area51novel Chapter 16 The chickens are of course in the chicken coop.
Chapter 16 The chickens are of course in the chicken coop.
Quill crouched in place, staring at the pendant in the Holy Lord's claws, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
"So what's next?"
He stood up and dusted off his pants: "We can't keep letting that agent who turned into a rooster keep crowing on the streets of New York in a miniature combat suit, can we?"
"Of course not."
The Holy Lord turned and looked at the faintly visible Chitauri ruins outside the warehouse: "S.H.I.E.L.D. should have already discovered that the cat with the jewelry is missing. They will soon turn their attention to other anomalies, such as the rooster that the missing agent turned into."
"So we need to turn him back before he gets discovered," Quill nodded. "The problem is, where is that guy now?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. Temporary Command Center"
Quill paused, then said, "You mean...that chicken is inside S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"The most dangerous place is often the safest place."
Shendu seemed to have thought of something and laughed: "Before your mother put the talisman on the cat, I had the cat walk around the perimeter of S.H.I.E.L.D.."
"The rooster was being chased by several agents when it saw the cat, or rather, when it saw the talisman around the cat's neck, it instinctively charged at it."
"And then?" Quill asked back.
"Then I took it with the cat," the Lord said calmly, "but I later returned it."
Quill's expression turned interesting: "You sent a rooster dressed in a miniature S.H.I.E.L.D. combat suit back to S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"That temporary command center was formerly an abandoned meat processing plant."
The Holy Lord's voice carried a barely perceptible hint of smugness: "There's an abandoned chicken coop behind the factory."
Quill fell silent; he never imagined that the Holy Lord would hide Agent Chicken in such a place.
"You mean, that rooster is hiding in the henhouse behind the S.H.I.E.L.D. command center right now?"
"To be precise, it was an old cellar beneath the chicken coop."
The Holy Lord corrected, "That place has been abandoned for decades; S.H.I.E.L.D.'s scanning equipment won't detect it."
Quill took a deep breath and slowly exhaled: "Alright, so how do you plan to go in and turn him back?"
"The one who can turn him back is not me, it's you."
Quill pointed to his nose: "Me?"
"You are human, Quill, you have a legitimate Earth identity, and your mother was just questioned by S.H.I.E.L.D., so your presence around the command center won't arouse much suspicion."
The Holy Lord handed him the monkey talisman: "Besides, you have this now."
Quill stared at the talisman but did not reach out to take it.
"You mean, I should use this... to become someone and infiltrate?"
"The power of the Monkey Talisman goes far beyond simply transforming humans into animals."
The Holy Lord's voice carried a hint of persuasion: "It can transform you into any creature, including anyone."
Quill's eyes flickered. "You mean, I can transform into Coulson?"
"Or become any agent you need," the Holy Lord said, shoving the talisman into his hand. "All you need to do is find that rooster, turn it back into human form, and leave before you're discovered."
"And what about you?"
"I'll wait for you outside."
Shendu turned and looked out of the warehouse: "If something goes wrong, I'll create some noise to divert S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attention."
Quill looked down at the monkey talisman in his palm; the relief on the talisman's surface gleamed faintly in the dim light.
"You know what," Quill suddenly said, "I'm still not sure if you really need my help, or if you're just using me as a pawn you can discard at any time."
The Holy Lord paused in his steps: "I need your help."
The Holy Lord tried his best to make his tone sincere: "Not because you are the most suitable candidate, but because... I am willing to believe in you."
Quill paused for a moment, then chuckled with a hint of self-deprecation, "Doesn't that sound like a classic line from a jerk when breaking up?"
The Holy Lord did not respond.
Quill gripped the talisman and took a deep breath: "Alright, tell me the exact location of that chicken coop."
Fifteen minutes later.
The perimeter of the S.H.I.E.L.D. temporary command center in Lower Manhattan, New York.
Quill, wearing a grey hoodie he'd bought from a secondhand store, crouched behind an abandoned truck, staring at the drab building two hundred meters away.
The security at the command center was less stringent than he had anticipated, after all, this was just a temporary outpost, not the headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D.
There were only two special agents on guard at the entrance, and patrol figures could be seen occasionally on the surrounding walls, but not frequently.
His gaze swept over the overgrown open space behind the building.
At the end of the open space, a row of dilapidated wooden houses can be vaguely seen.
That's the chicken coop the Holy Lord spoke of.
The problem is that there are at least three checkpoints between him and that open space.
Quill glanced down at the monkey charm he was holding; the charm's surface was slightly warm.
"What kind of person do I need to become to infiltrate this place...?"
As he was pondering this, he suddenly saw a black SUV drive up from a distance, stop at the entrance of the command center, open the door, and a familiar figure get out.
Colson.
Quill's eyes lit up.
Ten minutes later, the special agent on guard at the entrance of the command center saw a figure that surprised him.
"Agent Coulson?" The agent paused, then asked, "Didn't you just go in?"
"I forgot a document."
The man in front of me, "Coulson," smiled slightly, a smile so gentle it was impeccable: "It's in the trunk. Could you open the door for me?"
The agent had no suspicions and turned to walk towards the SUV.
In the instant he turned around, Quill, now sporting Coulson's face, flicked his wrist, and the faint glow of the Monkey Talisman flashed by.
Before the agent could even utter a sound, he transformed into a dusty gray pigeon, flapping his wings and flying into the sky.
Quill paused for a moment, then said, "...It works quite well."
He strode towards the wall on the side of the command center, and at the corner, he activated the talisman again, transforming into a black stray cat, which nimbly slipped through the gap in the fence.
S.H.I.E.L.D. patrol agents walked past him without giving the cat a second glance.
Quill stealthily made his way around three prefab houses and finally saw the row of chicken coops.
He quickened his pace, approaching the chicken coop under the cover of weeds.
Just as he was about to reach his destination, he suddenly heard footsteps behind him.
Quill froze and turned to look.
Two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were walking from a short distance away, one of them holding a device that looked like a detector and scanning the surrounding area.
"...Agent Cormac went missing, last seen at the door," one of them said.
"What about the surveillance footage?"
"The surveillance footage only showed him walking towards the SUV, and then... he disappeared."
"disappear?"
"Yes, just like that agent last night, he vanished into thin air."
Quill's heart skipped a beat.
He crouched low, hiding in the bushes, and watched as two agents walked past him less than ten meters away.
The beeping sound from the detector was getting closer and closer.