I Am An Assassin, Not A Nanny

Of course.

Why Victoria Knowles was a Hydra operative, and why Hydra placed the order, had nothing to do with Lake. He always followed his own principles when selecting targets.

Whether the order fee was high, whether it was in New York, whether the target was a bad person, and whether he was free.

As long as these four conditions were met, Lake wouldn’t inquire about anything else.

He was an assassin, not a nanny.

And…

Since this person had already been apprehended by that S.H.I.E.L.D. that didn’t even deserve a name, how did David find out?

Did David have an informant within S.H.I.E.L.D.?

Lake looked up, his gaze falling on David’s office next door, thinking to himself.

Evening.

The Continental Hotel.

Lake waited for List, who, for once, was not late. Last time, he was late due to traffic, which was understandable in New York. If he was late again this time, Lake felt he would have to re-evaluate whether Hydra’s respect for him was merely superficial.

Punctuality was the most basic form of respect.

"Good evening, Mr. Black King."

"Good evening."

Lake shook hands with List, invited him to sit, and then got straight to the point: "Victoria Knowles has been apprehended by an international law enforcement agency, and I don’t take orders outside of New York."

List replied, "Please rest assured, Mr. Black King, we are fully confident that the target will appear in New York within a week."

List didn’t inquire about Lake’s sources of information.

He already knew.

Or rather.

When Lake was retrieving the information on their end, Hydra already knew. The reason was the same as Lake’s guess: David’s informant was within S.H.I.E.L.D., and since S.H.I.E.L.D. knew, Hydra naturally knew as well.

Moreover…

Both S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra had formed a preliminary hypothesis about the relationship between the Black King and Lake. Of course, Hydra’s hypothesis was more extensive than S.H.I.E.L.D.’s.

Because the Black King had mentioned that Lake had saved his life, it wasn’t difficult to deduce the nature of their relationship, considering one was an assassin and the other an agent.

A cooperative relationship.

The Black King, operating within the criminal underworld, accepted missions and then obtained intelligence through Lake, who operated in the open. It was a win-win cooperation: Lake solved cases, and the Black King got paid.

Although this kind of relationship felt somewhat strange.

But…

Neither Hydra nor S.H.I.E.L.D. could find any loopholes to disprove this theory. After deducing this relationship, they could only silently acknowledge it as a clever maneuver and nothing more.

Lake nodded upon hearing List’s resolute assurance.

As long as she appeared in New York, that was fine.

Lake stood up, ready to leave, but then he suddenly thought, since he was already here, he sat back down and looked at List with some curiosity: "Just asking, if you don’t want to answer, that’s fine. Is this Victoria Knowles one of yours?"

List immediately replied, "No."

She should have been.

As Agent NO.1 of the Agent Academy, Victoria Knowles was not only favored by Nick Fury but also by Hydra. In fact, Victoria Knowles’s defection from the Agent Academy was secretly orchestrated by Hydra.

Originally, Hydra had planned to recruit Victoria Knowles into their ranks at an opportune moment. However, S.H.I.E.L.D., represented by Nick Fury, still seemed to have a soft spot for Victoria Knowles, even after she became an arms smuggler, hoping she would one day see the error of her ways.

Over the years, S.H.I.E.L.D. had apprehended Victoria Knowles more than once or twice. Unfortunately, they were always reluctant to kill her, allowing her to escape many times.

Watching S.H.I.E.L.D., represented by Nick Fury, relentlessly pursue Victoria Knowles, Hydra considered that in such a situation, there was no good window for recruitment. Moreover, through years of this cat-and-mouse game, Hydra vaguely felt that a rather peculiar relationship had developed between Victoria Knowles and Nick Fury.

Therefore.

After deliberation, Hydra decided that rather than let S.H.I.E.L.D. gain such a top agent and become a significant asset, it would be better to eliminate her now, leaving no opportunity for S.H.I.E.L.D.

Especially after Nick Fury temporarily left S.H.I.E.L.D. and returned to the Agent Academy, they directly restarted the plan to capture Knowles, and this time, they actually succeeded in capturing her alive.

Coincidentally.

At this time, Lake’s alter ego, the Black King, appeared in Hydra’s sights. They needed to reconcile with Lake and also had other ulterior motives, such as getting the Black King to truly stand in opposition to S.H.I.E.L.D. Thus, Hydra decided to abandon their own operation and outsource it, placing an order for one million US dollars with the Black King.

Of course.

List would certainly not tell all of this to Lake. However, after discussing the mission with Alexander yesterday, List thought about it and then said to Lake, "Mr. Black King, Victoria Knowles is highly valued by the organization that trained her. Perhaps, after you complete the order, you might encounter some trouble."

So, this Victoria Knowles is S.H.I.E.L.D.’s front-woman?

Lake looked up at List: "That’s none of my business. I only follow my principles. Also, is this order a trap set by the client?"

List waved his hand: "I swear to God, absolutely not."

Lake smiled.

He stood up.

Lake leaned in and whispered in List’s ear, "I’d believe you more if you said you swore allegiance to Hydra, but it doesn’t matter. If this is a trap you’ve set, just wait for me to call you out."

List: "…"

List didn’t know when Lake had left.

When List snapped back to reality, he was drenched in a cold sweat.

He really knew.

He went out the door.

Still in that luxurious car.

"Hey."

"He really knows about us."

"We predicted this a while ago, didn’t we?"

"No, I mean, I feel like he knows more than we imagined."

"Did he refuse the mission?"

"No."

"Then what’s there to worry about?"

"…"

Far away in the Three Feathers, Alexander Pierce hung up the phone directly. He stood there, and after a moment, the phone on his desk rang.

Alexander answered.

Nick Fury, at a special agent base overseas, wearing a beret from some unknown country, looked at the screen of his computer, where a high school girl dressed in a rather comical fashion appeared. "Agent Eighty-Three has been found."

Alexander Pierce frowned. "I thought she died three months ago."

Nick Fury chuckled. "Clearly, she faked her death."

"Where?"

"New York."

"…What’s your intention?"

"Agent Eighty-Three has great talent, no less than NO.1. I want to bring her back."

"…Alright."

PS: Megan Walsh – from "Assassin’s Sister School"