Chapter Thirty-Two: I Have Plenty of Money to Buy My Life

“Mr. Harvey Amberlaca, I hope you can forgive S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intrusion. We have no intention of making an enemy of you.”
Nick Fury looked at Harvey Amberlaca and took the initiative to greet him.

“I don’t care, as long as you don’t keep bothering me,” Harvey replied, glancing up at Nick Fury. “The great mission of saving the Blue Planet has nothing to do with an ordinary person like me.”

“Given your relationship with Tony Stark, perhaps in the future you could pilot a suit of armor and become a superhero,” Nick Fury said.

According to investigations, Tony Stark usually only invited women to his parties at home; it was rare for him to invite men. If Tony did extend such an invitation, it proved the two were on very close terms. Tony Stark was extremely reluctant to hand over his core technology to the military. But for a good friend, perhaps someone as close as Harvey Amberlaca, Tony might offer a suit of Iron Man armor.

So, as he spoke, Nick Fury was also observing Tony Stark. When he noticed Tony’s eyes light up, as if eager to see Harvey Amberlaca don the armor, he knew his guess was accurate.

“Setting aside whether I wear the Iron Man suit, who says putting it on means I have to become a superhero?” Harvey responded bluntly, sensing Tony’s eager look but fixing his gaze on Nick Fury. “Nick Fury, your not-so-subtle moral coercion is enough.”

Nick Fury’s friendliness clearly stemmed from the possibility that Harvey Amberlaca might receive an Iron Man suit from Tony Stark. Yet, Harvey showed no inclination to play along, which made a flicker of anger rise within Fury.

“Harvey Amberlaca, I think there’s been some misunderstanding between us. Maybe we could have a talk.”

But professionalism forced Fury to suppress his irritation. He forced a genial smile.

“There’s nothing I want to discuss with you,” Harvey said. “Last time, your people pointed guns at me. When I called the FBI, you covered it up among yourselves and swept it under the rug. If I can’t afford to offend you, I can at least avoid you. But next time you push me too far, I have plenty of money to buy my safety.”

Harvey noticed Fury’s body stiffen slightly and let out a derisive laugh.

Tony Stark, hearing all this, looked over at Nick Fury in shock.

He knew S.H.I.E.L.D. had approached Harvey Amberlaca, hoping to recruit him, but he hadn’t expected their “test” involved drawing guns on him.

Nick Fury, hearing Harvey’s threat and noticing Tony’s gaze, felt a headache coming on. He hadn’t anticipated that Natasha’s previous actions would leave Harvey Amberlaca with such a strong aversion to S.H.I.E.L.D. Then again, at the time, no one expected Tony Stark, previously just a scientist, would suddenly invent a paradigm-shifting weapon like the Iron Man suit. Least of all did they expect Harvey Amberlaca and Tony Stark to become such close friends.

Moreover, Harvey’s words made it clear he knew about the Dark Web. If pushed, he could easily spend a fortune to hire assassins. For someone as wealthy as Harvey Amberlaca, two million dollars could be pulled out at any moment, while S.H.I.E.L.D. would need a mountain of paperwork just to mobilize the same resources. And Harvey was young—impulsive and reckless was not out of the question.

“Mr. Harvey Amberlaca, I deeply regret the actions of our agent. I apologize. We are not enemies, and I hope we can truly resolve our misunderstanding in the future.”

With that, Nick Fury could only yield and lower his head in apology. Then he ended the video call.

After the call ended—

“Incredible,” Tony Stark said, giving Harvey Amberlaca a thumbs-up in admiration.

Judging by the powers Harvey had displayed before him, it was clear he was not at all afraid of S.H.I.E.L.D. Yet, instead of revealing his abilities, Harvey chose to resolve the matter as a young billionaire.

“There’s nothing impressive about it. It’s just about maintaining my image,” Harvey replied calmly.

“I get it, but Harvey, you really don’t intend to try on an Iron Man suit?” Tony’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “I’m already pretty good at piloting it, but I bet with your abilities, you’d be even better if you learned its functions.”

Even if the suit’s performance was the same, the pilot’s skill made all the difference. Though Tony didn’t know the full extent of Harvey’s power, he was certain Harvey outmatched him.

“If I’m ever interested, I’ll ask you for one,” Harvey said, glancing at the most stylish suit displayed against the wall.

“You could take one now. It’d give you some means of self-defense and help you hide your true identity better,” Tony offered.

“I appreciate your kindness, Tony, but as long as I haven’t spent money on S.H.I.E.L.D. agents’ lives, they can’t touch me, since they’re the ones in the wrong. If I did take a suit, it wouldn’t help me hide—instead, it would give S.H.I.E.L.D. an excuse to accuse me of harboring dangerous weapons,” Harvey replied, shaking his head.

Tony wanted to repay Harvey for his many reminders and help, but Harvey lacked for nothing; Tony’s goodwill was enough.

“That makes sense,” Tony admitted after a moment’s thought.

They were both New York billionaires, but there were differences. As long as Tony was alive, Stark Industries would remain America’s tech leader. Even with the Iron Man suit, the military couldn’t touch him without a solid pretext—public opinion or something else. So for now, all the suits remained in his hands.

No matter what, the government couldn’t afford to push him too hard. He was not only a billionaire, but also a genius scientist.

Harvey Amberlaca, on the surface, was only a billionaire. Money alone couldn’t win against power. Now that he and S.H.I.E.L.D. were at odds, Nick Fury couldn’t move against him unless Harvey did something dangerous or possessed a weapon deemed a threat. For now, S.H.I.E.L.D., out of respect, wouldn’t set traps for Harvey Amberlaca.