When Whitney slowly regained consciousness, she found herself strapped to what appeared to be an experintal table. Not far away, a bald man in a white lab coat was working on sothing at another table with his back turned to her.
As mories of recent events rushed back, Whitney realized that Josh had drugged her. Though she couldn't fathom his motives, one thing was clear—she needed to find a way to escape.
"You're awake," the bald man said suddenly, breaking Whitney's train of thought as she frantically planned her escape.
"Russian?" Whitney asked sharply. Despite the man's flawless English, her keen ears detected a faint Russian accent.
But why would Josh Kahn, of all people, be involved with Russians? Or was this bald man rely soone Josh had hired?
"Sharp as a tack," the bald man chuckled, seemingly impressed by her deduction. "No wonder Josh said you're not an ordinary woman."
The bald man wasn't just anyone; he was Yuri, Josh's trusted ally. And this wasn't even their original world. Whitney had been transported to a parallel universe, specifically the Cretaceous period where Yuri had established a new laboratory. With the resources provided by Josh, as well as laborers and dinosaurs serving as work animals, Yuri had built an impressive facility capable of advanced industrial production.
The main limitation was manpower, but that was gradually changing. While Josh couldn't directly provide too many personnel, Daenerys Targaryen's conquest of Westeros had resulted in surplus populations. Those unwilling to pledge allegiance to her were handed over to Josh, who in turn sent them to Yuri as a workforce.
Josh had sent Whitney to Yuri for a straightforward reason: to confirm whether she had stolen the Midnight Oil and, if so, to find out who she was working for.
Although the military had dropped its investigation into the Midnight Oil theft due to the ergence of the Brightlight serum, Josh wasn't as forgiving. He knew that without Brightlight, Whitney's actions could have implicated him and caused significant damage to his reputation and interests. Josh wasn't the type to let such potential threats go unpunished.
To uncover the truth, Josh trusted Yuri's expertise in mind control. If Whitney knew anything, Yuri would get it out of her—down to the most trivial details of her life.
"Who are you? Where is Josh?" Whitney demanded, still unaware of the gravity of her situation.
"Heh, you're a clever woman," Yuri said with a smirk. "You should understand that you're in no position to ask questions. Now, let's make this easy. Who do you work for, and why did you steal the Midnight Oil?"
Though Yuri could have used his mind-control abilities from the start, he found it more entertaining to interrogate her directly. After all, Josh had given him a full day to work with her, and Yuri saw no harm in taking his ti.
Several hours later, Yuri erged from the laboratory, leaving behind Whitney, whose lifeless eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. She had been utterly broken.
"She works for which organization?" Josh asked as soon as their communication device connected.
"The Social Elite Club, which also goes by another na—Hydra's Council of Nine," Yuri replied. "This isn't the sa faction as Red Skull's Hydra, though. In fact, Red Skull is considered a traitor and dissident among their ranks. Also, her real na isn't Whitney Frost; it's Agnes Cully."
"Hydra? Damn it, I knew it!" Josh cursed, slamming his hand on the desk. He had suspected as much—few organizations during the war could pull off such operations.
"And what's her status within Hydra? What does she know?" Josh pressed.
"She's quite high-ranking—an important mid-level operative and a brilliant researcher. So of her ideas even surprised . Here, I've sent you everything she knows about the Council of Nine." Yuri transmitted several pages of intelligence to Josh.
As Josh read through the list, his expression darkened. The Hydra Council of Nine in the U.S. included:
Hugh Jones, CEO of Roxxon Energy Corporation
Calvin Chadwick, CEO of Isodyne Energy
Thomas Gloucester, CEO of First National City Bank
Senator Vernon Masters
Mortir Hayes, publishing tycoon
Wilfred Malick, head of the Malick family
Thomas von Strucker, head of the Strucker family
Judge Gary Stern of the New York District Court
(is this easy to read or should I just list the nas in paragraph format?)
The ninth seat, Josh noted, had been held by Red Skull, Johann Schmidt, before he was expelled.
These nas alone sent a chill down Josh's spine. Together, these individuals controlled vast amount of Arican industry, politics, and dia. Compared to them, Josh was rely a plump shrimp in a sea of sharks.
This realization grounded Josh, pulling him back from the high of his recent military contract success. "Stay calm, and don't get reckless," he muttered to himself.
The intelligence also revealed the Council's deep involvent in historical events, such as assassinating President McKinley in 1901, engineering the Great Depression in 1929, and aiding Red Skull's early experints in the 1940s. One note even ntioned an attempt to assassinate Howard Stark in 1940 to seize a prototype of vibranium.
Josh couldn't help but feel a mix of anger and trepidation. Still, the information was invaluable.
"Thank you, Yuri," Josh said sincerely.
"No need for thanks. We're partners. By the way, what do you want to do with her?" Yuri asked.
"She's yours," Josh replied coldly. He had no desire to keep Whitney—or rather, Agnes—in his group any longer.
A few days later, the Daily Herald London reported that Hollywood star "Whitney Frost" had tragically died in a freak accident while strolling in the countryside, inadvertently triggering an unexploded bomb left from a past German air raid. Her body was reportedly unrecognizable.
The headline barely scratched the surface of the tangled web of secrets hidden beneath.
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