, it was the archer woman but the crouching blonde woman caught his eye first. There was an immediate sense of danger about her, something in the way she held herself that set off alarm bells in Felix's mind. Her piercing green eyes locked onto his, and he felt like she was sizing him up, deciding in that split second whether he was a threat. Her hair was set loose and she seemed way too relaxed. She reminded him of a lioness, always ready to pounce, with a beauty that was fierce and unyielding, like something out of a spy movie—someone you wouldn't want to cross.
Then there was the other woman, the archer, who seemed to be the complete opposite, yet equally captivating. Her black hair was pulled back into a ponytail.
"Oh." The archer lowered her bow slightly, though the arrow was still nocked back. "Uh, isn't he…?"
The other woman—White Widow—was slightly older with short blonde hair. The blonde was crouched down and inspecting his drawers. She pulled something out, a prototype of the water bottle that he had handed to FEAST. The pretty blonde flashed a smile, inspected the bottle, then looked at him.
"Hi."
Source: Hawkeye (miniseries)
Hi.
'Okay.'
"Who are you...?"
The blonde woman addressed him with so little concern that it actually concerned him. "Er…"
"Look, look." She walked and his Advanced Glasses scanned her facial features. No match. Nothing. "You're probably thinking, 'wHAT?' Don't worry, we're not here to hurt you. We're with Detective Hill. You know, the serious lady."
"O…kay?" Felix put his hands in his pockets, looking at them very strangely and judgmentally. Kate was affected by it. Yelena wasn't.
It was then Felix noticed the slight chill in the room. His window was open.
'They climbed three floors of an apartment in the middle of the day? Who the hell are they?'
His Spider-Sense wasn't going off so he was safe? Right?
"But that doesn't tell me who you are exactly."
Before either of them could respond, Maria appeared in the doorway, phone in hand. "Felix, meet Katherine Bishop and Yelena Belova. They're the clients I mentioned earlier—the ones also looking into Club Scorpion."
"Call me Kate." Kate lowered her bow fully, the arrow slipping into her quiver. "Sorry about the intrusion. We, uh, didn't realize you'd be in the room. We were, um, checking out your room."
Yelena gave Felix an amused look. "Yes, very fancy computer you've got there. Oscorp sent it, right? I assume you work for them?"
'She's sharp.'
"I planned to check for wiretaps and that sort buuut you're an Oscorp scientist. For some reason, your type never do that," Yelena said.
"Yelena!" Kate hissed. "Manners."
"Yes, right, sorry. This is my first time in New York." Yelena gave a courtesy. "Call it a foreigner's idiocy."
"Breaking and entering is a foreign thing?" Felix asked.
"God bless Mother Russia," Yelena said, walking past him.
Just like that, they were led back to the living room, where Aaron was still seated, looking bewildered by the sudden influx of new people. As they settled in, Felix noticed the tension in Aaron's posture—he was clearly uncomfortable with the new arrivals.
'I get it. Two random chicks just got into my house. What's with that?'
Felix sat with Aaron Davis. Maria and Kate sat together while Yelena…
She was in the kitchen. Seriously, what was she doing? Felix got up but couldn't get a single step before he was asked:
"Look at that, Kate Bishop! This guy has multiple forks! Not one, not two, but seven! Lucky number, am I right?"
Felix paused, one foot hovering mid-step, and shot a puzzled look toward Kate. Kate in turn pursed her lips and shook her head, exasperated. "Don't worry about it," Kate was saying.
Felix hesitated, then asked, "Okay…um, do you need something to eat?"
"Mac and cheese," Yelena replied without missing a beat, her voice trailing off as she rummaged through his cabinets. Felix couldn't help but marvel at how she seemed completely at ease, as if this were her kitchen and not his.
"Why not something new?" Kate suggested sarcastically.
"I can get you roasted beef. Pretty sure I still have some in the freezer."
"Too long," Yelena shot back, dismissing the idea with a wave of her hand. "You have noodles?"
"Right there at the cabinet."
"Perfect," Yelena said, her voice muffled as she ducked into the cabinet and pulled out a pack of instant noodles. She turned to Felix with a bright grin that seemed almost out of place in the tense atmosphere of the apartment.
Finally, Yelena returned to the living room, a steaming bowl of noodles in hand, and plopped down on the couch next to Kate. Felix resumed his seat, still processing the oddity of it all, but Maria's sharp gaze pulled him back into focus.
"Shall we get started?" Maria asked, her voice cutting through the haze of Felix's thoughts.
"Yeah," Aaron Davis said.
"Yep!" Yelena supplied.
"Here is the deal," Maria began. "We all want to find Club Scorpion—"
"For various reasons," Yelena cut off while slurping on her noodles.
Maria glared at her and continued, "...but it's not going to be easy. The place is like a ghost—no one knows exactly where it is, and the people who do are not reachable."
