Chapter 14 - Message from Pepper Potts

The air in Stark Industries had shifted. Tony's decision to halt all weapons manufacturing had sent shockwaves through the company, and Marcus could feel the tension building in every conversation, every meeting, every subtle glance exchanged in the hallways. For a company that had built its empire on the defense industry, this was nothing short of a crisis.

But for Marcus, the bigger storm was brewing behind the scenes. The encrypted messages linking Obadiah Stane to the Ten Rings, Stane's involvement in Tony's kidnapping, and now Tony's sudden pivot toward energy innovation—it all pointed to one inevitable conclusion: a power struggle.

Tony was pushing the company in a direction Stane hadn't anticipated, and the more Marcus thought about it, the clearer it became that Stane wasn't going to let this go without a fight.

Sitting at his desk, Marcus couldn't focus. His normal duties felt like background noise as the true weight of the situation pressed down on him. He was keeping an eye on the internal communications, watching as high-level emails flew back and forth between executives and board members, all of them trying to figure out how to respond to Tony's announcement. The board was panicking.

But while the rest of the company scrambled, Stane remained silent.

That silence unnerved Marcus. If there was anyone who had the most to lose from Tony's decision, it was Stane. For weeks, Marcus had been piecing together the web of deception that tied Stane to the Ten Rings. He knew that Stane had orchestrated Tony's kidnapping to seize control of Stark Industries' weapons division. And now, with Tony alive and back in control, everything Stane had built was at risk of unraveling.

Marcus pulled up the company's internal memo system and began searching for any communications from Stane's office. His encryption tool had already allowed him to recover fragments of deleted messages that linked Stane to arms deals, but there was more he needed to uncover, something concrete that would prove Stane's involvement in Tony's kidnapping.

But as he scanned through the logs, he noticed something odd. Stane wasn't communicating with the board at all. There were no memos, no replies to the crisis emails, no meetings scheduled. It was as if Stane was biding his time, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Meanwhile, Tony's decision continued to send ripples through the company. People were furious, confused, even scared. Stark Industries had always been synonymous with power and security. now, without its weapons division, its future was uncertain.

Marcus had heard snippets of conversation from executives in the hallways, murmurs of stock prices dropping, concerns about military contracts being canceled. Everyone was trying to figure out what Tony's next move was, but no one had the answers.

And in the center of it all was Tony Stark, unbothered by the chaos he had unleashed.

Tony spent most of his time in the lab now, working on projects that were shrouded in secrecy. Even Marcus, who monitored the lab's security systems, didn't have access to the full scope of what Tony was building. But Marcus knew one thing: it all came back to the Arc Reactor.

Tony had emerged from his time in captivity with a new vision, one that didn't involve making weapons of war. Instead, he was focusing on clean energy. energy that could change the world. And from what little Marcus had gathered, the Arc Reactor was at the heart of it.

But Tony's new direction wasn't just threatening Stark Industries' weapons division. it was a direct threat to Stane's plans. Stane had built his career on weapons manufacturing. He was deeply entrenched in defense contracts, arms deals, and military relationships. If Tony successfully shifted the company away from weapons and into energy, Stane's influence would collapse.

That's why Marcus couldn't shake the feeling that something was coming. Stane had too much to lose, and he wasn't the type to back down quietly. Marcus had seen the lengths Stane was willing to go to. he had conspired with terrorists to take out Tony once. What would stop him from trying again?

Marcus's phone buzzed, snapping him out of his thoughts. It was Jen Riley, sending him a quick message.

Jen:

Hey, you free to meet up? I've got some info you might want to hear.

Marcus typed back, his fingers flying over the screen.

Marcus:

Yeah, where?

Jen:

Cafeteria. Give me 10.

Marcus stood up, pushing his chair back and grabbing his things. Jen had been his only real ally in this, the only person he trusted to help him dig into the growing conspiracy. If she had found something, it could be the missing piece he needed.

By the time Marcus arrived at the cafeteria, Jen was already waiting for him, sitting at their usual spot by the window. She waved him over, her expression serious.

"Did you hear about the board meeting this afternoon?" Jen asked as Marcus sat down.

Marcus shook his head. "No, what's going on?"

Jen leaned in, lowering her voice. "The board is freaking out. Tony's decision to stop weapons production has thrown everything into chaos. They're planning an emergency session with Stane to try and figure out what to do. Word is, they want to convince Tony to reverse the decision."

Marcus felt a sinking feeling in his gut. "And Stane?"

Jen's face hardened. "He's been quiet, but I don't trust it. I heard from someone in R&D that Stane's been meeting with military contractors behind Tony's back, trying to secure deals without him. He's not going to let this go, Marcus. He's too invested in the weapons side of the business."

Marcus rubbed his temples, the pieces falling into place. Stane was already moving behind the scenes. If the board couldn't convince Tony to reverse his decision, Stane would likely take matters into his own hands. He had the connections, the power, and the motivation to act, just like he had in Afghanistan.

Jen watched Marcus carefully. "You think Stane's going to make a move, don't you?"

Marcus nodded. "He's been planning this for weeks, maybe months. I've found fragments of communications linking him to the Ten Rings, Jen. I don't know how far it goes, but Stane's not going to let Tony's decision stand. He can't."

Jen's eyes widened, her expression darkening. "Marcus, you have to get more proof. If you can tie Stane directly to the Ten Rings, if you can show that he's responsible for Tony's kidnapping, you might be able to stop him."

Marcus nodded, feeling the weight of what Jen was saying. He had already uncovered more than he ever thought possible, but without concrete proof, it wouldn't be enough to take Stane down. He needed to find something definitive, something that couldn't be denied or covered up.

"I'm working on it," Marcus said, his voice low. "But I have to be careful. If Stane realizes I'm onto him…"

Jen reached across the table, gripping Marcus's arm. "Just be careful, okay? This is dangerous territory. But you're right, Stane's not going to back down. He's got too much riding on this."

Marcus nodded, though the sense of impending danger weighed heavily on him. He had known for a while that he was in over his head, but now, with Tony back and the stakes higher than ever, Marcus couldn't shake the feeling that things were about to escalate.

And when they did, he needed to be ready.

As Marcus made his way back to his desk, his phone buzzed again. This time, it was a response to the message he had sent to Pepper Potts days earlier.

Pepper Potts:

I got your message. Meet me at 8 p.m. tonight in the executive parking lot. We need to talk.

Marcus's heart pounded in his chest. This was it—the moment he'd been waiting for. If Pepper was willing to meet him, it meant she knew something too. And if they worked together, maybe, just maybe, they could stop whatever Stane was planning before it was too late.

But Marcus knew that meeting with Pepper meant putting himself directly in the line of fire. If Stane was watching, if he had any idea what Marcus was doing, this meeting could be the most dangerous thing he had ever done.

Marcus stared at the message, his resolve hardening. He couldn't back down now.

Stane had to be stopped.