Weak in power, yet unafraid of the strong!
This is the path to ruin!
Nick Fury frowned incessantly.
At this very moment.
Buson Laun—a graduate of Yale Law School from the top Wall Street firm TNT&G—had already entered the Federal Building accompanied by five of his subordinates.
Inside the interrogation room.
Locke stared expressionlessly at Nick Fury, who sat across from him. "Clearly, I thought too highly of you. You never intended for me to cooperate with an investigation; you simply wanted to frame me. Fine then. I have nothing more to say. From now on, speak to my legal team."
Nick Fury: "..."
Legal...
Team?
*Knock, knock, knock!*
Coulson knocked and entered from outside, looking at Nick Fury. "Sir..."
But before Coulson could finish his sentence, a voice full of vigor and innate righteousness drifted in from the hallway: "Mr. Broughton, from this moment on, you do not need to say a single word."
As the words fell.
Buson Laun—dressed in a sharp suit with a serious expression, a top-tier attorney in New York and the entire Union—stepped inside. He looked at Locke and said, "Apologies for being late."
Locke smiled warmly. "Right on time, Mr. Laun."
Buson Laun turned his gaze directly toward Nick Fury and Coulson. "I would like to ask on what charges the FBI is detaining my client."
Coulson stammered, quickly replying, "There has been no arrest. We simply requested Mr. Broughton's assistance in an investigation."
Locke shot a glance at Nick Fury, who was staring back with a cold, single eye. Locke allowed a faint expression to flash across his face—one only Fury noticed—as his voice became noticeably weak. "They used torture to extract a confession from me."
Coulson was stunned.
What?
When did we ever...
Nick Fury's pupil contracted.
Buson Laun's gaze fell upon Locke, who was "struggling" to pull off his shirt. Two of Buson's junior lawyers hurried over to assist him.
Soon.
The shirt was off, revealing Locke's upper body and his eight-pack abs.
But...
Red welts and a dense network of scars, appearing as though they were caused by blunt force trauma, covered his entire torso.
"Oh, God!"
A young female lawyer couldn't help but cover her mouth. "This is too..."
Coulson was dumbfounded.
Nick Fury said solemnly, "Mr. Broughton, we have surveillance cameras."
Locke looked directly at Buson Laun. "Just now, the FBI showed me a video, accusing me of being an accomplice to a killer named the Peerless Assassin because of a phone call I made to a friend in Texas. Furthermore, they beat me inside a vehicle and a small room. That vehicle has been destroyed, and that room had no cameras."
You wanted to play? Then let's play.
Are you ready, Blady?
Locke let out a cough, pulling his right hand away to reveal fresh blood. "I want to sue the FBI!"
"Call an ambulance!"
Buson Laun barked at the female lawyer beside him.
The actual New York FBI Senior Supervisor, hearing this, was scared witless. "Mr. Laun..."
Damn it.
These people aren't actual FBI; we aren't taking the fall for this!
Buson Laun held up a hand, looking at the Senior Supervisor. "I now have reason to believe my client has been subjected to inhumane abuse by the FBI. My client is going to the hospital for a forensic medical examination. Meanwhile, I will be filing a lawsuit against the FBI first thing tomorrow morning. Please ensure you appear in court on time. Thank you."
With that.
The two lawyers supported Locke—who now looked so weak he had trouble walking—as he put his shirt back on and headed for the door.
Coulson looked at Nick Fury in a daze. "Sir..."
Fury raised a hand but remained silent.
He's in trouble.
That was the single thought echoing in Nick Fury's mind at that moment.
However.
This only made Fury more certain of one thing: Locke Broughton not only knew the Peerless Assassin, but in their relationship, Locke Broughton was likely the one in charge.
...
In the Federal Building lobby!
"Stop them!"
"Yes, sir."
The FBI Supervisor couldn't help but turn to the shouting Nick Fury. "What do you think you're doing?"
Nick Fury looked expressionlessly at Locke, then fixed his gaze on Buson Laun. "We have a court-issued arrest warrant. We have the legal right to detain a suspect for forty-eight hours!"
Buson Laun looked directly at the FBI Supervisor. "Is this also the opinion of the FBI?"
"No!"
The Supervisor spoke firmly, rejecting it instantly.
He wouldn't take this fall, and the New York FBI wouldn't either!
"Someone, come here!"
The Supervisor called out, summoning several agents. "Escort Mr. Laun and Mr. Broughton to the hospital for a medical exam!"
The agents nodded.
Buson Laun glanced at the Supervisor, let out a short laugh, and led the "too weak to speak" Locke out of the Federal Building.
"Fuck!"
Once they had left the building, the Supervisor couldn't help but curse, glaring at Nick Fury. "Even we in the FBI know that if you're going to coerce a confession, you don't leave external injuries. You people... have you lost your minds?"
Nick Fury said, "We didn't do it."
The Supervisor sneered. "Didn't do it? Then where did those injuries come from?"
Fury shook his head. "I don't know, but I know we didn't hit him. He's faking it."
The Supervisor looked like an enraged lion. If he hadn't been considering who he was talking to, he would have lunged.
Instead, the Supervisor let out a series of cold laughs. "Do you even know who Buson Laun is? I'm telling you, Director Fury, the Attorney General only allowed you to use the FBI's name for your operations. It doesn't mean we will be your scapegoats. I will be informing our Director of this immediately. You can prepare to explain yourself to a jury in court."
Having said his piece.
The Supervisor stormed off in a huff.
If it had been an ordinary person, a beating would have just been a beating.
But this was an "ordinary person" with a whole legal team. Can such a person even be called ordinary?
This is the world of capital. In other words, here, money can solve 99.99% of problems—including people!
Coulson watched the angry Supervisor leave, then looked at Nick Fury, whose face was darkened but whose single eye still held a look of being in control. "Sir, what do we do now?"
Nick Fury remained expressionless. "What is true is true; what is false, no matter how real it looks, is still false."
They hadn't hit Locke. That was the truth.
In Fury's view, this was just another performance by the anti-social Locke Broughton. Once they got to the hospital and the exam was done, the truth would be revealed.
Clearly.
Nick Fury still had no idea what was actually waiting for him.
***
Welp we didn't hit 300 stones but 220+ is quite good
I'll drop a bonus anyways
Our new goal is 150 stones for bonus
300 stones for 2 more bonuses
***
Read 30 Chapters early on P-atreon.com/Redestro666