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"Wait—don't tell me everyone who got called in was an intern like you?" Henry asked.
Barbara answered, "Because all the full agents were taken away by the regional director on other assignments. So that officer wanted us interns, along with some newly recruited Level-1 agents, to assist…"
She paused, frowning. "That doesn't sound right, does it?"
"Did anyone else question the order like you did?" Henry asked.
Barbara shook her head. "No. Everyone was excited to finally get a chance at fieldwork. Most of them thought that as long as they had this experience, becoming full agents would be a sure thing."
—And no one ever thought about what would happen if it failed!
At this point, Henry no longer needed to wonder whether those vans driving toward his location—packed with people in full SWAT gear—were coming for him.
The key issue was this: their equipment might intimidate ordinary criminals, but they hadn't brought any specialized gear for dealing with mutants. And they wanted to come after him with that? That was nothing short of suicide.
Even though he technically wasn't a mutant.
Was S.H.I.E.L.D. targeting him? Or was it HYDRA-infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D.? Either way, Henry couldn't see a reason for such a move.
If they wanted him gone, they should have acted long ago—not waited until he'd become the CEO of Stark Pictures. Or was this meant as a warning shot to Tony Stark?
They clearly had his file, yet they sent a group of underprepared rookies. The stench of conspiracy was overwhelming.
"Henry!" Barbara grabbed his lapels again, snapping him back to reality. "They know about this place. They could hit us any second. We need to leave now. Do you have any weapons here?"
Henry opened a cabinet. Inside were a bow and several arrows. He considered them for a moment, then ignored the hunting gear and instead picked up a gun from the upper shelf. Holding it out, he asked, "Bobby, how's your shooting?"
"Way better than yours! My instructor said I've got real talent!" Barbara said proudly.
"Good. Then you use this." Henry closed the cabinet and handed the gun to her.
Barbara took it smugly at first—but the moment it was in her hands, something felt off. She checked the slide, removed the magazine, and then stared in disbelief.
"…This is an air gun?"
"That's all I've got. It's for scaring people. Nice metal finish, right? Custom-made."
Henry went to another cabinet, pulled out two devices that looked like headsets, and clipped them onto Katie's ears.
Since this wasn't the first time, Katie resisted less than before, though she still flicked her ears, trying to shake them off.
Barbara, holding the air gun, looked utterly stunned. Unless it hit someone square in the eye, this thing wouldn't even slow down a trained adult—let alone stop one.
"You don't have a real gun?" she asked bitterly.
"Could you shoot people who almost became your coworkers?" Henry countered.
"They shot me first!" Barbara snapped.
But her anger quickly faded. She lowered her head, dejected. "They're idiots—probably tricked. But I still don't get it. Why would our superior target you? Was this really an official order, or is he compromised?"
"No point thinking about it. We won't get to question him face to face anyway."
Henry handed her the women's suit jacket he'd taken off earlier. "Put this on. We're leaving."
At the same time, Katie seemed to hear something. The tiger froze, ears pricked straight up.
Barbara, not noticing Katie's reaction, casually set the air gun aside and put on her jacket, clearly having no intention of bringing the toy with her. "Where are we going?"
"Anywhere but here." Henry grabbed Barbara's hand and pulled her toward his bedroom.
She was dragged along in confusion. When she realized they'd entered a room with a large bed, embarrassment and anger flared up at once.
This isn't the time for that!
Her face flushed crimson, completely unaware that Katie had followed right behind her into the room.
Meanwhile, in Henry's ears, a mess of footsteps was charging up toward the third floor. The attackers were stopping at every corner, carefully advancing with textbook CQB tactics.
They were disciplined enough to stay silent and communicate with hand signals—but the thunderous pounding of their boots made them impossible to miss.
Henry hoisted the mattress and hurled it out through the large bedroom window!
Glass shattered with a deafening crash. Even Barbara, who considered herself brave, instinctively covered her ears in shock.
"We're jumping," Henry said.
"Wait—jumping?! This is the third floor!" Barbara exclaimed as she realized she was being grabbed around the waist.
"Which is why I threw the mattress out first—to cushion the landing," Henry replied matter-of-factly.
"One thin mattress—is that really going to help?"
"Better than nothing," Henry grinned, pulling her closer against him.
This wasn't about taking advantage of her. If she struggled midair and he had to save her, he'd be forced to reveal his abilities—and that would be far more troublesome.
Looking down at her, Henry smiled. "Alright—clench your teeth. Don't bite your tongue."
With a sharp tiger-like shout, he leapt through the shattered window—Katie immediately following!
Two people and a tiger fell from the sky, landing precisely on the mattress Henry had thrown out earlier.
Just before impact, Henry subtly used his flight ability to slow their descent. He hit the ground first, absorbing most of the force, so Barbara wasn't hurt badly at all.
As for Katie, a three-story drop was nothing for a large feline. With four paws landing cleanly and the mattress as a buffer, it was no different from jumping down from the tallest cat tower at home.
Henry had chosen the landing spot carefully—his old Cadillac was parked right beside it.
He flung open the door, shoved Barbara into the passenger seat, then opened the back door and whistled. Katie leapt inside at once.
By the time Henry got into the driver's seat, the people guarding the vans on the street finally noticed and shouted,
"The target's escaping! The target's getting away by car!"
At that moment, the strike team upstairs was still slowly battering down the door with a breaching ram.
Henry's timing couldn't have been better—catching them at the exact moment when they were completely out of position.
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