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Chapter 169: Blood and the CIA
🕑 Added 2025-01-18 15:34:30 +0000 UTC"Boss, Mr. Dix is here!" Inside the Long Island mansion, Josh enjoyed his afternoon tea.
Lately, with all that was going on in New York—like the United Nations headquarters being established and other special business—he had stayed in the city.
Margaret had wanted to bring the family to join him.
But with the Leviathan problem making New York unsafe, Josh decided against it. Instead, he made short trips home every few days—it was only a few hours by plane anyway.
"Dix, sit down. Join me for some tea," Josh said, gesturing to him.
"Thanks, boss. Here's what you asked for!" Dix sat down happily and placed a box respectfully on the table.
Even though Dix had become the most influential figure in the American underworld, with even New York's mayor and senators showing him courtesy, he still kept a low profile in front of Josh.
He knew exactly why he had risen to his current position.
"Well done. Any trouble getting it?" Josh asked as he opened the box, revealing a small blue metal sphere lying still inside.
It was a stolen artifact from Howard Stark's collection, recently recovered by the Strategic Scientific Reserve.
"None at all! The Strategic Scientific Reserve's security was much more lax than I expected," Dix laughed. "I simply bribed a plumbing contractor, and my men easily got inside and took it. Intelligence Agency? What a joke!" He laughed again. "Of course, credit to Ms. Carter for providing some details about the SSR."
Of course, Peggy Carter had not given him any sensitive SSR information.
But since they were working together, sharing basic information about SSR personnel in New York to avoid interference wasn't out of line.
With that information, the Mafia could easily find a way to get the item Josh needed.
"Good. Make sure there are no loose ends. This little thing could determine your long-term dominance over the American underworld," Josh said, weighing the small sphere with a smile.
"Really? That important? I thought this thing was just for cutting off the city's power. How does that help me?" Dix asked puzzled.
According to his information, the orb was a strategic weapon capable of knocking out an entire city's power grid.
Yes, it was a powerful electromagnetic pulse bomb.
Howard Stark was indeed a genius, always coming up with groundbreaking inventions.
Josh chuckled. "If it were the original, yes, it would take out the city's power. But this? It's not the original."
Smiling slightly, Josh pressed a button on the orb.
With a click, the orb didn't explode. Instead, it opened, releasing a puff of cold air. A small vial of crimson liquid popped out.
"Is that... blood?" Dix asked in surprise. He still couldn't see how a vial of blood had anything to do with his control over the underworld.
"Yes, blood—but not just any blood. This is Captain America's blood!" Josh said, examining the vial carefully.
"What? Captain America's blood?" Dix's eyes widened in shock.
Even Vito, standing nearby, turned his attention to the conversation. As someone who had benefited—and suffered—from an imitation of the Super Soldier Serum, he was naturally interested in related matters.
"Exactly. Captain America's blood. As the only successful Super Soldier, he didn't want to be a research subject. But as a government asset, he didn't have much of a choice. Before he disappeared, he left behind 12 vials of blood. Howard Stark, who played a key role in the project, received one of them," Josh explained as he returned the vial to the orb.
"Frankly, if Cap hadn't sacrificed himself, he probably would have ended up as a glorified blood bank after the war. For those in power, this blood—full of endless potential—is far more valuable than a hero. Don't you agree?"
Dix nodded. He was no longer the petty thief he had been. His years in the underworld had taught him much.
"Thank you, Dix. With this, I believe my research institute will soon create a truly perfect super soldier serum. When that happens, you'll get your share!" Josh promised as he carefully put the item away.
Of course, by "research institute" he was undoubtedly referring to Yuri.
Previously, using only Vito's flawed super-soldier blood, Yuri had combined it with the Crazy Ivan technology from the Red Alert world to develop a highly practical Beast Transformation serum. Now, with real Super Soldier blood, what surprises would Yuri have in store for Josh?
Josh was filled with anticipation.
"Thanks, boss! I'm looking forward to this day!" Dix replied gratefully, nodding firmly.
The temptation to become a super-soldier was hard for any man to resist.
Besides, as Josh had already mentioned, becoming a super-soldier would greatly strengthen Dix's leadership over the Mafia in the future.
"By the way, how's Carter's investigation going?" Josh asked after putting the article away.
"She's still pretty suspicious of me, but overall it's not too bad. Yesterday she mentioned that she was going on a business trip to Europe. I don't know the exact location," Dix replied, shaking his head.
"Europe? I see. That explains a lot," Josh said with a slight pause, then smiled even more.
Most of the necessary items were now in his possession. It was time to wrap things up.
Two days later, a C-69 military transport plane landed slowly at Newburgh Military Airport in New York.
Carter got off the plane with two other SSR agents and a bald, middle-aged man in a prison uniform.
The man's name was Ivchenko, a Soviet psychologist. Carter and her team had rescued him from a Leviathan prison in Poland.
About a week ago, using information provided by Dix, Carter successfully tracked down another Leviathan agent, Demidov. Although they did not capture him alive, they found an automated transmitter. They received a message on it.
After Carter deciphered the message, it pointed to a Leviathan base in Poland.
The SSR believed that this base might contain evidence of Howard Stark's alleged treason.
Acting as a link, Carter helped the SSR contact the Howling Commandos still stationed in Europe. Together they infiltrated the base.
However, aside from a young assassin girl and some Soviet guards, the only significant find was Ivchenko. The operation also cost both the SSR and the Howling Commandos one member each.
At this point, Carter was still unaware of Ivchenko's true nature. (TL/N: Johann Fennhoff alias is Viktor Ivchenko)
But that didn't matter—Josh knew.
As Carter's team prepared to leave the airport, they were surrounded by a group of men in black. Leading them was none other than Josh, accompanied by a middle-aged white man in a suit.
"Josh? What are you doing here? And who are these people?" Carter asked with a frown.
"Excuse me, Carter, but allow me to reintroduce myself. I am now the Directorate of Administration for the CIA. And this gentleman here is Major General Fletcher, the new Director of the CIA," Josh said, pointing to the man next to him.
"The CIA? What's that?" Carter asked, confused.
Their confusion was understandable. During World War II, Roosevelt had created the OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the predecessor to the CIA.
But when the war ended, Truman disbanded the OSS.
Truman soon regretted this decision, realizing that he couldn't handle the chaotic intelligence reports from various departments and the military.
This led to the idea of creating a new agency to coordinate and verify intelligence, which led to the creation of the CIA.
Josh had previously proposed removing Hoover from the FBI and replacing him with someone loyal to their cause.
This proposal was rejected by the Council.
So Josh turned his attention to the fledgling CIA. Through his connections in the Department of Defense, he sped up the creation of the CIA by a year—it was originally established in 1947.
With the help of his allies on the Council, Hugh Jones and Wilfred Malick, Josh ensured that the first Director of the newly formed CIA was none other than Major General Fletcher, a familiar face.
Appointed by Truman as Special Advisor, Josh became Directorate of Administration, overseeing the CIA's communications, logistics, security, finances, medical services, personnel, training, education, and data processing.
In other words, Josh's department was the backbone of the CIA.
While Fletcher's skills were average, his loyalty was his greatest asset.
Thus, Josh, as Directorate of Administration, became the real power behind the CIA.
During this time, Josh had been secretly working on the creation of the CIA.
And the newly formed CIA needed a major accomplishment to establish its reputation—what could be more fitting than Leviathan?
So, with some regret, Josh prepared to intercept the SSR's credit for the operation and turn it over to the CIA.
