Chapter 295: IMF

"MI6? Was it because he exposed himself? Or because of you?" Josh asked with a slight smile, not taking it too seriously.

Because of Peggy Carter, the CIA had covered up the fact that her brother, Michael Carter, had once been recruited by Yugoslavia to become a Zodiac agent. His records simply stated that he lost his memory during the war, lived in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and was later found and brought back by the CIA.

So technically, MI6 shouldn't know that Michael Carter was a Zodiac version of a "super soldier."

But that doesn't mean Michael couldn't have revealed himself in everyday life.

The more likely reason, however, was Peggy Carter.

In the end, it all came down to the fact that Peggy was British. Even though she became Captain Carter in America, it wasn't as if the British didn't want her back.

But doing it the normal way wouldn't work. Whether the U.S. would even agree to let her go was one thing, and even if they did, Peggy's own wishes would be another.

So trying to use family ties to win her over was actually a pretty smart move. After all, her brother was now her only living relative.

But Josh trusted Peggy when it came to such things.

Her personality was the type that separated personal feelings from work. Trying to control her with just her family wouldn't be easy.

Besides, whether it was in the original timeline or this one, for many reasons, it was impossible for Peggy to leave behind her responsibilities in America and go work for Britain—at least not until the day she fully retired.

"It's both. Things still aren't going well in Britain, so last month, during a chaotic event, Michael used his powers to save someone and got noticed. When they found out he was my brother, MI6 started keeping an eye on him and invited him to join one of their special units. But don't worry, this won't affect my work for the CIA," Peggy quickly explained.

"No need to explain, Peggy. I trust you completely. Frankly, Michael joining MI6 might not be such a bad thing for you," Josh said with a wave of his hand.

"I don't really understand what you're saying," Peggy said, confused.

"In three years at the most, I'll be retiring from the CIA," Josh said, dropping a bombshell that shocked Peggy.

"What? Why?" Peggy was stunned.

Ever since the CIA was established, it had grown fast and achieved great success under Josh's leadership.

So Peggy couldn't understand why he would want to leave the CIA now.

Especially when Josh had a very close relationship with President Truman, who had just been re-elected the previous year.

"There is an old saying in the East: 'A new emperor brings new officials. The CIA is in a special position. As long as Harry is in charge, things are fine. But what about after he leaves? It's still early, but it's pretty clear that Dwight will take over, and he's not so easy to deal with," Josh explained.

Harry was Truman's first name, and Dwight referred to Eisenhower.

Truman had a respectful and fair way of working with others, which made him popular with many powerful groups.

But Eisenhower wasn't the same.

Another important reason was that Josh had to make way for the future formation of the United Kingdom of Austria, and also prepare for his eldest daughter, who would one day be first in line to the throne. Staying in the CIA no longer suited him—at least not on the surface.

Once he left the CIA, the new director was almost certain to make major changes—maybe not a complete purge, but a serious reshuffling was bound to happen.

Of course, only Josh knew the truth. No matter how the CIA was adjusted, unless it was completely dismantled and rebuilt, it would always remain under the secret control of Ouroboros. His resignation wouldn't change that.

"That serious? Hoover's been FBI Director for decades and he's still doing fine. And if you go, what happens to me?" Carter asked worriedly.

If Josh really resigned, he would retire in glory, but for her—someone Josh had promoted and supported—things might not go so smoothly.

"Haha, times have changed. Things are different now. And Hoover's situation isn't so great anymore..." Josh didn't finish the sentence, but the meaning was clear.

In fact, Truman was already preparing to move against Hoover.

This wasn't Josh's former world. This was a world with Marvel elements.

Because of HYDRA's presence, Hoover's power wasn't as overwhelming as it had been in Josh's past life. Though he still had his skills and resources, the FBI he depended on had already been infiltrated—over a third of its power was now under the control of the Council.

Then there was the rise of the CIA, which Josh had created and which the Council strongly supported. Over the years, the CIA had broken numerous spy networks like Leviathan, played key roles in major events like the Wakandan War, and brought great benefits to the U.S. through space, super-soldiers, and other special projects.

The FBI, on the other hand, fell farther and farther behind, always following and cleaning up the mess.

This seriously damaged Hoover's and the FBI's influence.

Hoover had tried to fight back, but against Josh—who secretly had access to advanced technology and supernatural powers—his efforts only backfired and cost him dearly.

Josh loved this era, where as long as there were no witnesses, no one could do anything to you.

As for Hoover's so-called blackmail material, like secret tapes and photos, they were useless against the CIA.

Why was that? Because in this era, it was difficult to fake recordings or photos because of the lack of advanced technology. But Josh had access to the tools of the future. Faking recordings and photos was easy, and the results looked even more real than the real thing. And since this era didn't have the tools to verify them, no one could tell the difference.

So without even needing to launch an investigation, Josh simply gathered some of Hoover's voice and photo samples through normal interviews and pictures, let AI tweak them a bit, and voilà—tons of "evidence" showing Hoover's betrayal were ready.

Enough for Truman to destroy Hoover without a doubt.

So if Hoover quietly resigned before the end of Truman's term and turned over the FBI's special files, he might still be able to enjoy retirement.

But if he didn't cooperate... well, that was his problem.

