Mario followed Coulson's directions through Miami's nighttime streets until he spotted what he was looking for, a white van parked along the ocean beach highway.
Palm trees lined both sides of the road. Even at night, the beach was filled with joggers, couples, the occasional drunk tourist stumbling through the sand.
He pulled the Bugatti in behind the van and killed the engine. Through the vehicle's windows, he could make out a figure inside.
He walked up and knocked on the passenger window. The girl inside jumped slightly and turned to look at him. She was younger than he'd expected, maybe early twenties, with dark hair and suspicious eyes that sized him up in about two seconds flat.
After a moment's hesitation, she manually cranked down the window. The old-fashioned mechanism made Mario grin.
"What do you want?"
"Didn't know cars still had manual windows," Mario said cheerfully. "Thought those went extinct in the nineties."
Skye stared at him. "...Okay?"
"I came here specifically to find you." Mario got straight to the point. "I want you to work for me. The pay will be excellent, I guarantee it."
Skye's expression shifted subtly. Her left hand slowly moved behind her back.
"You came here just for me? How do you even know who I am?"
"I really admire your hacking skills and your ability to learn," Mario said honestly. "Come work for my company. You want to understand the truth about the world, right? Whatever Rising Tide can offer you, I can match. And what they can't offer, I still can."
The moment he mentioned Rising Tide, Skye's pupils constricted and her face went pale. She was still young enough that her poker face had limits. A recent graduate, not yet the composed agent she'd become after S.H.I.E.L.D. training.
"Can we... talk somewhere else?" She glanced around nervously. "I don't want to have this conversation in public. Or you could come into my van if you prefer."
As she spoke, she hit a button on her key fob.
The sports car parked behind her van flashed its lights twice. When she spotted the Bugatti in her rearview mirror, Mario saw her throat work as she swallowed hard.
Skye wasn't materialistic by nature, but she was broke. Really, truly broke. If she actually enjoyed living in a van, wouldn't she at least upgrade to a luxury RV?
"Give me a second. I need to grab something from the back."
Mario's smile widened. He liked people who appreciated the finer things in life. Otherwise, what was the point of having money?
Skye emerged carrying a laptop and followed Mario to the Bugatti. She slid into the passenger seat, her fingers immediately tracing over the dashboard's design. When Mario started the engine, the rumble made her cheeks flush slightly.
"Let's find a restaurant," he suggested, pulling onto the highway. "I saw you eating, but that looked like gas station food. Let me buy you an actual meal."
"Okay. Thank you."
They drove along the oceanfront highway. Skye's fingers flew across her keyboard the entire time.
After a few minutes, she looked up at him. "What's your name? I can't find any information about you online. At all."
"My records have been hidden by certain interested parties," Mario said with a shrug. "Just like yours. Someone went to a lot of trouble to bury your data."
Thanks for that, S.H.I.E.L.D.
Skye didn't respond, but her typing intensified. Then her laptop emitted a sharp warning beep. Without hesitation, she slammed it shut.
"Got caught?" Mario asked innocently.
Skye shot him a look that was probably meant to be annoyed but came across more like she was pouting. It was actually kind of cute.
He found a decent-looking restaurant and parked. Once they were seated and had ordered, he drummed his fingers on the table and studied her openly.
"So. What kind of salary are you looking for?"
Skye shook her head. "Forget it. Recruiting me would be too dangerous for you."
Mario raised an eyebrow. The girl had some principles, at least. She seemed worried about dragging an "innocent" person into whatever conspiracy she'd uncovered.
"Danger is just the spice of life for me," he said with a grin. "And based on your search results, you didn't find anything about me online. That should tell you something, right?"
"Do you... have special abilities?"
"Does being rich count?"
She looked disappointed, which made Mario chuckle. "Have you met people with special abilities before?"
The moment he asked, Skye's entire demeanor changed. She launched herself across the table, laptop clutched to her chest, and dropped into the seat beside him. Then, she pulled up a video.
"Look at this one! It's obviously someone with powers, but it got deleted from the internet almost immediately. Someone doesn't want people to know about them. And here, look at this—"
She opened several videos in rapid succession, narrating each one.
Mario tried to look engaged, but internally he was dying. It was 2008, and video quality wasn't great to begin with. These clips looked like they'd been filmed on a potato, then compressed seventeen times, then filmed again off someone's monitor.
Some were so blurry that if they got any worse, people would think they were Bigfoot footage.
How did S.H.I.E.L.D. even identify these as superhuman events?
But Skye was so excited that he couldn't bring himself to rain on her parade. He watched her "presentation," nodding and making appropriate noises at the right moments.
When the waiter brought their food, he seized the opportunity to change subjects. "Let's eat first."
Then, with a smile, he added, "If you agree to join my company, I can get you some actual HD footage of people with superpowers. Hell, I'll get you Blu-ray quality."
Skye froze mid-reach for her fork, staring at him with wide eyes.
Mario studied her for a moment. Despite her conspiracy theorist tendencies and her apparent lack of social awareness, there was brilliance hiding behind those eyes. Natural talent trumped everything else.
