AHumanMadeMOFO
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Chapter 167: Let's Work Together (2)
🕑 Added 2025-01-17 16:43:05 +0000 UTC"So, Mr. Dix, what is your proposal?" Carter asked, intrigued by his explanation.
"Lady, I can tell you're with the authorities. I believe we can work together to root out these rats hiding in the sewers," Dix said slowly.
Carter's eyes lit up.
With her background in intelligence, she understood what that meant. Back in Britain, she had often worked with local gangs, using them as informants.
Often their information was even more reliable than that of the official intelligence services.
"Mr. Dix, I'm glad to have your help. But you must understand that such cooperation can never be officially recognized. At best, I can only make promises on a personal level," Carter said after a moment of thought.
"Of course I understand. That's why I chose you as my partner. After all, having the honor of Captain America backing you is far more reliable than any official promise," Dix said with a sly smile.
Carter's face darkened. "So you knew my identity all along!"
Dix didn't answer but looked at Frank, the guard.
"Frank Sheeran, formerly of the 45th Infantry Division. I saw you and Captain America in Italy," Frank introduced himself.
Frank was, in fact, the same man who had left Dix's gang years ago, washing his hands of crime to join the military for the sake of his fiancée.(TL/N: First mention in chapter 29)
Unfortunately, after several years in the Army, he returned to the United States with a substantial discharge pay, only to find that his fiancée had moved on to another man.
This revelation left him depressed for a while. Recently, however, he learned that his old friend Dix had risen to become a Mafia boss, which led him to reconnect and join Dix's ranks.
During his time in Europe, Frank not only encountered Captain America and Peggy Carter, but also crossed paths with Josh and Vito. The latter two, however, had no recollection of him—to them, Frank Sheeran was just another soldier, unworthy of special notice.
Similarly, Carter had no recollection of Frank, although she was familiar with the 45th Infantry Division. Captain America's first appearance in Italy had been for the 45th, a division that played a key role on the Italian front. Its contributions far exceeded those of the 28th Infantry Division, to which Bucky Barnes' 107th Infantry Regiment was assigned, though much of the recognition was overshadowed by Captain America's presence.
"I see. Very well, I can promise, in Captain America's name, to honor our cooperation. Now, Mr. Dix, can you give me any more information?" Peggy Carter finally nodded, agreeing to work with Dix and even using Captain America's name to guarantee the partnership.
Though Carter disliked being tied to Captain America's image, she was willing to compromise for a righteous cause.
"Of course. This Raymond guy was working with the thief who stole Howard Stark's cryo-technology vault. After questioning him, we discovered they were affiliated with an organization called Leviathan," Dix revealed.
"Leviathan? What kind of organization is that?" Peggy Carter asked, frowning.
"If our investigation is correct, it's a government agency from the Soviet Union, similar to the CIA," Dix explained.
"That explains it! No wonder Stark's stolen technology is turning up in Soviet territories," Carter muttered, suddenly understanding the situation.
"This whole mess is actually Howard Stark's fault," Dix added.
"What do you mean?" Carter asked, confused.
"Tell me, Ms. Carter, have you ever heard of something called Midnight Oil?" Dix asked with a grin.
"You even know about that?" Carter frowned deeply. How the hell are these Mafia guys so well informed?
"Haha, we just found out. We got it out of him during the interrogation—he couldn't talk, so he wrote it down. Here, Ms. Carter, see for yourself," Dix said, handing her a piece of paper.
Taking the paper with a doubtful expression, Carter read through it and quickly understood Dix's earlier remark.
It turned out that the original core members of Leviathan were survivors of a Soviet battalion that had suffered a catastrophic incident due to Howard Stark's Midnight Oil Gas.
At the time, only four people from the entire battalion survived; one was military doctor Johann Fennhoff, who had donned a gas mask in time, and the other three survived only after Fennhoff performed emergency tracheotomies on them. These three lost the ability to speak. (TL/N: tracheostomy is a surgical procedure that creates an opening in the neck into the windpipe (trachea). A tube is then inserted into the opening to help a person breathe. This procedure is also known as a tracheotomy.)
One of the three was Leet Brannis, who had died next to Raymond. Of the remaining two, one was executed after refusing to be recruited by Leviathan, while the other, Sasha Demidov, had infiltrated the U.S. with Brannis to carry out covert missions.
As for Johann Fennhoff, he had risen to a position of leadership within Leviathan, and his whereabouts were unknown.
Clearly, Leviathan, as an intelligence agency, must have sent other operatives to the U.S. besides Brannis and Demidov, but Brannis himself had no knowledge of these higher-level contacts.
Brannis had betrayed Leviathan, intending to sell the stolen technology for money and disappear. But he hadn't expected Dix to show up in the middle of his deal with Raymond.
"Thank you very much. This information is vital!" Carter said sincerely after she finished reading.
"No need to thank me. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement," Dix replied nonchalantly.
"In that case, I'll take my leave. I have a lot of work to do," Carter said, lifting the documents in her hand before hurrying out.
"Of course, feel free!" Dix shrugged.
After Carter was gone, Dix picked up the phone.
"Boss, everything's taken care of. She didn't suspect a thing," he reported.
"Good. Now focus on your own duties," Josh replied on the other end, slightly out of breath after a round of weapons kata training.
(A/N: Been out of the game too long, huh? Many have forgotten Dix.)
