A few days after arguing with Tony, Finney Hellseg gradually put the matter aside. He understood, but Tony's threat with the energy cannon was real, and he wasn't about to be taken advantage of.
Therefore, he was unaware of what had happened in the past few days. Tony, following the expected course of events, retaliated against the terrorists, destroying weapons his company had secretly sold.
Meanwhile, the remaining terrorists, in their self-righteousness, contacted Obadiah, and thus, the Iron Monger, temporarily without power, was being created.
Afterward, Tony began an urgent investigation into the weapons department. Through his personal verification, he confirmed that the weapons used by the terrorists were indeed supplied by his company.
According to company records, all signs pointed to Obadiah as the mastermind, but he lacked direct evidence.
As the boss's assistant, Pepper Potts needed to report after finishing her work each day and also bring documents requiring signatures to Tony. This work usually took place at Tony's villa.
Although their relationship seemed to have changed somewhat after the previous ball, the distance between their social statuses made them both somewhat awkward and unable to truly open up to each other.
In the workshop, Tony was adjusting the various parts of the Mark II with his tools. After the last real-world combat exercise, he had discovered many areas that needed improvement.
Watching Tony intently studying the armor again, Pepper felt conflicted. She didn't know what Tony had gone through during that time, but this change made her uneasy.
Especially after seeing the armor riddled with bullet holes and shell marks that day, she feared she would lose Tony again if things continued like this.
Just as she was thinking about how to persuade Tony not to do such dangerous things again, Tony noticed her arrival and spoke first: "Hey, got a minute? Can you help me out?"
"Go to my office, hack into the computer, and get all the shipping manifests."
He handed over a black USB drive, explaining, "You can use this to get in; it might be in the administration folder, or it might be on a hidden disk."
Tony had considered going back to the company to check himself, but if Obadiah was wary of him, it would be difficult to act covertly, and he might even alert the enemy. If he needed help, only Happy Hogan and Pepper could be trusted.
But Happy was a computer illiterate; he couldn't even copy and paste properly, and he didn't have a good reason to go to the office, so only Pepper could help him.
"Why do you want to do this?"
Pepper asked worriedly, taking the USB drive first.
"I need to find my weapons and destroy them!" Tony said firmly, feeling compelled to do so, remembering the devastation in the small town.
"Tony…"
Pepper, recalling the scene from a few days ago, looked on with deep worry and advised, "You can't do this recklessly, I can't help you."
"I've decided, I will no longer attend opening ceremonies, no longer do charity work, and no longer…sign documents!" Tony looked directly at Pepper and said, "My only mission is to destroy these weapons, nothing more."
"Nothing more!?"
Pepper chuckled in exasperation, her gaze towards Tony growing increasingly complex. Finally, she took a deep breath and said, "Then, I resign!"
Tony clearly hadn't expected Pepper to say that. Watching her toss the USB drive and turn to leave, he immediately stepped forward to stop her, saying, "For so many years, you've been helping me make ill-gotten gains, but now I want to atone, and you want to leave!?"
"Because you're committing suicide, Tony, I really can't do it."
"I should have died." Tony thought again of Ethan's dying words in the cave, sat down in the chair beside him, and said with complex emotions, "Unless I have a reason to live."
"I'm not crazy, I just understand what I have to do, and I feel that for me, there really is no other choice!"
Seeing Tony's somewhat helpless and dejected look, Pepper finally couldn't bear to leave. With a sigh, she turned back to retrieve the USB drive and said to Tony, "Besides you, I have no other choice!"
If Finney were here, she would definitely complain: the room reeks of their public displays of affection.
"Oh, wait a minute." Just as Pepper was about to leave, Tony suddenly remembered something and called her back. After searching the table for a while, he found a note and said, "If anything unexpected happens, besides me, you can also call this number to ask him for help, apologize for me, and tell him I owe him something."
For his beloved Pepper, Tony was willing to put aside some of his pride. Finney Hellseg's abilities were unpredictable, and that teleportation ability was the best backup he could think of.
"Who is he?"
Hearing Tony's words, Pepper was surprised. She had never seen anyone make Tony say such a thing.
"A little boy who can do magic."
Although they had only met twice, Tony felt he understood Finney's personality somewhat. He figured if Finney apologized and admitted his mistake, Finney would likely agree to help.
Seemingly worried that this might cause Pepper to misunderstand, Tony added, "It's not just any magic trick. Anyway, if there's any danger, you can call him for help."
Pepper still looked confused, but seeing that Tony had said so, she carefully wrote down the number and prepared to go to the company to help Tony find the information.
If things had gone according to plan, Pepper would have found evidence of Obadiah's client kidnapping Tony and the secret creation of the Iron Monger, albeit with some difficulty.
But an unexpected event occurred.
Perhaps due to Finney Hellseg's appearance and intervention, Tony's ego wasn't as inflated after creating the armor, and his relationship with Obadiah worsened slightly, making Obadiah more wary.
This led to Pepper being caught red-handed by Obadiah while copying files on the computer.
"You had Tony kidnapped!"
Pepper angrily confronted Obadiah in the office. "He always treated you like family."
"But you saw how he treats me now," Obadiah sneered, replying coldly. "I built and expanded this company from scratch, while Tony is just an inventor. What right does he have to control the company, and now he's even trying to destroy it."
"Pepper, you're a good woman. It's a waste for you to be with someone like Tony. Come help me. Together, you get the small arc reactor technology from Tony, and we can control the world."
Heh heh!
Obadiah was still trying to win Pepper over, but Pepper was clearly not the kind of traitor like Casillas. After spitting at Obadiah to show her support, she retreated fearfully.
At the same time, she secretly slipped her hand into her bag, preparing to call the police.
Unfortunately, they were alone in the room, and her every move was observed by Obadiah, who was watching her intently.
Obadiah, thinking Pepper was hiding a weapon in her bag, rushed over, ready to strike first. However, out of consideration for their past relationship and their current position, he didn't intend to kill her outright.
Seeing Obadiah's actions, Pepper no longer bothered to hide her phone and immediately reached into her bag to pull it out. Without even pressing the buttons to select a contact, she quickly pressed the dial button.
The number was exactly the one she had just saved—Finney Hellseg's number!
Keep trying!
Read 10+ chapters ahead at p4treon...
[email protected]/Horizons685
(End of Chapter)