Connecting to Tony's communication request, his first words were:
"Where are you now?"
"340 kilometers above Washington—I'm on the hammer, what's up?" Harry said, sitting on the sofa.
Now he could finally sit down and have a chat with this 'colleague'.
Tony was still quite loyal to his friends, even though his actions in this matter had left many people feeling very awkward.
"Well, I originally wanted to, you know, have a meal, strengthen our connection, or something." Tony said as he paced back and forth in front of the screen. It was clear his inner state wasn't as calm as his tone suggested.
Harry smiled and said, "Let's talk about that when there's time. How is Pepper?"
"Everything is normal... how did you do it? I mean—" Tony felt a bit reluctant to continue.
Garrett had sent him a video of Pepper's execution. He had Jarvis check it; the video hadn't been tampered with, everything was real.
In the video, Garrett held a pistol to the back of Pepper's head and fired three shots in total. The final shot pierced her skull, blood and brain matter splattering everywhere.
That day in Saint Petersburg was the longest day of his life. Even so, he had followed Harry's instructions to dismantle the anti-airdrop system, showing he was no weak-willed person.
So when he later saw the Winter Soldier's memories, he almost felt as if two timelines had merged. He had a dazed illusion that he had lost all his loved ones on the same day.
Rage had made him almost lose control until Harry told him that Pepper was still alive.
But how could anyone be saved after being shot three times in the head at close range?
"Special technology—you can look at it as a miracle, a miracle that can only happen once."
The matter of the Dragon Bone Elixir was difficult to explain to Tony, at least for now.
Judging by Tony's performance, the resurrection hadn't brought any side effects, which was a relief for everyone.
Harry took a sip of tea and said, "But Tony—I must make this clear to you. I consider you a friend, but this kind of thing really hurts the relationship."
Stark backstabbing a friend had actually happened before.
Howard Stark used to have a good relationship with Hugh Jones, the previous CEO of Roxxon Oil. The two companies cooperated happily and, in a sense, became a monopoly.
But Howard was a bit of a playboy. That aside, who knows what he was thinking, but he cuckolded Hugh Jones.
This infuriated Hugh Jones, and the two companies parted ways from then on.
Not only that, but Roxxon's shadow was also present in the car accident that led to the death of the Starks. Of course, that accident wasn't just about personal revenge.
Tony stopped pacing in front of the screen. It was clear he felt very guilty.
"I..."
Harry interrupted Tony. Instead of an apology, he wanted to discuss something else: "Let's talk about something else. How much business does Stark Industries have with ****?"
Stark was taken aback. He thought Harry wanted to talk about'superhero business,' but instead, he brought up corporate matters.
In a sense, though, this could also be considered'superhero business'.
As mentioned before, one of the middle-level leaders of HYDRA was called 'Banker,' and this person was the CEO of ****.
Besides 'Banker,' the identity of'Sheikh' had also been identified. This person really was a Saudi Sheikh; his family had invaded there in the early 17th century and eventually ended up as Sheikhs.
From this perspective, HYDRA's influence was truly ridiculously vast:
As the leader, Pierce controlled S.H.I.E.L.D., a global organization with the World's most advanced technology and Agents, privately assisting the likes of Dr. List and Whitehall in various superhuman and high-tech research.
Gideon Malick echoed him in the Security Council. 'Banker' used financial means to unite various companies and seek out corporate allies, such as Roxxon and the Quinn Group.
"Sheikh" was genuinely wealthy, the kind of wealthy that was 'dripping with oil.' He only needed to sell a few products to make friends with other small nations.
"Not much—you should be able to see the company's financial reports." Although Tony was no longer the CEO, he still kept a close eye on the company.
Then he suddenly remembered that Harry was also a shareholder in Stark Industries—and one with a significant stake.
Harry was also taken aback; it seemed he had accidentally revealed that he basically didn't manage the company's operations anymore.
"Ahem, it's good that it's not much. Their CEO is connected to HYDRA—most likely a middle-level leader."
A figure of this level couldn't be taken down by just a word or two from Harry or Norman; it required coordinating various forces to act together.
In the TV series, Coulson used Ward and the brainwashed 'Dreadnoughts' to make them suspicious of each other and kill one another, dealing with these troublesome heads of the snake.
Now, the hammer had an absolute military advantage, and various countries had come together due to shared interests. Although these companies and oil giants were wealthy, in front of such a group, they were just wealthy.
Or rather, having money and resources was better; it made it less likely to fight when dividing the spoils.
"My father is already handling this, but **** has too much business. There needs to be a better institution to replace it, to completely take over its position in the World."
"I see. So you're inviting me to join you in opening a bank?" Tony understood Harry's point.
In reality, Osborn's own bank was already quite large, but one can never have too many allies.
With the fall of HYDRA, the high-tech companies under them also needed someone to take over.
Harry could have excluded Stark and done this on his own, but if Tony came up with some other high-tech to compete for the market, the monopoly wouldn't be perfect.
So it was best to bring him in, and have an ally to share the risk.
Besides, Harry himself was a shareholder in Stark Industries, with a stake second only to Tony's. It was only reasonable to give Stark Industries a piece of the pie.
"That's exactly it. You should know that Osborn is currently promoting 'credit points.' This is actually to prevent high-tech from being abused."
The final right of interpretation for credit points belongs to Osborn. In reality, it's a technological monopoly, just under a different name.
Ordinary people might find a monopoly terrifying, but Tony wouldn't think so. After all, he was someone who wanted a robot legion to protect the Earth.
Harry's proposal tempted him.
Osborn and Stark personally opening a bank and forming a financial giant alliance supported by two tech giants meant they were essentially reaching out to all high-tech companies.
As long as they stood together, no company could bypass their monopoly.
In Tony's view, this would allow ordinary people to enjoy high technology while effectively preventing those technologies from being abused.
At least, that's how it sounded.
Tony thought for a moment and asked, "I want to know how the points are exchanged?"
Harry smiled. "A, Mr. Stark is asking you."
Tony was startled—he had been with Pepper these past few days and didn't know about A yet. Did Harry mean that unprecedented AI was already running?"
"Sir, an unknown object is invading our network. I can't stop it." Jarvis's voice rang out.
Under Tony's surprised gaze, A's voice echoed in his room:
"Mr. Stark, it's a pleasure to meet you—you are the last of my creators I've met. How have you been lately?"
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