In the office of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury stared unblinkingly at the computer screen, his hands crossed in front of him, eyes reflecting the cold light of the screen, giving him an air of detached solemnity.
Natasha knocked on the door and walked in. Nick only glanced up at her, then continued to gaze at the computer screen. Natasha placed the documents in her hand onto the table, and without moving his eyes, Nick reached out and took them.
After quickly scanning the content at the top of the documents, Nick slapped the armrest of his chair forcefully and said, "This is more like it."
Standing straight with her arms crossed, Natasha said, "It's confirmed that Shiller was from your era, right? But there are many vague details in the information."
"Of course, of course there would be," Nick said, his mouth turning downward as he looked at the paperwork, "It's very hard to find any detailed descriptions from that era because there are too many secrets that needed to be covered up."
"Who is he, actually?" Natasha walked up to the desk and asked Nick, "What role did he really play back then?"
"He is... 'The Doctor.'"
In January 1945, a tense atmosphere lingered in the streets and alleys of Berlin. Squads of soldiers passed like a flock of crows, but without the haughty arrogance of the past. People had long sensed the future of the country.
The dark clouds shall soon disperse, and no one knew whether the gaps between the clouds would let through the first light or usher in even greater calamities. This nation was about to pay an unimaginable price for a thoroughly lost war. Most had resigned themselves to this fate, yet some still resisted stubbornly.
The lead-gray buildings on both sides of the street had only tiny windows, cramped together as if giants touching hands. The wooden door of the bakery had long rusted nails, while the threshold of the tavern had worn off its color from the foot traffic.
This winter was extraordinarily tough for the ordinary Germans, with more devout believers witnessed at dusk, the Catholic church bustling with people.
A man in a long gray coat removed his hat from his head, exhaling a breath of warmth from his chest. The white fog gradually dissipated in the dull air. He tossed two coins into the bowl of a beggar sitting by the entrance, made the sign of the cross in front of his chest, and then looked up at the crow resting on the church's eaves before walking towards the steps.
A young priest stood waiting at the top of the steps. The two quickly entered the church, their silhouettes seemingly swallowed by the mouth of a giant beast. The observer on the building across took off their binoculars and pushed the windblown hair back under their hat.
"Nothing unusual." He shook his head and said to the person behind him, "I think Nick is making a mountain out of a molehill. There's no evidence to prove that this doctor is related to those murders. He has a solid alibi. More importantly, he has good relations with most of the Catholic Churches in Berlin. We can't just barge in there."
The speaker was a middle-aged man with short blonde hair, bearing the common image of an American Soldier, his face etched with lines indicating extensive combat experience.
Suddenly, the door to the rooftop opened behind them, and the two turned around on high alert. Thankfully, what emerged was a figure even darker than the darkness itself.
"Hey, Nick," the blonde man greeted, "Why did you come here personally? Aren't you keeping an eye on Duke's side?"
"I don't feel confident about this side, so I came to take a look. I hope you haven't recklessly charged in? Especially you, Dino. Jones trusts you the least. At a critical time like this, you cannot cause trouble."
"Don't worry, Nick. I'm just standing here, aren't I?" replied the blonde man called Dino with a chuckle, "We ensure that we're just watching. Jonathan can back me up."
He looked towards his companion, a man slightly younger with short gray hair but a headful of premature white hair, making him appear the oldest of the three.
"Have you discovered anything?" Nick walked over and sat on the edge of the rooftop. Dino shook his head, "We've been watching him for two days, and all his behavior is very normal, just a routine: hospital, home, church..."
"That's even more suspicious," said Nick, "Doesn't he have any entertainment? No one lives without some form of it."
"Take it easy, Nick," Jonathan spoke up, "In their eyes, prayer is a rare form of relaxation. They think chatting with the priest is interesting and Bible stories far more compelling than the fraught narratives of the tabloids. Complete old fogeys."
"You're mistaken if you believe that," Nick raised an eyebrow and said, "The only survivor from the Heinemonde Laboratory was just murdered like that. Everyone present at the scene or around it is a major suspect, whether they are doctors, teachers, or other social elites. We cannot dismiss their suspicion without reason."
Dino exhaled and said, "I know we've been in a difficult position all along. Although invading the Heinemonde Laboratory years ago made Hitler abandon his Atomic Bomb project, Hydra's people took the unfinished bomb. Now the only survivor who knew the code is dead. If they really want to make a move, the whole of Berlin is in danger."
"They won't last much longer," Nick said, "Any sensible person can see that they are in the throes of death. At most, half a year is left before Germany has to sign the unconditional surrender. Now is their last chance, which is why they can't help but act."
