WebNovels

Chapter 44 - 44

American ballet is not good to watch!"

"Russian ballet is good to watch!"

The 1.9-meter-tall Russian prima ballerina chuckled, her body shaking with laughter, at the halting Russian.

Fisher's phone suddenly beeped. He handed the initiative to the prima ballerina, took his phone, and leaned against the bed.

"How are things going?"

"Stark is truly furious! Right now, the Air Force, the New York FBI, and the NYPD have surrounded Obadiah's villa. The FBI SWAT team has already launched an attack!" The war correspondent, Kate, was giving Fisher a live broadcast.

Stark was genuinely angry and enraged. Obadiah had tried to kill him and those around him time and again. If he could still tolerate this, he'd change his name to 'Shithead'!

Over his many years as a playboy, Stark had made quite a few friends, and these friends in politics and law enforcement greatly valued their relationship with him. This was especially true for Chief George Stacy of the NYPD, who, despite being only a precinct chief, was responsible for the district that included Stark Industries Tower. For this, Stark had donated a lot of money to the NYPD and provided them with police equipment developed by his company. So, by all accounts, Chief Stacy would be in charge of this case.

"Prepare to detonate! Fall back!" The SWAT officers, with "POLICE" written on their vests, clutched their ICR7 rifles tightly. A few officers also held thick riot shields.

At the commander's order, the breaching explosives installed on the villa's large iron gate were detonated. SWAT officers carrying breaching hammers followed close behind. The bulletproof chrome-alloy gate was smashed open, and then the SWAT team swarmed in.

"Quick, quick, quick! Watch the second floor! Go, go, go!" The security guards and cleaners on duty at the villa were tackled to the ground by four or five burly men before they could even react to what was happening. Faced with the black muzzles of guns, the guards didn't dare utter a sound. They were just security guards trying to make a living; they worked to get off work. Although their monthly salaries were enough for their families to live comfortably, this didn't mean they would fight to the death for their employer against the police.

Dozens of fully armed SWAT officers searched Obadiah's villa, which had cost him millions of dollars, turning it upside down. They almost dug three feet deep but found no trace of Obadiah. A few cleaners, trembling with fear, also stated that Obadiah hadn't returned home yesterday.

"It looks like Obadiah fled the country overnight!" The FBI immediately checked Obadiah's spending records and found that he had gone to the Amazon last night. Obadiah's excuse to the company was that he was going to the rainforest to investigate a green environmental project.

Although the bank froze Obadiah's company account immediately, he had already withdrawn nearly a million dollars in cash. Combined with the local prices in Brazil, if Obadiah wasn't wasteful, it would be enough for him to live comfortably for the rest of his life.

"No, no, no, he must be caught and brought to justice!" Stark absolutely refused to accept this outcome. Obadiah was like a venomous snake; if he wasn't dealt with, he, Pepper, and Happy would all be in trouble... Actually, Stark was overthinking a bit. Obadiah was currently worrying about a debt crisis.

Logically, as a former high-ranking executive at Stark Industries, Obadiah shouldn't have been short on money. However, he had previously hired the Continental Hotel to kill Pepper, but she was strictly protected by the Gigant's security team. Later, Stark even hired several well-built female bodyguards from Whitewater Company to provide 24/7 close protection. Even when Pepper was showering, two female bodyguards stood at the door. This made it impossible for the Continental Hotel assassins to act. There were some stubborn ones who tried, but the final result was a few more young men picking up soap in NYPD prison.

In just a few days, thirty assassins from the New York Continental Hotel were either arrested or severely injured. The Continental Hotel charged these losses to Obadiah's account. Although these low-level assassins weren't worth much, there were a lot of them. At $100,000 each, thirty would cost three million dollars. The problem was that Obadiah called to cancel the contract, but the Continental Hotel said the cool-down period hadn't ended and it had to remain active for a week. This made it unbearable for Obadiah; this was all money! When he left Stark Industries, more than half of the money he embezzled was frozen, and only the cash he had withdrawn was usable.

Now, Obadiah was hiding in a small village in the Brazilian rainforest, planning to start over, first by making money, expanding his influence, and then seeking revenge on Stark.

"Stark, oh Stark!" Obadiah turned and muttered to himself. In the corner of the room, a large, human-shaped object was covered with a tarp. However, this object appeared to be larger than a normal person, and a metallic glint could be seen from beneath the tarp... "Pepper, the gift you gave me is gone!" When Stark returned to his villa, he realized he was missing a collectible. He asked Jarvis and learned that Obadiah had gone to his villa and taken his first arc reactor. Pepper had placed this reactor in a glass frame and given it to him, but Obadiah had taken it.

"Will he steal the technology from it?" Pepper was a little confused. Wasn't that reactor almost out of power?

"No, it's worse than that. Obadiah might have gotten his hands on the escape suit I built when I got out of the desert. That thing is not easy to deal with!" Stark started to get a headache. Maybe he should plan to build an Anti-Mark suit.

"What should we do then? Contact the FBI? Oh, right, when you came back from the Middle East, an agent found me and said he was from some kind of Homeland something agency!"

"Homeland Resources Bureau?"

"No, it was long, anyway. He also left me his contact information. Should we contact him?"

"Not yet. The immediate priority is to reorganize Stark Industries. Ms. Pepper Potts, are you willing to take over Obadiah's position and become the Executive Director of Stark Industries now?" Stark asked seriously.

"Me? I don't think I can!" Pepper was a little apprehensive. Over the years, she knew Stark Industries inside and out, but if she had to be in charge, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to command respect.

"It's okay, I'll back you up!"

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