"Excuse me, Mr. Mayor—Mr. Winters is here," the beautiful secretary announced, giving the door a few polite knocks.
"Come in," a deep voice called from inside.
Allen followed the secretary into the spacious, luxurious office.
"Mr. Winters, can I get you something to drink?" the mayor asked with an easy smile.
"Anything's fine," Allen replied casually.
The mayor stepped over to a sleek cabinet lined with bottles. "How about a Heidsieck 1907?" he suggested, holding up the rare vintage—one famously recovered from a shipwreck and worth over two hundred thousand dollars.
Allen's brows lifted slightly. "Of course. That's an impressive choice, Mr. Mayor."
The secretary returned with the bottle and two crystal glasses, setting them on the desk.
"Thank you, Margaret. You can leave us now—oh, and cancel the rest of my meetings for today," the mayor said.
Margaret poured the wine before slipping out, the door clicking shut behind her.
"Mr. Winters, just call me Michel—it'll make things a bit more comfortable," the mayor said, lifting his glass.
"Sure," Allen nodded. "And you can just call me Allen."
Michael chuckled, taking a sip. "Hah… I'm really starting to like you, young man."
Michael Warrant was surprisingly easy to talk to. With a demeanor like his, it was no wonder so many investors were eager to work with him.
"Mr. Michael, is there a particular reason you wanted to meet me in person?" Allen asked. "The last time we crossed paths was at your daughter's birthday party—you invited me yourself. Do you remember? Unfortunately, we didn't get the chance to talk back then."
"Hahaha, yes, my apologies," Michael said with an easy laugh. "I was caught up in another matter and never even managed to greet some of my own guests."
He waved it off casually before continuing. "Anyway, I called you here because I need your help, Allen."
"What sort of help, Mr. Michael?" Allen asked, leaning back slightly. "If it's about business, you can always contact my secretary directly. That would be much easier for you—and of course, I wouldn't turn down a good business opportunity."
Instead of answering right away, the mayor offered Allen a cigarette.
"Sorry, but I don't smoke," Allen said.
"Alright… hahaha, no problem. You don't mind if I smoke in front of you, do you?" Michael asked politely, still relaxed.
"Not at all. This is your office," Allen replied with a small shrug.
"Good." Michael lit a cigarette, taking a slow drag before speaking again. "Allen, you know my daughter, right? You must have met her at her birthday party. Well, lately she's been approached by a man with… questionable intentions. He's trying to get close to her for certain sensitive information. His name is Benjamin. I'd like you to drive him out of her life. Besides, I think my daughter might have some special feelings for you, Allen."
"I see… but why ask me to handle it?" Allen questioned, his tone curious. "You know you could just use Chief Brian for something like this."
Allen was certain there had to be more to it—something the mayor wasn't saying. After all, this was a pretty small matter to be outsourcing.
"First," Michael said, tapping ash into a tray, "because you work for Umbrella, and I know Spencer. Second, my daughter clearly has feelings for you. So, I'd rather entrust this to you than to some stranger."
Allen's mind ticked over the details. This felt like more than just a favor—it could very well be a test. The mayor had specifically mentioned Spencer's name, which suggested the old man himself might have told Michael to use him. And if that was the case, then this was also a way to observe Allen's true nature.
"Hmmm… I don't mean to refuse," Allen said with a faint smirk, "but you do know I already have a wife, don't you?"
At the very least, he wanted to play a little hard to get—just enough to project authority in front of the mayor by using the mention of his wife as leverage.
"I know you have a wife," Michael replied, a small cough escaping him, "and not just one. Cough. In fact, one of them works for the police… How about I give Jill a raise? And your new girlfriend, Rebecca—I heard about her from Brian—I could increase her salary as well."
The mayor's offer was thinly veiled bribery, delivered between coughs.
"Please, don't joke about that," Allen said with a chuckle, coughing lightly himself as if to mirror the mayor. "They're smart women. If their salaries suddenly went up without reason, they'd immediately be suspicious."
He leaned back slightly, signaling for Michael to offer something else.
The mayor frowned, clearly unsure what else to put on the table. Allen was, after all, a man of considerable means—a conglomerate-level figure who had little need for money. What could I possibly offer him? Michael thought. Sergei had once told him that the kid could be manipulated if you dangled women in front of him, but that didn't seem to be working here.
"Well," Michael said, exhaling a sigh, "tell me what you want. If it's within my power, just name it."
Allen's lips curved into a grin. "How about a helicopter? Brand new, of course. And I want the military version. If I buy it myself, the process will take too long. But for you, I'm sure it'd be easy to arrange."
His voice carried a note of enthusiasm. Truth be told, Allen could build one himself—but it would take time, and he'd much rather spend that time designing something like a Quinjet from the Marvel movies than a regular chopper. Still, for now, he needed a helicopter quickly.
The helicopter alone would cost at least 30 million dollars. Well, since the money he would use came from taxpayer funds, he wouldn't even blink an eye at that price.
"Alright, but I want the hidden cameras he owns to be handed over to me. Do you understand?" the mayor added as a condition for Allen.
"Deal, then," Allen agreed without hesitation.
"Aren't you curious about the data from those cameras?" the mayor asked with a smile—though it was an unpleasant one.
Allen shook his head. "Not interested at all. Besides, I'm also a businessman, and I wouldn't have accepted your offer if it weren't for that helicopter." Allen smiled back at him.
"Hahaha, no wonder Spencer wants to hire you even though you already have your own company," Michael laughed heartily, clearly pleased.
"Hey, my company is still small and nothing compared to Umbrella. That's why I'm interested in working there—to gain more experience," Allen said, deliberately praising Umbrella because he felt he was being watched by someone.
