June 4, 1943 - Stark Industries' Expo
People clapped their hands, beaming with smiles as Tommy looked at the impressive line of hot ladies standing before the flying car. His eyes followed Howard, who walked to the center of the stage with confidence. One of the ladies stepped up to him, and Howard flashed the crowd a charming smile before leaning in and kissing her.
'A playboy, a genius, and a filthy rich bastard,' Tommy thought, his gaze fixed on Howard, who casually wiped his lips with a handkerchief.
The crowd chanted Howard's name like he was a hero. And maybe to them, he was. Every woman in the crowd seemed to have stars in their eyes, enchanted by Howard's every move. Tommy knew the man was quite the charmer.
'He could pick any woman here, and they'd gladly follow him,' Tommy quietly observed every detail. He wanted to know what kind of man he'd be dealing with later. People flocked to Howard for his inventions, his wealth, his brilliance. Tommy could tell this wasn't someone easy to impress.
'Not that I want a favor from him,' Tommy thought, though his eyes stayed fixed on Howard. His mind drifted, lips curling into a small smile as he whispered under his breath, "I'll give him a favor."
And who could refuse a favor? No one.
"Ladies and gentlemen!"
Howard's voice echoed through his ears. The cheers slowly died down, and Tommy noticed everyone's eyes were now glued to the stage. He had to admit, the genius knew how to get attention.
Howard's grin widened as he continued, "What if I told you that in just a few years, automobiles won't even touch the ground anymore?"
The crowd gasped in awe, but Tommy barely blinked. Flying cars didn't interest him much. Still, he made a mental note of everything he saw.
As the women on stage removed the tires from the car, Tommy's eyes flickered to the strange-looking modules attached underneath. It wasn't hard to guess that those were the things making the car fly.
"Tommy?"
A voice called, interrupting his focus. He turned to see Bucky standing there, looking at him like he'd just caught him in a lie. The sergeant was still wearing his military uniform as Tommy turned to Steve before taking note of the two attractive ladies with them.
Bucky approached Tommy as the ladies sent him curious glances. The sergeant slapped him on the shoulder, asking, "Are you pulling my leg? Didn't you say you had someone important to meet? And now I find you here?"
It wasn't exactly proper for a soldier to be out on a date in uniform, but Tommy didn't point that out. He knew Bucky well enough. The sergeant was clearly trying to impress a girl.
"I did, and I will meet him soon," Tommy replied, his eyes drifting toward the stage. Howard Stark stood there, thanking one of the ladies as he held up a strange-looking device—a remote control, Tommy guessed, for the flying car Stark was about to show off.
Bucky followed Tommy's gaze, and his eyes widened. He leaned in closer, whispering in Tommy's ear, "Wait a minute... Are you saying you're here to meet Howard Stark?"
Tommy didn't reply. He simply gave Bucky a look, then turned back to the stage as Howard's voice rang out again, "With Stark's Gravity Reversion Technology, you'd be able to do just that."
Howard lowered his mic before pressing a button and pulling up a lever on the 'remote control'. Everyone in the crowd looked in amazement as a loud humming sound echoed, the flying car slowly floated up into the air, and he heard Bucky exclaiming in awe, "Holy cow."
Tommy's eyes flickered. He watched the car hovering in midair in surprise. He could see Howard smirking at the sight of the crowd gasping in wonder.
But then, suddenly, the hum stuttered. A sharp crackling sound filled the air, followed by a jarring electric pop. The car sputtered, then dropped like a stone, crashing to the ground with a loud thud, leaving the crowd gasping in shock.
He could see Howard's smile disappear as the genius shook his head before saying, "Well, I did say in a few years, didn't I?"
Tommy could tell the crowd was still impressed, clapping loudly as the show came to an end. The applause was so loud, it made him furrow his eyebrows. His gaze stayed on Howard, who was laughing awkwardly on stage. Tommy raised an eyebrow, thinking, 'He's really upset about the failure. Looks like I'll be meeting him sooner than I thought.'
As the applause carried on, Tommy quietly gathered his thoughts, piecing together what he had observed during the performance. He now had a better idea of the kind of person Howard was.
But out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Steve slipping away from the crowd. His eyes followed where Steve was going as he stopped at the military recruitment hall he had seen earlier. Tommy knew what was going through Steve's mind as he thought, 'Persistent bastard.'
