Just as Pepper expected, almost as soon as the two arrived at Stark Industries, the news that Stark Industries Executive Director Obadiah Stane had kidnapped Stark Industries Chairman Tony Stark spread quickly.
no way.
This news cannot be stopped by the all-pervasive media.
Lake hadn't mentioned keeping it confidential before, so it wasn't a serious matter for an agent from the Department of Homeland Security to leak such information to the media. Besides, it wasn't necessarily leaked by the Department of Homeland Security. After the notice was issued, everyone knew that the Department of Homeland Security was hunting down Obadiah Stane.
but...
Just when the media were preparing to make a fuss and had even started writing articles, Pepper Potts, secretary to the chairman of Stark Industries, directly informed major New York media outlets that Tony Stark would hold a press conference in half an hour to explain the matter to the outside world.
As soon as these words were spoken, the stock price, which was about to jump off a cliff, stopped abruptly at the edge of the cliff.
New York media reporters, carrying their cameramen, prepared to head towards Stark Industries.
But it was already rush hour, and the influx of reporters made New York's already congested roads even worse.
However, there were still quite a few reporters who arrived at Stark Industries within half an hour.
Pepper Potts walked to the locker room and knocked on the door.
"Come in!"
"…"
Pepper Potts was slightly stunned when she heard the unusually familiar voice, then she pushed open the door and was shocked to see Tony Stark with a mustache and a face full of "I am a genius, I am arrogant" written all over it.
Next second.
Lake looked at Pepper Potts who was about to pounce on him and quickly said, "Pepper, wait."
Pepper stopped and listened to Lake's voice. Then, she came back to her senses and looked at Lake, who had disguised himself as Tony, in disbelief and exclaimed, "Oh my God, this is simply..."
Lake smiled.
It is not a difficult task to use the clone and the Big Blue Cat series of transformation props.
Lake looked at his reflection in the mirror, fixed his tie, and said to Pepper, "Let's go."
Pepper put away the worry about the real Tony on her face and nodded.
In the press conference hall on the first floor of Stark Industries.
Lake took the hidden headset handed to him by Pepper and put it into his ears, then walked towards the press conference calmly.
Tony Stark is the richest man by market value.
Lake is not bad either.
On power.
Lake can be said to be the number one person in the federal system. Anyone else might be able to act like Tony Stark, but they certainly can't perform the unique aura of dominance and authority that Tony Stark and Lake possess.
Come on stage.
The spotlights in the audience suddenly rang.
Lake raised his hand and looked at his watch. Then his eyes fell on the reporters in the audience. He said expressionlessly, "Five questions. The reporter from the New York Daily goes first."
Upon hearing this, the New York Daily reporter said directly, "Mr. Stark, is it true that you were kidnapped by Obadiah Stane?"
Lake put his hands in his pockets. "If I've been kidnapped, then who is holding a press conference here, the Daily Bugle?"
Huh.
This Daily Bugle, I remember cleaning it up once, didn't I?
How come you're still alive?
Is there a new boss?
Lake thought so in his heart, and when he heard the question from the Daily Bugle reporter, he answered directly: "Obadiah Stane is indeed under investigation by the Department of Homeland Security."
"reason?"
"Stark Industries is a company protected by the Patriot Act. As for why Obadiah Stane is under investigation, I cannot comment until the results of the investigation are known. If you would like to know, I suggest you contact Homeland Security."
Lake answered the remaining two questions one by one following Pepper's instructions backstage. Then, after asking the last question, he walked off the stage under the flashing spotlights and various calls for him to stay.
In the elevator.
Pepper breathed a sigh of relief and said, "This way, although we can't stop the stock price from falling, at least it can be kept within an acceptable range."
Lake smiled.
A missing Tony Stark and a wanted Obadiah Stane mean different things to Stark Industries.
Perhaps Obadiah Stane used his own strength to strengthen Stark Industries, but in the eyes of those outside who raised the market value of Stark Industries, what they valued was always Tony Stark, the prodigal son who turned over a new leaf and designed three new weapons in one year to completely revive the then-struggling Stark Industries.
Let me put it this way.
The most Obadiah Stane can do is reduce Stark Industries by one-eighth, no more than that. Obadiah Stane is not as important as he thinks.
In Stan's office.
