"This is... Mr. John Stillman?"
Howard, who has been in and out of the Pentagon all year round and occasionally attended White House banquets, recognized the man in the photo at a glance.
The other party is the president's right-hand man, John Stillman, who serves as the White House Chief of Staff.
The seat he sits in is known as the "Second President" and the "Gatekeeper of the White House." It can be said that he is one of the politicians closest to the center of power in Washington, DC.
"Who is the other guy? It's a man - is there something wrong with Stillman's sexual orientation? This is big news!"
Howard has always had the extraordinary talent of being able to bend anything to his lower body.
"But in the political world, it's probably nothing. As far as I know, Hoover of the FBI was bisexual."
"Luke, you know, those high-powered people, they think they're high-class people, but they're actually very low-class."
"Please, when you use harsh words to ridicule them, please don't take it out on yourself."
Glancing at Howard who was gradually getting off topic, Luke stood up and walked to the wine cabinet and took out a bottle of high-end whiskey brought from the Stark mansion.
"As the boss of Stark Industries and an arms tycoon with a profound background... Howard, don't forget that you are also a member of the upper class society full of low-class people."
"And, in a way, you are still the backbone!"
Dang Dang Dang!
The ice cubes hit the wall of the cup, making a crisp sound.
The amber ** is injected, and the ** creates circles of ripples.
"Would you like a drink?"
Luke asked over his shoulder.
"Entertain me with my collection, you are really good at business! No wonder the people in the budget committee have a headache when they see you!"
Howard's mouth was unforgiving, but his body was honest. He reached out and took the glass of whiskey.
"By the way, why did you notice Stillman?"
Iron Man's father is a little confused. In his impression, Superman is not very interested in politics, especially politicians who play tricks on power.
Otherwise, there is no need for him to refuse so quickly when the president showed his solicitation.
Luke took a sip of the cold liquid, his eyes flashed, and he said softly: "According to the six-dimensional space theory, the distance between you and any stranger you want to contact will not exceed six people."
"That is to say, in theory, you only need to go through up to six intermediaries to get to know every stranger in the world."
Howard narrowed his eyes and curled his lips and said: "It sounds like a very nonsense statement, but it does make sense. Its logical trap is that no one knows who the six strangers are, and they lack the conditions to designate a target, so they can force Go round."
He lifted his chin and commented.
"Howard, why do you always miss the point?"
Luke shook his head helplessly, pointed at another man in the photo, and said, "I just want to say that if you want to explore a person's true identity and political stance, you can start with his social circle. Who does he know? Whoever you have a close relationship with represents his class and position to a certain extent.”
"On the surface, John Stillman is the president's confidant, the gatekeeper of the White House, and the privileged number two person in Washington, but secretly he met a vampire and the two stayed together for a long time."
"vampire?"
Howard's voice rose a few notches.
He was impressed.
"Yes. According to SHIELD's investigation, the person who met Stillman is called Getaro."
Luke pushed the information on the table over and said meaningfully: "A pure-blood descendant of Archduke Dracula, and one of the leaders of the Vampire Council in North America."
"It may sound incredible, but those nocturnal creatures who walk in the darkness and dare not face the sun have a social system and power structure similar to humans."
"The Vampire Council is roughly equivalent to the White House Cabinet. It has great power and can mobilize the family's resources at any time."
"The White House Chief of Staff colluded with the Vampire Council..."
Howard tasted it carefully and seemed to get a taste of it.
"I heard you say before that vampires claim to be immortals. In their eyes, humans may be just a short part of a long life."
"So Stillman wants to live longer?"
After thinking about it, the only bargaining chip that vampires have against humans is the legendary immortality.
Everyone is afraid of death and hopes that the cruel time will be merciful to them.
"That's not entirely true. Vampires also age, but much slower than humans. They are far from immortal."
Luke corrected Howard's misunderstanding and then continued: "As for Stillman's private contact with the Vampire Council, I began to think, like you, that it was an exchange of interests."
"But as Agents of SHIELD investigated further, I found it wasn't that simple."