Ignoring the noise of the crowd, Tommy glanced at Howard again, watching him walk off stage. The rest of the audience was scattering, moving toward the other pavilions at the expo. Tommy remained still, waiting for things to quiet down.
"Steve, how about treating the girls—wait a damn second. Where's Steve?" He heard Bucky's surprise. The sergeant had just realized Steve had disappeared.
Bucky quickly turned to Tommy as he asked, "Tommy, do you see Steve anywhere?"
"You know where, Bucky," Tommy replied. He glanced at the thinning crowd, then nodded toward the quiet military recruitment hall. "He's taking another shot."
"Ah, for fuck's sake! During our date?" Bucky groaned in disbelief. "Tommy, uh, think you could join us for a bit?"
Tommy looked at Bucky and the two girls they were with. One of the girls, a blonde, was looking at him. She was pretty, but Tommy wasn't interested. "You already know my answer, Bucky."
"You sure?" Bucky asked again, but one look at Tommy's expression told him there was no changing his mind. With a sigh, Bucky turned to the girls, "Sorry, ladies. Let's go check out another place first."
"See you later, Tommy," Bucky called as he led the girls away.
Tommy watched them walk off. The blonde girl glanced back at him, but he simply turned his head toward the now-empty stage. The lights had dimmed, and he could see men taking the car backstage.
Tommy smiled at the sight, 'Just as I thought.'
He walked backstage, pulling a cigarette from his pack and lighting it up. Smoking wasn't allowed at the Expo, but when he spotted the military personnel standing on guard, he knew he could get away with it. He didn't know why Howard Stark needed protection from the military, but now it made sense why Chester was able to arrange this meeting with the genius.
The soldiers snapped to attention the moment they saw him. Every military personnel in New York knew who Tommy Shelby was—if they didn't, they'd been living under a rock. He had caused enough trouble to make sure of that.
Taking a long drag from his cigarette, Tommy felt his trembling hands steady as he passed through security without a word. He could sense the curious eyes of the staff on him, wondering why the soldiers had let him in so easily. But Tommy didn't care.
His focus was on the man ahead, tinkering with the flying car that had failed during the demonstration earlier. Tommy had already guessed this would happen, seeing the genius's response to the failure on stage as he greeted, "Mr. Stark."
Howard barely looked up. The genius was muttering something he barely registered, fiddling with the bolts on the flying car as he tore it open, revealing a mess of wires and parts strewn around the machine.
Maybe hearing his steps getting closer, Howard raised his eyebrows before turning to him and asked, "Are you, uh, new here?"
"I'm not one of your workers, Mr. Stark," Tommy said, taking off his cap and nodding slightly. "Name's Thomas Shelby. I'm here on business."
"Thomas Shelby, huh," Howard muttered, his attention drifting back to the car.
Then, as if remembering something, the genius snapped his fingers, "Ah, yes! Chester sent you, right? Just give me a second here—bit busy at the moment."
"You've got the crowd talking, Mr. Stark. They don't stop yammering about this car of yours," Tommy praised while exhaling the smoke from his cigarette.
"Yeah, well, it wasn't just meant to get them talking," Howard grunted, still struggling with a bolt.
"It was supposed to fly."
Howard paused and glanced at Tommy, then pointed toward the stubborn bolt he'd been working on. "Actually, uh, Mr. Shelby, right? Could you give that a try?"
He didn't say a thing as he put his cigarette in his mouth. Approaching Howard, Tommy looked at the genius, who didn't seem to pay him any mind, completely focused on the flying car as he chuckled. Gripping the wrench, he twisted it until the bolt finally gave way with a satisfying click.
"Bravo!"
Howard cheered, clapping his hands as he immediately pulled apart one of the strange-looking modules attached to the car. Flashing a quick smile, he added, "You're a strong one, aren't you?"
Tommy glanced down at the odd modules now lying on the ground. Taking another drag from his cigarette, he muttered, "Looks fine to me."
"It lifts, yeah," Howard said, still tinkering with the machine. "But it's like asking a kid to pull a freight train—not enough power to keep it in the air for more than a minute."
Tommy watched the smoke from his cigarette curl up into the air as he eyed Stark messing with the wires. "So, you're trying to make it more efficient?"
"Oh, you noticed? That's impressive, Mr. Shelby," Stark explained. "If I can just make the energy output more efficient, the car could fly longer. But I've tried everything—adjusting the power cells, reducing drag—nothing's working. It's like I'm hitting a wall."