Lake looked around, trying to see if Obadiah Stan had left any message in his office. The Department of Homeland Security and the New York Police Department had already gone to the properties under Obadiah's name to search.
Just then.
Pepper hung up the phone and said to Lake, "Several shareholders have arrived at your office."
Lake turned to look at Pepper.
How many shareholders?
The top floor of Stark Industries.
When Lake walked out of the elevator, he looked at the two people who had appeared in his room and frowned: "Jarvis!"
Jarvis said, "Sir."
Lake said: "How did these two people get in?"
Said.
Lake turned toward the wine cabinet and said without waiting for Jarvis's reply, "Remove all management's access to my office except for Ms. Pepper Potts."
Jarvis in the electronic world responded, then looked towards his house and saw the red-dressed loli holding an AK47 and threatening to shoot him to death if he didn't obey.
no way.
Jarvis is not an artificial intelligence in the true sense, but a strong artificial intelligence. He only does things according to established programs. If there is no Red Queen, such a major change in authority will require an authorization code provided by Tony Stark.
If this was really necessary, Lake would probably be exposed by Jarvis.
"Tony..."
"Shut up."
When Lake arrived, he had already learned the identities of the two shareholders from Pepper. He looked directly at the leader, a distant relative of the Stark family who had acquired a 3% stake in Stark Industries many years ago through the help of Obadiah Stane. "Based on this morning's stock price, I will personally purchase all of your shares. This is the agreement, sign it."
The shareholder, also named Stark, was a little surprised: "What?"
Lake was silent.
The elevator door opened.
Jack walked out with a group of people and showed the arrest warrant in his hand to this guy: "Edward Stark, we now suspect that you are suspected of leaking state secrets. Please come with us."
Edward Stark reached out to take the arrest warrant from Jack's hand.
Bang!
Jack pulled out his gun and kicked the guy who tried to attack the police. Two homeland agents went up and detained him. As for the shareholder whose last name was also Stark, he was also subdued by the two homeland agents.
Lake gestured to Pepper Potts.
The latter handed the agreement in his hand to the two of them.
Lake looked at the two of them and said, "You can choose to take the money and leave, or be taken back by the Department of Homeland Security for investigation."
The words fell.
The Stark shareholder who seemed to be there just to make up the numbers said directly, "I'll sign."
"What?"
Edward Stark, who was hollowed out by alcohol and sex, seemed a little surprised to hear this. He looked directly at Lake in front of him and said: "This Tony Stark is a fake."
Lake smiled and stopped talking.
Two homeland agents walked directly to Edward Stark, and then, amid Edward Stark's screams, they grabbed his fingers and signed their names on the agreement in front of him.
Edward Stark is mad.
What are you preparing for?
Is it a case of plunder?
but...
Five minutes later.
Pepper Potts stared blankly at Jack and the others who were leaving with the two corpses. After coming to her senses, she looked at Lake and said, "Will there be any problems if we do this?"
Lake laughed and said, "Those two guys were obviously sent by Obadiah."
Pepper frowned: "Shouldn't we keep them?"
Lake shook his head. "That's unnecessary. These two guys are just troublemakers. Why keep them around? I prefer a simple and crude approach. After all, I'm not Tony Stark. No matter how much I pretend, there will be flaws."
What is fake is fake.
This is the law, fakes can never replace the originals.
If the Skrulls come, they can disguise themselves more perfectly, but even the Skrulls can only copy short-term memories, and long-term memories cannot be copied.
Pepper said, "But if you kill these two people like this, won't it be more troublesome?"
Lake chuckled and said, "After they leave, they will appear at New York International Airport in half an hour and then use their ID to board a flight to Iraq. What's the problem?"
Pepper opened her mouth and simply gave up the question: "So what do we do next?"
What to do next?
Lake shrugged. "Just wait for news. What else can we do? At least, until we get the next clue, there's nothing we can do."
Said.
Lake looked around and then said to Pepper, "But don't worry, I've already told this matter to my informant. Maybe he can bring us some good news. I'll be staying here for the next few days. You need to take care of the Stark Industries matter. I can't help you with anything about it."
Pepper said, "I'm the secretary."
Riker smiled and said, "Not anymore. From now on, you are the new CEO of Stark Industries."
Pepper: "…"