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Hawk stood behind the desk, looking at the photograph in his hand, then at the woman who'd just walked through the door—as if she'd stepped straight out of the picture.
Madame HYDRA—Ophelia Sarkissian—stared back at the man who'd somehow appeared in her office without warning, now standing behind her desk, holding a photograph of her and Anna.
"..." Their eyes met.
The instant Ophelia locked eyes with Hawk—those deep blue eyes that seemed to contain entire galaxies of stars—she felt like she'd been transported into an unfamiliar universe.
Isolated.
Cold.
Bone-chilling.
But she recovered quickly.
Without showing any emotion, she closed the office door behind her, then stood perfectly still, meeting Hawk's gaze head-on.
Hawk glanced down at the photograph in his hand—the woman standing beside Anna—then looked back at the woman in front of him. Finally, he set the photo back down in its original position.
"Your name."
"...Ophelia."
Ophelia blinked, then answered quickly. Her voice wasn't the seductive, alluring tone she'd used when speaking with Alexander earlier. Instead, it was calm, almost soothing—the kind of voice meant to put someone at ease.
After placing the photograph back exactly where it had been, Hawk listened to Ophelia's self-introduction and raised an eyebrow. He slipped his hands into his pockets and looked at her again—standing ramrod straight near the door—as if confirming something.
"Madame HYDRA?"
"...Yes."
Ophelia nodded again.
Hawk let out a dry laugh.
Her name was Ophelia.
She was HYDRA.
And she had that distinctive emerald-green hair—the color of bamboo leaves.
The only person who matched all three of those details was the infamous Viper—Madame HYDRA herself—the woman who'd famously toyed with the mutant Wolverine like he was a puppet on strings.
So yeah.
He'd guessed right.
The only difference was that this world didn't have mutants. No Wolverine. At least not in this prime universe.
But this Ophelia standing in front of him...
She was definitely a mutant. Or more accurately, an Inhuman.
Hawk's gaze swept over Ophelia, and in an instant, he sensed the strange energy fluctuations hidden beneath that dark green uniform.
Legend had it that Viper's kiss contained deadly poison—one kiss could turn the indestructible Wolverine from a hardened warrior into a helpless mess.
He wondered if that was actually true.
But that wasn't why he was here.
Hawk's attention returned to the photograph he'd just set back on the desk.
"What's your relationship with Anna?"
"Friends."
Ophelia, still standing by the door, seemed to think of something. She looked at Hawk and added another line.
"Very close friends."
"Is that so?"
Hawk looked at Ophelia, watching the forced smile spread across her face, then let out a cold chuckle. "I'm going to verify that. You'd better not be lying."
With that—
He completely flipped the script. As if he were the owner of this office and Ophelia—standing by the door—were a guest he'd invited, he gestured toward the sofa positioned in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking what was supposedly the most expensive real estate in all of Asia.
"Sit."
"...Thank you."
Ophelia let out an internal sigh of relief. She thanked him quietly, then—like a nervous guest—walked over to the sofa in her heels. She smoothed her skirt, sat down facing Hawk, and held herself rigidly upright.
Hawk walked over as well, but he didn't sit on the couch. Instead, he moved to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the so-called most expensive land in Asia.
Ophelia, seated on the sofa, didn't dare move a muscle.
Hawk's voice was soft, almost contemplative.
"When I was flying here, I thought about just throwing a single punch and turning this place into the same kind of blank slate I left Wakanda."
"White as snow. Clean. Simple."
"But—"
As he spoke, Hawk turned around and finally sat down on the sofa across from Ophelia. "After I landed, I watched a fire burn. Helped calm me down a bit. And just now, I saw that photograph of you and Anna. So I'm only going to ask you one question. Were you the one who pretended to be Anna and called me?"
Anna wasn't in Japan.
Hawk had confirmed that the moment he'd landed in Japan. His Sixth Sense had instantly spread out, blanketing the entire main island, and he hadn't detected her presence anywhere.
That was why he'd called Sharon to get the exact location of SHIELD's Japan branch.
But at the time, he still couldn't be completely certain.
What if Anna had just left the island temporarily? Gone somewhere else?
But now, the moment Ophelia had walked into her office and seen him, her body had gone stiff. That reaction confirmed everything.
The "Anna" who'd called him at the New York SHIELD branch wasn't the real Anna.
Which raised the question—
Where was Anna??
It couldn't be that the "Anna" who'd called him at the New York branch was fake and the "Anna" who'd contacted him outside Wakanda—telling him she'd been promoted and transferred to Japan—was also fake.
