Taking his leave of Hellcat, Herbie, and Dr. Vaughn, Zemo quickly flies back to his compound, where waiting technical staff run a complete diagnostic of his suit. Zemo is met by Jarvis with a steaming cup of coffee, and the briefing kit for Hong Kong (containing maps, current political and economic briefs, a wallet with appropriate ID and banking information, and two different passports, both of British Commonwealth origin, and neither in Zemo's real name).
"Well done Jarvis. Give yourself another 10% raise."
"Thank you, Sir."
"Also, when we patent the findings from the Kree gun, I'll put at least one of them in your name."
"Will you be taking the jet, and entering Hong Kong in civilian guise, sir? Or should I have the technicians prepare the ancilliary stealth modes and long-range auxilliary energy tanks?" asks Jarvis.
"I'll take the armor with me, but I'll go in civilian disguise. Have we found out the name of the man who is rumored to have the stones? If so we'll call him en route to Hong Kong. I'll make him an offer he can't refuse."
"Yes Sir. His name is Finley Fanfoom the Third, a notorious collector of antiquities, who does a remarkable about of business fom Kowloon." Jarvis hands his master another folder. "His grandfather first appeared just after the Boxer Rebellion, and established a trading house. The house did quite well, becoming one of the wealthier occidental concerns. Grandfather, father, and son were all avid collectors, and not horribly scrupulous about the provenence of their collection; they are rumored to have ties to the criminal organization called Mantis."
Zemo looks at the identity card and sees the name Reed Richards. Not a hard name to remember.
"Jarvis, is the pilot ready?"
"Mr. Jameson will be here shortly, sir - he had to drop his son John at day-care. He responded to the emergency summons with commendable alacrity"
"Tell him not to rush. There's no hurry. Once we are underway, I'll phone Mr. Fee Fi Fo Fum." Zemo laughs at his little joke.
The flight to Hong Kong is uneventful, and to a certain degree, frustrating; the first attempts at setting a time with Fanfoom fail miserably. Finally, Jarvis manages to secure an appointment at 11AM the day after Zemo's plane lands. From the airport they are met by a limosine, and taken to a reserved suite at the Crown Republic Hotel, in which the Zemo family has had an investment for many years.
Zemo sleeps the sleep of the just, and awakes refreshed. Room service and valet, and then...to the meeting!
At 10AM a long stretch limo glides to a rest at the front entrance of the hotel, and several "aides" get out, all dressed in dark green suits and dark sunglasses. They open the doors for a "vavavoom!" gorgeous asian lady, who comes forward to greet you.
"Good morning, Herr Zemo. My name is Kwannon Lee, Mr. Fanfoom's personal assistant. Please, come with me"
She ushers you and Jarvis into the limo. The suites get into a town car which follows you back. As you thread your way through the crowded streets, she offers you refreshments; the limo is well-stocked with tea, coffee, soft drinks, even cocktails or champaign. Jarvis accepts a cup of tea, and urges you to do the same with his eyes...rejecting asian hospitality is considered an insult.
The limo draws up to a golden glass-and-steel skyscraper building. Kwannon explains that it is called (in english) the Dragon's Tooth, and was built by the Finfoom family thirty years ago. The suits spread out and provide an escort through the lobby as Kwannon takes you to a private elevator. She, you, and Jarvis enter, leaving the suits behind. The elevator shoots swiftly upward, and your ears pop as you ascend. At the 33rd floor it stops; near the top, but still several floors beneath. The doors open, and Kwannon guides you past several more "aides" on station, and through a large pair of double doors at the end.
Kwannon ushers you into a large office, well-appointed, lots of gleaming wood and steel. A man rises from behind the desk, approximately six feet tall but slender. Long black hair fans his shoulders, and he sports a Fu Manchu-style mustache, but he is quite obviously caucasian. A deep, strong voice greets you "Welcome to Hong Kong, Mr. Zemo, Mr. Jarvis. I am Finley Fanfoom. I understand you have a business proposition for me?"
Zemo sits down across from Fanfoom and smiles. As usual Zemo gets right to the heart of the matter. He doesn't believe in playing games.
"Mr. Fanfoom, I'd like to buy one of your little trinkets" begins the Baron. "I believe it is called the norn stone. Jarvis here will do the negotiations once you give us a starting price."
Mr. Fanfoom smiles a predatory smile. "It is not for sale, Your Excellency. It is part of my father's and my father's father's legacy to me, and hence priceless."
Zemo chuckles. "There's no need to joke around. Everything's for sale. Now seriously, give me an opening price. I'd like to buy the trinket for a lady friend."
"As you say. Let us set a price at 500 million dollars and the head of your assistant, Mr. Jarvis" responded Finley. "Everything does indeed have a price, herr Baron, but frequently the price to be paid beggars the worth of the item in question - since worth and value are often quite disparate things, a precept my family has used to our benefit on many occassions."
"Now we're getting somewhere" laughs Zemo. "Just teasing you Jarvis. I really can't give you Jarvis' head. He keeps track of too much stuff for me. I'd be lost without him. Is there anyone else's head you'd like? Maybe the head of an Irish bitch?"
Zemo continues to laugh. "I don't think I've had this much fun in ages. You are a fun man, Finley."
