Bab 58: Lightning
Making money, taking down drug lords, and single-handedly storming danger zones, not just once but twice in a single day.
Blake felt like today was glorious, stylish, rewarding, and utterly impressive.
The final explosion scene was the perfect punctuation mark to his badass day.
But that punctuation mark ended up being flawed, with a perfect circle turning into a 'C'.
Perhaps this is what it means to fail spectacularly while trying to show off.
Rubbing his aching eyes, Blake wondered if he was destined to clash with his eyes, as they always seemed to get hurt.
Before he even reached the manor's gate, he looked up and saw Black Widow smiling at him.
She was leaning against a black SUV parked near the gate, next to the wall Blake had smashed through earlier.
From her amused expression, it was clear she had witnessed his embarrassing moment.
"Uh... what brings you here? Where are the others? It's dangerous to be here alone."
Blake, trying to divert the topic, feared she would bring up his embarrassing moment.
"What danger? You've scared everyone here so much that they almost grew wings to fly away. There's no danger left."
Black Widow flipped her hair, oozing charm.
"You must have missed me to come all the way here to find me, right?"
Blake chuckled, wrapping an arm around Black Widow's shoulder.
"I'm here to take you home. You've caused a lot of trouble! Get in the car!"
Black Widow squeezed Blake's lips into a pout, gave him a quick peck, and said, "That's your reward for earlier. Compared to heroes who walk away from explosions without looking back, I prefer the one who got hit by a rocket launcher. It's more real and adorable!"
She then got into the driver's seat.
"I knew you saw it! And why did you kiss me? Now I need to kiss you back, or I'll feel shortchanged!"
Blake shouted as he followed her into the car.
Once inside, he immediately pulled off the robber's mask he had been wearing all day.
"It almost suffocated me. Now I get why more and more robbers are switching to wearing stockings!"
"Stop complaining about your mask. You've killed two major drug lords and emptied their bank accounts. The Mexican government has deployed regular troops, and the city is practically surrounded!"
"Is that so? I only took out two drug lords."
Blake smirked, feeling a bit overconfident and not taking the government forces seriously.
Black Widow glanced at Blake as she drove.
"Three drug lords, three. Do you know how much money they pay those high-ranking officials each year? Do you know how much economic loss it causes to replace three top drug lords? And that's not even counting the money you transferred from their accounts. A small nuclear warhead on the black market costs less than a billion dollars."
Blake wasn't interested in the initial figures but perked up at the mention of the nuclear warhead.
"No way, they'd deploy a nuke for one person? That's a bit much!"
"Don't underestimate the connections between the Mexican government and the drug lords. Your combat skills are well-known to them, and if you push them too far, who knows what they might do!"
"Alright, I'll be more careful next time. Anyway, I made a good haul this time!"
Blake adjusted his seat, reclining comfortably. With Black Widow picking him up, he figured there was nothing to worry about.
S.H.I.E.L.D. really is everywhere. Black Widow drove Blake through various checkpoints, flashing a pass with an unknown department's stamp, and they sped away.
Despite Black Widow's help, they still traveled from northeastern Mexico to the west, crossing into Arizona and then to a small town in New Mexico.
After driving all night, the two didn't rush straight back but stopped at a local restaurant, only to find Nick Fury and Coulson already waiting.
Coulson had a cup of coffee in front of him, while Nick Fury had an untouched breakfast set.
Both had stern expressions, clearly ready to give Blake a talking-to.
Blake nonchalantly pulled up a chair and sat across from them, casually moving Nick Fury's untouched breakfast to himself.
"After sitting in the car all night, my butt's about to fall apart. Thanks for preparing breakfast for me, boss!"
Blake grinned and immediately began to eat.
Was this breakfast meant for you? If I had known you were so brazen and indifferent to others, I would have started eating it myself. Why didn't I eat first? Why?
Nick Fury turned to give Coulson a look.
Innocent Coulson was utterly confused. He's eating your breakfast, why are you looking at me?
"Ahem, boss, is there something you need?"
After all, Coulson had to face his immediate superior, so he asked stiffly.
"Go get me another breakfast, thank you!" Nick Fury said through gritted teeth.
"And get me another coffee, and one for Natasha too, thanks!" Blake quickly added.
"You've got quite an appetite. Do you even realize how much trouble you've caused?"
Having failed to make his point, Nick Fury sighed and gave up trying to keep a stern face, speaking with some resignation.
"Isn't this for our department's funding?" Blake handed over a piece of paper with two long sets of numbers on it.
"Bank account and password. There's a billion dollars in there, use it for our funding. But let me be clear, this is only for our group. Don't allocate it elsewhere. I took finance in college; I'll be keeping an eye on it!"
Blake mumbled through a mouthful of scrambled eggs.
Nick Fury couldn't believe for a second that this billion dollars was the entirety of Blake's haul from his heist.
However, it was going to be hard to get this kid to cough up more.
And besides, that wasn't the main reason Nick Fury was here today.
But Blake didn't give him a chance to ramble.
"I understand what you mean. Do my job, follow orders, got it. But that last five hundred million dollars didn't meet my expectations. There won't be a next time, I promise. Besides, I wore a mask, no one could recognize me."
His bluntness left Nick Fury at a loss for words.
After breakfast, Nick Fury, always busy, had to rush back for a meeting.
The three of them escorted him to a desert outside the town, where a Quinjet was waiting.
"Keep an eye on this guy!" Nick Fury emphasized to Coulson and Black Widow.
He turned to Blake, about to give more instructions.
Blake immediately raised two fingers and swore.
"Don't worry, I won't cause any more trouble. I swear, if I act on my own again, may I be struck by lightning."
No sooner had Blake finished speaking than the sky darkened with thick clouds, and thunder roared.
The clouds were swirling right above them like a tornado.
This sudden storm was so ominous that everyone turned their eyes to Blake.
"Why are you all looking at me? I swear I was sincere; this has nothing to do with me."
Blake hurriedly denied, waving his hands.
Unfortunately, the heavens seemed not to favor him. As soon as he finished speaking, a bolt of lightning, over a meter thick, struck down towards Blake.
These people were no strangers to danger. Instinctively, they ran a few steps and then dove to the ground at the farthest possible distance.
"Boom!"
The lightning struck like a bomb, creating a massive crater in the ground.
Everyone, including the jet, was scattered around the pit.
Blake lay at the center of the crater, and beside him was a hammer surrounded by crackling lightning!
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