Chapter 210: Matthew: Young Man, Don't You Want to Get Ahead?
Inside SHIELD.
Alexander Pierce, Secretary-General of the Security Council, had just learned that the missile hadn't taken out Steve and the others, and his expression had turned darkly grim.
"So that man decided to get involved after all." Pierce took off his glasses and rubbed his temples, irritation plain on his face.
Matthew's direct intervention hadn't been part of the plan. Going by everything SHIELD's own files had on him, Matthew might technically be one of the Avengers, but he'd always operated on a strictly transactional basis, which was exactly why they'd chosen to write him off and focus their attention on Steve and the others instead.
But now, it seemed, Matthew Lawrence had made up his mind to stand against HYDRA.
"In any case, we're moving Project Insight up." Pierce drew a slow breath and turned toward a figure standing in the shadows of the office.
"Before Insight actually goes live, I need you to take care of the people standing in its way."
"Including Matthew Lawrence?"
"Let's get this straight up front. I don't like that man, but I know exactly how strong he is. I'm not about to pick a fight with him just for the sake of settling a score."
"So the most I'll do is help you deal with everyone besides Matthew Lawrence."
The figure in the shadows stepped forward slowly. In one hand he held a hand-rolled cigarette he referred to as "Mexican chrysanthemum."
Pierce glanced at the lit cigarette in the man's hand and raised a hand to block his own nose. "Relax. I'm not asking you to do anything you actually can't do."
"Your job is simple. Before Steve gets in the way of our plans, find a way to take him out."
"Of course, I know that's not exactly a small job, which is why—"
"He's going to help you." Pierce clapped his hands together as he said it.
The next second, the Winter Soldier pushed the door open and walked into the room.
"It's a tall order, so the two of you are handling it together."
On the sofa, the figure gave the Winter Soldier a once-over, then nodded, apparently satisfied. "At least you don't look like a pushover the way he does."
"Before we get down to business, though, I do want to ask. How exactly do you plan to keep Matthew Lawrence out of this?"
Faced with the question, Pierce straightened his suit jacket and laid out the plan without bothering to dress it up. "As far as I know, Matthew Lawrence may have real power behind him, but he still plays by society's rules when it comes to how he operates."
"As long as he keeps doing things the way society expects, there's more than one way to make sure he can't get free to interfere for a while."
Pierce poured himself a glass of iced whiskey as he spoke. "Don't worry. I've already sent people to go 'invite' him."
"If the timing's right, our people should already be there."
Just as Pierce had said, a large number of police cars had already surrounded Stark Tower.
"Hey! Hey! What exactly do you think you're doing?!" Happy stood outside the tower, watching the officers stationed in front of the building with open suspicion.
The lead officer noticed someone blocking the entrance and frowned, a little impatient, about to say something when the officer behind him leaned in and quietly told him who Happy was.
Once he registered that Happy was Tony Stark's bodyguard, some of the impatience drained out of him. "Mr. Hogan, we've received information suggesting one of your company's directors, a 'Matthew Lawrence,' may be connected to a terrorist organization called The Ten Rings. We need to bring him in for questioning."
"Of course, we're aware Mr. Lawrence is a public figure, and we don't want to make this look worse than it needs to."
"So... Mr. Hogan, if you'd step aside."
Happy, still blocking the doorway, had just opened his mouth to say something when a voice cut in ahead of him. "I've got a pretty good idea who sent you people, but since you're putting it that way, let's go."
Matthew stepped out of the elevator, his gaze sweeping across the assembled officers.
Happy turned toward the voice, a note of urgency in his tone. "Lawrence, sir—"
"It's fine." Matthew raised a hand, cutting him off, his eyes already on the press vehicles closing in from a distance.
A faint smile touched the corner of his mouth. "Looks like Pierce really did think of everything. Even called in the press, just to make sure I'd come along quietly."
"What, worried I might not go with you, so you brought in the media to build some public pressure?"
"Trying to use public opinion to box me in?"
Matthew let his gaze move slowly across the officers.
Seeing the barely-contained fear in their eyes, the fear of him suddenly losing it, Matthew smiled and waved a hand. "Relax. I would've gone with you either way, media or not."
"Besides, I'm genuinely curious what kind of trick you people are planning to pull." With that, he climbed into the police car.
