058

Norman was in his office at Oscorp as he watched the New York City nightscape through the windows, it was something he sometimes did, as he somehow liked the scenery that could be seen from the heights.

Most of the people that he could observe were wearing jackets and coats, December was about to arrive in just a matter of a few days and the weather in the city was starting to feel a little colder.

His ears soon picked up the footsteps of a person, he deduced that it was likely to be a woman because her footsteps were quick and delicate. Small knocks were heard from the door of his office.

"Come in" mentioned Norman without taking his eyes off the window.

A blonde-haired woman entered the second Norman spoke, her outfit was nothing out of the ordinary, a simple black pencil skirt along with a long sleeved white shirt and high heels was what her attire consisted of.

Although dressed in a simple way she had an aura and an attractiveness that made that people' eyes were always on her or at least most of the time.

"The car is ready sir, I have already made contact with Mr. Cross's assistant and there have been no changes in the schedule, so it is time to leave" the blonde began to say a little quickly, but with a somewhat casual tone.

"Thank you for getting everything ready Alice" thanked Norman as he turned around and started walking in the direction of the office doors and by logic he ended up approaching the woman, "Let's go" was the last word he said as he left his office, being followed closely by Alice.

…

Norman was just looking out the window of the car in which he was traveling to a potential business meeting. A little less than a week ago he had received the sudden invitation to the opening party for the Cross Technologies branch in New York.

However, he really doubted it was something as simple as that, the more time passed Cross Technologies was losing relevance in the scientific field. Something that was happening since Hank Pym's "departure" from the company.

Of course, Darren Cross was doing a job that could be considered brilliant as the new head of the company and even managed to extend his already high reputation even further, but there had been no new inventions or research for years.

Norman could see a little of the thought process Darren may have had, originally there was only one company that could compete against Cross Technologies and that was Stark Industries. However, that changed when the old Norman started Oscorp being a company that basically grew in a totally ridiculous way and within a few years was at the top that was previously only shared by two other companies.

Currently, Oscorp was still going strong under his leadership and had begun to receive most of the world's attention and with the scientific community always on the lookout for new inventions they had.

On the other hand, Stark Industries despite losing some of its value due to the closure of the weapons manufacturing division had managed to recover almost instantly under Tony's leadership while Norman gave some advice.

Now the two companies that were originally on the same level as his own suddenly left him behind without even being able to react or have plans, so it possibly felt like a rope was slowly and painfully being placed around his neck.

Not that Norman could blame him, since if he didn't make some kind of move it was only a matter of time before Cross Technologies would be completely overpowered by his two opponents, and he would end up losing what he had spent years building.

His vision soon shifted to the person sitting across from him as his thoughts stopped being about Darren's thoughts and instead shifted to the blonde woman.

It had been a little less than a week ago that S.H.I.E.L.D. infiltrator had become something like a personal secretary, even if this was only temporary. His secretary had been involved in a minor car accident which, although it was not lethal, was something that would prevent her from doing her job for a while.

In order to move up the Oscorp ranks you only needed two things, talent and hard work, if you had those two things you were almost certain to be able to move up the corporate ladder quickly. S.H.I.E.L.D. had that fact in mind and for that reason Carol had adopted a performance that had those qualities.

So when his secretary had an unfortunate accident it was obvious that he would have to look for a replacement, Alice being a good choice not only for her background but for the attitude shown since she started working in the main building.

Being objective Norman could have chosen someone else to do the job, but considering that they had gone so far as to stage an accident it was obvious that they would not stop until Carol was in a favorable position for them.

Honestly if only she didn't work for S.H.I.E.L.D. she would be one of the most useful people he had on his side. Since she was even more productive and efficient than his former secretary.

A quiet sigh left the Osborn's lips, something that caught the other person's attention.

"Only about 5 minutes to go" she indicated quickly.

Norman just nodded without even looking at her, right now he didn't even have the motivation or need to form a conversation where they would both start telling lies and half-truths.

…

Carol Danvers just watched her current boss and her mission objective close his eyes and lay his head back on the seat.

It had been a little over a month since she had infiltrated Oscorp under Fury's orders with the objective of observing Norman Osborn. Despite the intuition Fury might have had in the beginning she just thought it was a complete waste of time.

Even though she might have had small suspicions of Osborn's attitude due to Agent Morse's reports, they were not enough for her to consider sending an agent again to investigate Osborn. However, Fury had his own plans.

In the time she had been at Oscorp it had been somewhat informative, certainly there were things that were done in the past that could be considered illegal, but nothing that warranted S.H.I.E.L.D. getting involved, plus all companies had their own dirty laundry.

At the moment the most suspicious thing going on at Oscorp was a project that was listed as a company secret and very few employees knew of its existence, but it had a big budget on it, so it must be something important.

That was all she could get from Oscorp even with her research and information gathering skills, to say that Oscorp was a completely legit company would be something correct.

On the other hand, Norman Osborn had been and still is a somewhat difficult person to decipher, the information that was available before Morse observed him was completely wrong, but considering the fact that he had gone through a near-death experience it was completely logical of his change.

The image that Osborn projected around everyone was that of a completely kind and understandable man, an exemplary citizen would be an understatement compared to the usual behavior that the founder of Oscorp had.

And it is because of that she could understand a little of Fury's suspicions a man with Norman's personality was not necessarily impossible, but for someone who was at the top of the food chain to have it was somewhat improbable.

Norman's personality and actions were too perfect, almost as if it was a disguise that was likely to be the case for what was going on, perhaps that was what Fury had spotted and wanted to see the true face of Norman Osborn.

Carol herself was a little curious at the thought of discovering the real Norman, however, she soon shook her head shaking off that kind of thought, she was on a mission and didn't need some kind of personal feeling or desire in her.

Following the same action as her boss, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent closed her eyes and laid her head back on the car seat.

…

The building that had been built under the name of Cross Technologies was one that would not lose to any other in New York, but it was a little lacking when compared to the Oscorp Building.

Luxury and business cars pulled up and out of them stepped what could be considered heavyweights in the business industry, most of them seeming to have an innate arrogance.

Several reporters stood outside the building as they took pictures of the people arriving as time went by. Suddenly a car caught their attention, the veteran photographers recognized it immediately and began adjusting their cameras.

The car in question was a Rolls-Royce Phantom by no means the most exotic or expensive car that had appeared tonight, but maybe it was because of its black color that seemed to be even darker than the night itself that most people could not take their eyes off it.

The car soon stopped and out of the car stepped a handsome green-eyed man in clothing that could only be classified as elegant, the man looked into the car and for a few seconds appeared to be talking to someone before he nodded his head and closed the door.

It didn't take long for the reporters to come out of their little state of shock and began to move in the direction of the newcomer, but they were stopped by the security guards.

Norman just watched that scene with a bit of amusement no matter what world reporters always are and always will be a nuisance. Osborn's gaze soon shifted to a woman approaching in his direction, her attire was similar to Carol's with the only difference being that she was dressed completely in black.

"Miss Van Dyne it is a pleasure to see you again" mentioned Norman by way of greeting.

"Likewise, Mr. Osborn" with a polite smile was the woman's reply, "Follow me please Mr. Cross left me the task of being your guide" she added.

"Of course," easily accepting the request of Hank Pym's daughter Norman spoke.

As they both headed towards the doors of the building Norman spoke again, "My companion is in the car because of the cameras from the reporters" Norman began to say.

Hope just nodded at his words without Norman having to finish his words for her to understand his intentions, "I'll report it" were the simple and straightforward words she mentioned.

…

Time had passed quickly and between casual chatter, business, and attempts at flattery Norman was beginning to tire of it all. Even in his old world he had never liked being at these kinds of parties.

At least he had Carol with whom while he didn't have the best of relationships at least he could engage in better small talk than with other people.

"I think you've had enough alcohol for tonight, sir" Alice's voice began to once again ring in his ears.

"I have a high tolerance, so it's no problem" not that Norman was lying, but since serum 001 had been injected into his body alcohol simply wasn't working on him.

Now alcohol was no different from water to his body, the only thing he could feel from it was the taste, but nothing else.

Norman's words didn't seem to have convinced his secretary, but before he could say anything else, one of the attendants at the party called out that Darren Cross requested his presence.

The trip wasn't too long and Norman assumed it was Darren's office or perhaps the branch manager's office, but didn't really care. Hope Van Dyne was already waiting outside the door like a guard dog.

"Mr. Osborn Director Cross is waiting for you inside, but I'm afraid your companion won't be able to come in with you" there was nothing wrong with what Hope asked, so Norman didn't show any sort of nonconformity.

"You know what to do Alice" were Norman's only words before he entered the office without waiting for an answer.

Carol didn't take too long to position herself next to Hope as she contacted the chauffeur, if she had correctly deduced what would happen then it was likely that Norman would leave the party as soon as he finished with his talk whether it was successful or not.

"Norman it's good to see you again" as soon as Osborn entered the room he was greeted by the sight of a bald man in a suit similar to his own while holding a glass of what he assumed was alcohol in his hand.

"Darren" he mentioned as he nodded his head, from the memories he had of old Norman there wasn't really a relationship either good or bad with him, he was simply neutral and as neither of them messed with the other's business their interactions had been minimal.

The back and forth began to take place, Cross would begin to praise the work and success of Oscorp while Norman would occasionally give a bit of praise to Cross Technologies as well.

After considering that it had been enough of a waste of time Norman changed the subject of conversation, "Well?" he asked, "Why don't we drop these formalities and get straight to the point?" he continued to question.

The mood in the room changed from a relatively comfortable one to a more serious one, "I'll be straight and short I need seven of your researchers and I'm willing to make certain concessions if you comply with my request" Cross started.

Norman just kept silent, thinking about the words of the other man in the room that someone like Cross had asked for something like this then it was because he was desperate, which could indicate that the researchers he was talking about had turned him down, and now he had to ask for his help. Osborn made a mental note to investigate that fact.

"Names" asked Norman having a theory about what he was looking for, Cross was quick to name the seven people he wanted while mentioning how much he was willing to give for each one, all of them were Oscorp's top researchers. Utterly brilliant minds that old Norman had taken time to recruit.

"I'm afraid I can't do that" was Osborn's response to Cross's request, due to the fields of the people he had requested Norman could confirm that Darren was beginning to think about replicating Pym particles.

"Despite your more than tempting offer I'm afraid I'll have to turn it down" he continued.

"Will you tell me why?" asked Darren hiding his anger very well.

"Mainly there are two reasons, the first one is that while the concessions you are willing to make are tempting they are not tempting enough, right now Oscorp has the capacity to generate those profits by itself in a matter of weeks maybe just days" he began to explain calmly.

"On the other hand giving all of them to you for an indefinite period of time would end up in more losses than profits for Oscorp, which is impossible for me to do" were his last words.

The room fell into complete silence until Norman considered that there was no reason to stay in the room any longer, the negotiation was over and even if Cross gave more profit the result would be the same.

"If you will excuse me I will proceed to retire, as we are done with this conversation" mentioned Osborn as he began to turn around heading for the office doors, "I wish you luck in your project Mr. Cross" he added by way of farewell.

As he left the room Norman just looked at Carol who immediately began to speak, "The driver is waiting thanks to Ms. Hope the reporters were completely removed from the site, so there will be no problem" she explained quickly.

Hope just nodded that it was nothing, then after a brief goodbye she went into Cross' office while Norman and Carol began their journey to the car that was waiting for them.

Norman began to speak, "I need you to keep some of your attention on the moves that Cross Technologies starts to make in the next few weeks," he said seriously.

Alice nodded at her boss's orders, "Anything specific you want me to look into?" she asked.

"Possible recruitment attempts and meetings with different companies looking for a partnership" he replied simply.

Cross Technologies' strength in recent years was only due to its economic power while its scientific development ended up stagnating, causing a large part of the scientists and researchers to simply decide to leave the company.

On the other hand, both Oscorp and Stark had focused on finding talent and starting to nurture it while trying to recruit more scientists, which caused them to have almost total domination of most of the country's scientists and researchers.

Norman's thoughts turned to the Pym particles, no doubt it was a resource that could be very useful if one knew how to use it.

'Maybe it's time to give Felicia a little mission' thought Osborn.