"Stop, stop." Tony raised a hand, cutting off Black Widow before she could keep going with the itinerary.
"What the hell, I'm just here to race. Why is there so much work on the schedule? Didn't Pepper ever tell you not to bring up work when I'm in the middle of something else?"
"Apologies. This was arranged by the CEO." Utterly businesslike, Black Widow was already calculating that this pay period was almost up—maybe she should buy herself a little something as a reward. After all, the salary was way higher than risking her life on a mission.
To be honest, Black Widow didn't mind the whole "three years, then another three years" deal.
"Tony, your thinking still isn't thorough enough." Zod shook his head. Telling Tony about Black Widow's identity or not didn't really matter. If anything, keeping them and Black Widow in a state of mutual suspicion was the best way to root out moles. No matter how you rooted, the remaining official members would still outnumber the people from the winery, wouldn't they?
Come to think of it—since when did S.H.I.E.L.D. have an operation assigning Black Widow to infiltrate Tony Stark that he, the director, didn't know about?
The private jet touched down swiftly in Monaco, where the local officials had long been waiting. After all, the arrivals were all major figures.
Zod and Tony dumped the whole reception on Black Widow and then swaggered off.
At the F1 circuit.
"Zod, tell me what the hell you're doing!"
"Basic race car tuning. Installing my Fire Seed Reactor as the power drive. The thrill of that kind of speed—just thinking about it gets my blood pumping."
"Are you legitimately insane? An F1 car's top speed is already terrifying. Stick a reactor in there and you'll be dead the second you launch!"
Tony couldn't help but gripe. The two of them were tech-route superheroes, not those monsters who could stroll out from ground zero of a nuclear blast.
"What do you know? I was ruling Mount Akina while you were still throwing money at women."
The sudden appearance of the bosses of Stark Industries and the Umbrella Corporation, already suited up and tuning their cars, made waves. Tony Stark might not carry much interview value for journalists, but Zod Hess was a different story—even if most of the female reporters on scene had already had one of those pleasant nights with Tony.
That said, neither Zod nor Tony gave them a chance for an interview. In fact, the only outsider who'd actually exchanged words with Zod and Tony since the plane landed was Hammer Military Industries' owner, Justin Hammer, who'd latched onto them with fake familiarity looking for a collaboration. The result went without saying.
Come to think of it, Hammer Industries was in a sorry state now, squeezed so hard by the Umbrella Corporation and Stark Industries that it could only scrounge for orders in small countries.
Those small countries mainly had the money but simply couldn't buy War Machines.
War Machine, Iron Monger, Decepticons—mountains of orders piled up, but deliveries went to S.H.I.E.L.D. first, then the five major powers, and finally UN member states.
Private entities had to pay extra just to get their deliveries; otherwise, they could wait.
And the kicker was, Umbrella Corporation demanded a fifty-percent deposit up front, and if you couldn't wait any longer, they wouldn't even refund the deposit.
"Why even care about that little punk." Holding his racing helmet, Tony looked at Zod with some irritation.
"Truth is, that guy's obnoxious. And that's not just my assessment."
"I don't usually keep tabs on my competitors, because there's no one who can compete with me, but I do understand him and Hammer Industries to some degree."
Though the track was cordoned off, the cheers and shrieks were still piercing. Zod waved off the pit crew working on the car.
"Ambition is a good thing, but ambition alone isn't enough. If you want to get things done, you need a sufficiently meticulous plan."
"Seems we're of the same mind. That little punk is a real genius." Tony flipped himself into the cockpit, sneering.
"Sometimes I really wonder how he built Hammer Military Industries this big. With that ridiculous way of talking?"
Before putting on his helmet, Tony's expression asked: any clue?
"How the hell should I know." Zod rolled his eyes. Intel on that guy was neither worth anything nor sellable. If it were the comic version, that'd be different—comic-book Justin Hammer was never this much of a "genius."
A quick note—Mimi Reading is genuinely a great app, worth installing, since you can cache books and read offline!
Justin Hammer was a Monegasque citizen, a cunning and shrewd businessman.
His company's operations spanned wide, including arms dealing. He was also one of the primary competitors to Tony Stark's Stark Industries.
Justin Hammer often secretly funded super-criminals and provided them with advanced weaponry, turning them into tools to crush his rivals.
Compared to the movie version, the comic version was even more vicious and cunning—a complete arch-villain.
"Anyway, Zod, get ready to eat my dust." As the engines warmed up, Tony, dead certain of victory, was the first to provoke.
"Come talk to me when you can at least see my taillights." Zod put on his gloves and helmet and settled into the cockpit.
"Loser can't eat cheeseburgers for a month."
"You're trying to kill me!" Tony's eyes went wide at that, but after thinking it over—there was no reason to lose to a rookie like Zod—he instantly relaxed.
Zod smirked. Electromagnetic force settled over the car.
"Then, game on!"
Vrooom!!!
The low, guttural engine roared, exhaust blasting black flames in an instant.
Tires shrieked against the ground, a piercing screech that could rival the soul-rending singing of an umu monster or a dragon girl.
Right next to it, Tony felt like his head was splitting open. Even his helmet couldn't block that soul-piercing horror.
Amid the thick smoke kicked up by the tires, the moment the starting call rang out, a streak of dark crimson light shot forth.
"Hey, Natalie, why is Tony on the racetrack!" Virginia stared at the live broadcast in shock. The press conference and dinner were all arranged, and now he'd gone off to race?
"And what's that red light at the front of the track? Some kind of path guidance?"
"Apologies, CEO. There was a racing event on Mr. Stark's schedule. Though Mr. Stark added it himself, and he's postponed the rest of his itinerary."
Black Widow narrowed her eyes, file in hand, studying the race broadcast closely.
"And that red light—if nothing unexpected..."
"is S.H.I.E.L.D. Director and Umbrella Corporation President, Zod Hess."
"What???"
Pepper was dumbfounded. Tony Stark had dragged Zod Hess into a race?
Forget how he even knew Zod Hess. The key point was—if anything happened to Zod Hess, that would be an absolute disaster!!!
/-\
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