Smith Doyle wasn't worried about the dragon bones excavation. He knew that above the bones lay an invisible barrier of ki — once the digging reached that point, the work would stop naturally.
When the time came, he himself would open the barrier and retrieve the dragon bones.
That way, even without using the Dragon Balls, his comrades could always return from death if needed.
John Wick drove a Maybach, carrying Smith Doyle back to the Assassin Brotherhood headquarters.
Once inside, Smith summoned Mr. X.
"X, I need you to investigate a few things for me — quietly. Don't alarm anyone."
X nodded slightly."What do you need, Boss?"
Smith's tone was calm and steady."The Soviets once ran a secret operative training program called the Red Room. My intel says it was never truly destroyed. It's still active, carrying out assassinations and mind control."
"I want you to find three people. First: Alexei Shostakov, the so-called Red Guardian — currently imprisoned in a Russian facility."
"Second: Yelena Belova. Third: Melina Vostokoff. Both of them are still loyal to the Red Room."
"Your job is to gather intelligence on them — but don't make contact."
X memorized the names carefully and said,"I'll begin at once. I'll report back once I have progress."
As X left, Smith headed to the training room to continue strengthening himself.
Now all he needed was to wait — for Tony to become Iron Man, and for the Dragon Balls to awaken once more.
······
Elsewhere…
In a small café in Hell's Kitchen, Foggy and Matt Murdock sat facing each other.
Matt's voice was low, conflicted."Foggy… have I been wrong all these years?"
Foggy sighed."You? No. You've been helping people who couldn't afford lawyers. That's never wrong."
Matt removed his sunglasses and sat in silence before speaking again."That's not what I meant."
Foggy frowned slightly."Then what? You already backed off after they warned you. The Hand is gone. Kingpin is gone. Isn't that what you wanted?"
Matt nodded slowly."Yes. It's what I wanted. But not like this. I wanted them to face justice — not this… vigilante slaughter. They destroyed the Hand and Kingpin's empire. But now who keeps them in check?"
He looked down, his hands tightening into fists."You don't understand. I investigated them. The people who wiped out the Hand… they're assassins. They're not heroes."
Foggy's expression darkened."So what? Letting the Hand and Kingpin keep hurting people would've been better?"
Matt shook his head."I don't know. I'm lost, Foggy. Maybe… I should go see my master. Get his guidance."
······
Meanwhile…
In his villa's basement, Tony Stark was tinkering with the Mark II's arm. Pepper Potts came down, holding two boxes and a coffee.
"I've been calling you," she said, annoyed."You didn't hear the intercom?"
Tony didn't look up from his work."What's up?"
Pepper set the boxes down."Obadiah is upstairs waiting for you. What do you want me to tell him?"
Tony answered vaguely."I know, I'll be right up."
He raised his arm to test it — and a powerful blast shot out, sending him flying and smashing a rack of tools.
Tony groaned as Pepper stared at him, wide-eyed."…that was an accident," he muttered.
······
Later, Tony came upstairs, finding Obadiah playing the piano.
"How's the company?" Tony asked.
Obadiah replied while playing,"I just brought back pizza from New York. Doesn't mean things are bad."
Tony grinned faintly, opening the pizza box."Good. Pizza's great."
But Obadiah's smile didn't reach his eyes."The board thinks your PTSD is worse than you're letting on. They're moving to take you out."
Tony frowned."What? Because the stock dropped? We expected that."
Pepper added softly,"It dropped fifty-six and a half points."
Tony waved it off."Still irrelevant. I own the controlling shares."
Obadiah's expression hardened."They're saying your new research direction conflicts with the company's best interests."
Tony shot back,"That's called being responsible. It's our duty."
Obadiah's eyes flashed as he pointed to the arc reactor on Tony's chest."Let me have my engineers take a look at that. Draw up plans. I can calm them down if I have something to show them."
But Tony shook his head firmly."No. This is my project. Non-negotiable."
Obadiah chuckled, snatching a slice of pizza on his way out."Fine, kid. But don't keep me waiting too long."
······
That night, Obadiah walked away with a smirk, already thinking of ways to take what he wanted.
(End of Chapter)
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