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On the other side of town…
Pepper Potts once again arrived at Tony Stark's villa.
As she pushed open the newly replaced lab door, the first thing she saw was Tony tinkering with the Mark IV armor.
Hearing the door open, Tony turned and saw it was his assistant. He stood up and said:
"Pepper, tell Smith to speed up the equipment procurement. Get that stuff delivered as soon as possible."
"Oh, and ask how their product launch is coming along. If they need help — with connections or certifications — pull some strings under Stark Industries' name."
"I really want to see what that girl, Bulma, has cooked up to make Smith this confident."
Pepper opened the folder in her hands and responded:
"The equipment orders are already underway. They've requested a lot again this time—worth billions of dollars altogether."
"Once everything's ready, we'll get it over to them immediately."
"To be honest, some of what we're doing here is a little… questionable. Some of that gear isn't legally available for export. Luckily, they're also based in the U.S., and with our status, we can silence most objections."
"But we should still consider taking a minor equity stake in the receiving company. Even just 0.01% would give us a legitimate reason on paper."
Tony paused for a moment, then nodded.
"I'll bring it up with Smith."
Pepper raised an eyebrow, curious.
"Who is this Bulma? One of Smith's researchers?"
Tony gave a wry smile, remembering how she'd called him "uncle." That still stung a little.
"A sixteen-year-old girl."
"But according to Smith Doyle, she's their lead scientist. All that gear? Bought for her."
Pepper blinked in surprise, then couldn't help but say:
"Now I'm really curious. What kind of genius could convince Smith to invest like this?"
"That product you mentioned… I want to know what it is too."
At the same time, a suspicion crossed Pepper's mind. Sixteen?
Has Smith Doyle lost his mind? Isn't he worried this could be one giant scientific scam?
Besides, the girl's still legally a minor. If anything goes wrong, she could just walk away without consequences.
Tony chuckled.
"Let's wait and see what they come up with. Hopefully, it won't disappoint."
"But still, she's just a teenager — can't expect too much."
"Oh, by the way — you got a minute?"
"Can you do me a favor?"
"Head to my office and hack into the desktop system. I need the full shipping manifest for our recent deliveries."
As he spoke, Tony pulled a box from a nearby workstation. Inside, he retrieved a device that looked like a USB drive.
"Use this. It'll get you in."
Pepper took the device, still confused. Tony continued:
"Check the admin folder first. If it's not there, it's probably hidden on a virtual drive."
"Look for the one with the smallest ID number."
Pepper glanced down at the gadget in her hand, then looked back at Tony.
"And what exactly do you plan to do with the data once I get it?"
Tony, now adjusting something on a nearby machine, answered quietly:
"The same as always. They've been doing backdoor arms deals."
"I'm going to stop them. I'm going to find my weapons and destroy them."
Pepper sighed.
"Tony… you know I'd do anything for you."
"But if you keep acting like this, I won't be able to help you anymore."
Still focused on his work, Tony muttered:
"This is how it's going to be from now on. No more ribbon-cuttings. No more charities. No more paperwork. This is my only mission."
Then he stopped working, walked over, and looked her in the eyes.
"Nothing else matters."
Pepper stared back at him and murmured:
"Nothing else?"
"Then I quit."
She tossed the USB stick back onto the table and turned to leave.
Watching her go, Tony called out:
"All these years, you've helped me profit off weapons of destruction. And now, when I finally want to make amends, you walk away?"
Pepper stopped at the door, turned slowly, and said with a stern look:
"What you're doing is basically suicide, Tony."
"And I'm not going down with you."
Tony sank into a chair, voice low and steady.
"Maybe I should've died already—unless I can find a reason to live."
"I'm not crazy, Pepper."
"I've just finally realized what I'm meant to do."
"I truly believe I have no other choice."
"Smith Doyle taught me one thing: Justice must be built by your own hands—even if the road is full of thorns."
Seeing Tony so emotionally weighed down, Pepper took a deep breath. Then, she turned back, picked up the USB drive she'd thrown, and looked at him with deep affection.
"If it's you… then I don't have a choice either."
Just then, she remembered the real reason she came by today.
"Tony, even though our stock's been falling overall, it's actually started climbing a little lately."
"I found out there's a group buying up our shares like crazy—not just on the open market. They might announce a major acquisition soon."
"Oh, and the one buying all our stock… is Smith Doyle."
Tony didn't look surprised. The guy had seen the Mark series armor. Anyone with half a brain would bet on the company. First, he shorted the stock. Now he's buying it back. The kid's making money both ways.
Tony pointed to the arc reactor in his chest.
"He's probably betting on this. Let him."
Pepper saw he wasn't worried and didn't press further. After all, Smith had saved Tony's life. Becoming a shareholder didn't seem like a bad thing. Besides, Stark Industries had been quietly buying back stock too — now competing with Smith for control.
As she left the lab, a faint smile appeared on Tony's face.
Pepper made her way to Tony's office, calm and composed.
She sat in his chair, opened the laptop, and was greeted with a password screen. Without hesitation, she pulled the USB from her bag and plugged it in.
"Warning! Security system breached."
"Warning! Security vulnerability detected!"
"System compromised. Access granted."
———
—End of chapter—
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