"I promise," he said more seriously. "Join my company, and I'll show you a whole new world."
---
After dinner, Skye's curiosity and desire for truth won out over her caution. She agreed to join Mario's organization.
Mario glanced at his mini-map and felt some disappointment. Skye still showed up as a white dot.
So much for novels where the protagonist unleashes their "domineering aura" and women just throw themselves at him. Total bullshit.
He sighed internally. Maybe I should just go home, fish in the Twilight Forest, and let someone smarter deal with Thanos when he shows up.
But the thought died as quickly as it formed. The Space Stone was in his possession now. Whether he liked it or not, that made him a player in this game. He'd have to stand on the side of "justice" and deal with Thanos when the time came.
"Come on. Let me show you something interesting."
He led Skye out of the restaurant, drove back to where her van was parked, and left the Bugatti there. Then they walked toward the beach.
The wind coming off the ocean was strong, leaving a trail of footprints in the sand behind them. By this hour, the beach was mostly deserted. Occasionally a scantily-clad woman would jog past, reminding him of the NPC "beach babes" from Vice City.
"Where are we going?" Skye asked, hugging her laptop.
Part of her was curious. Part of her was worried. If Mario suddenly got weird ideas, what would she do? Should she carry pepper spray?
"I'm looking for vampires. I'm curious if that counts as a superhuman event in your book."
Skye's eyes went wide. She caught up to him, and stared at him like he'd lost his mind. "Vampires? They're just legends. If vampires were real, wouldn't they be hiding in some dark castle somewhere?"
"Nah. That's just made-up story bullshit."
Mario couldn't blame her skepticism. It was like if your friend suddenly told you they were a vampire hunter and the undead were walking around Times Square. You wouldn't believe them either, right?
But actions spoke louder than words.
Up ahead, his attention locked onto a tall blonde woman in a bikini lying on the sand. The golden glow around her and the faint scent carried on the ocean breeze made her identity obvious.
Skye didn't understand why Mario had stopped. Seeing him stare without blinking, a stupid grin spreading across his face, she felt a flash of irritation. She glanced at the woman's figure, then looked down at herself...
"Come on," Mario said, already walking toward the vampire. "I'll show you a 'new world.'"
As they got closer, the moonlight illuminated the woman's face and the curves that should probably be illegal. She was textbook gorgeous, blonde, blue-eyed, the kind of beauty that most guys considered top-tier.
When he approached, the woman gave him a cautious glance. Seeing what looked like an ordinary couple, she relaxed slightly.
He sat down next to her without asking permission. He wasn't surprised to find a vampire sunbathing at night. If she'd been out here during the day, that would've been weird.
"Hi there."
The vampire blinked, then looked past him at Skye. A playful smile curved her lips. "Hello, yourself."
"Am I interrupting your date with your girlfriend?"
As she spoke, she sat up, tucking loose strands of golden hair behind her ear. Even Skye, as a woman herself, had to admit the woman was stunning.
"Should I give you two some privacy?"
Her flirtatious attitude caught Mario off guard. He glanced at his mini-map and was surprised to see this vampire marked with a white dot. That threw him completely.
How exactly does this map classify targets? Favorability? Race? Threat level? I really need to study this system properly.
The vampire noticed Mario staring and laughed softly. She folded up the blanket beneath her and stood to leave.
This was the first time he had encountered a vampire who wasn't immediately hostile. As she turned away, he snapped out of his daze.
"Wait."
The vampire paused and looked back with a puzzled, teasing smile. "Oh? I don't really want to just watch, you know."
Mario stood up, brushed sand off his pants, and met her eyes directly. "My name is Mario Argento. I'd like to get to know you. Have you heard of me?"
The moment she heard his name, the vampire's face went even paler than usual. The playful glint vanished from her eyes, replaced by pure terror. She blurted out a title Mario had heard before:
"Butcher of the Night!"
Then, she stammered: "W-why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be in New York? Don't kill me! I'm... I'm a vegetarian! I'm not like the others!"
Mario felt a bit embarrassed about the title, but after all this time, he'd gotten used to it. The "vegetarian" claim, however, was new.
"Vegetarian? You eat people in vegetative states or something?"
The vampire waved her hands frantically. "No, no! I live on animal blood. Only when I'm really not feeling well do I buy human blood from... suppliers. I've never bitten a human! I swear!"
Behind him, Skye's jaw dropped. She leaned closer to Mario and whispered, "Is she actually a vampire?"
Mario nodded, still studying the terrified blonde. "Yeah. But apparently, she's different from the others."
A hunter's axe materialized in his hand. He gently ran his thumb along the blade's edge and smiled. It wasn't a particularly reassuring smile.
"I don't know your name yet, but I'm sure you won't mind coming to Washington with me. Will you?"
The vampire's eyes locked onto the axe. Memories of stories about the Butcher of the Night flooded her mind. She nodded rapidly, like her head was on a spring.
"I'll go! I'll go with you!"
She was terrified that even a second's hesitation would result in that axe buried in her skull.
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50 Advance Chapters!