mtl008 Chapter 2247 Jincheng comes late in autumn (37)
Chapter 2247 Jincheng comes late in autumn (37)
Chapter 2247: Late Autumn in Jincheng (Thirty-Seven)
Natasha wandered in the garden.
She wasn't really that interested in the gardens at the Rodriguez estate; she just wanted to keep Pamela at bay.
In her opinion, among the fish that might be hooked by Schiller, Pamela was the most dangerous because she was the youngest and obviously abnormally excited.
As we all know, teasing and flirting with each other are games for adults. The main reason why laws and morals restrict immature teenagers from doing so is that once they act impulsively, things will definitely develop much more tragically than those of adults.
Hot-blooded teenagers don't care about laws, morals, or even ethical restrictions. They do whatever they want, and can act crazy or vent their anger at any time. They are the most unstable, oversized time bombs.
So even though Natasha was very worried about Strange, Loki and herself, they were all adults after all. Even if something happened, it would be just like what happened between her and Schiller last time. At worst, both of them would die together.
But if Pamela really took action, things would not be so simple. This beautiful girl with a hot head obviously possessed great power. Schiller wanted to put her on the chopping block, and the noise made by the two of them might raze the entire street or even the entire city to the ground.
So Natasha keenly realized that her most important task at the moment was to defend Pamela alone.
Her idea was good and the measures she took were extremely effective, because Pamela simply could not resist such a beauty. The Black Widow's charm was in full swing, and Pamela had only one thought in her mind - to find the location of the nearest bed.
Unfortunately, I am not afraid of god-like opponents, but I am afraid of pig-like teammates. Natasha was talking to Pamela about her college life when she heard Nick's voice in the headphones.
"Thor called me again. He asked his brother to reply to his letter immediately. You should go find Loki immediately. It would be very rude if he is late."
Natasha couldn't tell Nick now that she only saw Loki's blood, because if Nick sent someone to find Loki, it would likely irritate Schiller, and if she was distracted to investigate, no one would take care of Pamela.
So she could only calmly press the micro-device on her palm to reply to Nick, asking him to stay calm. But less than two minutes later, Natasha saw Coulson peeking out from the porch.
Natasha really wanted to shake Nick's head to see how many tons of water were in it, but when she remembered that almost no one in their universe except her could realize the danger of Schiller, she knew she couldn't waste even a second scolding Nick.
Natasha smiled at Pamela and said helplessly, "My colleague is in charge of the security of this banquet. There may be some problems on his side. I have to leave for a while, no more than a minute, if you don't mind..."
"Go, I'll wait for you here. The beautiful always have privileges." Pamela said like Schiller.
Natasha turned around calmly and smiled back at Pamela, but in fact she had cursed her mother a hundred times in her heart.
"Don't come to the back garden!" Natasha said to Coulson through gritted teeth.
"What's going on there? Who is that girl? Why does she look familiar?"
"She is Pamela Isley. It doesn't matter who she is. My plan has reached a critical stage. Don't ask me what the plan is. Find a way to get rid of Nick. Oh, and help me keep an eye on it. Don't let anyone come to the garden."
Coulson was puzzled, but Natasha was always mysterious, so he didn't say anything. He watched Natasha's back as she walked into the garden, shook his head, and went to do what he was supposed to do.
As soon as Natasha returned to Pamela, she found that Pamela was looking up at the main building of the manor. She followed Pamela's line of sight and found that Schiller was talking to Stark on the balcony of Schiller's bedroom.
Looking more closely, Natasha discovered that this Stark did not seem to be the one she knew, and of course not, even though they had arrived at the manor. Before the banquet officially began, Stark had specifically asked Cobblepot for a lounge so that he could take care of Pepper personally, and he probably would not show up in front of everyone.
This Stark was wearing a more flashy colorful suit, with his hands on the balcony, and seemed to be saying something to Schiller in an intense tone.
Natasha discovered that a vine had climbed to the bottom of the balcony. It was obvious that Pamela was eavesdropping, and she was unwilling to miss this opportunity. She adjusted the shoulder straps of her skirt, and with this action, the invisible nano-eavesdropping drone flew to the side of the balcony at an extremely fast speed and stuck to the wall.
Stark stood in front with his arms outstretched on the balcony, almost blocking the entire balcony. Schiller stood behind him like a lonely figure, sinking into the shadow of the room.
"Multiple personalities? Dissociative identity disorder? How can you let me believe this absurdity? Is mental illness an excuse for you to avoid the relationship between you and me?"
"I'm afraid my professionalism doesn't allow me to do that." Schiller's voice was very low and slow, and when it came through the electronic equipment, it was faint and seemed to be sounding in the distance.
"That's your answer all along." Stark nodded and said, "Evading the topic and never answering any questions directly."
"I'm sorry," Schiller said, "but I'm still glad you were invited to this party."
