34. Hawk, Targeted by General Ross

By the time General Thaddeus Ross arrived at the Quantico Marine Corps Base, the intrusion alert had already been lifted.

Yes. It was truly lifted this time.

But the matter was far from over; on the contrary, the base command center was ablaze with light. They had suffered a humiliating defeat. Someone had not only breached their base with ease and demolished one of their buildings, but had also managed to escape unscathed.

Most importantly, they had lost the trail of the intruder.

"What do you mean you lost him?"

"We lost him in the dense forest twenty kilometers south of the base."

"What about our helicopters?"

"It’s nighttime, the forest is too dense, and our helicopters cannot descend to a lower altitude."

"Damn it!"

The Lieutenant Colonel slammed his fist against the table in a rage. "Send everyone out! Get the helicopters back up there. We must find this damn guy."

His deputy acknowledged the order and hurried away. As the Lieutenant Colonel stood with his hands on his hips, watching the first-person feeds from the helicopters and search teams on the massive screen, a low voice sounded from behind him.

The Lieutenant Colonel jolted, instinctively spinning around to find General Ross standing there, his face as dark as ink.

"Gen... General..."

"You managed to lose a single intruder. Impressive."

General Ross offered a smile that didn't reach his eyes. The Lieutenant Colonel opened his mouth but remained silent, instead signaling the soldier at the computer to pull up the footage of the intruder’s escape.

General Ross turned his gaze to the screen.

In the frame, the intruder stood amidst the smoke, his features obscured by the glare of the searchlights. Then, with a single leap, he vanished into the forest.

General Ross was stunned by what he saw. A moment later, he turned to the Lieutenant Colonel. "You said only the Gamma building was breached?"

The Lieutenant Colonel nodded quickly. "Yes, General. Shortly after the intruder entered, the Gamma building collapsed. We assumed he was a bomber, but to our surprise, while I was reporting the situation to you, this guy suddenly burst out from beneath the rubble."

General Ross didn't speak. He listened to the briefing while having the footage of Hawk’s leap replayed on a loop. A single individual, a clear objective—the Gamma building—inhuman reflexes, and astonishing leaping ability.

General Ross’s eyes flickered. "Did any other cameras capture the intruder?"

"The technical team is currently reviewing the surveillance."

"Have you located him?"

"...No." The Lieutenant Colonel instinctively glanced at his deputy, who had just returned. Seeing the deputy shake his head, he remained silent for a moment before bracing himself to report, "He disappeared into the dense forest twenty kilometers south of the base. We are still searching."

General Ross nodded. He didn't speak further but simply walked toward the exit. "Send men, and clear the Gamma building as quickly as possible."

The Lieutenant Colonel straightened up, shivering slightly. "Yes, sir!"

However, it wasn't until heavy machinery arrived and the rubble was cleared—and the bodies buried beneath it were recovered—that the sun began to rise.

The helicopters that had flown all night returned to base. But the pilots rested while the aircraft did not; after refueling and swapping to fresh crews, the helicopters took off again, radiating outward from the base in an attempt to track down the intruder who had been so arrogant as to practically defecate on the Quantico Marines. The base troops followed suit, with the fresh shift heading out into the surrounding woods. It was as if they intended to conduct a massive search for days.

General Ross, however, did not return to rest. He sat in his vehicle, parked not far from the ruins of the Gamma building, leaning back in his seat with his eyes half-closed.

Just then, his adjutant in the driver's seat received a call. After acknowledging it with a few nods, he turned to the General.

"General, it’s a call from the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"...Hmm." General Ross slowly opened his eyes, reached out to take the phone from his adjutant, and held it to his ear.

"This is Ross."

"General Ross, I hear it was quite lively at Quantico last night."

The gloating tone on the other end only made the General’s head ache. "Get to the point, Nick!"

At the S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion headquarters, Nick Fury, clad in his signature black trench coat and eyepatch, sat at his desk. He was also admiring the footage of Hawk leaping out of the base on his computer screen. Hearing the General’s retort, he chuckled.

"How about a joint operation?"

"In your dreams." General Ross gave a sharp laugh. "This is a military matter. I’m warning you, Nick, don't meddle. Besides, if I recall correctly, your operational authority has been frozen."

Without waiting for the black-eyed director’s response—he knew it would only be nonsense—General Ross hung up, handed the phone back to his adjutant, sat upright, and rubbed his temples. "Any sign of him?"

The adjutant shook his head. "No, sir."

"Heh."

General Ross seemed unsurprised by the result. After a soft chuckle, he changed the subject. "Has the Gamma building been cleared?"

"Expected to be finished in ten minutes."

"Let's go." General Ross pushed open the car door and stepped out. "Let’s take a look."

The adjutant quickly opened his own door and hurried to catch up. By now, all the bodies of the soldiers buried in the Gamma building had been recovered and laid out in rows nearby. Their expressions, where their faces remained intact, were frozen in astonishment, terror, and disbelief.

General Ross scanned the bodies and said to his adjutant, "Have the base file a report. Maximum pension. I’ll sign off on it."

The adjutant nodded to indicate he had noted it.

Ten minutes passed in a flash. The entrance buried beneath the rubble was cleared once more. The base researchers, who had been waiting nearby, entered the underground passage.

"It’s gone."

"It’s all gone."

"Incredible. Did he absorb everything here?"

"Jesus Christ! But why hasn't he turned into a monster like the Hulk or the Abomination?"

In no time at all, cries of disbelief echoed from within.

General Ross’s eyes brightened.

"Adjutant!"

"Yes, sir."

"Find him. At any cost!"

"Understood!"