Chapter 107: George's Rage

At Tony's house, Rhodey and Yinsen sat in front of Tony, and the three of them fell into silence.

"Tony, the biggest issue right now is that the Department of Defense is planning to smear you," Rhodey broke the silence. "If it weren't for me holding them off, there'd already be a bunch of tanks rolling up to your place."

Tony shrugged helplessly and replied, "Strictly speaking, this has little to do with me."

"If you really want to blame someone, it's probably my dad's fault."

Rhodey blinked in confusion. "Tony, your dad's been dead for twenty years."

"I doubt the folks upstairs will believe me if I use that excuse," Tony muttered, not bothering to bring up the whole Anton Vanko story. It was an old matter, and the Department of Defense wouldn't care about the details.

At the end of the day, they just wanted to get their hands on the Iron Man suit's technology for their own purposes.

"Rhodey, do you like the Mark armor?" Tony asked out of nowhere.

Rhodey froze, glancing at Tony and then at Yinsen. Nervously, he stammered, "I... I... yeah, I admit it, I love that thing."

"Honestly, I want to take it with me, but..."

"I'm not like those Defense Department people, you know that."

Tony and Yinsen exchanged smiles at Rhodey's nervousness.

"At the end of the day, they just want the Mark suit. All we need to do is give you a suit that's keyed to your biometrics," Tony said.

"That way, the Mark armor won't be misused, and it'll also ease the military's concerns," Yinsen added, analyzing the situation.

Tony nodded in agreement. Before Rhodey could respond, Tony stood up. "Alright, let's go downstairs and pick one out."

Rhodey quickly got to his feet, saying, "No, no need to pick."

Tony and Yinsen both looked at Rhodey, confused by what he meant.

Rhodey explained, "I mean, I've already had my eye on one."

"I'll just wear it out."

Ten minutes later, a gleaming silver Mark II suit shot up into the sky from Tony's home, with Rhodey as the pilot.

"I thought he'd want one of the painted ones. What's that supposed to mean?" Tony quipped. "Is he questioning my taste?"

Yinsen chuckled. "Which one were you planning to give him?"

Tony deflected, "Who said I was giving him anything?"

"I just want to stop those people from bothering me anymore. You know I hate trouble," he added, though Yinsen remained silent, seeing right through him.

Yinsen had known for a while now that Tony had already made all the necessary arrangements in case of his death, including finding a successor for the Mark suit. His chosen successor was Rhodey, and Tony had already input Rhodey's biometrics into JARVIS.

Otherwise, how could Rhodey have just flown off with the Mark II so easily?

Caught off guard by Yinsen's perceptiveness, Tony quickly changed the subject. "Yinsen, if I'm called Iron Man, what should we call Rhodey?"

Yinsen thought for a moment as they walked out of the workshop together. "I guess something like 'War Machine'... or maybe 'Iron Guy'..."

"Sounds like they just chopped up my name..." Tony muttered.

As the two of them made their way to the first floor, Pepper hurried in from outside, with Happy and Black Widow following closely behind, almost like bodyguards. Happy was Tony's arrangement, while Black Widow was sent by Nick Fury to get closer to Tony.

Seeing Pepper's urgent demeanor, Tony teased, "Hey, what's the rush? Something happen at the company?"

Ever since he synthesized the new element, Tony had felt much more at ease, no longer burdened by his previous worries. When he was around Pepper now, the guilt that had once weighed on him was gone. He had been afraid of dying suddenly, so he'd always felt the need to make it up to her. But now, more than ever, he just wanted to be with her.

Pepper shook her head in exasperation at Tony's carefree attitude. "Have you been hard to reach lately?"

"Of course not. If you're calling, I'm definitely answering," Tony replied confidently, then turned his head. "JARVIS, did Miss Potts call me today?"

"No, sir."

"See? You didn't call me."

Tony smiled at Pepper, but she quickly corrected him. "I'm talking about the NYPD Commissioner."

