Chapter 8 - Suspicious Activity

The rest of the day passed in a haze of uncertainty. The office had settled into an uneasy rhythm as people returned to their desks, trying to push through their tasks with the knowledge that Tony Stark—the Tony Stark—was missing, possibly captured. Even though Obadiah Stane had assured everyone the situation was under control, Marcus could feel the tension in the air, like a storm building on the horizon.

But while most of the staff tried to get back to normal, Marcus couldn't shake the nagging feeling that something wasn't right.

The encrypted anomaly he'd discovered earlier still lingered in his thoughts, even as he worked through his regular duties. Whoever had inserted that code knew what they were doing—it was too clean, too precise. If Marcus hadn't been specifically monitoring the communication line during Tony's demonstration, it might have gone unnoticed entirely.

He glanced around the office, making sure no one was paying attention before turning back to his screen. His fingers hovered over the keyboard for a moment before he started typing. Marcus wasn't one to take unnecessary risks, but this felt important. Something about the encrypted code didn't sit well with him, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt like he had to dig deeper.

Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was just a coincidence that the breach had happened right before Tony's convoy was attacked. But in his gut, Marcus knew there was more to it than that.

Opening a secondary window, Marcus dove into the system logs, isolating the time frame around the breach and focusing on the strange encryption he had seen earlier. The data stream showed a clear pattern—someone had accessed the secure communication link during Tony's demonstration. Not just accessed it, but tampered with it. And the encryption had masked it from the usual system checks.

His mind raced as he cross-referenced the data with internal Stark Industries logs. Whoever had done this knew their way around Stark's security systems. This wasn't a casual hack. It was someone on the inside.

Marcus frowned as he continued to scan the logs. His heart beat faster as he realized what he was looking at—it wasn't just a security breach. The encrypted data was linked to external communications. Someone had been sending information out of Stark Industries, and the encryption was advanced enough that it looked like it was meant to avoid detection.

This wasn't an accident. Someone had planned this.

For a moment, Marcus hesitated, his fingers frozen over the keyboard. Should he report this? His first instinct was to tell someone—to escalate the issue up the chain of command. But something held him back. If this was an inside job, how deep did it go? And if he brought it to the wrong person, what would happen to him?

He glanced at the memo from Stane that still sat in his inbox. The official story was that the U.S. military was handling the situation. But Marcus's gut told him that whoever had orchestrated this breach had connections beyond the usual channels. If he brought this to Stane directly, would it even make a difference?

He leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair. This wasn't his problem. He was just an IT consultant, not some investigator. Maybe he was reading too much into this. But at the same time, he couldn't ignore what he had found.

Marcus's mind raced with possibilities. Who could have done this? Why would anyone at Stark Industries want to compromise Tony? And why were they covering their tracks so carefully?

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. His instincts told him to dig deeper, but his cautious nature screamed at him to leave it alone. You're not a hero, Marcus. You're just a guy behind a computer. This isn't your job.

But as much as he wanted to walk away, he knew he couldn't.

Marcus minimized the window on his screen and sat back, staring at the ceiling. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he was at a crossroads. He could either play it safe -stay in the background like he always had- or he could do something.

Doing something, though, meant putting himself at risk. He didn't know who was behind the breach or how far it went, and the last thing he wanted was to get caught up in something he didn't understand. But he also knew that if he let this go, he'd never forgive himself. There was too much at stake.

Before he could make up his mind, his phone buzzed on his desk, pulling him out of his thoughts. It was a text from Jen Riley, asking if he was free for lunch.

Marcus glanced at the time -he'd been so deep in the logs that he hadn't realized it was already noon. He let out a long breath and grabbed his phone, typing a quick reply.

"Yeah, I'm free. Meet you in ten?"

He needed a break. Maybe some time away from the screen would clear his head and help him figure out what to do next.