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[Frog] Chapter 80: Nick Fury Wants to Meet Alan
🕑 Added 2024-09-08 08:02:32 +0000 UTC“Pika... Chu…”
Pikachu was feeling dizzy after returning home. Curious, Alan asked, “Gwen, what did you do with him?”
Gwen, a bit embarrassed, replied, “We just did a few spins while flying…”
Seeing the look on their faces, Alan knew it wasn’t just a few spins. Gwen was used to swinging around the city every day, but Pikachu wasn’t. Add the wind pressure from descending, and it must have been too much for the little guy.
“Let’s wait until we get Pikachu a new outfit before taking him gliding again,” Alan said with a chuckle, looking at Pikachu's dazed expression.
“Alright, come eat. Pikachu can eat later…”
After dinner, Gwen turned to Alan and said, “Alan, I’m still a bit worried about my dad. He’ll be driving home alone tonight. I’m afraid…”
“If you want to go, then go. I mainly called you back for dinner; you’ve been outside all day,” Alan replied.
Hearing this, a warm feeling surged through Gwen’s heart. “Thank you, Alan,” she said, planting a kiss on his cheek before quickly changing into her Spider suit and heading to the NYPD.
Meanwhile, Alan walked over to the sofa and opened his computer. The screen displayed the traffic data from the newly established website.
The forum created by Red Queen allowed everyone to chat anonymously. The content posted there exposed various insider stories about today’s news, attracting visitors with sensational headlines.
“Shocking! The truth behind the human trafficking case is…”
“A famous New York entrepreneur actually…”
“The inside story of the major events that happened in New York today!!!”
“No law and order, covering up the ‘377’ criminal! There are recordings…”
As Alan watched, the site’s traffic surged with each new headline. The comments under each post quickly escalated from rational discussion to frenzied accusations, thanks to the talking points Alan had pre-programmed for Red Queen.
It was only a matter of time before public opinion turned into a storm. By tomorrow, Kingpin might just become the most hated man in America. Then Alan wanted to see who would still stand by him!
“Indeed, no matter the world, the intelligence of the gossip-hungry masses is always the lowest (my readers, of course, are the smartest!).”
Alan smirked as he watched the posts and replies pile up.
At the same time, in Kingpin’s mansion, Kingpin was in an excellent mood. With the backing of Nick Fury and his team of lawyers, all his problems had been resolved. He even invited some old friends over for dinner.
Kingpin’s house was large, easily accommodating a hundred people. As he glanced around the table, he confidently raised a glass of wine and said, “I don’t care if the traitor is among you or someone else. The purpose of this banquet is to tell them that they’re still too short to take on me, The Kingpin!”
With that, he downed the wine in one gulp. His subordinates quickly chimed in with praise, creating a lively and cheerful atmosphere at the banquet.
However, the mood was abruptly interrupted when Janie, the lawyer, pushed open the door and entered.
“Boss, there’s a big problem.”
Seeing Janie disrupt the festive atmosphere, Kingpin’s face showed a hint of displeasure. “Janie, what’s the matter?”
Janie noticed Kingpin’s displeasure, but something more important was at stake. If she weren’t tied to Kingpin’s fate, she wouldn’t have bothered with him.
She pulled out the laptop she had brought. “You need to see this first.”
Kingpin glanced at the content on the forum and then burst into laughter. “Just a few articles, and you’re already scared?”
Before Janie could explain, Kingpin took the laptop and passed it around for his men to see. After reading it, they all started laughing as well. Only Janie remained serious. These thugs had no idea of the power of the internet or what the traffic and responses to these posts signified.
“Kingpin, you…”
In her haste, Janie even forgot to address him as “boss,” which immediately displeased Kingpin. “Janie, if you’re here to eat, there’s a seat for you. But if you’re here to spread fear, I don’t mind finding a new lawyer.”
Feeling the threat in Kingpin’s words, Janie broke out in a cold sweat. She had done too many dirty deeds with Kingpin. If she couldn’t continue being his lawyer, there would be only one path left for her—death!
Knowing how ruthless Kingpin could be, Janie bowed and said, “I’m sorry, Boss, for interrupting your dinner with the guys.”
Only then did Kingpin’s expression soften. “If there’s nothing else, take your laptop and leave.”
In Kingpin’s massive hands, the laptop looked like a small notebook. Janie reached out with both hands to take it back.
The next second, Kingpin deliberately exerted some force, causing sparks to fly from the laptop before tossing it to the ground, rendering it completely destroyed. Before Janie could react, Kingpin warned her, “Remember, if you mess up again, this will be your fate.”
“I understand, Boss…”
Janie picked up the broken laptop from the floor and left amidst the jeers of the other men. As she walked out of Kingpin’s estate, she glanced back angrily, thinking, “That madman is finished! I can’t stay here any longer; I need to leave quickly, or I’ll be dragged down with him.”
Earlier, Janie had been working, searching for information and detailed reports online about the human trafficking case. That’s when she stumbled upon this anonymous forum.
Initially, she was hesitant to click on it, but once she did, she was shocked—it was filled with crucial evidence, some of which implicated high-ranking officials. With the terrifying number of views and comments, Janie knew things were about to go south, so she rushed to inform Kingpin.
But his reaction left her completely disillusioned.
Now, all Janie could think about was how to quickly escape Kingpin’s side. Otherwise, when public outrage inevitably erupted, as Kingpin’s lawyer, she would be the first to be targeted!
“Kingpin, I came to warn you immediately. If you don’t appreciate it, that’s your problem,” Janie thought as she glanced back at the mansion before disappearing into the night.
Meanwhile, at the NYPD, Gwen was hidden in a tree, watching the precinct. Although she wasn’t sure what was happening inside and hadn’t deployed any drones for surveillance, she was confident that George was safe.