Nick squinted his eyes and revealed a slight smugness, "I'm not afraid of them taking action because as soon as they do, it means they can't contain themselves anymore. The disadvantage of the enemy being in the dark while we're in the light would no longer exist. The snake will eventually show its tail."
"Jonathan and I have a plan," Dino said, "Andel Schiller claims to be a devout believer. If he's not, his conversation with the priest will inevitably expose him, and if he genuinely is, perhaps the Confessional will hear the secrets buried deep in his heart."
Nick shook his head and said, "You don't understand, such a move is useless against people like him. If he dares to call himself that, he won't let you find any flaws. However, it's still a direction we can try. Are the eavesdropping devices ready?"
"Of course, tonight we will install listening terminals in the prayer and confession rooms of several churches he often visits. God will bless our endeavor."
"Just counting on God's blessing won't do any good." Nick stood up and said, "I will prepare a backup plan. You have at most three days. If there's no useful information, we'll do it my way."
Nick turned around and left, and Dino shook his head, turning to Jonathan beside him and said, "I admit he's really capable, but did the boss ever consider how offensive his temper could be when he recruited him?"
"He is a good enforcer," Jonathan commented.
Nick hurriedly walked through the streets and stopped at the entrance of a pub. He leaned against the wooden door frame, scanning the passersby with a cautious gaze. While paying for the alcohol, he glanced at the bar owner's fingers.
He handed over the change, took the bottle from the owner's hand, and the very instant a gun was drawn from under the counter, he smashed the bottle fiercely onto the bar owner's wrist, grabbed the gun, and ran.
Ignoring the chaos and noise from behind, Nick sped away and with a whoosh, darted into the nearest alleyway. He leaped onto the wall and then climbed onto the balcony of the second floor, startling an old person in a wheelchair.
"Sorry, ma'am," Nick said in German.
"Are you being pursued?" the old person asked. Down below, a window led to a pile of trash. She pointed to another window.
Nick tucked the gun into his jacket, nodded at her, glanced out the other window, and after flipping out, landed precisely in the pile of trash as a group of armed Searchers ran overhead.
Climbing out of the trash heap, Nick sighed, shook his hands, and brushed off his jacket, then sped off in a direction.
He threw open the tightly closed door and a burly figure sprang in nimbly. Walking up the steep, uneven staircase, Nick knocked on a door. A woman with short hair opened it.
"Ran into them again?" The woman stepped aside to let Nick in, and he tossed the gun he was carrying to her, saying, "They're getting more and more brazen. It seems the time to surrender will come sooner than I thought."
"How soon? Five months from now? Six months?"
"No, I think probably in another three to four months..." Berlin wasn't big enough, and the red flag was close at hand. Nick took off his coat and threw it into the bathroom, then turned to the woman and said, "Jones, does Felix need surgery?"
"Do you mean his heart condition?" Jones, the woman referred to as Jones, adjusted the hair by her ear and said, "The doctor said he's unlikely to live past 25, but now is not a good time for surgery."
"I know in the coming months we will probably be too busy to care for a patient. But once Germany surrenders, we might need to evacuate immediately, and it will be difficult to take the boy with us."
Jones also seemed hesitant. She paced back and forth in the room and said, "You know we're not really his parents; all this was just for the sake of being stationed here. Without orders from higher up, we can't do anything extra."
"But you can't bear it either, can you? Felix is a good kid; he's helped us a lot. We can't abandon him."
"What do you plan to do?" Jones seemed to have made up her mind. She said, "I met a few decent doctors when I was nursing at the hospital. But Felix has congenital heart disease, and the best time for surgery is between one and two years old. He's already 11 this year, not all doctors have such skills. Without confidence in their ability, they won't be willing to take the risk."
"We've been watching a doctor recently," Nick said. "Andel Schiller, the former chief surgeon at Landwehr Hospital and one of the last to retreat to the city."
"The suspect in the Heinemonde Laboratory survivors' murder case?" Jones frowned deeply. "You were the one who said he was a major suspect. You're not thinking about having him perform the surgery on Felix, are you?"
"If we stay too far from him, we can only see his disguise. Only by getting close enough might we see his true face, right?"
"You know how risky that is," Jones said with hesitation. "Right now there's a shortage of medication, hospitals are filled with wounded soldiers, and those madmen are frantically searching the city for hidden surrenderers. Their confiscation of supplies will eventually get close to here."
"Then this is the best time," Nick said. "Only fierce fish hide in the chaos of the pond, and what we have to see is not whether it is fierce but for whom it bites."
"Who do you think it is?"
"Let's hope it's not the worst-case scenario," Nick said. "You know I'm not talking about the Gestapo."