Marvel: President Stark

Chapter 77: Chapter 77 - Terrorists, North Korea & Hero Business I



"Hydra?" Tony repeated, instantly stopping his eyes from ogling Emma.

"Believe it or not, they didn't vanish after the war. Quite the opposite—they've grown stronger, weaving themselves into every government: American, Chinese, Russian, and beyond," Emma explained briefly. "Some small Eastern European nations? They're practically puppets. Stern was one of them. So was the Secretary of Defense. And you, Tony Stark, are their greatest threat."

"And what's with the sudden burst of charity? You're not here out of the kindness of your heart, are you? I've heard about the Hellfire Club—quite the reputation. You might not be on their guest list anymore, but I'm guessing your playbook hasn't changed much," Tony rebuked, it not being that hard to see through her. Those sharp blue eyes belonged to a businesswoman.

Emma's lips curled into a knowing smile as she leaned forward, elbows resting on the table, her posture leaving little to the imagination. "They sent me to seduce you, lead you to ruin. Predictable, isn't it? But where's the thrill in that? You're the most powerful man alive right now, and aligning with you offers… far greater rewards. Hydra? Too chaotic, too fractured—one hand clueless about the other. But I can help you deal with some obstacles you'll face soon."

"Such as?"

"The Supreme Court," Emma purred, slipping photos from her purse and laying them before Tony. Each image revealed compromising shots of elderly judges, their aides, or other staff members. "There are nine Supreme Court Judges, and all of them follow either of the two parties. You might have the House and Senate wrapped around your finger, darling, but the Court? They'll turn your four years into a battlefield."

Tony nodded and leaned back in his chair, not bothering to look away from her generously displayed cleavage. "You think I don't have a plan to deal with them?"

"I never said that. I'm simply showing you my abilities, my offer, perhaps. I have contacts and a gifted power, and truly, I'd like to help you make the lives of mutants better. I didn't bother before, but after I lost… In any case, I shall take my leave. Think about my offer—Hydra, Politics, or… something else maybe… I can help in many ways."

"In return for what?"

"Access." Emma put her stylish glasses back on and smiled, a very seductive one at that. "Access to you, Mr. President."

"What type of access?" Tony asked back, smirking.

"Only time will tell."

With that, Emma walked away, tapping her high heels, her rear swaying in ways that stirred the thing between Tony's legs. He didn't take his eyes off her until she opened the door and left.

At this point, I should name myself Horny Stark. Tony sighed as he fixed his pants and looked back at his table. There were so many nice-looking folders, each holding some document for him to read.

He didn't like that one bit. There were so many things that were too mundane for him to even bother with. Things that were a waste of time for him as the President.

I didn't win this election to just be a fancy office clerk. He thought and pushed the files away. I'll only do what I'm good at—build stuff.

"Jarvis, give me the cliff notes. Split them into 'need-to-sign' and 'who-cares,' but leave the global stuff untouched. And let's cap this little paperwork party at an hour. Tops," he ordered his trusted AI and let it do the job.

In the meantime, he took out his personal laptop and started typing, working on his most important project in recent times—Nanotech.

####

For the past few years, the criticism around democracies has gotten worse. People often point out its inefficiencies. Often underlining the delays in decision-making, indecisiveness, delay in policy implementation, and a general lack of political will or desire to fulfill the promises the winning politicians won on.

Tony Stark was on a mission to prove them all wrong. Democracy was slow, not because it was meant to be, but because of the lack of transparency and accountability. If a politician elected on the promise of making healthcare cheaper, building high-speed trains, or increasing the number of jobs cannot accomplish even one of their promises to a degree in their first year, they have no right to stay in office.

The sole reason why nothing gets done on time is that the politicians have no incentive to do so. Why work on something so boring when they could be working on enriching themselves? Growing their contacts and portfolios, and making bank.

So, as the 1st month of Tony Stark's presidency came to an end, a massive, 400-page dossier PDF was shared on the internet through the President's social media handles and even the White House's official website.

The title was 'Government Transparency Report.'

In the index of the PDF, there was a massive list of politicians, high-ranking bureaucrats, and military officers. Each name led to their page, and each such page started with a summary such as—Corruption, criminal destruction of evidence, assault, or illegal activities.

There were too many skeletons being scooped out of closets. All those names had started at lower levels in the past with not much to their names, but now sat on millions to their names, something that wasn't achievable just by their salaries.

Tony chose to do nothing for now and watch the fire burn. If the accused had any shame, they'd leave their offices on their own. If they were shameless enough to stay, he had plans prepared.

But the Transparency Report wasn't even the main course. With the support of Congress, the changes to the IRS were cleared easily. As the second month started, the IRS Transparency System went live.

Near the end of February 2013, Tony stood on a small stage on the South Lawn of the White House. It was a sunny day, and more than a hundred members of the press were gathered. The entire event was being broadcast live, while behind Tony was a massive flat screen where he was projecting his mobile phone screen.

"This feature is totally optional, but hey, if you're dying to know where Uncle Sam stashed your hard-earned cash, just make an account using your SSN. It's already tied to your tax profile, so voilà—your details pop up instantly." Tony tapped the screen, pulling up his own tax page, with Jarvis artfully blurring out sensitive bits. "See? Tens of billions. And this nifty little option, 'Tax Distribution,' lets you peek at how it's spent."

The screen changed in an instant. A long list appeared on the screen with the topmost part occupied by the largest takers of his tax money. As expected, it was Defense Expenses. Clicking on it, the numbers revealed how much went to paying salaries, pensions, research purposes, and ammunition purchases, leaving out the sensitive details.

"Look, for most Americans, the big spenders are the Treasury, Social Security Administration, and Department of Defense. They've got the budgetary appetite of a teenager at an all-you-can-eat buffet." Tony showcased the full features of the app. "But what this does is reveal these details to you."

Finally, he tapped on a subcategory under the Department of Health and Human Services and revealed something, a list of general expenses made using taxpayers' money. 10 million dollars spent on buying pencils, and 1 million spent on paper clips.

Then under the Department of Education, a subcategory revealed 15 million spent on the 'Teacher's Mental Health Guidance Seminar', where a select team of forty teachers went to Venice. It was a vacation, even an idiot could see.

"So, fun fact: these weren't your run-of-the-mill chalk-and-blackboard types," he said, tapping the screen to open the Transparency file. "We're talking Principals, Education Board bigwigs, the school system Avengers, if you will. And their names? Right here in this handy little dossier."

Finally, Tony switched off his phone and placed it in his pocket. The screen behind him changed to show the seal of the President. He looked at the media and addressed the cameras bluntly.

"I'm gonna be taking back every single penny that was stolen from the American Taxpayers. And I'm reviewing every construction and purchase tender from the past five years—so if you've been up to something, time to break out the receipts. We've had the War on Drugs, and the War on Terror, but this? This is the War on Corruption. Our forefathers didn't fight to turn this country into some slow, bloated mess of red tape—In my administration, things get done, and if you're going to stand in my way, well... I'm coming for the skeletons in your closets—God bless you all."

The cameras began to flash like glittering stars as Tony showed his trademark victory sign before stepping down from the stage to return to his office. Christine Everhart took his place on stage and began answering the questions to the best of her ability while deflecting some others.

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