join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for hundreds of additional chapters and over a dozen stories
But the unexpected really did happen.
The day after Kevin took over Madelyn's job, he received a notification from Edgar, telling him to meet with the CIA's Deputy Director, Susan Rayner.
Apparently, Susan had obtained some evidence that was quite detrimental to Vought, and she needed Kevin to handle it.
Kevin knew exactly what was going on as soon as he heard it.
Butcher's side, seeing that they couldn't get any useful information from Madelyn, had decided to tell some things to Susan.
With leverage, Susan intended to meet with Vought's 'Vice President'.
That's why Edgar sent Kevin, the 'Acting Vice President', to negotiate with Susan.
This was another test from Edgar for Kevin; if this test could be passed smoothly, there would be no further obstacles for Kevin to enter Vought's management.
Kevin, who had long been prepared for this, changed out of his hero uniform, put on a proper suit, and personally went to the CIA.
There, Kevin met Susan, the Deputy Director of the CIA.
She was a blonde woman who looked to be in her late thirties, still quite attractive.
"It's truly surprising; I never expected The Deep to be managing Vought's hero department now."
As soon as they met, Susan expressed her surprise at seeing Kevin.
She had expected Vought to send a difficult character, but she never imagined that Vought would choose to let Supes interfere in their work affairs.
Since Vought was established, it seemed that few Supes had ever entered the group's high-level management.
Including Homelander of The Seven.
However, thinking about some things Butcher had told her, Susan no longer found it strange.
Facing Susan's exclamation, Kevin calmly replied with a smile:
"I also didn't expect that my first task after taking over Ms. Madelyn's job would be to negotiate with the CIA, Ms. Rayner. What do you want to see me about today?"
"Hmm, you're quite direct, good, I like direct people, so let's get straight to the point."
After saying this, the CIA's Deputy Director had her subordinate bring over an envelope.
She opened the envelope in front of Kevin, took out a tube of blue liquid from inside, and placed it before Kevin.
Kevin feigned ignorance:
"This is...?"
"Alright, Mr. Moskowitz, you should know better than I what this is. This is Compound V, the stuff that gives you Supes your powers. You saw it with Butcher, didn't you?"
"I'm sorry, Ms. Rayner." Kevin's eyes were blank: "I don't know any Butcher, and I've never seen anything like this before. I think you might be mistaken."
"Oh, really? So you plan to play dumb with us until the end? Fine."
Susan Rayner, seeing Kevin was unyielding, leaned slightly forward and said to Kevin:
"In that case, I suppose you wouldn't mind if we let this thing appear in newspapers and make it public.
"Human experimentation, injecting illegal drugs into infants, how long do you think you people will end up in prison? Ten years? Twenty years? Or a hundred years?"
Susan asked softly, with an attitude that she had Kevin cornered.
But Kevin hadn't come here without any preparations; he looked at Susan with an innocent expression:
"Wait a moment, Ms. Rayner, I just took over Ms. Madelyn's job, and I truly know nothing about what you're talking about. Human experimentation, illegal injections... isn't that a bit too serious?"
"If you don't know, then go ask your superiors! We don't have time to play word games with you here!"
Kevin's attitude angered Susan somewhat.
Before this, Butcher had explained everything to her, including why he kidnapped Madelyn and his 'deal' with The Deep.
Susan understood that this man in front of her was the cause of everything.
Even Madelyn's death was orchestrated by this man.
All for the purpose of sitting in Madelyn's position, just like now.
He meticulously planned this kidnapping, replaced Madelyn's position at Vought, and instantly went from being a nobody in The Seven to a Vice President.
How could such a cunning guy be a naive little fish who knows nothing, as he claimed?
Susan was certain that The Deep absolutely knew these things, and knew them more clearly than anyone else.
So she wouldn't beat around the bush with The Deep here; either he agreed to her demands today, or she would make public what she currently knew.
Vought had no other choice!
Taking the Compound V sample from Susan's hand, Kevin examined it for a while, then suddenly said:
"Alright, Ms. Rayner, I will consult with my superiors about this. For now, let's discuss the terms. You've found so much... non-existent 'evidence', surely it's not just to scold us, is it?"
"Hehe, non-existent..."
Susan was amused by Kevin's words, she took a moment to compose herself before continuing:
"Okay, then let's talk about the terms. Our terms are very simple: withdraw your idiotic Supe integration into the Department of Defense bill! Our military will absolutely not allow any Supe to enter! Do you understand?"
Susan finally stated her objective.
She had come for this new bill proposed by Vought, to prevent Vought's Supes from meddling with the government and military.
Compared to that, matters concerning Vought would have to take a back seat, even though Butcher had already told her all the evidence.
However, even though she stated her terms, Susan was prepared to haggle with the other party.
She had already realized that The Deep was not as... 'simple-minded' as he appeared on television and in movies; his thoughts were actually deeper than anyone else's.
Facing such a guy, Susan didn't think she could easily persuade him.
That's what she originally thought.
However—
"Okay."
"Even if you don't agree... what?"
Susan thought the other party was saying no and only realized halfway through her sentence that the other party seemed to have agreed to her terms very easily.
