"Two vodka martinis, no water, extra olives, quickly!" Tony put the money in his glass. "One of them with extra olive juice."
The bartender nodded, then turned and walked to the counter to get busy.
Tony leaned on the cold bar with one hand, his gaze unfocused, his thoughts drifting back to a moment ago.
In the concert hall, Pepper's hair brushed his chin, carrying a faint, elusive scent.
He felt a wave of heat and led her to the rooftop.
Looking at her beautiful face, he felt parched.
In that moment, all reason wavered; he almost leaned in to kiss her, as if it were the only thing to do.
In the end, his last shred of damned restraint stopped him.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but take a deep breath, feeling an immense sense of melancholy.
Just then, the sound of high heels approached.
A blonde woman, in stilettos, saw Tony Stark and walked over with a graceful sway, her eyes fixed on him.
"Tony Stark?" The woman's sweet voice held a hint of inquiry.
Tony was still thinking about the flutter on the rooftop earlier. Hearing the woman's voice, he seemed to awaken from a fog, responding absently, "Hi."
Then, things became strange.
The two looked at each other and fell into silence.
Tony's gaze swept back and forth over the blonde woman, his brain frantically searching his memory for information about the person in front of him, but only some familiar memories remained in his mind.
He simply couldn't remember the name of the woman opposite him.
His Adam's apple bobbed a few times, and he bit the bullet, trying what he thought was the most likely name. "Carly?"
"Christine." The woman's smile almost faltered; she quickly corrected him.
Her forced smile hid a hint of helplessness at being mistaken.
Tony nodded, feigning composure. "Right."
Christine looked up at Tony opposite her, her words somewhat harsh: "You actually dared to come tonight? Couldn't you at least give a reaction?"
Tony looked bewildered, his brows tightly furrowed, his eyes full of confusion, completely unaware of what "reaction" she was referring to.
After much thought, he concluded that she must be referring to his recent decision to close the weapons division, and he replied, "Panic. I think my reaction is panic."
Christine almost laughed in exasperation. She looked at Tony with a cold expression: "I'm talking about your company's involvement in the recent tragedy."
Tony was still unclear about the situation. He rubbed his brow, a hint of helplessness in his tone: "I've been issued a gag order by the board. I don't know what I can and cannot say."
"Heh," Christine sneered, her voice suddenly rising, her eyes like ice. "I almost believed you."
Tony finally shifted his thought process completely away from Pepper. His brows were knitted into a knot, and his eyes showed a hint of irritation: "I've been out of the country for months, haven't you heard?"
Christine stopped talking nonsense, a meaningful curve forming on her lips, and she pulled out a few photos from her pocket.
"Is this what you call responsibility?" Christine stopped talking nonsense, handing the photos to Tony. "This place is called Komira. Have you heard of it?"
Hearing the familiar place name, Tony suddenly looked up at Christine.
His Adam's apple bobbed, and he quickly examined the photos in his hand.
In the first photo, amidst the ruins, horses lay in pools of blood, bodies scattered, and despair seemed to permeate the air.
In the second photo, several masked Terrorists dragged a box and walked into the distance.
The third close-up showed the Stark Industries logo on the box, which looked particularly jarring in this scene.
The last photo clearly showed a missile he had personally developed, already assembled and ready to launch.
"When were these taken?" Tony asked with a cold expression.
Christine met his gaze without fear: "Yesterday."
Tony abruptly clenched the photos, his face filled with disbelief: "I didn't authorize the transport! These weapons should never have appeared in such a place!"
"But your company approved it."
"I am not my company!" After saying this, Tony turned and walked away.
Christine didn't know what he was going to do and quickly chased after him.
At the entrance, Obadiah was speaking eloquently into a microphone, his crisp suit and elegant gestures complementing each other.
Just then, a dark Shadow suddenly burst into the frame.
Tony clutched the photos, his eyes burning with fury.
"What's going on with Komira?" His voice was like ice.
The reporters at the entrance looked confused, unsure what had happened. Obadiah's smile froze for a moment, then he immediately raised a hand to block the camera: "Excuse me, please step aside."
He pulled Tony around, but Tony ignored the gazes of those around him, shoving the photos directly in front of Obadiah: "Have you seen these photos? What exactly happened in Komira?"
Obadiah sighed softly, then clapped Tony heavily on the shoulder, with enough force to seemingly push him into the ground: "Tony, you can't be so naive."
"I used to be naive!" Tony said, suppressing his anger. "There's a line we shouldn't cross, and that's how we've always done business, but now I find that we might have secretly been two-faced. Have we?"
His voice was filled with suppression, like a young beast who had just learned the truth, looking at the person he trusted most.
Obadiah was silent for a moment, then suddenly put on a standard business smile and waved to a photographer nearby.
"Tony, let's take a picture." Seeing no reaction from him, he repeated it, this time putting an arm around Tony's shoulder. "Come on, let's take a picture."
The moment the camera flashed, Obadiah's lips were almost pressed against Tony's ear.
"Tony, who do you think is pushing you out? I was the one who proposed the gag order against you." He still wore a perfect smile, nodding slightly at the camera, his voice very low. "Only this way can I protect you."
Before he finished speaking, Obadiah had already released his grip, finally patting Tony's stiff shoulder before turning and walking away. Tony stood rooted to the spot, staring at Obadiah's retreating back, his face as grim as if covered in a layer of iron gray.
Just then, a somewhat familiar female voice sounded from behind: "Mr. Stark?"
Tony instinctively turned his head. Under the lights, a fiery red hair shone brightly, it was Gwen, whom he had met earlier.
She was dressed in a fitted suit, a mysterious smile playing on her lips.
Tony frowned deeply, took a deep breath, and tried to control his emotions, but his tone was still somewhat cold: "I'm not in a good mood right now; I don't have time to chat with you."
He then prepared to turn and leave, but Gwen chuckled unhurriedly.
She shook her head gently, her smile growing more intense: "I'm not here to chat, Mr. Stark. I'm here to give you a gift."
As she spoke, she took a small USB drive from her pocket, holding it between her long fingers and waving it in front of Tony.
It was a USB drive, a USB drive with the Stark Industries logo.