In the end, Tony still chose to meet Coulson in the living room. He had no other intentions than curiosity about what kind of organization Finney Hellseg was temporarily avoiding.
"Hello, Mr. Stark, I'm Phil Coulson. We met last time."
Coulson smiled and extended his hand to greet Tony. To be honest, he was somewhat surprised. He thought he wouldn't be able to see Tony this way at all; it was just a formality. He hadn't expected Tony to actually see him.
"Hmm, what's up?"
Tony didn't shake hands, but went straight to the table, picked up some snacks, and put them in his mouth. At that moment, he missed Finney Hellseg's Violet Chicken Wrap.
Coulson didn't seem to mind, naturally withdrawing his hand and saying amiably, "I'd like to know about your and Miss Potts' itinerary this afternoon."
Tony turned to Coulson and said, "What, do we have to report to you where we go?"
"Of course not," Coulson explained with a smile, "I'm just curious how Mr. Stark completely disappeared from our sight and then suddenly returned."
"Maybe your men were too tired and didn't see him,"
Tony said casually, then took a sip of tea, his expression unchanged.
"Alright, looks like I'll have to give them a serious talking-to when we get back." Coulson remained unperturbed, watching Tony slowly sip his tea on the sofa. He walked over and sat down as well, letting out a long sigh. "Mr. Stark, actually, we have some leads regarding your kidnapper."
"Hmm… I've found the killer." Tony glanced at Coulson, then said bluntly, "What is it? Just say it. I don't like chatting with a man late at night."
"Who was that guy in the silver armor?"
Coulson simply asked directly, knowing that if he said another word, Tony would probably kick him out.
"He doesn't want to see you."
Tony didn't pretend not to know, but he also didn't betray Finney Hellseg. Dealing with these agents was a nightmare if you didn't give them what they wanted to know.
"Was that red-gold robot fighting that giant robot in the news you?"
"It's not called a red-gold robot!"
Tony frowned in dissatisfaction, then corrected him, "That's Iron Man, Mark II."
"So that giant one is Mark I?" Coulson asked curiously.
Tony didn't know Obadiah had named the Iron Monger, so he hesitated for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "It's a modified version of Mark I."
"Is the pilot inside Obadiah Stane?"
Seeing Tony's cooperation, Coulson's smile almost reached his eyes, and he quickly asked all the questions he was unsure about.
"I didn't expect you guys to investigate so quickly. That's right, he's the one who kidnapped me, this time trying to steal my technology." Although the evidence Pepper had obtained had been taken back by Obadiah, he was now buried under the avalanche, and they just needed to find it again.
"Where did you end up?"
"The snow-capped mountains!"
"And Obadiah Stane?"
"Buried in an avalanche, probably dead."
"Can't we really reveal the identity of that silver-armored man?"
Coulson asked again. He'd already guessed about Tony and Obadiah's identities, but he had no information whatsoever about the mysterious silver-armored man.
But one thing was certain: Tony's sudden appearance and disappearance were definitely related to this other man.
"That depends on his decision." Tony stretched, stood up, and said to Coulson, "If he wants to see you, I'll let you know. If there's nothing else, I need to rest."
"Thank you for your cooperation!"
Coulson smiled understandingly, quite satisfied with the operation overall, though he was somewhat disappointed at not finding any clues about Finney Hellseg.
"Oh, by the way,"
Coulson seemed to remember something as he turned to Tony, "Regarding the news, we'll hold a press conference for you tomorrow. You can just read from the prepared statement."
Watching Coulson leave, Tony sighed with a complex expression and returned to his workshop to continue working. His small arc reactor had been taken by Obadiah, and it was still the old model; he needed to quickly build a new one.
After leaving Tony's house, Coulson called Nick again to report:
"Sir, Tony has admitted that he is one of the two combat robots. He calls the suit of equipment Mark II, and the other is a modified version of Mark I by Obadiah Stane. He is also the mastermind behind Tony's kidnapping, and the reason for this fight seems to be to steal Tony's technology."
"Regarding the silver-armored man, judging from Tony's tone and attitude, they should have only known each other for a short time, and the other party seems to know us and doesn't want to make contact with us."
"Based on my assessment, it's not a good time to clash with Tony Stark, so I haven't pressed him for answers. I think as long as we keep a close eye on Tony, we'll eventually discover the Silver Armor Man's identity. Also, I think we can arrange a press conference for Tony to quickly quell the impact of this matter."
There was a long silence on the other end of the phone before Nick Fury's voice came through: "I understand. Keep a close watch, don't take any drastic actions, and report back to me immediately."
Hearing Nick's agreement, Coulson breathed a sigh of relief. Although what he said was indeed the best approach he could think of, no one knew if he would get the approval of this dirty-minded, hot-tempered superior.
"Remember, you must find out the other party's identity."
After saying that, Nick Fury hung up the phone, leaving Coulson with a helpless sigh. In the end, he decided that it would be easier to attack from Pepper's side.
The next day, when everyone was expecting Tony to come forward and explain the incident at the Stark Industries project site the previous night, he was nowhere to be found.
"Are you sure he never left the house?"
Coulson, who couldn't get through on the phone and received no response to knocking, held the speech he had hastily written overnight and asked his subordinate with a serious expression.
"I'm sure," the subordinate quickly assured him. Having learned from their previous experience, this time they were keeping a close watch on the door, their dark circles under their eyes confirming their honesty.
"Okay, I understand."
Coulson nodded, dismissed his subordinate, and pondered the door. Ultimately, he didn't choose to force it open but instead dialed Pepper's number again.
...
Meanwhile, Tony, although he heard Jarvis's report about Coulson's call, didn't bother to answer, as he wasn't home at all.
"Are you sure it's at this location?"
At the site of yesterday's battle, Finney Hellseg, wearing 'Possessed by Evil' and floating in the air, asked Tony with a suspicious look.
"I'm Tony Stark, kid, you have to trust my skills!" Tony said impatiently. "Hurry up and dig, I really don't want to stay here any longer."
The two were now preparing to retrieve the Iron Monger's wreckage. After using the machine Tony had built to probe the area, they had finally confirmed that the Iron Monger had been brought to this location by an avalanche.
Now it was finally time to determine whether Obadiah was dead or alive.
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(End of Chapter)