Next was the latest recruit, the shadow man Richard, who had screwed over his previous boss, Amanda.
Amanda had abused Richard excessively; given his mental trauma, he couldn’t be given too much pressure. He had to be treated generously and be given an extremely relaxed environment with a harmonious atmosphere.
Emma and Lorna, these young mothers, would be too busy with their kids.
Each of the supergirl trio was either busy with their career or relationship, and weren’t reliable.
Nikki and Monica could only be considered backup superheros; they might not necessarily show any results for the next three to five years.
Of the stepsisters Jessica and Trish, one had superpowers and didn’t want to be a superhero, while the other didn’t have superpowers and really wanted to be a superhero. Both of them had very complicated psychological issues.
Blade Warrior spent most of his time wandering around Europe, chasing and cutting down vampires.
However, he had already told the bigshot who sold everything, who had supplied him with equipment, that he could act as a temporary hired thug to repay the credit points he owed.
What surprised Selina the most was Johnny Blaze and Carter. “Ghost Rider? A magical being created by Mephisto?”
Luke nodded. “Johnny is living in seclusion, but occasionally loses control and comes out to kill bad guys. He has poor control over the vengeful evil spirits inside him, and will probably attack us on sight.”
Just like how the system’s judgment of good and evil wasn’t the same as the law, the way Ghost Rider judged “sin” was another type of mechanism.
Selina was more concerned about something else. “I seem to recall you saying that you dealt with Mephisto before. Are the underlings stronger than the Lord of Hell?”
Luke said, “Mephisto is afraid of being caught and beaten up by certain bigshots on Earth, so he operates here through his clones. In terms of individual combat ability, he might not be as good as Ghost Rider.”
He paused for a moment. “Carter Slade can be mobilized in an emergency, but he’s too old. Although he has Life 1, he might die in one explosion.”
Selina slapped her forehead. “Most of them have more issues than they do superpowers. No wonder you didn’t pull them into the Justice League.”
Only Richard and Skye were “normal” and had already started working for the PDD.
Even better was that both of them were tech whizzes, which was what the Justice League lacked the most.
Thanks to Luke’s efforts, the Bat Squad had always had excessive combat power. Only by picking candidates with formidable tech skills could the team make up for its shortcomings.
What Skye did was gather intelligence online, while the shadow man locked onto a target. The two complemented each other.
Luke patted Selina’s shoulder and said, “I’ll leave it to you. There’s no need to rush. We have plenty of time.”
Selina rolled her eyes. “You mean I have plenty of time.”
Luke chuckled and didn’t disagree.
Gold Nugget began to whine.
Selina said, “Seriously? How can the Justice League have a dog?”
Gold Nugget whined and turned its head pitifully to look at Luke.
Pondering for a moment, Luke nodded. “It’s fine to use the name Hellhound. It can use a text to voice converter in the chat. In any case, nobody said that the name Hellhound must refer to a dog.”
Gold Nugget immediately wagged its tail happily.
Selina asked, “Then how is it going to take part in battle or gatherings?”
Luke thought for a moment. “At most, I’ll help it find a suitable host, and it can go to the Bat Cave once in a while.”
Gold Nugget wagged its tail even more happily and rubbed against Luke’s leg as it howled in its heart: Finally, I have an official codename.
After their discussion, Luke and Selina spent most of their time at the research institute.
Selina familiarized herself with the situation, and Luke answered any questions she had.
It wasn’t until early August that Elsa called and disrupted their regular routine.
“You’ve been back for so long, and there’s been no updates from you. Has your agency gone bankrupt?” She asked the key question.
Luke immediately knew that something was up. “Do you have a job for us?”
Elsa asked, “Do you remember Margaret Cohen? I’m asking on her behalf.”
Luke asked, “That rich art student?”
After a brief silence, Elsa said, “She’s already graduated.”
Luke didn’t think too much of it. He was actually thinking about the woman’s status as a widow, but there was no need to mention it. “What does she want?”
Elsa said, “It’s about her sister, but she said that she can only tell you herself.”
Luke was surprised. “Are you sure?”
Elsa wasn’t an ordinary detective. She was now a level two lieutenant, and could become a captain next year.
She had a lot of police resources.
If she really needed to, she could get John McClane to investigate a case.
Luke’s interest was piqued.
For Margaret to skip over Elsa, this police friend, and come to Luke, this private detective, it should be an interesting case.
Thinking quickly, he said, “Alright, I’ll arrange a meeting with her. Hm, is she still using the same number?”
Elsa said, “…Yes, her number hasn’t changed.”
Luke asked, “Do you want to come with me?”
Elsa said, “No, she wants to keep it confidential as much as possible.”
Luke said, “…Got it. I’ll buy you and the boss dinner in a few days if we’re free.”
Elsa asked, “Is Selina back?”
Luke said, “She came back a while ago.”
Elsa said, “Tell her to let me know about dinner. You, forget it.”
Luke: “Huh?”
Elsa said, “You don’t tell the truth most of the time. Selina is much more reliable than you are.”
Luke: …You’re besties. I’m just an acquaintance. How can you compare us?
Of course, he only said that in his heart.
In fact, these two would contact each other once every half a month to catch up.
Elsa was just looking for an excuse to meet up with Selina.
…
Since Luke was no longer an office worker, he immediately found Margaret’s number and called her.
This was the first time he was calling her.
The last time he went to the widow’s house, he had called her sister, Haley Cohen.
In comparison, he was more familiar with Dr. Haley.
The call quickly connected, and Luke gave his name. The other party immediately exclaimed in surprise and greeted him in a fluster, then awkwardly made small talk.
Margaret stammered, as if she had only memorized a few lines out of politeness.
Luke didn’t think much of it.
He had encountered even odder things as a detective: people who drank heavily, people who were high, people out of their minds, and so on.
Very soon, he cut in stealthily and controlled the direction and pace of the conversation. He finalized the meeting in a few words and said goodbye politely.
Arranging a private meeting could be summarized in one sentence: “We’ll talk in detail when we meet.”
Although Margaret was beautiful and had a good character, they were just acquaintances. There was no need for small talk.
Putting down the phone, he told Selina, who was busy, that he was going to have coffee with a beautiful young widow.
Selina asked, “The Russian one?”
Luke: “…Margaret Cohen.”
Selina turned around and continued drawing on the virtual screen. “Oh, not interested. Have fun.”