The lead officer, seeing how cooperative Matthew was being, was quiet for a moment before speaking, his voice softer. "Thank you for not making this difficult, Mr. Lawrence."
"No trouble at all." Matthew smiled, his eyes drifting to the department badge on the man's chest. "NYPD. The New York Police Department, is that right?"
"I actually know your commissioner personally."
Matthew sat inside the vehicle, the officer leading the operation up front driving.
Whether it was some form of special treatment or not, the entire car held only Matthew and the officer behind the wheel.
Faced with what Matthew had just said, the officer didn't respond, just kept driving in silence.
Seeing that he wasn't answering, Matthew kept going. "What's your name?"
"Tore."
"Tore, huh. Do you have a family?"
"...Yes. I've got three kids at home."
"And your wife?"
"...My wife passed away last year." Tore's voice had gone heavy. "But why are you asking?"
"No reason. Just making conversation."
"Right... was it Commissioner Mitts who sent you all out today?" Matthew asked again.
"Mm." Tore nodded.
Hearing that his own network inside the American government had already been quietly compromised without a word of warning reaching him first, Matthew was quiet for a moment, considering, and then asked a question Tore clearly hadn't expected.
"Tore, there's a saying: a soldier who doesn't want to become a general isn't much of a soldier. So, have you ever thought about... moving up?"
Tore: ...
Click—
Tore didn't say a word. He simply reached over and switched off both the vehicle's dash recorder and the recorder clipped to his own chest.
Once that was done, he spoke, low and even. "Mr. Lawrence, what exactly are you saying?"
"Nothing much."
"I just get the sense you're someone worth investing in."
"Of course, if you're not interested, I won't push it—"
"I'm interested!" Tore said immediately.
"I won't lie to you, sir. Raising three kids alone on a salary this small, it's just not enough."
"If you can help me, I'll do anything you need."
"Anything, really?" Matthew smiled.
"Really!" With that, Tore stood halfway up from the driver's seat while the car was still moving, turned, and reached back to unlock the cuffs on Matthew's wrists.
Seeing how quickly the man understood the assignment, Matthew nodded, satisfied.
"Tore, tomorrow around noon, you'll find some documents show up in your inbox. When they do, you'll need to submit them exactly as they are, without changing anything, straight up the chain..."
"You should hear back within about half a day."
"And once that comes through, you'll be getting your notice of promotion."
Listening to all of this, Tore swallowed.
"Sir, is there anything else you need from me? Like, letting you go right now?"
"No, no, no." Matthew waved a hand.
"Not necessary."
"Just do exactly what your commissioner told you to. Take me in to the station."
Inside Stark Tower, everyone had already gotten word that Matthew had been taken in by the police.
Steve and the others stood by the window, watching the car disappear into the distance, every face serious.
"This was Pierce's doing too, wasn't it?" Steve said, his voice low.
"Since Matthew helped us out, he needs a way to get Matthew out of the picture, so he can deal with the rest of us more easily."
"Say what you want about him, the man moves fast." Tony offered the observation with a note of dry amusement.
Even with Matthew taken away, Tony wasn't worried in the slightest.
As far as he was concerned, Matthew had just relocated his vacation somewhere else.
After all, this was an entity that had taken a nuclear blast head-on without a scratch. Tony genuinely couldn't imagine what Pierce's people thought they were going to accomplish with him.
At most, they'd end up giving him room, board, and good treatment.
"With Matthew Lawrence out of the picture, the rest of us need to be even more careful going forward."
"And now that Pierce knows we've found out the real purpose behind Project Insight, he's going to push to get it running faster. Which means we don't have much time left."
"So..." Tony looked over at Steve and the others. "What are you all still standing around for? Waiting for Pierce's second round of missiles?"
Hearing that, Steve registered that it was time to move.
So the group "borrowed" an Audi from Tony's garage and floored it straight toward SHIELD.
SHIELD's Triskelion, the building shaped like three curved wings, sat in Washington, D.C., roughly three hundred kilometers from New York. The drive would take four to five hours.
The route would also cut across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, which put them under real time pressure.
On the road, Steve never let up on the gas pedal.
Speed maxed out, going as fast as the car could physically go.
In the back seat, Natasha watched the scenery blur past the window and found herself reaching for her seatbelt.
"Steve, we could actually stand to slow down a little."