If that was the case...
HYDRA thought they could launch a second uprising?
Not a chance in hell.
Ophelia, sitting across from him, heard his question and felt the endless killing intent radiating from Hawk. She shivered violently, then quickly shook her head.
"It wasn't me, Mr. Phoenix."
"Really?"
Hawk's gaze was piercing as he stared at Ophelia. "Then who burned down the Yasukuni Shrine? And don't tell me Anna called and asked you to do it as a favor."
"No."
"It was Alexander Pierce."
Ophelia didn't hesitate for even a second. She immediately sold out Alexander Pierce—the man who'd called her just a few hours ago asking for help.
Sure, Alexander had promised her a favor in return.
But—
What good was a favor if she was dead?
Ophelia knew perfectly well that the only reason she was still alive right now wasn't because Hawk didn't want to kill her. It was solely because there was a photograph of her and Anna sitting on her desk.
That was the only reason she was still breathing and able to have this conversation.
But if she chose to hide the truth?
Ophelia had zero doubt that in the next second, the entire Ginza district would become exactly what Hawk had just described—white as snow, clean as a blank slate.
Hawk listened as Ophelia gave him the name, his expression completely neutral.
"Alexander Pierce?"
"Yes."
Ophelia nodded frantically, then—without holding anything back—recounted every detail of the phone call Alexander Pierce had made to her a few hours ago.
Hawk had already suspected Alexander Pierce the moment he'd confirmed that the "Anna" who'd called him at the New York SHIELD branch wasn't the real Anna.
Ophelia's testimony just confirmed it.
But—
"Last time, when I was outside Wakanda, Alexander Pierce contacted Anna. She told me she'd been promoted and transferred to Japan to run operations here."
"No."
Ophelia shook her head decisively, looking at Hawk. "Japan is my territory. Anna is my friend. If she wanted to visit and vacation here, I'd welcome her with open arms. But she works under Alexander Pierce. He and I are just business partners. That's it."
Hawk smiled.
But that smile, from Ophelia's perspective, was utterly terrifying. It looked like Hawk was about to devour someone whole.
Hawk quickly suppressed the towering inferno that had erupted in his chest after hearing Ophelia's answer. He looked at her again.
"Then where is Anna?"
"I don't know."
Ophelia was completely honest. "Anna and I haven't been in contact for a long time."
Hawk raised an eyebrow.
"You said you and Anna were close friends. You haven't been in touch for that long, and you're not curious?"
"I asked."
"And...?"
"Alexander said Anna was on an assignment. So I didn't push it. Like I said, Alexander and I are just business partners."
"Is that so?"
Hawk studied Ophelia, who didn't appear to be lying, and nodded thoughtfully. "Then when was the last time you actually spoke with Anna?"
Ophelia frowned, meeting Hawk's intense gaze. She thought carefully, then looked back at him.
"Mid-July last year."
"July?"
"Yes."
Hawk listened to the timeline Ophelia provided and remembered that he'd asked Anna to keep an eye out for when Thor's girlfriend, Jane Foster, arrived in London.
Right.
He'd also realized after the Battle of London that he couldn't reach Anna by phone anymore.
So Anna had been missing—or imprisoned—since last July?
Hawk's mind raced.
The reason he was certain Anna wasn't dead was actually pretty simple.
He hadn't seen her soul in his Underworld.
Don't forget—
Hawk had made an agreement with Mephisto. His friends, when they died, wouldn't go to Hell. Their souls would go to his Underworld.
So—
Was she missing? Or imprisoned?
Hawk's thoughts churned.
The next second, he let out a cold laugh.
Why was he overthinking this? He'd just go ask Alexander Pierce directly.
Hawk stood up from the sofa, ready to head to Washington and crash the party.
But just as he was about to leave, he noticed Ophelia—who'd snapped back to attention the moment he stood and had quickly risen to her feet as well.
Hawk stopped. He turned around, his gaze falling on Ophelia once more.
"You'd better really be Anna's friend."
"I swear it."
Ophelia's voice was firm as she made her vow.
Hawk stared at her for several seconds, then looked away.
"Then you'd better pray that when I find Anna, her answer matches yours."
"Because if it doesn't, you'll die a worse death than Alexander Pierce."
With that—
Hawk's form vanished from the office in an instant. When he reappeared, he was thousands of feet in the air. A sonic boom echoed across the sky as he transformed into a streak of light, shooting toward Washington D.C. at blinding speed.
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