socalfunplaces Page 146
Page 146
"Hawk, thank you so much!"
Pepper and Hawke hugged and Pepper said gratefully:
"If it weren't for you, Tony might never have come back."
Hawke was also there to welcome Tony's return. Normally, he wouldn't bother listening to Tony's boasting, but now, with something in the works, Hawke didn't mind putting up with Tony for a bit.
"We're all friends, it's too formal to say such things."
Hawk put his arm around Pepper's shoulder and laughed.
In the past two days, Pepper learned about Tony's general situation and realized that Hawke had saved Tony.
After a while.
Pepper released Hawke, but seeing that Hawke still wouldn't let go of her, she tried to push him, but couldn't budge him. Helplessly, she reminded him:
"Hawk, you're holding me too tightly."
06 As expected, he's a cut above Tony, always turning green!
"I'm sorry," Hawke quickly released Pepper and said, "It's just that Pepper, you have such a great figure."
"fine."
Pepper straightened her clothes and sighed.
A private plane pierced through the clouds and slowly descended.
The cabin doors slowly opened, and Tony, who was slightly injured, slowly walked out with Rhodes's help.
Upon seeing the familiar New York, Tony almost burst into tears.
Tony had never suffered like this in his entire life!
Screw Afghanistan.
He never went there to sell weapons again.
Inside the airport, the pretty young nurse in white stockings, who had been waiting, pushed a stretcher over.
"Are you kidding me? Make them disappear!"
Tony didn't feel weak enough to need to lie on a stretcher. Despite his current injuries, once he got serious, seven times a night... wouldn't be a problem!
At this moment, the people who came to greet him stepped forward, mainly Pepper Potts, bodyguard Happy, and Hawke.
Tony walked over slowly with a smile, though his gaze was mainly fixed on his personal secretary, Pepper Potts.
As for Hawke and Harry beside him, he selectively ignored them.
Pepper Potts, seeing Tony return safely but covered in injuries, couldn't help but cover her mouth, choking back tears that welled up in her eyes. She managed to hold them back from crying out loud.
"Your eyes are red!" Tony teased. "Are you crying for your long-lost boss?"
"It's because I'm happy, so I don't have to waste time and energy looking for a new job." Little Chili was stubborn as ever.
"Yes, your vacation is over."
Tony shrugged. Although he knew Pepper was lying, he didn't want to call her out on it at a time like this.
Women are all like that, saying one thing and meaning another.
“Hawk!” Tony’s gaze shifted to Hawk, and he immediately became furious: “You bastard…”
"Haha, Tony, welcome back, king!" Hawke quickly hugged Tony, patted him hard on the back, and said, "No need to thank me too much for saving you, it's what I should do. If you really feel bad about it, just give me a few of those dozen or so beautiful female officers that the military gave you at the Afghan base."
"What?" Pepper's eyebrows shot up: "A beautiful female officer?"
"Pepper, don't you know? Waaah..."
Before Hawke could finish speaking, Tony grabbed him by the neck and pulled him away.
To express their apology, the military at the Afghan base did indeed send Tony a number of beautiful female officers, but is that something to say in front of Pepper?
"Hawk, don't go too far! What beautiful female officer? I came back alone, didn't you see? Don't slander my innocence like that!"
While spouting harsh words, Tony secretly begged Hawke for mercy.
He had been alone in the cave for more than two months. After being rescued, he did have a surge of hormones, almost to the point of overflowing, so he stayed in Afghanistan for two more days.
I never expected that Hawke, that bastard, would know all about it.
After the laughter.
Happy, the driver and bodyguard, asked:
"Where to next, sir?"
Pepper glared at Tony and said.
"Please take us to the hospital."
"No!"
Tony rejected the proposal.
“No, Tony, you have to go to the hospital!” Pepper said solemnly.
"Nothing is a must. Right now, I just want to do two things: eat a cheeseburger, and..."
"That is impossible."
With Pepper's years of experience taking care of Tony, she already knew what kind of person he was. The beautiful female officer sent by the military at the Afghan base was probably also... true.
She knew that even death couldn't change Tony's mind.
"It's not what you think!"
Tony said helplessly.