"Could you give me your daughter's phone number? Leave the rest to me."
"Of course. Here," the mayor said, handing him a card with his daughter's contact information.
Allen took the card. After chatting for a bit longer, he left the mayor's office.
As he stepped outside, Allen tried to recall the Resident Evil game he had played. If he remembered correctly, the footage from those cameras contained evidence against the mayor and Chief Brian.
Well, Allen actually doesn't want to get involved, especially since there will be an outbreak in this city.
Allen, who left the office, then went to the bar and used Wednesday to contact a person named Benjamin and track down Katrine's whereabouts first.
....
Meanwhile, in the mayor's office, Micheal was smoking and muttering to himself.
"Spencer… you think I don't know your intentions… good, very good. Does he think it will be that easy to get rid of me?"
The hidden camera footage Benjamin possessed contained evidence of corruption between him and Chief Brian Irons. If that footage ever reached the public, his image as mayor would be ruined.
"This is unacceptable… just you wait, Spencer."
.....
Meanwhile, at the Arkley Mountain mansion, Spencer had just received the latest report from Sergei about Allen.
"Hahahaha," he laughed after reading the contents of the report. In the lab, the boy wasn't conducting research as Spencer had expected—he was actually flirting with William's wife and several female researchers there. Outside, he was busy pursuing a new woman named Rebecca and bribing Brian to make it happen, and now he was even making moves on the mayor's daughter.
"A man like this is such a fool… no wonder Alex can so easily use him. He only has petty ambitions of having many wives—typical womanizer. A man like this is perfect as a subordinate," Spencer scoffed.
After finishing the report, he looked back at Sergei.
"You can focus on keeping an eye on Albert. As for this boy, let Alex handle him."
At the moment, Spencer was very pleased because Alex's research was progressing according to his expectations, bringing his goal of achieving immortality one step closer. What he didn't know, however, was that Alex was secretly planning to drain Spencer's money and stab him in the back when the time was right.
...
Meanwhile, at a bar, Kathrine was having dinner with Benjamin. Tonight, Benjamin had invited her out for a meal.
Not long after, Allen walked in through the front door. He looked like he had just finished working at the lab and greeted a few people he knew there. Allen was actually quite well-known in this place since he often stopped by after work to grab some food and drinks with Barry.
The moment he spotted Kathrine and Benjamin sitting together, Allen headed straight toward them.
"Yo… long time no see, Benjamin," he said, his eyes coldly fixed on the man.
Kathrine looked a little surprised to see Allen there.
"Ben… do you know Mr. Winters?" she asked.
Benjamin, looking uneasy, glanced at Allen.
"Uh… hello… do I know you?" he replied hesitantly.
Seeing Benjamin's reaction, Kathrine began to feel suspicious.
"Hey, man… are you seriously pretending you don't know me now? Especially after the last time we met—you personally interviewed me about some of my discoveries. And not long after that, you went and claimed my work as your own. From what I've heard, that paper even got you nominated for an award. Heh," Allen said, his tone laced with mockery.
"Mr. Winters, please don't slandering Benjamin like that. I'm sure he's not that kind of person," Kathrine tried to defend Benjamin. But inside, her thoughts were a mess—torn between believing Allen, her first crush, or Benjamin, the man she was currently close to.
"And if I may know, who are you, pretty lady? Don't tell me you're Benjamin's girlfriend."
"I~ I'm Katherine Warrant… and yes, Benjamin and I are dating, but…" She wanted to say that she wasn't officially in a relationship with Benjamin and that they were just friends, but Allen cut her off.
"Ohh, so you're Mrs. Warrant, the mayor's daughter… okay, how about we hear it straight from Benjamin instead? It would be pointless for us to argue about this… So, Benjamin, do you want to confess, or should we drag this issue out? And stop pretending you don't know me—don't you have any shame?" Allen said, despite the fact that he himself had no shame.
Hearing Allen's words, Benjamin slowly stepped back as if he'd been caught red-handed. Katherine, noticing Benjamin's behavior, felt her mood sour.
"Just be honest, Ben. Do you really know Mr. Winters?"
"I~ I don't know him. I've only met him once and interviewed him once, that's all," Benjamin tried to deny.
"Ben, you'd better not play cheap tricks with me. Tell me the truth—I hate people who lie to me." Katherine looked at Benjamin with a hint of anger. Whatever positive feelings she had for him were gone, and she just wanted to hear a direct confession from his mouth.
"Hey, stop slandering me, Mr. Winters! Do you have proof that I'm the one who did it?"
"Yeah, I can prove it. At that time, I was only interviewed by you, and then the very next day my paper was published to the public without my name on it. Also, I only met you on that one day." Allen spoke as if he had already presented solid evidence against Benjamin.
Then Allen showed Katherine the proof of their conversation, making her legs weaken as she realized what kind of person Benjamin really was.
"Alright, I admit it… I got a commission from someone to do it. Please, don't report this—I don't want to lose my job." Benjamin pleaded with Allen, finally confessing his actions.
Seeing this, Katherine stood up and slapped Benjamin. Slap!
"Don't ever see me again." She then walked away, leaving Benjamin behind.
"Katherine, wait!" Benjamin tried to chase after her, but in the end, he just sat down and sighed as he watched her leave.
"Man… that slap hurt."
"Hahaha… your acting was impressive, man. Why don't you just pursue a career as an actor?" Allen said.
It turned out the whole scene was staged and had been agreed upon beforehand.
"Alright… where's my payment?"
Allen then handed over the rest of the payment.
"This is what you wanted, right?" Benjamin also handed over the memory card from the camera recording that Allen had requested earlier.
Benjamin carefully counted the money Allen gave him, and he looked satisfied with the amount.
*****
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