Once Hoover was out, both the CIA and the FBI—the two most important intelligence agencies in the United States—would be completely under the control of Hydra/Ouroboros.

Whether Josh stayed on as CIA director didn't really matter anymore.

Of course, that didn't mean HYDRA could do whatever it wanted—after all, there was still S.H.I.E.L.D., which had been officially formed last year by Howard Stark, who was now running it himself and had taken over Operation Paperclip.

"As for you... there's really nothing to worry about," Josh said. "You're the only semi-public super-soldier, and you're connected to Captain America. No matter who becomes the new CIA director, they'd have to be crazy to mess with you. But instead of just staying a team leader in the Operations Division, have you ever thought about becoming the boss yourself?"

The truth was, of all the agencies—Hoover's FBI, Howard's S.H.I.E.L.D.—the most unstable part after Josh's departure would be Carter, who was technically "his person".

She trusted him completely, but she might not feel the same way about the next leader. If Josh left and she stayed, it could cause problems.

"Being the boss? Don't tell me you want me to take over the CIA?" Carter rolled her eyes.

"No, not the CIA director," Josh said with a smile. "I'm talking about a new agency that's on a par with the CIA, but it reports directly to Congress, not the White House. It only answers to a special congressional committee."

"Oh? I've never heard of such an agency," Carter said, puzzled.

She'd worked in U.S. intelligence for years. She didn't know everything, but there wasn't much she hadn't at least heard about.

Still, this was something completely new to her.

"That's normal," Josh said. "It's still just a proposal. Congress approved it recently—it just needs Harry's signature. The person who runs this agency can't have strong political leanings, so you're a good choice. But just know, this job will be dangerous. If you accept, there will be a lot I won't be able to help you with.

Truth be told, the Americans seemed born to stir things up. They always talked about democracy, but they created intelligence agency after intelligence agency that clearly didn't follow democratic principles.

In Josh's past world, the U.S. had 17 officially recognized intelligence agencies. That's right—seventeen.

So having more agencies like S.H.I.E.L.D. or the IMF was no big deal.

And the IMF wouldn't be a huge organization like the CIA or the FBI.

It would be more like a special operations team that took orders directly from Congress.

"Danger? That's the one thing I never worry about. What's this agency called?" Carter asked.

"Impossible Mission Force," Josh replied.

"IMF? That's a pretty cool name," Carter said, her eyes lighting up.

"Looks like you're interested," Josh said, already seeing the spark in her eyes.

Carter nodded.

"Then come to Washington with me next week," Josh said.

Although he'd seemed busy traveling the world the past year, Josh actually made trips back to Washington every month or two—partly to show he was still politically active, and partly to keep an eye on his business interests.

The next day, Carter said goodbye to Josh and Margaret and left Neuschwanstein Castle; as someone who still had a day job, she couldn't live as leisurely as Josh, the big boss. During the Cold War, the CIA was extremely busy.

Even though she had agreed to join the IMF, she couldn't just quit her current job at the CIA. She still had to hand things over properly, didn't she?

But as she was leaving, she saw Vito coming back from outside.

And from the look of it—he was hurt?

This surprised Carter a lot.

She had known Vito since she met Josh. Although she had never seen him fight, she knew very well that if Josh kept him around, Vito's skills had to be top notch.

So who was strong enough to hurt him?

Carter was filled with questions. But when she saw Vito heading straight for the garden, obviously in a hurry to find Josh and not even looking at her, she figured it wasn't the right time to ask.

Who knew if it was something secret?

"Boss, I contacted him," Vito said quietly as he walked into the garden where Josh was calmly sipping tea and reading the newspaper like a retired old man.

"But he didn't take the job right away. He wants to meet you in person."

"He wants to meet me? For what?" Josh put down the paper and frowned slightly.

"I don't know... Boss, I screwed up," Vito said, looking a little uncomfortable.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Josh looked up at his trusted assistant.

Even though Vito's face didn't show much emotion—just a slightly low mood—Josh quickly noticed something wasn't right.

"Are you hurt? Did he attack you?"

"Actually... I attacked first," Vito said awkwardly, lowering his head. "I didn't expect him to be as strong as you said..."

Now Josh didn't know what to say either.

Vito had started the fight and ended up getting beaten. Josh couldn't exactly storm over and demand revenge.

He was protective, yes—but not blindly so.

And judging by Vito's condition, the man hadn't gone all the way. Otherwise, with Vito's strength, he wouldn't have come back in one piece so easily.

"This guy's been alive for over a thousand years, has powerful artifacts... even if you're enhanced, it's normal to lose.

If you had won, that would have been the real surprise.

I wouldn't have even thought of hiring someone like him if you could beat him.

Still, we can't just let it go. Since he wants to meet, fine—let's meet," Josh said calmly, taking a sip from his cup.

"Boss..." Vito was a little touched.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. I'm not just doing this for you," Josh waved him off, "This guy is more dangerous than you think. I wanted to show a little strength anyway, so he wouldn't underestimate us.

Next time something like this happens, don't be so impulsive."

"Yes, boss. It won't happen again," Vito nodded firmly.

"Good thing you didn't use the serum," Josh said as he stood up. "If someone had died, that would have been a real problem."

The Ten Rings... what secrets do they really hold?

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