"Thank you, herr Barron. And I hardly think that there is an Irish person anywhere worth exchanging for Jarvis' - truly, the man is a wonder. You wouldn't be interested in working for me, would you, Jarvis?" Finley barked a cruel laugh. "Ah, of course not - one of the most prized attributes of such a man is his discretion and loyalty."
Finley focuses back on the Baron. "Let us agree that the price for the Norn Stone in my possession is set just as high as Jarvis in my estimation; while potentially for sale, the price would prove too dear." Finley leaned back in his chair. "Is this the sum total of the business before us, Herr Zemo? If so, then I fear that our conversation is at an end." And with that, he summons Kwannon back. She escorts Zemo and Jarvis back to their hotel.
Zemo gathers Jarvis and his crew and flies back to the states. "This isn't over, Foom!" He thinks to himself.
"Jarvis, I need you to round up the following mercenaries. Don't tell them your real name or who you work for. We don't want Foom knowing who's hiring these goons."
Zemo hands Jarvis a list of mercenaries, a rare collection of rogues:
First on the list was the man known as Daredevil, a former british aristocrat who joined the SAS out of sheer boredom. He had found contentment in service to his country until "exceeding mission parameters" in Rhodesia in 1957; he had single-handedly taken an enemy outpost - and put every survivor to the knife. A ruthless, conscience-less sellsword, whose payment was as much adrenaline as money.
Second was the wolf-pack called SHIELD, in mockery of the standards of the World War II American hero, and made from the name of its members - Spiderman, the brilliant tactician leader. Herakules, an ex-circus strong-man who learned a taste for blood in his native Greece, fighting against the Turks. The so-called Immortal Man, who first surfaced in World War I fighting for the French, and apparently hasn't aged a day since. The Living Laser, a former Soviet Union experiment in creating super-powered military resources, whose eyes uncontrollably flash death, and Doctor Octopus, a former marine biologist whose experiments in cross-combining human and marine DNA went horribly, horribly wrong!
Finally, the Red Skull, the former Director of the Soviet Super Soldier program, himself a mutant whose parents served the Motherland as nuclear scientists. His misshapen head was counterbalanced by his expanded intellect, and telekenetic powers; unfortunately, his ambitions rose higher than his intellect, and he escaped execution by his former masters by the skin of his teeth!
Jarvis glances at the note, and says "I shall begin immediately, sir".
The flight home is uneventful, and by the time the plane lands Jarvis has news. "Sir, the man called Daredevil has refused to take action against the House of FanFoom; apparently they are a frequent employer of his services, and he feels compelled to refuse. SHIELD has accepted the work, and will meet us at the time and place you specified." He paused. "The Red Skull ranted for twenty minutes on how much he hates the Nazis who caused so much suffering in his Homeland, and wishes us to commit several sexual acts which are....incompatible...with Human biology. He also made a puzzling comment, to the effect that he 'hopes that MANTIS rips us to shreds'; upon doing further research, I have heard rumors that MANTIS is a secret tong of assassins in Hong Kong that seem to have some unspecified connection to Finley FanFoom as well".
Jarvis presents a newspaper to the Baron. "Also, I thought you might want to see this, Sir." The newspaper detailed a front-page story of the Avengers' arrival at the University, including the damages to the buildings and the walls. Much of the articles seem to focus on the Black Knight and Thor, both of whom remain unidentified. Herbie and Baron Zemo were mentioned by name, with sidebars detailing Herbie's heroic career and the evils perpetrated by the previous Baron Zemo in his service to Nazi Germany. The article also speculates that this mysterious, armor-clad Knight might be related to the Templar who served Nazi Germany alongside the elder Baron Zemo. Fortunately Thor's lack of size seems to have disguised him sufficiently to deter the reporters from making the connection between him and the Thor who had briefly fought the British for the Luftwaffe above the skys of London.
The article, in an attempt to balance its coverage, also included quotes from Dr. Vaughn and the university Chancellor, both of whom expressed their gratitude for the Avengers' having defended Dr. Vaughn and driven away his attackers. Dr. Vaughn said that he had no idea who the mysterious attackers were, and that he hoped that they had gotten what they had came for; obviously he was stonewalling the press on the real story.
"Sir, I hate to interrupt again, but it seems that we are having something of an emergency that requires your direct attention" he began. "Our domestic assets and holdings in Europe and the United States have been frozen by the respective governments, pending an Interpol investigation into alleged War Crimes committed by you during the Second World War - unfortunately, the recent publicity and certain other inquiries have thrust you into the spotlight, and you and two of your recent compatriots, the Black Knight and Thor, are also under investigation, and sought by the authorities."
"If you desire, we can divert our liquid assets to our South American accounts. I have ordered one of our aircraft immediately prepared for flight to our South American estate, and begin the process of answering their charges from safety. It would, unfortunately, require that you disengage from your current activities for some unspecified time."
"What is your command, Your Excellency?"
Baron Zemo stares at the wall for a few seconds, marshalling his mental resources. "Very good. Carry on, and join us in the Southlands as soon as you may." And with that, Zemo leaves the hall and the bustling of the garden, and repairs to the Music Room, to think...and to plan.