"Josh, long time no see. You're back in the U.S. and didn't even give me a heads-up?" Howard Stark greeted Josh with a calm smile.
Just like Josh had planned, he wasn't staying in the U.S. for long. After attending the council meeting and meeting with the Ross and Osborn families, as well as various subordinates and business partners from Chicago, he was ready to return to Europe.
But the day before his departure, he received an unexpected visitor—none other than the current Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Howard Stark.
"Haha, looks like your intel's still sharp. It's not that I didn't want to notify you, but you're a busy man these days. I didn't want to bother you over something small," Josh replied casually.
Though they had cooperated many times in the past, their relationship had always remained at the level of "friendly but cautious," mainly due to their opposing affiliations behind the scenes.
"Oh, come on. If it's you, it's never something small," Howard said with a smile.
"What's this? Sounds like Director Stark is here to investigate me?" Josh chuckled.
"Haha, I wouldn't dare. If I really did, I'd probably be retiring tomorrow—just like Director Hoover," Howard laughed it off.
"Heh. A few years as director, and your sharp tongue's only gotten worse, huh?" Josh grinned, especially when Howard brought up Hoover. As if Howard had nothing to do with Hoover's fall.
Sure, Josh had been the one pulling the strings behind Hoover's downfall, but many others had jumped in—including the newly formed S.H.I.E.L.D.
The truth was, Hoover had made too many enemies during his time in power. So once things started to fall apart, everyone was eager to give the final push.
"Just kidding, just kidding!" Howard waved it off, then sighed. "Actually, I came here as a mediator."
"A mediator? Huh! Who's got that kind of pull to send you as their middleman?" Josh raised an eyebrow.
"Kennedy…" Howard replied.
"…Howard, I consider you a friend, but that doesn't mean you get to come here and annoy me." Josh's smile remained unchanged, even as he spoke those words. His tone was light, but the message was clear.
Not surprising, really. Compared to who Josh was now, the Kennedy family—despite its influence in U.S. politics and the military—wasn't even in the same league. If Josh actually let a small-timer like that get under his skin, it'd be beneath him.
"I didn't mean to upset you… Honestly, aside from Joseph, there wasn't much bad blood between you and the rest of the Kennedys, right? And Joseph's been dead for over ten years," Howard said with a helpless shrug.
To tell the truth, he didn't want to be the one doing this.
Although the incident between Josh and the Kennedy family's patriarch back in the U.K. had been covered up publicly, it wasn't exactly a secret among the top U.S. leadership.
Their feud had once spilled over into the military, politics, and business. During that time, Howard—seen publicly as Josh's biggest "rival"—had also received a fair bit of backing from the Kennedy family. So it was fair to say they had a close relationship.
In the beginning, both sides were able to maintain a rough balance of power.
But as Josh's influence grew larger and larger, the Kennedy family's remaining influence and powerbecame laughable.
Even though Josh hadn't gone out of his way to suppress them, the Kennedys were already struggling to keep up.
That's why they had no choice but to ask Howard Stark to step in and try to ease tensions—to "clear up the misunderstanding," as Howard had put it.
From the Kennedys' point of view, there really wasn't any deep blood feud. The one who had real conflict with Josh—Joseph Kennedy—had died during World War II. Since then, most of their clashes were over interests, not personal grudges.
So in their eyes, there was no need to keep suffering under the pressure from Josh's side just because of a past disagreement.
Especially now, with Eisenhower in his second term and only two years left, John F. Kennedy was already preparing to run for president.
To him, Josh's attitude could be critical in determining whether he could actually win.
And whether Kennedy became president was also very important to Howard Stark.
"Hahahaha, look at that face! Come on, it's nothing serious—I can at least give you this much face. Honestly, if you hadn't brought this up today, I probably would've forgotten the whole thing," Josh burst out laughing when he saw the pained look on Howard's face.
And it was true—if Howard hadn't mentioned it, Josh really might've forgotten all about the Kennedy prince. Unless he actually became president like in the original timeline, he wasn't even on Josh's radar.
But reconciliation? Please.
"That's great to hear! How about this—pick a time, and I'll arrange a meeting with John. I'm sure you two will have a lot to talk about!" Howard said excitedly, thinking the meeting might actually happen.
"Haha, no need for that. I'm flying back to Europe tomorrow. This really isn't a big deal. Besides, we're both Democrats, right? Of course we should support each other," Josh declined with a light laugh.
When he heard that, Howard nodded—right, Josh was a Democrat, just like John F. Kennedy. After all, the president Josh had been closest to was Harry Truman, a Democrat.
And based on past events, it was clear Josh wasn't on the best terms with Eisenhower's Republican administration when it came to certain policies.
"You're leaving tomorrow? That soon?" Howard sounded a bit disappointed.
"What can I do? You know how things are in Europe. I can't exactly leave my daughter to deal with all that on her own, right?" Josh said with a half-joking smile.
"Well… alright then. I'll let John know," Howard sighed and nodded.
They chatted a bit more, and then Howard took his leave.
But as soon as Howard left, a faint smirk appeared on Josh's face.
Democrats? Republicans? Don't make me laugh. At our level, does party even matter anymore?
Then Josh picked up the phone and dialed a number—his first call was to Linus Leibler.
John Leibler had retired a few years ago. Now, the one in charge of Chicago was his brother-in-law, Linus—the "big brother-in-law."
"Josh? It's pretty late—did something important come up?" Linus Leibler sounded surprised when he saw who was calling.
