How did he know?
How was it possible?
How did he dare?
At this moment, three question marks popped up in succession over Sunil Bakshi's head.
The development of this rhythm was all wrong.
On what basis could he possibly know about HYDRA—and even things that only the highest echelons of HYDRA were privy to?
Sunil Bakshi, a high-ranking HYDRA operative and Daniel Whitehall's right-hand man, was even the consensus choice for the second-in-command candidate within the organization. He had originally believed that HYDRA's expansion had been sufficiently secretive.
In fact, that was true.
But...
Sunil Bakshi never imagined that a routine recruitment would explode with information of this magnitude.
This Peerless Assassin knew of their existence; he even knew exactly who was in their leadership.
This was beyond incredible.
After all, just like S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA's research on the Peerless Assassin had thus far remained at the level of public perception—at most, HYDRA knew slightly more than S.H.I.E.L.D., having realized there was some connection between the assassin and the Texas orphan, Locke Broughton.
But beyond that, there was nothing.
Locke listened to the heavy breathing coming through the earpiece, the corners of his mouth curling slightly.
Ever since he learned this world had an Iron Man, he knew HYDRA was a certainty. Consequently, during his bored moments as a child, he had used his memory to categorize and reorganize lists of who was in S.H.I.E.L.D. and who was in HYDRA.
Locke hadn't originally expected to square off against S.H.I.E.L.D. so soon.
As for HYDRA?
It was somewhat within expectations.
At this point in time, HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't split yet. Since S.H.I.E.L.D. had noticed him, it was only natural that HYDRA would notice him too.
But... it's just HYDRA.
Someone who didn't know better might think HYDRA was some big deal.
He hadn't even planned on backing down from S.H.I.E.L.D. Why should he back down from HYDRA, a notorious villainous organization that had been beaten into the dust before?
Even if it was the current "S.H.I.E.L.D. + HYDRA" ultimate form—the Hydra-Shield—he wasn't going to submit.
"You haven't answered me yet."
"...What?"
"Tell me, do you also love the image that blooms at the moment a bullet passes through a forehead?"
"...Peerless Assassin, we already know about Locke Broughton."
"Care to bet?"
"..."
Locke gave a soft chuckle, his tone light: "Do you dare to bet? If you want to use Locke's life to blackmail me, go ahead and try. I guarantee I won't show up. But I will hide in the darkness—deeper than you can hide—and watch you. You will learn the price of provoking me. I will find you, and then, I'll keep you alive just so you can watch as every single head explodes in front of you."
Sunil Bakshi: "..."
Threats?
Heh.
Threats only work on saints or "good guys." For Locke, he never accepted threats.
If it's a contest of who's more wicked?
Bring it on.
After a long pause.
Somewhere else, Sunil Bakshi's expression shifted rapidly. "What do you want?"
"I don't want anything."
A brilliant smile appeared on Locke's face. "Look, I know you exist. I even know you're parasites inside S.H.I.E.L.D. But have I ever said anything? If you hadn't come looking for me this time, I wouldn't have come looking for you."
He only wanted to grind missions in peace, accumulate Achievement Points and Potential Points, buy a Divinity as soon as possible, and then become an immortal "salted fish." If possible, with his beloved woman... women?
"But..."
Locke's tone shifted sharply. With a wave of his right hand, he sent the corpses of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and the HYDRA agent into his inventory. "Every betrayal requires a price. Similarly, every scheme requires a price. Wouldn't you agree, HYDRA leader?"
Sunil Bakshi took off his glasses, his voice devoid of emotion. "State your terms!"
Right now, Locke was the knife and they were the meat.
How were they supposed to play this?
Send the Winter Soldier to assassinate him?
Heh.
To this day, they didn't even know the name or the appearance of the Peerless Assassin. Assassinate who, exactly?
Threats?
The man just said it: if you dare to threaten, then let's go all the way. Whoever flinches is a coward. HYDRA hadn't worked this hard to get this far only to throw it away. The more they had, the more cautious they had to be.
Hearing this, Locke gave an appreciative hum and nodded. "That's more like it. Admit your mistakes and take your licks. No matter who you are or how strong you are, a loss is a loss. Pay up. I'll state a condition; you can agree or object. I won't negotiate. But if you object, it means our talk is over."
Sunil Bakshi closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Speak!"
Locke's lips curled up. "Don't worry, I don't want your money. In fact, I want you to do one thing for me. Bring S.H.I.E.L.D. to Locke Broughton. Let Nick Fury know that his beloved Agent 83 disappeared at the Star Tower."
If Locke didn't say anything, there was no doubt Agent 83 would simply vanish forever. Even Nick Fury wouldn't know exactly where she had disappeared.
Because HYDRA was involved.
However... Locke had no intention of letting HYDRA clean up the mess. Besides, if HYDRA scrubbed the scene, how the hell was he supposed to get the bonus rewards for the mission requirements?
It was that same principle: the only thing that could influence a "player" was the reward. Nothing else mattered. As long as the reward was big enough, a player would dare to kill a God.
The mission required the scene to be as big as possible for higher rewards.
Then let's make it a massive scene!
Sunil Bakshi was visibly stunned. "What? What do you want us to do?"
Locke's smile widened. "You heard me. Remember, you can erase how Victoria got here, but don't erase Agent 83's trail. I want Nick Fury to know exactly where his Agent 83 vanished."
"Fine!"
Sunil Bakshi's eyes flickered. "I agree."
"Don't disappoint me. Otherwise, I happen to know the public identities of several of your HYDRA employees."
"..."
Locke finished speaking, laughed, and yanked out the earpiece. Ignoring Bakshi's final words, he crushed the device in his hand.
The Peerless Assassin's game was over.
Locke's game had only just begun.
***
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