The Next Morning...
"Hey, you know what? Obadiah Stane is dead!"
Holding a cup of coffee and looking at Su Che and Steve, Tony Stark laughed.
"Right after we beat Obadiah Stane yesterday and left together, before the police cars even arrived, Obadiah Stane was taken out by a sniper bullet."
"Do you think this 'stranger' who got rid of Obadiah Stane was coming for us, or for him? Could it be related to my kidnapping? I always felt there must be other forces behind Obadiah Stane. Otherwise, how did he escape from the FBI?"
Listening to Tony Stark swearing by his conspiracy theory, Steve Rogers also nodded with a serious expression.
"Maybe you're right, Tony. We can't easily rule out that possibility. But Tony, have you found any other clues?"
"Not at all."
Facing Steve's question, Tony Stark spread his hands.
"It's like after Obadiah Stane died, all clues related to the forces behind him were cut off. Even according to my investigation results, it seems Obadiah Stane really just wanted to become the master of Stark Industries because of his inflated ambition, which is why he planned to attack and kidnap me."
Speaking to this point, Tony Stark shook his head with a grave expression.
"Master, don't you think this reason is ridiculous? The more someone tries to cover up the truth, the more we can see the 'reality.' If this was just Obadiah Stane's ambition alone, I absolutely don't believe it. After all, he had countless opportunities over the years, so why choose to act now?"
"Not long ago, I even completely destroyed Obadiah Stane's private weapons sales channels from top to bottom. I discovered several instances where Obadiah Stane used his private channels to sell weapons to buyers who couldn't be traced at all. I suspect the people behind Obadiah Stane are these untraceable buyers."
Looking at Tony's serious expression, Steve nodded slightly.
Indeed, according to Tony, if Obadiah Stane was really just acting on his own ambition to get rid of Tony and annex Stark Industries, then given Tony's trust in him, he had countless chances to strike over the years. But he held back until just recently. What was he waiting for? There should have been better opportunities before!
Moreover, Tony said he couldn't investigate some of the people who bought weapons from Obadiah Stane. That was suspicious! And his escape from FBI custody, plus the fact that last night, right after the three of them left, Obadiah Stane, who had no more value, was directly eliminated—it all fit Tony's guess.
Perhaps there really were other forces behind Obadiah Stane.
Meanwhile...
Looking at the two men thinking and analyzing so seriously, Su Che lowered his head expressionlessly and looked at the coffee cup in front of him. Internally, he didn't know whether to laugh or not.
What the hell? The two future big shots of the Avengers are actually starting to weave a grand conspiracy theory here?
Although Tony and Steve's reasoning sounded plausible, the truth was, the kidnapping and attack on Tony were planned by Obadiah Stane simply because he wanted to annex Stark Industries. The reason was that simple; there weren't so many complicated layers.
He was able to escape from the FBI because Obadiah Stane bribed the guards—that's what Natasha Romanoff said when she called him. He hadn't acted all these years because Obadiah Stane's ambition hadn't swollen to its current level yet. Most importantly, the person who killed him last night... if his perception was correct, it should have been Natasha Romanoff.
Watching these two brainstorm and even start filling in the details, really hitting it off, Su Che momentarily didn't know what to say.
Wait...
He glanced at the two men, crossed his arms, and thought about it.
As everyone knows, before Captain America: The Winter Soldier, HYDRA was almost everywhere. And Steve was HYDRA's most serious enemy. Tony Stark, Howard's son, who had been building iron suits since escaping the desert, should also be of great concern to HYDRA forces.
Although, currently, all of HYDRA is hiding, its ultimate goal being that Insight Plan, you must know that current high-level officials in various fields, even members of Congress, have shadows of HYDRA.
So... these two guys wouldn't actually end up investigating and uncovering some part of HYDRA because of this incident, would they?
If that were the case, it would be very interesting!
"Dude, you've been silent. What do you think the truth of the matter is?" Picking up his coffee and taking a sip, Tony Stark looked at Su Che and asked seriously.
Hearing Tony ask him, Su Che gently turned his coffee cup. "I'm not sure, but according to the points you analyzed earlier, what you said does make some sense."
"See! I knew my guess should be right!" Hearing Su Che also say his guess wasn't unreasonable, Tony turned to Steve and said, "So, besides researching armor upgrades, I also have to find out who is behind Obadiah Stane!"
Speaking of this matter, Tony Stark gritted his teeth in hatred. Obadiah Stane, what kind of person was he? You have to know, he trusted him so much, even treated him like an uncle. But why did his ambition expand to the point where he wanted to kill him immediately? It must be because some force was luring him behind the scenes. No matter what, Tony Stark was determined to find this behind-the-scenes force!
"Hi, Mr. Superman! Hi, Steve! Good morning to you both!" Pepper Potts walked into the café, first greeting Su Che and Steve with a smile.
Then she smiled at Tony Stark: "Tony, why are you still here? The press conference starts in twenty minutes. You should go back and prepare. Also, an organization called S.H.I.E.L.D. has contacted us. They hope you won't admit to being Iron Man in front of the media. And... they've prepared a speech for you."
"Oh shit, I forgot about that!" Hearing Pepper's words, Tony Stark remembered—he still had a press conference to hold.
After all, last night, although not many people saw him, and even though he opened his faceplate in front of Su Che and Steve, those people didn't get a picture of his face. But Obadiah Stane was photographed by many people. As one of the main figures, even though Obadiah Stane is dead, this press conference still must be held!
"I'm going to handle this press conference first. We'll continue talking when I get back later. I feel like I'm onto something." Winking at Su Che and Steve, Tony Stark picked up his coffee and drank it all in one go, then left with Pepper Potts.
Watching Tony leave with Pepper, Steve was silent for a moment, then smiled at Su Che.
"Su, he didn't pay the bill again!"