S.H.I.E.L.D. Abandoned Once More

"What’s going on?"

"Where did they go?"

"Shit."

Inside the Federal Building, the personnel watched via satellite surveillance overhead as Rachel and the others drove directly to the entrance of The Sun newspaper. After they all got out of the cars, everyone was stunned.

Weren’t they supposed to be going to find Professor X?

Are they still going or not?

Just then.

A sharp-eyed federal agent intercepted a satellite image. "Sir, the target’s backpack is a bit bigger than when they left."

As he spoke.

Two screenshots, one before and one after, appeared on the big screen.

The federal supervisor frowned.

After a moment.

"Shit!"

"Pull up the surveillance footage from the park entrance."

"Yes, sir."

After the surveillance footage from the park entrance was retrieved, everyone saw that as Bonnie and the legal advisor got out of the car and walked into the park to pick up Rachel, a handsome bald white man from across the road entered the surveillance feed. He lingered by the car’s trunk for a moment, then opened it and tossed a very conspicuous orange file folder inside.

As everyone knew.

The file folders used by Langley for documents were orange.

"Shit!"

The federal supervisor quickly said to the agents following and tracking them, "Damn it, the target has the documents. Get them back! We can’t let them make the news."

Immediately after.

The federal supervisor immediately said to a desk agent, "Apply for an injunction from the Federal Court to stop The Sun."

They had been tricked.

Damn it.

The federal supervisor slammed his fist on the desk, then turned and walked outside. He needed to talk to his superior. This matter was getting more and more troublesome.

Meanwhile, at The Sun.

As soon as Bonnie stepped out of the elevator, he immediately clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. "Listen up, immediately notify the printing plant to prepare to start the machines for an emergency reprint. Call Andrew’s law firm and notify our fellow reporters at other newspapers."

Rachel had practically run to her seat, ready for this emergency report. This time, there was no need for fancy writing skills; one sentence, two sentences, or more would suffice. They had irrefutable proof.

This was war.

It was a war between the newspaper and the intelligence agencies.

The newspaper spoke of truth.

Intelligence spoke of national security.

Rachel and the others pursued the supremacy of truth, while Washington pursued the truth above all else.

Washington would not allow The Sun to publish its investigative report so brazenly. The reason, of course, would be so-called national security.

This was a race against Time.

As expected.

Almost as soon as Rachel typed the tenth line of text on her computer screen, the wailing sirens downstairs instantly filled the entire building.

Here they come.

"Where are the people from Andrew’s law firm?"

"They’re here."

"And the other reporters?"

"They’re also downstairs."

"Good."

Bonnie breathed a sigh of relief and said to the legal advisor, "Even if the Federal Court issues a search warrant, it will take half an hour. Once it’s printed, according to the First Amendment, even if the injunction is issued, it won’t be effective, right?"

The legal advisor was also a little nervous at this moment. "…That’s right, but…"

Bonnie didn’t have time to listen further.

As long as it was true.

"Rachel."

"Almost done!"

Rachel, whose fingers were practically sparking fire on the keyboard, said loudly and urgently. As she wrote the last line and added the period, she didn’t have time to check for typos and directly clicked send. Then she turned to Bonnie and said, "Done."

Bonnie immediately said into the phone, "Don’t bother with the backend review, just put it on the internet section first."

Freedom of speech.

This is a right granted by the Constitution, which no person or organization has the right to deprive. Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly.

Ding!

The official website of The Sun’s internet section refreshed with a brand new news article, and all citizens subscribed to The Sun received the updated information.

They all clicked to read it.

Due to time constraints, there was no proper formatting. However, as it concerned the Langley scandal, as long as there were pictures to prove the truth, people would be interested regardless of how poorly it was written.

Downstairs, facing the top law firm in Washington, a federal agent, looking extremely anxious, yelled at a white-haired lawyer, "Move aside."

The white-haired lawyer, the founder of Andrew’s Law Firm, Andrew, was not someone who would be intimidated by a federal agent. He had been suing the FBI for years. "Please present your search warrant."

A federal vehicle drove dangerously from a distance. "The investigation order is here."

However.

It was too late.

An agent in the crowd, who was also subscribed to The Sun, heard the notification, took out his phone, and clicked on it.

Instantly.

His face turned green.

Washington…

The public opinion had been ignited once again.

Rachel Amsterdam, who had been wiretapped without any legal documents. If Washington could monitor Rachel, then naturally, anyone could be wiretapped.

And…

There were photos as evidence of the transfer, a mysterious middle-aged man, Langley’s supervisor.

Langley had lied.

Most importantly.