At this point, Luke paused, looked at Howard who was interested, and asked with a smile: "Have you heard of the 'Hagui Clan'?"
"Is it some kind of underground group that worships vampires?"
Howard thought for a few seconds, combined the literal meaning, and gave the correct answer.
"This is indeed the case with the predecessor. Human beings are very complex creatures, and they sometimes need a specific image as a spiritual support."
Luke raised his glass, stared at the amber **, and said calmly: "The emptier the heart, the more spiritual support is needed - but this is just a belief within the normal range, which belongs to personal freedom, and there is no problem."
"But when it comes to worship, that's a different story."
"In the world there is money worship, male organ worship, and most commonly idolatry - all kinds of things."
"People always like to attach a strong desire, or need, to something specific."
"And the Hagui tribe is a group of people who pursue immortality, immortality, a young body, and fresh vitality... Later, they gradually developed into worshiping vampires, wanting to become vampires, and even thinking that they were slaves of vampires. Human beings are inferior creatures.”
"Oh, what a sad, short-sighted guy."
Howard had a look of contempt on his face.
With his knowledge and pride, he naturally looks down on guys like these.
To be more precise, he believes that because he is not strong enough in his heart, and then gives up self-thinking and gives this power to others, he can be classified as a fool.
certainly-
Except for personal belief, which is not worship.
Howard himself is not a devout Christian.
"I didn't expect Stillman to be a ghost and secretly worship vampires. He graduated from Duke University's law school. I thought those who studied law should be more rational than normal people."
"Don't label people casually. Before I met you, I thought the geniuses at MIT were probably the kind of nerds who were not close to women. I also thought scientists always had a serious and stereotyped image."
Luke's retort left Howard speechless.
His harsh and venomous tongue, which has always been tried and tested, seems to have no effect when placed in front of the other party.
"After I left Washington, D.C., Stillman began to have contact with the Vampire Council. Before that, he did not show any abnormality."
Luke opened the information on Getaro of the Vampire Council. The content was relatively simple and not as detailed as White House Chief of Staff John Stillman.
From this we can see that SHIELD agents and detectives may be okay when dealing with ordinary people.
But dealing with creatures like vampires, it seems a bit inadequate.
"Actually, it's not just Stillman. Judging from the information I have and the results of the investigation, there may be one-third of the members of Congress who are members of the Hagui tribe, or who have close contacts with them."
Luke tells a shocking truth.
This is equivalent to the fact that the upper levels of the national power pyramid are almost completely penetrated by vampires.
Realizing the seriousness, Howard finally restrained his cynical and frivolous expression.
"Vampires in North America seem to be developing better than those in Europe."
He took a sip of whiskey and expressed doubt.
"The situations on both sides are different. The pure-blooded descendants of Archduke Dracula know more about unity, and they are closely connected with human society, while the situation in Europe is relatively chaotic."
Luke gave a brief introduction.
"In addition, the New York Sanctuary's attack on dark creatures is not very strong, which gives the Vampire Council a chance to survive."
Over the years, pure-blood descendants have penetrated the business and political circles to a considerable extent.
At its peak, half of the senior executives of large financial institutions on Wall Street were members of the Hagui clan.
Therefore, Wall Street elites are called "vampires."
Interpreted in a literal sense, it is actually correct.
"Howard, do you still remember Kang the Conqueror I mentioned?"
Closing the document in his hand, Luke's eyes flashed with a sharp light.
Howard, who was sitting across from him, felt a little chilled and frowned and asked, "That guy who can travel through time and space and impersonate historical celebrities everywhere?"
"That's right. I initially thought that if Kang the Conqueror wanted to choose a leader with high enough status and power, he would probably set his sights on the Soviet Union."
Luke tapped his fingers on the side of the wine glass and whispered: "If you really do this and turn yourself into the one in the Kremlin, even if he wants to provoke World War III, it might not be a problem."
"However, after I returned to New York and Washington, D.C., I saw the chief of staff colluding with the Vampire Council, and saw the reclusive Mr. President... I couldn't help but have another idea."
"What if Kang the Conqueror was not in the Soviet Union, but in the White House?" (End of Chapter)