~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 40 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Some people say the taste of brandy is the closest thing to the taste of fresh blood. What do you think, Mr. Brown?"
The man raised his glass, swirling the liquor with theatrical flair, sniffing it with exaggerated appreciation.
Henry ignored the pretentious display.
He lifted the glass and drank the XO cognac in one gulp—a brandy aged at least six years.
"I've never tasted blood," Henry said calmly. "So I can't compare."
"But I'm pretty sure whoever said that must've been a Froggy."
"Because if a Rashka said it, brandy would suddenly become vodka."
"Froggy" was an American slur referring to the French—who were stereotypically mocked for eating frogs.
"Rashka" was a mocking American-Russian hybrid pronunciation referring to Russians.
The joke amused the man across from him.
"Hahaha, quite right."
He picked up the bottle and poured Henry another glass.
"My name is Gitano Dragoneiti. A pleasure."
Henry stood and extended his hand.
"Henry Brown. The pleasure is mine, Mr. Dragoneiti."
By standing, Henry subtly increased the physical distance between them again.
When people weren't familiar with each other, overly intimate gestures often signaled hidden motives.
As the saying went:
> Excessive courtesy often hides ulterior intentions.
Dragoneiti didn't seem offended by Henry's caution.
He stood, shook Henry's hand politely, and gestured for him to sit again.
"Mr. Brown has accomplished quite a few things quietly lately," Dragoneiti said.
"Promoting digital cinema technology.
The Sony building explosion in Los Angeles."
"You walked away with the benefits while escaping the trouble unscathed."
"Anyone watching would have to applaud."
Henry chuckled lightly.
"That explosion had nothing to do with me."
"Maybe Sony just couldn't agree with a thief about commission fees and someone blew the building up."
"After all, I'm the victim whose property was stolen."
The usual social dance.
Say everything politely.
Reveal nothing.
Even if everyone suspected him.
Dragoneiti didn't challenge the denial.
Instead, he casually added:
"Did you know Mickey Schulhof was extremely unhappy with you?"
"He tried to approach the Continental Hotel to place a bounty."
"Fortunately the bounty never passed approval. Otherwise you'd be facing endless assassination attempts."
The implication was obvious.
He was hinting that Henry's safety existed thanks to his intervention.
If Henry didn't know how the Continental worked, he might have believed the claim.
Henry smiled.
"With Schulhof's personality—lavish and obsessed with appearances—he probably couldn't bear to pay the bounty."
"Maybe it was just a performance to show he was angry."
At the Continental, placing a bounty didn't require gold coins.
But the minimum price was $100,000.
And if the target was particularly dangerous or influential?
A low bounty would simply be rejected.
Henry's case qualified easily.
A bulletproof mutant wasn't exactly an easy target.
Realistically, the bounty would need to start at one million dollars.
Most gunmen couldn't deal with someone like that.
It would require specialists—or elaborate poisoning schemes.
The difficulty rose exponentially.
If the reward was too small, no one would bother.
And the Continental demanded full payment in advance.
No killing first and collecting later.
So if the employer couldn't afford the bounty, the offer simply wouldn't be accepted.
Dragoneiti wasn't surprised by Henry's response.
Henry had once worked within the Continental's orbit.
Knowing those details wasn't unusual.
Still, even if the "life-saving favor" didn't work, revealing the information was still a smaller favor.
Dragoneiti smiled.
"Mr. Brown truly matches Ms. Fisher's description."
"Cunning. Clever."
"Those who thought you were merely a bookish nerd paid a heavy price."
Mentioning Munni Fisher—Henry's former superior—was another attempt to assert dominance.
But Munni herself had failed to control Henry.
Why would some stranger succeed now?
Henry smoothly shifted the conversation.
"Compared to my small affairs, shouldn't world affairs be more interesting?"
"The Red Empire has collapsed.
Japan's economic bubble burst.
Europe is integrating."
"Right now the United States has no real rival."
"That's not good."
"My boss and his fellow merchants of death can't sell weapons without enemies."
"If they can't sell weapons, they don't have money to spend."
"And if they don't spend money, the American economy slows."
"So the urgent question is: who should be our next enemy?"
"Some say Afghanistan.
Others say Iran.
Some say Saddam Hussein."
"What do you think, Mr. Dragoneiti?"
Dragoneiti raised his glass calmly.
"Anyone will do."
"None of them can defeat the U.S. military anyway."
But he still tried to steer the conversation back to his real objective.
"What about Tony Stark?"
"What has your employer been doing lately?"
Henry shrugged.
"Probably in bed with some minor actress or model."
"If you want that information, you'd get better results calling New York paparazzi."
"He doesn't exactly report his schedule to me."
Dragoneiti leaned forward slightly.
"What if we asked you to deliver an invitation?"
"Arrange a meeting between us and Tony Stark."
Henry spread his hands helplessly.
"Of course I can deliver the invitation."
"But I've already said—I'm not his parents, and I'm not his guardian."
"That man does whatever he wants."
"You remember one of his recent scandals?"
"At a charity dinner hosted by Stark Industries, President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton attended in person."
"Vice President Obadiah Stane told everyone Tony Stark was ill and recovering."
"And the very same night—photos appeared in newspapers showing Stark partying somewhere else with two women draped over him."
Dragoneiti said calmly:
"Wasn't that Stark expressing dissatisfaction with the Democratic administration's military cuts?"
Henry shrugged.
"Who knows?"
"Maybe he just wanted to sleep with those women."
"So tell me—"
"If I invite him, and he casually agrees…"
"What are the chances he doesn't show up at all?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
🎉 Power Stone Goal Announcement! 🎉
I'll release one bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones we hit!"
Let me know what should I do
Your support means everything—let's crush these goals together! Keep voting, and let the stones pile up! 🚀
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~