"If you want to demonstrate it, why not start wagging your tail at me from now on?"
"That way, maybe if I'm happy, I'll reward you with a few meaty bones."
General Mike's face flushed the color of pig liver, and his hand went back to his holster, but just as Alex said, he merely left it there and did not dare actually draw his gun and shoot.
Rick Archibald glanced at the general, then calmly removed the general's hand from the gun and said, "What if I don't agree?"
"You'll kill me here?"
"If you do that, even if you take the President's seat…"
"Do you think the people below will obey your commands?"
"Besides, do you have what it takes to be a president?"
"Believe me, the citizens won't want you to become President."
"Being a superhero is one thing; being President is another."
"Forgive me for being blunt, Homelander, but you're not suited to being President."
Alex leaned forward slightly and smiled, "That's right. Even if I killed you and took the presidency, I wouldn't be able to sit securely in this chair."
"But do you really think you can continue being President?"
"After you orchestrated all these things, even if you publicly apologize, that can't erase what you did."
"It's impossible to pretend that nothing happened."
"You became President because you had the support of the citizens. If this incident is replayed again and again, and public opinion starts questioning whether you still have sound judgment, do you think the citizens will continue supporting you?"
"Besides..."
"I really am not suited to being President."
"I can't even manage a company."
"But I have one talent."
"I know how to let professionals handle professional matters."
"I think Ms. Victoria Neuman is already prepared, and I also believe she can be a good president."
The office fell silent.
Rick Archibald looked incredulously at the woman in the reception area, while Victoria Neuman also looked at Alex in shock.
Alex had said last night that he would give her a surprise, but she had never expected that this surprise would be making her President.
For someone who aspired to enter politics, being President was something she had never even dared to imagine.
But now, this was about to become reality.
The President quickly recovered.
He chuckled and said, "Putting aside whether Ms. Neuman is capable of handling the position of President…"
"Just looking at the citizens' approval, I don't think it will fall because of this."
"In fact, I can accuse this of being slander, of being defamation!"
"Unless you kill me, I'll always have a way."
Just then, voices came from outside the office.
["Mr. President, let's get to the point."]
["So, what does Soldier Boy say?"]
["He wants to talk with you face-to-face, just like we are."]
Hearing these voices, the President and the general immediately turned around.
The office door opened, and Mallory and Frenchie walked in.
Mallory was holding a phone, and the phone was playing a recording of her conversation with the President when they met at the White House that day.
["No!"]
["That's too dangerous!"]
["Soldier Boy can easily destroy a building. If you let him meet the President face-to-face, that's as dangerous as facing Homelander."]
["That's what I said too, but Soldier Boy insists. This is a condition for him agreeing to the deal."]
["Fine. I'll have someone arrange the place and time for meeting Soldier Boy."]
["Once there's a decision, I'll have someone notify you."]
["Mr. President, this is too dangerous. No one knows what Soldier Boy might do."]
["Yes, Mr. President. What if something happens to you?"]
["War requires taking risks."]
["There is no war in this world that can be won with certainty."]
["Right now, we and Homelander are engaged in a covert war. If I'm not even willing to take this little risk, how are we supposed to defeat Homelander?"]
["Right now, we can only place our hopes on Soldier Boy."]
["Let's do it."]
The conversation ended there.
Mallory smiled, "Good morning, Mr. President."
Rick Archibald's face was ashen.
"How did you get here?"
Mallory looked at Alex, "Last night, the President burned the bridge after crossing the river and had the FBI and police come arrest us."
"After we escaped, we felt that we needed to seek help."
"Following the principle that 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend,' I think that in all of New York, only Homelander is willing to protect us."
"So I contacted Homelander overnight and obtained his promise."
Alex nodded, "Victoria Neuman will become President, and Mrs. Mallory will take over as the new director of the security agency."
Mallory shook the phone, "There's a recording of our meeting on here. If this is made public, I believe the citizens will make the right judgment."
"Mr. President, what do you think?"
General Mike said in surprise, "Didn't you already interfere with all the communications equipment at the time?"
"Yes."
Mallory laughed, "But I had to leave myself a way out. After working in my line of work for so long, I know that nothing in this world stays unchanged forever."
"And there are no eternal friends either."
"If I hadn't known that, I probably wouldn't have survived until now."
Rick Archibald looked at Mallory, then at Alex, and let out a long sigh, "I understand."
"After I go back, I'll resign and take responsibility."
"I'll recommend to Congress that Victoria Neuman become the new President, but whether Congress agrees is not something I can decide."
"And even if Congress approves it, Neuman will still need to participate in the election. Of course, for you, getting an overwhelming advantage in support during the election won't be difficult."
"So the key is Congress."
"I lost."
"You won."
Victoria Neuman was so happy she nearly fainted. She had never dreamed that the thing she had hoped for, dreamed of, and never dared to ask for would become reality at this very moment.
She believed Alex naturally had a way to "persuade" Congress. As for running in the election, it was merely going through the motions. With Vought Corporation's full support, it would be hard for her to lose even if she wanted to!
Mallory was also in a complicated mood.
It turned out Homelander should have been her greatest enemy, but who would have thought that today she would actually cooperate with her enemy.
But there was no other choice. Unless she wanted to go to prison, she had no other option.
And prison would already count as a good ending. Based on her understanding of the institutions of power, she was more likely to inexplicably die in a prison cell. After all, the President would not want someone who knew his stains to remain alive in this world.
Alex stood up, called Ashley over, and smiled, "Have the chef prepare lunch. I'm going to host the President for lunch."
"Oh no, the former President!"
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