When Hawk appeared inside the tent, his eyes immediately fell on Alexander Pierce, scrutinizing him.
Hair gray but neatly combed.
A wise face, softened by kind eyes.
A carefully tailored dark suit, glasses perched on his nose—he looked every bit the gentleman politician, calm and sincere.
But…
It was all a façade.
Beneath that calm mask lay cruelty, ruthlessness, and a Hydra leader who would use any means necessary to reach his ends.
A joke, really.
One of the Security Council's directors was, in fact, Hydra's core leader.
Still, Hawk wasn't here for that.
Or maybe he was.
Because when he'd been ready to head home, something came to mind—so instead of leaving, he came to see Alexander Pierce, the Hydra overlord, not the Security Council director.
Pierce's thoughts spun quickly as Hawk appeared out of nowhere. Cutting his comm link, he rose smoothly from his chair, circled the desk, and extended his hand with a gentle smile.
"Mr. Phoenix."
"Director Pierce."
Hawk smiled too, shaking his hand—then got straight to the point.
"Anna still hasn't returned from her vacation?"
"Anna?"
Pierce's heart skipped at the name. But he was an old politician, a Hydra leader who had worn masks his whole life. His face showed only mild confusion.
Repeating the name, he even added a puzzled look.
Hawk wasn't fooled, nor did he care. He didn't expect Pierce to drop the act and confess.
He wasn't here to expose Hydra.
He had his own business.
Anna.
He had tried calling her several times recently, but every time the phone rang, nobody answered.
So, Hawk's voice stayed steady as he looked at Pierce.
"Yes, Anna. My friend. Works for your organization. What's with your company's vacations—half a year off and still no return?"
"…."
Pierce hesitated, then excused himself, went to the entrance, told his assistant to guard the tent, and came back with a look of surprise.
"Anna's leave ended long ago. She was reassigned to the Island Nation just before Christmas. She didn't tell you?"
"The Island Nation?"
Hawk raised a brow, shook his head.
"No."
"Ah—my apologies. In that case, I'll arrange—"
"I don't want that."
Hawk cut him off coldly. "My friend is Anna. No substitutes."
Pierce's mouth opened, but Hawk smiled faintly.
"Since you say she's in the Island Nation, call her."
"Of course."
Pierce nodded without hesitation, walked to the desk, and picked up the phone.
Hawk stood silently, senses wide open, watching every detail as Pierce dialed.
The line connected.
"Moshi moshi…" came a woman's voice in Japanese.
Pierce spoke, his tone lower than before—different, yet fitting his role.
Soon, footsteps, then a familiar voice answered: "Sir?"
It was Anna.
Pierce handed the phone to Hawk.
"Anna."
"Hawk?" Her voice carried surprise, joy, and confusion.
Hawk smiled. "You're in the Island Nation now?"
"Yes. Got promoted. Running a base here. All thanks to you."
"Me?"
"Of course. You told me to ask the bosses for a raise and promotion, remember?"
"…Right." Hawk chuckled, recalling it. He glanced at Pierce. "Much appreciated."
Pierce simply smiled warmly and waved it off.
But Hawk pressed on.
"Why didn't you tell me you were transferred? And why couldn't I reach you by phone?"
"It was last minute—I didn't bring much with me. And the phone… impossible you couldn't reach me. Wait—ah, right! I emailed you that I'd changed my number. Didn't you get it?"
"Email?"
"Yes, around Christmas."
"…."
Hawk pulled out his phone, checked his inbox.
There it was. Sandwiched between spam and promos, marked as read.
He had no memory of opening it.
"Damn. Maybe I skimmed it while rushing off to Texas to find the Four Demon Lords, then forgot…"
He tapped his chin, but Anna's voice brought him back.
"Did you find it? I definitely sent it—I didn't want to disturb your holiday."
Hawk pocketed the phone, smiling. "Anna, we're friends. You can call me anytime."
"…My mistake."
She admitted it simply. "Tell you what—I'll be in New York in fifteen days. How about afternoon tea as an apology?"
Hawk laughed. "Deal. I'll hold you to that."
Anna giggled, then asked, "By the way, why were you looking for me? I could recommend someone if—"
"No need," Hawk interrupted. "It can wait until you're back."
The Mind Stone wasn't like the Reality Stone. That one had a narrow time window—miss it, and it would've gone to Malekith or the Collector.
But the Mind Stone had no such limits.
Now, or half a month later—it made no difference.
Besides…
It had been too long. He missed his friend. Meeting up over tea sounded nice.
At first, he'd feared something bad had happened to her. But then he remembered—Anna hadn't shown up in his Underworld.
He'd already arranged with Mephisto: anyone he knew would never go to Hell, only the Underworld.
So if she had died, she would've appeared in his realm.
She hadn't. Meaning she was alive.
Now, hearing her voice, all was well.
"Alright," Anna agreed cheerfully. "Fifteen days. See you in New York."
"Good. I'll let you go for now—take care."
"Okay…"
Hawk hung up and handed the phone back to Pierce.
"Thanks for that."
"My pleasure. I'm glad Anna is your friend."
"Then I'll be on my way."
"Safe travels."
Pierce said nothing more. Wrong place, wrong time.
Hawk didn't care. He'd gotten what he came for.
He vanished, reappearing high above, red light streaking toward New York.
Outside the tent, Pierce watched the crimson streak fade, then turned back inside.
And his face darkened.
Pitch black—
Terrifying.
…
(End of Chapter)
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