Chapter Two: Need a Lawyer?

The famous Black Widow? Yeah, she wasn't gonna sweat over some restaurant owner's threats.

Alvin might be tall, but who gives a damn?

Natasha, looking all serious, said, "I'm with S.H.I.E.L.D. and I need you to cooperate with my work. Or I'll bust you for illegal weapons and take over your joint to do my mission."

She said it like it was a done deal, leaving Alvin no wiggle room.

Alvin was floored; he didn't think a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent would pull this kind of stunt!

Acting all high and mighty with a regular guy! Though, Alvin wasn't exactly regular, and yeah, he did have some illegal weapons.

But this is Hell's Kitchen, where everyone’s packing something for self-defense.

People here need to be ready for whatever crazy stuff might go down.

Even the NYPD wouldn't bust someone here for that.

Alvin was taken aback, feeling let down by Natasha's attitude. Guess not all Avengers are as cool as they seem in the movies!

Not wanting to drag this out, Alvin gave Natasha a cold stare and said, "I don't know what S.H.I.E.L.D. is, and I don't care! If you wanna charge me, call the cops or the FBI. And make sure they bring a warrant."

With that, Alvin turned, opened the back door of his restaurant, and before shutting it, he added, "This is Hell's Kitchen, and my restaurant's open to guests. But if anyone steps foot on the second floor where I live, I'll defend myself."

"Bang!" The iron door slammed shut!

Natasha's face soured. She got what she wanted, but when was the last time an ordinary guy dissed her like that?

Alvin ignored her looks, shrugged off her threats. It didn't make her feel "defeated," but it sure got her curious.

Especially when a female voice in her earpiece teased, "If you wanna mess up your undercover mission, at least make it look real. Coulson's not easy to fool! This restaurant owner might just be your ticket. John Gardner's about to take over your case, so hurry up!"

Natasha touched the wound on her waist from the last attack, muttered a curse, and walked out of the alley.

In a foul mood, she kicked the head of a black thug who was just waking up as she passed by the knocked-out group.

The poor guy's head hit a trash can with a loud "thud" and he was out cold again.

Kicking the thug seemed to lift Natasha's spirits a bit. As an elite agent, this was just a minor hiccup.

Her plan was to get in, contact the target, and wrap up the mission quick, not play undercover.

Now it seemed her intel was off. The name and background were right, but this restaurant owner's personality was way off.

Natasha thought a Chinese-American would be more timid, even if Alvin lived in Hell's Kitchen, the wildest part of NYC, and ran a small restaurant peacefully.

That showed he had some guts, but Alvin blowing off her threats and snapping back was a shocker.

Even if she wanted to wrap this up or screw it up fast, she had to go through the motions.

Natasha slowly walked out of the alley, turned right, and headed for Alvin's restaurant.

Alvin's place was a two-story building on the street, with the restaurant on the first floor, his living space on the second, and the basement for storage.

This restaurant was the only thing Alvin's parents left him.

Above the wooden door hung a sign in Chinese characters that read "Peace Hotel," and on either side of the door were red lanterns with a distinct Chinese vibe.

Under the lanterns lay two massive black dogs, each standing over 120 centimeters tall at the shoulder.

Anyone with a clue could tell these were some seriously big wolves, but the locals passing by weren't scared. Some kids even hugged the wolves' necks and played with them.

When the wolves dealt with the rowdy kids, they'd act all human-like and then use their front paws to nudge the kids back to their parents.

Natasha was shocked. It was ten at night, and this was Hell's Kitchen. Even the cops didn't roll through here after midnight.

But this street looked like a normal neighborhood, with residents casually strolling by.

This was unheard of in the other 24 blocks of Hell's Kitchen. Usually, after 8 PM, the streets were dead.

After dark, the dimly lit streets were taken over by drug dealers or pimps, a place even prostitutes avoided.

But the street in front of Natasha was nothing like her idea of Hell's Kitchen. She knew her intel was off.

Natasha didn't expect all these surprises before the mission even started.

This piqued her interest, making her curious—not about the mission, but about Alvin, the restaurant owner.

It was clear the peace on this street had something to do with the "Peace Hotel."

Almost everyone slowed down when passing by, even if they didn't go in, they'd greet the two giant wolves at the door. "Hey, Thor, hey, Dom."

And those dressed like gangsters would quickly cross to the other side, avoiding the wolves' gaze.

Natasha, now intrigued, walked up to the restaurant door and greeted the wolves like the locals, "Hey, Thor, hey, Dom."

The wolves sniffed the air, clearly not liking Natasha's scent, stood up, and growled lowly at her, obviously not friendly.

Natasha wasn't exactly scared, but she was a bit nervous. She hadn't brought any guns for this mission, just some small self-defense gadgets. Whether those could stop the wolves was iffy.

She didn't get why the wolves, who were cool with everyone else, were so hostile to her.

If the wolves attacked, she wasn't sure she could get away unscathed.

"Miss, I'd step back if I were you. Thor and Dom aren't to be messed with," a young voice said from behind Natasha.

She turned around and saw two young guys walking together.

One was a curly-haired, smiling chubby dude, and the other was a blind guy with a cane.

The curly-haired guy, who was talking, walked up to the wolves enthusiastically while talking to Natasha, "Hey, Thor, hey, Dom," and reached out to pet their heads, only to have his hand swatted away by the wolves' paws.

The wolves gave Natasha a cold stare, patted the chubby guy's thigh as a greeting, and then went back to lying down by the door.

The chubby guy turned to Natasha, grinning, "It's rare to see strangers in Hell's Kitchen this late, especially a beautiful lady like you. You might be in trouble.

I'm Foggy Nelson, a lawyer from 'Nelson & Murdock.' I'd be happy to help you!" With that, Foggy handed Natasha a business card.