Chapter 523

"When you said you were interested in the theater square bombing, did you mean it?"

Evenson didn’t bother circling around the subject. He went straight to the point.

"Of course."

Holmes’s eyes practically lit up.

He was a strange man. Complex cases fascinated him, but not because of the money. The investigation itself was the reward. Untangling a mystery, finding connections others had missed, and eventually reaching the truth gave him a satisfaction most people would never understand.

"Then how much do you know about the case?" Evenson asked.

Holmes gave him a peculiar look.

"Me? How much could I possibly know?"

He spread his hands.

"I’m a civilian consultant for the NYPD. Do you honestly think I have access to the details of a terrorist investigation?"

The bombing had already been classified as terrorism. That meant the FBI and CIA would have taken control, with the Department of Homeland Security almost certainly involved as well. Since the terrorist organization had openly threatened the President, the Secret Service would have been pulled in too.

The NYPD, meanwhile, had probably been reduced to providing the crime scene, evidence, and witness statements before being told to step aside.

If the police weren’t allowed to investigate, a civilian consultant certainly wasn’t going to have much information.

"Then I’d like to hire you to investigate it," Evenson said. "You’ll take the case, right?"

Holmes didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, suspicion returned to his eyes.

"You said this has nothing to do with SHIELD."

"I did."

"Then why are you here?"

Holmes clearly wasn’t buying the explanation yet.

After an attack of this magnitude, SHIELD would surely be investigating. If Evenson had come looking for him, there had to be a reason.

Perhaps SHIELD had encountered something they couldn’t solve.

Perhaps they needed his help.

If so, Holmes intended to make them work for it.

They had rejected him once before, after all.

"No."

Evenson rose and shook his head.

"SHIELD has officially decided not to involve itself in this matter. In fact, because I got caught up in it, Nick Fury gave me an extended leave that amounts to suspension in everything but name."

That still didn’t convince Holmes.

Anyone could make a claim like that.

"What if you’re lying?"

Evenson smiled faintly.

"Think about it. If SHIELD were handling this investigation, would I really need to come to you?"

Holmes’s expression immediately soured.

Evenson ignored it.

"I’m not saying you’re incompetent. Quite the opposite. SHIELD may not have anyone with your particular talent for investigation. But they have something you don’t."

"And what would that be?"

"Resources. Eyes and ears everywhere. Intelligence networks. Databases. Personnel. If they put enough information together, they can sometimes skip the deduction entirely."

Evenson gestured casually.

"They don’t necessarily have to figure out why something happened. They can simply find the answer."

Holmes considered that.

Then he nodded.

"Very well."

If a case were a novel, Holmes reasoned, then his investigation produced something resembling an outline. The clues gave him the basic structure, and his deductions filled in the missing pieces until the story became complete.

SHIELD was different.

SHIELD could potentially hand him the entire finished novel.

Not a serialized draft.

The completed book.

There might be a few typos, but that was about it.

Holmes couldn’t help feeling a little bitter.

Perhaps that was why SHIELD had rejected him so decisively.

To them, his talents were useful, but hardly indispensable.

"And you?"

Holmes’s attention returned to Evenson.

His gaze sharpened.

"Who exactly are you?"

Evenson frowned.

"Does that matter?"

"Of course it matters."

Holmes gestured toward the room.

"A terrorist attack. The most notorious terrorist currently making headlines. And a SHIELD operative who has supposedly been suspended."

He emphasized the last word.

"Watson and I are ordinary civilians. Before we involve ourselves in something like this, we need to know exactly who we’re dealing with."

His expression became serious.

"One of the most important lessons I’ve learned from investigating criminals is that the unseen attack from behind can be more dangerous than the murderer standing in front of you."

"That’s a good lesson."

Evenson slowly raised one hand.

"You want to know who I am?"

He snapped his fingers.

Click.

The Corruptor armor materialized around him in an instant.

Dark armor enveloped his body, the sleeveless design unmistakable.

Evenson looked at Holmes through the mask.

"There. Now you know."

Holmes and Watson exchanged a surprised glance.

"The Avenger..."

Holmes’s eyes widened.

Evenson didn’t leave the armor on for long. Black smoke poured over his body, and the Corruptor armor dissolved into nothingness.

Holmes immediately looked satisfied.

"Excellent."

He gave a decisive nod.

"We’ve established a basic level of trust. We can continue."

"Before we start, there’s something you should know."

Evenson’s tone turned serious.

"The people behind this attack may not be ordinary humans."

He wasn’t telling them out of kindness.

He simply didn’t want Holmes and Watson approaching the investigation as though they were dealing with a conventional criminal. If they assumed ordinary rules applied, they might overlook something critical.

"Mutants?"

Holmes looked even more excited.

"That’s excellent!"

Evenson stared at him.

"You aren’t afraid?"

"Why would I be?"

"Have you investigated anything like this before?"

"Something similar? No."

Holmes sounded almost triumphant.

"But I’ve always wanted to."

His eyes gleamed.

"It would be extremely valuable for testing my theory."

"Your theory?"

"My theory of elementary deduction."

Holmes could barely contain his enthusiasm.

"The method is simple in principle. Gather the available evidence, apply reasonable and logical deductions, and arrive at the truth."

He paused.

"But the world is becoming increasingly strange. The old rules are being challenged every day."

His expression grew intensely focused.

"So I need to prove that the method still works."

Evenson raised an eyebrow.

Holmes pressed on.

"What difference is there between a mutant criminal and an ordinary criminal?"

He stared directly at Evenson.

"They still leave fingerprints. Footprints. Physical evidence. Even if they possess bizarre abilities, such as teleportation, they should still have motives, behavioral patterns, and other logical factors that can be traced."

His smile widened.

"The only difference is that their weapon is no longer a knife or a pistol."

He pointed at Evenson.

"It is themselves."

"I believe that if I understand those patterns, I can deduce the truth. No matter what abilities they possess..."

Holmes’s voice carried absolute confidence.

"...there is only one truth."

Evenson couldn’t help admiring the man’s dedication.

Holmes might be arrogant, eccentric, and completely incapable of leaving a mystery alone, but his faith in deduction was genuine.

"All right."

Evenson turned toward the door.

"Come with me."