Since World War II, HYDRA has been lurking in the shadows. For their greater goals, they provoke chaos all over the World, especially various wars.
And with the equipment provided by Osborn, the Military was like a tiger with wings.
Imagine if the U.S. Military in the Vietnam War had power armor.
This was clearly detrimental to HYDRA's goal of creating chaos.
The scales of war had already tipped, and they obviously didn't want the war to stop yet.
"Hello, Colonel Rhodes."
"Hello, Mr. Osborn."
Harry shook Hands with the Director of Weapons Development; he wasn't wearing War Machine today.
Given Rhodes's identity, Osborn and Rhodes interacted frequently.
However, the relationship between Rhodes and Harry wasn't like his with Tony; the two were more strictly professional.
Harry soon saw the batch of exoskeletons and power armor seized by the U.S. Military.
The U.S. Military had very strict controls over power armor, with every mission being recorded, and this batch was clearly not in the U.S. Military's records.
Control over power exoskeletons was a bit looser than power armor, but whether it was power exoskeletons or power armor, the U.S. Military guaranteed there had been no thefts.
"We compared the exoskeletons used by the enemy with the Osborn Group's power exoskeletons and found that the technology is indeed very similar."
Rhodes took out a folder of information.
As the developer, Harry could tell that the design concepts of this equipment were very similar; they were imitations.
"Even their energy source uses the same technology as the Osborn Group: Strontium-90, thermoelectric batteries." Rhodes handed over a box.
Harry already knew what was inside and didn't need to open it.
Although the technology was very similar, it was still a bit amateurish compared to Osborn's. The battery efficiency was low, and the quality of the outer shielding was poor; those using these imitations would easily suffer from radiation sickness.
"But this really has nothing to do with Osborn." Harry shrugged. "However, there was indeed a theft before this."
The so-called theft referred to Kingpin stealing once and then giving the Hand 50 sets of the initial version of power armor, though it was all blamed on Kingpin.
"Theft? Why wasn't it reported to the Armed Services Committee?" Rhodes's brow furrowed; this stuff was controlled material.
"I did. To be precise, I reported it to the local NSA. Remember that time the NYPD swept the Hells Kitchen gangs? Perhaps you should ask the NSA Agents?"
There were indeed many strange things about this matter.
For instance, on the night of the incident, the NYPD suddenly went silent, but after Norman took office and investigated the NYPD, he found there were indeed no illegal operations—or rather, it was impossible to investigate further.
Thinking carefully, there was indeed a high probability that this matter involved HYDRA.
And looking back, those power armors from the Hand were, as expected, traded to HYDRA; otherwise, 50 units of power armor wouldn't change much. The Rand Corporation, after all, had nothing to do with the Military industry; they didn't have the ability to replicate power armor technology.
Thinking back on these events, Harry suddenly felt that HYDRA was indeed an insidious opponent—if he were a local native, he might still be in the dark.
However, once ctOS was fully deployed in New York, HYDRA's activities in New York would be significantly restricted.
Hearing Harry's words, Rhodes immediately called Congress.
"Hello, Colonel Rhodes. Are you talking about the Osborn power exoskeletons and power armor that were stolen? The NSA is investigating, but since the mastermind is dead, many things have stalled for now."
Harry shrugged.
"See, Colonel Rhodes, I really can't be blamed for this. I'm just a pure and honest businessman."
The information at Hand made Rhodes very uneasy; he keenly sensed that the matters behind this might not be so simple.
Harry patted his shoulder. "But you don't need to worry too much. Osborn's new model of power armor is about to hit the market. This time it uses Plutonium-235, and the armor has been upgraded."
After hearing this, Rhodes leaned in and looked over. "How much?"
Harry shrugged. "Anyway, you guys can definitely afford it. Batteries are the same as before, sold separately."
After discussing this, a group of soldiers appeared, aggressive, as if they were there to make an arrest.
"Uh, Colonel, does the Military have other business with me? Today is the day ctOS goes live in Manhattan; I still want to go back and attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony."
Rhodes shook his head, indicating he didn't know.
"Mr. Osborn, you are required to attend the Senate Armed Services Committee immediately."
"Now?"
The soldier nodded expressionlessly.
Harry wanted to ask for more details, but the other party was clearly unfriendly; they refused to disclose anything about the meeting's content or the attendees.
"I will escort Mr. Osborn." Rhodes also felt something was wrong and took the initiative to suggest.
"I'm sorry, Colonel, but the committee has designated us to provide the escort."
It seemed he had no choice but to go. Harry rubbed his chin, wondering what kind of tricks HYDRA was trying to play.
Were they going to frame him for treason?
Under the soldiers' escort, Harry got into a truck heading for the White House.
The atmosphere in the vehicle was very somber, even making one wonder if they intended to kidnap Harry.
He couldn't figure it out. The hearing tactic hadn't worked on Tony; why did they think it would work on him?
Soon, Harry arrived at the entrance of the White House. It wasn't nearly as lively as the last time Harry had come, and who knew how many people were shills hired by HYDRA.
Harry sat in the seat Tony had once occupied. The person presiding over the hearing was still that Senator Stern.
"We meet again, Mr. Osborn."
Harry ignored him and controlled Lening to enter the surrounding broadcasting equipment from the ground.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Osborn. This hearing was convened rather suddenly, and you weren't given much time to prepare."
Although he said he was sorry, this fat-headed Senator Stern was clearly gloating, smiling like a withered chrysanthemum.
"You should indeed be sorry. I must remind you that your job is to serve the taxpayers—especially law-abiding citizens like me—not to waste their time by dragging them here for some hearing over nothing."
Harry turned on his phone; there was no signal. They seemed to have tampered with something.
"My job is to ensure that American citizens are safe at all times, but the Osborn Group seems to have made some very serious mistakes."
Harry turned a deaf ear to his words. Soon, Lening found the source of interference: a small signal jammer hidden in the ceiling.
Lening easily paralyzed the device. Harry now knew what they were doing.
The signal jammer caused a delay in the live broadcast. The reporters on site were all their people, and then, during that slight delay, the behind-the-scenes team played the trick of cutting one sentence out of every three.
For example, in the first sentence, Harry's words were shortened to "I don't have time for some hearing."
And Stern's line about "not giving you much time to prepare" was also edited out.
The phone got a signal, and Harry immediately called Norman.
Seeing Harry pull out his phone, the expression on Senator Stern's face became interesting—how did these Osborns and Starks each have little tricks they didn't know about?
"My Lord Senator, while I would love to continue, the convening of this hearing doesn't seem to follow procedure. I believe other senators will soon notice this issue."
"Until then, allow me to remain silent for the time being."
Harry leaned back and crossed his legs.
As for the so-called procedure, in reality, nobody was following it.
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