Half an hour later, Jack got out of the car without waking Wanda.
He carried several bottles of water and some bread, and even deliberately bought a cheeseburger.
As soon as he opened the door, Jack caught a whiff of a foul stench. Clearly, the two had already relieved themselves.
Jack was somewhat merciful. He had left the lights on in the underground room when he left last time; otherwise, those indescribable horrors might have driven them insane.
"Water—give me water, quickly."
The moment Jack opened the door, the two of them pounced like starving wolves.
Jack pulled out his pistol, and the two instantly froze.
"That's right. Take a step back, and I'll give you food and water."
Jack tossed the water over. "Drink slowly. Don't choke and die—I'm not cleaning that up."
After a few gulps, the two finally regained some composure.
Their eyes then locked onto the food in Jack's hands—especially Tony Stark, whose nose twitched when he caught the scent of the cheeseburger.
"What exactly is your goal?" Tony asked. "Why are you keeping me locked up here? If you have a grudge against me, then please release Ethan. He's innocent."
Jack rubbed his chin. "True, Ethan was dragged into this because of you. But for now, I've got nowhere else to put him, so he'll just have to suffer alongside you."
"In that case," Tony said, shifting and leaning against the wall, "can you tell me what kind of grudge exists between us? The outside world is probably already reporting my death, right? I'm already 'dead,' yet you still went all the way to Afghanistan to find me. That grudge must be huge—but I honestly don't know you."
Jack couldn't stand it anymore and put on an anti-odor mask, his voice coming out muffled.
"I don't have a grudge against you," Jack said. "My wife does."
"Please tell me," Tony replied. "I've never seen that girl before."
Jack then recounted the hatred between Wanda Maximoff and Tony.
"Understand now?"
Tony nodded slowly, staring at the ceiling. "Even if I wasn't the one who sold the missiles to Sokovia, I did manufacture them. So… is she outside? Let her come in and end this sinful life of mine."
As he spoke, Tony recalled the day he learned of his parents' deaths. He had been so depressed he wanted to tear the responsible driver apart—only to find there was no driver to blame.
He never even saw their bodies. Everything had already been handled by others.
He couldn't truly empathize with Wanda's fear of missiles, but he understood the pain of losing both parents in an instant.
Seeing Tony sink into despair, Jack frowned.
"You don't want to live anymore?"
Ethan interjected, "If you're going to lock me up here forever, I don't want to live either."
"I should thank you first," Ethan added. "You killed those terrorists and avenged me."
"You're welcome," Jack said calmly. "It was nothing. You should thank him too—after the Jericho missile detonated, nothing was left."
Tony still stared at the ceiling, confusion in his voice. "By the way, where did you get that Jericho missile? I just finished researching it. It should only exist in U.S. military bases or my factory. Both are heavily guarded."
Jack chuckled behind the mask, the sound deep and terrifying to Ethan.
"Human greed does wonders. Just a matter of money. Of course, I wasn't the one paying."
"That makes sense," Tony said. "You don't look rich."
Jack: (̿▀ ̿Ĺ̯̿̿▀ ̿)̄
Annoyed, Jack pulled out the hidden cheeseburger.
"Want to eat?"
Tony felt like a massive cheeseburger had descended from heaven to drag him out of hell.
Gulp.
His throat bobbed violently, saliva pooling at the corners of his mouth.
"Too bad," Jack said. "You don't get it. Ethan, you eat."
Ethan stared at the burger shoved into his hands, dumbfounded.
Jack grinned. "Thinking I should've given it to you when he wasn't looking?"
Ethan didn't answer—but his face said everything.
"Eat," Jack said coldly, "or I'll break your leg."
Ethan shot Tony an apologetic look and started eating.
After the first bite, he couldn't stop the smile creeping onto his face and had to force it down.
"Tony, I'm not laughing… I'm just…"
"Too much sorrow turns joy into grief," Tony said quietly.
"Right… as long as you understand."
Tony sighed and looked away, but the drifting smell of the burger made his imagination run wild. He inhaled deeply—
—and immediately remembered the pile in the corner.
Two extreme smells slammed into his nose at once.
Tony doubled over, retching violently.
Seeing him on the verge of death, Jack sighed. "Tony, how do you think your parents died?"
"A car accident," Tony replied instantly. "What else could it be?"
"You never saw their bodies," Jack said calmly. "So why are you so sure?"
Tony's eyes sharpened instantly.
"What do you mean? Is there more to it?"
"I'll tell you the truth," Jack said. "Your parents were strangled to death. The scene was fabricated afterward. The video evidence still exists—in their base."
Tony's eyes darkened. "I'll ask you once. Is this true?"
Jack nodded casually.
"Then who is this 'Winter Soldier'?" Tony asked. "Why kill my parents?"
"I believe your father discovered something," Jack replied. "So HYDRA sent him. That's all I know."
Tony clenched his fists. "Then why do you know all this?"
Jack placed his hand on the iron door and squeezed.
Metal screamed as the door warped inward.
"When you're strong enough," Jack said lightly, "knowing secrets is pretty normal."
Ethan's eyes widened in shock.
Tony fell silent, fury and reason colliding inside him.
"HYDRA… wasn't it destroyed by Captain America?"
"Cut off one head," Jack said, "two more grow back. And S.H.I.E.L.D. absorbed plenty of HYDRA scientists after the war."
"Can you just abbreviate that name?" Tony snapped.
Jack: ʅ(･´～･｀)ʃ
"Fine. S.H.I.E.L.D. Plenty of HYDRA rats are still hiding inside."
Tony sighed bitterly. "Too bad I can't avenge them myself."
Jack smiled faintly. "Not impossible. Convince Wanda to spare you."
At that moment, Wanda's furious voice echoed from the stairs.
"Without those weapons, my parents wouldn't have died!"
Her Chaos Magic lifted Tony into the air, choking him.
Jack immediately moved aside and stood behind Wanda obediently, like a mannequin.
Ethan spoke carefully. "My home was destroyed too. Stark weapons were there. My wife and children might've died under them. But…"
"I don't blame Tony," Ethan said. "Because he truly believed those weapons were for peace."
Tony's face turned purple as Wanda tightened her grip.
Jack stepped forward and hugged Wanda from behind, whispering, "Wanda… I respect your choice."
Her strength finally faded.
Tony collapsed to the ground, gasping.
Jack soothed Wanda gently.
Before leaving, Jack left behind extra food, water, cleaning supplies—and a solid bucket.
"Thanks for the toilet paper," Ethan called out sincerely.
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