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Chapter 108: He's One Of Us.
🕑 Added 2024-12-23 16:15:24 +0000 UTCSorry, folks, only one chapter today as I have a fever and a cold, Tried But couldn't do more.
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The Joy District nightclub, one of Chicago's premier private venues, was known for its soundproofed rooms. Inside, not a sound escaped—neither gunshots nor screams attracted outside attention.
Hours later, as the noise died down, a disheveled Vito and another bodyguard escorted Wilfred Malick out of the room as if nothing had happened. After seeing Malick off, the duo, who had changed clothes, resumed their positions as the guard outside the private room door.
Minutes later, Josh reappeared, looking as composed as ever, and the group formally departed. Afterwards, Wilma, who had escorted Josh to the private room earlier, led a cleanup crew inside. The room bore only silent testimony to what had happened—bestial claw marks scarred the walls and large pools of blood stained the floor.
The girls, having learned things they shouldn't have, were naturally sent to Yuri. The four broken bodies met the same fate. Compared to Daenerys and Yuri, who ruled their respective worlds, Josh had probably fared the worst.
One had to be careful when attempting anything extraordinary.
As the year came to a end, in two months he would get a new beacon from another dimension. Josh wondered what kind of world—and what kind of people—he would encounter. He looked forward to it.
It was late when Josh got home. Margaret was still awake, sitting by the crib in the special nursery off the master bedroom, giggling at her two children. Francesca fought back a yawn as she watched over mother and children.
Was it true that pregnancy affected one's judgment for three years?
"Why aren't you sleeping?" Josh squeezed in next to Margaret, smiling at the two babies in the crib.
"Go take a shower—what have you been doing? You smell like rust!" Margaret said, pinching her nose.
Josh jumped at her words. Rust? Then it dawned on him—not rust, but blood. Though he had cleaned up at the nightclub, the hours in that blood—soaked private room had left their mark. Margot, still in her post-birth period, had a heightened sensitivity to such smells.
Without hesitation, he went straight to the bathroom. Despite his imposing presence outside, Josh's status at home had plummeted since the twins' arrival. Margaret's maternal instincts had overwhelmed her, and she focused all her energy on the children.
…………………………
A few days later in New York...
The Competitive Social Club! Though the Council of Nine authority extended across the U.S., most venues resembled high-end entertainment spots like the Joy District. Only New York and Los Angeles featured legitimate clubhouses bearing the organization's official name.
In a dimly lit meeting room, seven suited individuals sat around a large round table. Wilfred Malick, who had recently met with Josh, stood on the side. Though the Malick family had returned to Hydra's inner circle after Wilfred's decade-long efforts, they were far from equal to the other Hydra heads.
Age was not the issue. Two seated members, Calvin Chadwick of the Isodyne Group and Hugh Jones of the Roxxon Corporation, were similar in age to Wilfred yet held prominent seats among the council, wielding significant influence. This was solely because their corporations far exceeded Wilfred's own.
Only Wilfred understood this complex dynamic.
"Wilfred, tell us about your contact with Josh Kahn," said Thomas Gloucester, the older man in the first seat. As Hydra's most influential leader and a Wall Street financial titan, Gloucester headed the First National City Bank Trust.
The First National City Bank Trust, centered around Citibank—Wall Street's oldest institution—had taken a different path in this world. Instead of declining during the Great Depression of the 1930s and falling to Rockefeller and Morgan, as in Josh's previous life, it had emerged as a winner. Together with Roxxon Energy and Isodyne Energy, they had orchestrated the Great Depression and become its greatest profiteers.
Meanwhile, Rockefeller and Morgan suffered heavy losses during the Great Depression and became minor conglomerates. The most notable example was that the Rockefeller Center in this world was not called Rockefeller Center but Roxxon Center!
The First National City Bank Trust had taken over Morgan's position, while Roxxon Energy had replaced Rockefeller. The Isodyne Energy dominated the California business conglomerate.
The Malick family, whose counterpart in Josh's original world was the Mellon family, had begun its decline with the Great Depression, gradually losing control to other entities. Including Malick, who had yet to regain full control of the conglomerate, the members of the Council of Nine controlled four of the ten largest Conglomerate in America—the four most powerful.
No wonder Josh valued the Council so highly. To control it was essentially to control half of the United States.
The rest of the Council wielded less influence. Mortimer Hayes, the newspaper titan, controlled half the media industry in New York and Los Angeles. Two others held political power. By comparison, the most unimpressive is actually the Von Strucker family.
By comparison, the most unimpressive is actually the von Strucker family.
In the comics, Strucker, like Red Skull, was one of Hitler’s favorites, alongside someone named Zemo.
However, in this world, which seems to be based on the cinematic universe, the von Strucker family, though once powerful, was merely a noble family in Germany during World War I.
By World War II, due to their defeats in power struggles with both Hitler and Schmidt, they were driven out of Europe. After relocating to the United States, they became a vassal of the Roxxon Corporation.
It wasn’t until after the war, when they returned to Europe and took over Red Skull’s remaining forces, that they managed to regain some footing. Later, during the Avengers era, they gained regional dominance—the one killed by Ultron in the movies was the current head of the Strucker family, Thomas von Strucker’s son.
But as seen in the movies, at that time, Strucker’s status was still below that of Gideon Malick and Alexander Pierce.
However, in this world, it seems unlikely that the Strucker family will rise again.
This is because the Hydra forces in Europe have already been largely absorbed by Josh ahead of time.
“Yes, Sir. I can now fully confirm that Josh Kahn is one of our own!” Faced with the inquiries of the council leaders, Wilfred replied with a serious expression.
