บท 78: Chapter 78: Nick Fury Takes Action, Norman's Volunteer Purchase
Inside S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury held his phone tightly, his expression grim.
"Hill, why haven't you reported anything about the recent events with Kingpin?"
Earlier, on the phone, Kingpin's voice was filled with bitterness and rage, as if he was ready to go down with Fury. Nick Fury knew that Kingpin was still useful, so he wasn't about to let him fall just like that.
"Boss, the other day when I reported on Kingpin, you said these small-time gang disputes weren't worth reporting."
Nick Fury's face darkened even more. Although his complexion was already dark, Hill could still tell that Fury was not pleased.
"Now that Kingpin is on the verge of collapse, is it still small-time?"
Rubbing his bald head, Nick Fury thought for a moment and then said, "Call the court. Tell them to revoke the arrest warrant for Kingpin and work to suppress the impact of these events. Also, find out who's behind this. I'll handle it personally."
Hill quickly operated her tablet. "Understood, Boss."
Nick Fury remained outwardly calm, but internally, he was filled with turmoil. He couldn't figure out who could have brought down New York City's long-standing underground kingpin in just one day.
If this person could be brought over to his side... Kingpin would be a small price to pay.
---
Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, Kingpin's face was equally grim. He held his phone, unable to calm down.
Could it be that Fury wasn't behind this after all? Then who could it be? For the first time in years, Kingpin felt like he was being toyed with, utterly powerless.
Downstairs, Janie was doing her best to hold off the crowd, but with more and more reporters arriving, her pressure was mounting. She had mentally cursed Kingpin hundreds of times by now.
Just yesterday, she had warned him not to cause any more trouble, and today, he had brought the entire New York press and police force to their doorstep.
"Is Mr. Fisk directly involved in the human trafficking case?"
"Sorry, everyone, my client is not feeling well and is unable to give an interview."
"I'm very sorry."
"No comment..."
Janie tried to remain calm as she dealt with each reporter, but with so many cameras pointed at her and microphones practically shoved in her face, even her strong nerves were starting to fray.
"You all..."
Just as Janie was about to lose her temper, several reporters received phone calls and stepped away to take them. This took some of the pressure off her, allowing her to regain her composure.
As she prepared to continue dealing with the remaining reporters, more of them started getting calls. After glancing up at the building, they all packed up their cameras and left with their crews.
Not far away, even the detectives who had come to arrest Kingpin received calls. After angrily punching their car, they drove off.
Gradually, the area outside Kingpin's building was left with only a few curious bystanders.
Seeing everyone leave, Janie turned to her team of lawyers and instructed, "Stay here and keep watch. Call me immediately if anything happens."
After giving her orders, Janie headed upstairs to Kingpin's office.
Despite her simmering anger, she didn't dare vent it at Kingpin.
"Boss, what's really going on?"
Sitting back in his office chair, Kingpin gave her a calm glance before saying, "It should be fine now. Focus on handling yesterday's case."
With Nick Fury covering for him, Kingpin felt less concerned. His priority now was to use all his resources to find the person who was targeting him.
Janie wanted to ask more, but after seeing the look in Kingpin's eyes, she thought better of it.
"Understood, Boss."
With that, Janie pulled out a bottle of pills from her pocket. "These pills can help you pass any medical exams."
Kingpin gave them a dismissive glance. "Just leave them there."
He figured he wouldn't need them anymore. With S.H.I.E.L.D.'s help, all his problems would soon be resolved.
As Janie left, Kingpin picked up the bottle of pills from his desk and tossed it into the trash.
...
Outside the NYPD Headquarters.
From a nearby café, one could easily observe the entrance of the police station. Gwen sat there sipping coffee, pretending to read a newspaper.
Earlier, the station's entrance had been swarmed with reporters, but soon after, they all received phone calls and quickly left.
Watching this, Gwen was a bit puzzled.
"Red Queen, hack into that person's phone and listen to their conversation."
"Yes, Miss Gwen."
Gwen's gaze followed a young reporter who had stepped aside to take a call. Moments later, a middle-aged woman's voice came through Gwen's earpiece.
"Eddie, come back. Drop this story."
"But boss, this is a big scoop! If we can get evidence of Fisk's crimes, it'll be huge for our newspaper!"
The reporter, Eddie, sounded excited. He expected his boss to agree and let him continue the coverage.
However, the voice on the other end shouted, "Eddie Brock, I'm giving you two choices. Either you get back to the office within half an hour and start covering something else, or you can quit. Your call!"
With that, the call abruptly ended, leaving Eddie standing there in disbelief. In the end, he had no choice but to return to the office to keep his job.
Gwen eavesdropped on a few more calls and found that the conversations were all similar. The bosses were ordering their reporters to return immediately.
"Someone is using official power to suppress this story!"
Red Queen's voice echoed in Gwen's earpiece. "It seems so, Miss Gwen."
By this time, the entrance of the NYPD was completely cleared of reporters, and the usual calm had returned.
A while later, a silver car pulled up, and a few plainclothes officers rushed into the station. Gwen immediately recognized them as George's colleagues. Seeing their urgency, Gwen knew something important had happened.
"It would be great if I could sneak into the station to eavesdrop," Gwen said, a bit disappointed.
"Of course you can, Miss Gwen."
Gwen's eyes lit up. "Can we go in invisible?"
"But the light-bending material hasn't been developed yet, so invisibility isn't possible."