"Didn't you just say we don't have much time?" Steve said without turning his head.
"Sure, but isn't this a little too fast? And more importantly, do you actually have a driver's license?"
"A license? Don't worry, I'll get around to it when I have time."
He'll get around to it when he has time?
So that's a no, then?!
And also, if she remembered right, hadn't they just come straight out of a bar not long ago?
Which meant Steve was currently, technically, driving under the influence, on top of everything else.
The thought alone was enough to break Natasha out in a cold sweat, and she wasn't easily rattled.
If she'd known it would come to this, she'd have caught a ride with Tony instead.
Just as Natasha was silently praying Steve's driving skills were up to the task, a figure suddenly appeared from the side of the road, planted in the middle of the street like a telephone pole.
The sudden appearance made Steve slam on the brakes on reflex.
But at the speed they were going, even with the brakes fully engaged, the car skidded a long way before slamming, with tremendous force, straight into the figure.
The car and the figure collided with a deafening crash.
Unexpectedly, though, the person who'd been hit wasn't thrown clear. Instead, he seemed to brace against the car like he was arm-wrestling it, getting shoved back half a meter by the impact, feet dragging two long grooves through the asphalt.
By the time the car finally rolled to a stop, the figure pulled himself free from the crumpled hood and looked down at his clothes, soaked through with windshield fluid.
"Fuck!"
"Goddamn it! If you assholes can't drive, don't get behind the wheel!"
"You just got my clean laundry filthy again!" He spat, the gob of spit landing on the already spiderwebbed windshield.
Inside the car, Steve and the others, still shaken and rattled from the impact, hadn't fully recovered when they saw the man outside walk straight up to the door, grip it like it was made of cardboard, and yank it clean off its hinges.
The door came away in his hand.
Watching this, alarm bells went off in Steve's head.
But before he could react, the figure outside had already grabbed him by the collar and hauled him, seatbelt and all, straight out of the car.
"We meet again, Steve!"
Steve turned toward the voice.
A familiar figure came into view.
"Soldier Boy... Benjamin?" Steve's eyes went wide.
"Heh. Didn't see that coming, did you?" Soldier Boy hauled Steve up by the collar and pinned him against the car, and as he spoke, his other hand was already raising the shield high overhead.
Just as he was about to bring it down, Carter suddenly climbed out through the shattered window from inside the car, scrambling up onto the roof like a leopard, and swept a low kick straight at Soldier Boy's neck.
Soldier Boy ignored her attack completely.
The shield in his hand came crashing down toward Steve's neck.
If that blow had landed clean, Steve's head would likely have parted company with his body on the spot.
Steve, with everything at stake, didn't dare take it lightly. He threw both hands up to catch the falling shield, then drove both feet into the ground and kicked out hard, sending Soldier Boy flying back.
At the same moment, inside the car, Natasha had recovered her senses.
Recognizing an attack when she saw one, she didn't hesitate, unbuckling her seatbelt and pulling the pistol from her waistband in one motion.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several gunshots went off inside the car, shattering what was left of the already crumbling windshield and windows.
The bullets tore through the glass and slammed straight into Soldier Boy's head.
Unexpectedly, his skull didn't burst the way she'd expected. Instead, it was as if he'd been hit with a rubber ball, his head simply tilting a few degrees to the side.
Seeing this, Natasha's pupils contracted.
Fuck. Another one who doesn't feel bullets.
This just got complicated.
Even as the thought ran through her head, Natasha didn't waste time sitting in the car. She kicked the door open, stepped out fast, and leveled her gun at Soldier Boy again.
Bullets might not do anything to him, but at worst they could still slow him down, and that beat close-quarters brawling with someone who couldn't be hurt by them.
A sharp hiss of breath through clenched teeth.
Just as she was thinking that, another figure stepped out from the side of the road.
And unlike Soldier Boy, who'd shown up armed with nothing but a shield, this one had come loaded for war.
In one hand he carried a semi-automatic rifle. In the other, a grenade launcher.
"Steve! Watch out!"
Seeing the Winter Soldier level the grenade launcher at the two of them, Natasha couldn't help shouting out.
Steve and Carter, still locked in the fight, didn't hesitate at the sound of her voice, disengaging and pulling back immediately, dragging the shield free from where it had gotten wedged in the dashboard on their way out.
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