A Dirty Deal to Clear Up a Misunderstanding

Owen Davis was quick to smooth things over, even in minor matters. "Mr. Stark, my agent was misled by a false tip and contacted Mr. Brown."

"Actually, misunderstandings like this can be cleared up if Mr. Brown explains during our subsequent investigation. What If...? Mr. Brown is unable to come, we can simply sit aside and chat for a few minutes to clarify things."

"Oh." Tony Stark turned around and returned to the FBI regional chief. "Speaking of which, I also have some information. I heard that something worrying has happened near the border of Alaska and Yukon Territory, close to the Arctic Ocean."

What are you worried about?

"I don't know either, that's why I asked you to investigate. We need to find a reassuring result, right? Otherwise, I'll be too scared to come to the West Coast. I still have a villa in Malibu Beach."

"Rest assured, Mr. Stark. I will send two of my best agents to dispel any doubts you may have."

Tony patted the arm of the FBI regional chief, who was considerably older than him, and said, "With such an excellent federal officer as you, you see, my confidence in the security situation on the West Coast has increased considerably."

"Come on, let's toast my newly appointed CEO. He's coming to Hollywood, your territory. I don't want him causing any scandals that could affect Stark Industries ' stock price. You'd better keep an eye on him for me."

"This is our duty; Mr. Stark need not remind us further."

"Hmm." Tony then turned and instructed, "Happy, buy the film from the reporters. Make sure no reports damage Stark Studios ' image appear."

"Okay, boss."

Happy certainly wouldn't do such a thing himself; he would simply direct Tony Stark's PR team to handle the entertainment reporters present.

Things like this usually come with a price, and since it wasn't an exclusive report, the reporters obediently pulled out the film from their cameras and handed it over.

As for the photos of today's inauguration banquet, they were naturally provided by Stark's PR team. Everyone just needs to release the information according to the pre-arranged template.

Only when both sides are locked in a fierce confrontation, neglecting their underlings, will these events have news value. Both sides have reached an agreement; are we going to fan the flames?

Moreover, Stark Industries and the FBI are forces far beyond the reach of entertainment reporters like themselves. If someone tries to make a name for themselves through this kind of news and refuses to hand over the negatives and cooperate, guess what the outcome will be?

No one needs to die, or Stark Industries need to get involved. The FBI's underhanded tricks and dirty tactics are already enough to drive these reporters crazy. So, it's best to just take a sum of money and settle things; everyone's happy.

The only ones who were unhappy were FBI special agents Jack McCann and Maris Horvath.

Without a doubt, the "excellent" agents sent to the border region between Alaska and Yukon Territory would be these two.

In the back-and-forth exchanges between Tony Stark and Owen Davis, they didn't even have a chance to interject.

They were just abandoned like that.

They were certainly unwilling to accept it. But what could they do? The recordings in Henry Brown's possession were enough to drag them both down with him.

Once implicated in the unsolved case of State Representative Mike Liddell Holden State, triggering the Continental Hotel's cleanup procedures, the files of two more missing agents were thrown into the unsolved cases archive.

Just like Special Agent James, who mysteriously disappeared more than a year ago. He was assigned a sinecure, but one day he stopped coming to work without explanation.

The FBI certainly investigated his case and discovered that someone had cleaned up Agent James's tracks. Further investigation revealed that the person who cleaned up the tracks was Agent James himself!

Whether this guy encountered insurmountable trouble and thus disappeared on his own, or whether a third party caused this situation, neither Jack McKen nor Maris Horvath wanted the outcome.

Seeing those smug people raising their glasses in celebration, as if they had won a victory, Maris's anger flared.

Horvath reached into his robes and grasped the special collar they had brought, designed to suppress Mutants abilities.

In fact, when they saw the target reach into his pocket, their actions of drawing their Jack were indeed hasty. They hadn't immediately remembered that the target was Mutants with bulletproof abilities.

With no way to back down, he could only keep his gun up, trying to intimidate the other side with words. But he failed.

But now, if we just put an ability-suppressing collar on the other person, stripping them of their bulletproof ability, wouldn't it be much easier to control them then?

However, Marius's little action was noticed by his companion. Jack quickly pressed Marius's hand down and shook his head.

"Why, as long as we can control him?"

Jack lowered his voice and said, "Not in a place like this! Even if you don't care about those reporters, how many of the bodyguards Stark brought are armed?"

"They might allow us to deal with someone so close to their boss right under their noses? Whether that person is Tony Stark or not?"

"Is this just going to be the end of it?"

"If you dare rush over there, you'll be riddled with bullets on the spot. You won't even have a chance to be draped in the national flag or put on the wall of honor. That guy is no longer someone we can deal with using petty tricks. To bring him down, we need solid evidence."

Do you think we'll have a chance to come back after we're deployed to Alaska?

Jack and McCann pulled the man away from the banquet hall, saying, "Our future in the FBI is over."

Owen can't bail us out. But he can't stop us from resigning either; it's not like we're going to jail.

"Once we get to Alaska, we'll stay for a couple of days, then submit our resignations. We'll obey his orders, and that'll save face for him. Even if Tony Stark asks about it later, we'll have an explanation."

What happens after you resign?

"Go to the local police station, go to the CIA, go to a private security company—we have many ways to support our families. But if you rush in now and cause a scene, you can forget about everything. You'll be lucky if you're not killed on the spot."

Jack McKen was much more level-headed than Maris Horvath. He just hadn't expected that the weak Mutants who had obediently followed them after a few warnings would cause him so much trouble.

But things haven't reached the point of total collapse yet. They can't afford to cut off their own escape route because of a momentary impulse.

Maris Horvath, who was leaving, glared hatefully at the core group. "So what about that guy? Are we just going to let him go like that?"

"We'll use our connections to have someone keep an eye on him. We don't know how he won Tony Stark's favor, but that circle isn't easy to get into; he'll make a mistake sooner or later. Then we can bring him down openly and no one can find fault with it."

This sounded like the best solution, but it was infuriating. Maris Horvath went to the car and angrily slammed the door shut. "Fuck!"

"Fuck!" Jack McKen cursed back. But his meaning was completely different. He looked at the dent on the car door and yelled, "This isn't a government car, this is my own fucking car. What are you doing, you idiot, denting the door!"