Hearing this, Gwen was a little let down.
"However, you can deploy mini-drones to investigate."
"Mini-drones?"
"They're in your sleeve."
Gwen quickly rolled up her sleeve to reveal the spider suit underneath. On the sleeve, there was a small black spider emblem.
"Ding!"
The abdomen of the spider emblem lit up with a tiny red glow and then seemed to come to life. It detached from the sleeve and flew into the air, resembling an insect as it made its way toward the station.
"If you want to view the footage, Miss Gwen, you'll need to put on the spider hood. A compatible headset is still in development."
Gwen quickly left her seat and went into the restroom, locking the door behind her. Through the spider hood, she saw a small window displaying footage from inside George's office. The officers who had just returned were standing in front of George.
The lead officer spoke angrily, "Boss, the mayor just called. So did the court. They're ordering us to drop the charges against Fisk and stop investigating. They claim all the criminals have been caught. No mastermind!"
George's face was clouded as he nodded. "I received their calls before you came in. It seems Fisk really has some powerful backers."
He looked at the others. "What do you all think?"
The officers exchanged glances, and one stepped forward. "I think we need to keep investigating, but we should do it quietly."
"You mean a covert investigation?" George quickly caught on.
The officer nodded. "That's our only option right now. We need to gather absolute evidence if we want to bring Fisk down."
Last night, they had worked with George to bust a human trafficking ring. The thought of those victims still haunted them, fueling their desire to see Fisk brought to justice.
At that moment, an Interpol inspector knocked on the door.
"Come in," George said.
"Sorry, Chief George, I overheard some of your conversation outside," the inspector began with an apology as he entered.
Though George didn't appreciate being eavesdropped on, he couldn't be upset since they shared the same goal.
"No problem, Inspector. What are your thoughts?"
The inspector looked at them and said, "I think your colleague is right. If we gather decisive evidence, Interpol can move in and make arrests. Even your higher-ups won't have the authority to interfere."
He then turned to George. "Today, you've seen firsthand how powerful Fisk's influence in New York is. Only by working together can we rid this city of this cancer."
With that, the inspector extended his hand.
George hesitated for a moment before shaking hands with the inspector. "No problem. Let's work together."
On the windowsill, a small metal spider transmitted the scene from the tiny camera to Gwen.
Inside the restroom, Gwen removed the spider hood and returned to her seat at the café to continue monitoring the police station. Her priority now was to stay close to George to protect him.
At Alan's Home.
On the computer screen, Alan was designing a small spider suit for Pikachu. Pikachu looked at the design on the screen, dancing with joy. "Pika... Pika..."
"Yes, I think it looks great too. I'll have Red Queen hurry up with the production. You'll have it to wear in a couple of days."
"Pika... Pika..."
Alan affectionately patted Pikachu's head as Red Queen's voice came through. "Master, all the accusations against Fisk and the journalists who came to visit have now been withdrawn."
Alan raised an eyebrow. "Can you find out who issued the orders?"
Red Queen replied, "I am investigating it. Results will be available soon."
"Don't rush it. The more hope Fisk has, the more desperate I'll make him."
"Understood, Master."
Alan then ignored the external matters and opened the game in his mind. After harvesting a batch of four-leaf clovers, he entered the room to check on Frog.
At that moment, Frog was reading at the table and, sensing Alan's presence, a small smiley face bubble appeared.
Alan smiled back. "Be careful while traveling."
Frog's little head nodded cutely. The smiley face bubble then changed to show various small icons of armor, followed by Alice, a rugged man, and finally Ash and his companions.
"Are you introducing me to your friends?" Alan asked.
Frog nodded happily.
Alan continued, "Feel free to invite your friends over to play anytime."
After preparing a bento box for Frog in the store, Alan exited the game.
Gurgle...
Just as Alan finished exiting the game, he saw Pikachu, looking guilty and rubbing its stomach. "Pika... Pika..."
Alan patted Pikachu's head. "You little glutton, wait a moment. I'll get you something to eat."
"Pikachu..."
Pikachu quickly jumped onto Alan's shoulder and followed him into the kitchen, eagerly waiting for Alan to prepare food.
Meanwhile, at Oscorp Industries.
Norman and Peter were conducting research on the monkey that had developed a second personality. A newly developed blue serum was injected into the monkey by the robotic arm. After a while, the monitoring equipment showed no significant changes in the monkey's vital signs.
Seeing no reaction from the experimental equipment, Norman removed his gloves and exited the lab, followed by Peter.
"Peter, where do you think the problem lies?"
Peter thought for a moment before replying, "I think we might be going about it the wrong way. Maybe the serum isn't activating the monkey's second personality."
Norman's eyes lit up. "Oh? What do you suggest?"
"Perhaps it's amplifying the monkey's other emotions. The monkey might not have a second personality but could become agitated at specific times."
"That's not without reason."
Norman patted Peter on the shoulder. "Good idea, but as I said, we need to speed up our research."
"It's best if we can complete human trials as soon as possible."
Peter frowned. "Dr. Norman, I don't think we're ready for human trials yet. Plus, it's hard to find volunteers for such experiments."
Norman smiled. "Don't worry. We've already found a volunteer."
"As long as the new serum doesn't continue to show side effects in the monkey, we can proceed with human trials."
Peter looked at Norman with curiosity. "Where did the human trial volunteers come from?"
Norman glanced at Peter and, not intending to hide anything further, whispered, "They were purchased..."
!
...
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