Over the past week, thanks to Fox's negotiations with Rand Enterprises, she successfully acquired the abandoned high-rise in Hell's Kitchen. The poor location, years of stalled construction, and the Assassin Brotherhood's fearsome reputation after wiping out the Hand worked in her favor.
In the end, Fox managed to secure the building and its land from Rand for just $50 million — practically a giveaway.
Fox continued her report:"Boss, Stark Industries' stock price has now dropped by 56.5%."
Hearing that the price had already been cut by more than half, Smith Doyle knew the day Tony announced himself as Iron Man wasn't far off.
"Wait for my signal," Smith said. "Be ready to start buying back at any time."
Fox closed her folder just as a red-haired woman in an office uniform walked out of the high-rise and approached her.
"The building is now completely empty," the woman reported. "No workers, no vagrants. The blast points have been marked, and as soon as we plant the explosives it's ready to come down."
Fox nodded."Good. Bring in the demo team and start clearing the rubble when it's done."
Smith Doyle's gaze, however, settled on the redhead — none other than Natasha Romanoff.
Interesting. So SHIELD sent her to infiltrate? He was getting the Tony Stark treatment early.
Smith thought back over everything he knew about Natasha Romanoff. Once an operative of the Soviet Red Room, rescued by Clint Barton during a mission and led to believe Barton had destroyed the Red Room — which led her to join SHIELD at his invitation.
But what if she learned the Red Room hadn't really been destroyed? That SHIELD just pretended to wipe it out? Could he turn her against them?
If he helped her truly destroy the Red Room and rescue her sister, adoptive father and mother, would she give her loyalty willingly?
Smith felt confident the odds were good. Natasha wasn't some brainwashed SHIELD loyalist — she was a product of the Red Room. Find the right pressure point, and she could be swayed.
SHIELD wanted to plant a mole here — but he planned to plant a line back into SHIELD. After all, he'd been itching to deal with Nick Fury for a while now. He wasn't about to go head-to-head with Captain Marvel's babysitter just yet, but he didn't mind setting up the game to take Fury out eventually.
Smith smiled and asked Fox:"Fox, how come I've never seen this young lady before?"
Fox replied:"This is Natalie Rushman, my new secretary. She's got a real knack for finance — she's been a huge help."
"She's fluent in French, Italian, and Latin. Used to model, knows a little hand-to-hand combat."
Smith raised an eyebrow."A real all-rounder."
Fox nodded."With everything you've been piling on me lately, I think I'm going to need a whole team of secretaries. Even with Wesley and John Wick helping, I could use at least two more."
Smith chuckled."OK, OK — you'll have them. If you find the right candidates, take two more."
At that moment, Natalie extended her hand."Boss. Nice to meet you."
Smith shook her hand with a smile."I'm not your boss — she is." He nodded toward Fox.
Fox grinned."I'll get in touch with the demo company. We can start tearing down the building. Let's clear out of here."
Smith waved her off."No need to bother. If you're sure the building's empty and no squatters inside — leave it to me."
"Have everyone move back at least a hundred meters and keep the perimeter secure. Don't let anyone near."
Fox immediately relayed the order, and everyone cleared to a safe distance.
Standing there with Fox and Natasha, Smith said:"Fox, today I'll show you what it means to stand atop the mountain."
He cupped his hands at his waist as energy gathered between them.
"Kamehameha!"
"Haa… meee… haaa…!"
A beam of white light shot from his hands straight at the high-rise.
BOOM!
At the last moment, Smith raised his hands and the beam curved upward, tearing through the building from bottom to top before streaking into the sky.
BOOM!
The sudden blast and the building turning to dust made both Fox and Natasha jump. Neither of them had expected such overwhelming power from him.
Fox murmured in awe:"No wonder they call you God. There are no wrong nicknames, only wrong names."
"God… you really are a god!"
Natasha wasn't much better off. Even with all her experience, she'd never seen anyone this strong — and using a completely unseen type of attack.
She looked up at the fading streak in the sky and couldn't help but think: what if he fired one of those at the White House…?
She quickly shook the thought out of her head. At least he was on their side — for now. And she understood now why Nick Fury wanted her close to him — to observe and evaluate.
But could SHIELD really bring someone like him into the fold? He wasn't some nameless grunt — he was the head of a powerful organization.
Fox, meanwhile, was practically starry-eyed watching him. Perhaps his coming really had been divine providence — a blessing for the Assassin Brotherhood.
If he'd landed in the hands of someone like Kingpin or the High Table, she didn't even want to imagine what the world would look like now.
"God," she breathed, "is this your true strength?"
"It's… incredible. I bet Cross and the others will regret not seeing this for themselves."
Smith smiled faintly."Train hard. Push your body to its limits."
Fox's eyes widened. Did that mean she had a chance to grow this strong too?
As Smith turned to leave, he added:"All right. The building's cleared. Start excavation work."
Natalie watched him go, then whispered to Fox:"Boss… is the big boss really a god?"
Fox looked at her glowing expression and smiled."With power like that, why not call him God?"
"After all — he is God."
(End of Chapter)
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