Smith Doyle wasn't the least bit worried about the excavation of the dragon bones. He knew that an invisible barrier of energy lay above the remains. Once the dig reached that point, everything would come to a halt naturally.
At that moment, he could step in to unlock the barrier and retrieve the bones from beneath.
With them in his hands, even without using the Dragon Ball, his fallen allies could be brought back to life.
John Wick drove a Maybach, ferrying Smith Doyle back to the headquarters of the Assassin's League.
Once they returned, Smith Doyle summoned Mr. X.
"X, I need you to look into a few things for me," he said. "Keep it off the radar—no one else should know."
Mr. X replied, "Yes, sir. What do you need?"
Smith Doyle continued, "There used to be a secret Soviet program called the Red Room. They trained elite operatives."
"I've received intel that the organization wasn't dismantled. It's still active, engaging in assassination and mind control."
"I need you to locate a few individuals. First, Alexei Shostakov—the Red Guardian. He's imprisoned somewhere in Russia."
"Then there's Yelena Belova and Melina Vostokoff. They're currently loyal to the Red Room."
"Find out everything you can about them. But don't make contact."
X nodded, committing the names to memory. "Understood. I'll dig up what I can and report back with progress."
As X left, Smith Doyle headed into the training room to continue strengthening himself.
Now all that remained was to wait for Tony to officially become Iron Man… and for the Dragon Ball to awaken again.
---
Elsewhere…
In a quiet café in Hell's Kitchen, Foggy Nelson sat across from Matt Murdock.
Matt spoke first.
"Foggy, have I been wrong all these years? About everything I've believed in?"
Foggy sighed. "Matt, helping people who can't afford lawyers—that's never wrong."
Matt removed his sunglasses and paused before answering.
"You know I'm not talking about that."
Foggy leaned forward, concern on his face.
"Didn't you say you'd stop getting involved after their warning?"
"Besides, taking down the Hand and Kingpin's empire… wasn't that your goal?"
Matt nodded.
"Yes. But not like this. I wanted justice, not vigilantism."
"They were executed without trial. And now… who's keeping them in check?"
"I've been looking into it, Foggy. The people who killed the Hand members—they're assassins. They're not heroes."
Foggy's expression turned grim. "So what, we just let Kingpin and the Hand run wild instead?"
"What are you going to do, Matt?"
Matt shook his head slowly. "I don't know. I'm lost. I need to speak to my mentor… get some clarity."
---
Meanwhile…
In the basement of his mansion, Tony Stark was working on the arm of his Mark II suit. Pepper Potts descended the stairs, holding two boxes and a coffee.
"I've been calling you. Didn't you hear the comms?"
Tony, tinkering with a component on his arm, asked, "Hmm? What's up?"
Pepper set the items on the table.
"Obadiah's upstairs waiting. What should I tell him?"
Tony replied absently, "Right. Got it. I'll head up."
Then he raised his arm and activated the stabilizer.
A sudden ZAP! of energy shot from his palm, launching Tony across the room and blasting apart a metal shelf.
"Okay… that was unexpected," Tony said sheepishly, glancing at a startled Pepper.
---
Soon after, Tony headed upstairs, where Obadiah was playing piano.
"How's the company doing?" Tony asked.
He noticed Pepper busy with work on the couch and added, "Let me guess—terrible?"
Obadiah smiled as he played.
"I just brought pizza from New York. Doesn't mean things are terrible."
Tony opened the box. "Well, the pizza is great."
Obadiah continued,
"If you'd been there, things might've turned out better."
Tony shrugged.
"You told me to lay low. I did that. I lay low, you handle things."
Obadiah stood up and walked over. "I meant the board meeting."
Tony blinked. "Board meeting?"
Obadiah sat beside him.
"They think you're suffering from PTSD. They're preparing a motion…"
"A motion for what?" Tony asked.
"To push you out."
Tony scoffed, "What—for the stock dropping 40 points?"
Pepper chimed in, "56.5, actually."
Tony waved it off. "Whatever. We still hold the controlling shares."
Obadiah replied, "The board still has power. They say your new research direction conflicts with the company's core interests."
Tony defended himself,
"I call it responsibility. This is our new path—my path."
Hearing that, Obadiah's eyes lit up. Tony immediately realized his mistake and corrected himself.
"I mean—I represent the company's direction."
He sighed. "You guys really played this well."
Then he stood, grabbing a slice of pizza. "I'm going back to the lab."
"Don't be like that, Tony," Obadiah tried to stop him. "Come on, work with me here."
He pointed at the arc reactor in Tony's chest.
"Let me bring in some engineers to study that thing, draw up some schematics."
There it was—Obadiah's real motive. He wanted the arc reactor. He saw it as a golden goose, and he wanted it under his control.
"That way, I can appease the board," he added.
But Tony didn't even hesitate.
"No. Absolutely not."
It wasn't that he didn't trust Obadiah—he didn't trust anyone else in the company. He still hadn't figured out who'd sold weapons to the terrorists.
"This project stays with me. Non-negotiable."
Obadiah, trying to salvage something, took the pizza from Tony's hand—but let him keep a slice.
"Mind if I come down to see what you're working on?"
Tony shot him a dry look. "Yeah. I mind. Go get some sleep."
Obadiah didn't argue. He believed his team of scientists could reverse-engineer the reactor eventually. And he was sure Tony would eventually reveal the lab's secrets—after all, Tony had never suspected him.
—End of chapter—
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