Tony's brow furrowed as he remembered meeting George once before.

"Why is he looking for me?" Tony asked.

Pepper continued, "He couldn't reach you, so he found me instead. I happened to be nearby, so I came right over."

"Tony, Ivan Vanko has escaped from prison."

Hearing this, Tony frowned. "How did that happen?"

Pepper shook her head, but Black Widow, standing behind her, knew exactly what had transpired. Of course, Tony could find out if he wanted to investigate.

Seeing Pepper's worried expression, Tony reassured her, "Don't worry, I'll handle this. Trust me."

Pepper couldn't help but recall the destruction Ivan Vanko had caused when he attacked Stark Industries. She was filled with concern for Tony. Ever since he put on the Iron Man suit, it seemed like danger was always lurking around him.

Looking at Tony, Pepper wanted to tell him to stop being Iron Man, but she knew his stubbornness wouldn't allow him to listen. In the end, all her worries condensed into a simple plea: "Just make sure you're okay."

Under the gaze of everyone around them, Tony and Pepper embraced. Behind them, Black Widow's eyes briefly glanced at Tony's neck, noticing that his symptoms of poisoning seemed to have lessened.

"Could it be that Howard's research really provided Tony with a new source of energy to keep him alive?" Black Widow wondered silently.

At that moment, Happy leaned over to Black Widow. "No need to stare—Tony's not as much of a playboy anymore," he joked. "Actually, I'm not too bad myself, you know."

Black Widow rolled her eyes at him, thinking about how ridiculous he was.

"Happy, take Pepper home," Tony said after their embrace, giving him a direct order. He knew Ivan Vanko's real target was him, and keeping Pepper close was only putting her in more danger.

"Gladly," Happy replied.

Once Pepper and the others had left, Tony turned to Yinsen. "What do you make of Ivan Vanko's escape?"

Yinsen thought for a moment. "Commissioner George is certainly competent. For Vanko to break out of his prison, there must have been an inside job. Finding clues from within the police force will be difficult."

Tony nodded. "I agree. Breaking someone out of prison like that would have cost a lot of money."

"JARVIS…"

"I'm here, sir," JARVIS responded.

Tony sank back into the sofa and continued, "Look into anyone in the police department who recently received a large sum of money."

"Understood, sir."

Tony picked up a glass of chlorophyll juice from the table, half-joking as he said, "I bet Commissioner George is losing his temper right about now."

Yinsen chuckled. "I think you're right."

Inside the NYPD, a loud bang echoed through the halls.

Commissioner George slammed his fist down on his desk in a fit of rage, glaring at his subordinates. His eyes were practically on fire.

"A prisoner escapes, and none of you noticed a thing? And now, the surveillance footage is conveniently missing too!" he yelled. "Can you explain to me why the cameras went down for just those few minutes?"

Grabbing the Deputy Commissioner by the collar, George cursed him out, spittle flying from his mouth. The sweat on the Deputy Commissioner's face was unclear—whether from fear or from George's yelling. The other lower-ranking officers in the room didn't dare move an inch.

Seeing his subordinates hanging their heads in shame only fueled George's fury. He felt like taking them all down. Since taking office, nothing like this had ever happened under his watch. This incident was a stain on his career.

The Deputy Commissioner kept his head down, not daring to even lift it, let alone speak, fearing George would see something in his expression.

Just then, a soft knock came at George's office door. As George prepared to unleash his temper again, he turned and saw it was the doctor he had called for. His rage subsided almost instantly.

"Dr. Anna, how's the patient?" George asked.

The woman referred to as Dr. Anna had a stunning figure, even hidden beneath her loose lab coat.

"Uncle George, no need to be so formal. Just call me Anna," she said with a sweet smile.

Glancing at his subordinates and then back at Anna, George repeated, "So, how is he?"

Anna frowned slightly. "It doesn't look good. I think you should come and see for yourself."

"Oh?" George muttered, intrigued.

...