Stark pursed his lips. He finally turned back and looked into Schiller's eyes and said, "Since you are so confident in your professionalism, why don't you analyze me?"
"Precisely because I feel sorry for you, I won't do that." Schiller shook his head gently and lowered his eyes. The darkness in the room made the shadow under his eyelashes even darker. The window of his soul was completely closed, not revealing any emotion.
"If I use psychoanalysis as a weapon, no one will be able to resist it. On the contrary, you will open your hearts to seek the truth from me, but when the knife pierces, it will be too late."
"Do you think I'm the kind of person who escapes from reality?" Stark was obviously very excited, and one could even see a hint of hysteria through the trembling of his voice.
"It's not me who's running away from the problem, it's you." Schiller put a hand on the door frame and looked at Stark and said, "Obviously, the biggest problem you're facing right now is not our relationship, but you're using this to blur other issues. Do you really want to keep on getting entangled?"
"It's just that the other problems just won't give me a chance to solve them." Stark snorted coldly and turned away with contempt. "They huddled together and claimed to be righteous. I didn't expect the answer you gave would be so vulgar. 'Communication is the only way to solve problems', huh?"
"I told you, you don't want to be stabbed again." Schiller stepped forward and put a hand on Stark's back, but he didn't look at him. Instead, he stared at the vines in front of the window and said, "Your blood is almost gone."
Stark seemed to have completely collapsed because of this, like a collapsed fortress, crumbling from the inside, gradually collapsing and condensing at the outer edge.
"This is all because of you." Stark held the balcony railing tightly, glaring at Schiller with gritted teeth.
Schiller didn’t say anything like you’ll always show up, he just said, “That’s why you’re invited.”
Schiller walked behind Stark, but Stark no longer had the strength to confidently turn his back to anyone. He turned around hastily, leaned back, pressed his waist tightly against the railing, and stared at Schiller's face.
The distance between them was not far, only about half a step away. Stark thought that he had made the most wrong decision in his life. He came to the door when he was weakest, and then he found that the ones who greeted him were not close friends who could understand and help him, but beasts that were much more terrifying than the troubles in his original universe.
"Tell me what happened to you first."
Stark was about to speak when Schiller added: "Of course this is not a necessary process for psychoanalysis, but I think you may need to talk, and I am willing to listen."
Stark looked away.
"I guess you can imagine that the superheroes united to deal with me. It's natural after all the disasters are over."
"The new city, which was a fusion of New York and Gotham, was reduced to ruins. Afterwards, the wizards discovered that some of the building fragments exuded an unusual power, an extremely dark and elusive power."
"SHIELD also obtained the same fragments. What's more deadly is that the Osborn Group also got the samples. This is not difficult, is it? There are experimental materials all over the floor."
"And that idiot Osborn claimed that all this was my conspiracy. SHIELD and the FBI both support his view. Congress also needs someone to be held accountable for all the disasters."
Stark took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his eyelids fluttering, as if he didn't want to remember, he said.
"Three days after the disaster, the world focused on New Town. Public sentiment was boiling with anger. I was arrested on the morning of the fourth day and charged with 162 counts, including human extermination. I did not resist."
Newtown, Special Criminal Holding Cell, FBI Headquarters, 10:00 AM.
"Tell me, how is she! Tell me!!!"
Stark grabbed the railing and roared outside. At this moment, his face was pale, his hair was messy, and his clothes were covered with scratches and dust. It was obvious that he had not had time to tidy himself up since the end of the war.
"I'm very sorry, Mr. Stark. Miss Pepper Potts suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder because of the war. The fighting scenes in the last few hours were too cruel and seriously affected her mental state."
"Where's the doctor? Where's the doctor from Stark Group?!"
"Due to the needs of the investigation, no doctor is currently able to serve the Stark Group. However, out of humanitarian considerations, SHIELD and the FBI will still allow Miss Potts to receive certain medical assistance during the investigation."
"She's injured and in a very bad condition. You bastards, take her to the hospital! You promised me!!"
"Please don't get emotional, Mr. Stark. Your trial has not yet begun. You should understand that everything you say here may become evidence against you in court. And I'm afraid not many lawyers are willing to see you right now."
Stark grabbed the railing and closed his eyes. He lowered his head somewhat dejectedly, placed his other hand on the table, slowly clenched his fist, and then said, "I want to see Captain America."
"I'm afraid not, sir. You have been diagnosed by a psychiatrist at New York Presbyterian Hospital as having a serious manipulative tendency, so you are being held in a special cell. To ensure the fairness of the trial, you are not allowed to meet or communicate with anyone other than your lawyer."
Bang! Stark slammed his fist on the table, but the guard just reminded him: "You'd better not show any violent behavior, otherwise you may be put in a stricter cell, and we will have the right to take physical and drug restraint measures against you..."
"Why don't you resist?" Schiller's question gradually brought Stark back to reality.
He was silent for a long time, and finally said, "For Pepper."
(End of this chapter)