Chapter 753 Maybe It's a Coincidence (Part 1)

"Where is Natasha Romanoff?"

Faced with such questions, even Clint Barton, who knew her best, could only shake his head.

The last communication he'd received from Romanov indicated that she needed to attend to some private business, and Clint was no longer surprised by Natasha's elusive behavior. This time, however, she disappeared for an unprecedentedly long time, so that when the Avengers tracked down clues about Hydra, she still hadn't returned. Steve Rogers first asked Agent Hill, and then Clint Barton, but they didn't get an accurate answer. It seemed that Natasha Romanov just disappeared.

"If she doesn't want people to find her, it means there is something she doesn't want us to know." Clint shrugged. "If she needs help, then she will find a way to contact us, or leave a clue. I don't think she will fall into a worse situation than being captured by Ultron. I know her. She has faced many difficulties, but she can solve them without exception."

"I couldn't have had more optimistic thoughts, Clint."

The information network established by the former S.H.I.E.L.D. was inherited by the Avengers, and Agent Hill played a huge role in tracking down Hydra's clues. Rogers knew that it would be impossible for him to find what he wanted in the vast documents. Only the top intelligence analysts from S.H.I.E.L.D. could capture the slippery slime left by Hydra in the dark. They were one of the most precious legacies after the destruction of S.H.I.E.L.D. carried by Maria Hill, an information blade created by countless retired agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Especially when we've just tracked down Hydra." Captain Rogers sighed, "We need her now."

"In fact, we are already discussing retirement plans, Captain." Clinton said softly, for fear that what he said would set off an irresistible tsunami. He explained in a panic, and then said, "I know we are both good agents, but Xiaona and I are just ordinary people, and we will retire sooner or later. I have a family, and Xiaona..."

"I know that I have seen my comrades who fought side by side with me retire, and I will not force you to complete your work. Because of this, the Avengers will absorb newcomers." Steve Rogers said with a smile, "Sam has adapted very well in the base, and Pietro's ability and information processing speed are far beyond ordinary people. I believe we can remove the cancer of Hydra from this world. It won't take long. Everything will be better, including your retirement plan."

"Hopefully." Clint shrugged resolutely, and sank back on the leather sofa.

He was relieved that Captain Rogers hadn't vetoed his idea, and all he wanted now was a cold beer. Luckily, the freezer in the Avengers lobby is always full. After Pietro showed himself at a party how he emptied the fridge in under a minute and slammed it like a rock on the couch, Tony Stark got the back office to fill up the fridge more often. Clint has always had some thoughts about Pietro, and he thinks the Avengers should let Maximov go to school like his blood relatives—even though Pietro has a feud with Hydra, he should still study first. This is the responsibility that their elders should take to the young man, instead of letting him stay in the base for training or participate in the operation against Hydra.

However, this proposal was vetoed by Pietro himself, and Tony Stark believed that Pietro should do what he wanted. Stark believes that Salomon has already taught Pietro science and technology. If he does not want to flex his muscles on the academic road, the knowledge he now has is enough to use.

However, Tony Stark still agreed with some of Clint's statements, especially after he learned of Wanda Maximoff's current academic progress through Natasha Romanoff's news channel. Out of a certain competitive mentality, he promised to send Pietro to a business school after the end of the mission to wipe out Hydra, at least to obtain an MBA degree that can hold a management position in the Stark Group.

"Will Stark participate in this operation?" Thinking of this, Clint couldn't help asking, "Is he still as enthusiastic about this time as ever?"

"No, he still has things to do." Steve Rogers shook his head. "Congress has been inquiring about the Avengers one after another. The Supreme Court seems to have moved. He needs to bring his lobby group...I think Sam and Pietro are enough to deal with the next work. There is no need for Stark to participate."

"We still have visions."

"Ah, Vision! He is our intelligence support. And I don't think a few mercenaries need Vision to play, not to mention the recent attitudes of various countries towards artificial intelligence..." Steve Rogers' eyes flickered, hesitating whether to continue. Vision is a big trouble. Sixteen intelligence agencies in the United States want to use the power of Vision to invade the network and collect information. However, Stark refused all of them, which made the US government even more displeased with the Avengers.

Agent Hill, who suddenly walked into the living room, attracted all the attention, and Rogers breathed a sigh of relief. He really doesn't want to transfer the pressure he bears to his players. He believes that he belongs to the leadership and must conceal some bad news that will have a bad impact on the players' psychology.

According to his experience during the war, for those leading soldiers who were promoted to officers on the front line, in addition to giving more combat information, the command method given by their superiors was the principle of "support is coming"-no matter how bad the news on the front line was, the officer had to say "support is coming, if you idiots don't want to die, you better hold on!".

Clint raised his eyebrows and asked why Agent Hill suddenly broke into here.

"Langley was attacked." Although Maria Hill tried her best to maintain a serious expression, it was always inevitable to gloat over the suffering of her old opponent. "The identity of the attacking party is unknown."

"Hydra?"

"The intelligence analyst gave this possibility." Agent Hill nodded, "It is possible that the recent pressing of the Avengers led to this behavior."

"Need help?" Clint asked.

"I think this is impossible. Stark is in Washington, but his application for assistance was rejected. The CIA absolutely does not allow anyone else to access their server room, especially the high-tech guys like Stark. This attack is comparable to the attack on the MI6 headquarters, but Langley suffered even greater losses. The attackers were filmed on the scene fleeing the scene in a modified Quin-jet fighter jet, which can almost prove to be the actions of the Hydra remnants lurking in S.H.I.E.L.D." Any schadenfreude she had left was gone in the face of the news she knew.

"It was a massacre," she said. "It was a fucking massacre. A lot of CIA agents died, including a director. No one mourned them though."

Two days later, Victoria Hand handed the file to a hooded man. It was one of the dank, trash-strewn alleyways of Clinton, where the fetid air hung over every puddle. She came here to meet this man, her mission target. "Your former boss, William, is dead. He's your target, isn't he?"

"What do you know." Frank Castel grinned, "Why did you kill him?"

"I'm sorry, it's not a happy event, but I can guarantee it's a coincidence. Our agents made a small mistake while stealing information, and we had to send more agents to rescue. Your old boss in Afghanistan, William, who ordered the killing of the DHS informant, just got promoted, and he happened to be in the way."

"I do not believe."

Ask for a ticket!