The Deep even repeated it thoughtfully, afraid she hadn't heard clearly:
"I said okay. In fact, I also think it's stupid for Supes to enter the military, Ms. Rayner. I will find a way to withdraw this proposal."
...
The Deep's decisive agreement to Susan's request made Susan feel as uncomfortable as if she had punched cotton.
She had made so many preparations, collected so much evidence, but in the end... the other party agreed to their terms so easily.
This stark contrast even made Susan feel a bit unreal.
When did Vought become so easy to deal with?
"Do you have any other conditions, Ms. Rayner?"
Susan didn't react for a moment. Kevin waited for a while and, seeing no response from Susan, couldn't help but ask.
Susan then came back to her senses.
She stared at Kevin intently for a long time, then took a deep breath and said:
"There is indeed one more condition, but it wasn't proposed by me; it was proposed by Butcher."
"I'm sorry, Ms. Rayner, I don't know any Butcher."
..."Alright, you don't know him. Then please investigate your Vought's former department support, Rebecca Butcher. We want to know if she's still alive. You should be able to do that, right?"
"I can only say I'll try my best, after all, I've never heard that name before."
Kevin continued to play dumb as usual, but Susan couldn't do anything about Kevin.
Because Kevin had truly just taken this position, and he genuinely knew nothing, nor should he have known anything.
However, since her main objective had already been achieved, Susan was too lazy to continue nagging Kevin.
"Whether you know or not is your business. These are our only two conditions. Sign this contract, and you can leave."
Susan took out the prepared contract and motioned for Kevin to sign.
But Kevin didn't pick up the pen; he just looked at the contract and said:
"I won't sign before I understand the specific contents of the contract, Ms. Rayner. This needs to be reviewed by our lawyers, and..."
Kevin said this, then suddenly laughed:
"Although I agreed to your withdrawal of the bill, if the Department of Defense actively proposes this bill, then it has nothing to do with us, right?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? How could the Department of Defense..."
Susan hadn't finished speaking when a subordinate hurried over and whispered something in Susan's ear.
Susan's expression immediately became very ugly. She looked at Kevin in disbelief, then hurried away with her subordinate.
Kevin was in no hurry; he sat there drinking coffee, waiting for Susan.
It wasn't until more than ten minutes later that Susan returned, looking unwilling, and said to Kevin:
"You can go..."
Kevin didn't ask her what happened; he stood up, straightened the creases on his suit, and smiled:
"Our conversation this time was quite pleasant, Ms. Rayner. I look forward to our next meeting."
After saying that, Kevin ignored Susan's expression, which was as ugly as if she had eaten a cockroach, and turned to leave.
Susan letting Kevin go, and not bringing up the conditions afterward, was quite normal in Kevin's opinion.
There were many reasons for this.
On one hand, all those previous matters were Madelyn's doing, and Kevin truly 'knew nothing'; on the other hand... Homelander's 'Supervillain' plan should already be underway.
Homelander and A-Train had been transporting Compound V around the world during this period, especially in war-torn regions like the Middle East.
They specifically selected terrorists and injected them with Compound V, attempting to cultivate Supervillains.
Kimiko and her brother were two of the successful test subjects.
And besides Kimiko and her brother, there were many other successful subjects like them.
These people wouldn't be as docile as Kimiko, or rather, if it weren't for Kevin, Kimiko would have been released long ago and dealt with as a Supervillain.
Superpowered criminals would soon emerge, and it wouldn't be long. Kevin had precisely grasped this point, which was why he dared to agree to Susan's terms.
After all, once Superpowered criminals appeared, the ones who would be anxious wouldn't be Vought, but those in Congress.
Vought only needed to extricate itself to go from passive to active.
Just like now.
As soon as he came out of the CIA, Kevin took out his phone to report the situation to Edgar.
Edgar listened to the entire negotiation process, then suddenly asked:
"You guessed what Homelander and they are doing?"
"It's not hard to guess, is it? After all, Homelander loved Madelyn so much. It's just a pity that everything he did for Madelyn now benefits me."
"Very good, so now there's one last question: what do you plan to do about the Compound V that the CIA knows about?"
Edgar questioned Kevin again.
Kevin, who had already thought of a solution, answered without any hesitation:
"Boss, dead men tell no tales."
"Oh? So you mean...?"
"All of this was Madelyn's doing. What does it have to do with us?"
Framing and slandering are also things that Vought often does.
Madelyn was dead, and she had once held a high position, so dumping all the blame on the deceased was clearly the best option.
Edgar must have also thought of this method, or rather, he probably had already decided what to do the moment Madelyn died.
Now, questioning Kevin was just his final test for him.
It was obvious that Kevin had passed the final test as well.
"Hahaha, you're right."
Edgar let out a hearty laugh on the other end of the phone and changed the subject:
"Tomorrow, I will personally go to your conference room. Be prepared to take over the Vice President position, Kevin."
At this point, the transfer of power in Vought's Hero Management Department was considered complete.
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence: 9 Reader for hundreds of additional chapters and over a dozen stories