The vehicle used to transfer Megan Walsh was not some precious vehicle, but a very ordinary black sedan. This seemed to corroborate one thing: not only had Langley lied, but as previously reported, the overseas base for training killers mentioned in the news was indeed contracted and managed by Langley.

Good heavens.

The spectators in Washington exclaimed repeatedly, and then, their anger was instantly ignited.

If the first report had sparked anger in Washington’s women and children protection agencies, then this follow-up report was enough to ignite the anger of all citizens.

If reporters could be monitored at any time, then what about them?

And they also had evidence.

Some spectators left comments, saying that when they were at the Lincoln Memorial, they indeed saw those disguised as tourists simultaneously reveal their FBI vests for a moment.

An hour later.

A beautiful sight had appeared below the Hoover Building.

Initially, this fire was only burning Langley, but this time, the FBI was also caught in the flames.

The Attorney General’s expression, compared to Director Langley’s, was not much better.

Mr. President urgently convened a meeting.

If this matter was not handled properly, it would be truly troublesome.

Arlington County.

After Lake hung up the phone, he said to Karen, "Minister Kelly wants me to go to Pennsylvania Avenue. I’m leaving now."

Soon.

Lake drove away from Arlington County.

If this fire still couldn’t burn you to death, I still have a third fire.

Lake opened his mouth, still feeling a burning sensation in his throat. Next time, he would rather blow his head off than choose to commit suicide by swallowing a gun.

The feeling was too unbearable.

Lake still felt the taste of gunpowder and metal in his mouth.

Ptooey.

The photos…

They were given by Hydra.

Lake had obtained them from Hydra before coming. Since Hydra could not deliver the target to New York within the specified time, it was reasonable for Lake to ask for a high-definition photo of the transfer.

Hydra didn’t think much of it and gave it to him.

After all, Hydra had a good cooperative relationship with the Black King, and if they could use this relationship to sway the overt Lake towards Hydra, it would be very good.

Lake Edwin liked solving cases. No matter how big the matter, as long as you had the ability and the desire, Hydra would do its best to fulfill your wishes.

Besides.

Hydra also liked the destruction of that loyal fan killer academy of S.H.I.E.L.D. Anyway, Hydra had already secretly transferred several orphans who were loyal to them in advance.

"Bang!"

In the White House conference room, the furious Mr. President slammed the freshly printed report onto the table: "WTF, how did it turn out like this."

Secretary of State.

Attorney General.

Director Langley.

The three were speechless.

Secretary Kelly had no intention of speaking, and Lake, who was called over to observe, kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart. With this maneuver, his suspicion was completely cleared.

The first transfer order could be said to be his doing.

But this time.

When the handover took place, Lake was not present. Only Langley, S.H.I.E.L.D., and a camera were present.

So…

This had nothing to do with Lake. Lake was only here to watch the show this time.

"That Professor X, lost him again?"

"Sorry, sir."

The federal supervisor behind the Attorney General said, "We lost track of Professor X in a blind spot of the surveillance."

Mr. President looked coldly at the federal supervisor. Undoubtedly, this guy’s career was probably doomed to be dim and unremarkable.

Mr. Secretary of State said, "This is no longer about Professor X. The most important thing now is how we should respond."

The leaker couldn’t be caught.

They couldn’t solve the person who raised the issue, so they could only settle for solving the problem.

But…

How to solve it?

Everyone was discussing it.

The scene didn’t feel like it was in the White House at all; it felt like a brawl in some low-level gang.

Director Langley suggested arresting the reporter and forcing her to reveal Professor X’s true identity.

The others refused without hesitation.

What a joke.

They were trying to put out the fire now, not add fuel to it. The Sun was not a problem; blocking ten of them wouldn’t matter. The problem was Professor X, who still hadn’t been caught.

Moreover…

The reporter who broke the story was currently at The Sun and had just explained the interview. She was waiting here for Washington to come and arrest her. She wasn’t afraid of disappearing; she pursued the truth above all else.

If Rachel were arrested at this time, it would only serve to enhance Rachel’s reputation as a reporter and would bring no other benefit to Washington. It would only make them more severely attacked.

Also…

The Federation had a multi-party system. Today, the President’s staff informed him that according to big data, his approval rating had directly dropped by ten points after this news broke.

Fuck!

Mr. President listened to the noise around him, then slapped the table. Everyone immediately stopped. Then, Mr. President looked at Secretary Kelly, who had not spoken: "John."

Secretary Kelly looked at the President.

Mr. President then looked at Director Langley: "Transfer the person to the Department of Homeland Security."

In order to put out the fire.

For the approval rating.

Mr. President chose to abandon S.H.I.E.L.D.

After all…

S.H.I.E.L.D. was an illegal organization within the Federation that didn’t even deserve to have a name.