Yelena swallowed before adding, "Unlike you, we have a lead."
"We have a lead," Kate corrected. "A lead we can't exactly pursue. That's why I asked Maria for help."
"As if we need their help." Yelena's gaze turned to the two males. "Remind me what you two do?"
"I'm an officer—used to be anyway."
"Oscorp scientist."
Yelena nodded and then said, "So a patrol cop and a nerd. Great."
"And what do you guys do?" Felix countered.
"We are CIA agents," Yelena said.
"No, you're not," Aaron shot down flatly.
"We're not," Kate said. "But we are trained to fight. I'm one of the best archers in the world—"
"Highly debatable," Yelena said.
"On top of being master fencer, a winner of the JOAD Olympian Achievement Award at the Bronze level by USA Archery, a black belt at the age of fifteen, and getting the JOAD Olympian Achievement Award at the Silver level." Kate listed all that to spit Yelena's remark. "So…yeah. Don't mess with us."
"Wouldn't dare to," Aaron said. "I'm no slouch myself. I did some years in the military myself."
"Oh?" Yelena leaned forward while slurping on her noodles. "What unit?"
"Green Berets."
"Ooh, fancy. Guerilla war-style mission, eh? I guess that makes you and me enemies. Well, at least we would be if I wasn't retired."
"You don't look all that old," Aaron replied.
"Age can be a deception, my friend."
"I can be your tech guy," Felix suggested out of nowhere. He lowkey felt out of place with all these super-trained people.
"We don't need a tech guy," Yelena retorted.
"We kinda do," Kate said.
"Do we?"
"Why do you think I brought you with me?" Maria Hill's voice seemed to momentarily keep Yelena's remarks down.
But not for too long.
"...for fun?"
"Well, getting my mom to tell me the location of a super secret billionaire illuminati type club isn't going to be easy," Kate said, ignoring Yelena. "So I assume you have a plan?"
"Your mom?" Aaron repeated, eyes narrowed.
Kate wanted to sigh. "Look, it's…it's a whole story."
"Felix can do it," Maria declared. "He can get the information from Eleanor Bishop."
'I can?'
"He can?" Kate repeated, turning to him. "What, are you CIA?"
"No, I'm not. Why does everyone keep saying that," Felix murmured.
"It's not about being in the CIA. He's an Oscorp scientist. A genius from all accounts. He has been working with Princess Shuri with Wakanda and has been at the top levels of many Oscorp events. A faceless scientist with the connections we need."
"I…guess I do? But what does it have to do with Kate's mom?"
"Eleanor Bishop: CEO of Bishop Security and a former associate of Wilson Fisk, the old Kingpin."
"Wilson…Fisk?" Aaron straightened-up. "A close associate?"
"In other words, his secretary and the one that leads Fisk's loyal men currently. These days, they are a shell of their former selves. After the Daredevil took over, Eleanor Bishop struggled to maintain the rule of Wilson Fisk. She's a husk, nothing more," Maria explained. "But even husks have knowledge and history. She knows. She's a near billionaire so she certainly meets the wealth requirements."
"I have never heard of this woman in my whole life," Felix said. "How am I going to convince her? How will I meet her?"
"Ask your superiors. Try to find a potential meeting between the two of you. Her security company is used by Oscorp often."
"In fact, I bet you'll find that half of them are from us," Kate added.
"And if you're too scared, leave it to us," Yelena said, raising a hand. She was done with her noodles and set the bowl on the floor. "Me and Kate Bishop can go in and out without anyone knowing."
Aaron Davis shifted. Funny that, whoever these ladies were, they probably weren't better than the Prowler at breaking and entering. Speaking of the ladies and their identities, Herbie was able to confirm Kate Bishop's info without issue.
NAME: Katherine Bishop
OCCUPATION: Olympic Archer, Unlicensed Private Investigator
GENDER: Female
AGE: 22
MARITAL STATUS: Single
HEIGHT: 5'7 / 1.73 m
WEIGHT: 120 lbs / 54.43 kg
IRISES: Blue
HAIR COLOUR: Black
EDUCATION: Graduate of Hawthorne Academy, Advanced Regents Degree (Spence School), Bachelor of Physical Education (Cornell University)
PARENTS: Eleanor Bishop (mother), Derek Bishop (father, deceased)
SPECIAL NOTE: Perhaps the greatest up and coming archer in North America. Her father died when she was young in an accident with Wilson Fisk.
So her connection to Wilson Fisk was true. But Yelena…
'Herbie sees nothing on her. No public information. No birth certificate. Nothing.'
Who in the world was she?
"Maria," Felix said, "you still haven't told me the plan. I understand getting close to Eleanor Bishop but getting her to tell me some top-secret club seems impossible."
Maria cracked a smile.
Felix didn't like that smile either.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone