Chapter Four…..

Heracles PSC's building only cost Harry half a million pounds. He bought an old mid-rise building in West London by using his fame to haggle for a staggeringly cheap amount. The former owner was a old woman who happened to be one of his many fans and a prodigal child who didn't understand the value of the properties she had inherited. He used the opportunity to also fleece her off of three more buildings: a skyscraper in Central London, a villa in Essex, and a shack in South London. The three extra buildings had only cost him six million altogether and a month of letting the overbearing hag treat him like her son. The latter had been the greater expense in his opinion.

He had plans for the buildings. The villa needed some touch and after that would be a perfect residence. The skyscraper he planned to use as HQ for the conglomerate he dreamed of and was working towards setting up. As for the shack, well the building and the busy and shanty neighborhood it was in gave him the idea of turning it into a nightclub. These plans would have to wait however. In a month he'd spent ten million in setting up Heracles and buying properties. Until his coffers are replenished from either Heracles or his many inconspicuous investments he will need to put all further business ventures on hold

Anyway, in the month that he had been made to suffer the adoringly queazy care of the old bag heiress, Wilde had been able to find two thousand employees for Heracles, one hundred of which were administrative staff that managed the bodyguards and the business. He wasn't seeing much profit from the business yet but Wilde was gradually changing that with his contacts. He'd already signed a five years contract with one of the man's old friends who needed two hundred trained personnels to keep an eye on his businesses in the UK.

Harry's trained personnels for Heracles were former thugs, homeless people from illegal pit fights and boxing, retired and dismissed police officers and soldiers, ex convicts, and jobless martial artists with some even being black belt. He made sure they all had clear records, or in cases of some, like the ex cons, cleared records.

Business was doing well so far. And he had a long time ago, exactly a month, stopped being under the lawful guardianship of the Dursleys. Durdley was now in the tender care of the social workers while Vernon and Petunia were in holding cells awaiting trial which was still pending due to ongoing investigation. Harry had supplied the correct evidence but because of his fame Scotland Yard had involved themselves and it happened that they were unearthing even more dirt on the Dursleys and it was delaying the court case.

Harry hadn't been sure if the scandal, though not directed at him but involving him, would harm his efforts in building up a character that appealed to the public. But it turned out it didn't. The public loved him now even more, they all lamented for him and what he'd had to suffer. His fame trippled when someone started leaking info of what Scotland Yard had unearthed about the Dursleys concerning him. That someone was Harry's investigator who was starting to really prove his worth. Harry was already thinking of hiring him full time.

Anyway, life was going great. But if only Harry knew that was about to change. Well maybe he would have moved to another country or he'd have let thing play out as they did, because surely he didn't like the change at first but he appreciated what it forced him to become later on.

~Break~

Three months after the establishment of Heracles, Harry was having his usual morning jog in the streets of the housing estate that housed his mansion in Essex. This was a usual sight for the people in the estate for a month now. He'd remodelled the house and moved in with Jack Wilde who, on paper, was his guardian but in practice had no control over Harry and was even under his employ.

His phase of life with the Dursleys was now officially over. Petunia had been given twenty years while Vernon was going to spend eighty years in jail. It was discovered that Harry's Uncle had been embezzling money from Grunnings and had been friends with known criminals on MI5 wanted list. He was tried and found guilty of several counts of sexual harassment and attempted murder of a minor.

Though he hadn't been involved in the crimes his criminal friends committed Vernon had known about them and hadn't reported them to the authorities, automatically making himself an accomplice. Dudley was set to go through a bit of juvenile rehabilitation then he will be thrust into the foster care system.

Regarding Harry's present life, business was doing fine as usual and Harry had stopped school for a while. He was planning to concentrate on studying, attending day camps and workshops, build his knowledge in general. Next year he will transfer into another school, the last year of high school in particular, to complete his basic education.

Such unconventional method might not usually be possible but Jack had assured him that if he made a big donation to the school beforehand and pass his exams from fifth grade all through to year 11 then an exception would be made for him.

He planned to spend just a month in senior school and wrap up his year 11 then he will take his GCSE and a month after then wrap up his education with his A-levels and GCE. After that he'll be done with education. He had no plans of furthering. He didn't need a bachelor's degree or a doctorate neither did he fancy having either. Though he might end up inventing things that might earn him honorary degrees in future.

This was not just a bluff as he'd started honing his skill in science. The power of science and technology was something that he'd been interested in for a long time and possessed more then a talent for. The garage in his Essex mansion was turned into a mechanical workshop for him where he tinkered with things whenever he was free from studying, training, or managing the business alongside jack.

As he made a turn into the street that would lead him back home, a familiar blonde figure jogged up to him from a nearby left junction. The man looked to be in his early thirties and was wearing a pair of white sneakers, a tank top, and shorts. He was none other than Markus Silbern, Harry's German neighbour.

The man moved into the neighborhood two weeks after Harry and since then have been nothing but a bother to the young boy. It was Silbern's wish to have Harry as a business ally and Harry being so new into the business world was wary of making such decisions. After all his business was still so young. Regardless of all that Harry's instincts were telling him to stay far from Silbern. The man looked like a soldier and everything about him screamed shadiness.

"Mr. Potter," Silbern said in mode of greeting as he jogged up to him and started moving with him in tandem, "how do you do today?"

Harry barely held back a sigh knowing that it was one of those days. Silbern was going to try and convince him to become his business ally once more. If only there was another route he could take for his morning exercise just to avoid the over persistent man. "Fine, Mr. Silbern." He finally forced out, increasing his pace so that he'd get home quicker to avoid spending more time trying to turn Silbern down.

Silbern easily matched his new pace. Harry had half been hoping that he wouldn't and would just leave him to carry on after the greeting but it was like fate was not on his side that day.

"Have you considered my proposal?" Silbern asked, testily.

This was another thing Harry hated about the man. He was unbelievably impatient and when things don't go his way he becomes irritably arrogant to the point Harry wished to make him his first murder victim.

"I have considered it," Harry said with the coolest tone he could muster while panting as he jogged onwards, "and have rejected it countless times now. I'm not interested in having an ally, Mr. Silbern."

They were getting closer to his mansion which was near the end of the block. He could see the white walls and panoramic windows of his lovely home.

"It will be valuable to have me and my people as your friends, Mr. Potter." Seeing that his words were not reaching the young boy, Silbern sighed and became more enlightening. "The benefits we will offer you are the kind of things it will take you over a decade in business to achieve. You will be untouchable, you will have insiders and informants in various corporations and trading centers all around the world. We will help you climb up to the peak of economical growth."

"Thank you for your offer, Mr. Markus Silbern," Harry said, faking politeness, "but I intend to achieve these things without external aid. Yes, it will take me years but I'll be able to grow on my own terms without being chained to unknowns."

They stopped front of Harry's mansion and without waiting for a reply from the man, Harry walked up to one of the pillars holding a gate and placed his face before a security screen that looked like a tiny ATM machine. It scanned his eyes and had him input a pass code then his gates automatically swung open and he stepped into his home.

A prickling feeling made him turn around and he saw, through the rectangular wooden bars of his gate, Silbern glaring at him with contempt. Harry couldn't understand what he may have done to the man to evoke such feeling.

Does he really take rejection so bad

He shook his head and continued into the house. He walked past the driveway and the pathway dividing the two swimming pools at the front of the mansion.

When he stepped into the house he saw that Wilde was out. That wasn't surprising as the man was always busy. Harry wondered how he'd cope when he introduce more businesses. Jack would have no other option but to delegate some of his duties.

That morning Harry spent a long time in a Jacuzzi washing away the sweat and grime gotten from the morning exercises. Everyday he tend to hone his boxing and martial skills first then conclude his daily calisthenics with a jog and today it hadn't been any different.

After his thorough bath he made a small breakfast for himself and then busied himself with studying for the rest of the morning.

After that he called his driver and security team which were all employees of Heracles. He wished he could drive but that wasn't possible as he wasn't yet of permissible age.

The team of five, two drivers and three bodyguards, arrived quickly. They drove out two SUVs from his garage and he got into the front one which had a driver and a bodyguard who rode shotgun. Behind them came the other SUV with the last three of his small security team inside it.

He used his tablet computer to get the gate opened for them and soon they were riding for the shack he'd bought from the old lady. He had hired a construction company to renovate the entire building and make it a three storey club and he was eager to see how well they were progressing.

Neither he nor his bodyguards noticed the black van that was tailing them.

OoOoO

Harry was glad with the pace the construction workers were progressing in revamping the shack. He was in what used to be a field outside the building but was now a parking lot for future clubbers. There was also a parking garage but the underground space for it wasn't completed yet.

Harry spent an hour talking to the architects and engineers then he explored the safe parts of the burgeoning building. When he was satisfied with what he'd seen he ordered his security team to escort him to his scheduled workshop session.

They were just leaving the shanty neighborhood when it happened. The SUV before the one he was in suddenly exploded and went tumbling down the left valley parallel with the road.

Harry's heart almost exploded out of his chest in panic. His car which was directly behind the merrily burning SUV screeched to a halt as his driver hastily stepped on the brakes.

His bodyguard and driver were caught off guard too but their training kicked in quickly.

"Call for back up," the driver told his colleague and the other security man brought out his communicator to radio in for back up. "Sir, no matter what happens remain in the car. In the instance that we don't make it out, you might want to look into bulletproof cars and a chopper or two."

Harry couldn't believe it. They were most likey about to die and his guards were keeping their cool and even advising him about future security measures. The other bodyguard hadn't even finished requesting for backup when a black minivan advanced through the smoke covering around the burning SUV and parked before their car. The guard near the glove compartment immediately opened it and brought out a loaded Short Barrelled Rifle. He cocked it and handed it over to the driver then he flipped open the lid of the console box and brought out a smaller SBR, he cocked it and kept it on hand.

"You guys are going to go out there?" Harry asked cautiously.

"It's either we go out there or let them waste us in here, boss," the other guard said. "If I fall, boss, promise me you will have my family well taken care off. Since I was released from prison I wasn't able to get a job until Wilde came calling. You boss, and Heracles, have done a lot for me and mine so I'm not queasy about risking my life for you, but promise me you will see my family well."

"They will never want for anything, I swear it on my life," he promised. His breathing was shallow and he was looking at the guard in bewilderment, taken aback by the loyalty he was being shown. He turned to the driver. "The same goes for you too."

The man shook his head. "Thank you, sir, but that won't be necessary seeing as I am an orphan and proudly unmarried," he said then put his hand inside the seat gap filler and brought out a pistol which he gave to Harry. "There, you may need that."

Harry took the gun and sighed. His only experience with guns were the shooting competitions he participated in on weekends with his employees in Heracles shooting range. He was good with it but not an expert marksman.

The van before them opened and armed grunts wearing full face balaclavas jumped out. There were about four of them. Before they could even take a single step, Harry's guards wind down their windows and opened fire on the men.

The grunts were riddled with bullets as was their van. Harry's guards rolled up the windows and stepped out of the SUV. Using the doors as cover, they crouched down. They swivelled their heads from side to side, searching the area for more hostiles. Finding none, they got up and shut the doors then emptied several rounds into the minivan and approached it slowly but ever watchful.

They were almost by it when a second minivan pulled up behind the vehicle Harry was in. Harry's guards didn't get the opportunity to take cover before they were killed by these new adversaries. They quickly surrounded the car and called for Harry to come out.

Harry closed his eyes and debated on what to do. He considered the two options that he had. Remaining in the car might make them extra violent, which wouldn't be good for him. It might be best for him to do as they asked, it might even earn him some goodwill. No matter the choice he make though he suspected that wouldn't kill him.

If they wanted him dead then the would have done so since. They could shoot him right now and redecorate the car with bullet holes yet they were demanding he step out. Also when they had taken out the first SUV with what he assumed was probably a grenade launcher they could also have taken out the one he was in yet they chose to engage his security in a shootout and risk their own men. This could only mean that they had no plans for killing him. At least not yet.

It turned out that they weren't willing to stand all day and wait for him to decide whether he should come out or not. One of them used the butt of his rifle to shatter the glass of the window with three hits and unpinned the doors through the opening. Harry for a moment considered shooting the person. But it'd be for naught as they outnumbered him.

They soon had the doors opened and forced him out of the car then he was frog marched to their van and pushed in. Harry blinked when he looked up inside the unlit interior of van. He gasped when he saw who was sitting across him. He was so occupied by shock that he didn't notice when the armed guys got into the van and the vehicle started moving.

"You," Harry said, as he came to an understanding of why he had been ambushed.

"Me," Markus Silbern said, grinning.

Harry gritted his teeth in rage. He balled his fists and glared at the German with spite. "What the hell do you want from me?"

The man gave him a generous smile and stretched a file out to him. "Well since you asked, I'd like it if you sign this document. It will seal our alliance and make us really close friends. Being our friend would mean that such accidents like the one that just occurred can be avoided in future," the blonde man said, tonelessly.

Harry squinted his eyes and regarded him dubiously then he tilted head back and let out a full belly laugh. He brought his gaze back to the man and sent him a mocking look. "So you think I'm a child? You think a little ambush will scare the pants off me and make me sign an alliance which will probably see you claim all that I've worked hard for?"

"I can see that we have a misunderstanding. Partially it's your fault for never allowing me the chance to give you a full proposal," Silbern said. "What we want from you Mr. Potter is not your money and assets, but for you to use your money and assets as cover ups for us."

Harry blinked. He'd heard of something like this from Wilde. Apparently lots of European self-made billionaires rose with black money. Money that was given to them by politicians who had embezzled it, or syndicates who earned them from drug business. These custodians would then invest from this money and eventually build their wealth. Their shady allies would keep directing illegal money their way to conceal its source. In reality they were not billionaires as the money wasn't actually theirs but eventually they'd be as they would invest wisely with portions of the money and replace it.

A cover up, like Silbern was asking for, was somewhat different from that though. In a cover up, there will be documents which when viewed thoroughly would show to hold no substance, but these documents would be used by Silbern's people to prove that their making money from owning shares in Harry's businesses. When the source of their wealth is traceed it will lead to Harry. Harry's job would be to keep increasing the net profit of his businesses to match their spending so that the ploy will be believable. He was to be their dummy source of income.

"Why weren't you ever clear about what you wanted from me?" Harry asked the German.

The man shrugged. "I wasn't sure yet if you could be trusted. But I'm being pressured by my superiors so I had to hasten things up a bit."

"Hence the ambush," Harry finished.

"Hence the ambush," Silbern agreed. He leaned back arrogantly into his chair in a relaxed manner. "So what do you say to our offer?"

Harry looked around the van, looking from each armed man to the next. Some were girls he noted. He wondered if there was a chance of him escaping if things get ugly because of the response he had ready for Silbern. He tried not to sigh and show weakness, but he knew already that there was not a chance of him leaving this van without him agreeing to Silbern's offer.

"What will you do if I say no?" He asked, defiantly.

Silbern's visage became stony and he grunted in dismay. "You wouldn't like it if you force our hand," he warned in an undertone.

"Ah, it's EIT next I take it," Harry sassed, his tone ladened with sarcasm as his face twisted in an expression of contempt as he glared at the man.

Silbern chuckled in surprise. "Oh, God no," he disagreed, waving his hand as if to ward off that thought from Harry. "Little boy like you won't last three minutes at the mercies of our least skilful EIT engineers. No, what we have ready to convince you to see things our way is not that bloody. What we have is several of our people in Heracles. They have forged your signature and have used your company's name to make deals with underworld corporations. If the documents of these deals are submitted to the MI6 then you will be in hot water. All your assets will be frozen, you will be arrested, and your reputation will be ruined. Also these underworld corporations will come after you for not protecting the deals from government scrutiny. If you do as we tell you, we won't release the documents to the authorities. We will also protect you from the underworld societies if they decide to betray you anytime in the future and it will be quite easy for us since we are the ones controlling these societies, in fact I'm their known figurehead. If you refuse our offer here and now, we will kick-start your downfall my sending MI6 and Interpol pictures of you jogging and chatting with me, the assumed head of several international criminal organizations."

Harry closed his eyes and tried not to cry. A power he was only just discovering was being used against him. It was only his stupid luck that he'd discover the power of contrivance framing as it's used against him. He was also experiencing, first hand, a power he had since taken for granted—the power of blackmail. Both powers were being used expertly by individuals who had been at this game for years to bend him to their wishes.

All he had achieved could go down the drain depending on how he handle this issue. Agreeing to their demand sounded too much like defeat to him and that left a sour taste in his mouth. But that was just his pride speaking. What was a mere personal defeat compared to what they would do if he don't comply. His ambitions, the character and reputation he'd built as a public figure, everything will be shattered in a blink of an eye.

It was not a hard choice to make. But as he warred with himself to choose what will be right for him in the long term, he made a promise. Vernon had ruined his childhood but had unknowingly made a soldier out of Harry. When the Dursleys had grown beyond their usefulness and he'd had the power to destroy their lives he'd done so without hesitation. Silbern and those he answered to might think Harry will be getting the short end of the deal, but he will play ball with them and he will learn from them not just how to survive among the sharks but also how to destroy and rule the sharks. And when he is done with them, when they no longer have control of him, he will make them regret ever challenging Harry Potter.

Pressing his lips tightly in distaste, he grabbed the file from Silbern. He went through it first and saw that it was simply everything Silbern had explained. They weren't asking for anything else but for him to pose as their false but believable source of income to avoid their spending from being investigated. Apparently they were also hiding their true self behind a research organization called Talavi.

With a grunt of annoyance Harry fished out a pen from his pocket, signed the document and flung it at Silbern.

The man caught it and started grinning after checking to see if Harry'd really signed it. "Welcome, Mr. Potter, to our grand organization."

"Am I even allowed to know what this organization of yours is all about?" Harry asked, sneering at the man.

He hadn't been expecting a positive answer so he wasn't expecting it when Silbern adopted a contemplative look.

"Silbern," one of the girls called warily.

They didn't want him to give Harry any information, the young Potter realized, but it looked like Silbern was going to ignore their warning.

The German waved it off with a gesture and fixed his eyes on Harry. He was no longer smiling. This was the most Harry had ever seen him being serious. "We are the Knights of Rodina, a branch of KGB posted here to protect the interests of Mother Russia in Britain," he informed.

Harry did a passable imitation of a fish, opening and closing his mouth as he tried to comprehend what he just heard. Soon he started to quiver and then his could not contain it anymore and let his laughter out.

They were all giving him bewildered looks which he ignored. He shook his head as he tried to put himself back together. "Oh you fool," he told Silbern. "This would have been much smoother and bloodless if only you had led with that. You clearly didn't do your research or even read my Columns else you'd have known before attempting to approach me with your awful proposal that I'd be more willing to listen to you if you begin the conversation with a smart talk. Talks like politics and technology. And it's no secret that I'm favourable towards the Soviet Union's insularity and socialism. The General public just assume that it's because I'm a child who don't fully understand politics."

Silbern shrugged. "It doesn't matter. This way we have the advantage over you. Befriending you and brainwashing you was always a choice but not just one we have time for."

Harry hummed. "So what's your weekly spending ratio so I'd know what I'm working with?"

Silbern folded his arms and leaned back into the chair. "One million Great British Pounds," he said smugly.

Harry's eyes almost came out of their sockets. "How am I going to increase my profits to match that?" He asked them.

One of the girls harumphed. "You will need to make you profits thrice that else our cover won't be as believable as we want it to. Matching out routine expenses would make people wonder if all the earnings go to us and none to you," she pointed out.

Another one who had an American accent tsked. "I don't know why you are complaining. We are giving you the right drive to increase your income."

Harry ignored them, it helped that save Silbern they were all masked. He settled his attention instead on the German before him. "What is your organization using one million weekly expenditure for?"

"Undermining the Western Powers on behalf of the Motherland demands a big budget." The man shrugged as if to say 'what can you do about it'.

There wasn't any more conversing between them for the rest of the journey. Harry spent the time thinking about how he was going to tripple his company's gains. He concluded that it was impossible to use Heracles for this. He needed new business ideas capable of generating gigantic profits.

The Knights of Rodina dropped him off in London after Silbern forced him to take a picture with him and the masked men inside the van. Another blackmail material, he realized.

By the time they dropped him off he'd come up with several business ideas perfect for generating the profile fitting for this cover up and none of them were legal in the least.