Tommy quietly observed Howard for a moment, realizing this 'business meeting' was going to take a while. He took another puff of his cigarette and muttered, "Maybe you're just looking at it the wrong way."
"What do you mean?"
Howard suddenly stopped in his tracks. For the first time, the genius was giving Tommy his full attention. Tommy didn't know the first thing about engineering, but he sure knew how to bluff his way through.
With a slight chuckle, he said, "Instead of making it more efficient, why don't you just give it more power?"
Instead of letting the kid do the work, why not just let the parents do it in their place?
Howard froze, blinking as if the answer had been staring him in the face all along. Slowly, he lowered the wrench in his hand, mumbling, "More power…"
'He's actually considering it?' That was more impressive than inventing the flying car itself. Tommy took another drag of his cigarette, waiting to see where the genius's mind would go.
Then, just like that, Howard's eyes widened, and he slapped his forehead with a loud laugh. "Why didn't I think of that? Forget efficiency! What I need is a stronger power source! Ha! You're a bloody genius, Mr. Shelby!"
"Say, why don't you quit whatever it is you're doing and come work for me?"
Howard clapped Tommy on the shoulder. Tommy's lips curled into a small smile at the offer. It reminded him of his own words to Arthur a while ago. Looking at the genius, he knew Howard wasn't a man to be rejected directly as he responded, "Glad to be of service."
"Well, worth a shot." Howard shrugged his shoulder as he took out his handkerchief and wiped his hand clean. He asked, "So, what's the deal? I'm guessing you didn't come here just to help me with a bolt. You've got business on your mind, right? Do you want my investment? Need my name on some fancy contract? Come on, Mr. Shelby—what do you want?"
Tommy looked at Howard. He knew he had the genius' attention now as he took out his pack of cigarettes, offering it to Howard and said, "Care for a smoke, Mr. Stark?"
Howard chuckled, taking one. Tommy leaned back against a nearby wooden table, tossing his lighter to Stark. As he took a long drag from his cigarette, he thought for a moment before exhaling a stream of smoke. "I do need your money, but I'm not looking for an investment, Mr. Stark."
"Hmm? That's certainly new. Alright, I'm listening."
Tommy's eyes drifted to the flying car on the ground before locking back onto Howard. "I have a business in mind. I don't want investors poking their noses into it."
"So, I'll take a loan from you," Tommy didn't care about having investors—he just wanted the money. But he knew he had to pitch it in a way Howard would enjoy as he continued, "I'll pay it back double in a year."
Howard raised both eyebrows this time. "A loan? Well, how much are we talking about here? Five thousand? Ten thousand? I can just wire it to you; no need to pay me back. Call it payment for your—"
"I'm going to need $50,000, Mr. Stark."
"How much now?" Howard blinked, his expression shifting like Tommy had just told him the moon was made of cheese.
"People have called me many things. But a failure? That's never been one of them." Tommy stood up slowly, taking another drag from his cigarette as he stepped closer to Stark.
"You see, Mr. Stark, I'm a winner. And do you know what my job is?" He exhaled the smoke, watching it curl up into the air before looking back at Howard. "My job is to win."
"Hm, I think you might be pushing it a bit too far, Mr. Shelby. But anyway—Jarvis!" Howard clapped his hands, and Tommy watched as a man in a sharp butler's suit approached.
The butler, Jarvis, gave a polite nod before leaning in as Howard whispered something in his ear. Tommy quietly observed, taking the last drag from his cigarette. Once it burned out, he flicked it to the ground and stepped on it, already reaching for another.
Howard turned back to him with a smile. "You know what I'm thinking?"
"I'm thinking about giving you $100,000." Tommy's lips twitched into a small smile at the number.
"I think that'd be more fitting for a winner like you, Mr. Shelby. What do you think?"
"Well, I suppose I'd have to let a brilliant mind like yours help me decide, Mr. Stark." Tommy's smile grew wider. It seemed like Howard liked him.
Inside, his thoughts were racing. His funding problem was now more than solved. He needed $12,000, but with this $100,000, he was walking away with a lot more. He could already picture Polly's reaction when he told her later.
She'd be speechless. Arthur would be relieved. John—well he'd still be depressed. And Jesse—he'd be thrilled. They were about to make real money.
'The Blue Sky. My wealth. I'll be winning with this too.'