As part of Margaret's extended family, the Kahn and Leibler families remained close. They had just had dinner together a few days ago, so this sudden late-night call caught Linus off guard.
"It's nothing too urgent. I'm flying back to Austria tomorrow and suddenly remembered something I'd like to ask you," Josh said with a light chuckle.
"Come on, Josh, no need for 'asking' between us. Just say the word," Linus replied without hesitation.
"Vice President Richard Milhous Nixon—you know who he is, right?" Josh asked.
"Of course I do. Why, did he offend you?" Linus replied, surprised.
"No, nothing like that. I just want you to reach out to him on my behalf, invite him out for a talk, and let him know that I plan to fully support him in the next presidential election," Josh said calmly.
"You want to support him? Josh, he's not one of our people," Linus said, clearly shocked.
"Linus… whether he's 'our guy' or not isn't the point. What matters is—can he become one of ours?" Josh said smoothly.
"Well, when you put it like that… alright. I'll take care of it," Linus agreed. He thought it over and realized Josh was right. With their level of influence now, it didn't matter who was or wasn't "one of theirs"—they could just make it so.
After finishing the call with Linus, Josh contacted several council members to inform them of his decision—using a secure line protected by the Pangu AI surveillance system, completely immune to interception or recording.
So… the Kennedy golden boy wanted to be president? Dream on.
Josh might've already forgotten about the Kennedys, but now that they came knocking, they had only themselves to blame.
Of course, the easiest solution would be to just kill the guy. For Josh, it'd be simple. He could send any one of his sorcerers and have "President Prettyboy" eliminated without leaving a single trace.
But where's the fun in that?
No, the shrimp must be paired with pig heart. You have to give them hope first… then crush it at the last moment.
Josh didn't need to kill John Kennedy just yet—but his brother and father? Oh, they could go first.
There were rumors in the future that the Kennedy family carried a curse… well, Josh was going to make that curse real.
Perfect timing, too. Two years left until the election. He'd kill off one Kennedy per year—first the old man, then the brother—and leave John for last, right before the final stretch. (TL/N: Man, I totally forgot what Josh fought with Joseph about. Does anyone remember?)
Poetic, isn't it?
Let's start with the father… but what would be a nice "constructive" way for him to die?
A few days later, headlines across Massachusetts reported a tragic story: Joseph Kennedy Sr. had driven drunk and crashed into a river, drowning.
After police investigation, the death was ruled an accident.
The Kennedy family found no signs of foul play and had no choice but to accept it.
But for John F. Kennedy, who was in the middle of campaign preparations, this was a massive blow.
After all, nearly all of the Kennedy family's political power came from the old man. His sudden death immediately left John on the defensive.
But just then, Howard Stark brought John F. Kennedy a piece of good news—Josh had "agreed" that the Continental Group would fully support his presidential campaign.
This lifted John's spirits instantly, sweeping away the gloom of his father's death. He even made an overseas call to Europe to personally thank Josh.
He also promised that if he won the election, he would grant the Continental Group all kinds of benefits.
"See? That's what it means to be sold and still help the seller count the money. If you ever run into something like this, remember to stay sharp," Josh said with a smile to his eldest son Mike, as they shared afternoon tea in Neuschwanstein Castle.
"You should be telling that to Ben, not me. That kid's completely bewitched by Sif. He's obsessed with becoming stronger—he's basically turning into a battle maniac," Mike replied with a roll of his eyes.
Josh twitched slightly at that. When the Asgardian delegation had visited, his youngest son had indeed fallen for Sif—and that wasn't something he'd expected. Kids really were too naive… too easily impressed.
Luckily, neither his eldest son nor his daughter had that problem.
That was a small relief for Josh.
Especially his daughter Carol. Since becoming Queen, she had, with the staff and influence Josh left her, taken only one year to seize real control of the Austro-United Kingdom. From a mere figurehead, she had become its true ruler.
Karl Renner, once the president of Austria and now Prime Minister of the unified kingdom, felt a bit sidelined—but mostly proud.
Though still young, Carol had shown the traits of an excellent ruler.
However…
"Your Majesty, this is the Lifeline Tablet (TL/N: Also called the Tablet of Life and Time), a legendary artifact of the ancient civilization of Atlantis. It can evolve the life structure of the wearer, granting limitless wisdom and power… Of course, as a divine being, it won't benefit you that much—but as a decoration, it's still quite lovely," said Loki respectfully, as he offered a green crystal token in Carol's private salon at Schönbrunn Palace.
"Thank you, Loki! I really like it. But I've told you many times, stop calling me 'Your Majesty'—it sounds too distant. Just call me Carol. We're friends, aren't we?" Carol said happily as she accepted the token.
"…Alright, Carol. But I should take my leave now. I really can't stay away from Asgard too long," Loki said after a brief hesitation.
"Pfft, don't give me that. It's not Asgard you're worried about—it's my father, isn't it?" Carol said, annoyed.
Loki could only give a helpless smile. Of course he was afraid. If Josh found out he'd been secretly visiting Carol… he'd probably be blasted out of existence on the spot.
At this moment, Loki was seriously regretting ever giving Carol that magical communication device.
He'd only meant to build some goodwill with the Queen, so she might put in a kind word for him to Josh someday.
But somehow, Carol kept reaching out to him—constantly chatting, always asking to meet.
And Loki didn't dare refuse. If Carol ever got upset and mentioned it to Josh, he'd still be toast.
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