"I can't believe you just dealt with Kingpin," Punisher said, following Shiller. "But those Italians were indeed his strongest opponents during his rise. Without wiping them out completely, Kingpin will never get a good night's sleep."
"It's a pity that Jigsaw got away. But it's okay, he'll end up dying by my hand sooner or later..."
Punisher walked to the car, opened the door, and saw a pair of terrified eyes on a scar-riddled face in the back seat.
Jigsaw was tied up with his mouth sealed, tossed on the back seat of the car. He had been shot twice, once in the chest and once in the abdomen, but both seemed to have been treated to stop the bleeding, and his life wasn't in danger, though he was clearly terrified.
Bruce leaned over from the passenger seat and shook the gun in his hand, saying, "Thanks for the gun."
"What did you do?" Punisher asked, looking at him, while Shiller was already seated in the driver's seat.
"Just like you said, aim and pull the trigger."
Punisher gave him a deep look.
"Head to my base," he said, "There's not enough room at your place to hold another living person. I still have questions for him."
Shiller turned the car in the direction Punisher pointed, quickly arriving at an underground bunker. The space was very spacious after driving in. From the outer hall, inside was a hemispherical space filled with various worktables and weapon racks.
"This is awesome," Bruce said as he looked around.
Punisher dragged Jigsaw along, turned and said to them, "Take whatever you want. I'll likely be with this guy all night."
"Thanks for your base," Shiller said, placing the sniper rifle on the workbench, evidently intending to make some adjustments. Punisher took Jigsaw to another room at the back, and soon the sound of low screams could be heard.
Bruce glanced back in that direction, then asked, "What's their grudge?"
"Jigsaw killed his wife and child," Shiller said while adjusting the parts of the sniper rifle, "But that guy is just a killer, the real behind-the-scenes manipulator is someone else. He's probably trying to get the mastermind's identity out of him."
Bruce sighed, saying, "What about Ultron? Is there any new progress concerning him?"
"Do you remember Simon Williams?"
"You mean that poor guy who got caught for experiments?"
"He's not a poor guy; in other universes, he has a name and reputation," Shiller paused his fingers for a moment and then said, "Normally, he's known as Wonder Man."
"He's a superhero? How did he end up imprisoned?"
"Without Ultron, he would indeed be a superhero, even one of the creators of Vision. But because of multiverse interference with this universe's progress, I'm unsure if Simon is still alive."
Bruce heard the underlying meaning in his words and said, "You're suggesting that without Ultron, Simon would have become Wonder Man after this incident?"
"Yes. Most universes see the birth of Wonder Man this way. Simon Williams was bailed out of prison by Hydra, becoming their experimental subject, and in a not-so-successful transformation, lost his body, becoming ionic life."
"And now this body has been taken by Ultron."
"Yes, the current Ultron is a fusion of Ultron and Wonder Man. And it seems that Wonder Man Simon's consciousness may no longer exist, leaving only Ultron. But to find out for sure, we'll probably have to visit the lab."
After taking a night of rest, Shiller learned of Kingpin's new tactics from the morning news played through a recorder at the Punisher's base. He sent people to attack the Manfredi family's district, sparking a massive firefight on Long Island, where hundreds of police cars and helicopters encircled the area tightly.
Shiller checked on Google Maps, finding that the place Kingpin surrounded was only the Manfredi family's headquarters, quite far from the Norton Experimental Science Institute's lab, which meant their chance had come.
Shiller quickly grabbed his gear and shouted towards another door, "Punisher, time to go."
Punisher emerged from the room, drenched in a strong scent of blood, yet Shiller and Bruce barely cast him a glance. It wasn't until the three were in the car together that Shiller asked, "Any findings?"
"None, the real mastermind is cunning and never showed his face to that fool. Looks like I'll have to try harder."
Shiller didn't ask further, falling silent. Punisher suddenly spoke, "Don't you think I'm cruel?"
"I'm not a superhero," Shiller said, "If I advised you against interrogation, it would only be because these methods wouldn't yield what you want."
"But you didn't advise against it."
"Because I'm unaware of your grievances," Shiller said, "I don't know what you want to ask, nor whether he has the answers you're seeking, so I have no reason to stop you."
"Sounds even more ruthless than me," Punisher said, "Compared to what he did to me, what I did to him is nothing."
"Then I have numerous reasons to dissuade you," Bruce began, "First of all, judging by the smell of blood on you, you've inflicted a lot of open wounds on him, causing significant blood loss, which might lead to him going into shock, or even death."
"Although the two shots I gave him avoided vital areas, the bullets remain inside him, which could cause severe infection, rapidly increasing his body temperature, leading to death from high fever caused by the infection."
"If you think he still has some valuable information in his mind, then you'd better treat his wounds before leaving, as otherwise, he might be dead by the time we return."
