"Union Allied Construction? A shell company?" Luca repeated the keywords Shamila had mentioned.
"Yes. This company, Union Allied Construction, recently partnered with the city government to handle post-disaster reconstruction in Hell's Kitchen."
"However... according to the private investigator's findings, this company was established less than a year ago. It has absolutely no prior experience in real estate."
"So he suspects someone is just using this shell company's name to obtain construction permits through bribery."
Sitting in the back seat, Luca frowned and remained silent.
If the name "Union Allied Construction" only sounded vaguely familiar, adding "Hell's Kitchen" to the mix made it hard not to think of a certain notorious villain rumored to be 90% muscle.
The Kingpin of New York's underground, Wilson Fisk.
Well, actually, the current Kingpin might not be that infamous yet.
Setting aside his status in the underworld, at least among the public-facing social philanthropists, a "benevolent" giant named Wilson Fisk hadn't emerged yet.
According to the MCU timeline, Kingpin shouldn't have started his transition to legitimacy, and his criminal empire hadn't reached its peak.
Whether he successfully went legitimate using the real estate business following the Battle of New York was unknown to Luca.
But why would Kingpin suddenly target me?
As soon as the thought surfaced, Luca shook his head helplessly.
His current situation was undoubtedly "a child walking through a busy market holding gold." An innocent man gets into trouble because of his wealth.
A huge company and various assets, yet his father was dead, his mother in a coma, he hadn't formally inherited the estate, and he had no resources at his disposal.
Anyone with a hint of greed might take action, let alone a ruthless villain like Kingpin.
The fact that his own company's board hadn't moved against him yet was something he should thank the two minor shareholders who died in the Battle of New York for—they slowed down the others' progress.
Hmm, I shouldn't lock onto a target right away. Based on this limited information, it might not be Kingpin behind the scenes. I need to find my cheap uncle first before deciding.
After all, based on current information, everything was just Luca's speculation.
If he targeted the wrong person and provoked a troublesome figure like Kingpin for no reason, the loss would outweigh the gain.
Even if he used his "ultimate move" and called Tony Stark to save the day... without concrete evidence, Tony Stark wouldn't fly his Iron Man suit over to kill Kingpin or protect Luca 24/7.
Ultimately, he could only rely on himself.
"Auntie Shamila, this private investigator seems quite capable to gather so much information in such a short time. Tell him to find out where Dragan is as soon as possible. We can pay extra!"
"Understood."
The rest of the journey was silent.
Soon, Luca and Shamila returned home.
After a simple dinner, Luca rushed into the basement laboratory.
The 3D-printed armor for Baymax was finished. Luca carefully inspected it, sanded down the rough spots, and then contentedly called Baymax over to equip and test the armor pieces one by one.
"Hmm, looks pretty good? Maybe I'll spray paint it gold and red later so you can pose as Iron Man~"
Baymax, now clad in armor, stood there blankly, blinking its camera eyes, looking completely unthreatening.
"This does not appear helpful for healthcare nursing work?" (●—●)
"Remember what I said?"
"The best medical care is to prevent all possible dangers before the patient gets injured?" (●—●)
"Exactly. Now your ability to prevent danger is even stronger~"
Luca patted Baymax's new, sturdy armor.
It's a pity the materials for the arm haven't arrived yet. Otherwise, I could synthesize it too. Once the tactical squad Shamila mentioned arrives tomorrow, I can go looking for new Core Components.
Now, whether finding the mastermind or searching for Dragan, Luca couldn't intervene personally and had to rely on his subordinates.
It seemed all he could do was expand his collection of items while passively waiting.
If I had the Tracking Glasses when I saw Dragan at the funeral, I wouldn't have to worry so much now.
Just as Luca was thinking this, a rapid knock came from the basement stair door.
"Master Luca! Are you in there?"
Hearing Shamila's anxious voice, Luca was puzzled but pressed the button next to the computer desk to open the lab door.
"Come in."
Shamila pushed the door open immediately. Luca noticed she already had a pistol in hand.
"Master, there seem to be intruders outside the villa!"
Just moments ago, Shamila was on the third floor of the villa, talking to the Aurantius family fund manager to schedule a meeting about withdrawing funds for drug development.
However, through the open third-floor window, she noticed two suspicious vans speeding toward the villa.
The location of the Aurantius family's seaside villa in Connecticut was relatively remote, chosen specifically for vacations.
Most of the time, it was left empty and maintained by a professional property management company, as were most of the surrounding villas.
As far as Shamila knew, none of the few neighbors nearby had been in residence recently.
The appearance of two vans with a clear destination immediately caught her attention.
When Shamila saw the vans stop in a clearing some distance away and over a dozen people pour out...
Even though it was night and too far to see if they were armed, Shamila made her judgment instantly.
They were coming for Master Luca. They stopped further away only to avoid alerting anyone inside with the sound of the engines.
Faced with this situation, Shamila naturally grabbed her gun and rushed downstairs to find Luca first.
But hearing about the intruders, Luca wasn't nervous. Instead, he reached out and tapped the desk rapidly a few times.
The previously blank wall beside them slid open sideways, revealing a weapon rack filled with guns of various models.
Luca shrugged slightly and gestured.
"Try not to use the ones on the right; we don't have carry permits for those."