William's instructions were precisely conveyed to Elektra's ears.
In the alley, Elektra glanced at the White figure kneeling on the ground, cradling a corpse, their soul completely shattered.
She then looked towards the alley entrance.
She made a decision.
But it wasn't the decision William wanted.
She turned, and with a few leaps, her red figure vanished among the intricate buildings of Hell's Kitchen.
In William's office, the light dot representing Elektra on the holographic screen left the chaotic area without the slightest pause.
She didn't go to the rendezvous point.
She didn't even try to take Moon Knight with her.
She had defected.
"Warning: Monitored target 'Elektra' has left the designated operational area and is moving at high speed. Current direction: Midtown Manhattan."
The cold system prompt of the contract echoed in the office.
William's face instantly darkened like the sky before a storm.
He made a mistake.
A mistake a master of risk management should never make.
He overestimated his own restraint and underestimated the madness of a woman's revenge and obsession.
"Track her."
"Target locked. Analyzing movement trajectory... Predicted destination: Rand Tower."
Rand Tower?
Danny Rand.
William immediately understood Elektra's purpose.
She didn't trust him.
She was going to find her allies, to solve Matt Murdock's problem in her own way.
This woman, she was going to assemble the Defenders.
"Damn it!"
William slammed his fist on the control panel.
The sturdy metal surface emitted a dull thud.
Things were developing in the worst possible direction.
A completely broken Moon Knight.
A Daredevil controlled by The Hand.
An Elektra acting on her own, gathering a team.
Three unstable bombs simultaneously ignited in the powder keg that was New York.
And he, who should have been the bomb disposal expert, had now become the one adding fuel to the Fire.
He had to go in personally.
He couldn't rely on anyone else anymore.
He turned and walked towards the weapon rack where the foolproof plan armor was located.
Just then, an encrypted communication request popped up.
Caller: Tony Stark.
William took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the irritation in his heart, and connected the call.
Tony's iconic face appeared on the screen; he was wearing a casual T-shirt, with his laboratory in the background, but his expression was unusually serious.
"William, what exactly happened in Hell's Kitchen?"
Tony got straight to the point.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. just sent me the highest level alert. They said there was a large-scale superhuman armed conflict in Hell's Kitchen, and they've sealed all entry and exit points, preparing to send in special forces to 'purge' it."
Tony's speech was fast.
"Fury, that one-eyed man, even put the Avengers on a secondary combat alert, ready to intervene at any moment."
William was silent.
"I need to know the truth, William." Tony's expression became more serious than ever. "That's New York, it's my city. I can't just watch it turn into a battlefield."
William looked at Tony on the screen.
He knew he had no room left to hide anything.
Now, he needed an ally.
An ally strong enough, influential enough, to hold the fort.
"It's not an armed conflict, Tony." William slowly began, his voice hoarse. "It's one person."
"One person?"
"Daredevil."
Hearing that name, Tony paused.
"That blind lawyer? What happened to him?"
"He died. Then, he was resurrected by The Hand." William stated the cruelest fact in the most concise language.
"Now, he's become The Hand's new leader, and he's 'purifying' Hell's Kitchen in his own way."
On the other end of the screen, the ease and sarcasm on Tony's face completely vanished.
He knew Daredevil, the vigilante who fought crime in the streets and alleys. Although his methods were somewhat extreme, he always adhered to his bottom line.
Such a stubborn, principled man, actually... "The Hand... resurrected..." Tony rubbed his Sun temple. "This sounds like a B-grade horror movie plot."
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