Gitano Dragonetti

"Some say that brandy tastes closest to the taste of blood. What do you think, Mr. Brown?" the pretentious fellow said, raising his glass, swirling it, and sniffing it.

Henry ignored this posturing and downed the glass of X0 grade cognac, which was at least six years old, in one gulp. He said, "I have never tasted blood, so I cannot compare."

"But I believe it was Froggy who said that. Because if a Pascal said something like that, the brandy would definitely turn into vodka."

"Fudge" is a veiled reference to a France who loves to eat frogs, while "Rashka" is a mixed American and Russian pronunciation of the Russian word. Both are derogatory terms used by United States to refer to foreigners.

This amused the man before him. "Haha, indeed." He raised the bottle and poured Henry another glass of wine. He introduced himself, "Gitano Dragonetti. Nice to meet you."

"Henry Brown, it's an honor to meet you, Mr. Dragonetti." Henry stood up and extended his hand, slightly distancing himself from Gitano Dragonetti, who was trying to get closer to him by pouring wine.

When the relationship isn't close enough, overly intimate gestures can be quite alarming. As the saying goes, "Unsolicited kindness is either a swindler or a predator," which illustrates this Reason.

Gitano Dragonetti was not offended by Henry's somewhat tactless gesture; he politely rose and shook hands with him in return.

He then gestured for the person to sit down.

He continued, "Mr. Brown has quietly accomplished quite a few great things recently. From advancing cinematic digital imaging technology to the bombing of the Sony Building in Los Angeles. He took the benefits and escaped unscathed from the trouble. Anyone who sees this has to praise you."

"Heh, that explosion had nothing to do with me. Maybe Sony couldn't agree on a commission with the thief, and someone planted a bomb and blew everything up. I'm the victim of the theft."

As always, when it comes to polite talk, one must be absolutely careful. Henry didn't want to let anything slip in front of outsiders, even though everyone thought he was the prime suspect.

Gitano Dragonetti didn't deliberately correct this cautiousness. He casually brought it up:

"Mr. Brown, are you aware that Mitch Schulhoff's dissatisfaction with you led him to the Continental Hotel? Fortunately, the bounty wasn't approved, otherwise you would be facing endless pursuit right now."

The implication in his words, which were laced with self-praise, was that Henry was unharmed because he had pulled strings behind the scenes.

What If...? Henry weren't familiar with the situation at the Continental Hotel, he might have actually believed it. He chuckled and said, "Given that old man's extravagant and face-saving personality, he probably wouldn't be willing to part with my reward. Maybe he's just putting on an act, pretending to be very angry."

To place a bounty on someone's head in Continental Hotel, you don't need to use Gold Coin to pave the way, but the minimum bounty starts at ten square knives.

However, if the target is someone of unusual status or particularly difficult to deal with, and the hotel only wants to offer the minimum reward to take their life, such a bounty will be rejected by the Continental Hotel.

Henry's situation—an invulnerable Mutants —made him a particularly troublesome target. At the Continental Hotel's rates, killing someone like that would cost at least a million dollars.

Because most gunmen are unusable, only special agents or poisoning can be used. The difficulty of a successful assassination increases exponentially. If the money is too little, who would be willing to take the plunge?

Similarly, if the employer can't offer a reward, don't put one up. As an intermediary platform, Continental Hotel don't have the habit of killing first and collecting money later. Full deposit first, otherwise forget it.

Gitano Dragonetti was not surprised at all by Henry's evasive answer. The other man had once been affiliated with the Continental Hotel, and anyone with some inside information could easily deduce such a conclusion.

But he hadn't ruled out the possibility of a life-saving favor. Since he couldn't get the favor in return, revealing information was still a favor, albeit a small one.

Gitano Dragonetti laughed and said, "Mr. Brown is indeed as Ms. Fisher described him—cunning and witty. Those who mistook you for a bookworm have all suffered greatly."

Bringing up the past relationship with his former superior is still an attempt to suppress Henry. Unfortunately for them, Mooney Fisher couldn't win Henry over back then, and now some random person jumps out and thinks they can overpower him?

Henry changed the subject, saying, "Actually, Mr. Dragonetti, don't you think world affairs are more worthy of your concern than my own affairs?"

"The Red Empire collapsed, Japan's economy burst its bubble, and Europe is also consolidating. In today's world, the United States is invincible. This is not good."

"At least my boss and his gang of deadly merchants can't sell their weapons, so they have no money to squander. They have no money to squander."

The United States economy will slow down. So the most urgent task is to find the next competitor.

"On the one hand, we're digesting the spoils of victory, and on the other hand, we're preparing for the next one. Mr. Dragonetti, who do you think should be our next opponent?"

"Some say it's Afghanistan, where disputes still exist; some say it's Iran in the 1980s, which gave the United States an embarrassing experience; others say it's a complete solution to the Saddam Hussein problem. What do you think?"

Gitano Dragonetti, unfazed by the change in topic, raised his glass and said, "Anyone is fine. They're no match for the U.S. military anyway."

Isn't that right?

However, he still tried to take control of the conversation, steering it in the direction he wanted to know. Gitano Dragonetti asked, "You just mentioned Stark Jr. What's been going on with your boss lately?"

"Perhaps in the bed of some minor celebrity or model. If Mr. Dragonetti wants to know these things, he should call a tabloid reporter in New York; they'd probably know more than I do. After all, they have no obligation to report their whereabouts to me."

"What If...? I may, could you please extend an invitation to Mr. Tony Stark for us to meet with him? Is that alright?"

Henry helplessly spread his hands and said, "Of course. But I also want to say that I am neither that young master's parents nor his elders. I can't control what that willful bastard will do in the end."

"You should know that one of the major recent gossip stories was the charity dinner hosted by Stark Industries, which was attended by the current president, Bill Clinton, and the first lady, Hilary Bill Clinton."

"As a result, Vice President Obadiah Stane said that Tony Stark was on sick leave, and then the host, who was supposed to be present at the event, was photographed at another 'lap party' with women on either side, and the photos made the newspapers!"

Gitano Dragonetti said, "Isn't this Stark Jr. representing the military in expressing his dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party president's disarmament efforts?"

"Who knows? Maybe he just wants to sleep with someone's lap. So what do you think the chances are that I made a date, he casually agreed, and we both ended up getting stood up?"