The Punisher shook his head and said: "He isn't someone steadfast; I haven't even done much to him, and he's already told me everything he knows. So whether he lives or dies doesn't matter."
Then the Punisher looked at Bruce and said: "You sound like you have a professional medical background."
"Not professional, just self-taught." Bruce turned his head back.
The car soon drove onto Long Island. Due to the large-scale blockade and search, it was a bit congested here. Luckily, Norton Experimental Science was located on the edge of Long Island, in a remote area, where police rarely visited, making it an excellent place for conducting illegal experiments.
Shiller parked the car in front of a white, low building. The sign at the entrance had clearly been changed recently, indicating that the place had a new owner.
The Punisher watched Shiller drive the car toward the entrance, intending to stop him, but he could see that this strange killer wasn't the type to be overly aggressive; he preferred to solve problems non-violently, always firing the crucial shot.
When the car reached the entrance, Shiller took out a credential from his pocket and handed it over. The guard's eyes widened with surprise upon seeing the credential, and he touched the embossed seal, finding it was flawless, then said: "Sorry, Mister Agent, what are you here for?"
"Of course, to investigate. Someone reported that you are conducting illegal experiments here, and I'm sent to investigate. If you don't believe me, just call to confirm, but don't keep me waiting."
The guard hurriedly called the building's Manager, with some tension in his tone. He said: "FBI, the credential is legit, should I let them in?"
Soon, the barrier at the entrance lifted. Just out of the guard's sight, the Punisher asked: "Credential is legit? Have you killed a cop?"
"That guard is an old hand, the replaced names and photos wouldn't fool him." Shiller put the credential back in his pocket, drove to the parking lot, and got out.
He walked quickly toward the building, running into a middle-aged man in a suit, hurrying out with a group of people.
Shiller unapologetically walked up to them and flashed his credential: "FBI, Detective Rodriguez."
"Hello, I'm Frio, Manager of the Norton Experimental Science project group. May I ask if you have a search warrant?"
"No, I'm not here to search today, otherwise I wouldn't have brought only two people." Shiller rolled his eyes impatiently, "Let's go to your office and talk."
Frio took Shiller to his office. Shiller sighed and said: "Where's Zemo? Have him come see me."
Frio was obviously taken aback. Shiller seemed to lose patience, raising his voice: "Have Baron Zemo come see me! He messed things up, and I'm here to clean up his mess, yet he's hiding to avoid seeing me?! Damn it!"
Frio quickly realized something and hastily picked up the phone beside him, speaking a few words into it. Soon, footsteps were heard outside, and a man wearing a black and red striped head cover entered. As his face was not visible, it couldn't be determined whether he was the first generation or the second, but Shiller didn't care.
He simply tossed the credential onto the desk and said: "What game are you playing? The FBI is onto you, and you haven't heard a thing?!"
His commanding words caught Baron Zemo off guard. He looked Shiller up and down, realizing he didn't know him, but since Shiller uttered his name, it showed he knew this project was his enterprise, and he had the FBI credential; plus, the guard confirmed his high status in the FBI—where did this person pop up from?
"What's your game, Heinrich Zemo!" Shiller practically shouted, "When you left Germany, I told you not to give me any trouble!"
Upon hearing the name "Heinrich," Baron Zemo seemed finally to comprehend. He said: "Are you a friend of old Zemo?"
"Old Zemo?" Shiller paused and said, "You're not him? Then what are you? Son or nephew? Never mind. I'm here to tell you, you've been targeted."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You're half as cunning as old Zemo," Shiller scoffed, "Don't understand? I'll spell it out for you. They know what you're doing under the guise of Norton Experimental Science, should I be more specific? Was the Long Island blackout really caused by Electro?"
Baron Zemo's brows gradually furrowed. Shiller stepped forward again, looking at him: "Was Dr. Pym's disappearance indeed orchestrated by Doctor Strange?"
Baron Zemo was clearly flustered; he stepped back and said: "How do you know?! No, they can't possibly find out, isn't the FBI just a bunch of donut-eating, coffee-drinking trash?!"
"Great, then wait till they come for you, and explain to the donuts." Shiller grabbed the credential from the table and turned toward the exit.
"Wait!" Baron Zemo called after him, "Since you're here, we can collaborate, just like you worked with my father. Tell me who uncovered all this and when they'll seek me out."
Shiller turned and looked at him: "So you're still worried about the FBI? You damn fool! Do you think the Avengers will let you off the hook? They're about to track you down!"
As his words fell, the roar of Mecha engines came from above the lab. Baron Zemo looked up in horror: "Iron Man!"
Meanwhile, Shiller silently turned off his phone screen. The Punisher noticed that, just before the screen went dark, a message had been sent to a contact named "Spider Man."