WASHINGTON
The radiant prima ballerina gave Fischer a perfumed kiss before swaying her hips and exiting the Chevrolet's passenger seat, leaving behind a lingering scent.
Oh, and she also left a note with an address and phone number.
Fischer scrutinized the address, which was supposedly in Moscow, then crumpled the note and tossed it into the glove compartment on the passenger side, deciding to call her whenever he went to Russia.
After seeing off the prima ballerina, Fischer returned to his office.
Recently, due to the promotion of the EXO exoskeleton, an unending stream of orders had nearly flooded his inbox.
The five major branches of the US military (Air Force, Navy, Army, Marines, and Coast Guard) had ordered almost a million units, and state National Guards had also placed some orders.
Various law enforcement agencies, not to mention large organizations like the FBI and CIA, even the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, had sent in an order for five hundred units.
Not to mention NATO allies; even the Russians and Chinese had sent their ambassadors in Iraq to inquire about purchasing some, preferably with production authorization, and so on.
Kate had sent him a report that morning: to date, Gigas's EXO exoskeletons had nearly four million orders.
Fischer's asking price was 700,000 per unit, so Gigas had nearly 30 billion in deposits from these orders alone, not to mention subsequent upgrades and modifications.
Furthermore, many countries only wanted to buy a batch first to see if they could reverse-engineer and produce it themselves.
Fischer was well aware of these little tricks and had no intention of hiding the EXO.
If they wanted authorization, he would grant it, but for every EXO produced, they would have to give him five percent of the revenue.
Fischer knew that some people would try to play games with this revenue share, but it depended on whether it was worth it.
The EXO exoskeleton was just a basic template; the higher value lay in subsequent upgrades to the EXO exoskeleton: Assault, Specialist, Stealth.
These upgrade modules were the main profit drivers.
And don't let the EXO exoskeleton's simple appearance, like a few pieces of sheet metal welded together, fool you.
It contained many small details: whether the metal material would cause the frame to deform, affecting its load-bearing capacity; the welding process affecting the strength of the exoskeleton armor's connection points; and the high-energy battery, which was the most crucial part.
When using the original battery, the EXO exoskeleton armor could operate at full power for eight hours, meaning a soldier could continuously fight for eight hours with it before replacing the battery.
However, the version Fischer sold could only operate at full power for four hours, half of the original.
If you wanted longer operation, that was also possible; an energy backpack would satisfy that need.
And with this backpack, you could also carry an EM1 plasma rifle, with unlimited power for your use.
However, once you put on the backpack, things like jetpacks and stealth systems were out of the question.
As for whether the exoskeleton would fall into the hands of illegal elements, Fischer just scoffed.
"Go ahead and use it, by all means."
Every exoskeleton armor system had a serial number and a built-in computer.
As long as you used the system, Gigas could access a pre-existing backdoor to restrict the system, such as shutting it down (referencing the last mission of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, where the protagonist and his team went to confront Irons, but their exoskeletons were hacked and rendered inoperable, eventually requiring brute force to remove them).
So, Fischer wasn't worried about anyone using this to cause him trouble, unless they replaced it with a system compatible with the exoskeleton armor.
As long as they used Gigas's system, Gigas would certainly have a countermeasure.
"Boss, it looks like you had a great night!" Kate, who was just over 1.7 meters tall, was already waiting for Fischer in the office.
"Uh, yes, very fulfilling.
I learned several Russian phrases, like 'Kharasho' (hello) and 'Davai' (come on).
It reminds me of my college days.
Alas, it's a pity I didn't meet a memorable Russian teacher back then!"
"The only things you remember are the meter-long legs and double Ds!" Kate rolled her eyes and said irritably, "Some government official is looking for you.
He says he's from some 'Security Bureau' and he's bald!"
"Bald?" Fischer wondered if it was Comrade Nick Fury, the undercover director of S.H.I.E.L.D., paying him a visit.
"Where is he?"
"The reception room!"
"Okay, I'll go see!" Walking outside the reception room and listening to the conversation inside, Fischer was a bit puzzled.
This didn't sound like Fury's voice; it had a curry-like accent.
"Hello!" Pushing open the door, Fischer couldn't help but want to laugh at the short, bald man in front of him.
The Indian-American agent sent by S.H.I.E.L.D. was named Sitwell, he recalled.
"Hello, Mr. Fischer, I've heard much about you!" Before the accompanying Gigas executive could introduce them, the bald man had already extended his hand.
"Hello, Agent.
May I ask what brings you and your 'Bureau' to Gigas?"
"It's the Department of Homeland Defense and Strategic Security, and I'm Agent Jasper Sitwell.
We are an agency overseen by the United Nations Security Council, responsible for missions worldwide!" The bald man straightened his back, looking incredibly proud.
"That sounds very noble.
Your efforts are appreciated!" Fischer said, reaching for his checkbook.
"To express my support for your efforts in maintaining global security, I personally donate fifty thousand dollars to you.
Please accept it!" Before the other party could refuse, Fischer had already slipped the check into the bald man's pocket.
"Ah, this!" The bald man looked at the check, really wanting to accept it, but after thinking about his mission, he pushed the check back.
"We appreciate your generosity, but Gigas is a large and prosperous company, unlike us who rely on funding from various countries, so a donation is not necessary.
My main purpose here today is that our agency hopes to purchase 200,000 sets of exoskeleton armor from Gigas!" The bald man pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses and said somewhat awkwardly.
"200,000 sets?" Fischer clicked his tongue.
As America's most powerful domestic intelligence agency, the FBI had only ordered 10,000 sets from him to equip their special forces and SWAT teams.
Yet, the bald man came in and, without batting an eye, ordered 200,000 sets.
"Fury, tell me, how much have you embezzled all these years?"
"Yes, because we are a global organization with many personnel, constantly fighting on the front lines, and many brothers have lost their lives for it.
So we hope to reduce their losses, and Gigas's exoskeleton armor is excellent!"
"Okay, no problem, but we must complete the military's orders first before we can get to yours.
We hope you understand!"
"No problem, no problem, we understand!"
"Oh, by the way, all of our procurement funds have already been transferred; it's a full payment!" As he spoke, the bald man even revealed a triumphant smile.