Damn, he wanted to change his image after his time in Afghanistan, but Hawke ruined it as soon as he got back.
If this had simply been a kidnapping, instead of nearly being killed by a bomb manufactured by Stark Industries, and if he hadn't discovered that the terrorists were armed with weapons produced by Stark Industries, he might actually be thinking of doing what Pepper Potts is thinking right now.
But actually, 597's thoughts have changed.
"Pepper, I need you to hold a press conference for me right now!"
"What's the purpose of this press conference?"
Little Chili asked in confusion.
"You'll see when the time comes." Tony smiled mysteriously, then turned to his bodyguard and said, "Alright, Happy, drive. Let's go buy a cheeseburger first; I haven't had one in two months!"
He dared not say directly that he was holding the press conference to shut down Stark Industries' defense division, otherwise...
Everyone would assume he had suffered too much torture in Afghanistan, had mental problems, and gone mad, and would refuse to carry out his orders.
Stark Industries, the world's largest defense contractor, closed its defense division. What has become of Stark Industries?
A military-industrial complex that does not produce weapons?
The Stark Group's stock, which has only just begun to recover, will likely fall at an even faster rate than it did before Tony disappeared, and perhaps without end.
Tony is just messing around.
Therefore, Tony knew that his idea was too unconventional and might not be supported by anyone, so he didn't tell anyone. It was just an idea that had been lingering in his mind since he escaped death.
So Tony decided to hold a press conference to make this idea a fait accompli, at which point no one could object.
267 is very big and very white! [Please give flowers and subscribe!]
Stark Tower.
A stretched Lincoln slowly drove up.
A large crowd of people, including reporters, executives, and employees of the Stark Group, stood blocking the entrance to the Stark Tower and applauded enthusiastically.
Look here!
The old fox Obadiah happily trotted to the car door and opened it for Tony.
"I thought you would go to the hospital for a check-up first!"
“I have already inspected the base in Afghanistan.”
As he spoke, Tony took the cheeseburger from Happy's hand and took a big bite.
"Oh, a hamburger, you really need to get one," Obadiah said with a smile. "Is there one for me?"
Tony shrugged. "This is the last one. I'm going to eat it myself."
Surrounded by a group of people, Tony walked into Stark Tower.
"Hey everyone, can you all sit down?" Tony casually sat down below the podium, took out a cheeseburger, and said while eating, "That way everyone can see me, and I can be more relaxed."
The reporters were speechless. This was truly Tony Stark's style—always unconventional. There was nothing they could do but slowly sit down, even though there were no chairs available, so they had to sit on the floor.
Some women felt it was indecent, so they simply knelt on the ground.
“I couldn’t say goodbye to my dad, I couldn’t see him one last time.” Tony bit into his cheeseburger and thought, “There are some questions I want to ask him. I wanted to ask him what he thought about his company’s actions, whether he had any inner conflict, whether he had any doubts, maybe he was like the ones in the newsreels…”
A flicker of pain crossed Tony's face: "I witnessed innocent civilians being killed, killed by the very weapons I created to protect them..."
"I suddenly realized I've become a member of the complacent, irresponsible class."
“After this trip to Afghanistan, I have woken up.” Tony stood up and walked formally onto the podium. He looked solemnly at the media reporters below the stage and said solemnly, “I realize that what I can contribute to this world is not just manufacturing explosives. Therefore, I will be closing Stark Industries’ weapons manufacturing division, effective immediately.”
There was an uproar at the scene.
After dropping this bombshell news, Tony casually turned and walked away, completely ignoring the agitated reporters. He went to the Stark Industries chairman's office, where, while heartily eating a hamburger, Tony smugly raised an eyebrow and smiled at Hawke:
How was my performance this time?
Hawke thought for a moment, then gave Tony a thumbs up and said seriously, "Very big, very white."
Tony: "???"
"Ahem." Hawke realized what he had said and quickly replied, "I was just joking!"
Tony asked how well he handled the situation. After all, he dared to order Stark Industries to close its military division in order to prevent the weapons he manufactured from being misused and to support true peace. Even though he would lose more than half of his net worth, he should be considered pretty cool, right? But what was Hawke's answer?
That completely stumped him.
"joke?"