Inside George’s office, several detectives and Interpol officers were frowning at the content projected in front of them. It was none other than the forum "Shrimp Pig Heart."
“The evidence on this site… there’s even a recording of our superior’s call to us today…”
The detective who had gone to arrest Kingpin earlier was in disbelief. An Interpol inspector swallowed nervously and looked at George, “I think we can skip the hassle of finding evidence.”
George nodded woodenly. As high-ranking officials, they were well aware of how deadly online backlash could be. They knew all too well the kind of situation that would arise once the power of the internet reached a tipping point.
“Kingpin is doomed…” was all the inspector could say.
But George remained calm. “Notify the tech department to trace the IP address of the website’s creator. We must find whoever set up this site, no matter what.”
The inspector looked at George in confusion. “You want to arrest them and shut down the site?”
To the inspector, this site was doing a public service by exposing Kingpin’s crimes and the powerful people protecting him. Was George planning to protect Kingpin?
“Arresting them is a must. I don’t know about shutting down the site, but I do know that we need to find this person as soon as possible. That’s the only way they’ll be safe.”
The inspector suddenly understood George’s intent. He was worried that Kingpin’s people might find the site’s creator first. If they could reach the person before Kingpin’s people did, it would be a form of protection.
As for the site… What site? They had no idea it existed! There were plenty of charges they could fabricate for the arrest.
“Commissioner George, I underestimated you,” the inspector said, giving George a thumbs up. He then turned to two of his men, who were also from the tech department.
“You two, assist Commissioner George’s team. Find the person who created the website as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, sir!”
What they didn’t know was that Kingpin was already aware of the website but didn’t bother to take any action. Or perhaps he believed that with Nick Fury covering for him, everything would be fine.
At S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury hadn’t noticed anything unusual yet. Alan, knowing that Nick Fury was helping Kingpin cover up so much, had Red Queen seal off S.H.I.E.L.D.’s network.
Nick Fury had kept his involvement a secret from everyone except Maria Hill. Even if other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents discovered the forum… they would likely just join the masses in watching the drama unfold.
Who would ever suspect that a New York mob boss had close ties with the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.?
In Nick Fury’s office, he was using an old film projector to watch a decades-old videotape. The tape featured a middle-aged man explaining the differences between future cities and current ones.
Nick Fury had played the tape over and over but still couldn’t find any clues. Alongside the tape was a notebook filled with research notes that were beyond even Nick Fury’s comprehension.
The only thing he knew was that the research involved a mysterious cubic stone known as the “Tesseract,” which he had personally retrieved for S.H.I.E.L.D. Despite extensive research, S.H.I.E.L.D. had yet to uncover anything significant about the stone.
“Howard, what did you discover when you were researching the Tesseract… Could it be that only your son, Tony Stark, can decipher it…”
...
After flipping through the notes in his hand, Nick Fury looked at the middle-aged man on the screen in front of him. That man was none other than Howard Stark, Tony's biological father.
Fury had a feeling that if he could decipher the contents left behind by Howard, it would lead to a significant leap in power for S.H.I.E.L.D.
However, no matter how many times he watched the videotape, Fury couldn’t find any clues. The research notes were also unhelpful; Fury had even copied parts of them and handed them to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s scientists, but they couldn’t make sense of them either.
“Maybe I really need to give this stuff back to Tony,” Fury muttered to himself.
But in reality, he had already made up his mind: first, he would have Black Widow infiltrate Tony’s life. When Tony was truly at a loss, Fury would swoop in like a deus ex machina to help him.
By then, the Avengers Initiative would be easier to discuss.
If Tony managed to crack the research, bringing him into the Avengers would mean that S.H.I.E.L.D. would control that power. If Tony couldn’t figure it out and ended up dying from palladium poisoning, Black Widow could retrieve the materials, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s scientists could continue the research.
That would still fulfill Howard’s wish.
Knock, knock, knock…
A knocking sound interrupted his thoughts. Fury turned off the projector. “Come in.”
Hill walked into Fury’s office, surprised to see the old projector. “You still have a projector this old?”
“Yeah, it’s a hobby of mine. I enjoy watching these old movies,” Fury replied without a trace of guilt. Of course, it was impossible to tell if he was bullshitting or not.
“What brings you here?” Fury asked.
Hill responded, “We haven’t found any concrete leads on the people targeting Kingpin. But one thing is certain: everything started after those four subordinates went crazy.”
Fury thought for a moment and added, “To be precise, it all began after they encountered Alan Ford.”
Hill nodded in agreement and considered a possibility. “Could it be that Alan is a mutant?”
“Highly unlikely. A mutant’s background wouldn’t be so clean. But even if he’s not a mutant, he’s definitely someone with special abilities. Maybe I should try to make contact with him.”
Fury’s analytical and deductive skills were indeed top-notch, a testament to why he was the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
“Do you need me to make the necessary arrangements?” Hill asked, preparing to add this task to Fury’s schedule.
“Let’s wait until the situation with Kingpin stabilizes. We’ve managed to suppress things for now; let’s see if that person makes any further moves. I’m curious if they’re currently furious that all their plans were foiled by a single phone call from me,” Fury said with pride.
With him involved, even Kingpin would have a hard time dying!
Hill smiled and said, “I’ll take my leave then.”
“Go ahead. I’ll get back to my movie.”
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Author's Q&A
It’s not that I don’t want to include Gwen or can’t write sweet scenes, but whenever I write something a bit too intense, it gets flagged! Even a slightly romantic scene from last chapter got flagged.
Kingpin's storyline is about to wrap up. As a Marvel fanfic tying together the comics and movies, I need Kingpin to help introduce other characters. I’m really not trying to drag things out. Green Goblin, the Fantastic Four, and Venom will all be making their appearances soon.
