"The 'carsick' Banner was set aside by Arthur, who had already spotted Natasha at the round table, with her legs crossed, looking their way.
"Wow!"
Natasha blinked and said to Banner, "So you have a weakness like motion sickness?"
"No, usually I don't get sick in any kind of transportation. But that last ride was definitely not normal... Hello, Agent Romanoff, it's been a while."
"Long time no see."
Natasha stood up to greet Banner before turning to Arthur. "The entire SHIELD is in shock. The rapid response team— everyone from the Captain to the team members— has vanished without a trace. What's terrifying is that their disappearance was completely silent. No one can even pinpoint when they all went missing."
She paused, noticing Arthur's silence, and continued, "All the surveillance footage shows them working the whole time, whether it was Rumlaw or his team. But later, we discovered that the footage was fake, and what really puzzled SHIELD was that the rapid response team members themselves created those false images."
Banner listened quietly with his arms crossed, one hand resting on his chin. When he heard this, he couldn't help but interject, "So, they... deliberately made themselves disappear?"
Natasha smiled as she replied. "That's correct but the question is, why? SHIELD has its own rules and regulations. There's no reason that would justify suddenly vanishing, no matter how you look at it."
Banner nodded. "So, someone forged the evidence and left clues pointing to them, making everyone think they were the ones who created the fake footage?"
"No, they really did make the fake footage themselves," Arthur said, glancing at Banner and giving his shoulder a pat. "When you don't know the full backstory, I bet you'll never guess what the real reason is."
"I can't guess either," Natasha admitted. "Although you were pretending to be Rumlaw, how exactly did you manage to grab them from the office and lock them up beneath our feet?"
"Beneath your feet?" Banner looked at Arthur. "Have you switched careers to become a warden?"
"Maybe being a prison warden wouldn't be so bad," Arthur waved his hand and explained the situation.
Both Natasha and Banner were a bit dazed by the story.
Banner, having the least information, still seemed confused after hearing the details.
Natasha, on the other hand, had an epiphany. "By accident, you managed to grab them all, and if you gain any useful information during the interrogation..."
"So, no time to waste," Arthur glanced at his watch. "The interrogation is all yours now."
Natasha nodded but then shook her head. "The last interrogation, with that guy Viktor, was hard enough. His mind was nearly broken by what you did. But this time, with so many people... it's going to take a lot of time."
"How about I find you a helper?" Arthur suggested, looking at Banner.
Banner, pretending everything was fine, quickly shook his head when he realized Arthur's gaze was on him. "No, no, no. I can't do it. I'm not good at this."
"It's not you I need; it's Hulk," Arthur said. "For his size and intimidation factor, Hulk might be just what we need to get the results."
"Agreed. I was nearly scared half to death last time," Natasha recalled the memories of being chased by the big green guy on the Helicarrier, which made her feel a bit uncomfortable.
"Sorry..." Banner apologized to Natasha, then turned to Arthur. "Are you sure this will work?"
"Hulk can talk now, right?"
"Probably a little."
During the last battle in New York, Hulk had spoken.
So much time had passed; there should have been some progress.
Arthur sat down at the table, quickly scribbling away. After a short while, he handed a piece of paper to Banner.
Banner began reading aloud: "I am Hulk, the vicious Hulk, cruel yet hospitable. I like humans, especially the sound of bones being crushed by teeth— feels very tasty. Hulk is hungry; come feed Hulk..."
"You're crazy!"
Before Banner could finish reading, he couldn't hold back anymore. "Goodbye!"
Arthur quickly grabbed Banner. "Calm down, calm down, it's a joke. It's an extraordinary time, so we have to use extraordinary measures. Later, when you bring Hulk out, I'll prepare some ketchup or something for his makeup. When Natasha starts the interrogation, Hulk can just pick someone up, hold them upside down, and open his mouth beneath them. Then he can tell these guys that if they don't cooperate and give up what they need to, they'll just close the door and feed them to Hulk!"
"Don't you feel any guilt saying that?" Banner said, shocked, "Hulk is a superhero."
"You're defending him now?" Arthur laughed. "It's all an act. Plus, these guys will never get a chance to talk about this; it won't affect Hulk's superhero image. As for the Hydra people, I bet they won't last long before Fury gets his hands on them."
"I think this might become a black mark in Hulk's lifelong history," Banner said. "But come to think of it, why are you interrogating them?"
"As you said before," Banner continued to ask, "the computer under Camp Lehigh contains a lot of evidence about Hydra. The testimonies from these people should be helpful, right?"
"The information is incomplete," Arthur continued. "I need more detailed and concrete information. We need to investigate the computer under Camp Lehigh and pry open their mouths. If we can get reliable, corroborated testimonies, everything will fall into place!"
"I agree," Natasha spoke up. "The reason we've spent so much time and energy tracking them, hiding and searching, is to suppress all the waves under the surface, making everything disappear quietly and without a trace."
Banner fell silent for a moment, then glanced at the 'script' Arthur had written for him. He sighed. "I'm worried Hulk won't like this."
"Just perform it, and besides, Hulk is smarter than you think." Arthur winked. "Come on, transform."
"...Now?" Banner felt a bit helpless.
"Of course, or when will you? I still need to head to Camp Lehigh later." Arthur said. "I have to keep an eye on Tony's progress. I can't just leave Natasha and Hulk alone together, right? What if Hulk gets cranky and just rips Natasha apart?"
"Mm… I suddenly feel like this plan might be a bit dangerous," Natasha blinked.
(End of Chapter)
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